TLHHS 🍁 Chapter 9: "Isn't this Scholar Zhang? Why isn't he hiding at home today?"

As more customers came to inquire, the sauce dwindled faster and faster. Lin A-die and Sister-in-law Lin's hands were nearly sore from counting coins.

It was the first time they'd seen so much money. Lin A-die clutched the money jar, so nervous he didn't dare glance away.

He'd lost count of how many copper coins were inside; all he knew was that the jar was growing heavier by the minute.

This first batch of sauce wasn't large, and after a little over two shichen, it was completely sold out. Customers who'd heard the news and rushed over later could only leave disappointed.

Lin Yan smiled amiably. "Don't worry. We'll be right here tomorrow. You're welcome to come back then."

Hearing he'd return the next day, everyone left cheerfully.

"Young ge'er, will you be selling that mustard stuff tomorrow too? I tried it and the flavor's really quite something!"

Lin Yan nodded. "No problem."

With everything sold out, the three of them packed up their things and prepared to head home.

Before leaving, Lin Yan stopped at several shops to buy all the ingredients they'd need, spending nearly half of what they'd earned that day.

But neither Lin A-die nor Sister-in-law Lin felt distressed about it. They knew they'd make even more tomorrow.

All the way home, Lin A-die drove the cart with a grin, even humming a little tune under his breath.

Sister-in-law Lin laughed. "A-die's in high spirits."

Lin Yan nodded. "I hope A-die can be this happy every day from now on."

He was only eighteen this year, his face still bearing traces of youth, but after these past two days, Sister-in-law Lin trusted him completely.

"Mm."

The moment they walked through the door, Haibei and Haike pounced on Lin Yan, clinging to his legs one on each side, competing to call out "Little uncle."

Sister-in-law Lin had never seen them this enthusiastic.

Lin Yan took the sesame cakes from his bag and handed one to each of them, saving the rest for his three older brothers.

Haike bit into his cake and mumbled indistinctly, "Uncaa, where's the beef noodles?"

Haibei was too shy to ask, but he looked at Lin Yan with hopeful eyes.

Sister-in-law Lin patted them playfully. "Your little uncle just walked in the door and hasn't even caught his breath yet. Let him rest a while."

Lin Yan smiled. "It's alright. Little uncle already bought flour and beef. How about I cook beef noodles for you tonight?"

"Okay!"

Haike was so happy he spun around in circles twice, only to lose his balance and land with a plop on his bottom, making everyone laugh.

Neighbors passing by heard the waves of laughter coming from inside and were stunned.

What was going on with the Lin family today? What had them so happy?

Because of Father Lin, the Lin family was the poorest in Jiahe Village. No matter how diligently Lin A-die and the others worked, whatever money they made always ended up squandered by Father Lin.

He'd either snatch it away or steal it. There was nowhere to hide it in such a small house.

Whenever anyone in Jiahe Village mentioned the Lin family, didn't they all wear sympathetic expressions and shake their heads?

Yet these past two days, the Lins had cast aside their usual gloom, everyone coming and going with smiles on their faces.

How very strange.

Then it occurred to everyone: ah, right, Father Lin hadn't come home these past two days. That must be why.

Having figured it out, they shook their heads and walked on.

The Lins probably won't stay happy for long. Once Father Lin runs out of money, he'll be back.

The Lin family had no idea they were the object of such sympathy. They were too busy counting their money behind closed doors.

Sister-in-law Lin counted aloud as he went, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Lin A-die's chest was visibly heaving faster.

"How... how much?"

Sister-in-law Lin drew a deep breath. "Three hundred and eighty-eight wen."

Before coming home, they'd spent two hundred and ninety wen on ingredients, flour, and beef. That meant they'd earned a total of six hundred and seventy-eight wen today. After subtracting costs, their net profit was a little over five hundred wen.

In just a little over two shichen, they'd made more than five hundred wen!

It was simply miraculous.

Lin Yan was far calmer than they were. The first batch had used limited ingredients, and the flavor hadn't quite lived up to his expectations. Now that they'd bought plenty of supplies, the taste would surely be even better.

"Yan'er, are you saying we'll make even more money tomorrow?"

Lin Yan nodded. "Most likely."

Lin A-die was so overjoyed he didn't know what to do with himself, pacing back and forth in the room.

But then he quickly thought of someone. "Quick, hide this money. Don't let your father see it, or else..."

Before he could finish, Sister-in-law Lin was already gathering it up. "Yes, yes, we absolutely mustn't let Father catch sight of it."

In the end, the money was hidden in Lin Yan's room. After all, he was the only one who could stand up to Father Lin now.

Lin Yan discussed wages with Lin A-die and Sister-in-law Lin. He wanted to pay them both a salary, but Lin A-die flatly refused. The final agreement was that Lin Yan would give Sister-in-law Lin twenty wen per day.

Sister-in-law Lin felt rather awkward about it. After all, he'd only helped carry things and assist here and there. From buying materials to making the sauce to selling it, Lin Yan had done everything himself.

"Sister-in-law, I'll be making other things in the future. There'll be plenty of work."

Sister-in-law Lin thought that made sense, so he accepted it readily.

As for Lin A-die, Lin Yan planned to have him live with him once Father Lin was dealt with, to look after him and provide for him in his old age.

When the three Lin brothers came home and heard Sister-in-law Lin was earning twice what they did, they were all stunned. After all, they only earned ten wen a day for backbreaking labor.

Third Brother Lin joked, "Little brother, let your third brother come work for you too. I can do any kind of job."

Eldest Brother Lin laughed and scolded him for having no ambition.

Lin Yan smiled as well. "Alright. Once I secure a shop, you can come help me."

Seeing he wasn't joking, Eldest Brother Lin's expression turned serious. "Little brother, you're planning to rent a shop?"

That was no small undertaking.

Lin Yan's face was earnest. "Yes. If possible, I'd like to buy one. Then we could all go live in town."

Actually, he'd wanted to say the prefectural city, but seeing his brothers' jaws drop, he settled for saying town instead.

"Town? Little brother, do you really mean that?"

Lin A-die and Sister-in-law Lin were calmer than the three brothers. They'd seen with their own eyes how much money Lin Yan had made in just over two shichen.

Lin Yan nodded. "Jiahe Village is nice, but it's rather isolated. Doing business would be much more convenient in town."

Lin A-die added, "That's right. It takes us over a shichen just to get to town now. It's such a waste of time."

Lin Yan glanced at Lin A-die in surprise. He'd thought Lin A-die would be the most reluctant to leave Jiahe Village, yet he was even more decisive than his three brothers?

But then it occurred to him: because of Father Lin, Lin A-die had endured the villagers' whispers and pointing fingers for so many years. He'd probably had more than enough.

Second Brother Lin, who hadn't spoken all this time, suddenly warned, "He'll be back soon."

The whole room fell silent.

Lin Yan had been thinking about this whenever he had a spare moment these past two days. If they wanted to be truly rid of Father Lin, moving somewhere unfamiliar would be the most effective solution.

After all, in this day and age, information and transportation were both miserably underdeveloped.

Once they had more money saved up, they could start making plans.

But when he shared his idea, Lin A-die and the others fell silent.

"We can take it step by step. First move to town, then to the prefectural city, or even further away, somewhere he'll never find us."

Second Brother Lin was the first to respond. "I think it could work."

Eldest Brother Lin and Third Brother Lin glanced at him, then sighed in unison. It wasn't as if they'd never thought of it themselves. It was just that they'd been too poor to go anywhere.

But things were different now.

Lin Yan had given them hope.

And so...

"I agree."

"I agree too."

Lin A-die let out a long sigh, said nothing, and turned to sit off to one side.

As for Sister-in-law Lin, he naturally had no objections. He'd go wherever Eldest Brother Lin went.

--

Today Zhang Moyuan had gone into town again to sell his annotated books.

He had deliberately chosen the time when the academy dismissed its students. Many Xiucais would come to the bookshop around then to look around and buy books for the imperial examinations or little storybooks and other reading material for leisure.

Zhang Moyuan was tall with a commanding presence, and he was a renowned genius far and wide. When the students heard these were examination book annotations personally made by Xiucai Zhang, there was no question of their quality. They scrambled to buy them, afraid of being too slow and having someone else snatch them up first.

Over these past two days, Zhang Moyuan had sold several dozen copies, amassing nearly two hundred taels of silver.

Enough to propose marriage to the Lin family.

Zhang Moyuan had no experience with marriage proposals, and with his mother deceased, there was no one to arrange things for him. So as he left the bookshop, he casually asked the shopkeeper.

"Shopkeeper, do you know what one needs to prepare for a marriage proposal?"

The shopkeeper froze for a moment before saying, "Xiucai Zhang is getting married?"

Zhang Moyuan shook his head. "This is only my own wishful thinking. I haven't asked for his opinion yet."

The shopkeeper's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "You can't be serious. What young lady wouldn't want to marry you, Xiucai Zhang?"

Zhang Moyuan didn't correct him, simply repeating his question.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment. "Generally speaking, it's eight traditional betrothal gifts: sugar, wine, tea, dates, chicken, duck, fish, plus a betrothal money. Though people don't usually bring that many in practice. It depends on what your betrothed's family says."

Zhang Moyuan memorized it all after hearing it once. "Thank you, shopkeeper."

The shopkeeper waved a hand. "Think nothing of it. Just remember my shop if you write more annotated books in the future."

Zhang Moyuan nodded. "Alright."

With that, he turned and left the bookshop.

He wandered around town and quickly bought seven of the eight gifts. Zhang Moyuan didn't know how much to buy, and he couldn't very well go around telling people he was going to propose, so he bought a generous amount of each.

That left him with one hundred taels of silver.

Perfect for the betrothal money.

Coming out of the fish shop, Zhang Moyuan was about to head back when he heard a familiar voice.

"Well, if it isn't Xiucai Zhang. Why aren't you hiding away at home today?"

Zhang Moyuan turned to look at the speaker.

Qiu Wenfu, the young master of the Qiu family, the man who had kidnapped him for several months in his past life, indirectly causing Lin Yan's death.

But this time Zhang Moyuan hadn't left the house, so Qiu Wenfu had waited outside for hours that night without ever seeing him.

"Qiu Wenfu."

For some reason, though Zhang Moyuan had spoken his name in an even tone, Qiu Wenfu instinctively shivered.

Coming to his senses, he found it absurd. He was the esteemed young master of the Qiu family. What did he have to fear from a mere Xiucai?

"How dare you address me by my given name?"

Zhang Moyuan said calmly, "Qiu Wenfu, I have no time to deal with you right now. Step aside."

Qiu Wenfu instantly flew into a rage. What did he mean, "deal with him"?