They had only been eating for a short while when Li Yong arrived, bringing Zhao Moyan some changes of clothes. Tian Yu listened in the kitchen; Zhao Moyan had gone to the bathroom to wash up and then returned to her room. Li Yong had given Zhao Moyan the things and completed the tasks he had assigned, before coming to the kitchen to report for duty. Tian Yu asked, "Where is everyone else?"

"They arrived shortly after me. I was the first one out of the city gate this morning and hadn't even had breakfast yet. They had some things to carry."

"Things? What things? Didn't you already give them to Zhao Moyan?"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't worry, sister-in-law, you'll find out soon enough."

Tian Yu pouted, served him his rice, and then asked, "Is your older brother angry?"

"Angry? No!?" Li Yong said, his mouth full of food, his words muffled.

"Don't you think he's a little cold?"

"My brother has always been like this. You'll get used to it once you get to know him. Don't worry, sister-in-law, he's not angry. He's probably just thinking about something."

Hearing Li Yong's words, Tian Yu thought she might be overthinking it and stopped dwelling on it. After breakfast, Li Yong took the two children to the village entrance to wait for someone. Before Tian Yu could even finish cleaning up, the three women from yesterday arrived. Tian Yu was momentarily confused when she came out to greet them. The three women seemed to have agreed beforehand, all dressed in matching red floral dresses and styled their hair in elegant, matronly updos, but without hairpins. Tian Yu had recognized them by their clothes yesterday, and now she couldn't tell who was who, so she greeted them all at once: "Sister Ju, Sister Li, Fifth Sister, please come in! Why are you here so early? Have you had breakfast?"

"We've already eaten; we were worried we'd be too late," the three said in unison.

The three carried the table they brought into the courtyard. More people kept bringing tables and chairs, as well as plates and bowls. Adults carried tables, children carried chairs. Luckily, Tian Yu had bought a lot of pastries and candies in town last time, which she didn't recognize. She could only stand at the door, smiling sheepishly, to greet them. The adults would say, "Thank you for your hard work, come and have a drink at noon." The children would grab a handful of candy and a piece of pastry. Tian Yu felt like she was about to burst from laughing. Finally, she saw the group off. Looking at the courtyard now filled with tables and chairs, Tian Yu counted ten tables and wondered if there were really that many people. But remembering Zhao Moyan's words, she decided to prepare more.