Chapter 42: Dividing the Money

Chapter 42: Splitting the Money

While the young couple was setting up their stall in town, the folks back home were just as busy. The Yan family courtyard was large, and cleaning it was tiring work. Fortunately, there were many hands at home, and no one slacked off. Except for Yan Fengan and Wen Xi's room, all the dust inside and outside the house had been wiped clean.

When Wen Xi and Yan Fengan returned home, a villager happened to come by to buy Spring Festival couplets. Since they didn't want to flaunt their earnings in front of outsiders, Wen Xi first slipped the bamboo box off Yan Fengan's back and stashed it inside, then went to the kitchen to fetch a basin of water, getting ready to straighten up their bedroom too.

Li Wan dried the washed bowls and placed them one by one into the cupboard. Watching Wen Xi, she asked with concern, "You're back so late—you hungry? Want me to fix you two a bowl of noodles?"

Wen Xi shook his head and smiled. "Thank you, Sister-in-law. We grabbed lunch in town, so we're not hungry yet."

After a moment's thought, he added, "You guys worked hard today."

Li Wan waved it off. "This is all just routine stuff—nothing to get tired over. So how'd you do selling today?"

Wen Xi glanced outside the door and moved closer to her. "Sold everything—over seven hundred wen total. You, me, and Brother Jin each get over two hundred wen."

His voice was low, but you could hear the excitement in it.

"Really?" Li Wan's face lit up too. "Over seven hundred wen is a lot. Selling all that—Xiao Xi, you're something else."

Chen Lanfang never took a cut of the money they made from embroidery, and with the New Year approaching, having an extra two hundred copper coins in her pocket—who wouldn't be happy?

Out in the countryside, two hundred wen went a long way. It was plenty to buy meat or fabric. With this money, she could buy gifts for her folks when she visited her family home and give red envelopes to her nieces and nephews without touching the private savings she had accumulated before.

Thinking about everything that had gone down lately, Li Wan gave Wen Xi's head an affectionate pat. "You really are our little lucky charm."

She then ladled some hot water from the kettle into the basin of cold water he'd drawn. "It's cold out—don't let your hands get frozen. I boiled water on the stove just for this; don't be cheap with it."

Everyone likes hearing nice things. Wen Xi felt a little embarrassed by the praise, but the warm feeling stuck with him.

Yan Fengan didn't even get a proper break after getting home. He'd finished the ones in town, but folks in the village were still waiting. The moment he got back, people started showing up at the Yan place one after another.

Most folks brought their own red paper to save a few coins. The paper looked worn, probably leftovers from past years.

Writing on it smoothly was the least of the worries; the real fear was the ink bleeding through and ruining the whole couplet.

Luckily, the folks who came were all reasonable. If their paper wasn't any good, Yan Fengan would swap in fresh paper, and they didn't gripe about it.

Writing couplets for the New Year was all about spreading good cheer—nobody was going to get bent out of shape over a few wen.

Before long, the village head, Zhao Gengnian, showed up too. The Yans had once had a run-in with Zhao Dahe's family, but they had no beef with him as village head.

When he walked in, Yan Shichang greeted him with a smile and made small talk.

Zhao Gengnian had, of course, come for couplets too. After Yan Fengan passed the imperial exam, whether he thought he was too good for it or what, he'd stopped doing this. Now that he'd picked it back up this year, how could Zhao Gengnian, who'd always admired his handwriting, pass that up?

As village head, he wanted to show off his status, so the couplets he asked for were fancier than what regular folks got.

He didn't think much of the plain red paper Yan Fengan used. Figuring Yan Fengan might not have the good stuff, Zhao Gengnian brought his own fancy red paper.

Wen Xi was wiping down the bedroom door when he noticed the whole family huddled around Yan Fengan, chattering about something. He went over to see what the commotion was. Turned out everyone was checking out Zhao Gengnian's red paper.

The paper he brought wasn't the usual stuff—the color was a bit darker, with flecks of gold leaf scattered on it, looking festive and classy.

Zhao Gengnian stroked his goatee and said, all smug, "This is gold-flecked red paper I got special in town. Just these two sheets set me back over twenty wen."

The Yan family wasn't easily impressed—what was twenty wen supposed to scare anyone with?

Oh, but it sure impressed Wen Xi. I mean, his husband charged ten wen tops for a couplet, and these two sheets cost twenty—enough to buy a whole stack of regular red paper.

He'd heard the village head's two sons worked in the city—guess having money made you generous.

Well, if he was a fat pig, he couldn't blame folks for slaughtering him.

Yan Fuqiu cleared his throat, and when Yan Fengan looked over, he grinned and said, "Third brother, the village head's paper ain't cheap—you'd better do it justice."

Yan Fengan got the hint right away. He ran his fingers over the gold-flecked paper and said, slow and easy, "Of course. Good paper calls for good writing, and good writing calls for good words. Let me think about how to craft a perfect Spring Festival couplet tailored to the village head."

Yan Wangchun pretended to look honest and simple. "I heard you charge quite a lot for custom couplets in town. The village head has always been good to us—you'd better not be ungrateful."

"What are you talking about? As long as the content written by Scholar Yan satisfies me, I'll pay whatever is due." Zhao Gengnian tossed his money pouch onto the table. "Don't worry, I know the rules."

Yan Fengan looked at the bulging pouch and smiled. "I've got it. I'll write you an embedded-character couplet, incorporating your name right into the lines."

"You can do that?" Zhao Gengnian nodded excitedly. "Great, great—write it."

Yan Fengan dipped his brush in ink and wrote on the gold-flecked red paper: "Gengnian brings blessings, spring fills the door; virtue sown in season, joy abounds in the hall. Horizontal scroll: Virtue and fortune both arrive."

While he wrote, the Yan family hushed their voices so as not to disturb him. As soon as he finished, his two older brothers immediately clapped and cheered: "Wow, third brother, you're amazing! You actually worked the village head's name in—your mind is so sharp! How come we couldn't think of that?"

Yan Shichang clasped his hands behind his back, proud inside but calm on the surface. "You think your brother passed the imperial exam for nothing? A mere couplet—what's so hard about that for him?"

Zhao Gengnian was a literate man too. As soon as the couplet came out, he slapped his thigh in delight. "Excellent, truly excellent! This couplet has my name in it and fits the festive spirit of the New Year. Sanlang, you have real literary talent. How much should I pay you for your calligraphy fee?"

Yan Fengan rubbed his wrist. "This kind of embedded-character couplet is special. In town, I usually charge over a hundred wen. Since we're from the same village and you brought your own paper, seventy wen will do."

The price of a hundred wen wasn't set arbitrarily by Yan Fengan. Ordinary couplets could be repeated without worry and didn't require much thought, and the paper and ink were the cheapest kind, so ten wen was enough for the calligraphy fee.

This more special type of couplet needed to be high-class and one-of-a-kind. If not for the fact that the ink was ordinary, Yan Fengan would have charged even more.

Zhao Gengnian clearly knew the trade. Hearing the price, he didn't think it expensive at all. When he pasted this couplet on his door, the villagers would see his name right on it—wasn't that a kind of status symbol?

He took out a qian of silver from his pouch and placed it on the table. "I don't have that many copper coins on me. Take this—no need for change."

After Yan Fengan stated the price, Wen Xi's head was spinning. No wonder Wen Liu, when clamoring to go to school in town, always said, "All trades are base; only scholarship is noble." A couplet selling for such a high price—who wouldn't say that was impressive?

Yan Shichang said politely, "How can this be? We're from the same village—how could we take such advantage of you?"

Hearing this, Zhao Gengnian turned displeased. "What do you mean 'take advantage'? Your third son's couplet is of extraordinary value to me. A qian of silver is worth every penny. Alright, enough talk—I'll invite you over for a drink another day, and you'd better come."

Wen Xi snapped back from his shock and promptly picked up a few sheets of red paper with the character "fortune" written on them from the table. "Thank you for your appreciation, Uncle Zhao. We're giving you some blessings."

"Oh, thank you, thank you—I'll gladly accept these blessings." Zhao Gengnian took the fortune characters from Wen Xi with a smile.

How strange—why hadn't he noticed before that this young man from the Wen family was so perceptive and articulate? No wonder the Yan family valued him so much; there was clearly a reason.

With that thought, Zhao Gengnian looked at the couplet and fortune characters in his hands, his heart filled with endless delight.

As the sky gradually darkened, Yan Wangchun closed the courtyard gate, thinking no one else would come.

After writing couplets all day, Yan Fengan's hands were filthy—stained with ink and the red powder from the cinnabar paper. It took a good soak in hot water to wash them clean.

Wen Xi was eager to divide the money with his two sisters-in-law. Once there were no outsiders in the house, he pulled them into his room and dumped all the copper coins from the cloth bag onto the table.

Li Wan had already heard him talk about it, so seeing so many copper coins didn't surprise her.

He Jin grinned and scooped up a handful of coins. "So many—you sold everything?"

Wen Xi nodded and calculated every transaction clearly for both of them. When he mentioned raising the price of the pouches and giving the sachets as free extras, He Jin looked him up and down and said in surprise, "I never would have guessed—that little head of yours works pretty well. This morning, Sister-in-law and I were worried you wouldn't be flexible enough selling and would end up bringing everything back."

Wen Xi said in a small voice, defending himself: "I'm not that stupid, am I?"

He Jin laughed: "Not stupid, not stupid. No wonder you share a bed with Third Brother—you're both equally clever."

Wen Xi's face flushed red, and he teased back in the same manner: "And no wonder you share a bed with Second Brother—you sound just like him."

To his surprise, Wen Xi talked back. He Jin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled at Li Wan: "Sister-in-law, look how bold Xiao Xi is now, daring to tease me."

Li Wan gently poked his forehead: "Serves you right. Who told you to pick on him?" She started laughing at herself.

After joking around, the three began to divide the money. Since it was all earned by their own labor, they didn't hold back with Wen Xi.

He Jin put the copper coins into his pouch and said, "New Year goods sure sell like hotcakes. Next year, let's make more and try to earn even more money."

Wen Xi shared his observation: "I noticed some people in town buying those beaded hair ties, and they go for over ten wen each."

He Jin weighed his pouch and raised an eyebrow: "Oh? You wanna give that a shot too?"

Wen Xi nodded.

"I never knew our Xiao Xi was such a little money-grubber, wanting to make money off everything."

Wen Xi felt embarrassed by his remark and explained, "It's mainly because once the pouches are sold out, I have nothing to do in town."

"I'm just joking with you, don't get so worked up. I've got some silk thread and beads—want me to lend 'em to you?"

Saying "lend" was just his way of giving them to him. Wen Xi pursed his lips and smiled, taking the opportunity: "Why wouldn't I want them? I was hoping you and Sister-in-law could help me braid them too."

He Jin snorted: "See, he's really pushing it now."

"I won't have you work for nothing. When we sell them, we'll split the money evenly." Since he'd started doing business, Wen Xi had learned to haggle.

"You said it yourself." The mention of making money got everyone fired up, and He Jin turned to fetch silk thread and beads from his room.

Wen Xi and Li Wan also had silk thread on hand; it was just the beads that were harder to come by.

Since it wasn't dark yet and Chen Lanfang was making dinner, the three sat down at their usual embroidery spot and began braiding hair ties.

Most of the beads He Jin had saved were wooden and glass ones. Wooden beads were cheap, and ordinary families could afford them. Glass beads were rarer, so they could braid a colorful cord, string two glass beads on it, price them higher, and sell them to the rich young ladies and gentlemen in town.

After braiding one colorful hair tie, He Jin tied it on Wen Xi's head: "So pretty! Wear this one tomorrow, and I guarantee you'll get plenty of buyers."

Braiding the hair ties wasn't laborious, but He Jin didn't have many beads. After making fifteen, the beads ran out.

Wen Xi put away the fifteen hair ties and said, "I'll take these to test the waters first. If they sell well, we'll buy more beads from Shen the peddler and make more."

The next day, Wen Xi and Yan Fengan went back to the spot where they had set up their stall the day before. They thought they had arrived early enough, but when they got there, someone had already taken their spot and set up a stall for writing couplets.