Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"That shameless, despicable wretch actually dares to step all over me!" Tian Mama cursed as she stormed into the room.

"What's all this?" Liu Zi and Old Man Tian looked at her with displeasure.

"It's all because of that little wretch Wang Ying! After being in charge for just a few days, he’s forgotten his place. Today, he even persuaded Madam to stop going to the mountain to worship Buddha!"

The father and son sat up straight. "Is that true?"

"Could it be false? Ever since he took charge, he’s been keeping daily accounts. Liu Zi can’t even skim a single coin from the purchases anymore. Now he’s cutting off our kickbacks from the temple. I’m afraid times will be hard from now on."

It turned out that over the years, Tian Mama had been colluding with the monks at the temple. Every time she accompanied Li Shi to the mountain to worship, she would persuade her to donate incense money, half of which ended up lining her own pockets.

When the Chen family’s master was still alive, she didn’t dare to be too brazen, limiting the donations to just two or three hundred coins at most.

But after the master passed away and the eldest young master fell seriously ill, Li Shi placed all her faith in gods and Buddha. Tian Mama began finding various ways to persuade Madam to donate more money.

On the surface, it was to pray for the blessings of the three children, but in reality, she had secretly agreed with the monks to split the incense money down the middle. In just a year, she had made dozens of strings of cash, making their lives increasingly comfortable.

Cutting off someone’s source of income is like killing their parents—how could she not be furious?

Tian Mama’s monthly allowance was two hundred coins, Xiao Liu Zi’s was one hundred fifty coins, and Old Man Tian, who tended the livestock, earned only one hundred coins. For an ordinary family, this would be enough to get by, but they had grown used to comfort. How could they endure poverty? Especially since Old Man Tian drank alcohol daily and Xiao Liu Zi ate meat daily.

"This won’t do. We have to come up with a plan. If we let him have his way in everything, there might not be a place left for us in this household anymore!"

Old Man Tian asked, "What do you propose?"

Xiao Liu Zi, who had been sitting nearby, suddenly spoke up. "A few days ago, when I went out to make purchases, guess who I ran into on the street?"

The old couple turned to him. "Who?"

"Young Master Chen Qingfeng from the second master’s family."

"Wasn’t he kidnapped by gambling den thugs who threatened to dismember him? Was he ransomed?"

Liu Zi replied, "He was indeed ransomed. I heard it cost a fortune—they even sold off the family’s shops. And they still cut off three of his fingers."

The old couple gasped in shock. "What happened next?"

"He said it was all because Madam refused to help him in his time of need, which led to his misfortune. He asked me if I’d be willing to join him in a big scheme... In return, he’d give me half of the Chen family’s farmland."

"Do what?"

Liu Zi lowered his voice. "He wants to kill Chen Qingyan..."

*

"Walk slowly, yes, keep going."

In the backyard of the Chen residence, Chen Qingyan pushed a small wooden cart, shuffling forward like a toddler taking its first steps. His legs, which had been bedridden for over a year, felt like blocks of wood, each step felt immensely heavy. Soon, he was drenched in sweat.

"Let’s rest for a while." Wang Ying helped him sit back in the wheelchair and pushed him under a tree for shade, then continued tending to the vegetables he had planted.

In a few days, the tomatoes would be ripe, and he needed to save the seeds. These were rare treasures, as they hadn’t yet been introduced from overseas in this dynasty. Thankfully, the experimental field’s artificial fertilizer had done the trick. The watermelons had also grown to the size of fists and would be ready to eat in another ten days or so.

The vegetable harvest was plentiful. He plucked two small, tender cucumbers from the vine, rubbed off the prickles, and handed one to Chen Qingyan. These untreated cucumbers were the most delicious—crisp and sweet with every bite.

"This afternoon, I plan to stroll around the street to see if there are any suitable shops available."

"You want to open a shop?"

Wang Ying took a bite of the cucumber, his cheeks bulging. "Relying solely on the income from the fields is enough for food and daily expenses, but if something unexpected happens, we’ll be stretched thin."

Yesterday, Chen Xi had delivered the money from selling the grain—eighty-six strings in total. Another sum would come after the millet was sold in the autumn. While it seemed like a lot, it wouldn’t last long if put to use. Wang Ying wanted to find another way to make money.

"What would you sell in the shop?"

"I’m thinking of selling the fresh vegetables from my field once the weather turns cold."

The experimental field was a treasure. Using it entirely for wheat felt like a waste. In this era, without greenhouses, people had to rely on stored dried vegetables, radishes, and cabbage to get through the autumn and winter.

After harvesting the wheat, Wang Ying planned to plant some vegetables and sell them at high prices during the winter. It was sure to bring in a hefty profit.

"That’s indeed a good business idea. I’m just worried that curious people might inquire about the origin of these vegetables. If they find out your secret, it could be trouble."

Wang Ying had already considered this and had a plan in mind. "Don’t you have an uncle who serves as an official in another region?"

Chen Qingyan nodded. "Fourth Uncle is the Prefect of Laizhou."

"I plan to use your fourth uncle’s name to open the shop. We can say the vegetables are transported from the south."

"That’s not appropriate... If this reaches Fourth Uncle’s ears, he’ll surely be angry."

Wang Ying chuckled. "Laizhou is over six hundred li away. A round trip would take more than half a month. With such a distance, how could word possibly travel there? Besides, your fourth uncle wouldn’t get angry over such a trivial matter. We’re only using his name to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Chen Qingyan hesitated. "Then let me write a letter to Fourth Uncle. If he agrees, we can proceed with opening the shop."

"Alright. It’s almost Mid-Autumn Festival anyway. I’ll buy some gifts to send along with the letter."

"Good."

*

That afternoon, Wang Ying took Qingyun and Qing Song with him to the street.

The two children were overjoyed at the prospect of going out with their sister-in-law, jumping for joy—though they couldn’t avoid a long scolding from their mother beforehand.

Since arriving in this world, Wang Ying had rarely gone out shopping, mainly because there wasn’t much to see.

Take Changxing Town, for example. It was considered a large town among the surrounding villages, but it only had one main street, with just over thirty shops lining both sides. On ordinary days, the streets were quiet, only bustling on market days every fifth day, when villagers came to sell local produce and game during the farming off-season.

Today happened to be the 25th of July, the town’s major market day, making the streets much livelier than usual.

Along the way, they saw many villagers setting up stalls by the roadside, selling everything from chicken and duck eggs at one coin each to homegrown vegetables and fruits, which could be bought in bulk for just three to five coins.

The two children were fascinated by everything. Wang Ying simply gave them a string of coins and told them to buy whatever they wanted to eat. Meanwhile, he browsed the shops on the street.

Most of the shops in town were available for rent, costing between three hundred and five hundred coins per month. Buying one, however, was much more expensive—a single shopfront would cost at least eighty to a hundred taels of silver, as it could be passed down through generations.

As he walked, he came across the shop that belonged to Chen Biao’s family. Previously a incense and candle shop, it had been transferred to the gambling den to ransom their son. Now, it was up for sale.

The price wasn’t particularly high—only sixty taels of silver to buy it outright—but Wang Ying didn’t want to deal with Chen Biao’s family. He was afraid that after purchasing the shop, the family would cause trouble and disrupt his business.

Continuing on, he suddenly saw Xiao Liu Zi, who was responsible for household purchases, sneaking furtively into an alley.

Wang Ying was about to call out to him when he noticed two familiar figures following behind—one was Chen Biao’s second son, Chen Qingling, and the other, though he had never met before, resembled Chen Qingfeng.

What was Liu Zi doing with these two?

Puzzled, Wang Ying quietly followed them. The three men walked hurriedly, unaware of Wang Ying trailing behind. After turning two corners, they entered a residence.

This was where Chen Biao’s family now lived. Their former large estate had been seized by the gambling den.

"Liu Zi's here! Get inside!" Chen Biao's voice came from the courtyard as he warmly took Liu Zi's hand and ushered him into the house.

The room was a mess, with nowhere to even step, making it hard to imagine this was once the prosperous Second Master Chen's home.

"Second Master Chen," Liu Zi said awkwardly as he sat down.

Chen Biao was also dissatisfied with his living conditions and sighed, shaking his head. "Those gambling den people are despicable—not only did they cut off my son's finger, but they also took over the manor. Now we have to make do here for a while."

Because the window was open, the voices inside were exceptionally clear. Wang Ying, hiding in the corner, sneered coldly, thinking how shameless this man was, blaming others for his own son going out to gamble.

"How have you been considering what Chen Qingfeng discussed with you last time?"

Liu Zi hesitated. "Second Master, it's not that I'm unwilling, but this matter is... just too dangerous. If it comes to light, it could cost someone their life."

Wang Ying immediately pricked up his ears. What could be so serious that it might cost a life?

Chen Biao said, "Do you plan to be an errand boy for the rest of your life? I heard the newly arrived young master Chen Qingyan is difficult to deal with—he doesn’t even give your mother any regard. Once Li Shi passes away, your family will have even less standing."

"Exactly! My mother is furious too. We’re out of options, which is why she sent me to seek your guidance, hoping you could point us to a clear path."

Chen Biao glanced at his son, and Chen Qingfeng took out a pre-drafted contract and placed it on the table.

"Once this is done, the vast Chen family fortune will fall into my hands. I’ll give half of the landed estates to you—enough to support you and your parents in their old age."

Liu Zi, who was somewhat literate, carefully read the contract, his heart racing with excitement.

Half of the landed estates amounted to over a hundred acres, generating sixty or seventy strings of cash coins in rent each year—enough for his family to live comfortably!

"Second Master, what should I do?"

Chen Biao smiled, a fierce, wolfish or tiger-like ferocity in his eyes. "My nephew has a weak constitution. It wouldn’t be surprising if he suddenly fell ill and died."

Chen Qingfeng felt around at his waist and, using his two remaining fingers, pulled out a small paper packet. "This is arsenic. Have your mother put it in Chen Qingyan’s food. Once he eats it, he’ll be guaranteed to die!"

Tian Xiaoliu tremblingly took the poison and carefully folded the contract, tucking both into his pocket.

"We won't detain you further today. Once the deed is done, we’ll drink to celebrate!"

Outside, Wang Ying stood with icy hands and feet, his scalp tingling. He never expected these beasts were plotting to kill for money and property.

Thankfully, he had been cautious enough to follow them—otherwise, he wouldn’t even know how he died!

No, he had to hurry back and tell his family about this!

Author's Note: