Chen Xiaocai spent two hundred taels of silver to buy twenty mu of medium-sized farmland and donated it to the village.
The produce from the fields is mainly used to pay for the education of some outstanding children in the village, as well as to provide food for some impoverished families.
In return, the village will help take care of the graves of Granny Shen, Chen Xiaocai's parents, and Lu Lin's parents, and will burn some paper money at the graves every now and then.
The position of village head has been changed. Zhang Cheng has stepped down, and his son Zhang Jin has taken over the position.
Zhang Cheng had received benefits from Chen Xiaocai, so he was quite concerned about this matter.
Everyone in the village knew that Chen Xiaocai was rich, but when he suddenly donated two hundred taels of silver to the village, many people were still amazed by his generosity.
Twenty mu of land is quite a lot. The Lu and Chen families were able to be so prominent in the village back then, and they only had a little over twenty mu of land.
Zhang Jin was very pleased with Chen Xiaocai's generous gesture.
The Chen clan members were not very happy. Chen Xiaocai's land was donated to the village, not the clan. With more people sharing it, the Chen clan would get less benefit. Many members of the Chen clan felt that Chen Xiaolai's actions were unfairly benefiting outsiders.
Several clan elders were elected to speak with Chen Xiaocai, but Chen Xiaocai did not like the Chen clan members very much and did not give the elders much face. The elders left empty-handed.
Zhang Cheng sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "So Chen Xiaocai is about to leave!"
Zhang Jin nodded and said, "Yes!"
"You've finally come back, why are you leaving so soon?"
Zhang Jin sighed helplessly. Chen Xiaocai's sense of belonging to the village was probably limited. There were too few people in the village who had anything to do with Chen Xiaocai. Zhang Jin had been following Chen Xiaocai around for the past two days and vaguely felt that Chen Xiaocai was somewhat out of place in the village now.
"Lu Lin has been promoted and even knows the prince?" Zhang Cheng asked.
Zhang Jin nodded and said, "Chen Xiaocai didn't say anything, but the guards who came with him all said so, so it should be true." Zhang Cheng said with a complicated expression, "This Lu Lin is really too promising. When will he come back?"
Zhang Jin gave a wry smile and said, "He's an official now, he can't easily leave!"
Zhang Cheng sighed and said, "Lu Lin probably harbors resentment towards our village. It's my fault, really! We finally have a capable person in the village, but he doesn't seem to belong to the village at all. Zhang Cheng felt disappointed and also a little guilty. If he hadn't always favored Lu Chengyu back then, perhaps Lu Lin's relationship with the villagers wouldn't have become so strained."
Zhang Jin thought to himself: If it weren't for the matter of Chen Nian being included in the family genealogy, Chen Xiaolai might not have come back, let alone Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi.
The fact that Chen Xiaocai donated two hundred taels of silver made Old Madam Lu very upset.
The cost of Lu Chengyu taking the imperial examination was much higher than that of taking the county-level examination, and the Lu family had not been doing well in recent years.
The old lady fantasized that if these twenty acres of land belonged to their family, they could live comfortably by renting out the land and collecting rent. Unfortunately, Chen Xiaolai's money was for the village. The old lady felt that Chen Xiaocai was being unreasonable. There were so many people in the village; if twenty acres of land were divided up, there wouldn't be much left.
Grandma Lu was alright, since Chen Xiaocai wasn't a member of the Lu family.
After much commotion, Old Mrs. Chen went to the village head to reason with him, saying that since the twenty mu of land belonged to Chen Xiaocai, it should belong to the Chen family, and half of the harvest from those twenty mu should go to them. But no one in the village paid any attention to what Old Mrs. Chen said.
Old Mrs. Chen's demand to keep half of the profits would naturally harm the interests of other villagers, so no one helped her. After making a fuss, she found that no one paid attention to her and had to give up.
Chen Chi and Chen Xiaocai went back to their hometown, but soon returned to Shaxian County.
"How's Dashi Village?" She Lulin asked Chen Xiaocai as she returned.
Chen Xiaocai said listlessly, "Still the same."
In the past, the villagers looked at him like he was a plague, which made him uncomfortable. Now, the villagers look at him like he's a piece of gold, which makes him feel bored.
However, he still felt somewhat triumphant. Back then, the villagers looked down on him, but now that he's made it big, many people must regret not treating him better back then.
“I donated two hundred taels of silver to the village,” Chen Xiaolai said.
"I'm glad you like it."
Chen Xiaocai shook his head and said, "It's not a matter of liking or disliking." In any case, his roots are in Dashi Village, and his parents are buried there.
Lu Lin rested his chin on his hand and said, "It's good that you came back early. If you had come back any later, the weather would have changed."
With the weather getting colder, sleeping in the middle of nowhere is quite a hassle.
"Time flies, winter is almost here again!" Chen Xiaomi said as she came out.
Chen Xiaocai smiled and said, "Recently, the weather has been getting colder and colder, but the business at the hot pot restaurant is getting better and better."
Eating hot pot in winter is the best thing to do. A group of people can sit around the hot pot, have a meal, and it's a good way to cool off. Lately, it seems like there are more people coming to eat hot pot around here.
Although other hot pot restaurants here have tried to imitate them, their broth is still the best. In addition, their hot pot restaurant was certified by the prince, so it has the best reputation. Many people want to try the hot pot restaurant that the prince ate at. Although the prince was traveling incognito, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever, and many people still guessed it.
With Chen Xiaocai's tacit promotion, it became known that the prince had once visited Shaxian incognito, tasted the local delicacies, and praised them highly. The power of celebrity influence was immense, and many wealthy people from the surrounding area traveled long distances to try the food praised by the prince. After eating it, they were also full of praise. This word spread like wildfire, and the reputation of Shaxian Street grew bigger and bigger.
Kyoto.
Ji Yun'an held the book, turning the pages one by one.
It has been quite some time since I returned to Kyoto. The book Journey to the West still has a great influence. However, many pirated copies of the book were published later, so Ji Yun'an's sales of books were not so smooth. However, over time, little by little, he accumulated more than two thousand taels of silver.
He kept some of the money for his studies and sent the rest to Chen Xiaocai and Ji Chengkang.
Ji Yun'an opened the letter in his hand. It was written by Chen Xiaocai, but the contents of the letter were probably dictated by Chen Xiaomai.
Most of the letter was about food—what delicious restaurants Chen Xiaocai had opened, what tasty treats he'd eaten. Although the letter was mostly about food and rather dull, Ji Yun'an felt a warm glow reading it. Through the letter, Ji Yun'an seemed to see Chen Xiaomai's cheeks bulging as he ate.
"Yun'an, I heard from the people in the Prince's mansion that the Prince is obsessed with the food in Shaxian County. He hasn't been able to stop thinking about it since he returned. Is the food in Shaxian County really that delicious?" a student asked, leaning closer.
Ji Yun'an said calmly, "There are some specialty dishes."
"Really? Shaxian is just a barbarian land. Do you think it has delicacies that even we in the capital don't have?" a student said arrogantly.
Ji Yun'an smiled. Local students from Kyoto all have an innate sense of superiority, which is understandable, after all, Kyoto is the most prosperous place in the country.
"Anything that can make the prince so fond of it must be something special. If you have the chance, you can try it too," Ji Yun'an said calmly.
That's true. The prince must be used to eating delicacies from land and sea. For him to appreciate the food from Shaxian County, the food there must be exceptional.
Ji Yun'an smiled and said, "Many of the foods there have very unique flavors."
"Yun'an, you really have a high opinion of Shaxian's food. However, I still think that our Kyoto has more delicious food. I went to a small town that claims to be a food paradise before, but the food there was so rough and unappetizing! Yun'an, now that you're back in Kyoto, you should try more of Kyoto's food."
Ji Yun'an glanced at the speaker but didn't argue. These are not easily changed ideas. Without experiencing it firsthand, Ji Yun'an wouldn't believe that Lu Lin could create so many delicious dishes.
Ji Yun'an exchanged pleasantries with everyone for a while, then put away his books and went outside.
Holding the books, Ji Yun'an felt a growing sense of urgency.
He has been away from the border region for quite some time now, and I wonder how the wheat is doing.
After the prince returned, he spoke highly of Shaxian cuisine, and seemed to have a very good impression of Lu Lin.
Ji Yun'an gave a wry smile. It seemed that everything was going smoothly for Lu Lin, while he had been back in Kyoto for so long and hadn't achieved anything yet. Ji Yun'an suddenly felt a little ashamed.
The relationships in Kyoto are complicated, and with Ji Chengkang away, Ji Yun'an has few people to talk to and often feels lonely. Chen Xiaomai's letter gave Ji Yun'an a lot of encouragement.
Chen Xiaomai returned to the house excitedly.
"Ji Yun'an sent a letter." Chen Xiaomi said with a complicated expression as she looked at Chen Xiaomai's excited expression.
Lu Lin rested his chin on his hand and said, "Another letter!"
Chen Xiaocai and Ji Yun'an had done business together, so they kept in touch through letters. Whenever Ji Yun'an wrote to Chen Xiaocai, he would always include a letter for Chen Xiaomai. Actually, it's unclear whether it was Xiaocai or Xiaomai who wrote it as a side note.
Xiaomai was always excited to receive letters from Ji Yun'an. In order to understand the contents of the letters, Chen Xiaomai even developed an interest in reading. "That kid is promising. It seems he passed the imperial examination at the county level two years ago," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaomai rested her chin on her hand and said, "You're still far from being a scholar. To become an official, you need to take the higher exams."
Lu Lin smiled and said, "How old is he?"
Lu Chengyu took the exam again and again before finally passing, while Ji Yun'an passed it in his first year back home.
Chen Xiaomi pouted and said, "That's true, but it's still far from perfect."
“The wheat is getting bigger and bigger!” Lu Lin said.
Lu Lin frowned. Xiao Cai and Shen Chi had been engaged for a long time, but Xiao Mai was different. No one had come to propose marriage to her yet. Xiao Mai was more like a wild boy. Even the helper in the family probably didn't treat Xiao Mai as Shuang'er. Lu Lin shook his head and thought to himself: Fate is something that will come when it's meant to be. There's no use in worrying about it.
Chen Xiaomi frowned and said, "He's getting bigger and bigger, but there's no rush. If there's really no other way, I can just buy him a husband, or I can support him for the rest of my life, that's fine too."
Lu Lin: "..."
Lu Lin entered Chen Xiaomai's room. Chen Xiaomai was biting her pen, seemingly lost in thought.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomai with a strange feeling in his heart. In order to learn how to write letters, Chen Xiaomai had already learned to write many words.
When Xiaomai saw Lu Lin, she put down her pen.
Lu Lin looked at Xiaomai and asked, "Are you writing a letter to Ji Yun'an?"
Chen Xiaomai nodded, a little shyly saying, "Yes! However, I still don't know enough characters to write. As expected, it's still necessary for Second Brother to write them."
Lu Lin secretly rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: What has this brat Ji Yun'an done to deserve that he can make Xiaomai, this fickle girl, work so hard to learn to write for him? Looking at Chen Xiaomai's handwriting, Lu Lin suddenly felt that his own handwriting wasn't so bad after all; it was better than average.
"Brother Ji said that the food in Kyoto is terrible and no one is cooking for him. He's probably going to go hungry. Poor Brother Ji!" Xiaomai said with sympathy.
Looking at Chen Xiaomai, Lu Lin thought to himself: Xiaomai is really overthinking things. What kind of place is Kyoto? There are plenty of food stalls there. If you have money, you won't have to worry about not having enough to eat. Ji Yun'an is actually playing the victim. What a despicable guy. Let him starve to death. "Brother Lin, tell me a story," Chen Xiaomai said.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomai and said, "Why do you suddenly want to hear a story?"
Chen Xiaomai lowered her head and said, "Brother Lin, tell me a story so that I can tell Brother Ji when he comes back."
Lu Lin: "..." Ji Yun'an is really capable! This brat has completely intimidated Xiaomai.
Lu Lin suddenly remembered the time when Ji Yun'an climbed over the wall to get in when he first arrived. Back then, when Ji Yun'an climbed over the wall, he was sent by Chen Xiaomai to grind grain. He had felt sorry for the guy back then, but now it seemed there was no need for that. This kind of rascal should be tormented a bit more.
Looking at Chen Xiaomai's expectant eyes, Lu Lin nodded and said, "A story? Okay, I'll tell you one."
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