Chapter 14
"That shameless, despicable bastard, how dare he ride on my head!" Granny Tian cursed as she pushed open the door and entered the house.
"What's going on?" Liu Zi and Old Man Tian looked at her with displeasure.
"It's all because of that little bitch Wang Ying. She's only been in charge of the household for a few days and she's already got a death wish. Today she even tried to persuade Madam to stop going to the mountain to worship Buddha!"
The father and son sat up. "Really?"
“How could it be fake? Ever since he took over, he’s kept a daily account book, and Liu Zi hasn’t been able to get a single penny of kickback from purchasing. Now that he’s cut off our kickbacks from the temple, things are probably going to be tough for us from now on.”
It turns out that over the years, Tian's mother had been in contact with the monks in the temple. Every time she went up the mountain to worship Buddha with Li, she would persuade her to donate money for incense. Half of that money would end up in her own pocket.
Even when the patriarch of the Chen family was alive, she didn't dare to be too blatant, donating at most two or three hundred coins each time.
Since the master passed away and the eldest son fell seriously ill, Madam Li has placed all her hopes on gods and Buddhas, and she has started to use various methods to persuade the mistress to donate more money.
Ostensibly, it was to pray for the three children's well-being, but in reality, they had secretly conspired with the monks to split the incense money in two. In just one year, they earned dozens of strings of cash, and their family's life became increasingly comfortable.
Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents; how could she not be angry?
Mother Tian received 200 coins a month, Xiao Liuzi received 150 coins, and Old Man Tian received only 100 coins for raising livestock. This amount was enough for ordinary families, but they were used to a life of luxury and could not endure poverty, especially since Old Man Tian drank every day and Xiao Liuzi ate meat every day.
"No, we have to think of a way. If we let him have his way in everything, we might not have a place to stay in this house anymore!"
Old Man Tian said, "What do you suggest we do?"
Xiao Liu, who was sitting next to me, suddenly spoke up, "I went shopping a few days ago, guess who I ran into on the street?"
The elderly couple turned their heads. "Who is it?"
"Young Master Qingfeng from the Second Master's family."
"Didn't he get kidnapped by the gambling den and threatened with having his hands and feet chopped off? He's been ransomed?"
Liu Zi said, "Of course he came out. I heard he spent a lot of money, sold all his shops, and had three fingers chopped off."
The elderly couple gasped, "And then?"
"He said it was our wife who refused to help him and that's why he ended up like this. He asked if I was willing to do something big with him... and that I would get half of the Chen family's land in the future."
"What are you doing?"
Liu Zi lowered his voice, "He wants to kill Chen Qingyan..."
*
"Walk slowly, yes, keep walking forward."
In the backyard of the Chen family, Chen Qingyan pushed a small wooden cart, inching his way out like a toddler learning to walk. His legs, which had been crippled for over a year, felt like two pieces of wood, and every step he took felt incredibly heavy. Before long, he was covered in sweat from exhaustion.
"Take a break." Wang Ying helped him back into his wheelchair and pushed him under a tree to rest in the shade, while she continued tending to the vegetables she had planted.
The tomatoes will be ripe in a few days, so we need to save the seeds. These are a rare commodity; they haven't been introduced from overseas yet in this dynasty. We're so grateful for the artificial fertilizer in the experimental field. The watermelons have also grown to the size of a fist, and they'll be ready to eat in about ten to fifteen days.
The vegetables had grown quite a bit. He plucked two small, tender cucumbers from the trellis, rubbed off the thorns, and handed one to Chen Qingyan. These untreated cucumbers were the best; one bite and they were crisp and sweet.
"I plan to go for a walk around the streets this afternoon to see if there are any suitable shops."
"You want to open a shop?"
Wang Ying, biting into a cucumber and puffing out her cheeks, said, "The meager income from farming is enough to make a living, but it's insufficient if something happens."
Yesterday, Chen Xi brought over the money from selling the grain, a total of eighty-six strings of cash. He said he would bring back another sum after selling the millet in the fall. This amount of money seemed like a lot, but it wouldn't last long in real life, so Wang Ying wanted to find some other ways to make money.
What should you sell in the shop?
"I want to wait until it gets colder in a while before selling the fresh vegetables I grow in my field."
The experimental field was a treasure; it would be a waste to plant it entirely with wheat. In this era without greenhouses, people could only survive on stored dried vegetables, radishes, and cabbages in the autumn.
After harvesting the wheat, Wang Ying plans to plant some vegetables and sell them at high prices when winter comes, which will surely make her a fortune.
"It is indeed a good business, but I'm afraid that someone with ulterior motives will inquire about the origin of these dishes. If they find out your secret, it will be troublesome."
Wang Ying had also considered this matter, so she already had a plan in mind: "Don't you have an uncle who is an official in another place?"
Chen Qingyan nodded. "My fourth uncle is the governor of Laizhou."
“I plan to use your fourth uncle’s name to open a shop, and say that the vegetables are all transported from the south.”
"That's not appropriate... If this gets to Uncle Si's ears, he'll definitely be angry."
Wang Ying chuckled, "Laizhou is more than 600 li away from here. It would take more than half a month to make a round trip. How could the message possibly travel that far? Besides, your fourth uncle wouldn't get angry with you over such a small matter. We're just using his name to avoid trouble."
Chen Qingyan hesitated for a moment, "Then I'll write a letter to my fourth uncle. If he agrees, we can open the shop again."
“Okay, the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, I’ll go buy some gifts and send them over together.”
"good."
*
In the afternoon, Wang Ying took Qingyun and Qingsong to the street.
The two children jumped for joy when they heard that their sister-in-law was going to take them out, but they were inevitably nagged by their mother for a long time.
Since transmigrating, Wang Ying has only gone shopping a handful of times, mainly because there's nothing worthwhile to shop for.
Take Changxing Town for example. It's a large town in the surrounding area, but it only has one main road, with just over thirty shops on both sides. The streets are usually deserted, except for the market on the fifth day of the lunar month, when it gets a bit lively. People from the countryside come to the town to sell their mountain produce and wild game during their off-season.
Today happens to be the town's market day on July 25th, and the streets are much more lively than usual.
Along the way, I saw many villagers setting up stalls on the street, selling all sorts of things, including chicken eggs and duck eggs for one coin each, and homegrown vegetables and fruits, which were cheap and could be bought in bulk for three or five coins.
The two children were intrigued by everything they saw, so Wang Ying simply gave them a string of cash and told them to buy whatever they wanted to eat, while she wandered around the shops on the street.
Most of the shops in town are rented out, with monthly rent ranging from three hundred to five hundred wen. If you were to take over a shop, the price would be much higher, at least one hundred or eighty taels of silver, because once you buy it, it can be passed down from generation to generation.
As they walked, they came to Chen Biao's shop. This shop used to sell incense and candles, but it was sold to a gambling den to redeem his son. Now it was up for sale.
The price wasn't expensive, only sixty taels of silver, but Wang Ying was too lazy to deal with the Chen family, fearing that after buying the shop, they would come over and cause trouble, affecting her business.
As we continued walking, we suddenly saw Xiao Liu, who was in charge of shopping for the family, sneakily turn into an alley.
Wang Ying tried to call out to him, but then she saw two familiar faces behind him. One of them was Chen Qingling, the second son of Chen Biao's family, and the other, though she had never met him before, looked like Chen Qingfeng.
How did Liu Zi end up hanging out with these two?
Wang Ying, filled with doubt, quietly followed them. The three people were in a hurry and did not notice Wang Ying following behind them. They turned two corners and entered a house.
This is where Chen Biao's family lives now; their old mansion was taken over by the gambling den.
"Liu Zi is here, come in quickly!" Chen Biao's voice came from the courtyard. He warmly took Liu Zi's hand and invited him into the house.
The house was a mess, with not even a place to stand. It was hard to imagine that this was once the wealthy second master of the Chen family.
"Second Master." Liu Zi sat down awkwardly.
Chen Biao was also dissatisfied with his living conditions, shaking his head and sighing, "Those people from that gambling den are too despicable. Not only did they cut off my son's finger, but they also seized the house. Now we can only make do here for a while."
Because the window was open, the sounds inside were exceptionally clear. Wang Ying hid in the corner and sneered, thinking to herself that this person was shameless enough to blame others for her own son going out to gamble.
"What have you thought about what Qingfeng told you last time?"
Liu Zi hesitated for a moment and said, "Second Master, it's not that I'm unwilling to do it, but this matter is really... really too dangerous. If it gets out, it could cost lives."
Wang Ying immediately perked up her ears. What could be so serious that it could even cost someone their life?
Chen Biao said, "Do you want to be a gofer for the rest of your life? I heard that the newly arrived young men are not easy to deal with. They don't even respect your mother. Once Li Shi dies, your family will probably have no place at all."
"Who says otherwise? My mother was furious too. She had no other choice but to send me to my parents, hoping they could give me some guidance."
Chen Biao glanced at his son, and Chen Qingfeng took out the contract he had prepared in advance and placed it on the table.
"Once this is done, won't the Chen family's vast fortune fall into my hands? Half of the land on the estate will be given to you, enough for you and your parents to live out your old age."
Liu Zi knew a few characters. He picked up the contract and read it carefully, his heart pounding with excitement.
Half of the land on the estate is over a hundred acres, and the rent alone is sixty or seventy strings of cash every year, enough for their family to live comfortably!
"Second Master, what do you suggest we do?"
Chen Biao laughed, his eyes revealing a fierce glint, "My nephew was very weak, so it wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly died of illness."
Chen Qingfeng reached into his waistband and used his two remaining fingers to pull out a paper packet, handing it over. "This contains arsenic. Have your mother put it in Chen Qingyan's food, and he'll be dead after eating it!"
Tian Xiaoliu tremblingly accepted the poison, then folded the contract and put it into his bosom.
"I won't keep you any longer today. We'll celebrate with drinks after this is all done!"
Wang Ying, who was standing outside, felt her hands and feet turn ice cold and her scalp tingle. She never expected that these beasts would be plotting to murder for money.
Luckily, I was careful enough to follow along, otherwise I wouldn't even know how I died!
No, I have to go back and tell my family right away!
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
