Chapter 11 The Second Son’s Inheritance

Chapter 11: The Second Young Master's Estate

"Little Ru," a young man's slightly hoarse voice called from inside the room.

"Coming!" Jian Ru replied, quickly wiping his hands before opening the door and stepping in.

The room was warm from a charcoal brazier. Li Jintong sat propped against the headboard, setting his book aside as Jian Ru entered.

His eyes scanned Jian Ru, then he frowned slightly. "Come here," he said.

Jian Ru’s cheeks were flushed, even the scarred side tinged with red. His forehead hair was tousled. He might not have been handsome, but he wasn’t that bad either—his vibrant energy seemed to radiate from him.

A smile still lingered on his lips as he walked over, slightly out of breath, and stood by the edge of the bed, his body still warm. Li Jintong straightened up and reached out to smooth down the sleeves Jian Ru had rolled up.

"Such cold weather—be careful not to catch a chill," Li Jintong said.

Jian Ru looked down, allowing himself to be tended to, and muttered casually, "I’m not like you—I’m sturdy and healthy."

Li Jintong glanced up at him and smiled wryly.

Realizing he had spoken carelessly, Jian Ru pressed his lips together, his thin lips turning a faint red.

Li Jintong averted his gaze and instead looked at Jian Ru’s reddened hands. He reached into a small compartment by the bed and took out a pottery jar. "Use this on your hands after they’ve been in water. It helps prevent chapping and frostbite."

Jian Ru sat sideways on the edge of the bed, opened the jar, scooped out some ointment, and began applying it to his hands. "What did you want me for?" he asked.

Li Jintong hesitated, his fair, slender, and bony hands resting on the quilt, fingers curling slightly. "I was thinking about what you just mentioned."

"What?" Jian Ru looked puzzled.

Li Jintong’s gaze fell on the corner of the quilt. "Life and death are fated. I’ve narrowly escaped death several times, but luck can’t last forever. What if…" He swallowed. "What if I die young? What will you do then?"

Jian Ru glanced at the book lying open and upside-down on the quilt, toying with its spine as he muttered softly, "Ten taels."

Li Jintong looked confused. Jian Ru lifted his head to meet his gaze. "If you hadn’t said you wanted to marry me back then, I would’ve asked for ten taels of silver from you."

Hearing this, Li Jintong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He hadn’t expected his life to be assigned a price in this young man’s heart—and such a low one at that, only ten taels.

Before he could ask further, Jian Ru poured out his thoughts with complete honesty, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

Jian Ru counted on his fingers. "If you died, I’d ask your mother for ten taels of silver. Considering I took care of you, she’d definitely give it to me."

Li Jintong raised an eyebrow. "And after you get the silver?"

Jian Ru answered without hesitation, "Go back home, farm the land, and live as your widow."

Li Jintong was taken aback. His eyelids lowered, and his voice dropped to a soft whisper. "I don’t want you to live as my widow."

Jian Ru didn’t catch it and asked, "What?"

Li Jintong coughed twice. "There’s a wooden box in that cabinet. Bring it here."

Jian Ru dutifully went to the cabinet, looked around, and found a modest wooden box on the top shelf, just the right size to carry in both hands. It was locked.

He brought the box back to the bedside and placed it on the quilt.

Li Jintong took a copper key from the headboard, unlocked the box, set the lock aside, and opened it, turning it toward Jian Ru.

Jian Ru looked inside. Though he couldn’t read much, he recognized it. "This… are these land deeds?"

Li Jintong nodded. "Some were left to me by my father, others were gifts from my older brothers and sisters." He emptied the contents of the box, spreading them out in front of Jian Ru and pointing them out one by one.

"This is the deed for 120 acres of land east of Hexi Town. My eldest sister rented it all out for me. The annual rent is six to seven hundred strings of cash. The rent from the past two years is stored in the bank."

He picked up another document. "This deed is for the old house in the east of town, near those fields. My parents used to live there. It’s empty now, but my eldest sister and the others stay there when they collect rent. I sometimes go there for a while in spring and autumn."

He then took out several banknotes. Jian Ru took them and examined them. Though he couldn’t read many characters, he understood numbers. He stared at the figures for a long time, mouth slightly agape, and exclaimed, "You’re really rich!"

Li Jintong smiled. "Not particularly. Aside from buying books, I don’t spend much."

The box also contained various IOU slips and contracts. Jian Ru looked them over before carefully putting everything back.

Then, following Li Jintong’s directions, Jian Ru found another hidden compartment at the foot of the bed containing strings of copper coins and scattered silver. Counting it, he was surprised to find over ten taels’ worth.

Li Jintong said, "This is for daily expenses. Take from here when you need money—no need to ask me."

After locking the wooden box and waiting for Jian Ru to return it to the cabinet, Li Jintong handed him the key. Jian Ru stared at the key in confusion. Li Jintong explained, "From now on, you’ll manage the household finances."

Jian Ru was silent for a long moment. Li Jintong asked softly, "What’s wrong?"

A wide grin spread across Jian Ru’s face, his eyes sparkling as if in a dream. "Marrying you is wonderful!"

Hearing this, Li Jintong also smiled, a faint dimple appearing at the corner of his mouth, making him look exceptionally handsome.

Jian Ru, lost in his fantasy of sleeping on a pile of money, missed it again.

Next, Li Jintong explained the family’s situation to Jian Ru.

The Li family ran two clinics in town—one large, one small. The larger one was managed by the eldest brother and second sister, while the smaller one was overseen by the eldest sister. Accountants handled the bookkeeping for both, and Madam Li checked the accounts every month, distributing wages to the employees. At the end of each year, the matriarch distributed shares to her children.

Daily expenses for food and clothing were drawn from the matriarch’s main account. Every family member received two sets of inner and outer clothing each season. If they wanted more, they had to pay for it themselves. Any household purchases were also covered by the main account, as were meals—except for Li Jintong’s, which were prepared separately. Everyone else ate food from the main kitchen, paid for from the main account.

These rules were established when the eldest sister, Li Jinhui, married and brought her husband into the family. Later, on his deathbed, Old Dr. Li insisted that the two clinics must never be divided. The children agreed. Aside from the family residence, the rest of the assets were distributed among the individual branches.

Out of pity for their youngest brother’s poor health, the older siblings each contributed some of their own shares to him. As a result, Li Jintong’s personal assets were the largest among them.

The wages of the household servants were also paid from the main account. Because Li Jintong needed dedicated care due to his health, Madam Li arranged for Xiao Ning to be hired. However, Li Jintong insisted on paying Xiao Ning’s wages himself.

"Also, you’ll receive a monthly allowance of two taels, collected from Granny Jin at the end of each month," Li Jintong said.

Two taels a month amounted to twenty-four taels a year. While not a large sum for such a well-off family, Jian Ru was overjoyed, his face flushing with excitement.

For dinner, besides the medicinal porridge, there were two side dishes: scallion-braised tofu and vinegar-seasoned wood ear mushroom, both prepared by Jian Ru himself. As dusk fell, a cook from the main kitchen came over, saying that the matriarch had back pain and Granny Jin was attending to her, so she would prepare dinner that day.

Having help was good, but when Jian Ru saw the cook pour nearly half a bowl of oil into the wok, his heart ached. Worried that the greasy food would disagree with Li Jintong, he quickly shooed her away and finished cooking himself. Since dinner was late, he made light, easily digestible dishes to stimulate the appetite.

However, by evening, Li Jintong had developed a low fever again. He ate little before lying down, his handsome face pale as paper.

Jian Ru hurriedly sent Xiao Ning to fetch the eldest brother. The eldest brother came quickly, took Li Jintong’s pulse, and said that fever at night was unavoidable these days. As long as he improved day by day, it wasn’t serious.

He instructed that the medicine should continue to be taken, and they would reassess in a couple of days.

He also gave some additional care instructions, which Jian Ru noted carefully. Before leaving, the eldest brother bent over to tuck his younger brother in properly and smooth his sweat-dampened hair.

Jian Ru saw him out. The eldest brother said, "If anything seems off tonight, send Xiao Ning to fetch me. During the day, you can find me at the clinic."

Jian Ru nodded. Before leaving, the eldest brother glanced at him, noting the lingering anxiety on his face. After a moment’s thought, he added, "Jin Tong’s health is poor, so he may not be able to look after you properly. Since you’re new here, if you need any help, go to my wife—your elder sister-in-law."

Jian Ru replied obediently, "Thank you, Eldest Brother."

The eldest young master nodded with satisfaction, turned, and left.

Jian Ru let out a sigh of relief and went back inside. He wiped the sweat from Li Jintong’s forehead and body, helped the barely conscious drink some water, and settled him back into bed. Just then, the door creaked open, and Xiao Ning poked his head in. Seeing that Li Jintong was asleep, he pulled a face and whispered, "Madam Li wants to see you."

In the Li household, the one he feared most was Madam Li. Every time he saw her, he felt like a mouse spotting a cat.

Over the past few days, he had grown familiar with this newly married man and assumed Jian Ru must also be afraid of Madam Li, automatically placing them in the same camp.

That exaggerated expression was meant to convey, "We're done for."

But he was mistaken. Upon hearing this, Jian Ru showed no sign of worry at all. He simply slipped on his cotton robe, smoothed his hair, and said, "I was just about to go see her."

With that, he instructed Xiao Ning to take good care of the second young master and strode confidently out the door.

Following Xiao Ning’s directions, Jian Ru found his way to the old madam’s courtyard.

As soon as he entered, he saw Granny Jin waiting for him at the door. She glared at him and whispered, "Be careful later. Don’t upset the old madam again..."

Jian Ru flashed her a toothy grin. Granny Jin had a bad feeling, but before she could say anything more, the door was pushed open. Madam Li had just called out, "Come in," and Granny Jin watched in disbelief as the young man, who had been walking perfectly fine moments before, deliberately started limping, hobbling unsteadily into the room.

But that wasn’t all. Once inside, he turned sideways, making sure to angle the scarred half of his face directly toward the old madam, who was sipping tea. He deliberately contorted his features into the ugliest smile imaginable—looking less like a son-in-law paying respects to his mother-in-law and more like an infuriating, untouchable troublemaker.

Granny Jin stared wide-eyed, while Madam Li inside the room flushed red with anger.