Chapter 36 — Two taels of silver! Wouldn’t that cost him his life?
“It can be done, but the price, I’m afraid…”
Old Wang looked at them awkwardly. Even though he didn’t finish his sentence, the meaning was obvious. Before his father could respond, Ling Wen—who had been listening the whole time—tilted his head up and blurted out, “Daddy, why do you still want to buy that kind of jar? It’s crazy expensive.”
He had seen the profits from the jam. No matter how many jars Ling Jingxuan bought, he had no objections—but those big-bellied jars with long, narrow necks… weren’t they a bit too wasteful?
“Heh… they are a bit pricey,” Ling Jingxuan admitted with a smile. “But they’ll bring us much greater returns. Xiao Wen, to us right now, those jars are like hens that lay golden eggs. If you’re not willing to feed the hen grain, how can it grow? And how can it lay eggs?”
Ignoring Old Wang’s look of surprise, Ling Jingxuan squatted in front of him and spoke earnestly. After the jam business, he believed the boy could now understand the idea of investing first and earning later.
“But… what if that grape wine doesn’t sell at all?”
After all, each jar cost twenty wen. Ling Wen really couldn’t bring himself to nod right away.
“Then let’s just say your dad is being willful this once,” Ling Jingxuan said gently. “We’ll make a hundred first. How does that sound?”
The buns were still young and needed time to grow. Besides, they didn’t have that many grapes to make wine this year anyway. Ling Jingxuan could only take a step back for now. Once they saw the profits, his little bun would definitely stop objecting. When that time came, they could produce them in large quantities.
“Wouldn’t that be two taels of silver?!”
Ling Wen shouted reflexively, then quickly realized he’d overreacted. His little face flushed red as he lowered his head, tugged at Ling Jingxuan’s sleeve, and muttered with a pout, “Just this once. Let me go back to the ox cart before paying—I’m afraid my heart won’t be able to take it.”
Heaven knew that what he feared most was spending money. Two taels of silver—wouldn’t that practically cost him his life?
His words—mature yet tinged with childish innocence—made Ling Jingxuan laugh. He affectionately rubbed his head. “Go on. Take your little brother and Tiewa back to the ox cart first. Your uncle and I will be there soon.”
“Mhm.”
With lips pressed tight, Ling Wen nodded. Holding Ling Wu’s hand with one hand and Tiewa’s with the other, the three little buns turned and left the stall together. Ling Jingpeng and Ling Jingxuan watched their backs, and Ling Jingpeng said with clear heartache, “Big Brother, don’t blame Xiao Wen. He’s just been scared of being poor for too long. Back in those years when you were dull and muddleheaded, he was still just a child, yet he had to shoulder the burden of the whole household. I heard from Father and Mother that sometimes, when it wasn’t convenient for them to deliver grain on time, he’d save his own rations for you and Xiaowu. When he was starving, he’d just drink water to fill his stomach. He…”
At that point, Ling Jingpeng could no longer continue. In an era where he was already considered half a grown man, his voice choked, and his eyes grew wet. His elder brother’s family had suffered far too much.
“I know,” Ling Jingxuan said quietly.
He wasn’t someone prone to sentimentality. After speaking, he turned directly to Old Wang. “Brother Wang, help me make a hundred first. As for the price, name a number and I’ll think it over.”
“Huh? Oh—alright,” Old Wang replied after snapping out of his thoughts. “Since you want them larger and need characters carved into them, it’ll be at least twenty-five wen per jar. You’ll need to have the wooden stoppers made separately by a carpenter. What do you think?”
In truth, he wasn’t really making any profit at twenty-five wen. But… he knew a little about Ling Jingxuan’s situation. He had heard that the man used to be simple-minded, yet seeing him today made it clear that wasn’t the case at all. Thinking of how hard his life was, and how sensible the child was, Old Wang couldn’t bring himself to charge more. He considered it helping him out.
“That works, Brother Wang. I’ll be custom-ordering this type of jar again in the future. As for quantity and what characters to carve, we can discuss that later. You can also raise the price a bit then—I hope we can cooperate long-term.”
Some things didn’t need to be said aloud; Ling Jingxuan understood them perfectly. But now wasn’t the time to play the hero. As the saying went, if someone showed him an inch of respect, he’d return them a yard. And if anyone dared trample on him—he’d wipe out their entire family. Old Wang’s kindness today, however small, would one day be repaid a hundredfold.
“Alright. A custom-made jar will take at least three days to finish. Once it comes out of the kiln, I’ll deliver it to you.”
“Okay, thanks for the trouble, Brother Wang. I also need two pots for decocting medicine. Please figure out the total cost—I’ll pay you first.”
As he spoke, Ling Jingxuan reached for the money pouch tucked against his chest.
“There’s no rush to pay for the jars—just settle that in a few days. These small pots cost three copper coins each. A hundred would be three large coins. Medicinal pots aren’t anything valuable anyway, so I’ll just give them to you.”
Hearing this, Old Wang waved his hands repeatedly, stubbornly insisting on only taking payment for the small pots. Ling Jingxuan, who had been about to pull out a silver note, thought it over and agreed. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough loose change on him. He had bought too many things today, and the two taels of silver he earned earlier were almost gone. In the end, Ling Jingxuan had Ling Jingpeng go to the ox cart to fetch the money from selling fish. Only after paying did the brothers leave Old Wang’s stall together.
When the ox cart passed through the village, it inevitably attracted attention—people pointed and whispered at the many large and small bundles on the cart. Ling Jingxuan didn’t take it to heart, which later led to trouble—but that was a story for another time.
“Brother Zhao, Brother Han, this is the cart fare. And these packets of medicine—take them home and brew them to drink. Today, when I went to buy medicine for Jinghan, I happened to run into someone who was infected with the plague. These herbs are for prevention. You must make sure to take them.”
After returning home, Zhao Dalong and Han Fei enthusiastically helped carry everything into the house. Ling Jingxuan counted out fifty copper coins, then took out several packets of medicine and walked them to the door. Better safe than sorry—prevention was always wise.
“That’s far too much—fifty wen is a lot! Besides, you even got us medicine. I can’t take this money. I’ll just take the herbs.”
Han Fei quickly pushed Ling Jingxuan’s hand holding the money away, while his other hand accepted the medicinal herbs. His thinking matched Ling Jingxuan’s: whether or not a large-scale plague would break out, it never hurt to take precautions.
“No, you must take the money. Listen to me, Brother Han—I’ve signed a long-term cooperation contract with a restaurant in town. I’ll likely be going there often in the future, and I’ll surely need to use your ox cart again. If you don’t take the payment, I truly wouldn’t have the face to ride your cart anymore.”
Ling Jingxuan refused to back down and forcibly stuffed the half-string of coins into Han Fei’s arms. After hearing that, Han Fei hesitated and instinctively looked to Zhao Dalong for help.
“Take it. If you ever need help, just have the child come let us know.”
Zhao Dalong nodded at Han Fei, then turned to Ling Jingxuan and spoke expressionlessly. He was clearly the type who looked cold but had a warm heart.
“Alright then. Brother Zhao, Brother Han, take care on your way back. I won’t see you out.”
As if afraid they might change their minds, Ling Jingxuan turned and went straight into the courtyard after speaking. Han Fei, holding the medicine and the half-string of coins, stood there for a long while before helplessly shaking his head. He shot Zhao Dalong a mildly reproachful glance, and the latter strangely flushed red. Soon after, the family of three drove their ox cart away from the remote Ling household.
If you enjoy what I do, consider supporting me on Ko-fi! A little support goes a long way!
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
