Chapter 162: Li's Grocery Store

Watching Jin Dou's cheerful and retreating figure, Yan Chixia felt a deep sense of relief and said,

"Peach Blossom, seeing Xiaobao grow into such a smart and lovely child, I am truly and from the bottom of my heart happy!"

"..." Peach Blossom did not reply.

Yan Chixia could not help but be startled. He turned his gaze, only to see Peach Blossom staring at him as if she were looking at a stranger. He asked,

"Peach Blossom, what is the matter with you?"

"Ah?" Peach Blossom snapped back to her senses, smiled rather sheepishly, and suddenly asked, "Brother Chixia, did you... really not attain immortality and become an immortal?"

"Hahaha..." Yan Chixia smiled openly and said, "No. Peach Blossom, do you feel there is something amiss with me?"

"Yes!" Peach Blossom nodded and said, "Brother Chixia, those gifts you gave Jin Dou just now—you simply drew them on paper with a brush, and with a flick of your hand, *shua*, they all turned into real things! I feel that only immortals can perform such feats!"

"Oh." Realizing that Peach Blossom had misunderstood, Yan Chixia hurriedly explained, "Peach Blossom, I am truly no immortal. The welcoming gifts I gave Jin Dou just now were activated using the [Paper Talisman Daoist Magic]; 'Paper Talisman Drawing' is a Daoist art I cultivated. In fact, Sister Xiaoyue also knows this magic."

"Really?" Peach Blossom asked, filled with boundless admiration and wonder, "So Sister is also this powerful! Brother Chixia, I truly envy you both so much! Sigh... Forget it, I won't say more. Brother Chixia, shall we go buy the water vat now?"

"Alright!" Yan Chixia nodded. As he walked alongside Peach Blossom toward the "Li Family Grocery Store," he continued, "Peach Blossom, I suddenly feel that going to buy a water vat right now is quite inappropriate... In my view, let's just drop by Xiaohu's house for a little while and then head straight back; we won't buy the vat after all."

"Oh?" Peach Blossom could not help but be taken aback, "Why?"

Yan Chixia glanced around his surroundings. Seeing no one nearby, he replied,

"Peach Blossom, if we go to Xiaohu's house to buy a water vat now, Xiaohu will naturally ask, 'Peach Blossom, has your family's water vat broken?' You will certainly say, 'It's not broken.' Then Xiaohu will ask, 'Then why are you buying a water vat?' You won't have a good answer for that. I know you are exceptionally honest... Yet, honest as you are, you surely wouldn't tell Xiaohu the unvarnished truth that you need the vat to hold an immense amount of copper coins, would you?"

"This..." Peach Blossom did not know what to say.

Then she heard Yan Chixia smile and say,

"Peach Blossom, there is no need to be troubled. In a moment, we will just visit Xiaohu's place briefly and then return. Make sure not to reveal the money hidden in your pockets, and above all, do not mention the two hundred strings of copper coins I gave you."

"Then... Brother Chixia, if we aren't buying a water vat, what shall we use to hold those... those 'things'?" Peach Blossom asked with some hesitation.

***

Yan Chixia said with utter confidence:

"I have a way. Peach Blossom, you can rest assured."

"Okay!" Peach Blossom smiled and said, "Brother Chixia, I will listen to you..."

As they spoke, Yan Chixia and Peach Blossom arrived at the grand entrance of Li Xiaohu's house, and the two quickly walked into the courtyard.

Because there was no vegetable plot, Li Xiaohu's courtyard appeared very spacious:

The five main rooms looked somewhat aged, and sparse, withered yellow grass grew haphazardly in the furrows of the eaves tiles; the three east wing rooms had been built a few years ago, their paint still looking fresh; the yellow earthen ground was swept impeccably clean. Against the base of the great west wall stood a row of five or six water vats, seven or eight large iron cauldrons, along with dozens of pottery urns, sand basins, and jars of various sizes, all placed upside down and neatly covered—to protect them from rain, a makeshift open shed had been constructed overhead using wooden poles and sheep-grass. Between the front porch of the main house and the grand gatehouse lay a path paved with exceptionally smooth cobblestones. Apart from these, there was nothing else.

As soon as Yan Chixia stepped into the courtyard, a wave of excitement stirred within him, and he immediately called out in a loud voice:

"Uncle, Auntie, Xiaohu, are you all at home?"

"Here!" Accompanied by a very robust voice, Li Xiaohu emerged from the east wing room. The moment his eyes caught Yan Chixia walking in the lead, he froze, then immediately noticed Peach Blossom, and broke into a delighted smile: "Peach Blossom, you're here! And this is..."

"Xiaohu, how are you!" Yan Chixia shouted heartily, "What? Xiaohu, do you not recognize me anymore?"

Seeing Li Xiaohu standing there in a daze, Peach Blossom hastily called out:

"Brother Xiaohu, this is Brother Chixia!"

"Ah?" Li Xiaohu blinked. "Good heavens, it truly is Yan Chixia! Brother Chixia, you've finally returned!" Seized by overwhelming joy, he took a wide stride, opened his arms, and lunged toward Yan Chixia.

Yan Chixia also opened his arms and hurried forward to meet him. In an instant, the two were locked in a tight embrace.

"Chixia! Chixia..." Li Xiaohu cried out, tears welling up in his eyes from emotion as he held Yan Chixia tightly, "Chixia, you've finally come back! Ever since you left Kaoshan Village thirteen years ago, I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime! Brother Chixia, do you know how much I've missed you?"

"Xiaohu, I'm sorry... I've made you worry!" Yan Chixia's eyes were also brimming with tears as he said, "Though I've been gone for thirteen years and never returned even once, you have all been in my thoughts every single moment!"

At this, Yan Chixia and Li Xiaohu both released their embrace. Standing face to face, they grasped each other's hands firmly, looking at one another with intensely stirred emotions—though both were now adults, they quickly found the familiar shadows of the past upon each other's thoroughly matured faces.

"Hahaha..." Yan Chixia laughed, "Xiaohu, your appearance hasn't changed at all; with your thick brows and large eyes, you're still the exact same as before."

***

"Hehehe..." Li Xiaohu laughed and said, "Brother Chixia, you've changed quite a bit—you almost have the air of a Daoist immortal. When I first caught sight of you just now, I truly didn't recognize you! Alright, let's not stand around talking in the courtyard. Chixia, Peach Blossom, hurry inside the house; let's sit down and have a proper chat."

"Mm." Peach Blossom nodded gently.

Yan Chixia laughed heartily and said:

"Alright! Xiaohu, it just so happens that I want to have a look at your grocery store."

"The grocery store is in the east wing room. I was just organizing the goods in there," Li Xiaohu replied. "Chixia, since you want to take a look, let's head into the east wing."

With that, Li Xiaohu led Yan Chixia and Peach Blossom into the grocery store in the east wing room.

"Oh!" As soon as Yan Chixia stepped into the east wing, he was immediately captivated by the dazzling array of everyday living goods displayed on the shelves. "Xiaohu, your family's grocery store is quite well-stocked! Say, how is it I don't see Uncle and Auntie? Are they not at home?"

"My dad drove the ox cart to the market town at the crack of dawn to purchase stock. My mom was worried he'd drink and bungle things up, so she tagged along with him," Li Xiaohu replied. Beaming with smiles as he spoke, he stepped behind the counter, picked up a small shallow basket, filled it to the brim with shelled peanuts from a lattice on the shelf, and placed it onto the counter. "Chixia, Peach Blossom, sit down quickly. Let's eat some peanuts while we talk."

Yan Chixia and Peach Blossom both agreed and took seats alongside Li Xiaohu.

Yan Chixia reached out, plucked a peanut, cracked it in half with a crisp *snap*, and tossed the reddish peanut kernel into his mouth. Chewing it with great relish, he smiled and said:

"Delicious! Xiaohu, how is the business of your grocery store going?"

"Quite well," Li Xiaohu answered, casually grabbing a handful of peanuts and handing them to Peach Blossom. "Peach Blossom, have some too!"

"Thanks." Peach Blossom smiled somewhat unnaturally and said, "Brother Xiaohu, I'll help myself."

"Hehehe..." Li Xiaohu also smiled with a trace of awkwardness, "Alright! Peach Blossom, eat your fill—these were freshly roasted early this morning, and they're fragrant! Just now, Jin Dou came by to buy some soy sauce, and I gave him a handful. The little fellow kept saying 'So good' as he ate." With that, his gaze shifted back to Yan Chixia's face, and he asked expectantly, "Brother Chixia, in the blink of an eye, you've been cultivating the Dao at Zhongnan Mountain for thirteen years. How is it? Over these years, you must have mastered a great deal of Daoist magic, right?"