Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter 11: Raising a Tall Building
What happened with the Chus’ was like a stone tossed into a pond in Willow Alley, creating a great disturbance and leaving everyone in the alley with a shared sense of unease.
But these things always pass. The ripples eventually fade, and life, such as it is, must go on.
In these years of disaster, life for ordinary people grew increasingly difficult. It was less about living and more about surviving. If you could endure these hard times, you’d make it out alive. If you couldn’t, you’d end up wrapped in a straw mat... like wild grass sprouting in the wilderness, coming into existence humbly and vanishing without a sound.
The Fang Family was but one small household among the teeming masses.
Of course, the Fang Family’s circumstances were relatively decent at the moment.
Supported by their business selling finished medicines and with the ability to buy grain from the Black Market, they were able to get by. Moreover, the Fang Family kept a low profile and avoided attracting attention.
If you didn’t go looking for trouble, trouble wouldn’t come looking for you. Life was calm and uneventful.
「That evening.」
After dinner, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family and Fang Ling were in the kitchen washing dishes while Fang Rui organized medicine packets in the main hall.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
A sudden knock sounded at the door.
"Who is it?" Fang Rui asked, on guard.
At the same time, he unhurriedly placed the medicine packets into the cabinet and put them away.
"It’s me! Brother Rui, it’s your Uncle Da Chui!" a voice called from outside the door.
"Wang Dachui’s family?" Fang Rui’s eyes narrowed.
The Wang Dachui family were the local blacksmiths. They were just ordinary neighbors; neither when Fang Baicao was head of the household nor now did they have any particularly deep connection with the Wang Family.
’Is he here to borrow grain? Or for something else? Never mind, no point in guessing. I’ll just deal with whatever it is.’
Fang Rui opened the door. "Ah, Uncle Da Chui! Come, come in and sit. Have you eaten?"
Hearing the voice, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family came out of the kitchen and poured a cup of water.
"I’ve already eaten," Wang Dachui said with a wave of his hand as he sat down.
Times were tough and grain was precious. Showing up at someone’s home during their meal was a surefire way to be detested by all. He had specifically estimated when the Fang Family would be finished eating before he came over.
"Mrs. Fang, I came because I have something to discuss," Wang Dachui said, looking toward Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family.
"Old Fang has gone to join the army. Brother Rui makes the decisions in our house now. You can just talk to him... You men can discuss your business. I’m going to wash the dishes."
Without waiting for Wang Dachui to react, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family finished speaking and headed for the kitchen, pulling the door to the main hall shut behind her.
Fang Rui mentally gave her a thumbs-up.
After his recent Martial Arts breakthrough, earning money by selling finished medicines, and buying grain from the Black Market to support them, he had, through a series of such actions, effectively become the head of the household. Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family’s gesture showed him a great deal of respect.
Of course, it wasn’t that Fang Rui cared about such vanity. He was just worried that if Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family were to handle the conversation, she might get manipulated and needlessly entangle them in some trouble.
"Uncle Da Chui, my mother is right. If you have something to discuss, you can just tell me," Fang Rui said, his expression unreadable.
"Well..."
Wang Dachui looked at Fang Rui’s still-youthful face, opened and closed his mouth, and for a moment seemed at a loss for how to start the conversation.
Fang Rui was the one to break the silence, starting with a different topic. "Uncle Da Chui, have you seen Xiaochu around lately?"
Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Xiaochu at all since Old Chu died.
"Haven’t seen him."
Wang Dachui shook his head, sighing as well. "Ever since Old Chu passed, nobody knows where Xiaochu went..."
Now that the ice was broken, his words started to flow more smoothly.
"...Times are so hard! Right now, a lot of the neighbors are on the verge of running out of food completely. They can’t even manage two meals a day, just one, and it’s nothing but wheat bran..."
Instead of getting to the point, Wang Dachui just started complaining about his hardships.
’Is he about to ask to borrow grain?’
Fang Rui thought. To save Wang Dachui from the embarrassment of having to ask, he spoke up first. "Uncle Da Chui, things aren’t easy for my family either, but since you came all this way... we can lend you a pound of wheat bran..."
It wasn’t that he was being stingy; in times like these, being too generous would only attract unnecessary trouble.
Besides, their two families weren’t particularly close. Why should he be generous?
"No... Brother Rui, I’m not here to borrow grain..."
It turned out Fang Rui was wrong. Wang Dachui stammered for a moment before saying, "I know things are hard for your family, too. I was just thinking, I know of an opportunity to make some money..."
"Uncle Da Chui, there’s no need to say any more."
Fang Rui cut him off directly. "Life may be hard for my family, but even if we go half-hungry, we can still scrape by. We don’t want to get involved in other things..."
He was, in fact, looking down on the man. He simply didn’t believe that Wang Dachui could possibly know of some opportunity that was easy, paid quickly, and had no risks. fгeewebnovёl.com
—If such an opportunity really existed, wouldn’t everyone else have jumped on it already? How could it possibly be Wang Dachui’s turn to come offering it?
Therefore, Fang Rui was certain: this was not going to be anything good.
Knowing this, he had no desire to hear whatever else Wang Dachui had to say.
Unexpectedly, Wang Dachui seemed quite pleased with Fang Rui’s caution. "Brother Rui, don’t be so quick to refuse. Just listen... This business does have some risks, but I’ll be the one taking them. As you know, my family is currently fulfilling an order for the Government Office... You wouldn’t have to do much, just introduce me to some... channels..."
A smart person only needs a hint.
Hearing this, Fang Rui instantly understood. ’So that’s the suicidal path he’s on...’
Back when the county was mass-conscripting soldiers to wipe out the Taiping Bandits outside the city, other families had to provide men. The Wang Family, however, took on a blacksmithing contract in lieu of military service.
At the time, that was naturally a good thing, but the subsequent price was steep.
The Government Office provided the raw materials, and the Wang Family had to turn in a set number of weapons each month. However, because this arrangement was in lieu of military service, and with Officials skimming off the top, the payment to the Wang Family was so low that they could no longer afford to continue.
This was why the Wang Family had gotten desperate and turned their attention to the weapons themselves.
In this era, items like weapons were extremely expensive.
Even if the Wang Family’s skills were lacking and they could only produce ’Standard Weapons’—nothing like the Treasure Swords and Sabers used by people in the martial world—the price for such items was still far higher than that of scissors or kitchen knives.
