Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Shen Yuan did as Auntie Chun had said and fried the fish, while Shen Dong managed the fire, controlling the heat. The two brothers worked together with seamless understanding.

Shen Xi, Shen Nan, and little Shen Bei, who was crying to be fed, were responsible for sniffing the air and taking in the scent.

It had been a very, very long time—so long they couldn't even remember—since they had last smelled the fragrance of cooking oil.

The fried fish had a slightly golden, crispy skin and was incredibly fragrant! Everyone in the kitchen took several deep breaths, savoring the aroma of the oil-fried fish.

Since the steamed fish was already seasoned with fine salt, Shen Yuan didn't add any of the household's slightly bitter coarse salt, to avoid ruining the natural good taste.

The steamed fish soup didn't take long and was ready quickly.

Perhaps due to the lard and the fine salt without any bitterness, this fish soup seemed even more aromatic.

The milky-white fish soup bubbled and boiled, its savory aroma filling the air. Shen Yuan scooped a little into a small earthen bowl with a wooden spoon to taste. The soup wasn't as rich and flavorful as if made directly with fresh fish, but overall, it still tasted very good.

This was thanks to the lard and fine salt.

The only downside was that the fish meat was a bit crumbly. Shen Yuan scooped half of the soup and fish meat into a large earthen bowl.

Holding the large bowl, he said to Shen Dong and the others, "You eat first, but be careful of the fish bones. I'm going to the village head's house."

Now that their family's situation had slightly improved, it was time to slowly start repaying the kindness they owed.

Especially with the summer tax collection approaching, everyone was even more hesitant to eat their fill.

The village head's family was likely struggling too.

When Shen Yuan arrived, Village Head Liu was sitting in the yard, staring at the yellow earth with a heavy frown.

"Village Head, why are you sitting here?" Shen Yuan asked naturally as he approached with the fish soup.

Village Head Liu looked up at the sound, and for a moment, he almost didn't recognize who it was. After a brief pause, he realized, "Oh, it's Shen Da. What brings you here?"

"I brought some fish soup," Shen Yuan replied, glancing around. "Should I take it to the kitchen, or will you?"

Nothing in the village was a secret.

During the day, Auntie Ping went out with others to dig for wild vegetables and inevitably talked about Shen Yuan.

He had become very different from before—more talkative and approachable.

However, Shen Yuan worked outside during the day and returned late at night, so most villagers rarely saw him.

Although people said he had changed, few had actually witnessed it firsthand.

Village Head Liu felt he was seeing it today.

In the past, Shen Yuan would silently place whatever he brought on the ground, then lower his head and wait for someone to take it before leaving.

He wouldn't greet people so warmly or engage in conversation.

It was said that people who had faced death could undergo a drastic change in temperament. Village Head Liu stood up and patted Shen Yuan's arm. "Child, you've suffered. It's good that you're alive... it's good that you're alive..."

It seemed that on the day Shen Dong came to ask for food, Shen Yuan had truly been close to death.

Fortunately, they had given him food, or else Village Head Liu would never have felt at peace for the rest of his life.

Shen Yuan could sense the unspoken words in Village Head Liu's tone, and his hand tightened its grip on the bowl of fish soup.

He hadn't interacted much with the villagers of Dashu Village.

But the impression they gave him was very similar to that of the uncles, aunts, and the director at the orphanage in his previous life.

They looked out for one another and worried about the children.

"You should keep this fish soup for yourself. It's hard enough for you to raise your younger siblings alone. Take it back and eat it yourself. Your thoughtfulness is enough," Village Head Liu said, deliberately avoiding looking at the fish soup, even turning his head away.

But the savory aroma of the fish soup still made him swallow hard.

This was truly a delicacy.

His own family hadn't eaten anything like this in a long time.

It seemed Shen Yuan's job in the county town was going well. In such a short time, he was already able to have fish soup. Village Head Liu sighed inwardly, grateful that Shen Yuan had survived.

After hearing Village Head Liu's words, Shen Yuan let out a soft sigh and headed straight for the kitchen.

Village Head Liu hurried after him, about to stop Shen Yuan as he took out an empty earthen bowl from the kitchen. But before he could, Shen Yuan said, "Uncle Liu, there might be fish bones in the soup. A newborn baby shouldn't drink it."

While the baby couldn't drink it, the mother could.

Reminded by Shen Yuan that there was a nursing baby at home, Village Head Liu lowered his hand and didn't stop Shen Yuan from pouring the fish soup. He couldn't bring himself to refuse it anymore.

"Shen Da, I'll shamelessly accept your fish soup then."

Shen Yuan poured out all the fish soup. Looking at Village Head Liu's wrinkled face, filled with an embarrassed expression, his heart felt heavy.

On the way back, Shen Yuan looked up at the starry sky.

Beneath such a beautiful scene were people who couldn't eat their fill, couldn't afford proper clothes, and didn't know if they would survive the next day.

Thinking of Wang Sanhu and Village Head Liu earlier that day, he no longer had the heart to admire the scenery. The summer tax was like a massive stone weighing on the hearts of ordinary people.

Wu Country had two main taxes: the summer tax and the autumn tax.

The summer tax was primarily paid in money or cloth, while the autumn tax was paid in grain.

Normally, for a lower-class household like Shen Yuan's, which had no land, the family had to pay 500 wen regardless of how many people were in it. However, there was an exception: if there were no adult males in the household, the summer tax was only 200 wen. If they couldn't pay, they would have to serve two months of corvée labor.

If it were only 500 wen, the villagers could save up enough by being frugal throughout the year.

But the county imposed numerous miscellaneous taxes, which added up to several hundred wen more.

If people couldn't pay in silver, the officials would directly confiscate valuable items from their homes to offset the tax or drag people off to do hard labor as payment.

These so-called officials were little different from bandits.

Shen Yuan had done the calculations. In Wu Country, men were considered adults at twenty. This body was only sixteen, so currently, the Shen family only needed to pay 200 wen.

He had no wages for the first two months at the teahouse, but he had saved the remaining 40 wen from before. For the table, it was 25 wen. If Xu Dagui agreed, he would use food to offset the payment.

If not, he would pay in copper coins later. Calculating based on payment, he had already offset 3 wen today, so he would only need to pay 22 wen in the end.

That way, he could still set aside eighteen wen.

The dried vegetables, once dried, could be taken to the county town for sale, earning about a dozen wen.

Summer taxes are collected in May and June. It's fine if you can't pay in May, but they must be paid by the end of June.

By then, he would have roughly a month and a half's wages, around 225 wen. Adding the money from selling dried vegetables and the minimum 18 wen saved, he could have around 250 to 260 wen.

Usually, that should be enough to pay the tax.

The only question is how much the miscellaneous taxes will be this year.

It's always better to have a little extra for security.

Otherwise, if he had to serve two months of labor duty, Shen Yuan feared he might not make it back alive. No matter what, he had to find a way to see his younger siblings safely through the summer tax two months from now.

Shen Yuan walked home, thinking he must come up with a captivating story.

At the very least, it had to persuade Ji Pingan enough to allow storytelling in the teahouse.

He was desperate for money.

...

Back at the Ji residence.

In the tranquil small courtyard, two young servants were stationed outside the main room, each holding a fabric-paper lantern to guard the entrance.

Intermittent, indistinct voices could be heard from inside.

With a muffled thump, the two servants quickly glanced at each other, seeing the same helpless look in their eyes before immediately lowering their heads again.

Inside the room, a beautiful woman pointed a slender finger, trembling, at the person kneeling opposite her.

Her brows were tightly furrowed, her eyes full of resentment. "Do you think I'm asking you to spend more time with your Fifth Grandfather to harm you? What kind of family is the Xie family? The leading family among the great clans! And what kind of person is your Fifth Grandfather? A sworn brother of His Majesty! Is it asking too much for you to try to get closer? Is it beneath you?"

Ji Pingan knelt on the wooden floor, his back ramrod straight, his face expressionless. "It's fortunate Mother still recognizes how impossibly high their status is. What am I supposed to use to approach them? Why would they spare me a second glance?"

"With your sister!" Zhao Yueyun snapped, her face flushed with the effort. "She is part of the Xie family! That alone sets you apart!"

Ji Pingan looked up instantly, disbelief plain on his face. "In any regular household, Mother, as the mistress, how could you not know the standing of a concubine? Now you want me to use my sister's name to approach the Xie family's direct grandson? If this gets back to the Xie family, do you think they would treat my sister well, treat a concubine well? Or does Mother believe the Ji family has the power to make the Xie family wary, not daring to lay a finger on my sister?"

These words hit home for Zhao Yueyun.

If the Ji family had the power to make the Xie family wary, they would never have allowed their legitimate daughter to become a concubine for a lesser branch son.

And the Xie family's status was simply too high. Even this arrangement was like manna from heaven, landing right on the Ji family.

Otherwise, why would Young Master Xie have chosen their Ji residence to seek shelter from the rain that time, and not somewhere else?

Zhao Yueyun took a deep breath. "Ji Pingan, your sister has done everything she can for you. If you continue like this, content to be a petty clerk in that miserable yamen until you die, then you are letting your sister down."

"This time, it's your Fifth Grandfather who is traveling by ship back to the ancestral home for the funeral. If the deceased weren't so close to your Fifth Grandfather, do you really think you'd ever have a chance to meet him in this lifetime? This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. If you can't seize it, everything your sister has done will be in vain."

Thinking of his sister, Ji Pingan gritted his teeth, the veins on his neck bulging as he suppressed the turmoil of emotions inside him.

After a long while, he stood up. "Your son knows."

A rare smile finally appeared on Zhao Yueyun's face. "Good, good, good. It's good that you know. Your Fifth Grandfather has seen all the finest things, but when we go to see him, we cannot go empty-handed. Your father said the family funds have been low for a long time. It's better to pawn a few shops for some gold ingots than to have nothing to offer at all."

"The teahouse on Duofu Street isn't doing any business. This is a good time to sell it off along with the others. Why are you zoning out again? Are you even listening to your mother?"

Ji Pingan frowned irritably. "I know. I'll handle it tomorrow."

Only then was Zhao Yueyun satisfied. "You may go."

Ji Pingan didn't hesitate for a moment, turning and striding away quickly.

The two lantern-holding servants at the door saw a dark shadow whoosh past. They quickly broke into a trot to catch up and light his way.

As soon as he returned to his own quarters, a servant approached. "Young Master, the manager from the Duofu Street teahouse is here. He says he has important news regarding Shen Yuan."

Shen Yuan?

Ji Pingan found the name familiar. After a moment's thought, he remembered who it was.

Sesame baked flatbread.

The teahouse was to be sold. According to the rules, all the staff inside would have to go work at the manors.

They were household servants, easy to arrange. But Shen Yuan was not.

Shen Yuan would need special arrangements.

Ji Pingan went to the small reception hall in his courtyard. Ji Xingwang had been waiting for a long time; the tea beside him had gone cold.

Afraid that drinking too much tea would send him to the latrine and cause him to miss the young master, Ji Xingwang hadn't dared take a single sip.

Seeing Ji Pingan arrive, Ji Xingwang hurriedly stood up and bowed. "Greetings, Young Master."

Ji Pingan sat down casually in a chair. "You've come at the right time. The teahouse isn't doing well and is to be sold. Tell Shen Yuan tomorrow when he comes to work. I'll find him another job in two days' time, as compensation."

Having said his piece in one go, he then asked Ji Xingwang, "What was it you came to tell me about Shen Yuan?"

Ji Xingwang was stunned.

His mind was completely filled with the news that the teahouse was to be sold.

If the teahouse were sold, there certainly wouldn't be a place for the staff in the main residence. They'd only be able to go work at the manors in the countryside.

Although they could still eat and have clothes there, how could it compare to the comfort of the county town? Moreover, the manors already had their own stewards. Even if he managed to become a minor overseer there, he would never have a chance to advance again.

He would only be suppressed by the existing "local bosses," unable to ever turn things around.

What's more, he might not even manage to become a minor overseer. The manors simply didn't lack overseers!

Ji Xingwang's heart was filled with panic and worry.

"Young Master, if the teahouse could make money... could it not be sold?" Ji Xingwang gritted his teeth, deciding to gamble and go all out. "Shen Yuan told me today that he has a way to make the teahouse profitable. I came to ask the Young Master if you would like to hear it."

Author's note:

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