If things were settled properly at their end, Lu Yang would have far fewer troubles. Since he was helping, he might as well see it through. He gave Chen Laoda further advice.
“You still have your parents. Let them live at the shop. They can keep an eye on the storefront, and it won’t affect the young couple’s daily life. Supporting your parents in their old age won’t be a loss for you.”
Chen Laoda was convinced, but he still asked Lu Yang, “Is it okay if we don’t buy land?”
Buying land cost a lot of money. Why should he buy land for Laomo?
Lu Yang curved his lips into a smile. “Eldest Brother, you’re just too honest as a person. That’s why everyone bullies you. If you’re not buying it, then don’t buy it—why say it out loud? Your parents and your brother have already taught you, haven’t they? The family is struggling, the family has no money. If there’s no money, how can you buy land?”
Chen Laoda hesitated. “Then what if he refuses to go to the countryside?”
Lu Yang said, “I already told you—if your parents won’t teach him, then as his elder brother, you need to discipline him properly.”
Lu Sanfeng finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. She shouted at Lu Yang, “You’re trying to逼死 Laomo!”
Lu Yang looked at Chen Laoda again. “See that? Laomo has parents who dote on him. You need to plan for yourself. Just support your parents in their old age. As for where the food they save ends up, don’t concern yourself with it.”
Chen Laoda laughed. “Right—let Father and Mother buy land for Laomo.”
Lu Yang took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his leather bag, went outside to find a spot, and wrote up the family division document. He took out the red ink paste and told Chen Laoda to get Old Man Chen and Chen Laomo to press their fingerprints.
“Eldest Brother, today is a rare opportunity. If you want to secure the tofu workshop, it all comes down to this single document. Let me be clear first—this family division has nothing to do with me, and you shouldn’t think of relying on me. You know what kind of person I am. If you behave honestly, I’ll help you for the sake of brotherhood and make sure Laomo doesn’t dare come to your shop to cause trouble. If you try to force things or threaten me, then Sanchuan County won’t have a Chen family tofu workshop anymore.”
Chen Laoda only wanted the tofu workshop. He said, “I just want to marry and live my life. I’m getting married next year. What would I need you for?”
He took the document into the room, first dragged in Laomo—who was like a lump of mud—and forced him to press his fingerprint. Then he went to Old Man Chen. Old Man Chen refused to move.
Old Man Chen demanded that another clause be added: no matter what, they had to buy Laomo five mu of land—one mu a year, finished over five years.
Chen Laoda shouted that this was favoritism and refused to add it. He forcibly grabbed his father’s hand and pressed the fingerprint anyway.
He said, “From the moment Laomo was born, you favored him! You always said he was clever, that he was cut out for studying! And what happened? Isn’t he just like me—sent back home after studying for only a few days because the teacher kicked him out! You only ever talked about how clever he was. Why didn’t you ever talk about how lazy he was? All the heavy work at home was done by me and Yang Ge’er. He ruined the tofu workshop and wrecked my marriage prospects. You sold Yang Ge’er and still wanted to drag me down with you. He was the first to arrange a marriage and the first to have a child. There’s no father like you!”
Old Man Chen looked at him, and the breath he’d been holding suddenly leaked away.
Both sons said he was biased, when in truth, he believed he favored both of them.
Lu Yang waited a bit longer. Chen Laoda brought the document out and told him, “The fingerprints are all done! We can just send it to the yamen!”
Family division contracts usually didn’t need to go to the yamen. Chen Laoda wanted to彻底 send Laomo back to the countryside, make him farm, and change his household registration.
Once he hardened his heart, his mind worked quickly.
Lu Yang let him decide. “To change him to a farming household, he’ll need land under his name.”
Chen Laoda clenched his teeth. Forget it.
He said, “I’ll send him back to the village today and ask the clan elders to witness it. Are you coming?”
Lu Yang wasn’t going. He told Chen Laoda to take Old Man Chen along as well.
“Aunt doesn’t need to go. Let her stay home and look after the daughter-in-law. Have them pack things up. Tomorrow you can make another trip to bring over bedding and the like. You can’t force a family division too hard. They need pots and bowls. As long as people can scrape by and have a way out, they won’t come back to fight you to the death.”
Chen Laoda listened to everything he said and asked, “Anything else?”
Lu Yang said, “Your parents also need to keep some silver in their hands. Don’t be stingy. If they have money, they’ll definitely dote on Laomo. This money won’t be spent elsewhere. They’ll pinch and save it all to give to Laomo. If Laomo has somewhere to go throwing tantrums for money, he won’t interfere with your good life. From this tofu workshop, you should take out ten taels a year. Publicly give Laomo five taels. Secretly leave another five taels for him to come asking for. This is something you need to be mentally prepared for. The remaining profit will all be yours. In the future, when your parents ask for money and complain about you outside, you can cry your grievances too. You give them money, and they give it all to Laomo. Then everyone will only say they’re biased—no one can say you’re unfilial.”
Chen Laoda still felt reluctant. Lu Yang then calculated wages for him.
Two people only cost around two hundred copper coins a month—what was excessive about that?
Calculated monthly, he was supporting three people for about eight hundred coins of silver a month.
Chen Laoda didn’t want to give that much this year. Lu Yang agreed. “Then first save up next year’s rent.”
Chen Laoda laughed. “Yang Ge’er, you really have a sharp mind.”
Lu Yang didn’t stay there any longer. He left the tofu workshop and headed home by another route.
From now on, this was his only home.
Having resolved a major matter in life, today called for dumplings.
When Zhao Peilan saw him come back, she asked, “Did you deliver the ginseng to the medical hall?”
Lu Yang nodded with a smile. “I did. In a few days, I’ll go pick up the pills.”
He wanted to make dumplings, and Zhao Peilan came over to help. She kneaded the dough and had Lu Yang stir-fry the filling—his fillings always tasted good.
Lu Yang made napa cabbage and pork filling, frying extra. At noon, he sent a bowl to the God of Wealth, and sent some to Lu Lin and the others as well. They lived at the shop and tried to save money—no one went hungry, but they didn’t dare eat much meat. It was always Lu Yang who主动 added extra meals.
After the dumplings, Lu Yang brought some with him to the yamen to find the two Luo brothers and talk to them about the tofu workshop.
It would still be best if the yamen brothers helped keep an eye out—patrolling the streets and watching more closely. Chen Laomo had already been frightened once. If there were a second time and they said they’d throw him into prison, he wouldn’t dare make trouble in front of the shop again. At most, he’d pester Old Man Chen and Lu Sanfeng in the back.
Luo Dayong asked, “They were willing to let you go? They’re not coming after you anymore?”
Lu Yang couldn’t guarantee the future. He could only say that, for now, things were stable.
“It’s fine. I won’t be staying in the county in the future anyway. The mountains are high and the roads are long—they won’t be able to find me again.”
Luo Dayong guessed as much. With Xie Yan’s talent and the county magistrate backing him, once he passed the exams, how could he stay trapped in a small county?
They were a bit worried. “We won’t see you much anymore. You don’t even have a natal family. If a man changes his heart, you’ll suffer.”
Lu Yang still had confidence in this. “Xie Yan won’t. He’s a bit stubborn, very single-minded. I may not be all that great, but we went through hardship together. He won’t betray me.”
Lu Yang sat with them on the steps, watching them eat dumplings. Then he asked, “Eldest Brother, Second Brother, have you ever thought about coming with me?”
Luo Dayong didn’t understand. “Going where?”
Luo Erwu also said, “We both work at the yamen. Even going to the prefectural city requires Magistrate Zhang’s approval.”
Lu Yang was just asking casually. “If it were possible to leave, would you come with me? We could make big money together.”
Working at the yamen looked glamorous, but the monthly pay wasn’t much.
When county exams came around, they could earn some money from the scholars. Normally, they relied on a bit of side income.
Some shops were often bothered by ruffians and hoped the constables would patrol their area more often.
But how many truly bold ruffians were there? Besides, the current county magistrate, Magistrate Zhang, governed well. He might not be a legendary upright official, but anything that surfaced openly, he would handle. As a result, the yamen runners didn’t have much extra income to skim.
Over the past few months, the two of them had been taking vegetables from Lu Yang’s shop to sell in the eastern district, and their family situations had improved a lot. There was also the printing work—everyone at home pitched in and earned wages from it.
They said, “It depends on what kind of work it is. It’s not that we look down on merchants, but our positions are low. This uniform is useful. Once we take it off, we won’t be able to help you much.”
Lu Yang didn’t like hearing that. “What are you two saying? Do you think I call you brothers because of this constable’s uniform? There’s plenty you can help me with. My household has nowhere near enough manpower. I even want to open a bookshop. When the time comes, I’ll have my godfather run the workshop, and both sisters-in-law can help out. You two can be my head managers.”
They weren’t cut out to be head managers. Hearing this, both of them just laughed.
