He Zifeng lent a hand, and together with the others, they got He Fan into his room. After the helpers left, He Zifeng, seeing that no one was around, took out a money pouch containing two hundred coins. He said, "This money is for your spending money; don't tell anyone."

The fact that He Fan had driven them to this point meant their family was truly destitute. Before coming here, He Zifeng had made up his mind that if it was truly a matter of life and death, he would definitely give him one or two taels of silver. If it wasn't a serious matter, he would give him two hundred coins, after all, his family's money was hard-earned, and he couldn't let them become dependent on him for compensation in case of trouble.

He Fan said, "Thank you, Second Brother."

He Zifeng looked at him and said, "You shouldn't go up the mountain anymore." After saying that, he left.

He Fan was reluctant, but he knew that his family had wronged He Zifeng too much. The two families had long since separated, and He Zifeng's presence this time was already a sign that he had done right by him.

He Zifeng realized that there was truly no hope for this family. A three-year-old child, two disabled people, and an elderly person—Wan Hai and his wife were under considerable pressure caring for so many people, but none of this concerned him.

He Zifeng was about to leave. Little did he know that Aunt He and He Donglai had been waiting for him for quite some time. They said, "What, didn't you see us? You don't even say hello when you see us?"

Aunt He lost face after falling into the latrine that day. When she returned to the village, she was seen by the villagers. She washed for many days, but she still smelled bad. Seeing He Zifeng reminded her of the old and new grudges from that day.

He Zifeng retorted, "Rules? What rules? We've already separated!"

Aunt He said, "When you were little, your father raised you with great care, and now that you're all grown up, you want to separate from the family."

He Zifeng turned around and looked at Aunt He, only to find that she and her scumbag father were there.

He Zifeng asked, "What do you want?"

Aunt He said, "Don't think that everything will be fine just because you signed that damn document. Your father is old, aren't you going to take care of him? Your brother is paralyzed in bed, aren't you going to have your wife take care of him?"

He Zifeng smiled, but the smile made He Donglai feel a little cold.

He Zifeng said, "Have you not cleaned your brain yet? The whole village has their say about what happened back then. If you're not satisfied, you can come to the county government. Oh, by the way, this matter is under my jurisdiction."

Aunt He immediately looked at He Donglai, her eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty: "What did he mean?"

He Donglai said, "He is now a yamen runner."

Even the most shrewd Aunt He knew that the county yamen runners were more powerful than the village chiefs, and she froze on the spot. She had thought He Zifeng was a good-for-nothing, but she never expected him to suddenly become someone of high status. However, she couldn't swallow the words she had just spoken, and she stood there awkwardly.

He Zifeng said to He Donglai, "Give up on this idea. You've ruined a perfectly good life like this, and you still won't settle down!"

He Donglai had never paid much attention to his second son before, but now he was the most successful one. Since they had already fallen out, he said directly, "You have to contribute some money for your brother's illness. You earn so much money now! It's not fair for you not to contribute a single penny." Seeing that He Zifeng's appearance and demeanor were different from before, he was extremely envious.

He Zifeng said, "Whoever gives birth to the child should raise it. If you don't have the ability, why did you have so many children in the first place?"

A man's biggest pet peeve is being told he's incompetent, especially when it's said by his son, whom he despises the most. His nostrils trembled with rage as he stammered, "You...you..."

Wan Hai and Xu Li entered, breaking the discordant atmosphere between them.

He Zifeng is now powerful, and the whole village is trying to curry favor with him, but he has the worst relationship with his family. Xu Li feels a little sorry for him, but there's nothing he can do. Wan Hai is obsessed with competing with him, and he doesn't dare to repair the relationship.

No one believes He Zifeng when he says he has no money anymore.

The He family's life was worlds apart from when he was alive. Now, both of the younger children are sick, the family business has suffered repeated setbacks, and they will be getting married in the future, all of which require money.

He Zifeng said, "It just so happens that all the people in charge are here. If you want money, I'll give you a way."

One sentence drew everyone's attention.

He Zifeng said, "The most valuable things in the family are the land and the soy sauce workshop. I'll offer six taels of silver per mu for the land and fifty taels for the soy sauce workshop. If you agree, I can raise the money." After selling these, they would have money.

To everyone's surprise, He Donglai flew into a rage: "I'd rather starve to death than sell these to you! You heartless bastard, all you know is to covet what I have!"

He Zifeng said, "If you don't agree to fifty taels, then next time it will only be forty taels." Then he said something that terrified everyone: "I'm willing to give so much to the soy sauce workshop, and I'm still taking care of you old, weak, sick and disabled. Do you really think I don't know about soy sauce?" In all these years, only He Donglai thought that he had kept some things very well secret?

He Zifeng had been working in the soy sauce shop since he was fifteen, and he had done every kind of hard labor imaginable. No one in the shop, from top to bottom, kept any secrets from him. Only the soy sauce base was valuable; the rest of the junk and equipment were worth a maximum of twenty taels of silver.

At its peak, the sauce shop could earn nearly a hundred taels a year, but now it has plummeted in value. Even selling its sauces at a discount, it might not be able to sell them all. It can barely afford to hire workers anymore. At this rate, it will continue to lose money.

All of this was on Wan Hai's mind. When he heard He Zifeng mention fifty taels, his heart skipped a beat. Ever since witnessing the prosperity of the county, he had found it hard to tolerate earning money penny by penny.

He also had the blood of the Gong family, whose members had been merchants for generations, so he must have some talent in this area. His only problem was the lack of capital. Every time he tried to squeeze out two hundred coins from selling soy sauce, he would be scolded. At this rate, when would he ever save enough to go to the county to earn money?

On the one hand, he thought selling the soy sauce shop was a viable idea, but on the other hand, he didn't want to sell it to He Zifeng!

Seeing that they had different thoughts, He Zifeng didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after he left. They hadn't been in contact with He Zifeng for a long time and didn't know he already had such a powerful aura.

After he left, Wan Hai said, "Father, I think my second brother is right."

Aunt He said, "What's right about it? This is all the family property we have. If we lose it all, even our ancestors will come out and curse us." Then she said to He Donglai, "My two sons are currently at home with nothing to do. I'll have them come and help you with the work in a few days."

He Donglai said, "There's not much work right now, so we don't need them to come!"

Aunt He said, "Why are you being so polite with me?" Seeing that the weather outside was starting to clear up, she went back inside.

Wan Hai knew that his stepfather had a good relationship with this younger sister, and he was getting a little anxious: "Father, Auntie wants to push her son into the family; she must have some ulterior motive!"

He Donglai was well aware that his siblings were all resentful about him acquiring the soy sauce shop. The soy sauce shop was valuable because of the technology. If everyone tried to enter the business, his business would be ruined.

He Donglai wasn't completely foolish. He said, "Sell the soy sauce shop. Sell it to someone in the village, preferably one of my brothers. Sixty taels will do. Use the money to help your two younger brothers get married." He didn't like managing the soy sauce shop anymore; it was tiring and required him to pay upfront, and whether it would even sell was uncertain. He had previously considered passing it on to Wan Hai, but now he thought Wan Hai wasn't his son after all.

However, He Tong and He Fan weren't cut out for it. He Zifeng was capable, but as a father, he couldn't back down to his son, so he figured it was safer to sell it to someone else.

In Chishui Village, everyone knows each other well, and with the clan elders and village chief in charge, there's nothing wrong with large-scale transactions. But if it were sold to outsiders, countless people would end up being cheated out of their prescriptions and not getting paid.

Wan Hai said, "My mother just passed away. According to custom, we should observe a year of mourning."

He Donglai said, "Without all that talk, how can He Tong and He Fan manage without someone who cares about them? Should we just leave it all to you two?"

One sentence shut them both up.

Wan Hai said, "Understood, Father."

He Donglai looked at Wan Hai and said, "Go ahead, you'll get your share of the benefits after this is over."

Then Wan Hai went out to work, and news of his soy sauce shop quickly spread. They say even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, but now it seems this camel isn't doing so well; it's only been a short time and he's already selling off his ancestral property. However, everyone was quite interested. After all, it was a skill.

When He Zifeng got home, he told Qiu Yu about everything that had happened. Qiu Yu asked, "Do you really want to buy the soy sauce shop?"

"How could that be? If I had money, I'd buy a shop in the county, what use would a soy sauce workshop be?" He knew the whole process of making soy sauce. If he wanted some, he could just make a batch next year; besides, it wasn't expensive. "I just want them to keep busy, so they don't have to keep eyeing the little money we have." He didn't even have enough money to raise his children!

Qiu Yu nodded and said, "Mm."

This kind of thing is something you can't get even if you have money. Everyone saw how much He Donglai made before, and they were afraid he would regret it. The Yu family in the village borrowed money from all sides and scraped together sixty taels of silver. They bought the soy sauce shop in front of half the village, selling him the recipe, the land, and everything inside.

The villagers couldn't help but admire his boldness in daring to use famine to buy business.

The sixty taels of silver were paid in full. Qian Hedong was in charge, and he only gave Wan Hai five hundred cash as a service fee. Wan Hai said, "Father, I want to go into business."

"Go ahead and do it!" He Donglai didn't stop him.

Wan Haiqiang suppressed his joy and said, "But I don't have the capital."

He Donglai said, "Oh, then you shouldn't do it."

"Father, can you lend me thirty taels of silver? I'll pay you back when I've earned the money."

He Donglai said, "Wan Hai, I am your stepfather. This money is for your younger brother's wedding. You should be more sensible." After saying that, he took the money and went back into the house.

Wan Hai was left standing there dumbfounded!