TFS – Chapter 80 Arrangements

Uncle Six was right—Old Madam Zhao had no interest in the village’s excitement. Asking him to hand out silver? Unless it was Zhao Laosan making the request, no one else should even bother thinking about it. He spent his days at home making veiled insults, on one hand refusing to believe that Tang Chunming had the ability to establish connections with the imperial merchants, and on the other hand feeling that he had wronged the Zhao family. If he really had such connections but didn’t use them for Zhao Laosan, that would be an unforgivable offense.

As for Wang Chunhua, there was even less to say. Ever since Zhao Daniu disappeared, his days in the Zhao family had become even more miserable, almost identical to how Ming Ge’er used to be treated. Old Madam Zhao scolded Wang Chunhua for being incapable of keeping a man’s heart, saying that was why he always wanted to run away. He constantly squeezed and exploited him, as if trying to extract silver from his very being.

Old Madam Zhao had searched through Wang Chunhua’s private savings more than once. After Zhao Daniu disappeared, He raided them again. The little bit of silver he had painstakingly saved by skimming from sacrificial offerings was barely kept intact. He had to hide it in various places to keep even a small amount out of him grasp. He wouldn’t dare expose any of it again, not even when his son, Zhao Dong, asked for money to spend.

The frequent sounds of beatings and scoldings coming from the Zhao household became a source of gossip for the neighbors. It hadn’t even been that long, yet the Zhao family had already fallen into such a miserable state. In contrast, Tang Chunming’s life was improving day by day, making the neighbors sneer at the Zhao family. That household was a pit—whoever fell into it was doomed. They were all eager to see what kind of ger Zhao Laosan would end up marrying.

Even the villagers knew about Third Granduncle Zhao coughing up blood, yet Old Madam Zhao remained at home, completely indifferent. He didn’t even consider bringing anything over for a visit—not even a few eggs. It was as if he was deliberately pretending not to know. Even when stepping out the door, his expression remained gloomy and cold.

Now that the family had bought a servant, Wang Ying was able to leave home more frequently. As a result, he visited Tang Chunming’s place more often, and his complexion had visibly improved. Previously, all the household burdens had been on his shoulders, an overwhelming pressure. But now, it seemed that the silver spent had been worthwhile. As for the village’s envy and jealousy, Wang Ying didn’t care. As long as his son was living well, what did idle gossip matter?

This attitude came from Wang Ying’s past experiences. He was the eldest in his family and had raised a whole string of younger brothers, which delayed his own marriage. He had grown up enduring people’s idle talk, and after marrying Tang Chunming’s father, the gossip only increased. If he hadn’t been able to withstand such pressure, he would have broken down long ago—how else could he be enjoying his current good days?

“You guys in the village are up to something again, aren’t you? I could hear about it even from over there. Some families have even gone out to borrow silver, though I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what’s going on,” Wang Ying said, growing curious. After all, someone had come to his house to ask questions, though no one had actually come to borrow silver from him.

If Tang Chunming knew what his stepmother was thinking, he would probably laugh himself silly. Borrowing silver from his stepmother? The villagers had been borrowing money in secret, carefully avoiding the eyes of others in the village. If they went to Wang Ying, wouldn’t that expose everything? In the early stages, everyone in the village was still very cautious.

Tang Chunming had nothing to hide from his stepmother, so he explained everything about the brewing workshop and the village’s financial efforts. Only then did Wang Ying realize what was going on, and he couldn’t help but envy Pingshan Village’s good fortune. This was undoubtedly a profitable business—once the distillery was up and running, it would only make money, not lose it. If it were him, he would also go around gathering silver to invest.

“Mother, do we have enough silver at home? If we have any extra, we should use it to buy more land. If it’s not enough, I’ll contribute some from my side. As for Ah Rong’s tuition and study expenses, you don’t have to worry. Let’s plant all the land with sorghum and rice, and when the time comes, sell everything to me. This will be more profitable than any other business. Also, for the vegetables you grow at home, I’ve already spoken with Master Teng on your behalf—when the time comes, Ah Feng can pick them up from you, and they will purchase them.”

Tang Chunming suggested this arrangement because he couldn’t place his stepmother’s family directly into the distillery. The rule had already been set that only Pingshan Village residents could hold shares, and no one—no matter how distant or close a relative—was allowed to join. He didn’t want to set a bad precedent for others to exploit.

However, he had already made other arrangements in his heart. He had discussed with Li Feng to allocate a portion of their family’s 40% share to Ah Rong. If Ah Rong could succeed in the imperial exams, then 10% of that share would be set aside for him to use in networking and securing future opportunities. If he didn’t pass, then when he got married, half of that 10% would be gifted to him as a wedding present, ensuring he could live a stable and worry-free life.

Compared to the villagers, Ah Rong was his true blood relative. There was no way he would let his younger brother be at a disadvantage compared to the others in the village.

But for now, he didn’t mention this to his stepmother or Ah Rong. If he brought it up now, they would surely oppose it. It was better to quietly save it for Ah Rong. As for his own children, the remaining shares would be more than enough for them, not to mention the family had other sources of income.

Wang Ying felt more at ease after hearing this. Constantly taking silver from his stepson made him uneasy. After some thought, he said, “Some of our land was planted with wheat at the end of last year, but the rest remains untouched. We still have some silver at home, so I’ll take it all out when I return and buy more farmland.”

Wang Ying knew that everyone in Pingshan Village was doing the same. This was money earned without guilt, and more importantly, it was being saved for Ah Rong’s future. After all, Ah Rong and his stepson were blood brothers, making their relationship closer than any of the villagers’.

“This is good,” Tang Chunming said, knowing that his stepmother was not the kind of rigid person who insisted on drawing a clear boundary between them. “When the time comes, just let me know how many seeds you need—I can provide them. Oh, by the way, Ah Feng is going to the county in a couple of days. Do you want to send anything to Ah Rong? I can have Ah Feng deliver it for you.”

“Alright, have Ah Feng stop by my place on his way. I’ve made a few sets of clothes for Ah Rong while I had some free time,” Wang Ying said without hesitation. This time, he had also made clothes for both children. Even though he had benefited greatly from his stepson’s support, Wang Ying always tried to give back, especially when it came to the children. As for the adults, they could take care of themselves.

It was the first time his son had been away from him for such a long period, and Wang Ying was having a hard time adjusting. Though he suddenly had more free time, he kept himself busy, as if staying occupied would keep him from missing his son too much. Luckily, he had listened to his stepson’s advice and hired help for the household. Otherwise, being home alone with no one to talk to would have made his days even more difficult.

Once the grafting work on the mountain was fully handed over to Dashan and his team, Li Feng took a horse-drawn cart to the county. Tang Chunming also sent a lot of items to Tang Chunrong, especially homemade food like fruit preserves and dried meat. He had never made dried meat before, but he figured that Ah Rong, living in the county, would likely be reluctant to spend money on food and might not be eating well. Since he was still growing, he couldn’t afford to neglect his nutrition.

So, Tang Chunming bought some pork, and Li Feng went into the mountains to hunt for wild game. After a few failed attempts, Tang Chunming finally managed to make some flavorful and long-lasting dried meat. He had used plenty of seasonings, and when it was done, both Ah Lin and Elder He praised it. He kept some at home and sent the rest to Ah Rong.

When Li Feng returned, he brought back a large batch of fruit tree saplings. These saplings, of course, came from Tang Chunming’s jade pendant space, but after some clever maneuvering between them, they passed as trees Li Feng had purchased from outside.

By the time the cart arrived at the village entrance, several villagers were already there to help. Dashan also brought people down from the mountain, and seeing the saplings, he was overjoyed. The pits for planting had already been dug, just waiting for the trees to arrive.

“These saplings look like they’re a few years old. They might start bearing fruit in just a year or two,” one of the villagers said, assessing them with an experienced farmer’s eye. It was clear that the trees were of excellent quality, and their survival rate would be very high.

“Of course! I had to call in some favors to get these,” Li Feng said with a smile. “Once they start bearing fruit, we’ll invite everyone to come and have a taste.”

“That’s great! We’ll help Feng take the saplings up the mountain.”

With everyone pitching in, the two cartloads of saplings were quickly unloaded and transported up the mountain. The villagers didn’t even need Li Feng to instruct them; they grabbed their tools and got to work right away. It was only when they arrived at the mountain that they realized just how much it had changed—it was almost unrecognizable. Since the mountain was now privately owned, they rarely came here anymore, except at first when they were curious. But now, seeing the chicken coops, sheep pens, and rows of fruit trees, they couldn’t help but admire Feng and Ming Ge’er for their sharp minds and ability to make money. No ordinary family would have dared to take such a bold step.

In just two days, hundreds of saplings were planted. The once-barren cleared land on the mountain was now full of life, bringing joy to everyone who looked at it.

Once they had some downtime, Li Feng told Tang Chunming some news—something that Zhang Changming had shared with him. If Li Feng hadn’t gone to the county this time, Zhang Changming would have made a trip back to the village to deliver the message himself.

“You’re saying Zhang Changming saw Zhao Daniu in the county?” Tang Chunming asked in surprise. “Didn’t the Zhao family send people to search for him there? Isn’t Zhao Laosan himself in the county?” Had they somehow failed to find him, only for Zhang Changming to stumble upon him instead?

“Yeah. Changming wanted to know if we should inform the Zhao family. I told him to stay out of it. Whatever happens to Zhao Daniu and whether or not the Zhao family finds him has nothing to do with us.” As Li Feng spoke, he glanced at Ming Ge’er to gauge his reaction. Seeing that Ming Ge’er showed no concern whatsoever, he knew he had made the right decision. He didn’t want Ming Ge’er to waste even a single thought on the Zhao family—they simply weren’t worth it.

“That’s right. We should absolutely stay out of it. Who knows? If we interfere, we might just end up dragging trouble onto ourselves,” Tang Chunming said dismissively. But then, with a curious glint in his eye, he asked, “So where exactly did Brother Changming see Zhao Daniu? And what is he doing in the county?”

He had to admit, he was a little impressed—when people are pushed to their limits, they will fight back. He had never thought highly of Zhao Daniu, though. The man was utterly shameless—he had run off with money and abandoned his husband and child without a second thought. He had no sense of responsibility whatsoever. Sure, Wang Chunhua wasn’t a great person, but wasn’t Zhao Daniu’s indulgence a big part of the reason he turned out this way?

That man was utterly spineless.

Seeing the curiosity in Ming Ge’er’s eyes, Li Feng chuckled and pulled him into his embrace before explaining in detail: “A wealthy household in the county had placed a food order. Since no one else was available, Changming delivered it himself. On his way back, he passed through an alley and saw someone who looked like Zhao Daniu from behind. He followed him to get a closer look, and sure enough, it was him. But Zhao Daniu had no idea he was being watched.”

“Changming did a little digging and found out that the household Zhao Daniu entered wasn’t exactly a respectable one.” Li Feng hesitated to elaborate, but the truth was that, according to Zhang Changming, the place was essentially a brothel. “Changming said he never would have imagined Zhao Daniu to be that kind of person—he abandoned his family just to throw away money in a place like that. Who knows what he’ll do once he spends it all?”

Tang Chunming scoffed. “Just wait and see—when his money runs out and he has nowhere to go, Zhao Daniu will definitely come crawling back. I’m not saying this just to look down on him, but the man is utterly useless. If he has no silver, do you think he’ll be able to earn a living with his own hard work? For someone like him, it’s far easier to return home and mooch off his family than to struggle to make a living outside.”

Li Feng thought about it and realized Ming Ge’er was probably right. Their village had plenty of men like that—marrying a ger just so they could make the ger do all the work while they lazed around at home, expecting to be waited on hand and foot. They acted tough at home, but outside, they had no backbone at all.