Chapter 12: Earned Silver Must Be Handed Over

Chapter 12: Money Earned Must Be Handed Over

Everyone knew this guy always kept the best stuff for himself, and even when he came home from the academy on breaks, he never gave a thought to the family's struggles—he'd always find ways to wheedle money out of his elder brother and sister-in-law. So today, when he actually went and bought cloth for the family, that was a real shocker.

They were a little suspicious, but nobody was rude enough to say anything.

Li Wan hugged the bolt of cloth, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "Third Brother really went all out this time."

Yan Fengan gave a faint smile. "Just a small token. Hope my sisters-in-law don't think it's too shabby."

He Jin said cheerfully, "Free cloth? We're thrilled. Who's gonna complain about that? Oh, by the way, Xiaoxi, that young man from the Shen family stopped by looking for you earlier. I told him you were in town and to come back this afternoon or tomorrow."

"Oh, alright."

Yan Fengan asked, curious, "Who is that young man from the Shen family? A friend of yours?"

Most of the time he was at the academy in town, so apart from the older folks, he didn't know any of the younger guys.

Wen Xi thought about his history with Shen Yun and said, "He's a friend."

The ten coppers he'd saved back home were from Shen Yun secretly helping him sell wild mountain goods.

Yan Fengan said, "It's good to have a friend. When you've got nothing to do, you can go hang out with him."

Playing together was a foreign concept to Wen Xi. He and Shen Yun knew each other, but they'd never really hung out. The only times they'd really talked were when picking wild fruit or digging for wild veggies in the mountains—those were the only chances Wen Xi got to slip away from his family and chat with him.

He wondered what Shen Yun wanted this time.

While Wen Xi and the others put the cloth away, Yan Fengan followed Chen Lanfang back to her room and handed over the leftover money from selling the old clothes.

"Here, take this for household expenses."

The three brothers hadn't split up the family estate, so Chen Lanfang handled all the household money. She didn't argue: "Alright, Mother will take it."

After a moment, she set aside a few bits of silver. "Keep these for yourself."

Yan Fengan hesitated. "What about Big Brother and his wife..."

Seeing how much he worried about his brother and sister-in-law, Chen Lanfang was touched and said, "Every time your father and the others bring home money from work, I set aside a share for Jin Geer and Wan Niang. You're all my kids—I won't shortchange any of you."

If she hadn't done that, given Yan Fengan's spending habits, even if his sisters-in-law were saints, they'd have been at each other's throats by now.

Hearing this, Yan Fengan held onto a small bit of silver for himself. When he got back to the room, he saw Wen Xi had put his old worn-out shoes back on. The hole on top had been patched with a scrap of cloth, but it still looked terrible.

"You've got new shoes—why are you wearing those?"

Wen Xi's cheeks went red, and he mumbled, "I'm just used to them."

The truth was, these were the first pair of shoes he'd ever owned. He treasured them and didn't want to wear them out, so he figured he'd keep using the old pair for a while longer.

Yan Fengan wrinkled his nose. "Those shoes are old and ratty—they don't suit you. Wear the new ones."

Wen Xi rarely went against him. Seeing Yan Fengan didn't like the old shoes, he dutifully switched to the new ones.

Yan Fengan pulled his hand out from behind his back and held it out to Wen Xi like a prize. "Look—our silver."

Wen Xi's eyes followed his hand and landed on the bits of silver in his palm.

"After buying the cloth, we've still got five taels left from the old clothes. I gave the rest to Mother. We'll keep this for ourselves—so if you ever want to buy something, you won't have to ask her for money."

Seeing Wen Xi standing there stunned and quiet, Yan Fengan pushed the silver toward him. "Come on, take it."

Wen Xi's mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally asked, "Why are you giving me the money?"

"Before you ask that, you should ask my dad why he gives money to my mom, ask my oldest brother why he gives money to his wife, ask my second brother why he gives money to Jin Geer—it's just how our family works, you know."

Yan Fengan rattled off a whole long spiel, a bit of a mouthful, but Wen Xi got the gist.

Hesitantly, Wen Xi took the silver. "I'll put it in the drawer of your desk. If you need it, just take it."

He put the red envelope from his in-laws in there too. At the Yan house, he had food and clothes, and if he got sick, his mother-in-law would get him a doctor. Wen Xi figured he had no use for money, and anyway, he didn't dare spend it on his own.

Country folks held onto their money tight—like his own parents. On the surface, his mother ran the house, but really, his father held all the purse strings. You couldn't spend a single copper without his say-so.

If Li Qiaozhen spent a little too much, Wen Shishan would give her a dirty look.

Yan Fengan handing the money over to him did make Wen Xi happy, but the unease and distance in his heart were too heavy—so heavy that he couldn't quite find his footing.

——

With so many people in the house, making new clothes was a big job. Luckily, Chen Lanfang and the others knew what they were doing, so it wasn't too much of a headache once they got started.

Wen Xi had brought hardly any clothes, and they didn't fit well, so everyone agreed to make his first.

When they measured him, Wen Xi stood stiff as a board. He Jin laughed. "It's not an execution—why so tense?"

Wen Xi gave an embarrassed smile. Watching He Jin deftly mark the cloth after measuring, he said, half envious, half admiring, "You're really good at this."

"What's so impressive about that? It's just practice. Don't let my speed fool you—my sewing's actually pretty average. Compared to Mother and Eldest Sister-in-law, I'm way behind."

Chen Lanfang laughed. "Your sewing might be a step behind ours, but nobody in this family can match your embroidery."

Li Wan also conceded: "Jin Geer's mother is a famous embroiderer around these parts. He grew up soaking it in—how could I ever compare?"

He Jin smiled without a word of modesty, suggesting his skill was truly exceptional.

When girls and young lads were still unmarried, their mothers would teach them sewing and embroidery. How much they learned depended on natural talent.

Wen Xi wasn't so fortunate. At the Wen family, he only had endless chores, and Li Qiaozhen had never taught him any skill.

Chen Lanfang knew what kind of life he'd led at the Wen family and deliberately didn't ask if he knew how. She only said, "We bought a lot of cloth this time, Xiaoxi. You should learn well from Wan Niang and the others."

Wen Xi nodded. If his two sisters-in-law were willing to teach, he would study earnestly.

In the afternoon, Shen Yun came to the Yan family again.

Like Wen Xi, he was a shy, simple young lad without much cunning. When Chen Lanfang invited him inside to sit, he only shook his head and stood shyly at the courtyard gate for a while.

Seeing his friend, Wen Xi was also delighted. With Chen Lanfang's permission, he carried two small stools and sat with Shen Yun under the osmanthus tree outside the courtyard.

"I heard all about what happened with the Zhao family. How are your injuries—any better?" Shen Yun said as he looked Wen Xi over.

Wen Xi turned his head, showing him the side of his face that had been struck. "They applied medicine at home. I'm fine now."

Seeing no marks left behind, Shen Yun relaxed and said, "I wanted to come see you earlier, but I was held up by things at home these past few days."

Wen Xi had been married into the Yan family for so many days, and Shen Yun hadn't come to see him. Besides being busy at home, the bigger reason was his worry that suddenly showing up might displease the Yan family and make Wen Xi's situation even harder. It was only after hearing the neighbors talk about how the Yan family had stood up for Wen Xi that he finally had a reason to come.

Wen Xi shook his head to show he didn't mind.

Shen Yun gestured with his chin toward the courtyard: "Are the Yan family treating you well? People outside say Xiucai Yan's health has improved. How does he treat you? Has he bullied you?"

"I'm doing fine, they don't bully me." Wen Xi answered truthfully. The Yan family treated him very well, and his days now were free and comfortable.

As for Yan Fengan, the man's attitude toward him was fairly gentle. Although he would occasionally tease him, he no longer belittled or humiliated him as before. He even defended him when the family joked around, and entrusted his money to him for safekeeping, like he really meant to settle down with him.

"That's good." Shen Yun actually had more questions but was afraid of reopening old wounds, so he had to force a lighthearted tone: "If he dares to bully you again, you tell me, and I'll definitely help you..."

Hearing him trail off, Wen Xi shot him a curious look. Shen Yun grabbed his arm and whispered, "I'll definitely secretly scold him for you."

Wen Xi pursed his lips and smiled. Shen Yun could see that his face no longer bore the hardship it once did, and figured his relationship with Xiucai Yan must be pretty good. Thinking of what had happened at home over the past few days, Shen Yun said, "Actually, there's something else I wanted to tell you this time."

"What?" Wen Xi's gaze rested quietly on him as he asked softly.

Shen Yun's cheeks flushed, and his words came out haltingly: "Auntie Liu in the village arranged a match for me... The man is from Fengping Village next door... They came to my house yesterday, and I snuck a couple of glances at him... He's not as handsome or as educated as Xiucai Yan, but he's sturdier and looks strong. My brother said if I like him, he'd go ahead and make it official."

Shen Yun's father had passed away early, leaving only a sickly widowed mother and an older brother who peddled goods through the streets. All family matters were decided by his brother.

"Then do you like him?"

A trace of confusion appeared in Shen Yun's eyes: "I don't know either, but I feel like being with him, I wouldn't go hungry. Do you think I should agree?"

Boys from farming families didn't have high standards—as long as the man they married was good-tempered and hardworking, there wasn't much to complain about. Whether they liked him didn't matter.

Wen Xi thought seriously for a moment: "Your brother dotes on you. If you're not satisfied, you can keep looking."

For boys like them, marrying meant putting their whole life and well-being into someone else's hands. One wrong step and their whole life was over.

Shen Yun's brother wouldn't marry him off for money. Wen Xi thought he could afford to be picky and choose someone he actually liked.

"Alright, then I'll keep looking." Deep down, Shen Yun wasn't that eager to marry anyway. Hearing Wen Xi say this, he temporarily set aside the thought and pulled out a handful of watermelon seeds from his pocket, saying, "Enough about that. Let's snack on some seeds. My brother brought these back from the prefectural city—they're really tasty. I brought them specially for you to try."

Worries came and went quickly at their age. Shen Yun and Wen Xi sat shoulder to shoulder, huddled together like a couple of little critters, casually munching on seeds.

Birds chirped in the branches, the faded osmanthus tree still gave off a faint scent, and the cool breeze brushed against Wen Xi's face, stirring his hair, letting him feel a sense of ease he'd never felt before, all the way down to his bones.

Now when he played with Shen Yun, he no longer had to worry about his parents popping out of nowhere, calling him lazy and giving him a beating.

In the courtyard, Chen Lanfang was cutting fabric with her two daughters-in-law, asking in a hushed voice: "He's been in our home for some days now. What do you two think?"

"If you ask me, I'd definitely say he's good. If he hadn't protected Tiezhu the other day, my little one would've been in for who knows how much trouble." Li Wan still remembered that matter clearly and naturally had a good impression of Wen Xi.

He Jin spoke more directly: "He seems timid, but when trouble comes, he really steps up. Last time at the Zhao house, I was afraid he'd hold us back, but it turned out he's quite capable too. He's always polite when talking to me and Sister-in-law, not like that Wen Liu who puts on airs and loves stirring up trouble. I think he's fine."

Chen Lanfang nodded with a smile and spoke from the heart to her two daughters-in-law: "I don't mind telling you, actually before, I really didn't like his timid, shrinking nature. I always felt he wasn't the type to fit in with our family. But that day when I was hit by Liu Jinhua, his legs were still trembling, yet he didn't forget to rush forward and grab that old woman's hair to help me. My heart softened right then, and I felt this child belongs in our family."

Hearing this, Li Wan also recalled that day's scene and said: "I also feel he gets along well with our family. Look, since he came, not only has Third Brother's illness improved, but his temper has become kinder too."

Sanlang had been a good kid before, but ever since passing the imperial examination, he'd become somewhat arrogant.

Before marrying into the family, Li Wan knew her husband would support his younger brother's studies. If Yan Fengan could pass the exams, it would not only bring glory to the family but also benefit them all. Feeding and supporting Yan Fengan's schooling didn't bother her or He Jin much. The only thing that annoyed them was Yan Fengan's attitude toward the family. The man showed no gratitude at all, always assuming the whole family would depend on him in the future, so however well they treated him was only right.

She and He Jin never said anything out loud, but there was still some resentment in their hearts.

And that Wen Liu wasn't an easy one either. Marrying him into the family would surely cause chaos. Li Wan and He Jin had secretly discussed that once Yan Fengan and Wen Liu married, they'd have their husbands push for dividing the family property, firmly refusing to live under the same roof with those two.

Now the one who married in was Wen Xi instead of Wen Liu, and Third Brother had learned his lesson after this ordeal. The two of them had also given up the idea of splitting the family.

Who from a proper family wouldn't want to live peacefully? With kind in-laws and a loving husband, no one would willingly tear the family apart unless absolutely necessary.

These words struck a chord with Chen Lanfang. Everyone in the family had seen the change in Yan Fengan. Though crediting it all to Wen Xi might be a stretch, everything came down to fate. Wen Xi arrived, her son's illness improved, and the family atmosphere became more harmonious—that proved he was destined to be part of the Yan family.

"He's young and soft-natured. You two should look out for him more when you're out and about."

He Jin said: "Don't worry, Mother. He's married into our family now—how could we let anyone bully him?"

Rarely were both daughters-in-law so satisfied with Wen Xi. Chen Lanfang was delighted, thinking to herself that their family could finally live together in harmony.