Chapter 25 — Zhao & Han Husband Couple • Money-making Plan
“Look, look—that’s him. A grown man giving birth to children. How shameless…”
“Exactly. You could call him a monster and no one would doubt it.”
“Wasn’t he supposed to be crazy? He doesn’t look like it now.”
“Oh, you don’t know? I heard he suddenly came to his senses a few days ago and even beat up Dawa’s whole family. Dawa’s father is still bedridden.”
“Really? What did the village head say?”
“What could he say? Dawa’s family threatened to go to the county office to report it. The village head and clan elder didn’t want to lose face all the way at the county level…”
Where there were people, there was gossip. When they’d passed through the village earlier, it had only been pointing fingers and hushed muttering. Now they were openly shouting, practically afraid he wouldn’t hear them. If it were the old Ling Jingxuan, he would probably have been so ashamed he’d fled back home. As for the current Ling Jingxuan—one look at his calm expression made it clear that all those humiliating, mocking remarks were nothing more than farting in his ears.
“Big Brother, don’t listen to their nonsense. You’re not a monster.”
Letting go of the handcart, Ling Jingpeng said worriedly, afraid his elder brother might retreat back into his shell again.
“Heh… if I really were a monster, that’d be great. Tonight I’d turn into one and pay each of them a visit, house by house.”
His deliberately raised voice cut through the crowd. A sinister, bloodthirsty smile crept onto Ling Jingxuan’s thin, elegant face as his gaze swept pointedly over the cluster of gossiping village women. The chatter vanished instantly. The women who’d been talking so enthusiastically all took several steps back together, as if genuinely afraid he’d come knocking that night.
Seeing this, Ling Jingxuan curled his lips into a mocking cold smile and turned to Zhao and Han.
“You must be Brother Zhao and Brother Han. These past few years, Xiao Wen and the others have had you to thank for looking after them.”
He’d heard about it long ago—how Zhao and Han treated the boys well. Whenever Tiewa had something to eat, they always shared some with the two Xiao Baozis. It wasn’t anything precious, but Ling Jingxuan remembered the kindness.
“That’s nothing. We didn’t really do much—no need to be so polite. Besides, I genuinely like Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu. These two kids are really sensible and often help us take care of Tiewa.”
The petite Han Fei turned out to be refreshingly straightforward. As he spoke, he casually ruffled the boys’ hair, the affection in his eyes entirely genuine. Perhaps because their experiences were similar, he’d never looked down on Ling Jingxuan—not even a little—and understood his hardships better than most.
“Heh… alright then, I won’t say more. Brother Han, when is your ox cart leaving?”
Some things were better kept in the heart. Ling Jingxuan decisively changed the subject. If there was a chance later, he’d repay them.
“You can see for yourself—not a single passenger. It’s the busy farming season, and fewer people go to market. Looks like we won’t be heading out today.”
Even the most open-hearted person would feel dejected in a situation like this. Han Fei couldn’t hide his disappointment. Beside him, Zhao Dalong wrapped an arm around his shoulder, offering silent comfort. Han Fei looked up and gave him a faint smile. As they gazed at each other, a quiet tenderness spread between them.
Farm folk might never say anything about love, but the bond between them was plain for all to see. Watching it all, Ling Jingxuan felt that this kind of slow, steady, gentle affection was worth far more than any grand, blazing passion.
“How about this—Brother Zhao, Brother Han. I’m planning to go to town to sell some fish. Why don’t I hire your ox cart?”
If possible, he didn’t want to interrupt their tender moment—but it was getting late. He’d only added a little Crescent Spring water to the fish today; the rest was ordinary water. If the fish died, that would be a disaster.
“Huh? No need to talk about hiring. There’s no business anyway—we’ll just take you to the county. Come on, let’s load the fish.”
Coming back to himself, Han Fei finally noticed the large wooden buckets on the cart. He immediately rolled up his sleeves to help carry them. Ling Jingxuan hurriedly stopped him.
“That won’t do. I have to pay. If I don’t, I won’t ride your cart.”
He pressed down Han Fei’s hand, his eyes filled with unmistakable stubbornness and resolve.
“Alright, alright—you win. Then we’ll settle up after you sell the fish. Dalong, come help too.”
Helpless, Han Fei could only agree, calling Zhao Dalong over to help lift the heavy buckets.
“Daddy, we’ll help too!”
Seeing this, the three buns sitting on the ox cart nimbly slid down. The four adults exchanged a smile.
“You staying put and not moving is the biggest help.”
“What? Daddy’s the worst.”
Ling Wu scrunched up his little face, lips pouting high, making all the adults burst into laughter. The strange, judgmental looks from around them were completely ignored.
“Where did you catch all these fish? How can there be so many?”
The four buckets were quickly loaded. Looking at the big, fat fish inside, Han Fei couldn’t help asking. Villagers often fished during slack seasons, but after generations of that, there weren’t many fish left in the river—and those that remained were usually small. It was rare to see so many large, plump ones.
“Heh… I found a spot in Yuehua Ditch with a lot of fish. After catching them for a few days, I’ve almost emptied it. I’m planning to dig a fish pond and raise my own, but I don’t know where to buy fish fry.”
Climbing onto the ox cart, Ling Jingxuan said casually. The Zhao family’s cart was fairly large—even with four buckets of fish plus several adults and children, everyone could still sit, though it was a bit cramped.
“Don’t do that. People in our village tried raising fish before—every last one died. You’d better not waste the effort.”
Hearing this, Han Fei—sitting beside Zhao Dalong with Tiewa in his arms—turned back and frowned. His fair face showed undisguised concern. On the other side, Ling Jingpeng, holding Ling Wen, echoed him.
“Big Brother, why are you thinking about raising fish? A few years ago, even the rich landlord in the neighboring village tried—it all died just days after the fish fry were released. With that money, you’d be better off buying more farmland.”
When Ling Jingxuan mentioned it yesterday, Ling Jingpeng thought he only meant raising some to eat and selling the surplus. Now, judging from his tone, it sounded like he wanted to go big. Ling Jingpeng’s still-youthful handsome face was clearly disapproving.
“Heh… don’t worry. I’ve got a herbal method for raising fish. I guarantee they’ll grow big and fat—and fish raised with medicine are good for the body too.”
By contrast, Ling Jingxuan didn’t care at all. Come to think of it, with Crescent Spring in his hands, what couldn’t he raise successfully?
“Really, Daddy?!”
From the moment he’d gotten onto the ox cart, Da Baozi had been hugging the two jars of jam tightly. He looked up in delight, excitement shining in his eyes. In just a few days, he’d already tasted the sweetness of selling fish and wished he had endless fish to sell every day.
Han Fei and Ling Jingpeng both looked at Ling Jingxuan with suspicion. Even Zhao Dalong, who was driving the cart, turned to glance at him. The only ones without much reaction were Xiao Baozi and Tiewa, who were huddled together whispering to each other.
“Of course it’s true. That’s why we need to work hard to save money. Then we’ll hire people to dig our two mu of wasteland into fish ponds and buy more fry to stock them. After that, we’ll have more fish than we can ever sell.”
His gaze swept over everyone before finally landing on Da Baozi. Ling Jingxuan reached out and affectionately rubbed his son’s head. That should give him a bit more confidence, right?
“Huh? Spend money again?!”
The moment he heard about hiring people, Da Baozi frowned deeply. Ling Jingxuan couldn’t help laughing. Two mu of fish ponds—surely he couldn’t expect the kid to dig them himself?
“If it really works, then hiring people to dig the ponds is worth it. Xiao Wen, this is money you can’t skimp on.”
Han Fei clearly understood Da Baozi’s miserly tendencies. His tone was that of an elder speaking earnestly to a child. Ling Wen’s little face flushed red as he lowered his head and stammered, “I—I know…”
He just felt bad about spending money—he never said he wouldn’t pay.
“Haha…”
Seeing this, Ling Jingxuan and the others burst out laughing. Stingy as Ling Wen might be, wasn’t he also their little ray of sunshine?
The group chatted and laughed all the way. Xiao Baozi was especially excited and lively, popping out funny remarks from time to time. About halfway along, Ling Jingxuan suddenly spotted a vast stretch of barren land—almost nothing grew there. In the countryside, this was nothing short of a terrible waste. What mattered most to farmers? Land, of course. Yet here,there was so much lying idle because of inland sea tributaries. Surely plenty of people felt heartache over it.
“What a shame. If only something could be planted there.”
Noticing his gaze, Ling Jingpeng said regretfully. Many villagers didn’t have enough land to farm—especially outsiders. Some families had only one or two mu; after paying taxes, they didn’t even have enough grain to eat. In recent years, almost all arable land in the Ling River basin had been reclaimed. Some people even bought residential plots to farm, but half of what they planted couldn’t survive. Ling Jingxuan’s own two mu were residential land—otherwise, their family of three wouldn’t have been struggling from meal to meal.
“Heh…”
Glancing at him with a faint smile, Ling Jingxuan suddenly said, “Brother Zhao, could you stop for a moment? I want to take a look over there.”
As he spoke, he jumped down before the ox cart had fully stopped.
“Daddy—”
“Xiao Wen, you stay on the cart. I’ll just take a look.”
Seeing this, the two buns also prepared to jump down, but Ling Jingpeng and Han Fei quickly grabbed them—one in each hand. After the cart stopped, the three adults exchanged a few words and then followed him.
“Just as I thought—semi-saline land.”
Ignoring the three who clearly wanted to speak but hesitated, Ling Jingxuan squatted down, scooped up some loose soil, and put it in his mouth. From the original owner’s memories of Ling Village’s surroundings, he’d already guessed that this wasteland was likely semi-saline from seawater backflow. He hadn’t expected it to be true. No wonder nothing villagers planted ever survived—crops growing on salty land would be the real miracle.
“The seawater flows back in around October every year, right? How high does the water get? How long does it take to recede?”
Turning to them, Ling Jingxuan asked seriously. A vague plan for making a fortune was taking root in his mind—but the upfront capital required wouldn’t be small.
Ling Jingpeng and Han Fei didn’t know much about this. Their gazes unconsciously shifted to Zhao Dalong, and Ling Jingxuan followed suit.
“Yeah. Around mid-October every year, seawater from the inland tributaries flows back in. The water level isn’t very high—about one chi. It takes one to two months before it fully recedes.”
Faced with the expectant looks of the three, the dark, burly Zhao Dalong looked a little bashful, but his explanation was clear.
“That’s it. Come on—let’s head to the market.”
Ling Jingxuan was grinning from ear to ear now. It was June—four months until October. But if he wanted to carry out his plan, he’d need to scrape together at least a thousand taels of silver within three months. Difficult, sure—but where there was will, there was a way, right?
Haha… this time, he was really going to strike it rich.
“Brother, what on earth are you talking about?”
The three of them were utterly baffled, unable to figure out what he was so excited about. Could he really grow something on that wasteland?
It had to be said—they’d hit the nail on the head. They just didn’t believe it.
“It’s nothing. Talking now is pointless anyway. When the time comes, I’ll explain everything in detail.”
Turning back, Ling Jingxuan blinked mysteriously, a rare mischievous glint flashing across his face. The three exchanged looks, completely at a loss, their curiosity only growing as they stared at his slender back.
“Daddy, what are you looking at?”
When the ox cart started moving again, Xiao Baozi abandoned Tiewa and climbed onto Ling Jingxuan’s lap, asking curiously. Da Baozi turned to look as well. Ling Jingxuan affectionately pinched Xiao Baozi’s nose and said with a mysterious smile, “Money, of course.”
“Daddy’s lying. There’s no money in the wasteland.”
Xiao Baozi pouted and called him out without mercy. Da Baozi wordlessly shot him a look of disdain. Meanwhile, Ling Jingpeng and the other two adults quietly perked up their ears. For some reason, they felt Ling Jingxuan’s words carried a deeper meaning—one they simply couldn’t grasp with their limited experience.
“Heh… why would I lie to you? Just wait and see. One day, Daddy will turn that barren semi-saline land into mountains of gold and silver.”
Some things, the more you explained, the more people would think you were crazy. When the day came to actually put it into action, they’d understand.
“Daddy, you’re not thinking of buying that land, are you?”
Xiao Baozi still looked confused, but Da Baozi was sharp. He glared at Ling Jingxuan defensively. Heaven knew what he feared most now was hearing his daddy talk about “making big money,” because every time those wild ideas surfaced, their family’s savings flowed out like water—buying clay jars, digging fish ponds, raising fish, and so on.
“Ahem… Xiao Wen, who ever makes money without spending money first? Doing business requires capital. Don’t—don’t—don’t get angry yet. Daddy promises, I absolutely won’t touch your money, okay?”
Halfway through, he saw Da Baozi was about to start yelling again, so Ling Jingxuan hurriedly surrendered. He was genuinely afraid of him by now.
“My money, your money—aren’t they all the family’s money? Daddy, I’m telling you, money isn’t meant to be spent like that…”
Oh no—here it came again. Da Baozi started chanting like a monk. Ling Jingxuan felt his temples throb and wished he could just seal the kid’s mouth shut. Seeing this, Ling Jingpeng, Han Fei, and the others all curled their lips into smiles.
The kid was great in every way—except the moment money came up, when his face changed instantly. Truly headache-inducing, wasn’t it?
Wow, first family outing! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
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Translator: LazyHermitGal
Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal. A little support goes a long way! If you’d like to help me keep creating, you can do so at https://ko-fi.com/lazyhermitgal
