CH 18

“Brother is not as good as wife.”

Just as the people in the village had said, for the past half month, Cheng Yun had been taking Yang Hongjin into town every day. Although he had sold only his idea for one hundred yuan, Cheng Yun still helped to perfect the recipe. So when the new dish, now called “Pine Nut Fish,” was released, Cheng Yun could finally retire with pride.

During this time, he also kept himself busy by exchanging the one hundred yuan for a number of things at home. Their once simple house was now much more comfortable, with new pots, bowls, and utensils. He had also replaced many of the lamps, as Cheng Yun didn’t like a dark house. He bought many candles and lit them in his room, making him feel more at ease.

Since learning that Yang Hongjin was skilled in woodworking, he had taken him to the mountains to cut down some wood. It had taken half a month, but Yang Hongjin had managed to create a new chair, and even though it was only one, it was enough to make Cheng Yun happy.

During his free time, Cheng Yun had once taken Yang Hongjin to the furniture store in town. However, there weren’t many styles of furniture in this era, and they were mostly traditional. When they returned home, Cheng Yun had simply asked Yang Hongjin to make a chair for him, without specifying any particular style. Unexpectedly, the fool had remembered one of the chairs from the store, and after fiddling around for half a month, had managed to create an exact replica.

Yang Hongjin worked very diligently. Every morning, Cheng Yun took him to the Yueqiong Tower, where they ate lunch before working until just before the evening rush. When they returned home, Cheng Yun would experiment with new dishes in the kitchen, while Yang Hongjin would busy himself in the front yard with his tools.

Cheng Yun would observe Yang Hongjin’s progress with the chair every day. He knew nothing about woodworking, and could only stand next door to watch, occasionally wiping his sweat and handing him a cup of water, becoming more and more like his little brother.

Yang Hongjin worked hard every day to complete the task given to him by his wife. He was so focused on making the chair that he had even forgotten to tend to the fields. Originally, Cheng Yun didn’t want him to work so hard in the hot sun, so he didn’t say anything to remind him of his duties.

It was at this time that Yang Hongcai came to visit. After thinking about it, Cheng Yun proposed a “collaboration” with him.

Although their two acres of land were not much, it was still their family’s property. Cheng Yun had made some money thanks to his relationship with Liu Wen, but he knew that it wasn’t a sustainable way to make a living. He had no plans to sell the land until he found a new and viable way of making a living.

However, leaving the farmland there without planting is a waste. During this period, when they went to town, Yang Hongjin’s unfinished work was all done with the help of Yang Hongcai. Cheng Yun thought that it was not too busy for farming before the autumn harvest. During the peak farming season, even the women and children in the family had to go to the fields to help. But now, when everyone is free, they do some odd jobs at home. As a result, it is reasonable to ask Yang Hongcai for help.

He proposed to give Yang Hongjin five yuan a day as wages, which would be one hundred and fifty yuan a month until the autumn harvest.

As a result, Yang Hongcai became angry when he heard this. “What do you take me for? Helping you is helping Hongjin. I cannot take your money. If he can’t finish the work, I will help take care of it.”

Cheng Yun did not expect Yang Hongcai to react so strongly, so he quickly explained, “No, second brother, you misunderstood me. I don’t mean anything else. It’s just that I will take Hongjin to town during this period, and I won’t be able to take care of the work in the fields. If I don’t ask you today, I will find someone else to help.”

Seeing Yang Hongcai frown, Cheng Yun immediately said, “Although we are family, helping each other is what we should do. It may not be a big deal for a day or half a day, but if this goes on for a long time, we will feel uneasy.”

Yang Hongjin understood his meaning but still felt that it was inappropriate. “No, this is not a particularly difficult job. In your two acres of land, after deducting the personal and submitted portion, can earn two yuan of silver a year, which is already a great achievement. How can you spend one hundred and fifty yuan a month to get people to take care of the land?”

Cheng Yun thought for a moment and told Yang Hongcai about his cooperation with Liu Wen while concealing some details. “Second brother, to be honest with you, I have recently cooperated with Liu Boss of Yueqiong Tower. You also know that Yueqiong Tower is the most famous restaurant in Tengyun Town, and even the whole Nanming City. It is said that it makes a lot of money every day, and Liu Boss is also generous, giving me a lot of rewards. It’s enough to improve our lives. If we manage it well, we can even have a prosperous year.”

Yang Hongcai had heard about it from Li Fengjiao before, so he thought it was unexpected but also reasonable when Cheng Yun told him. However, he still couldn’t easily accept the proposal to pay someone to help them plant the land.

Yang Hongcai had heard Li Fengjiao mention it before, so when Cheng Yun said it to him, he felt it was both unexpected and reasonable. However, he still couldn’t easily accept the proposal of being paid to help them cultivate the land.

“If you have the ability to earn big money and live a good life with Hongjin, that’s a good thing. I don’t understand the business, but I also know that you have to save money if you have it.” Yang Hongcai said, “Moreover, one of these two plots of land belongs to the Yang family. If we have to pay money to do things within our family, what kind of family is that?”

After Cheng Yun finished talking about his cooperation with Liu Wen, Yang Hongcai did not follow the trend but instead said these words, which made Cheng Yun believe in his character and become more determined to establish a good relationship with him and help him.

He thought for a moment and said, “Second Brother, don’t worry. Since I have married Hongjin, I will definitely take good care of him in the future. This cooperation with Mr. Liu is just a trial, and I will continue to look for other ways to make money in the future. It’s okay to ask for your help once or twice, but if it happens too often, we won’t have the face to ask anymore. Put yourself in my shoes, if you were busy and asked our family to work for you, after a while, you would also feel embarrassed.”

Seeing Yang Hongcai silent in thought, Cheng Yun quickly added, “It’s almost time for autumn harvest, and winter is coming soon after. The autumn season here is short, and the weather gets cold quickly. There were two major droughts in the second half of this year, which didn’t have a significant impact, but the harvest is still not as good as last year. Even if you don’t care about yourself, you have to think about the other people in your family. So many mouths to feed.”

Yang Hongcai frowned, seeming to be convinced, but after careful consideration, he still felt uneasy about receiving one hundred and fifty yuan per month. It would make him look like he was taking advantage of his younger brother’s family.

Cheng Yun had been staring at his face and didn’t miss any of his expressions. When he saw Yang Hongcai’s hesitation, he guessed what he was worried about and said, “If you think one hundred and fifty yuan is too much, how about I give you one hundred yuan per month? Last time when I went to town to sell vegetables with Aunt Wang, she could make twenty yuan in the morning alone. Even if you don’t help us, we still have to find someone else to do it.”

Yang Hongcai was already feeling tempted, and now that Cheng Yun had lowered the price, his guilt was lessened. Moreover, Cheng Yun had said that they would have to find someone else to help them anyway. Instead of giving the job to someone else, whose work he didn’t know, it was better to entrust it to him. He would take care of it and help them watch over the land.

Finally, everything was settled, and Cheng Yun wanted to pay Yang Hongcai immediately, but he refused to take the money and asked to wait until he had worked for a month. After some negotiation, they agreed to pay him every seven days, with twenty-five yuan per payment.

Cheng Yun said, “Once you take the money, I can feel at ease. I know you will take good care of the two acres of land for us. Only then can I focus on our own business with Hongjin without worrying.”

Yang Hongcai couldn’t argue with him, so he had to take the money and when he held the twenty-five yuan in his hand, he felt a little dazed. The money at home was always held by his father and Li Fengjiao, and the money in his pocket was always spent before it could even warm his hands. It had been a long time since he had more than twenty yuan on him.

Cheng Yun also knew a little about Yang’s family situation, so he reminded him, “I hope the cooperation between Second Brother and I can be kept a secret. I don’t trust many people in the village. If others know I have a way to make money, who knows what they will plot against us.”

“That’s natural.” Yang Hongcai thought of Li Fengjiao’s attitude and knew that Cheng Yun’s words made sense.

Cheng Yun invited Yang Hongcai to stay for dinner, and when Yang Hongcai said he wanted to go home, Cheng Yun gave him the pine nut fish that Yueqiong Tower had given him when he left. After the two were done and Yang Hongcai had left, Yang Hongjin, who had been sitting on the side like a decoration, grabbed Cheng Yun’s hand and said, “Wife, brother left.”

“Yes, brother left. Do you have anything you want to say to him?” Cheng Yun smiled and pinched his face.

Yang Hongjin frowned and said dissatisfiedly, “Brother took wife’s money!”

Cheng Yun was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Not bad, not bad. This idiot was now starting to have feelings for his wife instead of his brother. It was not in vain to treat him with so much heart.

T/N: Hiiii,

If you’re confused about the money system in the story, you’re not the only one. It’s hard to figure how much the author is referring to at a time, so what I have translated may not correspond to the actual money system meant by the author OTZ