Early the next morning, the five old men from the Wei family arrived at the ancestral hall as scheduled. They heard from the old manager of the hall that last night Wei Lan took Luo Wei to the incense hall to offer incense and kowtow to the ancestors, and the elders were satisfied. In the eyes of the elders, this at least indicated that Luo Wei was sincerely intending to live with Wei Lan, otherwise, he would not have joined Wei Lan in worshipping the Wei family ancestors.
Wei Lan, carrying some daily necessities he had purchased early in the morning, along with some rice, flour, salted goods, vegetables, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and even a large bag of tea that he and Luo Wei would consume, walked in. Seeing the five elders, he hurriedly placed the items on the ground and went forward to greet them respectfully.
“Call Brother Fu out quickly,” Old Wei smiled, “We want to leave and come back early.”
Wei Lan hurried into the house to call Luo Wei.
Inside the house, Luo Wei had already packed up the things to be taken away and was waiting for Wei Lan to return. “Have the elders come?” he asked as soon as Wei Lan entered the room.
“They have,” Wei Lan replied, “Let’s go.” He slung the packages onto his own back.
Luo Wei snatched one of the packages from Wei Lan and carried it himself, saying, “Can you stop thinking I’m useless?”
“Is it heavy?” Wei Lan asked, enduring Luo Wei’s teasing.
“It’s not heavy,” Luo Wei replied impatiently, “How heavy can a few pieces of clothing be?”
The two walked out to the front courtyard of the ancestral hall, where the old manager of the hall had already driven the carriage out for them and was pointing to a jar at his feet. “Take this pickled vegetable with you to eat,” he said, “There’s nothing to eat in the mountains at this time.”
Luo Wei and Wei Lan quickly expressed their thanks.
“It’s not worth anything,” the old man waved his hand, smiling, “You better get going. These old folks need to be back in the city before the sun goes down, or they won’t be able to see the road.”
The five old men were once again underestimated, this time by an elder several years older than them. They all laughed and cursed at the old hall manager together.
While the old men were busy bickering, Wei Lan moved all the things to be taken away onto the carriage. He had to work hard, but he refuse to let Luo Wei do any heavy lifting.
“Brother Lan is still someone who knows how to care for others,” Old Wei said, half-jokingly, seeing Wei Lan’s demeanor.
Luo Wei just smiled and lowered his head.
“Brother Fu is thin-skinned,” the old hall manager, feeling sorry for Luo Wei, scolded Old Wei, “You old man, stop talking nonsense!”
“Uncles, please get on the carriage,” Luo Wei said softly and cheerfully to the elders.
“Get on the carriage,” the old hall manager pushed Old Wei.
“Uncle, take it slow,” Luo Wei supported Old Wei and helped him onto the carriage.
“Alright, Brother Fu is quite attentive,” Old Wei, pleased with Luo Wei’s assistance, couldn’t bother to argue with the old manager anymore. He chuckled and got onto the carriage.
Outside the carriage, Wei Lan said to the old hall manager, “I’ll come to visit you whenever I go into the city in the future.”
Luo Wei added, “And when you have time, come spend a few days in the valley, stay with us. I’d like to learn how to pickle vegetables from you, Uncle.”
The old hall manager chuckled heartily, “Alright, it’s settled then. You two must live well together. Brother Lan, since Brother Fu’s health is not good, you mustn’t bully him. Treat him well.”
“How could I bully him?” Wei Lan scratched his head, “I don’t have the guts to do that.”
Seeing the old hall manager wink at him, Luo Wei smiled and said to Wei Lan, “Even if you had the guts, Uncle would stand up for me.”
“We’ll all stand up for you,” the five elders who were already on the carriage chimed in unison.
Wei Lan glanced at Luo Wei. This guy was really being too clever. It was already good if Luo Wei didn’t bully him. When would he ever have the chance to bully Luo Wei?
After paying his respects to the old hall manager again, Luo Wei was supported by Wei Lan and sat in the carriage.
“Be careful on the road,” the old hall manager reminded Wei Lan, who was driving the carriage.
Wei Lan nodded in acknowledgment and drove the carriage out of the ancestral hall, heading towards the East City.
The old manager watched the carriage disappear from sight before returning to the ancestral hall.
Wei Lan focused on driving the carriage while Luo Wei chatted with the five elders, often making them laugh heartily with just a few words. Wei Lan knew that Luo Wei was quite capable and didn’t interrupt. He would also laugh when he heard something funny.
Along the way, Luo Wei asked about the situation in Xuanzhou City. The old men didn’t hold back and told Luo Wei which steamed bun shop in the city had the best buns.
“We’re in the valley,” Luo Wei chuckled, “It seems that we can’t come to the city every day to buy buns from this shop, can we?”
“When Brother Lan will come into the city to purchase things, just have him buy some for you,” Old Wei suggested.
“Alright,” Luo Wei then asked Wei Lan outside the carriage, “Lan, did you remember the name of the shop Uncle mentioned?”
Wei Lan replied, “I’ve remembered it all. If you want to eat them, I’ll buy them for you right away.”
“Is the steamed bun shop just ahead?” Luo Wei asked Old Wei again.
Old Wei replied, “Yes.”
Luo Wei then said to Wei Lan, “Lan, why don’t you buy some in a moment? The uncles and I will eat them.”
“That won’t do,” the elders hurriedly said, “How can we let you spend money? If brother Fu wants to eat, this old men will buy them for you.”
Luo Wei smiled, his smile calm and peaceful, making the elders increasingly fond of him the more they looked at him.
Outside the carriage, Wei Lan stopped the carriage. Without waiting for the old men to react, he jumped out of the carriage and went to the bun shop on the street to buy two baskets of buns.
“Uncles, hurry and eat while they’re hot,” Luo Wei took the buns handed over by Wei Lan and put a bun in the hands of each of the old men.
Once the buns were placed in their hands, the old men could only eat them.
Luo Wei took a bite and found it was a meat bun, so he didn’t want to eat it.
Wei Lan outside the carriage said at this time, “The smaller ones inside are vegetarian buns. You can have those.”
Luo Wei then handed the meat bun he had bitten to Wei Lan outside the carriage and found a vegetarian bun for himself to eat.
Old Wei asked Luo Wei, “Brother Fu doesn’t like to eat meat?”
“Not very much,” Luo Wei said. These vegetarian steamed buns suited his taste better than the ones with meat.
“You must eat meat, it’s necessary,” the five elders inside and outside the carriage immediately started lecturing Luo Wei. In their experience, people with poor health needed to eat more meat, otherwise their bodies wouldn’t improve.
Wei Lan didn’t speak up for Luo Wei at this time. He also hoped Luo Wei would eat more meat and gain some weight.
Luo Wei wasn’t annoyed. He listened to the advice of these warm-hearted old men all the way out of the city. He sincerely thanked these kind-hearted elders. Without their help, he and Wei Lan would have been lost in Xuanzhou for several days, how could they have known where to settle so quickly?
As the carriage left the city and headed east, the view outside the window was initially nothing but yellow sand, but gradually greenery came into view. As more and more green was seen, Luo Wei became more and more expectant in his heart. What would his and Wei Lan’s future home look like?
Boundless Dao 
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