Chapter 19: Doubts

Chapter 19: Doubts

Qiu Huanian ran his fingers through his half-dried hair, his skin glowing like mutton-fat jade under the moonlight, exuding a faint scent of soap pods.

Wei Liuhua paused, then whispered, "Brother Hua, we've brought the beetroots from my parents' village."

Qiu Huanian understood immediately. The couple clearly wanted to keep Zhao in the dark, hence the secrecy.

He opened the door wider and invited them in. Yunhu and Wei Liuhua carried the sacks into the yard. "Brother Hua, this is a hundred jin of beetroots, all carefully selected for size and quality. Everyone in our village knows about this good deal and is waiting for the next round."

Wei Liuhua had spent days persuading Zhao to allow her to visit her parents. They had set off before dawn with their mule cart and returned just before nightfall.

To avoid being noticed, they had tied the mule cart outside and first brought the beetroots to Qiu Huanian.

Qiu Huanian quickly inspected the beetroots and found them to be of excellent quality, both in size and freshness, far superior to those from Du Village.

Without bothering to weigh them, he went inside and counted out fifty copper coins, handing them over. Wei Liuhua and Yunhu exchanged a glance, overjoyed. They had made a profit of seventeen coins from this trip, not much, but it was all theirs to keep!

Wei Liuhua hesitated, then shyly asked, "Brother Hua, could I buy two eggs and a piece of sorghum candy from you?"

She was anxious and didn’t want to wait to spend the money in town. She wanted Youge to have something good to eat tomorrow.

Zhao's household supposedly kept over a dozen chickens, so why were Yunhu and his wife buying eggs outside?

Qiu Huanian sensed there was more to the story but didn't press for details. He simply fetched two eggs and a piece of sorghum candy, charging them seven coins.

The mule cart was still waiting outside, so the couple didn't linger. They packed up the empty sacks and left. At the gate, Wei Liuhua turned back and saw Du Yunse emerge from the house, naturally taking the cloth from Qiu Huanian's hands and gently drying his hair under the pear tree.

Her heart sank, but then she glanced at the eggs in her hand and managed a smile. Life was what you made of it. She would work hard to earn more money, raise her Youge well, and someday live as comfortably and happily as Brother Hua.

After they left, Jiu Jiu said to Qiu Huanian, "Sister Liuhua got the eggs for Youge."

"Youge? Her child?" Qiu Huanian only knew that Wei Liuhua and Yunhu had a son, who had been frail since birth and had never been seen outside.

"Youge is very thin and weak. He’s nearly three but still struggles to walk. His grandmother doesn't feed him well. Last time, I secretly saw Sister Liuhua holding Youge and crying."

Jiu Jiu was shy and usually quiet, but her bright eyes missed little when she played in the village.

Qiu Huanian felt a twinge of unease. Though he had no close ties with Yunhu and his wife, and even less with Zhao, as a modern person, hearing about a three-year-old being mistreated and starved by his own grandmother was hard to bear.

Du Yunse gently dried his hair, his fingertips grazing the soft skin behind Qiu Huanian's ear, making him flinch as if touched by fire.

"If you feel bad, you can involve them in money-making opportunities in the future, but prioritize yourself first."

Du Yunse had heard about Zhao inciting Fu Bao to push Qiu Huanian and was wary and hostile toward the family.

"I know. Their family hasn't split yet, so helping them too much would mean helping Zhao and causing trouble for myself."

After drying his hair, they stored the newly delivered beetroots in the storeroom. Since Meng Wudong started selling candy, the consumption of beetroots had surged. The previous batch was almost used up, and this new supply came just in time to ease Qiu Huanian's worries.

Life at home was gradually settling into a routine. Qiu Huanian could sleep in, and when he opened the door, he’d find Du Yunse reading under the pear tree in the yard, the mule and chickens already fed, and the water vat filled.

Qiu Huanian prepared breakfast and woke the two children. After the meal, Hu Qiuyan brought Yun Kang over. Du Yunse taught them in the main room for a while, assigning them recitations or calligraphy practice, while he continued his own studies.

The calligraphy practice used inexpensive bamboo paper, costing one coin per sheet. Hu Qiuyan had bought a stack for the three children to share. Since Du Yunse didn't charge tuition, she felt she had to contribute something.

Qiu Huanian sat in the yard, working on carpentry. Occasionally, he would glance up and see Du Yunse through the open door of the main room. Du Yunse looked serene and handsome while reading, his slender fingers turning the pages, his expressive brows sometimes relaxed, sometimes furrowed. When their gazes met, they exchanged a knowing smile before going back to their work.

During the "recess" Qiu Huanian had introduced, the three little ones would come out to the yard to watch him work on his carpentry.

"Brother Hua, why are you weaving things today?" Yun Kang squatted down curiously and asked.

Qiu Huanian was weaving several large bundles of tender willow branches he had cut from the mountains the day before into square basins about ten centimeters in depth. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I'm getting things ready for planting cotton."

"Cotton? Can we grow cotton in Du Village?" Yun Kang remembered his mother saying that the cotton in their quilts was all transported from the south.

"If Brother Hua says we can, then we can!" Chun Sheng shot back, defending Qiu Huanian.

"I didn't say we couldn't!" Yun Kang argued back.

The two kids were bickering in the yard. Jiu Jiu, being a bit older, didn't join in their silly squabble and instead came over to help Qiu Huanian sort the willow branches, removing their leaves.

Qiu Huanian noticed a string of woven wildflowers adorning Jiu Jiu's hair, the pale yellow flowers contrasting beautifully against her shiny black hair.

"Jiu Jiu, where did you pick those flowers? They look lovely."

Jiu Jiu smiled shyly, "Cun Lan from the clan leader's family gave them to me this morning. She picked some wild vegetables in the mountains and casually wove two strings."

"You should give Cun Lan some candy later and spend more time with friends your age." These days, Jiu Jiu's personality had become less shy and fearful.

Qiu Huanian hummed a tuneless melody, feeling content. One by one, the large willow basins took shape under his hands. Each completed basin was one and a half meters long and wide, with willow branches dividing it into over three hundred small squares, each the size of a child's fist. The woven bottom of the basin allowed for ventilation, making it a simple, low-cost, yet effective ancient version of a seedling tray.

Spring plowing had already begun in Du Village, with many people in the fields turning the soil and weeding, preparing for planting. Qiu Huanian hadn't started yet because cotton prefers warm weather, and it was still a bit cold. In another month, it would be the right time to plant.

Finding some time, Qiu Huanian brought the land titles for four acres of dry land to the clan leader, explaining his intention to exchange them for irrigated land.

One acre of high-quality irrigated land costs three taels of silver, while one acre of dry land costs about one tael. However, most families were unwilling to exchange irrigated land for dry land, so the exchange rate fluctuated.

The clan leader had initially thought that Qiu Huanian hadn't started plowing because he had a mule and not much land, so he wasn't in a hurry. When he heard that Qiu Huanian wanted to plant cotton, he stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Bao Ren, go and bring one acre of irrigated land next to Yun Se's family's land to exchange with Brother Hua, and make up the difference with one tael of silver."

"Father, this..."

Bao Ren was taken aback. In all his years, he had never heard of cotton being grown near Zhang County. Although cotton was valuable, if it wasn't grown properly, the losses could be significant.

"Our family will also keep one acre of irrigated land unplanted with rice and follow Brother Hua in planting cotton. When the time comes, Brother Hua, can you teach them?"

Qiu Huanian smiled, "No problem. In the fall, we'll sell the cotton together and make money."

The cotton market was vast, and teaching them wouldn't be much trouble. The clan leader's family had always been kind to them, so Qiu Huanian naturally wouldn't refuse.

After Qiu Huanian left, Bao Ren still had doubts. The clan leader noticed and tapped his cane, saying, "I'm entrusting this task to you. Take your two brothers and learn together. If Brother Hua's family is too busy, remember to lend a hand. The most important thing is to learn how to grow cotton."

"Father, do you really think Brother Hua can grow cotton?" Bao Ren wasn't doubting Qiu Huanian, but growing cotton seemed unbelievable. If cotton, such a valuable crop, could be grown in Zhang County, someone else would have already made a fortune from it!

"I don't know how he'll do it, but I can see that Brother Hua never acts without purpose. He's exchanging all his land for irrigated land to plant cotton, so he must be very confident. Bao Ren, one must be steady but also daring. At worst, we'll lose one acre of irrigated land's harvest for a year, which is only two taels of silver. What are you afraid of?"

Bao Ren, convinced by his father's reasoning, gradually accepted the idea. Hu Qiuyan shared the same sentiment. Seeing the twenty or thirty large willow basins Qiu Huanian had woven, she discussed it with Bao Shan all night and then approached Qiu Huanian, saying her family also wanted to plant one acre of cotton this year.

Since becoming familiar with Qiu Huanian, Hu Qiuyan had never seen him fail at anything. If Qiu Huanian was putting so much effort into preparing, how could the cotton not succeed?

Cotton was a hard currency, selling for 180 wen per jin. Hu Qiuyan had inquired about the yield; planting one acre could yield over a hundred jin, worth twenty taels of silver!

Brother Hua even said that with his method, the yield could be even higher!

Both the clan leader's family and Hu Qiuyan's family had set aside irrigated land for cotton, making it quite noticeable in the fields. Upon inquiring, people learned that Qiu Huanian intended to plant cotton.

"He's really daydreaming. By autumn, when nothing grows in the fields, all that good irrigated land will go to waste, and he won't even have food for next year. Then he'll really have something to cry about," Li Guer said sarcastically in Du Baoquan's yard.

Wei Liuhua in the west wing kept the door closed and carefully fed Youge half an egg, paying no attention to the noise outside.

In recent days, after repaying her debts with the money she earned, she quietly used the remaining money to buy eggs from Qiu Huanian in several trips. Qiu Huanian would occasionally give her half a bowl of cornmeal porridge or rice gruel from the pot. Thanks to this care, Youge's complexion wasn't as dark and sallow anymore, and his cries were stronger.

Li Guer, not getting the response she wanted, stubbornly walked over to the west wing. Wei Liuhua, worried that Li Guer might find out Youge had just eaten, hurried out of the room.

"Wei Liuhua, did you not hear me just now?"

Because Zhao looked down on Wei Liuhua, Li Guer also didn't take her uncle's elder sister-in-law seriously, always calling her by her name.

Wei Liuhua raised her eyebrows, "Hear what? Even if Brother Hua fails at growing cotton, the money he makes from selling sugar is enough for white rice every day. Who doesn't have food for next year? It won't be his turn."

"You!" Li Guer's anger flared, feeling that Wei Liuhua was mocking her. As a niece dependent on her uncle, she was the one who could easily go hungry, which was why she constantly tried to please Zhao and made those plans.

Wei Liuhua didn't want to waste her breath and grabbed a basin from the yard to go wash clothes. Although Li Guer had a hard life, she neither worked hard nor thought about learning a trade, always getting involved in shady schemes. Wei Liuhua wasn't about to indulge her.