Donghai Commandery was under the jurisdiction of Chuzhou, governing five counties: Weiyang, Pingjiang, Jiyang, Huating, and Pinghu. Among them, Weiyang County was the largest, ranking fifth among the top ten powerful counties in the empire. It served as the seat of Donghai Commandery, with a city circumference of sixty li, over two hundred thousand registered households, a permanent population of one million, and nearly half a million merchants and drifters from all over the empire seeking their livelihood here.

Jason Brooks carried his suitcase into the county town. As soon as he entered the city gate, a bustling and lively atmosphere rushed toward him. The streets were crowded with people, making the place especially lively.

There were short-statured Fusang people wearing bamboo hats and hemp clothes; Goryeo people with tall hats and flat, round faces—clearly from a tiny country, yet always considering themselves a great nation; and Kushan people from the Western Regions, men and women alike with small braids, dressed in narrow-sleeved leather jackets and lantern pants, their skin dark. There were even merchants from the western continent’s Rohan Empire, with blue eyes and high noses, making them quite conspicuous.

Of course, the majority were still local merchants. The men liked to wear white or blue brocade robes, belted at the waist, black leather boots on their feet, and gauze hats or futou on their heads. The women’s clothing was colorful: narrow-sleeved short jackets on top, red sashes draped over their shoulders, and long skirts of various colors below—red, purple, yellow, green—competing in brilliance. Most of the long skirts were tied under the armpits, making their figures look elegant and slender.

The Great Ning Dynasty had been established for three hundred years. Although it was already in decline, the broad-minded Han people still stood proudly among the nations, admired by all countries.

Jason Brooks asked around as he walked, arriving at a three-way intersection. He looked around; others had told him the Huanfu residence was nearby, but there were so many large mansions in the area that he didn’t know which one it was. He glanced around and saw an old woman sitting in front of a shop, embroidering brocade. He stepped forward, bowed with a smile, and said, “Auntie, may I ask where the Huanfu family’s residence is?”

The old woman, seeing his politeness, took a liking to him. Smiling, she pointed with her needle at a large mansion a li away. “Look, isn’t that it?”

“Thank you, Auntie!”

Jason Brooks bowed, turned to leave, when suddenly a surprised voice sounded behind him, “You… are you Jason Brooks?”

Jason Brooks turned around and saw, a zhang away, a middle-aged man with a round, chubby face and belly, and a pair of squinting small eyes filled with delight. He hurried over, looking Jason Brooks up and down. “It really is Jason Brooks! Don’t you recognize me?”

Jason Brooks scratched the back of his head. He seemed to have some impression, but couldn’t recall. How could he remember how many clan members this big oaf he’d possessed had? He only remembered his parents died young, and it was his elder brother who raised him. Seven years ago, his grandfather entrusted him to a drunken old Daoist, who took him to Qi to learn martial arts. The rest was all a vague blur, like looking at flowers through mist.

The middle-aged man sighed inwardly. Still the same fool after all these years, not changed a bit. “Have you forgotten? I’m your Uncle William!”

“You’re… Uncle William?”

“It’s me! It’s me!”

Uncle William, seeing he was finally recognized, affectionately patted his arm. “Haha! You’ve grown into a young man. Seven years ago, you were ten, and only up to my eyebrows. Now you’re a head taller than me, so sturdy. Your cousin Zhong Yong is as skinny as a bean sprout.”

Uncle William’s name was George Harper, Jason Brooks’s clan uncle. Jason Brooks felt a warm sense of kinship from Uncle William’s enthusiasm, and some memories returned—yes, he did have such a Uncle William.

“Uncle William, are you still running the inn?”

“No, I was transferred to manage the pawnshop long ago. The Huanfu family’s pawnshop business is booming, keeping me busy.”

George Harper glanced proudly at the pawnshop across the street. It was large, with people coming and going, and the signboard read ‘Huanfu Ji’.

“Haha! Just a little shopkeeper, nothing worth mentioning.”

At that moment, he waved and shouted at a carriage passing by, “Carriage!”

The carriage screeched to a halt. He grabbed Jason Brooks’s arm and smiled, “Come! Ride back to the residence with me.”

Jason Brooks looked in surprise at the Huanfu mansion a li away. “Uncle William, it’s so close—do we really need to take a carriage?”

“You don’t understand, this is a matter of face. We’re from the main and secondary branches of the family; walking is for the collateral branches. Always remember your status.”

He opened the carriage door and got in, then added with a smile, “Besides, the residence reimburses our carriage fare. No reason not to use it.”

Jason Brooks was pulled into the carriage. The wide, soft seat reminded him of a modern sofa. After his rescue, he’d been sleeping on boat planks and had never sat in such a comfortable chair. He couldn’t help but twist his back a couple of times.

“Uncle William, what’s the difference between the main-secondary branch and the collateral branch?” he recalled the earlier conversation.

“Ahem! Didn’t I tell you when you were little? Your father and I are from a secondary wife, but your grandfather was the legitimate son of the main wife. So we’re the main-secondary branch, second only to the main-main branch in family status. The lowest is the collateral branch—if your ancestors were all from secondary wives, that’s the end of it.”

At this, George Harper glanced at Jason Brooks’s gray cloth robe, straightened his back, tugged at his own silk robe, and coughed, “Jason Brooks, you’ve been doing well in Qizhou these years, right?”

Jason Brooks smiled, “Uncle William, I’ve been working on sea ships all these years.”