Gu Fei and Lian'er climbed into the mule cart. Gu Sanlang, who had been waiting so long he'd nearly fallen asleep, quickly urged the cart toward the South City Gate.
A little over a quarter of an hour later, Gu Fei was home.
As she passed through the inner gate, she happened to see Mrs. Chen coming out. "You're finally back!" Mrs. Chen said. "You have to go see. Your father brought a whole bunch of pearl clams home and says he's going to do some kind of 'implantation'."
"Then he complained we're all thumbs and won't let us help."
"Where's Dad?"
Mrs. Chen jutted her chin. "Over there, in the west wing."
Gu Fei hurried over.
The door was open, and inside, a square basket sat on the floor, neatly packed with dozens of pearl clams, all of them already cleaned.
When she looked at Gu Zhang, she saw he hadn't started yet; he was still holding that book, reading it intently.
Gu Fei breathed a sigh of relief.
