Chapter 49: New Scheme

The next morning, Fan Father and Chen Shi had already gone up the Mountain early. Fan Jing and Kang He left the wooden hut to meet them coming from outside the Mountain.

This time, knowing they needed to carry heavy loads, Fan Father had also driven the family’s Donkey up with them.

At first, the little Donkey was just over eight months old, but after several months, it had grown much sturdier in the family’s care.

Fan Father had already trained it to carry fertilizer before, and it had become quite docile.

“Aiyo, my child, just hearing from Da Jing that you got injured while dealing with the Mountain Boar, he kept telling me it was nothing, but look at that gash on your face—my heart aches for you.”

Yesterday, Chen Shi had run into Fan Jing in town. When she saw him coming down the Mountain alone, she was surprised and asked why Kang He hadn’t come down as well.

Fan Jing tried to hide it, saying vaguely that he was busy with something.

But Chen Shi wouldn’t believe it. Not to mention, ever since the two married, they stuck together like glue, rarely seen apart, even in the village—let alone on the Mountain, how could they split up?

Besides, everyone knew Fan Jing wasn’t good with words. If Kang He had something important to do in the Mountain, he wouldn’t have sent Fan Jing down to talk to buyers.

After thinking it over, she realized something was off and pestered Fan Jing until he finally admitted that Kang He was injured.

Even though he insisted it wasn’t serious, Chen Sanfang tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, thinking of that Ge Quan from another village—didn’t he also suffer when hunting Mountain Boar?

The couple barely slept a wink that night. Before dawn broke, they hurried up the Mountain with the Donkey, eager to check on Kang He.

Seeing that Kang He was still moving about just fine, Fan Father relaxed, but Chen Shi’s heart still twisted seeing the scar on his face.

“In the Mountain, bumps and scrapes are inevitable. I’m strong and healthy—give me a few days and I’ll be good as new. If it was really bad, I’d have gone down the Mountain early to find Zhu Doctor.”

“Right now, the Pickled Duck, Songhua Egg, and Ruo Tou Vermicelli at home are all selling well, and money isn’t as tight as before. You and Da Jing should just stay in the village instead of the Mountain. We may not be rich, but at least we’ll have peace of mind.” Chen Sanfang sighed, “It’s tough to make money up here.”

Kang He understood the family’s worry and reassured her, “Every job has its dangers. Now’s the best time for Mountain hunting—if I quit over a small injury, how could that work?”

“But I’ve learned my lesson this time. I’ll be more careful from now on. If you and Father are worried, Da Jing and I can just come up the Mountain in summer and autumn, not stay as long as before—how’s that?”

Chen Sanfang was comforted by Kang He’s words and felt a bit better.

She also knew that, although the family wasn’t as strapped for cash as before, they still hadn’t managed to save much.

There were still many things that needed money, so it wasn’t easy to give up any way of earning.

Chatting as they walked, they soon reached the wooden hut.

Seeing the pile of Mountain Boar meat, Fan Father and Chen Shi were delighted. “So much! Even more than when we butchered a pig at home!”

“It’s from two Mountain Boars, so it’s more when put together, but a single one isn’t as much as a home-raised pig.”

As they spoke, the group quickly packed the meat into baskets and tied them to the Donkey’s back.

Kang He took out the Pig’s Head Meat he’d braised yesterday, sliced a plate for Chen Shi and Fan Father to enjoy.

The cooled Pig’s Head Meat was even more tender and springy—eating it cold was just as tasty as hot.

If they weren’t on the Mountain, Fan Father would’ve already wanted to bring out some wine to go with it.

Kang He wrapped up the remaining Pig’s Head Meat and packed it into Chen Shi’s basket.

On the way down the Mountain, aside from the Donkey carrying over a hundred jin of meat, Fan Father, Chen Shi, and Fan Jing each carried some as well.

Kang He wanted to carry some too, but not only did Fan Jing forbid it, Chen Shi and Fan Father also wouldn’t let him strain himself.

With the Donkey helping, the rest of the pork wasn’t heavy for the others to carry.

The group went straight to town, first delivering the Mountain Boar meat to a few restaurants. Chen Shi had visited several regular customers yesterday and managed to sell another fifteen jin by the catty and jin.

That left just over fifty jin of pork.

Kang He and Fan Jing took a few jin to Liang Shi’s shop, then dropped by the butcher’s market to ask around for stalls that might take Mountain Boar meat.

But unless it was a whole live pig, few stalls were interested, though three stalls did want some. However, they offered even lower prices than for home-raised pork, and Kang He and Fan Jing felt it wasn’t worth it.

Not to mention Mountain Boar meat was rarer and sold for higher prices than domestic pork, and they’d risked their lives for it—if nothing else, they’d rather keep it for themselves than sell it so cheap.

So, for the remaining fifty jin, they set up their own stall to sell it.

By the time they packed up in the late afternoon, they’d sold another twenty jin. The thirty jin left, they didn’t dare to keep selling out in the open, so that night they brought it back to the village, quickly salted and smoked it.

That night, they had braised meat for dinner and sent a big bowl to the main house as well. The family wanted Kang He to go see Zhu Doctor.

Kang He didn’t want the hassle, but with Fan Jing watching him, he had no choice but to go after dark.

That night, after some trouble,

It turned out there was nothing serious. Zhu Doctor said Kang He had treated the wound well. At this time of year, if you weren’t careful with an external injury, it could easily get infected and fester.

He took out his best Scar Removal Ointment and gifted it to Kang He:

“I’d long heard it was Kang Xiaoxiongdi and Mr. Xu who recommended me to the folks here. I’d wanted to thank you before, but I heard you were up in the Mountain, so I never had the chance. Now, I finally get to thank you in person. If not for you, how could this doctor and my apprentice have the peace we have today?”

Kang He waved his hand. “Zhu Doctor, you’re a good man—if it wasn’t me, anyone else would have done the same.”

Zhu didn’t accept any money from Kang He for the medicine.

Fan Jing came over from the other room to check on Kang He. Hearing Zhu Doctor say it was nothing serious, he teased Kang He.

“Look at that little face of yours—probably even the Mountain Boar would be jealous.”

“Get out of here.”

They joked a bit, then Kang He and Fan Jing headed home.

That night, Kang He took out the Copper Coins they’d earned from selling pork today. The eighty jin of Mountain Boar meat sold to the restaurants brought in several strings of cash. The money from the scattered sales, he didn’t take—Chen Shi had spent all afternoon hawking and was parched, so she kept the several hundred Copper Coins she’d earned.

These days, the family had several sources of income, and it was no longer possible to keep strict accounts or track every penny.

Kang He took out the Money Box where he and Fan Jing kept their savings. Adding the money from selling honey and other wild goods, after buying land earlier this spring, they still had over four strings left. Now, with today’s earnings, they had more than twelve strings saved up.

He organized the silver and put the Money Box back in the top cabinet.

Fan Jing took off his clothes after returning from Zhu Doctor’s place, finally relaxing his tense nerves.

Seeing Kang He put away the Money Box, he said, “If you’re hurt, just focus on healing—don’t think about those things.”

Kang He came back over, smiling at Fan Jing’s words.

He knew Fan Jing was worried he’d be too focused on earning money to rest and recover properly.

“This silver is enough for the family to eat and drink for a good while. I’m not in a hurry to make money.”

He lay down beside Fan Jing. “We’ve always been earning money, and compared to most farming families, we’ve done really well this past spring. I’m very content.”

The reason they hadn’t saved much was because the family started with nothing.

With a bit of silver, they had to buy livestock, buy land—so many things they lacked, they wanted to acquire one by one. It wasn’t about showing off their earnings, but about making life a bit more comfortable—these things were necessary.

Those farming families with better foundations started with over ten mu of land when they married. In good months, they not only had enough grain to eat, but easily had surplus cash.

With extra money, they’d buy a Donkey this year, a cart next year, fix up the house later on… The more they had, the easier it was to earn more, and life just kept improving.

But poor families were always stuck worrying about having enough to eat, borrowing money just to get things done, and as soon as they managed to save a little, it was gone to pay debts.

Their family could now eat and drink their fill, and as they slowly bought things one by one, after a few years—if all went well—their foundation would grow stronger too.

Nothing is achieved overnight. Kang He had always known this—even when he made money working in the media in his previous life, it took three years of hard work and patience to get results.

Everything needs to be accumulated slowly.

He couldn’t just dream up some world-shaking invention because his family was poor, and have some high official buy it for thousands of strings of cash overnight and get rich.

Even if they did get rich, it might bring disaster instead.

Zhu Doctor was a living example. He hadn’t even done anything wrong, yet still got dragged into trouble by those in power.

In these times, for ordinary people without power or influence, having something good was almost a crime. It was safest to keep a low profile.

“Our family will just keep working steadily, moving up bit by bit—there’s no rush.”

Fan Jing agreed. Watching Kang He’s gentle expression, he felt a deep hope for the future.

He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart, but it must have been infectious—he too began looking forward to the days ahead.

After a pause, he finally decided to share his thoughts with Kang He.

All day, Chen Shi’s words on the Mountain kept echoing in his mind. He knew she’d only said those anxious words because she was worried about Kang He.

Before, he’d never thought about not going up the Mountain to make a living.

Before Kang He joined their family, things were so poor he wouldn’t have dared to give up his trade.

But after this incident with Kang He getting hurt, he started to waver.

“Mother’s right, too.”

Kang He looked at Fan Jing. “What did Mother say?”

“That we shouldn’t go up the Mountain anymore.”

Kang He’s brow twitched. Actually, he’d thought about this long ago—back when Fan Jing got hurt, or when he saw Ge Quan bleeding badly.

But this time, even after getting hurt himself, he didn’t think of giving up.

He thought hunting was Fan Jing’s skill and livelihood, and he liked it too. If he stopped Fan Jing from hunting, making him just work the fields at home, wouldn’t that be too restrictive?

That’s why Kang He never brought it up—he didn’t want Fan Jing to think he couldn’t stand the Mountain life.

He didn’t expect Fan Jing to bring it up himself.

Kang He didn’t get excited—instead, he spoke seriously. “If you don’t go up the Mountain, your archery skills will go to waste. Do you have other plans?”

He’d thought about what Fan Jing could do. With his quiet nature, many trades wouldn’t suit him.

Only some silent crafts would fit—like being a Hunter, working the fields, or making things by hand.

But those crafts were held tightly by certain families, and Fan Jing would have to start from scratch and learn.

Unexpectedly, Fan Jing said, “Maybe I could learn to be a Butcher.”

Then he looked at Kang He again. “But I’m no good at selling.”

Kang He suddenly realized—he’d never thought of that. He immediately said, “That’s nothing. If I’m with you, you do the slaughtering, I’ll handle the selling.”

Fan Jing gave a faint smile.

Kang He was a bit stunned, then smiled too.

They both had thoughts of switching trades, but this wasn’t something you could just jump into on a whim.

There were two kinds of Butchers: some worked for the slaughterhouse, just slaughtering livestock; others bought and sold on their own.

The first kind was like finding a boss, working for someone and getting paid by the month.

The second kind traveled around buying livestock, slaughtering it, and selling the meat themselves.

Since Fan Jing said he couldn’t sell, he meant the latter.

If he wanted to do the first kind, there were plenty of other jobs—what mattered was he didn’t want to go to town and work for someone else alone.

Of course, Kang He didn’t want him to go either.

But if they wanted to do the second kind, there was a lot more to it.

Not just building up a reputation so people in the nearby villages knew he was a Butcher, but also having everything ready.

And being ready meant more than just having the right knives.

To make money as a Butcher, you had to deal with people in every village. Even if your legs were fast, you could only cover so much ground.

They’d need a cart to get around easily, and to haul slaughtered pigs, sheep, and livestock to town.

That’s one thing. Also, selling meat wasn’t like selling vegetables—you couldn’t just set up a stall anywhere.

You had to rent a shop or a stall to do business properly. It was much more formal than a small-time peddler.

Renting a shop or stall was another expense.

To get this business going, you’d need at least twenty or thirty strings of cash in hand.

There were costs for rent and tools, and when buying livestock from farmers, you had to pay up front before you could sell it. Buying a single pig or sheep wasn’t cheap.

Kang He explained all this in detail to Fan Jing.

After some discussion, they agreed it would take time to prepare. They couldn’t start right away—they’d have to keep saving and work toward it step by step.

But with a new plan, both felt more at ease and full of hope for the future.

After Kang He and Fan Jing agreed, they let the family know about their intentions. Fan Father and Chen Shi were fully supportive.

Being a Butcher wasn’t easy, but it was much more stable than being a Hunter. At least you stayed around the village, not disappearing into the wilderness for days at a time.

“To do a trade, you need a Shi Fu to teach you. Even if you don’t learn much, you need a master’s reputation to strike out on your own. At first, nobody knows you—they trust your Shi Fu’s name. When they hear who taught you, they’ll give you a chance. If your skills are good, they’ll come back a second time.”

Fan Father added, “I went to Hu Dasan to take Da Jing as an apprentice, but he wouldn’t pass on his skills. They argued for days—Hu Dalang didn’t want to come home and listen to his father nag, and wouldn’t even let his wife bring the kids to visit.”

“I heard Hu Dasan isn’t forcing his son anymore, so maybe he’ll accept an apprentice.”

Last time they butchered a pig at home, Fan Jing had borrowed the tools from him. He and Fan Father had shared food and drink before.

Kang He said, “Father’s right. We should formally take a master, even if it’s just for show.”

Fan Father said, “Next time I see him free, I’ll invite him for a drink and ask what he thinks. Sanlang, make some dishes for me to bring—it’ll help me ask him.”

Chen Shi snorted, “Are you just looking for an excuse to drink or actually handling business?”

“You women just don’t understand.”

Seeing the two bicker, Kang He laughed and smoothed things over, “It’s all fine—Father, whenever you want to go, I’ll cook some dishes for you.”