The next day.
Chen Xiao Mi prepared two horse carriages for Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi. Chen Xiao Cai hired several veterans as their guards.
"Big Brother, we're leaving."
Chen Xiao Mi looked at the little baby in Shen Chi's arms and said, "Take care of yourselves."
Shen Chi nodded and said, "Don't worry about us."
"Don't get involved with the villagers who like to cause drama," Chen Xiao Mi said.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "I understand."
Shen Chi waved at Chen Xiao Mi and the others before he got into the carriage.
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "Bye, Cai, take care."
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Bye, Big Brother."
Chen Xiao Cai then jumped on the carriage and signaled to the guards to leave.
Lu Lin watched Chen Xiao Cai leave and smiled. "Look at our Cai, he is a grownup now, he is now going back to our hometown paying respects to our parents' and his partner's family's grave."
Chen Xiao Mi nodded and thought to himself, 'Our parents would be so proud of Cai if they were still alive!'
Shen Nian clenched his small fists and fell asleep in Shen Chi's arms.
Shen Chi looked at Nian and smiled.
Shen Chi sighed and thought to himself, "Grandmother died too early. If Grandmother were still alive, I don't know how much she would adore Lei and Nian."
Chen Xiao Cai sat in the carriage, looking at the scenery outside the window curtain and all sorts of feelings welled up in his mind.
Shen Chi said excitedly, "We haven't gone back for so many years!"
Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "Yeah! I wonder what Forest Town and Big Stone Village are like now."
Back then, after Lu Lin was framed by the county magistrate, they came to Sha County and never went back to Forest Town. Most of the news about Forest Town was from Zhang Rui. However, Zhang Rui had rarely gone back in the past few years and they didn't know much about Forest Town anymore.
Shen Chi looked at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "The Chen family might start trouble when they see us."
Chen Xiao Cai said lightly, "I don't care about them. We have signed the Renouncement Letter with them years ago, so legally we have nothing to do with them, Big Brother has given me the letter in case they start trouble. Don't worry, there's nothing they can do about us."
Cai and Chi are Back in Forest Town
It took Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi half a month to finally arrive at Forest Town.
After entering Forest Town the two of them didn't go back to the village directly. Instead, they found an inn in the town to stay.
Chen Xiao Mi had sold their house in the village a long time ago, Shen Chi still had a country house from Granny Shen. However, the house had been empty for years, it was inhabitable without a thorough cleaning.
Over the years, Shen Chi had been accompanying Chen Xiao Cai wherever he went. Sometimes, he would get nostalgia and recalled the quite days when they were back in the village.
For Chen Xiao Cai, life in the village was indeed not good. In fact, Shen Chi was similar. Shen Chi's parents died early, and his relatives became estranged with him and Granny Shen for fear that they he would borrow money.
However, Shen Chi was slightly better than Chen Xiao Cai. When Granny Shen was alive, she had a few friends in the village and they all had offered her help.
Sometimes, when Shen Chi recalled the days in the village, he would live to go back to the village and have a look. However, when he was really back, Shen Chi felt rather bewildered.
"Forest Town has not changed in the past few years!" Shen Chi said.
In Shen Chi's impression, Forest Town should be much more prosperous than Sha County. Back then, when Shen Chi and Chen Xiao Cai had just arrived at Sha County, Shen Chi thought that Sha County could not compare to Forest Town. And within a few years' time, Sha County now had progressed in leaps and bounds.
Many villagers obtained wealth by hard work. In comparison, Forest Town looked rather plain.
Chen Xiao Cai walked on the street with his hands clasped behind his back, "We have witnessed Sha County's fast development. Lin Ge is so capable."
In comparison, Forest Town's County Magistrate was useless. It had been many years since they had left and there had been no change in town at all. However, an official would be considered as a good official as long as they don't take bribes.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "Yeah, Sha County people should really thank Lin Ge!"
"Second Master Chen," Yang Heng Zhi greeted Chen Xiao Cai warmly. "My servants said that they saw you. I thought they saw wrong, but I didn't expect it to be true, what a nice surprise!"
"Master Yang! Long time no see," Chen Xiao Cai cupped his hands to Yang Heng Zhi.
"Long time no see, Second Master Chen, you look great!" Yang Heng Zhi thought to himself, 'A few years ago, Chen Xiao Cai was already a big shot, and now he looks even more imposing!'
"Master Yang, you are flattering me."
"Don't be so modest. I heard that you went to the capital two years ago?"
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Yes, me and a friend just tried our luck."
After Chen Xiao Cai came back, Ji Yun An seemed to have reprinted the story a few more times and soon Chen Xiao Cai had received more than 1,000 taels of dividends from Ji Yun An.
Yang Heng Zhi smiled and said, "Second Master Yang, you are like the old times, always so humble."
From what Butcher Zhang had said, Chen Xiao Cai stayed in the capital city for less than two months, and he had earned a few hundred taels of silver. The silver was not the most important thing, apparently Chen Xiao Cai had associated with people in the Ministry of War.
"I heard that Lin Ge is doing so great in the border that he has even received a commendation letter from His Majesty."
Chen Xiao Cai smiled and said, "Lin Ge indeed is doing a great job. Sha County used to be very poor, but now the people are doing so much better thanks to Lin Ge."
Lu Lin paid for the keeping of Sha County when they first arrived there. However, it all paid off, so many visitors came to Sha County to visit and relax, Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Cai's shops had made a lot of money.
Yang Heng Zhi smiled and said, "To be able to make a border county a better place to live, Lin Ge is so capable!"
The magistrates Sha County had always suffered adverse fortune, and several of them had died an unnatural death.
When Lu Lin first bought the official post, Yang Heng Zhi was very skeptical, he had mixed feelings, he was jealous and worried at the same time. He was worried about his friend and he was jealous that Lu Lin was so unrestrained, he was jealous because there would be a huge status difference between him and this friend.
Yang Heng Zhi did not expect that Lu Lin had done such a good job. It was said that Lu Lin had a good relationship with the local patrol camp in Sha County. A while ago, even a prince had visited Sha County.
A prince! Yang Heng Zhi did not expect that Lu Lin, as a petty official, would have the chance to receive such a big shot.
"Master Yang, your business is getting bigger and bigger, you have purchased a few shops in Forest Town now!" Chen Xiao Cai praised.
Yang Heng Zhi smiled and said, "I need to thank you and Magistrate Lu for paving the way."
Lu Lin was framed by the previous magistrate in Forest Town, so Yang Heng Zhi bought Sino Commercial House which already enjoyed a great customer base from Lu Lin.
Things were not smooth when Yang Heng Zhi first took over the commercial house, the previous magistrate tried to extort money from him.
At one point, Yang Heng Zhi regretted purchasing this commercial house. However, the magistrate was sent to jail soon. And things had taken off for Yang Heng Zhi after that.
The new magistrate had taken warning by his predecessor's failure, he was much more low-key than the previous County Magistrate.
Yang Heng Zhi looked Chen Xiao Cai up and down and once again he exclaimed in his heart that Chen Xiao Cai seemed to be a lot more imposing. Before Lu Lin bought the official post, he was just a merchant, but now he was a successful official. He even had associated with high-ranking officials in the capital city, he was no longer the alone and helpless peasant anymore.
"How is Magistrate Lu?"
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Lin Ge is doing great."
Chen Xiao Cai thought to himself, 'Lin Ge is the brainpower, he is full of ideas and plans, and he is great discovering able people and putting them at suitable posts. People usually think he must be so busy, actually no, he is leading a comfortable life because the people under him would do things for him readily.'
"Magistrate Lu has such a prophetic vision! Selling official titles is now banned by the government, you cannot buy an official post no matter how much money you are willing to pay," Yang Heng Zhi sighed.
In the same year when Lu Lin bought the official post, some people were intrigued by several other vacant official positions available. However, those positions were not very good. Although many rich people had taken a fancy to them, they all hesitated because they wanted to look for a better position, however, the whole selling official titles system was soon banned by the government.
Chen Xiao Cai shrugged and said, "Although owning a title of county magistrate sounds great, it was actually not that good when they first arrived at Sha County. Even the roof of the County Yamen was missing, we'd be homeless if not for the renovation work we have done."
"I heard that Sha County has fundamentally changed over the years thanks to Magistrate Lu!" Yang Heng Zhi said.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "That is true!"
…
Chen Xiao Cai's popularity in the village was not very good, but he enjoyed a good reputation in town. Knowing that Chen Xiao Cai was back, several merchants chipped in and organized a welcoming banquet for Chen Xiao Cai.
Many people in the town knew that Lu Lin now was a successful official.
Lu Lin was just a businessman back then, but now he was a government official. Chen Xiao Cai's social had risen thanks to Lu Lin.
Quite a few people who had chipped in just wanted to associate with Chen Xiao Cai in the name of the welcoming banquet.
Lu Cheng Yu and one of his classmates named Sun Hu happened to walk past the Good Luck Restaurant when the banquet was taking place.
"What's going on? It seems to be very lively!" Lu Cheng Yu said.
Sun Hu glanced at Lu Cheng Yu and said, "A successful merchant came back to visit his family's grave, the merchants in town are throwing him a welcome banquet now."
Lu Cheng Yu asked curiously, "Which merchant are you talking about?"
Sun Hu said with a strange expression, "Haven't you heard the news? You know that person really well, the one who sold the commercial house for the official title in Sha County!"
Lu Cheng Yu's face darkened, and his heart gave a jolt, "Do you mean my cousin Lu Lin? He is back?"
Lu Cheng Yu frowned. 'Lu Lin is already an official now, can he leave his duties without authorization?'
"Not Lu Lin. His brother-in-law."
"Not Lu Lin!" Lu Cheng Yu suddenly felt relieved. Although he was unwilling to admit it, Lu Cheng Yu didn't want to see Lu Lin.
Two years ago, Lu Cheng Yu failed to pass the imperial examinations at the provincial level.
It was such a wake-up call for Lu Cheng Yu who used to have such a good opinion about his ability, he felt so dwarfed by those articles written by the fellow candidates. Then he became mad jealous about Lu Lin who just got an official post with money.
And right after that, the Commendation Letter about Lu Lin issued by the Emperor had reached the village, then Lu Lin became the talk of the village again. Every time they heard the villagers talk about Lu Lin with admiration, Lu Cheng Yu felt very jealous and uncomfortable.
In the past two years, the circumstances for the Lus hadn't improved much. Grandpa Lu passed away two years ago.
Grandma Lu started to restrain herself since that, she didn't make a fuss easily like she used to.
Lu Cheng Yu stood on the street, watching Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi being surrounded by several big shots in Forest Town.
Everyone was talking lively and jovially, no one seemed to have noticed Lu Cheng Yu who was standing outside.
Shen Chi who was always quite observant had vaguely noticed Lu Cheng Yu's gaze and he cast a glance outside of the window. Lu Cheng Yu immediately left.
Sun Hu looked at Lu Cheng Yu and said, "Your cousin Lu Lin is cold-hearted, isn't he! He is already an official, but none of your family members has benefited from him."
Lu Cheng Yu pilled a long face and he didn't say anything. He was too proud to even try to talk to Lu Lin.
'I wonder why Chen Xiao Cai came back, just to visit his family's grave? And I wonder whether the Chens know he is back.' Lu Cheng Yu thought to himself.
Thinking of Chen Xiao Cai, who was surrounded by all those big shots in town, Lu Cheng Yu suddenly felt that he was inferior. Although he was a Xiucai, none of those big shots would be bothered to get to know him, but they all fawned on Chen Xiao Cai like that!
Glorious Homecoming
The news of Chen Xiao Cai's return quickly spread across the village.
The members of the Chen clan were very excited. They were all shocked when Lu Lin sold the commercial house and bought an official post with thousands of tales of silver, they all thought Lu Lin and his family must be even more wealthy now. There were eight guards in Xiao Cai and Shen Chi's procession, they were in awe of the ostentation and extravagance.
A few members of the Chen Clan had a gathering about this matter.
"Chen Xiao Cai is back. He is a big shot in our entire village now, and his family name is Chen, shall we receive and entertain him this time?"
"Yeah, I agree! We need to be on great terms with him, he is one of the most influential figures in the entire town now."
"But I heard he is living in the inn in town. It's not convenient for us to approach him if he lives in town! If he were still living in the village, it would be so much easier."
"Inn, that's a waste of money! Isn't the Shen family's house still in good condition?"
A few people who were listening couldn't help but whisper. In the eyes of the villagers, living in the inn while you had a house was a complete waste of money. Chen Xiao Cai had actually booked the entire inn for him and even the guards.
"The Shen family's house is too old and small. Chen Xiao Mi's old house was well built! But they sold it due to Chen Jing's debt, I think they would have stayed in that house if it were still available."
"Why are Xiao Cai and Shen Chi back?!"
"Xiao Cai and Shen Chi have two sons, the second son's family name is Shen, so Shen Chi comes back to add the second son's name into the pedigree of Shen clan, and Shen Chi wants to pay respects to Granny Shen's grave."
The Clan Leader Chen Ding was confused. "Why would Chen Xiao Cai allow his son to have the family name of Shen?"
"Shen Chi is the only family member in the Shen family, and they promised Granny Shen that they would carry on the family line for the Shens by her deathbed."
"But Shen Chi is a Bio, and he is already married to Chen Xiao Cai. Of course their kids should all be Chens! It doesn't make sense they are adding a son's name to the pedigree of Shen clan." An elder from the Chen clan could not help but make that sour remark.
This elder once thought about marrying his little granddaughter to Xiao Cai as a concubine, but Chen Xiao Cai refused.
"Well well well, why don't you talk to him and change his mind, " the other elder retorted.
Not a sound could be heard in the hall after the elder said that, they were well aware Chen Xiao Cai couldn't care less about them.
"Clan Leader, what are we going to do about this?"
" We have offended Chen Xiao Cai and his brothers due to Chen Jing and Chen Shou Xin. This time, we need to play is delicately and make things right."
Chen Ding pressed his forehead in frustration, having no idea what he should do.
…
In the Chen family.
"Old Chen, is Chen Xiao Cai back?"
Chen Shou Xin nodded to his wife and said, "Yes."
When the villagers in Chen Clan heard that Chen Xiao Cai was back, they all wanted to patch things up and curry favor with him. Recently, the clan had been holding gatherings from time to time, and they had been avoiding Chen Shou Xin and his family.
Unfortunately, Chen Xiao Cai didn't have the intention to bury the hatchet and cultivate good relations with them.
Every time Chen Shou Xin thought about what happened in the past, he felt like he had experienced a dream. In the past, Chen Xiao Cai was almost sold off by him. He wished he had been more resolute back then, because he hated to feel inferior to Chen Xiao Cai.
Chen Shou Xin's wife said sullenly, "Chen Xiao Cai is such a bastard. I think he just comes back to show off!"
Knowing that they couldn't get any benefits from Chen Xiao Cai, Chen Shou Xin's wife felt great hatred for Chen Xiao Cai's return.
Chen Xiao Cai was a big shot now. The better Chen Xiao Cai was, the more depressed they felt.
The moment Chen Xiao Cai came back, Chen Shou Ren started to make a scene and accused Chen Shou Xin of going too far and trying to sell Chen Xiao Cai. Chen Shou Ren said he had a chance to patch things up with the Chen Brothers if not for Chen Shou Xin.
Chen Shou Xin's wife turned up her nose at Chen Shou Ren's claim, they were just as bad back then.
Chen Shou Xin's wife hoped that Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi were suffering in the remote Sha County to make herself feel better, but now her hopes had vanished, Chen Xiao Cai's glorious homecoming had told everyone in the village that they were doing great.
…
"Is this inn the one?" Several villagers found the inn where Chen Xiao Cai lived.
Chen Xiao Cai picked the best inn in town, it was impossible to mix it up with any other one. The villagers hesitated to introduce themselves to the innkeeper.
The innkeeper looked at the villagers with a judging look, causing the villagers to feel uncomfortable.
Shen Chi happened to walk down the stairs now.
The owner of the inn saw Shen Chi coming down and said respectfully, "Master Shen, you have guests, the villagers by the gate said they were here to see you and your husband."
Shen Chi looked at the villagers and nodded.
Shen Chi held the baby and walked to the villagers.
An elder said awkwardly, "Chi, you're back!"
Shen Chi nodded. "Elders, are you here to see Cai?"
"Yeah! It's such a nice surprise that you guys are back now, we need to have some gatherings."
Although Shen Chi shook his head in the heart, he didn't refute the elder.
"Cai went out early in the morning, why don't you wait for him over lunch? Come on now, I'll order some food for you, elders."
The elders looked at each other and accepted Shen Chi's offer tacitly.
Shen Chi didn't just do lip service, he asked the innkeeper to serve the elders with a few nice dishes.
The food in this inn was very expensive. However, Shen Chi ordered a lot of food without a frown.
Shen Chi was dressed in a long moon-white robe and his hair was tied with a silver hairpin. Although it was simple look, the material all looked very luxurious. When the villagers saw Shen Chi's style, they unconsciously felt pressure.
"Ah Chi, it this your baby?"
Shen Chi nodded, "Yeah! This is my second baby, Shen Nian."
Shen Chi stroked Shen Nian's cheek and Shen Nian started to wave his little hands, the silver bracelets and charms made delightful clinks. Shen Nian started to chuckle as he heard the clinking.
"What a cute baby!" An elder forced a smile, not mentioning the matter of Shen Nian's surname.
Shen Chi accompanied the crowd for a while, and Chen Xiao Cai was still nowhere to see after lunch, so they had to leave first.
…
In the Lu family.
"Chen Xiao Cai is back, have you heard that?" Tang asked Lu Cheng Yu.
Lu Cheng Yu nodded, "Yeah! I heard that they were back to pay respects to Granny Shen's grave, and they also wanted to add a baby's name to the pedigree of the Shen clan."
Tang said sullenly, "Shen Chi is really good at being haughty because of Chen Xiao Cai's love and indulgence!"
Tang thought to herself, 'Shen Chi is just a plain-looking Bio. Chen Xiao Cai is now a Big Boss. How dare Shen Chi even let his son have his surname. He is not afraid that Chen Xiao Cai will get tired of him and abandon him soon?"
"There are quite a few people in the village who want to marry their daughters to Chen Xiao Cai as a concubine, but Chen Xiao Cai seems not interested." In the past few years, Chen Xiao Cai had only become more popular.
Tang said sullenly, "Yeah! Many people in the village didn't even want their dignity for the sake of money."
Li Fang Yue had another daughter two years ago, which made Tang furious.
Tang wanted to find a concubine for Lu Cheng Yu, but it never happened due to the economic conditions of the family. Seeing how popular Chen Xiao Cai was, Tang just felt more jealous and indignant.
"Shen Chi is indeed very lucky!" Lu Cheng Yu said.
Tang thought to herself, 'Shen Chi's parents died when he was a baby, he was raised by his grandmother, everyone in the village said poor Shen Chi was ill-starred, but look at him now, he married Chen Xiao Cai and he had two sons within two years! It seems like Chen Xiao Cai really loves and respects him! Everyone in the village all wished for his luck and blessings!'
…
In Zhang Family.
"Mom, Chen Xiao Cai is back, really?" Zhang Ya asked.
Ma Yuelan nodded and said, "Yes! He brings eight guards! I heard that he had even made a trip to the capital city and made friends with officials and young masters there! Damn that Shen Chi, why is he so lucky!"
Zhang Ya said sullenly, "Chen Xiao Cai is so capable!"
When Zhang Ya was young, she was considered the most beautiful girl in the village. Ma Yuelan had thought about marrying Zhang Ya to Chen Xiao Cai, but Lu Lin turned her down with the excuse of Chen Xiao Cai's age.
Ma Yuelan had been speaking ill of them due to that refusal, but the villagers all ignored her.
But both the mother and daughter turned green with envy when they found out the Sino Commercial House was under Chen Xiao Mi's name.
Zhang Ya actually didn't like Chen Xiao Cai, but she was more than happy to marry him when she found out how rich the Chens were.
Two years ago, Zhang Ya finally got married. It was a good marriage, but Zhang Ya alwyas wished her husband could be richer.
Chen Xiao Cai was already a person who had gone to the capital city. He was knowledgeable, gentle and considerate. To girls in the village, he was the ideal husband that they could only wish for.
"But Ya, listen to me, Lu Lin bought his official post, Chen Xiao Cai must have been riding on his coattails and made a fortune using Lu Lin's influence in that Sha County, you know what, I think it's a matter of time before they are thrown into the prison," Ma Yuelan gritted her teeth.
Zhang Ya thought to herself, 'What mon says makes some sense, being an official is not easy, there're are so many risks.'
"I heard that Chen Xiao Cai made this trip for Shen Chi. Shen Chi wants to pay respects to his grandma and he also wants to add his second son's name to the pedigree of the Shen clan."
Ma Yuelan nodded and said, "I heard that as well, I can't believe Shen Chi has two sons within two years."
Zhang Ya lowered her head and sighed, feeling a little unreconciled. She felt that she had failed to fight hard for her chance with Chen Xiao Cai back then and missed out on a good relationship. Otherwise, she would be the Lady Boss by now. Previously, Zhang Ya had heard from Zhang Butcher that Chen Xiao Cai had bought a commercial street in Sha County and enjoyed an astonishing amount of wealth.
…
Shen Chi bought some gold paper and folded a lot of paper ingots to burn as an offering to Granny Shen. Chen Xiao Cai did some as well.
Paper ingots could be bought on the market, but Shen Chi felt the ancestors could feel their sincerity if they did it by themselves.
"Is there anyone from the village looking for you during the day?" asked Shen Chi.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "There are members of the Chen family talked to me, they asked me if I want to buy our old house back.
Shen Chi thought to himself, 'The elders in the Chen Clan just came to the inn two days ago, Ci wasn't here, and they managed to find Cai today, they are very determined.'
Shen Chi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and asked, "The old house, what did you say?"
Chen Xiao Cai shook his head. "I don't think we need to buy it back, they are not welcoming us back to the village, they are just welcoming our money back to the village."
"Have the villagers talked to you as well?" asked Chen Xiao Cai.
Shen Chi nodded and said, "Yes."
During the day, Shen Chi took a stroll on the street with their two sons and her met his distant relative.
The other party came to have some small talk and chatted for a while, he kept praising Chi for being lucky, marrying to such a capable husband and having two sons.
"Did anyone make things difficult for you?" asked Chen Xiao Cai.
Shen Chi smiled, "What are you thinking about? Of course not, he and the villagers are just jealous of my luck."
"What do those people know?" Chen Xiao Cai tilted his head and smiled, "I'm the lucky one, I count my blessings every day for having you."
Shen Chi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "Aren't you honey-tongued?"
…
After Chen Xiao Cai returned to the village, many people went to Chen Xiao Cai to talk, but Chen Xiao Cai was very indifferent towards them, so they turned their eyes to Shen Chi.
Compared to Chen Xiao Cai, Shen Chi was much more friendly.
"Ah Chi, look at the boys, you have two beautiful sons!" A granny walked towards Shen Chi with a big smile.
Shen Chi nodded, "Yeah! The big one is Chen Lei and the little one is Shen Nian."
"Ah Chi, you're so lucky! You have two sons! My daughter-in-law only has daighters!"
Shen Chi smiled faintly and didn't say anything.
Under the influence of Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin, Shen Chi didn't care too much about the baby's gender. However, Shen Chi knew that in the eyes of the village people, it was better to have sons.
"Ah Chi, this little one has your surname as Shen, is that so!"
Shen Chi nodded and said, "Yeah! Cai and I promised to my grandmother that we will carry on the Shen family line."
"Does Cai have any objection? Is it hard to convince him? " A fat aunt asked.
Shen Chi shook his head and said, "It was Cai who brought it up."
The fat aunt looked at Shen Chi and said, "Ah Chi, you're so lucky! Your husband is so considerate, I wish my daughter were as lucky as you."
Shen Chi looked at his boys and smiled.
After Shen Chi returned to the village, he had heard a lot of similar comments.
A Letter from Ji Yun An
Chen Xiao Cai paid 200 tales of silver for 20 acres of farmland and donated them to the village.
The income from those farmland was mainly used for the poor families in the village, especially the poor kids.
In return, the villagers promised to maintain Granny Shen, Chen Xiao Cai and Lu Lin's parents' graves.
The old Village Head Zhang Cheng had resigned and Zhang Cheng's son, Zhang Jin, had taken over.
Zhang Cheng was very grateful for Chen Xiao Cai's good deeds towards the poor kids in the village.
Everyone in the village knew that Chen Xiao Cai had money, but they were still impressed by Chen Xiao Cai's generosity, 200 tales of silver in one go.
Twenty acres of land was quite a lot. The Lu family and Chen family only had that much land when they were in their prime.
Zhang Jin was very happy with Chen Xiao Cai's generosity.
The members of the Chen clan, on the other hand, were not very happy. Chen Xiao Cai donated the land to the village and not to the clan. The Chen clan wouldn't get any benefits directly from the land. Many members of the Chen clan felt that Chen Xiao Cai should have had donated the land to the clan instead of the village.
Several elders from the clan talked to Chen Xiao Cai. Chen Xiao Cai sticked to principle and refuted their suggestion.
Zhang Cheng sat on the bed and asked his son, "I heard Chen Xiao Cai is leaving soon, is that right?"
Zhang Jin nodded, "Yeah!"
"He doesn't come back often, why doesn't he stay longer?"
Zhang Jin sighed helplessly. He understood why Chen Xiao Cai hardly felt any sense of belonging in the village. There were too few people who were nice to him when he was little. Zhang Jin who had talked to Chen Xiao Cai a fair bit recently always felt Chen Xiao Cai was too experienced and knowledgeable to be a villager.
"Lu Lin has got a promotion, and he even knows a prince?" Zhang Cheng asked.
Zhang Jin nodded and said, "Chen Xiao Cai didn't say brag about it, but the guards following him said that. It should be right."
Zhang Cheng said with a complicated expression on his face, "Lu Lin is so capable. When will he come back?"
Zhang Jin smiled bitterly and said, "He is now an official. He can't leave his post easily!"
Zhang Cheng sighed and said, "Lu Lin is probably angry at our village. It's my fault to some degree! I was too biased towards Lu Cheng Yu back and I've neglected his feelings back then, so he doesn't feel any sense of belonging in the village either."
Zhang Cheng felt so guilty. If he hadn't sided with Lu Cheng Yu back then, maybe Lu Lin would come back to the village more often.
Zhang Jin thought to himself, 'If it wasn't for the pedigree of the Shen Clan, even Chen Xiao Cai might not have come back, let alone Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi.'
The fact that Chen Xiao Cai donated 200 taels of silver made Grandma Lu very depressed.
Lu Cheng Yu had been spending the family savings to prepare for his exams, the Lus didn't live well in the past few years.
Grandma Lu couldn't help but imagine how great it was going to be if Chen Xiao Mi bought those farmland for her, all she needed to do was to rent out those land and count the monthly rent. Unfortunately, Chen Xiao Cai donated the land to the village. Grandma Lu just couldn't understand that behavior.
Grandma Lu was not alone, Granma Chen was even more furious.
She jumped up and down at home and ran to Zhang Cheng's house to argue. She insisted that these twenty acres of land was purchased by Chen Xiao Cai, so the land belonged to the Chen family. She even offered to split the income in half with the village.
Grandma Chen's request to take half of the profits would naturally ruin the interests of other people in the village. Therefore, no one took her side. Grandma Chen could only give up when there was no one giving her any attention.
…
Shen Chi and Chen Xiao Cai returned to Sha County soon.
"Welcome back! How was the trip! How is Big Stone Village?" Lu Lin asked Chen Xiao Cai.
Chen Xiao Cai said, "It's still like that, it feels like nothing has changed for them."
In the past, people in the village looked at him with dis, making him uncomfortable. This time, the people in the village looked at him as if they were looking at silver, making him even more uncomfortable.
However, he still felt proud and elated. Back then, those people in the village looked down on him. And now they regretted for not treating him better when he was younger.
"I donated 200 taels of silver to the village," Chen Xiao Cai said.
"As long as you like it."
Chen Xiao Cai shook his head and said, "I can't say whether I like it or not. I just feel like that's my root, my parents are both buried in that village, they would love to see me helping the poor kids in the village."
Lu Lin held his chin and said, "Cai, I'm sure your parents would be very happy and very proud of you. And I'm so glad that you're back early. The trip would be ten times harder if you came back in winter."
It was going to be very hard to camp outdoors in winter.
"Time passes so quickly. It's going to be wintertime again!" Chen Xiao Mi said.
Chen Xiao Cai smiled and said, "Recently, the weather is getting colder, but I bet the business in the hot pot restaurant is getting better."
It was the best to eat hotpot in winter. A group of people gathered around and surrounded the hotpot for a hot meal. Hotpot was the most ideal food for winter.
Although there were also people who had mimicked their hotpot restaurant, but Xiao Cai's restaurant was still the most popular one. For starters, Lu Lin's soup base was indeed great, secondly the restaurant was approved by His Highness Cheng. A lot of people came to Xiao Cai's restaurant out of admiration.
Under Chen Xiao Cai's promotion, the story became His Highness Cheng once travelled incognito and showered praise on the restaurants in Sha County, especially the hotpot one.
The power of 'the celebrity effect' was very great. Quite a few rich councilors around Sha County came all the way here to try the delicacies that His Highness Cheng approved.
…
In the capital city.
Ji Yun An held a book and flipped it page by page.
It has been a long time since he and Xiao Cai published the book Journey to the West, but the impact of this book was still very great, he had accumulated over 2000 tales of silver after Xiao Cai left. However, he encountered the problem of piracy recently, things started to go downhill.
Ji Yun An saved some for his further studies, and he sent the rest to Chen Xiao Cai and Ji Cheng Kang.
Ji Yun An opened the letter in his hand. The letter was written by Chen Xiao Cai, but he was sure Xiao Cai wrote the letter at Xiao Mai's dictation.
Most of the content on the letter was about food. 'Chen Xiao Cai has opened one more restaurant and he has tried some delicacies in the neighboring county.'
Although the letter was actually very boring, Ji Yun An just couldn't stop smiling when he read it. Ji Yun An could almost see Chen Xiao Mai gorging himself with all kinds of delicacies through the letter.
"Yun An, I heard Highness Cheng's servants said there were so many unique dishes in Sha County, I don't believe him, isn't Sha County a remote and backward place?" One of Ji Yun An's classmates asked.
Ji Yun An said lightly, "There are some specialty dishes."
"Is that so? Is there really dishes that cannot be found in the capital city?" the other classmate chimed in.
Ji Yun An smiled. They were all born and raised in the capital city, and they all had an innate sense of superiority, which was no wonder. After all, the capital city was the most prosperous place in the country.
"Even His Highness Cheng pines for the food there, the food was indeed great. Hopefully you can have an opportunity and try the food as well, " Ji Yun An said lightly.
"This is true, Highness Cheng must have tried delicacies of every kind, but he missed the food there all the time, so I agree with you, Yun An, I think the food there must indeed be extraordinary."
Ji Yun An smiled and nodded.
"Yun An, you really think highly of Sha County's delicacies! However, I just feel like there are a lot of local delicacies are overpraised, I've tried some famous specialties myself, but they all tended to be rough on the texture. Yun An, since you've returned to the capital, you should try more food in our capital city."
Ji Yun An glanced at the person who spoke and did not refute him. There were many concepts that could not be easily changed. If he hadn't tried all those food personally, Ji Yun An would not believe that either.
Ji Yun An chatted with everyone for a while, then put away his books and walked out.
He was back in the capital city for a while now and he wondered how Mai was doing.
His Highness Cheng was full of praise when it came to Lu Lin and Sha County.
Ji Yun An smiled bitterly. It seemed that everything was going well for Lu Lin, then he felt so inferior because he hadn't made any achievements.
Ji Yun An often felt lonely now that his Uncle Ji Cheng Kang was back in Sha County as well. Chen Xiao Mai's letter had cheered up Ji Yun An a great deal.
…
Chen Xiao Mai excitedly returned to the house.
"This is Ji Yun An's letter," Chen Xiao Mai jump about joyfully. Chen Xiao Mi showed a meaningful smile on seeing how thrilled Mai was.
Lu Lin held his chin and asked, "Another letter?"
Chen Xiao Cai and Ji Yun An were business partners, so they always had kept in touch. Ji Yun An would write a letter to Chen Xiao Mai along with a letter to Chen Xiao Cai. In fact, it was unclear whether he was mainly writing to Cai or Mai.
Mai was always very excited when he received Ji Yun An's letter. In order to understand the contents of the letter, Chen Xiao Mai was even interested in studying.
"Ji Yun An seems to have become a Xiucai two years ago, isn't that impressive, so young," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiao Mai held his chin and said, " He still has a long way to go if he wants to become an official."
Lu Lin smiled, "But he is very young, he has plenty of time and opportunities!"
Lu Cheng Yu became a Xiucai after at least 5 times trying, and Ji Yun An made it on his first attempt.
Chen Xiao Mi pouted and said, "We will see."
"Mai is getting bigger now!" Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiao Mi frowned.
Xiao Cai and Shen Chi got engaged when they were both very young, but no one had proposed a marriage to Mai yet. Everyone just saw Mai as a wild child, no one had seen him in a romantic way. Chen Xiao Mi narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, 'You cannot force destiny that ties people together, Mai will have his destiny one day.'
"Yes, Mai is getting bigger and bigger, but there's no need to worry. The worst case scenario is we take care of him forever."
Lu Lin nodded with a smile.
…
Lu Lin walked into Chen Xiao Mai's room only to see Mai lost in deep thinking.
In order to learn to understand Ji Yun An's letters, Chen Xiao Mai had already learned a lot of words.
Mai put down his writing brush on seeing Lu Lin.
Lu Lin looked at Mai and said, "Are you writing to Ji Yun An?"
Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said shyly, "Yeah! But I'm still struggling with my handwriting, I can understand a lot of words now, but I cannot write, I still need Second Brother to write for me."
Lu Lin secretly rolled his eyes in his heart and thought, 'Ji Yun An, you lucky bastard! Our Mai is learning to write and read solely because of you!'
Looking at the words written by Chen Xiao Mai, Lu Lin suddenly felt that his handwriting was not that bad.
"Ji Gege said that the food in the capital city is not as good, I'm so worried, what if he is starving?" Mai frowned.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mai and thought, 'You are really overthinking, Mai. What kind of place is the capital city? And he is a young master, I bet there are so many chefs in his manor! How dare that Ji Yun An deliberately make Mai worry about him!'
"Lin Ge, can you please tell me a story," Chen Xiao Mai said.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "Why do you suddenly want to hear a story?"
Chen Xiao Mai lowered his head and said, "Lin Ge, you tell me a story. When Ji Gege comes back, I can tell him the story, he likes to listen to stories."
Lu Lin stood transfixed on hearing that, 'Ji Yun An, what have you done! You have totally charmed our Mai!'
Lu Lin suddenly recalled how he felt sorry for Ji Yun An when Mai forced him to pull the grind, and now he felt Ji Yun An didn't deserve his sympathy.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mai's sparkly eyes and nodded, "A story? Alright, let me tell you a good one."
The Trade Route
A heavy snow had enveloped Sha County this day. Lu Lin sat at the door of his room and looked at Chen Xiao Mai and Yuan Bao building a snowman through the window.
Chen Xiao Mi walked to Lu Lin's side. "The snow is really heavy today!"
Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah!"
Sha County was much colder than Forest Town. Although they had been here for a few years, Lu Lin was still not used to it.
In autumn, Lu Lin called on the villagers to prepare to prevent the upcoming coldness. The villagers should be able to have a comfortable winter this year.
Over the past few years of development, kang was popularized in Sha County, basically each and every family had built a kang. The government had funded the impoverished families to build kangs to go through winter.
Lu Lin rested his head on the table and said, "I just feel so lazy on cold winter days, I don't want to leave the house or do anything."
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and said with a suppressed smile, "You also feel lazy in autumn, summer and hold on for a moment, spring as well."
"Being lazy is human nature. I happen to be a person who likes to listen to my heart."
Chen Xiao Mi shook his head with a doting smile.
Mai rolled two big snowballs in the yard, then he piled the two snowballs up.
"Mi, look at those snowballs, Mai is always so full of energy, I love how his childish disposition always remains!" Lu Lin tilted his head and looked at Mai with a smile.
Yuan Bao exclaimed and jumped about joyfully on seeing the big snowman. Lu Lin looked Mai and Yuan Bao who were at the height of their enthusiasm and he was so jealous of the boys who were not afraid of the coldness.
Even Dash who was resting in Chen Xiao Mi's arms looked like he wished to join his brother and Little Uncle.
Lu Lin found that he was the only one in the family who was very afraid of coldness. He didn't want to look weak or delicate by his family's comparison, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Chen Xiao Mi who was doing a rockabye to Dash suddenly let out a sigh, "It's the end of the year again, funny how time slips away."
Lu Lin nodded. In the blink of an eye, he had been in this time and space for over eight years.
"I wonder what will happen next year," Chen Xiao Mi said.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Don't you worry about a thing, Mi, things will only become better and better for us."
Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "I hope so."
Chen Xiao Mai dashed into the room and said, "Lin Ge, look at my snowman."
Lu Lin rubbed Chen Xiao Mai's head and said, "Not bad, not bad. Mai, your snowman is just as imposing as you, good job!"
Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said, "I built a tall snowman, I think he is even taller than you."
Lu Lin narrowed his eyes, "Mai, don't make fun of my height!"
Yuan Bao trotted to the room and jumped into Lu Lin's arms.
"Father, let's go have some hotpot. Recently, Second Uncle's restaurant is not doing so well. Let's go and support him."
Lu Lin showed a snicker, 'Yuan Bao, why can't you be honest, you just have cravings for hotpot today, and the truth is Cai's restaurant is still doing great, but the way you are saying it is like you are doing Cai a favor, you little glib brat.'
Lu Lin took Chen Xiao Mai, Yuan Bao and Dash to the hotpot restaurant. Although it was windy and snowy outside, the hotpot restaurant was warm and lively.
Quite a few customers were drinking and chatting, enjoying their dinner.
The waiters in the restaurant seemed to be very busy.
Lu Lin asked for a private room and he asked for a special baby seat for Dash.
The baby seats in the restaurants were another reference from the modern society, Dash liked it so much, he enjoyed sitting on the same level with his parents.
The baby seat became very popular once it was launched, a lot of family would put their toddlers in the seat and enjoyed their dinner without worrying about them.
Chen Xiao Mai ordered six small jars of wine, Dash was very interested in the ceramic jars, he kept reaching out his tiny arms for the jars. Lu Lin poured the wine from a jar and stuffed it into Dash's hand. To Lu Lin's surprise, Dash was so angry that it was empty, he threw the empty jar on the ground with a bang.
Lu Lin gasped on seeing how powerful Dash's throw was, he thought his baby Dash surely would become a man of unusual strength just like Xiao Mi.
Chen Xiao Mi ate the hotpot a slowly, savoring every mouthful, "This is perfect for a snowy day like today!"
Lu Lin was so glad no matter how many times they had had hotpot, Chen Xiao Mi still enjoyed it.
…
Time flew by and winter soon passed.
When spring came, Ji Cheng Kang visited Lu Lin.
"General Ji, long time no see." Lu Lin and Ji Cheng Kang would always visit each other when Highness Cheng was in Sha County, but they had less contact after that.
Ji Cheng Kang smiled and said, "Indeed, we haven't seen each other for a while. Second Young Master Chen's business is getting more and more popular! What a marvelous young man!"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "You are flattering him, General Ji."
Ji Cheng Kang smiled and said, "Don't be so modest, our entire county is very grateful for all the job opportunities."
Ji Cheng Kang then took out an envelope and said, "This is the bandars note Yun An just sent, this is Second Young Master Chen's cut."
Lu Lin was a little surprised, "From the book Journey to the West? That business is still running?"
Ji Cheng Kang nodded and said, "Yes, Yun An said it was still very popular."
Lu Lin thought to himself, 'Wow, now I wish I have read more in modern society, how great it's going to be if I can sell other books!'
Ji Cheng Kang was also surprised that a story-teller's script could make so much money. He had mixed feelings when Ji Yun An gave him silver to cover the military expenditure in his camp.
"If we sell a few more stories, then we will be rich!" Lu Lin exclaimed.
Ji Cheng Kang glanced at Lu Lin and said, "Ordinary stories won't be this popular, it has to be unique and original like Journey to the West!"
Lu Lin then quickly searched his memory, he had read some novels after he quit his job in the city and went back to his hometown, there were some stories he thought might be popular in this time and space.
"General Ji, is there something I can do for you?" asked Lu Lin.
Ji Cheng Kang smiled and said, "Oh, thank you for reminding me, I'm here to talk to you about the Liao Dynasty…"
Lu Lin widened his eyes and said excitedly, "Liao Dynasty, are we going to war with them again?"
Ji Cheng Kang looked at Lu Lin's pale face and said promptly, "No, it's not like that, Magistrate Lu."
Lu Lin suddenly realized that he had lost his composure, so he awkwardly put on a dry smile and said, "It's good to know there's not going to be a war, it is the people who pay the price once the war starts!"
Ji Cheng Kang smiled and thought to himself, "Although Lu Lin is smart and has countless ideas in his mind, he seems to lose his composure easily, but it's fair, he is worried about the people."
Lu Lin and Ji Cheng Kang chatted for a while before Ji Cheng Kang went back to the camp.
Chen Xiao Mi then came out and asked, "General Ji was here, is it something important?"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "He's here for business, but it's a good business."
"Good business," Chen Xiao Mi was delighted. "I'm all ears."
Lu Lin held his chin and said, "Liao Dynasty has the intention to establish relations with our country."
Chen Xiao Mi was a little surprised. "Is that so? It has been a few years since the previous war. After the truce, the trade between two countries has maintained a frozen state. If the two countries really established a relationship, it was possible to resume business with them."
"How reliable is this news?" asked Chen Xiao Mi.
"It's from General Ji, so I say, very reliable," Lu Lin said.
…
"You're here, Cai. We are going to be busy soon. Lu Lin plans to build some special attractions," Chen Xiao Mi said.
Chen Xiao Cai frowned and said, "What special attractions? Is it really worthwhile?"
Chen Xiao Mi nodded his head and said, "The Liao Dynasty intends to have some peace negotiations and trade talks with us, General Ji said probably the Liao would send diplomatic envoys to us Sha County! Cai, once the trade route is reopened, it will bring us countless opportunities! The horses in Liao Dynasty are pursued by the high officials and noble lords in the capital city, some breeds are sold for hundreds of tales of silver! We need to take the advantage of being in a favored position, we are so close to them!"
Chen Xiao Cai asked excitedly, "Really? This is the most exciting news I have heard over the past few years."
Chen Xiao Cai got bored recently because all of his projects were now on the right track, he had been waiting for new challenges.
The commercial street was a hit, all the restaurants were popular, Chen Xiao Cai just felt bored.
Chen Xiao Mi said happily, "People used to try their best to stay away from Sha County, but maybe it will become as popular as hotcake in no time."
Chen Xiao Mi thought to himself, 'It looks like heaven got a plan for us, we came to Sha County because it was the cheapest one on the market, but it will a place of strategic importance once the trade route reopens.'
Chen Xiao Cai said excitedly, "Big Brother, it sounds almost too good to be true."
The value of the commercial street would double in no time once the trade route reopened.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yeah! Your Brother Lin has bought a few pieces of land for you. Since the news has yet to spread, you can build another commercial street and wrest market share."
Chen Xiao Cai blinked and asked, "That sounds so great!"
Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "According to General Ji, His Highness Cheng seems to have done a lot of publicity for Sha County after he returned to the capital city. Maybe some young masters from the capital city will travel to Sha County soon."
Chen Xiao Cai was shocked by Chen Xiao Mi's words. "No way, will the young masters really come to a remote and backward place to try some food?"
"Not just to try some food. However, if our government has the intention to reestablish a relationship with the Liao Dynasty, the emperor will send diplomatic envoys to Sha County as well, I'm sure all the young masters will be more than happy to be part of this great merit!"
Chen Xiao Cai blinked and he felt an upsurge of emotion, 'Sha County is my home turf, time to fulfill my potential!'
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "Cai, I have faith in you."
Lu Lin was now an official and there were many things that were not convenient for him to do. However, with his power, he could make a lot of things easier for Chen Xiao Cai.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "Thank you, Big Brother! I heard that someone had dug out a hot spring in the mountain. Maybe we can build a hot spring resort like Brother Lin mentioned."
Chen Xiao Mi said excitedly, "Hot springs, really?"
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "It is true."
It was said that some villagers had found that hot springs a long time ago, they didn't bother to tell anyone until Lu Lin herd the hearsay and offered a reward.
Chen Xiao Mi rolled his eyes and asked, "The villagers could hide that spot for a long time, I'm afraid it must be in a remote area, it might be easy to develop that area."
Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "That's a good point, Big Brother, I will talk to Lin Ge."
With that Chen Xiao Cai excitedly ran towards the County Yamen. For Chen Xiao Cai, silver now was just stuff. What excited him was not silver itself, it was the feeling of accomplishment that he was able to create things with silver.
Like the commercial street he had built in Sha County, he enjoyed the feeling of creating tangible results.
To Build a Hot Springs Resort
Chen Xiao Cai and Lu Lin discussed the feasibility of building a hot springs resort. Lu Lin had enjoyed hot springs several times in modern society, but he didn't know much about how to build a hot springs hotel.
Although that was the case, Lu Lin was still able to make several inspiring and constructive suggestions on this matter.
"Lin Ge, are you suggesting we should use bamboo as landscape?"
Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah! We should challenge ourselves and obtain materials from local sources, everything is the best when it looks effortless."
Chen Xiao Cai thought to himself, 'We can save a lot of money if we make use of locally available materials. Building a hot springs resort needs a lot of money, it's a huge project, I should listen to Lin Ge.'
There were also many local bamboo craftsmen in Sha County, Xiao Cai thought he could also order a batch of bamboo bowls and cups from the craftsmen.
Chen Xiao Cai left the county yamen after a heated discussion with Lu Lin.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Cai's retiring figure and held his chin with a worried look.
Chen Xiao Mi walked in and asked, "What's wrong? Are you worried about something?"
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, I am actually a little worried. Cai grows so fast over the years, soon I'll have nothing to teach him."
Chen Xiao Mi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Cai will always admire you. Even if you don't have much to teach him one day, you will still be held in high esteem by him."
Lu Lin's eyes were wide opened with disbelief, "Really? Does Cai really admire me?"
…
Chen Xiao Cai started the hot springs project in full swing, and he had made a few field trips himself.
Originally, the villagers didn't really take the hot springs project seriously. In the eyes of the villagers, building something called a resort to relax and enjoy a hot bath was ridiculous, you could do all those things for free at home.
However, when the villagers saw that Chen Xiao Cai devoted so much energies to this project, they became more interested.
There were a few hot springs in the area. Chen Xiao Cai selected a less remoted area and made a specific plan with a few architects about the resort.
No one in the village had heard of such thing called 'resort'. The architects were all great professional, but they found it challenging to build a resort in the mountainous area.
Chen Xiao Cai shared Lu Lin's suggestions and his own thoughts with the architects, leaving the architects in awe of him. They constantly asked for all kinds of details, making Chen Xiao Cai tongue-tied.
Chen Xiao Cai didn't know how to answer those questions, so he always ended up turning to Lu Lin. Lu Lin was annoyed by Chen Xiao Cai's endless questions, and deep down he still enjoyed how Cai always asked him for help and suggestions.
With join efforts from Cai, Lu Lin and the architects, the architectural drawing was finalized.
"This is the Sulphur Hot Springs, right?" Lu Lin paid a field visit this day.
"What's so special about this Sulphur Hot Springs" asked Chen Xiao Mi.
"This spring water can detoxify and moisturize the skin, it's good for the overall well-being as well."
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and doubted Lu Lin's words.
…
Chen Xiao Cai finalized more details before he talked to the neighboring Village Heads about recruiting workers.
Chen Xiao Cai enjoyed a very good reputation in Sha County and all the Village Heads took the recruitment very seriously.
"Village Head, I'm very interested in this job, how much is the pay?"
The Village Head said, "This is going to be a big project, Boss Chen said the pay is going to vary from 20 cents to 30 cents per day, depending on how hard you work. And the workers will get paid every seven days, it's very flexible, you can quit or take a break anytime."
" We can Boss Chen, 20-30 cents per day is a very good pay."
Chen Xiao Cai's reputation in Sha County was quite good. Chen Xiao Cai had hired a lot of villagers for his commercial street and restaurants, never had he been in arrears of wages.
The villagers started discussing, "Village Head, you keep saying this is going to be a big project, what exactly is it?"
"Something I'm sure you've never heard of, a hot springs resort for people to relax!"
The news about the Hot Springs Pavilion had long been spread across the county and the villagers were not that surprised to hear it.
"Wow, to build a resort in the mountainous area, how much money does that require?"
The Village Head shook his head and said, "Who knows? I heard Boss Chen plans to open a mountain road to the Hot Springs Resort. And I think Boss Chen has the amount of money to make anything happen, I heard he made over 1000 tales of silver from one trip to the capital city."
The villagers looked at each other with disbelief, they found it hard to believe someone could make so much money from one trip.
"Alright, I do need to warn you first, Boss Chen plans to hire from not only the neighboring villages, but also the neighboring counties. I'm afraid the competition will be intense."
The villagers asked suspiciously, "There will be people from other counties as well?"
The Village Head nodded and said, "I'm afraid so, our Sha County now enjoys such a good reputation among all the neighboring counties. There are many people in other counties who want to come find work."
The villagers soon felt the pressure, there weren't as many job opportunities in other counties, and the seasonal workers' wage was very low in other counties, of course they would be interested in working for Chen Xiao Cai for more money and better treatment.
The Village Head paused a second to let the news sink in, then he said, "The villagers in other counties have heard the big news as well, they talked to Boss Chen and said they were willing to take a less wage as long as the work was reliable, but Boss Chen promised them they would get a fair pay and fair treatment as long as they worked hard."
The villagers were angry that the outside villagers offered to take less pay. They now just wanted Chen Xiao Cai to hire them.
"I do have a question, those villagers from the neighboring counties say they want to work for Boss Chen, but there's a practical question, where are they going to stay? It's impossible for them to go home every dat."
"That's not a problem. Boss Chen has several inns in town and he doesn't mind making one a dormitory building."
"That is so generous."
"Guys, we need to work harder, we can't let those outsiders outshine us!"
The villagers all nodded in agreement.
Soon the villagers all worked at the site with full steam. Almost every villager in the neighboring counties had organized a team to work for Chen Xiao Cai. The road, the landscape and the hotel all began to take shape within a short period of time.
…
Chen Xiao Cai adopt the old way of distributing wages, he listened to Lu Lin's suggestion instead. He divided the villagers into five large engineering teams, and he had appointed a leader for each engineering team.
Under the five engineering teams, there were several small teams of three to five people. The small teams were made of people from the same clan.
Chen Xiao Cai would assign works to the team leaders, then the team leaders would divide the work into small parts for the teams under them.
Chen Xiao Cai also came up with an idea to encourage the workers, they would get paid by workload instead of work time.
In this way, everyone wanted to work harder to finish the workload faster so they could ask for more work. No one had even slacked off, because his teammates would remind him to work harder.
There were even teams who stayed up late to do more work.
Some narrow-minded villagers didn't get the idea of building a hot springs resort, they would talk about Chen Xiao Cai behind his back and talk this project down. But Chen Xiao Cai wasn't bothered by that negativity at all.
Chen Xiao Cai was busy here and Chen Xiao Mai did not idle his time away.
Chen Xiao Mai was very interested in the restaurant in the resort, and he was also interested in cooking for a large group of people using a large canteen cauldron. He volunteered to cook for all the engineering teams, and he enjoyed cooking with the heavy cauldron which tended to be quite hard to work with for ordinary people.
Chen Xiao Mai was a great cook, all the teams spoke highly of him.
"Young Master Chen is such a great person! He volunteers to cook for us, a young master!"
"His cooking skills are amazing!"
"And he is always so nice and friendly! He has never put on airs in front of us!"
…
In the County Yamen.
"Magistrate Lu, are you and Cai really building a hot springs resort?" Ji Cheng Kang asked.
Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah! Once the resort is completed, we can have hot baths in winter, it's so great to have a hot springs bath in winter!
Lu Lin couldn't help but miss the convenience in modern society, people could have hot showers every day in winter. But in this time and space, having a shower in winter was a luxury.
Ji Cheng Kang shook his head and said, "To build a resort for a hot bath? That seems a bit extreme!
Lu Lin replied, "I see where you come from, General Ji, but it provides job opportunities, and it will become an attraction for rich people in the neighboring counties."
Ji Cheng Kang frowned, but he found what Lu Lin said made some sense. The construction of a hot spring hotel was a huge project, but it might benefit the people in the long run.
"What if no one visits the resort?"
Lu Lin laughed, "I hope not, I'm sure people will be very interested in the resort."
"When will the peace talks start?" Lu Lin asked.
Ji Cheng Kang rubbed his chin and said, "Next spring, maybe the emperor will send a princess to marry the ruler of Liao Dynasty to make peace."
Lu Lin held his chin and said, "Really? Hopefully everything goes well!"
Ji Cheng Kang said, "I think the Liaos will be happy to make peace with us, they are having some internal strife now and I don't think they can afford to turn us down."
Lu Lin let out a sigh of relief on hearing that. If the war broke out, Chen Xiao Cai's stores in Sha County would be ruined. As an official, he couldn't run anywhere, he must stay in Sha County and fight the Liaos. And he was not ready to die for the country.
Lu Lin has been very busy recently. There were more merchants from the Liao Dynasty coming to Sha County to do business. And he had been trying to build good relations with those merchants.
…
In the capital city.
Ji Yun An sat in front of the window and stared at the red plum blossoming out the window.
Ji Yun An had been communicating with Chen Xiao Mai by letter, and Ji Yun An kept all the letters.
It used to be Chen Xiao Cai wrote the letters at Chen Xiao Mai's dictation, but recently it looked like the letters were all written by Chen Xiao Mai himself.
Even though the handwritings were terrible, Ji Yun An cherished them so much and he would read them over and over again.
"Yun An, what is this?! A sketch of drumstick?" One of Ji Yun An's classmates named Wei Qiyu asked curiously.
Ji Yun An put the letter away and looked at Wei Qiyu in the eye, "Aren't you supposed to be reviewing the study material now?"
Wei Qiyu stroked his hair and said, "I've done some study already, but you, Yun An, all the scholars have high hopes on you, but what are you doing? Staring at a sketch of drumstick? Hmm, to be honest, that's a horrible sketch!"
Ji Yun An glared at Wei Qiyu and said, "Don't talk nonsense, it's a pretty sketch."
Wei Qiyu tilted his head and thought, 'Why would Yun An get so defensive about an ugly sketch?'
Wei Qiyu then added, "Yun An, your drawing skills are excellent, I don't think the drumstick is drawn by you, is it?"
Ji Yun An glared at Wei Qiyu and said, "You are really talkative."
Wei Qiyu looked at Ji Yun An and thought, "He is not admitting, and he is not denying, maybe this sketch is from his sweetheart? But no daughter of an eminent family would draw a drumstick and send it to her sweetheart! What on earth is going on?'
Wei Qiyu looked at Ji Yun An and tilted his head, "I know you often send letters to Sha County. Who are you writing to? Someone you care about deeply?"
Ji Yun An lowered his head and changed the subject, "Qiyu, you are turning eighteen this year, are you engaged yet? Do you want to pay tax if you are not?"
Wei Jiyu touched his chin and said, "Tax doesn't bother me."
"Of course Young Master Wei isn't bothered by money, but it might make you look bad, people may think you are unpopular." Ji Yun An teased Wei Qiyu.
Wei Jiyu scratched his head and said, "Oh no, that's giving me a headache."
Ji Yun An glanced at Wei Qiyu and said, "Your mother seems to be very anxious though!"
Wei Jiyu smiled and said, "I'm not anxious to be honest, get married isn't as great as it sounds like. More often than not, women will become shrews after they get married."
Ji Yun An glanced at Wei Qiyu and teased, "Is this your father's experience?"
Wei Qiyu soon covered his mouth, "Uhm, no!"
To Pass the Imperial Examinations at the Provincial Level
In the County Yamen.
"Father," Yuan Bao jumped off the swing as he saw Lu Lin walking in, he was so bored.
"You are alone! Where's your Little Uncle? Aren't you guys each other's shadow?" Seeing that Yuan Bao sitting all my himself on the swing, Lu Lin was surprised.
"Little uncle is studying," Yuan Bao puffed up his cheeks like a chipmunk.
Lu Lin gently pinched Yuan Bao's chubby cheeks.
And Lu Lin was so impressed by Xiao Cai this time, he thought this studying thing was going to be a 3-minute passion for Xiao Cai again, but Xiao Cai seemed to be really devoted this time.
"Did your little uncle receive another letter?" asked Lu Lin curiously.
Yuan Bao nodded and said, "Yes! Father, how did you know?"
Lu Lin nodded with a meaningful smile. Xiao Mai would disregard meals and go without sleep on the first day he received Ji Yun An's letter, and slowly he would reduce his study time until he got another letter.
Yuan Bao looked at Lu Lin and said sullenly, "Little Uncle said Brother Ji who is going to take part in the imperial examination held in autumn, father, do you know what that exam is?"
Lu Lin stroked Yuan Bao's hair gently and said, "The Autumn Imperial Examination is very important, Brother Ji and other young students who have high aspirations all want to attend that exam."
"What's so special about that exam?" Yuan Bao bit his finger and asked.
"You can become a government official if you pass that exam," Lu Lin said.
Yuan Bao widened his eyes and asked, "Really? All officials have to pass that exam? Father, have you also attended it? Did you do well in the exam?"
Lu Lin smiled dryly, 'Here we go, I know he is going to ask me this question one day.'
"As a matter of fact, no, Yuan Bao, I paid good money for my official post though."
Yuan Bao tilted his head and blinked. "Father, I believe it is called reaping without sowing."
Lu Lin shook his head, "I've worked just as hard as those students for the money I paid for the post, you see, some people choose to study for the title, some people choose to pave the way with money."
Yuan Bao blinked and said, "Then I will buy my post as well, I don't like studying."
Lu Lin showed a doting smile, 'Yuan Bao, you can do whatever makes you happy, I won't force you to do anything.'
Lu Lin rubbed Yuan Bao's head and said, "Well, you can start your own business when you are older."
Yuan Bao clapped his hands with excitement and said, "I want to open a lot of shops and restaurants like Second Uncle. I can just go to whichever restaurant and have a feast without paying! How great is that!"
"Yuan Bao, do you want to start your own business or you just enjoy having a feast without paying anyone?"
Yuan Bao blushed and said, "Father, I… I like both."
Then Yuan Bao turned around and ran away. Lu Lin smiled at Yuan Bao'e retiring figure. 'Yuan Bao seems to have grown up a little! He never blushed when I used to tease him.'
Chen Xiao Mi came out and said helplessly, "I've heard what you just said, telling a kid that he can buy an official post with money? Really?"
Lu Lin made a face at Chen Xiao Mi and said, "I was just being honest with him, so he knows he still has a way out even though he is not interested in study."
Chen Xiao Mi shook his head in silence.
"Ji Yun An is participating in the exam soon, I wonder if he can pass it," Chen Xiao Mi murmured.
Lu Lin shrugged, "To be honest with you, I don't think he can make it, he is so young, and this is his first autumn exam."
Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "You do have a point, he is very young."
Lu Lin smiled. Many people in this time and space were very persistent about the exam, it was not uncommon for a father and son to take the exam together. There were even candidates who were in their 70s. It was very rare for a person of Ji Yun An's age to pass the exam.
Deep down Lu Lin felt so sorry for those people, he personally didn't see the point of dedicating your whole life to some exam.
Yuan Bao looked at Lu Lin and said, "Little Uncle said that big brother Ji will do great in the exam."
Lu Lin smiled, "It looks like your Little Uncle has every faith in Ji Yun An, hmm, don't get your hops high though, Yuan Bao, your Little Uncle is biased."
Yuan Bao tilted his head and said, "But, Little Uncle said, Big Brother Ji is very smart."
Lu Lin rubbed his chin and thought to himself, 'I heard Lu Cheng Yu is also going to attend the autumn exam this year, I'm more curious about whether he will pass, he's been trying for years after all.' Chen Xiao Cai told Lu Lin that Lu Cheng Yu seldom went back to Big Stone Village now to better focus on his study.
…