Chapter 165 Ascending the Mountain

Chapter 165: Going Up the Mountain

Chang Jinhua gave him a few words of advice and offered some blessings as an elder.

Meng Wan tore up Bi Yun’s slave deed right in front of him. With connections at the county office, Bi Yun’s commoner status had long been prepared for him.

Bidding farewell to his former master, Huang Ye helped Bi Yun out the door. Xue Sheng was crouched by the gate waiting. He was slender and not as tall as Song Tingzhou, so Bi Yun carefully climbed onto his back, afraid of crushing him.

“I’m a martial artist; your light frame won’t tire me out.” Xue Sheng made a rare joke. Today he was seeing off Bi Yun as his elder brother.

Bi Yun silently wrapped his arms tighter around Xue Sheng’s neck. The distance from the main hall through the central courtyard and across two compounds to the carriage at the gate—usually felt so long—now seemed short.

Xue Sheng set Bi Yun into the carriage draped with red silk and said to Tao Jiu, who had come to welcome the bride, “Bi Yun is my younger brother. Treat him well. If not…” Xue Sheng was not one for many words, so he simply picked up a wooden block leaning against the carriage wheel, crushed it with one palm, then turned and walked off coolly.

Bi Yun had already cried several times, and at this, his eyes brimmed with tears again. He called out after Xue Sheng, “Brother, I’ll be back in two days.”

Xue Sheng did not look back, only replied with a single “Good.”

The wedding carriage left the Song residence, carrying Bi Yun away from his past sorrows and reluctance, heading toward his unknown yet anticipated new life.

With Bi Yun married off, the household felt a person short, and everyone was a bit out of sorts.

Huang Ye was quick at work but not as meticulous and steady as Bi Yun, so Chang Jinhua mostly took care of A Yan herself.

By mid-February, A Yan was four months old and could roll over in bed, needing constant supervision. Chang Jinhua left the cooking and laundry to Huang Ye and Qiu Se.

With the new year, the imperial court’s decrees reached Heshan. The previous practice of delivering grain and silver was changed to only silver, easing the pressure on the Provincial Administration Commission.

This policy was likely related to Song Tingzhou’s earlier tribute of sugar. Meng Wan said with a mischievous smile, “I just love seeing those big shots flustered, too bad I can’t watch it in person.”

Song Tingzhou put away the books and said in a relaxed tone, “The new Deputy Magistrate is diligent enough. Once Constable Zhang is removed, I’ll have Tao Jiu take his place.” With that, the rot in the county office would be cleared out, leaving only people who worked for him.

“Not bad—keep the benefits within the family,” Meng Wan remarked. This was why everyone scrambled for officialdom; even without being corrupt, there were always conveniences.

Heshan had abundant rainfall, and it was raining again today. Song Tingzhou asked Meng Wan, who was standing under the eaves watching the rain, “Isn’t it time to plant the sugarcane this year?”

Raindrops fell in a continuous stream from the eaves, pitting the ground, and the air was thick with the smell of damp earth. Meng Wan sighed softly, “Originally I wanted to plant sugarcane for two years to set an example for the villagers. Once they saw the harvest, they would naturally start planting it themselves. But now it seems the Tong family is too impatient.”

Song Tingzhou was surprised. “Are they planning to break the contract already?”

“Tong Ping was a direct descendant of the Tong family. They can’t just let his death go without resentment. They’ve been the local tyrants for too long and still think they’re clever enough,” Meng Wan said helplessly. “Just watch—they won’t dare break the contract outright, but they’ll probably stir up some trouble to force me to back out.”

Song Tingzhou wrapped his arms around him from behind, his voice low and tender. “Don’t let yourself be wronged. If you don’t want to deal with them, I’ll handle it.”

The warmth at his back was comforting and reassuring. Meng Wan narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a light laugh, “On your turf, I’m the one who gets to bully others. Don’t worry—staying home gets boring, and I quite enjoy playing along with their little drama.”

Meanwhile, Meng Wan made no move at all, which made the Tong family, who had already bought seedlings in Yangzhou, grow anxious. If these cartloads of seedlings weren’t planted soon, they would spoil. Tong Laoer had gone to all the trouble of transporting them from Yangzhou to Heshan and spent no small amount of money.

“Big brother, have you figured out a plan? If not, just return the money and take back the land by force,” Tong Laoer said impatiently.

Tong Laosan snorted coldly. “Return it to him? Sure, you say it so easily. Didn’t you read the contract? That Meng rented it for three years. Big brother signed and stamped it with his seal. If we break the contract, wouldn’t that give our dear County Magistrate a perfect excuse to arrest us all?” In the eyes of the Heshan commoners, Song Tingzhou was no longer just impartial—he was a merciless judge.

Tong Laoda remained fairly calm. He took a sip of hot tea and counseled his agitated younger brothers, “No need to rush. I’ve already made arrangements. Just wait—I’ll make that Meng Fulang willingly give up the land.”

—

By March, Meng Wan still hadn’t mentioned planting sugarcane this year, and the villagers of Hongshan and Hongni villages were growing anxious.

Both villages had women and young lads working at the sugar workshop. Although they had signed confidentiality agreements, they had vaguely let slip that last year’s cartloads of sugarcane were used to make a lot of sugar.

Logically, sugar was expensive and heavy, and outside merchants had come to buy it in bulk. That Meng Fulang must have made a good profit. He should have started preparing early this year, so why was there no news at all?

The Tao family was closest to Meng Fulang, so some villagers went to the Tao residence to inquire, but came away empty-handed.

The eldest Tao brother and his family of seven or eight now lived halfway up the mountain raising chickens for Meng Wan. The others truly knew nothing. But the villagers didn’t believe that, and resentment led to gossip about the Tao family—saying their ninth son had married a young lad who hadn’t served his in-laws a single day and spent all his time outside, showing off.

That rumor lasted only two days. The usually meek Tao family didn’t respond, but families with lads working at the sugar workshop grew angry. They banded together and blocked the rumor-monger’s house, cursing them out.

“Your own kids can’t get into the workshop, so you start spreading lies about others?”

“My child brings home how many silver coins each month? Your whole family together can’t match him!”

“You’re just jealous of others’ success because you’re useless! Pah! Shameless!”

The rumor-spreading family was cursed to their faces, every word stabbing them in the heart. They couldn’t refute a single sentence, stewing in anger until their insides ached.

The next day, the Tong family steward came to the village to snoop around, calling many of the Tong clan to talk, even the young Tong Shun.

The boy was honest and may have sensed something. He gave some silver coins, rice, and flour to a neighboring aunt, asking her to look after his grandmother, then packed a bundle, took an oxcart to the county seat, and went straight to Meng Wan to report.

Meng Wan had been keeping an eye on the Tong family’s moves, but he hadn’t expected the boy to travel so far to deliver the news.

He didn’t pry, only kept Tong Shun at his house for two days, then had Huang Ye pack a bundle of extra cotton and coarse cloth, along with two boxes of snacks, for Tong Shun.

For himself, he packed a bunch of luggage, left Huang Ye and Qiu Se at home to accompany Chang Jinhua and the baby, and took Xue Sheng and Chu Ci with him to Hongshan Village.

Song Tingzhou was worried about him. It happened to be spring planting season, and he had planned to go to the countryside anyway, so he went along.

This year, when they arrived at Hongshan Village, the villagers no longer showed the hidden hostility and unease of the previous year. Instead, they looked forward to his arrival as if waiting for the stars and moon.

Meng Wan stayed again at Tong Shun’s house. Xue Sheng was decent at fighting but not much for housework, so Meng Wan and Song Tingzhou handled their own things. Meng Wan had the foresight to bring quilts, because the quilts at Tong Shun’s were damp and needed airing before they could be used.

Chu Ci silently tiptoed around helping them. It was his first time in a village, and to him it was like an outing—everything was novel, but he obediently didn’t run off.

After they finished unpacking, they had a simple meal, then each returned to their rooms to wash and rest.

As Meng Wan put away clothes into the wardrobe after his bath, he said to Song Tingzhou, “Do you think A Yan will miss us?”

Song Tingzhou, who was making the bed beside him, looked at him in surprise. “Didn’t you say before that he was too noisy and fussy? Now you’re already thinking of him.”

“He is a bit annoying when he cries, but usually he’s cute. You know, he’s learned to roll over recently. He wakes up and just rolls back and forth in bed—it’s so fun.”

Talking about his son made Meng Wan’s eyes smile. He wore a set of smooth silk undergarments, with his favorite Xiangyun silver hairpin still in his hair—the betrothal gift Song Tingzhou had given him. The jade pendant at his waist was also a gift from his beloved. From head to toe, he radiated the glow of being loved, and since having A Yan, a new softness had settled on him.

Song Tingzhou straightened the bedding, stepped up, and kissed him on his well-shaped lips. “We’ll go back to see him as soon as we’re done with village business.”

Meng Wan’s lips curled slightly. “True—if I were home every day, I might start finding him annoying.” Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

The next morning, Song Tingzhou went out to talk with the village head. Meng Wan woke a bit later after the carriage ride. When he got up, Chu Ci was sitting with the snow wolf at his doorstep, basking in the sun.

Beside Chu Ci was a small wooden basin with three or four boiled eggs. He was peeling them one by one for the snow wolf, who was larger than an ordinary Samoyed. The white wolf swallowed them whole, then stared at the remaining eggs with hopeful eyes but didn’t move rashly.

Chu Ci was mature and restrained, and he had raised the wolf to be just as obedient.

Meng Wan stepped out with his toothbrush and asked him, “Have you eaten breakfast?”

Chu Ci threw the half-peeled egg away, and the snow wolf swallowed it shell and all.

“I ate with Uncle Song. He went to see the village head,” Chu Ci signed quickly.

"Good, I understand." Meng Wan finished washing up and went to the kitchen to find something to eat. There was food left for him in the pot, but it wasn't as good as Chang Jinhua's cooking. In the evening, he wanted to go up the mountain to catch a couple of chickens to cook.

"Is Meng Fulang home?" Someone called from outside.

Actually, people had been waiting outside Tong Shun's courtyard since early morning, but Meng Wan hadn't shown himself, so they didn't dare come in. Only when they heard Meng Wan's voice did they approach the door to ask.

Song Tingzhou was not around. Xue Sheng was feeding the horse by the gate. Wherever Meng Wan went, Chu Ci followed, quietly assuming a protective stance.

The villagers had never seen Chu Ci before. Meng Wan always dressed very plainly when he came to the village, and they couldn't distinguish between servants and masters. The villagers thought Chu Ci was Meng Wan's attendant.

"Kid, where's your master?"

Chu Ci lifted his eyelids to glance at him and remained silent.

"Hey, why don't you speak? You're not as good as the ones he brought before." When the villager saw that Chu Ci ignored him, he walked into the yard on his own.

Unexpectedly, the Snow Wolf arched its back, bared its teeth, and growled lowly.

At a distance, the villager thought it was a dog, but up close he realized it was a wolf. He was so frightened he couldn't move.

"Uncle Chen is here. Don't be afraid; it doesn't bite. Snow Wolf, come back!" Meng Wan came out and scolded Snow Wolf, which then meekly ran back and lay down by Chu Ci's leg, unmoving.

Uncle Chen patted his numb leg. The mountains in their village were all low and the forests were shallow, so wild animals were rare. The sudden scare made his legs go numb.

"Meng Fulang, I hope I'm not disturbing you. I came to ask, why do we need to cut the sugarcane into sections for seedlings this year? Shouldn't we start preparing now?" Uncle Chen said politely.

Last year, the families in the village had all earned a good amount of money, but who thinks they have enough? Now, villagers from all around were eager, wishing they could sell their own land and become tenant farmers.

Meng Wan poured out the dirty water from washing the dishes and chopsticks into the yard. "Don't worry, Uncle Chen. I came to the village this time to tell everyone to start planting sugarcane. The sugar workshop has already begun renting carts to bring sugarcane seedlings to the village. No one needs to rush."

His words now carried more weight than the village chief's. Uncle Chen beamed. "Good, good! Then I'll go and tell everyone the good news!"

Meng Wan saw him out of the yard, watching as a crowd gathered around Uncle Chen, firing off questions.

"Uncle Chen, how did it go? Did Meng Fulang say whether we're planting sugarcane this year?"

"Third Uncle, hurry up and tell us! My parents are anxious."

"What did Meng Fulang say? Just spit it out!"

Surrounded by this noisy, loud crowd, Uncle Chen's head was buzzing. "Everyone, quiet down! Stop your jabbering. Meng Fulang said we're still planting sugarcane this year. Just wait at home!"

Hearing this, everyone was relieved and happily dispersed. However, the villagers with the surname Tong exchanged glances, seemingly with other intentions.

The morning passed quietly. Meng Wan took Chu Ci and Snow Wolf up the mountain to catch chickens. It had been almost half a year, and now that the weather was getting warm, it was a good time for hatching eggs. Next year, he would have a large batch of chickens.

Xue Sheng walked silently behind them. Meng Wan felt as if he were taking a kid on an outing. He and Chu Ci each carried a small basket. Meng Wan gathered wild vegetables while Chu Ci collected medicinal herbs.

Many villagers were also on the mountain gathering wild vegetables. They felt a bit embarrassed when they ran into Meng Wan, since the mountain was now rented by him.

In previous years, when the owner wasn't around, they would sneak up the mountain, since they lived right by the mountain and no one was constantly watching.

"It's fine. Go ahead and gather what you want. I'm just here to check on the chickens." Meng Wan smiled at everyone.

Before reaching the chicken coop halfway up the mountain, he saw some chickens wandering nearby. These chickens were free-range, eating and drinking in the mountains during the day and ate very little feed. At night, they would return to the coop on their own without being called. Occasionally, a few especially dumb ones would need to be found by Tao Da's son.

Tao Da's whole family lived up on the mountain to look after the chickens. For convenience, they had built two bamboo houses and a raised single-story house. In the early morning, smoke was still rising from the chimney.

Tao Da's wife came out of the raised house carrying a basket. When she saw Meng Wan, she exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! Meng Fulang is here!"