Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Zhao Sandi felt his father was a real smart guy. How does he come up with stuff like that? He actually thought of a trick like this.

It's true—no matter what, he could always spin it.

The father and son sat on the ridge of the field, removing the handles from the hoes one by one. Each handle was smooth and worn, having been with the villagers for years—soaked in sweat, tilled many fields, harvested plenty of grain, and fed many people.

They couldn't bear to throw them away. Even though they belonged to others, farming families had a deep attachment to their tools. It was like the bamboo water pipes—used as bridges over barren mountain paths to bring stream water to the fields. Even when the bamboo discolored, rotted, and started leaking, the villagers still couldn't bear to throw them away.

Old Man Zhao bundled these smooth round logs with hemp rope and placed them under the eaves of the backyard. Who knew when they might come in handy? Perhaps never, but keeping them felt good, and it didn't matter if they took up space.

The sickles and axes were treated the same way. The axe handles were removed; the cloth strips on the sickle handles were untied and thrown away. Where the curved blades had obvious scratches, the father and son ground them down wider. Even if it damaged them a bit, it was better than having someone notice later and grow suspicious.

Though it was quite time-consuming, it saved a huge amount of grain.

"Dad, why didn't we just use silver to buy the winter clothes and quilts?" Zhao Sandi couldn't help asking. "Nowadays, grain is more valuable than silver. Besides, those are just old stuff they've had packed away. Even if we spent a little more silver, it'd still be better than trading grain."

Heaven knows how much his heart ached that day, watching bag after bag of grain turn into empty sacks, exchanged only for old patched-up stuff. It was a total loss, no exaggeration.

They didn't have to barter with grain; even if they paid in silver, he believed these people would still be willing to sell. After all, the silver they got could be used to buy grain later. By doing this, his dad was screwing himself over to help others.

That was nothing like his usual stingy self.

"Times are hard!" Old Man Zhao said, grabbing a bundle of firewood as he walked toward the kitchen, glancing at his daughter who was picking fruit in the orchard with a basket. "Our family has land to grow grain. As long as we're hardworking, we won't go hungry. The ancestors of our Zhao family lived honest, upright lives, never doing any harm. Maybe they even performed good deeds and stored up good karma. It's because of that our generation has been blessed with a daughter who has incredible abilities."

"Third Son, our family doesn't seek great wealth and honor. Your father, your two elder brothers—we men are able-bodied, have strength, have cattle and donkeys at home, and a granary full of grain."

"We haven't shortchanged ourselves too much, so let's be more generous. If a couple of scoops of grain can save an entire family, that's accumulating virtue. For the kids and grandkids, it's fine for us to work hard and suffer a bit. Our family is already much more blessed than others. It's like a basket—when it's full, things spill over. Fortune works the same way. By sharing some with others, we let them bask in Xiaobao's light and accumulate more merit for Zhao Xiaobao."

Their Zhao Xiaobao was a fairy, after all. She had descended to the mortal world to undergo trials. By accumulating more merit, she could return to the heavens and go back to being her carefree Little Fairy.

"Woof woof!"

"Blackie, you can't eat too many fruits. You'll get an upset stomach."

"Woof!"

"Alright, just one more, okay?"

Zhao Sandi glanced at his father heading to the kitchen to start the fire, then turned to look at his little sister playing with Blackie in the orchard. He scratched his head and grinned.

What Dad said was right. Their family never sought great wealth. With fields, land, and people, they wouldn't lack food. The grain in the granary was just stored there anyway, and besides, it wasn't even from their own fields. There really was no need to be stingy and calculate gains and losses with every little thing.

Times were tough, and they were just ordinary people. If they could save even one person, that was the highest merit.

Their whole family had benefited from their little sister's fortune, so naturally they needed to think more for her. It wasn't enough to just keep her fed and clothed; they had to do more good deeds, accumulate plenty of merit for her, so her suffering in this world wouldn't be for nothing.

The night passed peacefully.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, the family of four headed south, following the direction they had scouted the day before.

To avoid bumping into Wang Kangming on the way, they deliberately detoured around the two streets where the Wang family lived.

They walked and asked along the way. Around quarter to eight, they spotted from a distance a bookshop with a curtain painted with three green bamboos. The old woman who had helped them with directions earlier said that after reaching here, walking a short distance further would lead to Sanzhu Alley.

It was quite easy to recognize. The menfolk couldn't read, but they recognized bamboos. It truly lived up to its name—there was a big sign.

"Green, Bamboo, Book, Shop." Zhao Xiaobao pointed at the plaque and read it out with a proper demeanor. She even imitated the way Nephew Jin Yu had taught her, gently shaking her little head, looking absolutely adorable.

“Good!” Old Man Zhao exclaimed, beaming with pride. “Our family finally has a scholar! Being able to read—that’s great! Once we settle down, if the farmland allocated by the officials is too barren, we’ll buy a few fertile acres. Then Xiaobao can write the contracts, and we won’t have to pay someone else anymore, nor worry about being cheated. Haha, our family has someone who can read!”

Though he’d said before that his grandchildren lacked talent for study and saved the family money, but everyone knows that educated people are skilled! Not being able to read is truly difficult—anything having to do with contracts could easily put you at a disadvantage, since you never knew if the hired scribe was trustworthy. If someone had malicious intent, it was a trap waiting to be sprung.

He desperately wanted a scholar in the family—not for great accomplishments, just someone who could read and write.

Zhao Xiaobao puffed out her little chest, fully confident in her new responsibility. “Father, Brother Qing Xuan can read too! He teaches me to write. I can write lots of characters now! If I keep working hard, I’ll be able to write many contracts for you.”

Old Man Zhao bounced her lightly, his happiness impossible to hide, and headed toward the address Old Man Sun had given them before they left the village. “So many contracts! Then I’ll have to work hard too—buy lots and lots of land, or there won’t be enough for Xiaobao to write.”

“We’ll roll up our sleeves and get to work too,” Zhao Ertian and Zhao Sandi chimed in, wearing bamboo hats and smiling. “Reading and writing are tiring—we can’t let Xiaobao work for nothing! Your second and third brothers will work hard too, trying to buy a few more acres, so Xiaobao has so many contracts to write she’ll get sick of it, even hate it.”

“Hmph, I don’t want that!” Zhao Xiaobao lifted her chin, her expression adorably proud. “Just a little is fine. Mother said everything has its limits—don’t be greedy.”

“Haha, then we’d better listen to Mother! She’s the boss in this house.”

The three siblings gave their father sideways glances, all with teasing looks, making Old Man Zhao cuss under his breath: “I’m not trying to take over from her. You think being head of the household is a walk in the park? It wears a person out, worrying day and night.”

“Your mother works so hard. Ah, I should have bought more tofu. This journey’s been tough—she needs to eat well to recover.”

“Shall we buy some more later?”

“Sounds good!”

They chatted all the way into the alley. Zhao Ertian and Zhao Sandi fell silent, pulling their bamboo hats lower to cover their faces.

The streets in the southern part of town were cleaner and wider than in the north, more orderly, the houses and courtyards offered more privacy. Though still cramped, they were far better than the alley where their rented small yard was located. There was a proper ward official here; in their area, fights and even knife-wielding at doors went unaddressed, which shows just how chaotic it was.

It was neither early nor late—early risers had returned from grocery shopping, while late sleepers were just heading out.

Maybe the day was unlucky—they saw few people on the road. Every household had its doors tightly shut, but they could hear noises from the yards: the thumping of a mallet beating clothes, a man scolded by his wife for failing to borrow grain, a child crying to go out and play, and someone—maybe an old person coughing, or a sick person—wheezing and coughing hoarsely, every sound ringing in their ears.

As they neared Sun’s small yard, the noise grew more grating.

“You couldn’t borrow from Second Brother’s family, nor from Third Brother’s—are you trying to starve us mother and child to death?”

“Tang Yuanguang, you spineless man! Why did I ever marry you!”

“I’ve never had a single day of comfort with you, and now we’re starving! And you go on about being the eldest brother, the head of the Tang family! Is that how you act as eldest brother?! Your younger siblings don’t even give you the time of day! I bet they didn’t even offer you a drink of water!”

“Tang Yuanyong and Tang Yuanqi—one runs an inn, the other works in a tavern—are they short of grain? Just asking to borrow some to get by, we’ll pay them back later! Why this attitude? Just because we’ve split the family, each household on its own, do they no longer care if their brothers live or die?”

“Those two biased old geezers of yours should lift their coffin lids and see their precious sons, how they’re driving us...”

“Enough!” The man, who had been silent, suddenly roared, and the tightly shut yard door “bang” flew open. “If they won’t lend, fine! We’ll cut ties with them from now on! If they don’t care about brotherhood, then sever the relationship!”

“When you argue, don’t drag our parents into it every time! This yard was their share to me. Without them, you might still be sleeping on the street!”

A broom was thrown at him, and the woman rushed out, cursing: “Without them coming to propose marriage, I’d be sleeping on soft pillows and high beds!”

“They’re biased, plain and simple! Giving you this broken yard, while giving your brothers endless silver and finding them jobs! They favor them!” The woman grabbed the broom and beat him with it. “You say sever ties? Then who will you borrow grain from?! The two kids cry at night from hunger—can you bear to see them suffer like this?! Tang Yuanguang, are you even a father anymore?!”

The man’s lips twitched, and his gaze unconsciously turned to Sun’s tightly closed gate, letting his wife beat him like a madwoman. “The Sun family brought plenty of grain from the countryside a few days ago. We’re neighbors—they can’t just watch us die. Our little girl and boy have grown up in front of them, always calling them uncle and aunt. Let’s go borrow a few pecks, or buy some—we won’t take advantage.” He said this and started walking straight toward the Suns’ gate.

These two quarreled every few days. The neighbors were listening from behind their doors, expecting a fight, but the conversation took a wild turn—from severing ties to borrowing grain from the Suns.

Borrowing grain—who didn’t want that?

These days, the doorsteps of the Sun family and a few others had been practically trampled down by visitors. There were no secrets among neighbors, and even if there were, they couldn’t be hidden. Besides, the Suns hadn’t tried to hide anything; Ma Erniang was busy running around helping a distant relative drum up business. Everyone nearby knew that.

Her family has grain, and those families that paid to have grain shipped in also aren't short on grain.

At the moment, every household is having a hard time. Those with connections use their connections to buy and hoard grain; those without connections go everywhere trying to find a way, day by day as frantic as ants on a hot griddle.

They are all neighbors. Usually, the Sun family's life was not as comfortable as theirs, but because of the disaster outside, the county seat was short of grain, grain prices skyrocketed, and suddenly the Sun family's doorstep turned into a hotspot. Everyone flattered her family, showering them with compliments and putting on their best smiles.

But even so, Ma Erniang acted completely unapproachable, staying indoors all day and refusing to see visitors. Sun Silang went out early and came back late, so that even if you waited by the door you couldn't catch him. He was slippery and elusive, which only made everyone furious.

What's even more infuriating is that their schoolboy son just had to come down sick right when they were trying to get ahold of him!

Sun Xuyang hasn't even been going to the academy lately. Nobody knows if that's an excuse the couple cooked up, or if the child is really sick.

Thinking of this, the neighbors who heard the commotion all peered through their door cracks or peered over their walls, observing the situation outside.

"Can Tang Dalang borrow grain?"

"Hard to say. Let's see how it goes. Tang Dalang is a real pest who won't take no for an answer. From the sound of it, this couple made such a scene today but didn't get any benefit from his brothers. If there really is no surplus grain at home, he might really shamelessly latch onto them."

"Outsiders who rent houses here don't know, but how could we who have lived in Sanzhu Alley for generations not know? The Tang family ancestors were shameless people, willing to throw away all dignity. The old Tang couple were like that, and this Tang Yuanguang has truly inherited their traits!"

However, before Tang Yuanguang, who had truly inherited their traits, could approach the Sun family's gate, he was stopped by a set of iron-strong arms. Old Man Zhao was holding his daughter with one hand and using the other to block this man who was clearly up to no good. He glared at him with a fierce expression and said gruffly, "What are you doing?"