Adam Sullivan looked at Charles Sullivan with some surprise, thinking to himself that this guy wasn’t completely useless after all—at least he was quick-witted.

“Who’s this?” Eldest Son asked curiously. “A relative of yours?”

“Oh, let me introduce you. This is my…” Adam Sullivan looked at Charles Sullivan, momentarily confused. “How should I address you?” He really couldn’t figure out the complicated web of relationships in the big family.

“I’m not too sure either,” Charles Sullivan replied irresponsibly. “Maybe a cousin.”

“That’s probably it,” Adam Sullivan nodded. He could tell that Charles Sullivan was just trying to get closer to him, so he didn’t bother being polite anymore.

※※※

“Chaosheng, are you guys heading out?” Eldest Son was a perceptive person.

“Yes, we’re going out,” Charles Sullivan nodded. “If you have things to do, go ahead.”

Adam Sullivan shot him a glare, grabbed Eldest Son and said, “Didn’t you say you were free today? Let’s go shopping.”

Eldest Son nodded. “All the work in the fields is done, nothing to do for now.” This made the fourth young master roll his eyes in exasperation.

Seeing the two of them walking west side by side, with the big guy still carrying a fish basket, Charles Sullivan grumbled from behind, “Isn’t that heavy?” He snatched the fish basket and told the gatekeeper to send it to Adam Sullivan’s residence at Wentao Courtyard, then walked on Adam Sullivan’s other side, fuming.

The three of them—one in a brocade robe, one in plain clothes, and one in a short jacket—represented a wealthy young master, a commoner scholar, and a poor farmer. By rights, these three should never have been walking together. Yet here they were, striding side by side through the streets, drawing curious glances from passersby.

For Charles Sullivan, as long as he could attract attention, it was a good thing; Eldest Son just followed quietly, never saying a word unless spoken to.

As for Adam Sullivan, he was lost in thought… This was actually his first time walking the streets of this era. The wide, smooth stone-paved road was crowded with people. On the left were rows of two- or three-story buildings with white walls and black tiles; on the right, a clear river. The ground floors of the buildings housed all kinds of shops, with a variety of sign flags hanging above the doors. Some were elegant, like ‘Juxiangju’ carved in seal script, or ‘Jiufeng’ written in cursive. Others were straightforward, simply painting the goods for sale—scissors, iron pots, and the like—on the flags.

The river ran alongside the road as far as the eye could see, with long, narrow black-awning boats coming and going. Every dozen or so yards, there was an arched stone bridge for pedestrians to cross. Water traffic and road traffic each kept to their own paths, never interfering with each other.

After following Adam Sullivan in silence for a while, Charles Sullivan finally couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, brother, where exactly are you going? Are you really just strolling along the river?”

“The City God Temple,” Adam Sullivan replied with his destination.

“Which City God Temple?” This time, Charles Sullivan and Eldest Son Parker spoke in unison.

“Oh…” Adam Sullivan closed his eyes to recall, then said softly, “The one in Yongchang Lane.”

You couldn’t blame them for asking—there were three City God Temples in Shaoxing. Normally, ‘one City God Temple inside the city, one Earth God Temple outside’—one per city should be enough. Why were there three? To answer that, you had to start with the City God himself. This deity, whose main duties were guarding the city and maintaining order, was, before the current dynasty, just a minor god like the Earth God—equivalent to a ninth-rank official at best, or even lower.

But since the founding of the current dynasty, the first emperor, well aware of the power of faith, ordered that City God Temples be built on the scale of government offices at all levels, and required officials to take their oaths of office in the City God Temple upon appointment. This greatly elevated the status of the City God Temple, making it a must-have building in every county seat and above.

What made Shaoxing unique was that the city was split in two by a boundary river, forming two counties. The east was Kuaiji, the west was Shanyin. Since there were two counties, naturally there had to be two Earth God Temples.

So where did the third one come from? Well, because the location was so good, the prefectural government of Shaoxing was also situated in the city. If the county magistrate had one, how could the mayor not?

Not only did they need one, it had to be bigger, better, and more impressive! This was the so-called ‘one prefecture, two counties, three City God Temples’ of Shaoxing!

Chapter 15: City God Temple (Part 2)

The City God Temple of Kuaiji County sat by the riverside dock, with a broad square in front. On ordinary days, many vendors gathered here to sell their wares and make a living. Today happened to be a market day, so the place was even more packed—shoulder to shoulder, sweating profusely, with the sounds of hawking, shouting, talking, laughing, and cursing all blending together in a constant, buzzing din.

Standing outside the market, Adam Sullivan was at a loss. With this sea of people, how was he supposed to find his father? Charles Sullivan, on the other hand, was full of excitement, grinning, “So many young ladies and married women at the market—if we don’t go in now, when will we?”

Adam Sullivan rolled his eyes and said to Eldest Son, “We’re going in. Keep an eye out for the writing stalls.” Eldest Son nodded, “I’ll watch for them.”

The three squeezed into the crowd, and soon couldn’t tell east from west. Eldest Son held tightly to Adam Sullivan, and Charles Sullivan also clung to Adam Sullivan, both afraid of getting separated… This really wore out poor Young Master Sullivan—one moment being pulled east by Eldest Son, the next being dragged west by Charles Sullivan, and from time to time getting bumped by passersby. Not only did his clothes get torn, but he even lost a shoe.