Lu Yang saw Chen Lao Die like this and guessed that his calculations had fallen through. He wanted to laugh but was also quite curious, so he hurried to catch up with the donkey cart.
“Dad, what’s wrong? Why are you so angry?”
The road was narrow, and the two carts were blocking the way. Lu Yang parked his cart against the wall and turned to see that Chen Lao Die hadn’t left yet. He was still sitting on the mule cart waiting for him. Lu Yang, with a smile, asked, “Are you still mad at me?”
Chen Lao Die looked at him, his frustration flaring up. “You had your man strip off my cotton coat, and now you’re smiling! You’ve really grown wings—calculating even against your father! Eating and taking everything. I found you a match, not so you could come and collect debts!”
Lu Yang was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but soon couldn’t hold back a laugh. He was amazed: His younger brother is really something.
Having already gotten married, Lu Yang no longer needed to rely on Chen Lao Die’s food and no longer feared being sold. Now that he had established his place in Xie Yan’s family, he held a high status there. He spoke with ease, even a bit playfully, without the previous fear of Chen Lao Die.
“Dad, you’re being unreasonable. How can you take the money and not give anything in return? It’s just a cotton coat! It’s freezing cold, you should at least think about how it keeps me warm.”
Chen Lao Die snorted. “You came back with five pounds of rice cakes, and on top of stripping my cotton coat, you rummaged through my cabinet and took two more clothes. You even took a whole tray of freshly made tofu, and you didn’t even return the molds! You’ve really turned cold-hearted, thinking you don’t need your family anymore just because you have a man? Don’t come to me for help in the future!”
Despite his harsh words, Chen Lao Die didn’t leave. He was clearly upset, but it was evident that he wanted Lu Yang to appease him.
Lu Yang knew him well. He was the type of person who wouldn’t back down until he got what he wanted.
He offered some advice: “Dad, if I may say so, you’re being too impatient. The Li family may be well-off, but they live in a mountain village, and there’s no stable source of income. If you need money, you need to give them time to save. Food is harvested once a year—how can you expect them to have money all the time?”
Seeing Chen Lao Die’s eyelids twitching, Lu Yang continued, “Calm down. You’ve taken my cotton coat and tofu, but it’s like settling the debts. Both sides need to smooth things over. This way, you can still look forward to having grandchildren. With the families getting close, don’t you think the Li family will give us face? How can we cut ties just after marriage? You’re not just taking the dowry and running off—take it slow. In the future, if you need something, won’t it come easily?”
When Chen Lao Die heard the term “settling the debts,” he grew even angrier.
“Your mother wasn’t wrong—your heart has become wild, turning your elbow outwards.”
What Chen Lao Die really wanted was to have grandchildren, not just grandsons.
Lu Yang had long known that the younger brother wasn’t of much value and wasn’t bothered by this comment.
He lowered his head, considering, then shifted the conversation to the topic of the workshop.
If Chen Lao Die had opened the workshop sooner, he wouldn’t need to trouble his younger brother.
This would benefit Lu Yang too, because once they encountered each other in the county, Chen Lao Die wouldn’t be eyeing his shop.
“Having grandchildren isn’t urgent. You’re so capable, you can take the pole and go to the county to get the business started. You’re just missing a helper. How much tofu can one person make? Get the older and younger brothers to help, and the workshop can be up and running after the New Year.”
Chen Lao Die knew the hardships of business. Having once done business himself, he understood how difficult it was without money. He also knew how much capital was needed to move from setting up a stall to opening a workshop. After calculating the daily profits, he became anxious.
He wasn’t young anymore, and his two sons were grown. There was no time to slowly save up money.
Renting a shop in the county cost at least eight taels of silver a year. When they sold their previous workshop, they had to sell off all their equipment. If they wanted to reopen it, they had to buy everything anew, and it would cost about three taels of silver for the miscellaneous expenses.
To open a workshop in a good location would require at least sixteen or seventeen taels of silver as a base. Then they had to buy large quantities of soybeans, which were more expenses.
They could live a hard life for a while, living in the workshop itself.
He and his wife could share a room, and the two sons could share another. Once business picked up, they could save money, rent a small courtyard, and then talk about getting the eldest son married.
Originally, the dowry for Li Feng was just enough, and he still had a little left. But before the wedding, he had spent some on medical bills, and recently there had been other unexpected expenses.
Especially the cotton clothes! How could they survive the winter without cotton clothes?
The money for the medical bills and the cotton clothes was about the same, so of course, he chose to buy the cotton clothes.
Buying cotton clothes in the dead of winter was so expensive. He spent two taels of silver just to get two thick cotton coats.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he cursed Lu Yang again. “You’re an ungrateful wolf! I raised you for nothing!”
Lu Yang was used to hearing these insults. He let them go in one ear and out the other.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Since you have some silver now, why not open the workshop first? Having a stall will make more money than selling casually on the street.”
Selling on the street took a lot of time and limited the number of products they could sell. At best, they would make two hundred or so copper coins, with a daily profit of around a hundred coins, but they couldn’t even guarantee they would sell everything.
Having a stall would be different. There would be constant traffic, and people living nearby would need food three times a day, so there would always be customers. If they made too much tofu, they wouldn’t have to worry about unsold stock. If anything was left, they could make tofu puffs. Either way, they wouldn’t lose out.
Once they were in the county, the business would be more stable, and they could even negotiate prices with restaurants and set up regular deliveries. The conditions in the village couldn’t compare.
Among the three children, Chen Lao Die most enjoyed discussing these matters with Lu Yang. Lu Yang was smart and always got straight to the point, calculating everything clearly.
Chen Lao Die asked him to think about the family situation, and Lu Yang did so.
The youngest son was lazy and loved to cause trouble, which was why the tofu shop had closed down.
The eldest son was more obedient, had planned to propose, but now that the workshop was gone, and the youngest son was still lazy, the eldest son couldn’t muster any energy to get things going.
Both sons were of no help, and even if the workshop was up and running, it would only produce two trays of tofu a day.
Two trays of tofu weren’t much. From the beginning of the year to the end, after subtracting rent, there was barely enough to cover the essentials. What was the point of that?
Chen Lao Die said, “You need to have a good talk with Li Feng. Consider it a loan from me. Get another ten taels of silver, and I’ll arrange a marriage for the eldest. The workshop will be up and running. Once everything’s on track, you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Lu Yang: “……”
Another ten taels? Li Feng might just peel your skin off.
Lu Yang replied, “Dad, this can be resolved. You can’t treat them equally right now; you need to favor the eldest. If the youngest does something wrong, he should be taught a lesson. Plus, he’s younger, so the marriage can be delayed by a couple of years. Focus on getting the eldest to help first.”
“You and Mom are working hard because of them, aren’t you? Prioritize the eldest’s marriage first, and settle one thing at a time. Tell the eldest that once he starts making money, after covering the costs, you’ll give him half the profit to save for the dowry. He’ll surely be happy with that. As for the youngest, don’t bother with him. Let him stay in the village and hibernate through the winter. Otherwise, if he causes trouble in the county again, we won’t be able to bear the cost.”
Chen Lao Die looked at Lu Yang for a long while, then snorted coldly. “You’ve learned a thing or two. Now you’re teaching your father how to do things.”
With that, he turned and left.
Lu Yang saw his attitude, and, chasing after him, tried to placate him. “It’s easy to talk about, don’t be upset. I’ll bring you some buns next time! I’m waiting for someone today, so I won’t walk with you!”
Lu Yang didn’t say who he was waiting for, but Chen Lao Die assumed it was Li Feng.
Lu Yang still feared Li Feng, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly urged the mule, running off as fast as he could.
Lu Yang couldn’t help but laugh. He thought to himself: Chen Lao Die only responds to tough tactics. When he meets someone like Li Feng, with a strong hand, it’s like the weak fall before the strong.
His younger brother had just had a confrontation with Li Feng when he went to return to the family, so it was unlikely he would visit Chen Lao Die any time soon. Lu Yang decided to take advantage of this, bringing Chen Lao Die some buns and then persuading him to open the workshop sooner rather than later. That would be better for everyone.
What he didn’t know was that Chen Lao Die hurried to the city gate and ran into Li Feng head-on, with no time to avoid him.
The city gate was bustling with people. Li Feng had split off from San Miao and the others to sell rice cakes. After running around, they had agreed to meet at the city gate.
Seeing his father-in-law, Li Feng was less friendly than before.
“Dad, here to sell tofu today?”
Chen Lao Die had just given Lu Yang the cold shoulder, and now, seeing Li Feng, his face twitched as he muttered a pointless question.
“…Are you waiting for Yang Ge’er here?”
Li Feng shook his head and gave a blunt answer. “No, he didn’t come out with me today.”
Chen Lao Die sneered but didn’t say anything more.
So clever, still trying to fool me.
He turned his gaze and thought to himself, guessing that Lu Yang was likely here to sell goods as well. Otherwise, there was no reason for Li Feng to be wary of him.
