Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The locations Xu Xiaoshan recommended for the shops were near the vegetable market, meat market, residential areas, and the docks.

They were all chosen based on what the shop would sell and the Shen family's needs.

These locations were all quite good, and Shen Song couldn't see anything wrong with them.

The only difference between the shops was the price.

When looking at the shops, Shen Zhun still accompanied his younger brother, worried about a repeat of what happened last time. While out, neither of them accepted food or drink from strangers.

The brothers spent three days checking out shops, then went home to talk it over with the family. Using their current savings, they rented the shop closest to the meat market.

In the summer, the meat market tended to smell pretty strong.

On cloudy and rainy days, the stench of blood and the gamey smell were even stronger than on clear days.

The shop wasn't too close, so those smells weren't an issue.

The Shens liked that customers could grab meat and then conveniently pick up veggies, and the price was indeed reasonable.

It was eighty square meters, with an annual rent of ten taels of silver.

After renting the shop, Shen Song had a signboard and cloth banner made to order.

The name was Shen Family Vegetable Shop.

With the shop secured, they also needed wooden shelves, crates, and small boards made to order. These would let them organize the veggies neatly by type, so customers could see everything at a glance.

Half a month later was an auspicious day for the opening.

Shen Song had the carpenter rush the job, and they managed to get the shop ready inside before opening day.

The night before the opening, the whole Shen family was too excited to sleep.

On opening day, the entire Shen family showed up at the shop. Even Shen Bing brought her newborn, Zhao Bao, along.

They just wanted to see the shop—none of them could have imagined the family would come this far, owning their own shop in the county town.

On opening day, all the managers from Qingyun Town's restaurants and the owners of Yunxi County's taverns and eateries came to show their support.

Following Manager Xu's earlier advice about raising wholesale prices, the retail prices at Shen Family Vegetable Shop were also fifty percent higher than the street stalls.

Still, plenty of people came to shop.

They were mostly families with some savings or status.

Shen Ning, Zhou Gu, and Xu Hongmei were busy serving customers. All three were smooth talkers and outgoing, able to win over buyers in just a few sentences.

The Shen family's vegetables had already made a name for themselves across Yunxi County through the various taverns and restaurants.

So even though the veggies at Shen Family Vegetable Shop cost more than the stalls, business was still booming.

Plus, the vibe inside Shen Family Vegetable Shop was totally different from your average veggie stall.

As soon as customers walked in, they were hit with a fresh fragrance—the natural smell of the veggies themselves.

It smelled naturally welcoming and refreshing.

All the veggies were neatly sorted by type and arranged in perfect order, making customers feel good just looking at them.

And they were even more satisfied with the veggies themselves.

That way, the extra fifty percent felt totally worth it.

Since most customers were buyers for wealthy and influential families in the county, they bought veggies for entire households in one trip. For bigger families, a single purchase could be pretty hefty.

For the first three days, Shen Song also ran a twenty percent off promotion. Families who had initially decided not to buy because the prices were higher than the street stalls took advantage of the discount to try some.

Anyone who'd ever eaten Shen family veggies said they were delicious.

On the second day, even more people came than on opening day.

For all three days of the discount, from open to close, the shop never lacked customers.

After the three-day discount ended, the Shens closed their front door and got ready to count the money.

These days, the family lit oil lamps in the evening. Everyone sat in the main hall, two oil lamps on the wooden table, their flames flickering.

Liu Chunxia, who handled the household finances, opened the shop's money box under everyone's watchful eyes and poured the contents onto the table.

After a clatter, Xu Hongmei and Zhou Gu started helping Liu Chunxia count the money.

After counting three times, Liu Chunxia confirmed, "We made twenty-five taels in three days!"

Add in the money from other taverns and restaurants ordering veggies during those three days, and they'd earned over thirty taels total.

Earning dozens of taels in just three days was something the old Shen family wouldn't have dared to dream of in a lifetime.

Now the family had not just silver but land too.

They even had a scholar in the family—if he could one day pass the imperial exam and earn the title of xiucai, their land taxes could be waived.

Even without the tax break, they were already making a lot of money. The Shens were content and didn't put any pressure on Shen Chong.

Shen Family Vegetable Shop also had to pay taxes, collected the same way as the taxes on their vegetable fields.

Chi Jiu was now in charge of the books for both the vegetable fields and the shop, and every month he had to take the account books to the Tax Bureau to pay commercial taxes.

When it came to taxes, the Shens had no greed at all. They kept honest books and paid every single coin without shortchanging anyone.

The Shens had gained another source of income, and everyone's duties shifted a bit.

With limited manpower, the Shens didn't hire outside help for now, relying first on family members and giving their two daughters a leg up.

At the vegetable shop, even after the three-day discount ended, customers still came in droves every day.

Shen Ning, Zhou Gu, and Xu Hongmei handled selling veggies at the shop, plus moving and arranging the produce.

For folks used to farm work, these tasks were hardly physical labor—they were easy and light.

Shen Yian was quick-witted. Though he had never done business, he was observant and studious, so he was put in charge of managing the shop's operations.

Chi Jiu also stayed at the shop, both to keep the accounts and to teach Shen Yian how to calculate and record them, along with enough literacy to serve as the shop's manager.

Previously, Shen Yian had been delivering vegetables to other towns with Shen He. Now that Shen Yian couldn't make the deliveries, Shen He—being a male—feared that even with the strength to go alone, he might encounter troublemakers who would bully him for being a man.

So Li Geng was assigned to accompany him on the deliveries.

Li Geng's back still isn't fully healed, but he can handle the vegetable deliveries.

There's not much to do in the family fields right now, and Li Geng's happy to earn a bit more if he can.

Seeing that Shen Chong can go back to the private school to study, he feels a deep pang of envy.

During the time he was recovering at the Qi residence, being able to pick up books and read again was one of the happiest times for Li Geng.

But it was also a time of deep guilt.

All the household chores fell on his wife and kids.

Li Geng also wants to study again, but he can't build that on the backs of his wife and kids. He doesn't know exactly what path lies ahead. But he knows full well the family isn't just his.

He can't just wash his hands of his responsibilities out of selfishness.

That would be what a shameless scoundrel does, and his late father and elder brothers never taught him to be like that.

With Zhou Gu and Xu Hongmei gone from the vegetable fields, Zhao Lu has stepped up to fill the gap.

He's tall and burly, with strength to spare, and he can do the work of three people.

Shen Bing stays home to take care of the newborn Zhao Bao, while also helping lighten Shen Sanqiu's load.

Right now, Shen Song's the only one making vegetable deliveries to Qingyun Town and Yunxi County.

After finishing his deliveries each day, he stops by the vegetable shop.

If any veggies are running low and need restocking from home, that's also his job.

After all that, Shen Song still has to help out in the fields—all thirty-eight acres need tending.

On top of that, he uses his Earth Ability on some families' wheat fields to enrich the soil.

Finally, he heads to the herb plot to chat with Zhao Feiyi.

Mostly, he wants to ask if Zhao Feiyi knows where Qi Yuanjing is.

Shen Song can't find Xie Zhiyu, and he can't find Qi Yuanjing either.

He's been to the Qi residence several times, but the steward always says they're not home.

Zhao Feiyi was brought in by Qi Yuanjing, so Shen Song figures Zhao Feiyi might know something.

Unfortunately, Zhao Feiyi doesn't know anything.

Eventually, Shen Song gets used to stopping by every day to chat with Zhao Feiyi.

Zhao Feiyi has a gentle temperament and is very patient. No matter when, there's always a faint smile on his lips, like he never gets angry. Talking to him makes Shen Song feel really at ease.

Shen Song is listening to Zhao Feiyi explain how to tell herbs apart. He's curious about these—leaves that look so alike can be totally different. One can save a life, and another can end it.

While he's lost in listening, a familiar voice comes from behind him, "Xiao Ba, you're here too?"

Shen Song turns around and sees it's his Sixth Brother.

Shen Jue clears his throat, glances at Zhao Feiyi, then quickly looks away at the herb field, "Since I'm done with the fields at home, I came to help you take care of the herbs. Do they need water today?"

Zhao Feiyi's smile deepens, and his voice is soft, "Not today. The Wupeng grass needs its soil loosened to grow better. Can you help me loosen the soil for them? Be careful not to break the roots—the sap is highly toxic."

Shen Jue replies, "Don't worry, I've got this."

With that, Shen Jue skillfully finds the small hoe for loosening soil, grabs it, and heads straight to the Wupeng grass.

Shen Song is pretty surprised, "My Sixth Brother actually knows herbs too. That's impressive."

He doesn't even know what Wupeng grass looks like himself, and Zhao Feiyi hasn't told him about it yet.

Zhao Feiyi turns to look at Shen Song, and seeing he's being serious, can't help but chuckle softly.

"Brother Feiyi, what are you laughing at?" Shen Song, seeing Zhao Feiyi's smile, can't help but add, "You look really nice when you smile."

It's much more beautiful than his usual faint smile.

Zhao Feiyi's smile deepens, and his voice carries a hint of delight, "I just think Song Geer is very adorable."

As the temperature rises, the ice and snow melt.

Shen Song notices that his Sixth Brother has become somewhat different from before.

This includes, but is not limited to, bathing every day and washing his hair every three days. The weather isn't particularly hot yet and is still a bit cold. Because of washing too frequently, his Sixth Brother caught a chill, with a heavy nasal tone and an occasional cough.

But that still doesn't stop his love for cleanliness.

He changes clothes every two days, combs his hair meticulously, and no longer appears in the messy, casually tied-up style of the past.

When he eats something delicious, he only takes a small bite and wraps up the rest untouched.

Every time Shen Song goes to see Zhao Feiyi, he finds his Sixth Brother there too.

Sometimes when he can't find his Sixth Brother, he is sure to find him at the herb field.

Not only that, his Sixth Brother also asks him to teach him to read.

Shen Song teaches him.

Apart from sleeping, his every moment is packed with various tasks.

That way, his mind won't wander to thoughts of how Xie Zhiyu is doing or whether Qi Yuanjing is safe.

Since arriving on this planet, Shen Song finds that he has experienced all kinds of emotions.

Some of these emotions he likes, and some he dislikes.

But whether liked or disliked, they all make up the real, vivid him, making him feel truly alive.

Chi Jiu also notices that Shen Song is deliberately keeping himself busy, so busy that he has no rest time at all.

He is busy during the day now too, and only gets to talk with Shen Song a bit at night before bed.

Shen Song tells Chi Jiu about the recent strange behaviors of his Sixth Brother and asks, "Do you think Sixth Brother might be possessed by some ghost or monster? Or influenced by something unclean? Otherwise, why would he insist on washing his hair even while he's sick?"

Ever since Xie Zhiyu mischievously told Shen Song ghost stories, they have lingered in his mind. Now that he encounters Shen Jue's odd behavior, he can't help but apply those tales to it.

Chi Jiu says to Shen Song, who has not yet awakened to matters of the heart, "Once, my mother took me to a banquet at the Duke's mansion. There was a rare bird called a peacock, with gorgeous, colorful feathers. The male peacock would spread its magnificent blue-green tail feathers fully before the female, a sight so beautiful it was breathtaking. The male peacock, stunning and unmatched, would display all its beautiful postures before the female. Eighth Brother, guess why it does that?"

Shen Song thinks for a moment and says, "It wants the female peacock to know how beautiful its feathers are."

Chi Jiu chuckles softly and says in a low voice, "It is courting."

"Courting, huh?"

"Yeah, showing off your best, most beautiful, and most impressive qualities to the peacock you fancy, hoping to win its favor."

Shen Song kept mulling over Chi Jiu's words, thinking about his Sixth Brother's behavior and then the male peacock's actions. He felt a weird sense of déjà vu but couldn't place it.

Shen Song was quiet for a beat, then suddenly said, "Sixth Brother is courting Brother Feiyi!"

Chi Jiu wasn't surprised. Probably was.

Shen Song's eyes lit up at that. If Sixth Brother and Brother Feiyi got married, wouldn't he get to eat wedding banquet food that was usually hard to get?

Shen Song's head was full of food thoughts, and he dozed off.

Two more busy, full days went by. When Shen Song delivered vegetables to the shop, he saw a minor official taking Chi Jiu out of the shop.

Shen Song went to chase after them right away, but Shen Yian, standing at the shop entrance, quickly grabbed him.

Shen Yian's face was dark, clearly pissed.

He held back his anger as best he could and said to Shen Song, "Uncle, don't go after them. That's the Tax Bureau."

"The Tax Bureau?"

Shen Song didn't get why the Tax Bureau would take Chi Jiu away.

Shen Yian's brows knit tight. "They said there's an issue with how we've been paying taxes and want to take the bookkeeper in for a re-check. If they come to take someone, we can't stop them, or we'll get locked up."

"Xiao Jiu stays up late every night doing the books, so carefully. How could there be a problem with the books? Weren't things fine before? What do we do now? Can't we do anything?"

Shen Song was worried. He didn't get these rules and had no idea what to do. He had a gut feeling this audit was off and was really worried about Chi Jiu.

It was that same uneasy, uncertain feeling again.

Shen Yian didn't know much about this either. He said, "I'll head to the private school and ask Fifth Uncle what to do."

"I'll come with you," Shen Song said.

They left the shop with Shen Ning, calmed the customers down, and took an oxcart straight to the school.

They went to find Shen Chong, but he wasn't there.

A student pointed them the way, saying he'd followed Young Master Chen into an alley and had been there a while.

Shen Song and Shen Yian headed toward the alley as directed. As they got close, Shen Song heard the sounds of a fight.

He grabbed Shen Yian. "Yi'an, quick!"

The uncle and nephew ran into the alley and saw a dozen-plus people surrounding Shen Chong, laying into him.

Shen Chong's clothes were covered in dirt and ripped in a few spots. His face was bruised up, and his hair was a mess. His usually gentle eyes were now sharp and fierce, fists clenched, throwing punches with precision and speed.

Years of farm work had left him lean but packed with muscle and full of power.

Shen Song and Shen Yian jumped in to help without thinking twice.

Shen Song was naturally strong because of his superpower, and Shen Yian, after years of farm work and half a year of good eating, was solid, having shot up in height and packed on muscle.

The three exchanged a look, said nothing, and beat the dozen or so men until they couldn't get back up.

Shen Song, following his Fifth Brother's and nephew's lead, threw punches and kicks, picking up the moves pretty well.

The dozen men lay on the ground groaning, too hurt to get up.

Shen Song shook his wrist. "Fifth Brother, what the hell's going on?"

"No clue what's gotten into them. They've been gunning for me since I started at the school, but always behind my back, never to my face. This time they suddenly rounded up a bunch of thugs to jump me."

Shen Chong frowned, confused and disgusted. "They're crazy."

"Why are you two here? Something happen at home?" Shen Chong asked sharply.

Shen Song explained that the Tax Bureau had suddenly audited the books for the vegetable shop and the farmland income. "They said there's a problem with our business taxes. Xiao Jiu's already been taken. Yi'an and I don't know what to do, so we came to ask you."

Shen Chong's frown got deeper.

Something was off.

"I feel like someone's going after our Shen family behind the scenes."

Shen Song asked without thinking, "Fifth Brother, is the Young Master Chen messing with you connected to the Chen family that wrecked our farmland?"

When they'd asked for directions at the school, Shen Song had heard the student mention Young Master Chen. The name Chen caught his ear, and he'd filed it away.

Shen Chong nodded. "It's a side branch of the Chen family from the prefectural city."

Then he started connecting the dots.

He was thinking further ahead than Shen Song.

Over the past month, his younger brother hadn't gone to the Xie house, and no carriage from there had come by either.

Earlier, when the Chen family had done a total 180 overnight, he'd suspected that one or both of those two in the county town had made a move, forcing the Chens to apologize and pay up so fast, and keeping them from causing more trouble for the Shen family.

The Chens had probably never truly let go of their grudge against the Shen family—they'd just been wary, so they'd held off.

Now that those two in the county town seemed to be in some kind of trouble, the Chens knew, their caution had lessened, and they'd started moving against the Shen family on multiple fronts again.

Shen Yian said angrily, "It's definitely the Chen family from the prefectural city!"

"At least we know someone's deliberately targeting us now. Let's go to the Tax Bureau," Shen Chong said. "Until they finish the audit, we can't see him, but we can wait there. Our accounts are simple enough—at the Tax Bureau's pace, they should have results by afternoon."

The three took an oxcart straight to the Tax Bureau, leaving the groaning men on the ground behind.

They arrived three quarters of an hour later. Shen Chong spent some silver to make inquiries and learned they were still auditing the Shen family's accounts, so the three sat in the oxcart to wait.

At noon, Shen Chong bought meals from a restaurant. After eating, they returned the dishes and bamboo food containers to the restaurant.

More time passed—they didn't know how long. All three were anxious, their hearts in their throats, too preoccupied to care about the time.

Just as Shen Song was about to go inside to find Chi Jiu, Chi Jiu came out.

"Xiao Jiu!" Shen Song rushed over, circling around Chi Jiu who was carrying the account books, checking to make sure he was unharmed, and finally broke into a smile. "Thank goodness you're okay. You scared me."

Chi Jiu smiled. "Our family's accounts aren't afraid of a Tax Bureau audit."

That evening, Chen Mingshan, having received word from the Tax Bureau, demanded of Butler Chen, "What do you mean they calculated five times and couldn't find a single error in the Shen family's accounts?"

Chen Mingshan said with displeasure, "What do they mean by this? Are they trying to say the Shen family's falsified accounts are so flawless that the Tax Bureau couldn't find anything after five checks, or that the Shen family genuinely paid their commercial taxes honestly down to the last cent?"

"How is that even possible?" Chen Mingshan slapped the table, his tone filled with disbelief. Either answer was utterly unbelievable.

Butler Chen hadn't expected anyone to actually pay their commercial taxes honestly, either. "Should we have the Tax Bureau check again?"

"Check again? That's just throwing money away for nothing! This sudden inspection, after so many checks turned up nothing, will only make them more vigilant and harder to audit in the future."

Chen Mingshan, fuming, picked up his teacup and took a sip to steady himself.

If it weren't for his wariness of that Xie bastard, his prestigious Chen family could crush the Shen family like ants. There'd be no need for all this sneaky scheming.

Chen Mingshan racked his brain and hit on an idea. "You said Xie Zhiyu isn't in the county?"

Butler Chen nodded. "He's not. The families working on county matters dug around and confirmed Magistrate Xie is gone.

They figured with him gone, it'd be easy to throw Yunxi County into chaos. But the people Magistrate Xie left behind held the county together like a rock. They tried every trick in the book and got nowhere. When discussing it, they all griped that even with Magistrate Xie gone, they still couldn't stir up trouble."

Chen Mingshan let out a scornful laugh. "That's because they still don't have the guts to go all out."

The reason these families had survived and thrived on this land for generations, besides being far from the center of power, was exactly this reluctance to go all in.

Take this whole mess, for instance. The secret letter from above told them to throw wrenches in Xie Zhiyu's plans and stir up trouble. But until the very end, nobody knew who'd come out on top.

Leaving themselves an out meant that no matter who won, they could smooth things over.

The people Xie Zhiyu left behind were tough, but these families also held back and didn't go for the kill—that was part of it too.

Once Chen Mingshan understood this, a flash of ruthlessness flickered in his eyes. His ambition surged as he said to Butler Chen, "Since they can't finish the job, we'll give them a hand. Remember to keep it quiet—don't let anyone catch on."

He gave Butler Chen a few more orders for the next step.

Chi Jiu got hauled off by the Tax Bureau, but since the audit found nothing, he came home in one piece.

That night, Shen Song and the others told the family everything they knew and suspected, telling them to stay on guard.

Shen Chong said to Zhao Lu and Shen Zhun, "Fourth brother-in-law, second brother, you two need to keep a sharp eye on the house during the day. The Chen family pulling stunts like this won't stop here—something worse might be waiting for us."

Zhao Lu and Shen Zhun both nodded. Zhao Lu, a big, burly guy with a booming voice, thumped his chest in assurance. "Don't worry, I'll keep the family safe."

Thanks to the Chen family's scheming, the Shen household barely got any sleep that night.

Early the next morning, Shen Dashu went to see Village Chief Shen Gaoshan and told him the Chen family still had their eye on their land, without going into details. He asked Shen Gaoshan to spread the word for villagers to watch for any suspicious folks coming into the village.

They needed to prepare in advance.

Shen Gaoshan agreed right away and got on it immediately.

When the villagers heard the Chen family, who'd wrecked the Shen family's land before, were still holding a grudge, they all promised to keep a sharp eye on the village and its outskirts.

Ever since they planted winter wheat, they'd been keeping a close eye on their own fields.

In winter, there wasn't much to see—the wheat was sleeping. But now, in spring, the sprouts were coming up. Not as lush as the Shen family's, but way better than past years, which was a real boost.

They now prayed to the Land God every day and had gotten close to the Shen family. Even when they weren't close, there was no way they'd let outsiders push around one of their own.

If they let that slide, Shen Family Gully would become a village anyone in the area could walk all over.

Everyone knew Shen Family Gully was an easy target.