Chapter 98: The Black Hand of a Blood Brother
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Heng Yi didn’t know how much a house in the county would cost.
But he wanted to buy a big one.
“Butler Feng gave me two hundred taels of silver, and added another two thousand, saying that it was hard-earned money.”
“You can keep the one thousand taels for now. Take the other twelve hundred taels to the county tomorrow to buy a bigger house and a shop. I want to start a business with Brother Hu.”
Heng Yi looked at Han Qiao.
Seeing that she was listening seriously, he continued, “There should be some extra money left. I’ll buy you a jade bracelet and two pairs of hairpins. We have money now, so we can buy whatever you like. When we have more, let’s buy better things in the future.”
Han Qiao nodded vigorously.
She hugged Heng Yi and asked him, “Do you know what I’m thinking at this moment?”
“What are you thinking about?” Heng Yi asked dumbly.
“I thank God for sending you to me.”
Heng Yi paused for a moment before kissing Han Qiao.
When both of them were out of breath, Heng Yi said hoarsely, “Me too.” “Actually, we could have come back earlier. We caught a tiger that day, but I saw that it had just given birth not long ago, so I decided to let it go.” “The people from the Feng family were unwilling and we even argued.” Heng Yi didn’t tell her that he had broken a tree with one punch.
It stunned those people.
He had stood there, tall and strong. His gaze and posture were full of hostility. “Today, this tiger must be released. Whoever objects, come and fight me.” He said firmly.
He broke a tree that was as thick as a bowl with a single punch.
Heng Yi did know some martial arts and wasn’t afraid of using his limited skills.
But before anything could escalate, Master Feng ordered them to follow Heng Yi’s orders.
An order was an order.
They looked down on the people Heng Yi brought, but they couldn’t look down on Heng Yi.
“So you fight them?” Han Qiao asked.
“I didn’t fight them. I just broke a tree with a punch. They were safe.”
He also understood that martial strength was sometimes useful.
But he had to convince people with reason.
He was really eager to learn how to read.
“Ah-Qiao, I won’t go hunting in the mountains next year. This year, I’ll earn a lot of money. I can find a lot of ginseng to sell.”
“Silly,” Han Qiao pinched Heng Yi’s chin, “Ginseng is not the only valuable herb in the mountains. There are many precious plants up there too.”
Han Qiao had sworn that she would cook for Heng Yi when he returned safely. Aunt Zhao had stayed in this house for some time and learned that Han Qiao was kind and had certain requirements for food. Her sweet madam was also willing to let her family eat and drink well.
She would cook three meals a day in a variety of ways.
When Heng Yi returned, she killed the duck she bought yesterday and made a duck pot.
Then, she cut the bacon into pieces and cooked it.
She made steamed sweet potatoes and fried pumpkin pie.
Han Qiao had taught Aunt Zhao how to make sweet potato noodles that day.
So, Aunt Zhao planned to make some sweet potato vermicelli and stir-fry the bacon later. It would be very fragrant and go well with rice.
Grandpa loved to eat this kind of fragrant, soft, and chewy food.
By the time Han Qiao arrived at the kitchen, Aunt Zhao was already done and was just waiting for dinner time to come.
There were no such things as “masters” or “servants” in the house. Everybody sat at the same table to eat. The only problem, there were too many people eating at their small family table. So some have to move to the courtyard to eat. “Madam, I cooked a few salted duck eggs for the Master to try.”
“Alright, one for each of us.”
The salted duck egg hadn’t been completely salted yet, however, it was still delicious after it was cooked.
Grandpa ate two in the morning, but because the dishes were so good, he ate so much that he didn’t feel hungry by night time.
He handed his salted egg to Heng Yi generously, “Grandson-in-law, this is for you.”
“Thank you, Grandpa, but you should eat.” Heng Yi quickly refused.
Han Qiao understood her grandfather’s intentions.
She took it and peeled it for Heng Yi, “Grandpa gave it to you, so you eat it.” “That’s right, that’s right!” Grandpa liked to eat steamed sweet potatoes. They were soft, sweet, and fragrant.
He also liked duck soup!
Although he was a little muddle-headed, he treated Grandma very well.
He slowly picked up some food for her and scooped some into her bowl.
“Eat more, dear. This soup is delicious.”
Grandma’s life used to be so bitter, but fortunately, Grandpa understood her, so she could find joy even in the bitterness.
Tonight was a joyous night. The people who had gone up the mountain, all came back safely. The family was happy. To celebrate, they all ate a good meal and drank some good wine.
After all, it was not easy to earn ten taels of silver.
Meanwhile, back at the Heng household in Ninghc Town, Old Woman Heng had been thinking about how to spend the ten taels of silver ever since her four sons left the house.
Their home had to be repaired, and it had to be bigger. She had to buy a few more mu of wasteland. Once she got a hold of them, she could start planting corn, soybeans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, sorghum, and wheat.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she had to make arrangements quickly.
She and Old Man Heng had visited the Heng family village several times and had already bought ten mu of barren land. They spent five taels of silver, and with the gifts they had received, they had divided the land between seventeen and eighteen mu, if not twenty.
Even though the land was big, it still took time to open up a wasteland. Old Woman Heng and Old Man Heng were reluctant to spend more money to hire other people, but their own family members were unwilling to help. Every family refused on the grounds that they had to go into the mountains to cut firewood and work in their own fields.
Old Woman Heng cursed several times behind their backs.
That being so, when her four sons returned, the first thing Old Woman Heng did was not care about her fourth son’s broken leg.
Instead, she asked for their money.
Eldest Brother Heng, Second Brother Heng, and Third Brother Heng all gave their earnings to her. When it was Fourth Brother Heng’s turn, he said lightly, “I exchanged my life for these ten taels of silver, so I won’t give them to you, Mother.”
“What?”
Old Woman Heng was speechless. She immediately questioned him.
Fourth Brother Heng smiled insincerely. “Why should I? When Eldest Brother and Second Brother pushed me off the cliff, they probably didn’t think of ten taels of silver, but fifty.”
His words caused a thousand ripples in the family.
Immediately, Old Woman Heng went to question her two sons.
The two of them stammered and did not dare to speak.
They couldn’t deny their Fourth Brother’s claim because many people had seen it.
“Father, Mother, let’s split up. From now on, I don’t want to have any contact with them anymore.” Fourth Brother Heng said faintly.
Before, he didn’t mind living together, but now he wanted -no, had to- separate himself from them.
Old Man Heng was silent for a while, before finally agreeing, “Alright.”
This was one of the problems going on within this house.
He was so tired of managing his family every day.
Grandsons and granddaughters fought every other day, and daughters-in-law were at odds with each other.
Now that his sons were causing a ruckus, something bad would happen sooner or later if they didn’t move out.
“Take the ten taels of silver that you earned this time. We’ve already bought the wasteland in the countryside, so you have to reclaim it and build your own house.”
“Then each family would give five taels of silver to buy furniture, pots, and pans.”
Heng Yi said he wanted to buy the house but hadn’t paid for it yet. He had to go to Heng Yi and coax the money over. Then, the deed would be transferred to Heng Yi. If he and his wife wanted to live here, Heng Yi couldn’t kick them out. Everyone had their own thoughts.
Madam Wu silently returned to her room and examined Fourth Brother Heng’s injury.
“It’s fine. The doctor on the Feng family’s side has taken a look at it. He has already given me medicine and I will reapply the ointment in a few days.”
Madam Wu nodded and after a moment of silence she said, “How about, instead of returning to the Heng family village, we go to Puyi County to make a living instead?”