The next morning, Cao Wen got up extra early, only to find that Xu Duoyan and Lu Lingbi had already beaten him to it.
The two of them were already skillfully making breakfast in the kitchen, so there was no need for him to say anything more.
He took advantage of the cool weather, and since he wasn’t needed in the kitchen, he simply shouldered his hoe and headed out to the fields.
The rice seedlings in the paddy field had grown quite nicely since the last irrigation.
Cao Wen inspected the field ridges to check for any pests.
Although the land belonged to his employer, after all, he was the one farming it now.
If the crops grew well, they’d have more surplus after the autumn harvest.
Cao Wen planned that next year he wouldn’t rent the landlord’s fields anymore.
By then, he’d look for other ways to make a living, and after saving enough, he’d buy a few acres of land for himself.
If he could then build a decent brick-tile house, he didn’t need to be rich—just being able to live comfortably in a small place would be a life like that of an immortal.
The rice seedlings hadn’t sprouted or flowered yet.
Only a couple of the fastest-growing stalks showed signs of forming flower spikes.
In another half a month, when the rice started to flower, there would surely be insects and birds pecking at them.
Cao Wen reminded himself to make two scarecrows and stick them by the paddy field to drive away some of the pests.
For now, the seedlings were fine, except for a few that had clusters of reddish eggs on their leaves—snail eggs, which didn’t really affect the rice, so Cao Wen left them alone.
He was just about to go hoe some weeds in the field when he looked up and saw a gloomy, hangdog figure walking toward him from not far away.
The two locked eyes, and the other man immediately shouted angrily.
“You’re living the good life, aren’t you? Just swinging that broken hoe around here. If it weren’t for me back then…”
Before the man could finish, Cao Wen cut him off: “If it weren’t for you, I could have rented five acres of land from the Qian Family instead of being stuck under your thumb, only able to rent two acres because I didn’t have enough time to work the fields.”
Zheng Kui was at a loss for words for a moment, but he still stiffened his neck and refused to admit defeat.
Instead, he said, “If it weren’t for me, would you have been so high and mighty before? Now I’m down on my luck, but you’re living it up with your wife and mother-in-law, so comfortable—why not lend me some money to spend?”
The Qian Family’s fish pond matter was supposed to be settled with just a few dozen taels of silver, but unfortunately, the Qian Family had just lost a big business deal.
Qian Laoye was in a foul mood, and the old man was greedy as ever.
Using this as an excuse, he extorted Zheng Kui, and the originally small sum ballooned to over a hundred taels under various pretexts.
Zheng Kui had always loved drinking and visiting brothels.
Even though his ill-gotten gains were considerable, he couldn’t keep up with his spending.
He had to shamelessly borrow from others just to scrape the money together.
Because of the fish pond incident, the Qian Family no longer wanted him as a steward.
Now he was just a lackey anyone could order around—his prospects were ruined.
Cao Wen couldn’t help but find this funny.
Standing on the field ridge with a plot of land between them, he watched Zheng Kui barking at him and said, “Looks to me like you haven’t eaten yet, out here begging so early. Too bad, I don’t have any money, but my fists can fill your belly.”
With that, he set down his hoe and shook out his fists.
Seeing Cao Wen approach, Zheng Kui instinctively covered his head and shrank to the side.
“Cao Wen, you’d better not get cocky. Xu Duoyan doesn’t know about what you did before you married her, right? If you dare lay a hand on me, I’ll tell her everything.”
“If you dare say a word of nonsense to her, I’ll go to Zhao Guangzong and tell him all about your past deeds.”
“You—!”
Zheng Kui was so angry his nostrils flared, but he didn’t dare shout anymore.
Now that he’d lost everything, he was still relying on the Qian Family.
If Zhao Guangzong found out about the things he’d done behind his back, there’d be no place for him in the Qian Family.
“You’re ruthless. I really misjudged you before!”
Fuming, Zheng Kui found himself unable to intimidate this kid like he used to, and it only made him angrier.
Catching sight of Cao Wen’s hoe, he snorted and snapped, “Still digging up those two lousy acres? The Qian Family has a hole in their finances—they’ll probably sell the land to make up for it. When that happens, I’ll make sure they sell your fields first. Let’s see how you keep farming. If you can still rent land next year, I’ll admit defeat. You can all go eat the northwest wind.”
After his threat, perhaps afraid of getting beaten, Zheng Kui turned and ran.
Cao Wen couldn’t be bothered to argue with that stray dog.
He had a sharp tongue, but when trouble came, he was more cowardly than anyone.
Shaking his head, Cao Wen returned to his weeding, then went home for breakfast at the usual time.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he caught a whiff of mint aroma—it turned out Xu Duoyan was making mint oil on the stove again.
The whole courtyard was filled with the cool, fresh scent of mint, making everything seem much cooler.
“Ah Yan, time to eat.”
Cao Wen washed his hands and face, ready to go inside.
He noticed that the basket he’d started weaving yesterday was already finished, and next to it was a bamboo—
He squatted down and picked up the fan.
The finely woven bamboo round fan was soft and floppy like a bamboo mat, but when he twisted the fan, the vertical bamboo strips became horizontal, and suddenly the fan turned stiff.
Twisting it back, the fan softened and could be rolled up around the handle, tied with a string—very convenient to carry.
“This is a waist fan. Since there were so many bamboo strips, I made one on a whim.”
Cao Wen fiddled with the fan, trying it out—it really did move the air.
“I passed by the Fan Workshop in town and saw a Fan Workshop Recruitment Notice for Fan Mistresses. Auntie’s fans are so well made, why not take one and give it a try?”
“Traveling back and forth to the city for work, Mother’s health can’t take it.”
Xu Duoyan came over when she heard.
“I saw a group of women gathered at the Fan Workshop’s door. The shop assistant inside said you could bring your finished fans, but your craft has to be good enough for them to accept you.”
“Making fans isn’t just about bamboo—it also needs folding paper, cloth, and silk thread. If you buy the materials yourself and they don’t want your fans, you’re stuck with them. If they provide the materials, it’d be much easier.”
“We can go to the Fan Workshop and discuss it.”
Lu Lingbi watched Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan discussing enthusiastically and smiled helplessly.
“You two are getting ahead of yourselves. Who knows if there’s really such a good opportunity.”
“Alright, let’s go eat.”
Two days later, Xu Duoyan and Cao Wen were preparing to go to the market to sell mint oil when Lu Lingbi suddenly brought out six fans.
“Didn’t you say the Fan Workshop was looking for Fan Mistresses? I had some free time, so I made a few different styles. You can take them along. If they don’t want them, you’re selling mint oil anyway. Maybe someone will like a fan and you can make some extra money.”
Cao Wen picked up the fans and was dazzled—round, half-round, all six were different styles, each one beautiful and finely crafted.
He’d mostly only ever seen big palm fans.
Where had he ever seen such variety?
He was amazed that such small fans could come in so many forms, but as a straightforward man with little understanding of what girls liked, he still thought of the old, yellowed palm fans and couldn’t judge what value these beautiful fans would have in the market.
He’d actually forgotten about this, thinking Lu Lingbi hadn’t paid it any mind, but she was more attentive than anyone.
Still, having the drive to do something was a good thing.
People needed hope to keep going.
“Alright, I’ll take the fans to the Fan Workshop and see what they say.”
Lu Lingbi smiled and reminded them of a few things before Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan set off for the market.
On the road, Cao Wen shook the bamboo fan, imagining a young lady hiding her face shyly behind a fan.
He covered half his own face with the fan, glancing at Xu Duoyan with a teasing look in his eyes.
“Auntie makes such beautiful fans—the Fan Workshop will surely take them.
Ah Yan, what style of fan do you like?”
Xu Duoyan: He thought—he’d like to kick this man into the ditch.
“Palm fan.”
Cao Wen’s eyes widened.
“You don’t like any of these pretty fans?”
“Girls from poor families like what’s practical. We don’t have time for fancy things.”
Hearing this, Cao Wen put down the fan a little sheepishly.
Xu Duoyan always dressed plainly; even her long black hair didn’t have a single ornament.
Even girls from the countryside liked to look nice.
If they couldn’t afford gold or silver, they’d wear silk flowers or peach wood or bamboo hairpins.
But she never wore anything.
What girl didn’t like to look pretty?
And she was still in her prime.
Xu Duoyan had carried so much on her shoulders—no wonder she didn’t have the heart to decorate herself.
Thinking of this, he fell silent.
When the two of them arrived at the gate of the Town Academy, it was just the time for students to enter.
Many scholars were coming and going.
Cao Wen quickly called out to attract customers.
If you wanted to make money off scholars, there were three prime times in a day—morning, noon, and evening, when classes let out.
“Is that mint oil?”
As soon as Cao Wen called out, someone came over.
Looking up, he saw a young scholar, with delicate features and a refined air.
“Yes, twenty wen per bottle. It’s great for repelling mosquitoes and staying alert in summer.”
While Cao Wen introduced the product, he kept a watchful eye on Xu Duoyan beside him.
The scholar didn’t even bargain, just took out the money.
“I could smell the mint from far away—it’s very pleasant. I’ll take a bottle.”
Xu Duoyan quickly handed over a bottle of mint oil, but Cao Wen beat her to taking the money.
“Here you go.”
The scholar leaned in to sniff the bottle, smiling—a smile as refreshing as a spring breeze.
Cao Wen narrowed his eyes, glancing again at Xu Duoyan.
Xu Duoyan frowned.
“What are you doing, turning your head like a fan?”
She smacked him on the forehead.
Cao Wen covered his head, looking at her suspiciously.
It didn’t make sense—she didn’t even glance at the scholar, and she was still thinking about hitting him.
Business picked up.
Once the first customer bought something, more people came over out of curiosity.
Xu Duoyan shot Cao Wen a glare, regretting bringing him along to make trouble.
She ignored him and started serving customers on her own.
“Chen, buying mint oil so early? Are you making thorough preparations for the Tongsheng Exam this time?”
The scholar smiled, tucking the bottle into his sleeve.
“Zhang, you jest. I just liked the elegant scent.”
“Oh? Then I’ll take a bottle too.”
Xu Duoyan quickly handed over another bottle, thinking that scholars were indeed willing to spend money.
After all, those who could afford to study in these times must have decent family backgrounds.
After sending off two scholars, another voice sounded quietly beside them.
“As expected, all the handsome ones are outside the academy. Did you see those two just now? Handsome, fair-skinned, refined, and so polite. If I were…”
“Why are you staring at men so closely?”
“Scholars aren’t easy to get close to. If you don’t do business properly and have no money, do you think they’d associate with a man like you?”
Cao Wen paused, repeating Xu Duoyan’s gesture, not sure if he understood her meaning.
Xu Duoyan found him baffling, but more scholars came, and she quickly sold two more bottles.
She was about to promote the product further when the academy bell rang.
Mint oil sold well here, but the morning window was short.
Once the bell rang, no more scholars passed by, and there were no more sales.
Xu Duoyan packed up the mint oil box, counting up four bottles sold.
Not much, but that was eighty wen.
She planned to come back at noon, when it would be hotter and the lunch break longer, so the scholars wouldn’t be in such a rush.
With the heat, more people would want mint oil to cool off and keep from dozing off in the afternoon.
Xu Duoyan picked up the box and saw Cao Wen lost in thought.
She raised her eyebrows and poked his arm.
“Noodles.”
“Noodles?”
Cao Wen snapped back to reality.
“We already had breakfast and you want noodles?”
“Are you eating or not?”
Looking at the fierce, impatient person in front of him, Cao Wen grinned.
“Eat, eat. Of course I’ll eat.”
At the noodle stall, before Cao Wen could order, Xu Duoyan had already asked for two bowls of lamb noodles.
Cao Wen sat across from her, rubbing his hands, pouring a bowl of water and handing it over.
“Didn’t you think that first scholar was especially good-looking?”
Xu Duoyan took a sip of water and looked up at him.
“Which one?”
“The very first.”
“Are you here to do business or pick men? I was busy taking money—how would I have time to look?”
Cao Wen was left speechless, but seeing Xu Duoyan about to get angry, he secretly rejoiced, raising his eyebrows and putting on a serious face.
“I was just asking your opinion. I wanted to see what kind of man girls like, so I could learn from it.”
Xu Duoyan rolled her eyes.
“What’s so special about a frail scholar? Could he hoe two acres of land?”
“So you mean you like brawny men?”
“…Are you eating noodles or not?”
As the stall owner brought over the noodles and Xu Duoyan got more irritable, Cao Wen quickly took the bowls.
“Eat, eat.”
He bit his lip in secret.
She was getting fiercer—sure enough, after their separation, she had no patience for him at all.
But judging by this, she didn’t like frail scholars?
Then again, if she liked brawny men…
He reached under the table and pinched his own stomach.
Though he had no extra flesh, he was thin and muscular from years of labor.
But compared to before, he was far behind—those abs, that build, whenever he bathed, others would try to sneak a touch.
No, he had to train harder.
“Is your stomach upset?”
“Hm? No.”
“Then why are you touching your stomach?”
Cao Wen quietly withdrew his hand.
Under the table, Xu Duoyan kicked him.
“Mind yourself when you’re out.”