Chapter 41: Are You Hiding Private Savings?

Chapter 41: Are You Hiding Money from Me?

After leaving the market and on the way to meet up with his parents, Yan Fengan joked to Yan Fuqiu, "Second Brother, you've really put me in a bind this time."

Yan Fuqiu laughed heartily and patted him on the shoulder. "Third Brother, I'm not causing you trouble. I just can't stand it—a guy like Third Liu can show off his so-called smarts at the market with that ugly chicken-scratch handwriting of his, while you, a proper scholar who passed the imperial exams, write so beautifully. You've got way more right to earn this money than he does."

Yan Wangchun added, "That's right. Why should other folks get to make this money and we can't? If you're worried about Third Liu causing trouble, your Second Brother and I can come along with you."

Yan Fuqiu cracked his knuckles. "He's nothing but a bully who only picks on people weaker than him. I'm almost hoping he shows up—if he does, the three of us brothers will take care of him for good."

"I'm going there to set up a stall and make money, not to get into a fight. Why would I need you two tagging along?" Yan Fengan was already twenty years old, yet his two older brothers still treated him like a little kid who needed protecting. He didn't know whether to feel annoyed or laugh about it. "I've got an official title to my name. If Third Liu dares to mess with my stall, I'll report him to the county office, and he'll be the one getting his butt whipped. No one's that dumb. Tomorrow, Wen Xi can come with me."

Wen Xi hesitated upon hearing this. "Tomorrow's the twenty-fourth of the twelfth month—the house needs its yearly cleaning..."

Before he could finish, Li Wan said, "There are plenty of people at home to take care of that. You don't have to stay. Go with Third Brother—you can help him grind ink and take the money."

He Jin remembered something else. "Don't we still have some pouches and sachets lying around? Tomorrow you can bring those along and sell 'em too."

The pouches and sachets were made from leftover materials from their embroidery work. He Jin thought Shen Liang's prices were a bit too low, so he'd been planning to sell them himself in town one day—and now the chance had come.

Besides selling persimmons with Shen Yun last time, Wen Xi had never run his own stall. When He Jin suggested it, he was tempted.

After meeting up with Chen Lanfang and the others, Yan Fengan told them about his plan to set up a stall selling couplets at the market the next day.

The old couple was pretty happy to hear that. Having their son do something useful for the villagers was something to be proud of.

As for Wen Xi, of course he'd go too—the two of them could keep each other company and look out for each other.

After settling that, the family led the ox cart loaded with New Year goods and headed home happy.

Wen Xi was still excited about going to town to set up the stall the next day, not knowing another surprise was waiting for him at home.

The three brothers had already tucked silver bracelets into their clothes at the jewelry shop. As soon as they got back to their rooms, they eagerly pulled them out to make their wives happy. Wen Xi was a bit stunned when he saw the silver bracelet.

He hadn't even gotten tired of wearing the glass beads yet, and now Yan Fengan had given him a silver bracelet too. Wen Xi's mind went blank—one second he thought the bracelet was pretty, the next he was wondering how much it had cost.

When they'd left the house that morning, they'd only brought a little loose silver—probably less than a tael. Where in the world did Yan Fengan get the money for this silver bracelet?

Wen Xi found it strange. He hesitated for a moment but couldn't help asking quietly, "Did you stash away some money?"

Yan Fengan took his right hand and slowly slid the silver bracelet onto it. It was supposed to go on the left wrist, but Wen Xi already had a string of glass beads there, so Yan Fengan put it on his right instead.

Once it was on, he smiled and tapped Wen Xi's nose. "I swear on my life—every penny I earn goes to you. Where would I even hide money?"

Knowing what Wen Xi was wondering, Yan Fengan explained the silver bracelet in a few sentences.

"Mother and the sisters-in-law all got one too, you know. You all work hard taking care of the house day in and day out. This year, since Big Brother and I made some money, it's only fair you all get to share in the joy."

There were plenty of families with multiple sons in the village, but few got along as well as the Yan brothers.

Before marrying into the family, Wen Xi had worried not only that Yan Fengan might treat him badly, but also that his family might be hard to get along with. Now that they lived under the same roof, he realized Yan Fengan's parents and siblings were some of the kindest people he'd ever met.

It wasn't surprising, really. As the old saying goes, "Like father, like son." A family that raised someone as gentle, courteous, and kind-hearted as Yan Fengan couldn't be bad.

Spending time with them every day, Wen Xi felt the resentment and bitterness in his heart slowly fade away.

He hugged Yan Fengan's arm and said in a soft, whiny voice, "Husband, your family is really wonderful."

Yan Fengan smiled, but his heart ached a little. He tilted his head and leaned it gently against Wen Xi's head. "Silly. People are good to you because you're good to them."

Wen Xi was hardworking and well-behaved, respectful to his elders, never gossiped or caused trouble, and got along with his two sisters-in-law like good friends. His brothers-in-law never said much, but they knew—they wouldn't have treated just anybody this way.

Wen Xi's eyes got a little misty too. Back when he was in the Wen family, no matter what he did, no one ever thought he was good enough. It was like his very existence was a mistake.

Why think about such gloomy stuff on such a happy day? Wen Xi sniffled, pushed the unhappy memories aside, and admired his new silver bracelet with delight.

The others who received silver bracelets felt much the same—happy and moved, especially Chen Lanfang.

The ten taels of silver had originally been her way of compensating her two eldest sons for the grievances and hardships of the past two years. She never expected her sons to be so thoughtful—not only buying bracelets for their wives, but even remembering her.

Now all three sons were filial and successful. The hardships of those years seemed to have turned into sweetness, filling her heart with joy.

It was supposed to be a happy occasion, but Chen Lanfang couldn't help burying her face in Yan Shichang's chest and sobbing.

Everyone in each room had their own stories of hardship to tell, which was why they all sat down to eat with red-rimmed eyes.

No one brought up anything unpleasant. After the meal, Yan Fengan and Wen Xi began preparing for the next day's stall.

Word of his couplet writing spread through the village like wildfire, carried by Granny Wang's gossip. In the afternoon, the sun peeked out briefly. While no one had come yet, Yan Fengan had his two brothers move a large octagonal table onto the porch, then took out his brush, ink, and paper and began writing. That way, when he went to set up his stall, others could come directly to the house to buy couplets.

While Yan Fengan wrote, Wen Xi gathered up the items He Jin and Li Wan had made, planning to bring them all to town the next day.

They were still working on orders for the embroidery workshop and occasionally doing household chores, so they hadn't accumulated many finished pieces. The three of them together had only made seven pouches, three sachets, and ten plain handkerchiefs embroidered with flowers. The auspicious knot ornaments numbered fewer than twenty.

There wasn't much stock, but the materials had all been saved from their work, so every sale was pure profit. Either way, it was a good deal.

Afraid he'd mix things up, Wen Xi borrowed Yan Fengan's brush and ink to write down what each person had made.

He remembered clearly what Yan Fengan had said last time—"Even brothers must settle accounts clearly." Although his sister-in-law and Brother Jin weren't stingy people, he still needed to be mindful of boundaries and not damage their goodwill over a few coins.

After packing his small cloth bundle, he placed it in Yan Fengan's bamboo box. The next morning, the young couple rose early, gathered their stall supplies, and headed to town together.

When they arrived, the paper and ink shop had just opened. Shopkeeper Zhou looked at Yan Fengan and said, "Thanks to Scholar Yan's kindness yesterday, the shop had so many customers. Everyone was asking who wrote the couplets on the pillars by my door. After I told them, they all clamored to come find you."

Yan Fengan clasped his hands in greeting. "I'm afraid I'll be troubling you for a few days."

Before leaving yesterday, he'd already arranged with the shopkeeper to set up his stall outside the shop, and Shopkeeper Zhou had readily agreed.

"No trouble at all. Having you set up here actually brings me business in return."

After exchanging pleasantries, Yan Fengan borrowed a square table and stool and set them up in the open space outside the paper shop.

Wen Xi helped arrange his brush and inkstone, then neatly stacked the cut red paper in piles. Once Yan Fengan's things were set up, he opened his own small bundle, spread a piece of coarse cloth over two benches pushed together, and laid out his pouches and handkerchiefs.

There weren't too many people at the market yet. Yan Fengan told Wen Xi to watch the stall while he went to a breakfast shop and bought two stuffed pancakes. Once things got busy, they wouldn't have time to eat, so they needed something in their stomachs first.

After finishing the pancakes, the streets gradually filled with people. Those who had ordered couplets from Yan Fengan the day before arrived early, their eyes lighting up when they saw him, asking if the couplets were ready.

Of course they were. Yan Fengan handed the couplets to them, and the moment they saw his square, full-bodied calligraphy, everyone felt pleased and festive, paying up readily.

The couplets at the bookshop entrance were his advertisement, and with word of mouth spreading, people soon lined up to have him write couplets.

Wen Xi counted the customers. He hadn't sold a single pouch yet, but Yan Fengan had already earned over a hundred wen.

He observed the people coming for couplets, and whenever he spotted someone dressed more decently, he gathered his courage to pitch his goods.

Yan Fengan chimed in from the side: "These are all handmade by my husband. Take a look and see if anything catches your eye. If you buy a pouch or sachet, I'll throw in a free 'fortune' character."

Hearing this, a young married man from town picked up a pomegranate-shaped sachet and examined it. "How much is this one?"

Before coming, He Jin had told Wen Xi that the period before the New Year was the peak sales season for New Year goods. Things on the street would be more expensive than usual, and the cotton cloth from the embroidery workshop was better than what ordinary people used. Items like sachets and pouches should be sold at least ten wen more than usual.

According to common sense, after hearing the price, most people would try to bargain it down. So Wen Xi added another five wen on top of the already increased ten wen.

Unexpectedly, that young man was a straightforward person. When he heard that a sachet cost fifty-five wen each, he didn't haggle and just asked Yan Fengan to give him two extra "fu" characters (meaning good fortune).

This made Wen Xi feel like a swindler. He was thin-skinned to begin with, and asking for a high price always made him feel like he was cheating people. Before anyone else could say anything, he was already blushing.

After Yan Fengan gave the "fu" characters, Wen Xi also gave that young man a ruyi knot and a double coin knot.

These single knots were cheap, only three wen each, or five wen for two. Giving them away didn't cost Wen Xi anything, and it also eased his guilt.

The young man who received the gifts felt pleased and bought an extra handkerchief.

This inadvertently gave Wen Xi a way to sell expensive items—by giving away cheap trinkets as bonuses, people would be more willing to pay.

Following the method of giving away "fu" characters and single knots, the pouches and sachets sold quickly. Not counting the handkerchiefs, the pouches and sachets alone sold for five hundred and fifty wen.

Looking over at Yan Fengan, after a whole morning with his brush practically smoking from all the writing, he had earned less than three hundred wen.

During a break with no customers, Wen Xi held Yan Fengan's wrist and rubbed it, saying with concern, "You've worked hard, dear."

"It's just writing a few characters, nothing hard about it." Yan Fengan, on the other hand, held Wen Xi's hand and blew warm breath on it. "Your hands are so cold. Are you freezing? Your things are all sold out, so why not let me come alone tomorrow? No need for you to suffer."

Wen Xi shook his head and said softly, "I want to stay with you."

Being with Yan Fengan, his hands might be cold, but his heart was warm. There was no place where he felt safer than by his side.

Yan Fengan smiled and blew warm breath on his hand again. Just then, a woman led a little girl to their stall to get some couplets written. The little girl looked about five or six years old. Wen Xi looked at her for a while. Besides being as adorable as a New Year picture doll, the most striking thing was the two beaded hair ties in her hair.

Seeing Wen Xi looking at her, the little girl deliberately swung her braids, and the beaded hair ties jingled as she moved.

In front of a child, Wen Xi wasn't as nervous. He gave a gentle smile and said, "Sweetie, your hair ties are so pretty. Where did you get them?"

The little girl wasn't shy either. She touched her hair ties and said with a grin, "My dad got them for me from the city. They were really expensive. Mister, do you want some too? They might be a bit pricey."

The woman pulled the child closer and said politely, "Kids say silly things. These are just wooden beads strung together, nothing expensive. One red string with two beads costs only ten wen. They should have them in town too. If you like them, young man, you can take a look around after you close up shop."

"Okay." Wen Xi nodded and didn't say anything more.

He knew how to make hair ties like that himself. He'd only asked to find out the price. Even if he had to buy beads from Shen Liang, he could still make a good profit selling each hair tie for ten wen.

With his goods sold out, Wen Xi was wondering what to do tomorrow. Seeing the little girl's hair ties, he got an idea.

After lunch, the crowd at the market gradually thinned. In winter, it got dark early, and after three in the afternoon, Yan Fengan and Wen Xi returned the table and stools to Shopkeeper Zhou, packed up, and went home.

That day, Yan Fengan wrote thirty-one couplets in total, earning three hundred and ten wen. After deducting the stall fee and the cost of paper and ink, the net profit should be around two hundred and forty-five wen. That was about what an ordinary worker made in two or three days, which was quite good.

Wen Xi's embroidered goods—pouches and sachets—brought in five hundred and fifty wen, and the ten embroidered handkerchiefs sold for two hundred wen, totaling seven hundred and fifty wen.

With so many copper coins, the pouches weren't big enough to hold them all. Fortunately, Wen Xi had prepared two large cloth bags. So they wouldn't get mixed up, he put each person's earnings into a separate bag, then put both bags in Yan Fengan's bamboo box. That way, it was secure and easier to carry.

The seven hundred and fifty wen from selling embroidered goods wasn't all Wen Xi's. On the way home, he glanced at the note he had written before leaving and counted on his fingers, silently calculating how to split the money.

Sister-in-law had made two pouches, one sachet, and two handkerchiefs, which came to two hundred and five wen. Brother Jin had made three pouches, one sachet, and three handkerchiefs, which came to two hundred and eighty wen. After deducting their shares, the rest was his.

Wen Xi muttered to himself, but before he could figure it out, Yan Fengan said, "You get two hundred and sixty-five wen."

"Right, right..." Wen Xi gave him an awkward smile. "The numbers are too big. I can't do the math."

And it was so confusing that he'd messed up several times.

Yan Fengan took his hand and said, "It's okay. You'll get the hang of it with practice. After you run your stall a few more times, you'll know how to calculate."

Wen Xi nodded and murmured, then started muttering again: "Two hundred and sixty-five wen plus two hundred and forty-five wen, we earned a total of..."

This time Yan Fengan didn't remind him. Wen Xi calculated for a while, then suddenly said happily, "We earned five hundred and ten wen in total!"

It wasn't the first time Wen Xi had earned money, but every time, no matter how much, it made him happy.

And this time, he and Yan Fengan had earned it together, which made him even happier.

Author's note:

Don't even get me started on Xiao Xi, my head's spinning from all this math.

PS: A few readers asked in the last chapter whether you could take silver ingots to a jeweler. The answer is yes.

In ancient times, silver could be used as currency or as raw material. You could bring your own silver to have custom designs made, and even get characters engraved on it. But you'd need to find a professional silversmith or a silver shop, and you'd have to pay a crafting fee (I wrote that they used silver directly to buy things just for convenience). This is what I know. If there are any experts in the comments, feel free to chime in—it's pretty interesting.