May 19, 2026
Chapter 93 — Lying Through His Teeth • Brazenly Extorting Money!
If the sight of Xinyuan Restaurant sending several carriage-loads of fruit jam at a time had once been enough to shock people, then this time, the convoy personally led by Shopkeeper Zhang caused an even greater stir.
A long line of identical black horse-drawn flatbed carts stretched all the way from the newly paved road Ling Jingxuan had built to the gates of his home. Then, under Ling Jingpeng’s direction, they moved on toward the old house’s cellar—one cart filled, then the next, in an endless rotation. Villagers who had caught wind of the commotion gathered from afar, pointing and whispering toward the newly constructed estate.
“Look at that—Ling Jingxuan’s really struck it rich. I heard he’s closely tied to Xinyuan Restaurant in town.”
“No kidding. Haven’t they come to haul goods several times this month already? Just look at that house of his—even the landlords in neighboring villages can’t compare. Must’ve cost several thousand taels of silver, at least.”
“They say he even knows the county magistrate, helped him out before. No wonder he’s making money, right?”
“Bah. No amount of money can erase the disgrace of him getting knocked up back then. And now he’s even hiding some wild man of unknown origin in his house. Trash will always be trash.”
“If you ask me, that scholar’s family’s feng shui must be cursed. Otherwise how could every one of them turn out more shameless than the last?”
“Hahaha—”
Among the onlookers, there were those filled with envy, others burning with jealousy, and no shortage who ground their teeth in resentment. Aside from his own family and the Zhao–Han couple, almost no one knew how Ling Jingxuan had truly made his fortune. Most assumed it was the money brought back by Yan Shengrui—the man who had suddenly appeared at his home. Even the goods Ling sold, they believed must have come from some miraculous money-making secret that man had carried with him. Otherwise, how could someone rise so quickly overnight?
Ling Xiaoying stood hidden among the crowd, glaring bitterly at the grand estate. Her hands twisted tightly together, her face openly seething with hatred. The person she despised most was living better and better by the day, while her own household fared worse and worse. The chaos in the eldest branch of the family never ceased, and all the dirty, exhausting work had fallen onto their third branch. If the old lady was in a foul mood, she would take it out on them without hesitation.
Though the old master had recovered from his illness, he had become even more detached, refusing to manage anything. Her parents worked themselves to the bone every day—forget arranging a marriage for her, they barely had the time to spare her a glance. Her brothers were no better: those with wives only cared about their wives, and those without were irresponsible and useless.
If she had Ling Jingxuan’s kind of luck—if she could meet a man like Yan Shengrui—then even if she had to follow him without status or name, she would be willing.
“Sis, look! Brother Jingxuan’s back!”
The youngest of the third branch, Ling Jingxiao, had come up beside her at some point, pointing excitedly at the familiar carriage. Only twelve this year, he was clearly still a naïve child compared to the rest of the Ling family. Some time ago, when Ling Chenglong had been helping the workers with construction, the boy had run over to lend a hand. Ling Chenglong had secretly slipped him plenty of treats he had never tasted before. Since then, he came by often—and was the only member of the Ling family who had ever set foot inside the estate.
“Ah—sis, what are you doing?! That hurts!”
His ear was suddenly seized in a harsh pinch. Ling Jingxiao yelped in pain as Ling Xiaoying dragged him away without a word.
“Look, look—what’s there to see? So he made a bit of filthy money—at the end of the day, he’s still a shameless slut!”
Her curses rang out all the way as she pulled him off. Many of the villagers heard it and couldn’t help but shake their heads. For an unmarried young woman to spit out words like “slut” and “whore” so freely… perhaps the feng shui of that scholar’s family really was as bad as people said.
“Brother Ling, you’re finally back!”
By the time Ling Jingxuan returned, the workers from Xinyuan, along with Ling Jingpeng and the Zhao–Han couple—who had come voluntarily to help—were busily hauling barrels of wine out from the cellar. The moment Shopkeeper Zhang spotted him, he hurried over with a broad, welcoming smile.
“Brother Zhang, you all move fast. I only went over to see Mr. Chu’s child for a bit, and you’ve already beaten me here.”
And with so many carts, no less—Xinyuan Restaurant’s strength was clearly not to be underestimated.
“Can’t be helped. Sixth Master is leaving later today, and these wines will have to go with him. That said, Brother Ling, you’re not being very fair here—selling us the wine but not the proper opener for it. How are we supposed to open them? Surely we can’t just smash the neck of the jars every time, can we?”
As he spoke, Shopkeeper Zhang deliberately put on a look of reproach. Heaven knew how ugly Sixth Master’s expression had been when he’d summoned him to the private room before departure—Zhang had genuinely thought his head might roll. Only after learning the reason did he feel both helpless and speechless, grumbling inwardly: serves you right for teasing the man. Of course, he wouldn’t dare say that to Sixth Master’s face, and could only promise again and again that he would bring the openers back.
“Heh… you can’t blame me for that.”
With a faint smile, Ling Jingxuan gestured for him to walk inside and continued leisurely, “Truth be told, I paid for those openers myself. Who sells wine and throws in bottle openers and cups as a package? If you need them, Brother Zhang, you’re more than welcome to purchase them separately. The ones who make them are right there.”
Just then, Zhao and Han emerged one after the other from the back courtyard. Ling Jingxuan lifted a hand and pointed toward them, a sly glint flashing through his eyes. Opportunities to make money—how could he leave his own people out? If anything, it was Zeng Shaoqing’s fault for not making things clear beforehand. He deserved to be fleeced a little.
Following his gesture, Shopkeeper Zhang glanced over, his brows knitting slightly. After a moment, he sighed in resignation. “Fine. You and I both know how this works. Sixth Master said this one’s on him—his oversight. Just name your price for the openers.”
They had known each other for quite some time, and this wasn’t their first deal. Shopkeeper Zhang understood Ling Jingxuan well enough—he paid back grudges and repaid kindness alike. If his own master hadn’t started things by teasing him, Ling Jingxuan wouldn’t be standing here with a straight face, extorting them so openly.
“Heh… Brother Zhao, Brother Han, come here for a moment.”
Shooting Zhang a look that clearly said you know me well, Ling Jingxuan called out to the pair. Once they entered the main hall, he first introduced Shopkeeper Zhang, then said, “Brother Zhao, Brother Han—remember the openers I asked you to make some time ago? Shopkeeper Zhang needs four hundred of them. One tael of silver each.”
“One tael?!”
The Zhao–Han couple cried out in unison. Even Shopkeeper Zhang couldn’t stop his mouth from twitching—cursing inwardly at how ruthless Ling Jingxuan was. Still, Sixth Master had already spoken. No matter how steep the price, he had to bring them back.
“Mm. One tael each. Go fetch them—Shopkeeper Zhang will be taking them along.”
Glancing at Shopkeeper Zhang, who had clearly chosen to accept it, Ling Jingxuan’s smile bloomed even brighter. It seemed that certain people did have their redeeming qualities after all.
“O–oh…”
The Zhao–Han couple nodded dumbly, turning stiffly and walking off like automatons. The shock alone would probably take them a long while to recover from. The cost of each opener wasn’t even a single wen; adding labor, at most two or three wen. And he was selling them for one tael each—one whole tael…
“Heh… Brother Zhang, wasn’t Sixth Master supposed to be here in Datong Town to relax? Why arrive in the morning and leave the same day?”
Had he guessed wrong? Was he not here to look for Yan Shengrui? But Yan Shengrui had already been here with him for over a month—likely longer if one counted from before that. Altogether, he’d been missing for at least two months. As his close friend, Zeng Shaoqing couldn’t possibly not be searching for him.
“I wouldn’t know about that,” Zhang replied. “But I’ve heard the fighting at the front lines is getting tense. For some reason, the northern nomadic tribes are still harassing the borders at this time of year. Not long ago, His Majesty issued an order for Marquis Zeng to lead the prince in reinforcing the frontier. Sixth Master said he came to Zhen’guo Temple to pray for safety charms. I imagine he’s in a hurry to return and see them off.”
For now, the news of Yan Shengrui’s disappearance remained tightly classified—ordinary people knew nothing of it, and even Shopkeeper Zhang only had fragments of the story.
“Doesn’t look like it, but Sixth Master seems quite filial.”
Lifting his teacup to conceal the faint curve of mockery at his lips, Ling Jingxuan was no fool. Zeng Shaoqing didn’t strike him as someone who believed in gods or prayers. His true purpose must have been to search for Yan Shengrui. Most likely, he simply couldn’t imagine Shengrui would end up somewhere like Datong Town, and thus left in haste.
Thinking it over, Ling Jingxuan’s gaze deepened slightly. Back then, he had found Yan Shengrui deep within the Yuehua Mountains. From the look of things, he must have crossed the entire mountain range to end up here—and the Yuehua mountain range stretched for thousands of li.
Which meant the place where Yan Shengrui had gone missing was likely thousands of li away from here as well… no wonder no one had come searching in this direction.
“Oh, right—Brother Ling, Sixth Master asked me to pass something along. If the jam can be preserved for longer, he’d like you to make more of the small jars. As many as you can. Best if they’re ready within seven days—he plans to take them to the capital.”
Remembering Zeng Shaoqing’s instructions, Shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly added the request. A month ago, they had already begun selling the small jars of jam. In the county and nearby towns, sales weren’t particularly impressive—take Datong Town for example, they had only sold a few dozen jars this month. After all, it was a small place, with few wealthy people, and even fewer willing to spend five taels of silver on such a luxury.
But in the prefectural city, sales had been booming. So far, they had already sold a thousand jars, and orders were still coming in urgently. If they brought it to the capital… it would likely sell even better. After all, the richest people in the entire realm gathered there.
“Mm. If stored at low temperatures, it should last about half a year. In this weather, three months at most. I’ll start cooking tomorrow—have your people come pick it up in seven days. However much there is, that’s how much you’ll take.”
Stroking his chin, Ling Jingxuan nodded thoughtfully. He had originally planned to rest for a couple of days, but that clearly wasn’t happening now. The banquet he had intended to host would likely have to be postponed until after this delivery.
Then again, it worked in his favor. The jam Zeng Shaoqing took back would either end up in the hands of nobles or be presented to the imperial palace—an indirect way of building his reputation. The more he produced, the better. Next year, he planned to expand on a larger scale. If he could establish the name of Ling Family Jam and the Ling Family Winery this year, next year’s efforts would yield twice the results for half the work.
“I trust your work, Brother Ling. The wine’s just about finished loading, so I’ll be off.”
As he spoke, Shopkeeper Zhang rose to his feet. At that moment, Zhao and Han returned, carrying a large basket between them. Walking in one after the other, Han Fei, still visibly shaken, wiped the sweat from his brow and said, “It’s all here. We made five hundred at the time. You took a few, Jingxuan—there are still over four hundred left.”
“Mm. Brother Zhang, care to inspect the goods?”
Ling Jingxuan turned, looking at him with a teasing smile. Shopkeeper Zhang’s temple twitched. He glanced at the small, curved trinkets piled in the basket, his heart aching at the sight. Helpless, he pulled out a stack of banknotes, counted out five, and handed them to Han Fei.
“This isn’t our first time doing business. Anyone Brother Ling trusts, I trust as well. Here are five hundred taels—please have a look.”
“Th-this…”
Han Fei stared at the banknotes, hesitating, not daring to reach out. His eyes instinctively turned to Ling Jingxuan for help. That little pile of things… were they really going to sell them for five hundred taels?
“Heh… Brother Han, why aren’t you taking it? Don’t worry—they won’t be asking for it back. Who knows, they might even come to you for more in the future.”
Throwing him an encouraging look, Ling Jingxuan couldn’t resist adding a touch of mockery beneath his words—aimed at a certain someone far away in Datong Town. Serves him right for provoking him first.
“Take it. It may look small, but it’s very useful to us. Next year, when Brother Ling brews more wine, you can make the same number of jar openers—and we’ll purchase them all together.”
Seeing his hesitation, Shopkeeper Zhang simply pressed the banknotes into his hand. Then, turning back to Ling Jingxuan, he added, “Brother Ling, I’ll take my leave now. As for the jam, please hurry. You’re sharper than I am—you know what kind of return you’ll get when Sixth Master sells it personally.”
“Many thanks, Brother Zhang. Please!”
Leaving behind the still-dazed Zhao–Han couple clutching their money, Ling Jingxuan personally escorted Shopkeeper Zhang out. Only after watching his carriage disappear into the distance did he turn back.
“J-Jingxuan… this money really belongs to us now?”
Grabbing hold of him as he passed, Han Fei stammered, still in a daze, clutching the banknotes. Five hundred taels… he had never seen so much money in his life.
“Of course it does. Isn’t it already in your hands?”
Raising a brow, Ling Jingxuan cast a meaningful glance at the notes. Seeing their stunned expressions, he suddenly recalled the first time he had earned two taels—how the two little buns had been so shocked they dropped the money on the ground. For ordinary farming families, even silver measured in taels was a massive fortune.
To be honest, Zhao and Han were already handling it better than most.
“I—I just can’t believe it. Jingxuan, how did those little things end up being worth so much? When you first asked us to make them, I even wondered why we needed so many. Who would’ve thought… haha—this time, we’re really rich! We’ve even got enough for Tiewazi to get a wife!”
As he spoke, Han Fei broke into a wide, unrestrained grin. Beside him, Zhao Dalong couldn’t help but grin as well. Watching them, Ling Jingxuan suddenly realized—it had already been quite a while since he returned, and he seemed to have completely forgotten about his man.
“Brother Zhao, Brother Han—stay and eat lunch here. I have something to discuss with you later.”
With that brief instruction, Ling Jingxuan turned and headed toward Yan Shengrui’s room. Watching his retreating figure, Zhao Dalong and Han Fei’s eyes filled with unmistakable gratitude.
They weren’t fools. Without Ling Jingxuan, there was no way they could have earned such an enormous sum.
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Translator: LazyHermitGal
Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal wondering in the void and falling into the translation abyss.
