Cao Yongquan covered his eyes and bent over, groaning in frustration, wishing he could just dig a hole and crawl right in.
He had wanted to visit Cao Wen’s house a couple of days ago, but the autumn harvest kept him busy.
Today, having finished his work earlier than usual, he figured he might as well come over.
At home, it was just the two of them, busy cleaning and drying the rice, and by the time they were done, it was already getting dark.
After tidying up the house, he glanced at the time—not too early, not too late—and thought that Cao Wen probably hadn’t gone to bed yet, so he hurried over.
Standing at the courtyard gate, he called out just as he saw Cao Wen coming from under the back eaves, shirtless.
Cao Yongquan opened his mouth to call out but then noticed someone else behind Cao Wen.
It wasn’t his fault his eyes wandered—he happened to catch sight of a bare arm.
The arm was even paler than Cao Wen’s, slender and conspicuous in Cao Wen’s grasp.
Cao Yongquan frowned.
Although the arm was white, the bone structure looked masculine.
Curious, he tried to take a closer look and saw the two chatting and laughing as they came out.
A quick glance revealed that both were topless.
Xu Duoyan’s hair was loose, cascading over her chest and shoulders, and under the moonlight, her delicate face looked like an enchanting specter.
Cao Yongquan was stunned.
Realizing they weren’t wearing any clothes, his eyes felt like they had been stung by citrus peel juice, and he immediately howled, squeezing his eyes shut tight.
Though for a moment he thought Xu Duoyan looked a bit strange, almost too slight.
But he didn’t dwell on it—any further thought would just be improper, shameless!
Xu Duoyan cleared her throat apologetically upon seeing his reaction.
She wanted to go comfort the old man but glanced at herself and feared she’d scare him even more.
“Forget it, I’ll go in first.”
Cao Wen handed him a bucket.
“Go ahead.”
Then Cao Wen went over and opened the door for Cao Yongquan.
“Uncle, what are you doing here so late? Come in and sit.”
Cao Yongquan waved his hand with his eyes closed.
“No, no, I’ll head back first.”
Cao Wen grabbed him.
“You must have something on your mind if you came.”
Cao Yongquan hunched over, trying to slip outside.
“Nothing, nothing. Just happened to pass by and wanted to say hello.”
“Uncle!”
Cao Wen said, “Xu Duoyan’s gone inside. Open your eyes!”
“Inside?”
Cao Yongquan tried opening one eye and saw only the shirtless Cao Wen in front of him.
He breathed a sigh of relief and opened the other eye.
“Come in.”
Cao Yongquan shook his head firmly.
“No big deal, I’ll just say a few words outside.”
Cao Wen sighed.
“Fine.”
Cao Yongquan collected himself, words on his lips but hesitating.
Seeing him struggle, Cao Wen said, “We’re family, Uncle. Just say what you need to.”
After a pause, Cao Yongquan asked, “How’s your business in town going?”
“Not bad.”
Cao Yongquan nodded.
“Doing business is better than being buried in the fields. It’s good you’ve taken over the land directly. If your father were alive, he’d be glad to see what you’ve accomplished.”
“Uncle, I’m no expert. After all these years, I’m still working like an ox for others. I don’t even own a single acre.”
“But are the new landlords giving you trouble?”
“No, it’s harvest season; the landlords are reasonable now.”
Cao Yongquan looked at Cao Wen.
“It’s about Yang. That boy’s thirteen this year. Your aunt and I planned to send him to work at the Qian Family’s place once he was old enough. Although he’d be working under someone else’s orders, it’d be better than being a tenant farmer, buried in the fields. But before we could send him, who knew the Qian Family sold their land?”
“The new owner is from out of town; the estate isn’t here anymore.”
Cao Yongquan sighed.
“I was thinking, since you’re doing business, maybe you could take Yang with you, let him do odd jobs, see the world a bit, and learn some skills. It’s no good if your children and grandchildren keep guarding other people’s land all their lives.”
“That’s a good idea, Uncle.”
Cao Wen considered it.
It was only right to help family.
He’d seen Cao Yang a few times.
The boy was no stranger to hard work, having worked the fields with his father when young.
The family was poor; the child was dark-skinned and thin, usually quiet and looking honest.
At just thirteen, he looked older than his years.
Sometimes when they met in the fields, Cao Yang would put down his hoe to greet him.
His temperament was starting to resemble Cao Yongquan’s—a typical hardworking tenant farmer.
If things kept going as they were, he’d end up following in Cao Yongquan’s footsteps, a hired laborer all his life, working himself to exhaustion without ever having enough to eat.
“I’m not expecting him to make a living for you. You know my nature—I’m weak. If he stays by my side, he’ll end up like me. That’s just asking to be bullied in the future.”
Cao Yongquan thought Cao Wen had really grown since he stopped associating with Zheng Kui.
He was no longer timid but had gained substance and could handle things.
He was much better than himself.
Perhaps because the land had changed hands, Cao Yongquan had felt uneasy these past few days.
He had wanted to tell Cao Wen about this for some time but hadn’t found the chance.
If Cao Yang followed Cao Wen around, he might at least learn some manly skills.
“All right. I’ll discuss it with Xu Duoyan. Once it’s settled, I’ll have Yang come over to help. We’re quite busy these days anyway.”
Cao Yongquan was happy with the agreement.
“Good, good. Don’t hesitate to have him do the dirty or hard work. Yang’s hardworking and puts effort into his tasks.”
Then he looked awkwardly at Cao Wen.
“Also, well…”
“Hm?”
Cao Yongquan pulled Cao Wen aside a little and whispered, “You and your wife should be more careful. Keep the door closed when you’re inside. It’s really shameless.”
“Even if you’re country folk and don’t care much about propriety, this is too much. What would outsiders think?”
“You’re a man, so it’s nothing, but at least think about your wife. Doesn’t she have any shame? What if there were two shameless men who took advantage of her when you weren’t around?”
“It’s fine. He’s a man too.”
Once the topic was raised, Cao Yongquan didn’t feel as embarrassed and went on lecturing Cao Wen at length.
But Cao Wen’s response was like a sudden blow.
He stared at Cao Wen’s eyes.
“W-what did you say?”
Cao Wen looked away, clearing his throat, realizing he’d spoken too bluntly.
“Nothing. I understand what you mean. It’s late; you should head back.”
“No, I thought I heard you say your wife is a man?”
Cao Yongquan, who had been trying to leave earlier, stopped and grabbed Cao Wen again.
“What do you mean by that?”
“No, Uncle, you must have misheard.”
Cao Wen pushed him toward the door.
“I’ve noted what you said about Yang. You can talk to him at home too.”
“That’s not right—I clearly heard it.”
“Kuji…”
Cao Wen saw Cao Yongquan halfway down the path before sending him off.
“Gone?”
When Cao Wen returned, he saw Xu Duoyan had already washed her clothes.
He went over and helped shake them out to dry under the eaves. “Gone.”
“Did I scare the old man?”
Cao Wen said, “I don’t know if you scared him, but he definitely gave me a good scolding.”
Xu Duoyan smiled and shook her head.
“What was the old man’s business here?”
Cao Wen told her everything Cao Yongquan had said.
“That’s reasonable. Since you’re busy running the stall and it’s your own kin, your uncle’s family treating you well and letting their boy gain experience and social skills is a good thing. It’s all out of an old man’s good intentions.”
Xu Duoyan had no objection.
“Besides, it’d be good if Cao Yang grows capable in the future.”
One big family, pulling together instead of drifting apart, was always better.
Cao Wen said, “Right.”
“Also, I’m worried about my mother’s health. She’s not strong and can’t keep up with this constant toil. You and I are young, and we get tired from all this. How can she bear it? Someone should stay at home to watch over her.”
Xu Duoyan nodded.
It was why she had reluctantly asked Lu Lingbi to help at the stall.
With the new help, they could relieve their mother and feel assured someone was looking after her.
Lu Lingbi didn’t object either.
She didn’t want to cause trouble for Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan and had plenty of work herself.
She had been too busy to incubate chicks and, since she stopped going to the stall, with the weather still warm, she could resume making fans for the Fan Workshop.
The workshop owner had even offered to raise her pay, not wanting to lose her.
At least she still had work at home.
No one in the family had objections.
Cao Wen wasted no time.
Early the next day, he went to the market and bought two sets of pig offal, then brought Cao Yang over.
They planned to have him help for two or three days to familiarize him with all the stall work.
Then Lu Lingbi would stop going to the market and hand over her usual tasks to Cao Yang.
Cao Yang had come to Cao Wen’s house when he was young, but as he got older, he worked the fields with his father and rarely visited the courtyard anymore.
Though he had heard his cousin was capable—having reclaimed an acre each of irrigated and dry land from the landlord and now running a business in town, the family’s situation had improved.
But when he actually arrived at his cousin’s house, seeing the chickens raised there, the freshly purchased pig offal, and after bashfully calling out to his cousin, cousin-in-law, and aunt, and receiving a big spoonful of rice porridge and two large white steamed buns,
He finally realized just how capable his cousin really was.
“Eat quickly. Afterward, learn from Aunt how to clean the pig offal and prepare the dishes.”
Cao Yang nodded to Cao Wen and eagerly bit into the steamed buns.
The three members of the Cao family helped Cao Yang get familiar with the work over two days.
Though shy and reluctant to raise his voice to attract customers, he was willing and quick to learn.
Within two days, he had learned how to prepare the ingredients, working efficiently and saving the family a lot of labor.
Both Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan were quite pleased.
Compared to clever, sharp-tongued boys, Cao Yang’s temperament was more steady and reliable.
Business at the stall had been booming these days.
Cao Wen had gradually increased the pig offal from one set to four or five.
The butchers at the meat market all recognized him now.
In the mornings, he bought pig offal from the butchers, and in the evenings, the hunters near his stall would buy a small stir-fry to take back with their wine.
The business had formed a smooth back-and-forth.
The most satisfied was the nearby wine shop.
Ever since they started selling stir-fries nearby, many people liked to bring a portion back to the wine shop to drink.
The dish was perfect with alcohol, and the wine shop’s evening business improved considerably, often filling every seat.
The wine shop owner was a shrewd businessman.
He brought two pots of wine to Cao Wen’s stall and even reserved a spacious spot with breeze under a banyan tree for them to set up.
This prime spot was kept exclusively for them; no other vendors were allowed there.
If their stall got crowded and had no space, the owner would even bring out tables and chairs for free.
Cao Wen appreciated this kindness.
He always took dishes to the wine shop, and with the stall set up nearby, he only needed to call out when the food was ready for the wine shop staff to come pick it up.
This mutual support made the business flourish even more.
“I noticed the fried rice stall across from us stopped operating.”
Xu Duoyan went to the teahouse, fetched a bowl of cold tea, wiped the sweat off the drenched Cao Wen, and handed him the tea.
Cao Wen’s lips were cracked from the heat.
He drank the tea in one gulp.
“Maybe they didn’t have enough business and felt it wasn’t worth continuing.”
“They only set up for two days. No matter what, they couldn’t have recouped the investment. Though the ingredients aren’t expensive, iron woks aren’t cheap.”
Cao Wen furrowed his brows.
“What’s wrong? Do you sense something off?”
“I’m just saying.”
“No matter. Let’s focus on our own business.”
“Cousin, cousin-in-law, I just went to the theater to deliver dishes to Liuer Ye. He gave me five wen as a tip.”
Cao Yang returned holding the food box.
Business at the stall was good, but he was afraid to run for fear of ruining the dishes, and didn’t want to delay the stall’s operation.
So he hurried over with the food box in his arms.
Liuer Ye said the dishes were piping hot, as if just out of the wok, and handed him five wen immediately.
Cao Yang mostly worked in the fields and had only once or twice gone with his father to the Qian Family Estate.
Besides a little exposure, this was the first time he had seen someone so happy to tip for food.
“Keep the tip. It’s hot; go buy yourself some tea at the teahouse,” Cao Wen said.
“No need to tell us from now on.”
“My father said I’m here to help my cousin and learn. Since my cousin’s willing to take me on, it’s a favor. I can’t take his money.”
Xu Duoyan pushed away the money Cao Yang held out.
“A man should never be without money. You come to the market and village every day, meeting so many people. What if you meet a girl you like and just stare at her?”
Cao Yang blushed.
Though his dark skin hid the redness, his expression clearly showed embarrassment.
“Cousin-in-law, please don’t tease me.”
“Feeling shy? Could it be you already like someone?”
Xu Duoyan raised an eyebrow.
“What kind? Better-looking than your cousin’s wife?”
Cao Wen covered Xu Duoyan’s mouth from behind and brought her over.
“Don’t tease him. He’s just a kid.”
Xu Duoyan shrugged off Cao Wen’s hand.
“He’s a boy. What’s wrong with teasing him? Boys need to have thick skin.”
“You’re always right.”
Cao Wen sighed, knowing he couldn’t win against Xu Duoyan, then turned around.
“Mother! Look at Yang…”
Cao Yang put away the coins, face flushed, and shyly went to wash the dishes.
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