Before becoming a big shot, one must respect the current big shots. This was Yun Ye’s wisdom gained from twenty years in the workplace.
The New Year was right around the corner, and he had been home for almost a month now. Although affairs were complicated—needing to get acquainted with family members, arrange matters for family, and care for family—he also had to guard against Li’er’s pettiness. He was constantly being called to the Qin residence to treat Qin Qiong’s illness. Where would he find time to visit the few big shots he was familiar with? But not visiting wasn’t an option. Old Cheng was waiting for delicious food, Yuchi Gong was waiting for delicious food, Li Jing was waiting to ask about the whereabouts of the Red-Bearded Guest, and Li Ji claimed he’d been deceived by Yun Ye and was waiting at home for Yun Ye to come get beaten up.
These few could be ignored for now, but he absolutely had to visit Niu Jinda’s household. Although the man was somewhat eccentric, he treated Yun Ye extremely well—sometimes even more considerate than Old Cheng. Such an elder must be paid respects. Today was the day to go.
Grandmother smacked him on the head, saying how could anyone rush to someone’s door without giving advance notice? Not only was it rude, but it would invite mockery. The dignified Marquis residence couldn’t afford to lose face like that.
The old lady valued the Marquis residence’s family customs more than anything, not permitting the slightest breach of propriety. Being suddenly elevated to high status and being overly cautious about it was understandable. She was elderly, after all—just go along with her wishes. Whether it was right or wrong didn’t matter first; as long as she was content and could live a few more years, that would be Yun Ye’s greatest happiness. Having a doting grandmother was better than anything.
In Yun Ye’s opinion, the best way to visit Old Niu’s house would be to grab a jar of strong liquor, wrap up some braised dishes, and go cheerfully in casual clothes—no pretension, no showing off, paying respects as a junior. Old Niu would probably like that too. If he went with a full ceremonial procession, making a grand show of it, avoiding a beating would be lucky—getting beaten would be inevitable.
Old Grandmother wanted to powder Yun Ye’s face again, saying it was a shame not to dress up such a fair-skinned, red-lipped handsome young man. The old lady’s words smacked of a melon seller praising her own melons. Yun Ye refused to the death. If she powdered his face, he’d want to burn the house down, not to mention his eldest aunt was still holding a silk flower in her hand.
Wang Cai insisted on going and couldn’t be stopped, so just let him come along. Which family’s horse liked visiting neighbors? Nowadays, he was the most leisurely one in the household. Each morning the groom accompanied him for a lap around Zhuque Avenue. When they encountered people selling food on the road, he’d go up to smell it—if it was tasty, he’d chew some; if not, he’d snort and turn away, leaving the groom either apologizing or paying. Believe it or not, Wang Cai’s monthly allowance was higher than the groom’s. He was happiest when seeing peddlers selling thick wine—he wouldn’t budge without drinking two bowls.
Now every day wine sellers waited for Wang Cai at this time, greeting him like meeting a relative. Wang Cai wasn’t stingy either; every time he drank wine, he treated the groom. Who knew if it was true or not, but that’s what the groom said anyway. Every day they both came back swaying. Yun Ye didn’t interfere. Wang Cai’s allowance was enough for him to have snacks and drink a little wine. As long as his life-and-death brother was living happily, who cared whom he treated to drinks? He warned the groom that as long as he didn’t mistreat Wang Cai, he could do as he pleased, but if Wang Cai suffered any grievance, it wouldn’t be something that could be resolved with just a couple of paddle strokes.
Old Zhuang had gone to the estate to arrange for retired brothers from the military—with their families, there were over a hundred people. They couldn’t be accommodated in the city, and they preferred going to the estate anyway. Come spring, they could receive land to farm. They were all farming folk; leaving the land would kill them.
Grandmother said the newly built Marquis residence was magnificent—a mansion with ten courtyards, occupying dozens of acres, all brick and tile buildings. There were so many courtyards one could easily get lost. What the old lady valued most was the ultra-luxurious memorial archway; the huge character for “Yun” could be seen from three miles away. If her grandson weren’t in the capital, she wouldn’t have come to the old residence to grieve over things.
He had originally planned to have all the brothers live in the house, but faced collective opposition from Grandmother, his aunts, and Zhuang Santing. They said that even if rooms were empty, guards couldn’t be permitted to enter the inner residence—at most they could stay in the front courtyard. The rear courtyard was forbidden territory. Only the master could enter. What a strange custom, without any spirit of making full use of resources. In the end, Grandmother grew impatient and said men shouldn’t worry about household matters—just take care of themselves.
They arrived at Taiping Ward again. Jealousy drove Yun Ye to call it “Taiping Housing”—a bunch of old immortals, not only were they supremely skilled in martial arts, but not one of them was someone a minor marquis like himself could afford to provoke. Old Niu’s home was quite ordinary, perhaps because there weren’t many people in the family. The residence appeared simple—blue bricks and green tiles, one word to describe it: solid. The holes in the walls could serve as shooting ports, the corner towers had clear views and were convenient for command. Just add a few trebuchets on the wall and mount a few crossbow beds, and it would be a complete battlefield fortress—a weapon for killing enemies.
A hunchbacked old servant tremblingly led the way, mumbling indistinctly that no guests had visited the house in a long time and the atmosphere was cold. He also said the woman who delivered food last time was beautiful, and he very much hoped to see her again. Yun Ye wanted to slap him. Someone delivers food to your household and you’re eyeing the person—too infuriating! With such a house of Yama, did he expect guests to fill the halls?
Old Niu sat imposingly on a low couch waiting for Yun Ye to pay his respects. Beside him stood a plump woman by the couch brewing tea. On the low table to his right sat a well-featured young man in fur clothing. No need to say this was Old Niu’s entire family. He had no messy concubines, and his house had no gaudily dressed maids either. The one who escorted Yun Ye to the inner residence was still a middle-aged female servant in her forties. Old Niu had refused the title of Duke, willing only to be a marquis—low-key to an extreme degree.
Before his back was even straightened, he heard Old Niu say, “This old man thought your eyes had grown on top of your head. Nearly a month has passed and you haven’t come to pay respects. Has the Marquis residence’s threshold become too low?”
This old fellow’s tongue was too poisonous. Right from the start, he slapped on a hat of looking down on people. Never mind that Yun Ye couldn’t bear such a label—even if the Crown Prince wore this assessment, he would be unable to eat or sleep in peace.
“Uncle Niu, where are these words coming from? That I’ve been tardy in visiting to pay respects is this nephew’s fault. My household was a complete mess and I’ve only just straightened it out. Now I’ve hurried over to your place to beg a bowl of wine. Apart from treating Duke Yiguo’s illness, your residence is the first place I’ve come!”
“Ha ha ha, you little rascal are still smooth-tongued. Your personality is likable—you know how to make people happy. Come meet your aunt.” Old Niu contentedly introduced his family to Yun Ye.
“This nephew Yun Ye pays respects to Auntie. Is Auntie in good health?”
“I’ve often heard your Uncle Niu mention you—that you’re a talent of your generation. This aunt has always looked forward to meeting you. Seeing you today, you truly are talented and handsome. I only hope you’ll come sit at our home more often. Your Brother Jianhu has difficulty moving about—young people should be close to each other.” She was a very kind woman. Yun Ye greatly enjoyed this family-style way of conversing.
“Little Ye, don’t blame this older brother. When you first returned to Chang’an, this older brother failed to visit your residence to pay respects to the old lady—that was improper.” Niu Jianhu, sitting on a blanket, struggled to sit up straight to return Yun Ye’s greeting. He wasn’t someone skilled at conversation. After one sentence his face flushed red, and his hands fidgeted awkwardly, not knowing where to place them.
“Brother Jianhu worries too much. In a moment, little brother will examine your injured leg.” Yun Ye had long had this plan. He’d heard that at eighteen, Niu Jianhu had been racing horses with others and unfortunately lost his grip, falling from his horse and having his lower leg trampled. Due to the severity of the injury, they had no choice but to saw off a section of leg. If a portion of the lower leg remained, Yun Ye had methods to make a prosthetic leg to attach for him. As long as he trained for a period of time, he would be no different from an ordinary person.
If the knee was also sawed off, then there was no solution. Under current conditions, there was no way to manufacture two reverse joints and ensure they operated smoothly. The ankle’s range of motion was relatively small. As long as the quality of the clasp spring was guaranteed, making a prosthetic foot was still possible.
Niu Jianhu probably no longer held any hope for his leg, merely grateful that Yun Ye remembered his disability.
Old Niu was different. He had witnessed Yun Ye’s abilities. Never mind anything else—just the matter of performing the blood-drawing life-extension procedure for Old Qin had spread throughout Chang’an City, causing a huge uproar. To verify its authenticity, he had personally visited the Qin residence yesterday to see Qin Qiong. After not seeing him for several days, Old Qin now had a ruddy complexion and strong vitality. Although going into battle to kill enemies was impossible, riding a horse and walking were like any normal person. Yesterday he even boasted that as long as he recuperated a bit more, he would compete in spearmanship with that old fool Yuchi, absolutely not letting that old fellow have all the glory.
Since he could make the emaciated Old Qin ride a horse, there was no reason he couldn’t make his son stand up. These past five years, watching his formerly lively and vigorous son gradually become dejected had become his greatest worry. This Yun Ye kid was famous for not releasing the hawk until seeing the rabbit. If he said he’d examine his son’s foot, then he had an eighty percent certainty of making his son stand up.
“Uncle Niu, this nephew specially brought some food from home today, and especially obtained a jar of good wine for you. How about we drink it all for today’s midday meal?”
“Drink my ass! Your Brother Jianhu is still crippled on the ground unable to get up, and you still have the mind to drink? Examine Jianhu’s foot right now. As long as you make Jianhu stand up, all the wine in this old man’s house is yours to drink however you please.” Old Niu sprang up from the low couch and grabbed Yun Ye, bringing him before Jianhu.
“Father, your son’s foot has been sawed off already. Don’t make things difficult for Little Ye. Besides, haven’t you searched all of Chang’an’s famous physicians these past years with no solution either?”
“What the hell do you understand? How can those quack doctors compare to this kid? If one day he says men can bear children, even this old man would believe it.”
“Brother Yun, do you truly have a way to make Tiger stand up, the same as an ordinary person?” Madam Niu still understood her husband. Without hope, the old man wouldn’t give their son false hope again. For a moment she trembled nervously, unable to speak clearly.
“As long as Brother Jianhu’s knee is intact and undamaged, it’s not a big problem.” Yun Ye said with a smile. Bringing hope to others—doing more of this kind of thing wouldn’t hurt.
As soon as the words fell, Madam Niu let out a sound and fainted. Old Niu embraced his wife, laughing until his whiskers bristled, tears streaming down his face. Niu Jianhu hopped over and grabbed Yun Ye’s lapels, saying repeatedly: “Little Ye, I just don’t have a foot, my knee is fine—look, look!”
Supporting Niu Jianhu to sit on the low couch, he lifted the robe and removed the cloth bandaging the injured leg to examine the bones. Not bad—the tibia and fibula were intact. His foot was severed at the ankle. This posed no difficulty for prosthetic limb fabrication. As long as suitable materials were found and supplemented with a hundred-times-forged steel plate as the frame, it wouldn’t be difficult. Back then in Chengdu when taking the senior technician exam, the perverse teacher had set a question requiring using a pile of silicone and plastic to make one’s own mold, then bit by bit using cutting knives and bench worker tools to file out the external form, which also had to conform to measurements. They had to find a disabled person to put it on and let the disabled person judge the comfort level and fit. Only when standards in all aspects were met could one be evaluated as a senior technician. The only problem was the lack of silicone, but this wouldn’t stump Yun Ye. Boiling ox tendon would produce something almost identical to silicone—in terms of quality, it might even surpass silicone. Under conditions where cost wasn’t a consideration, Old Niu could probably even find elephant tendon.
The whole family waited for Yun Ye to speak as if awaiting a verdict.
“Brother Jianhu, I wonder what kind of foot you’d like? Tell little brother and I’ll make it for you right away.”