Chapter 38

Wang Fa stared blankly, foolishly saying, “Auntie, you didn’t say this when you came.”

Aunt Shen replied firmly, “Wang Fa, what you just said is not right. When I came, what did I say? I didn’t say anything, just agreed to come and take a look. Did I say anything else?”

Wang Fa thought carefully for a moment. Aunt Shen hadn’t expressed the same righteous indignation as they did, making extreme statements.

However, her attitude at that time had clearly seemed to support them; how had it suddenly turned into a plea for reconciliation?

Wang Fa looked up and saw Zhou Jing standing coldly across from him, his expression mocking—eyes filled with disdain.

Wang Fa opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn’t utter a single word.

It was already like this; he had thoroughly offended the man in front of him and now this sum of money was bound to be given to them.

This concerned the lives of his entire family.

“Regardless of everything, Zhou Jing, you cannot be untrustworthy. We do have a contract in hand, and you must give us this money…” Wang Fa steeled his resolve and decided to go all in.

Zhou Jing sneered, “I, Zhou Jing, have always valued honesty and integrity in business. Since I signed a contract with you, I will certainly abide by it. You came today to have me take your ducks, didn’t you? Fine, it’s the agreed date, so that’s only natural.”

Zhou Jing then turned around and patted Shen Mo on the shoulder in a comforting manner.

In a tone completely different from the one he used with Wang Fa. He gently said to his little husband, “Go fetch the money.”

Shen Mo nodded and turned to walk inside the courtyard.

“The contract clearly states that the ducks must be delivered to my home. Yet, I don’t see any of your ducks here. How can I give you the money?”

Wang Fa was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the transaction was and how can they easily get their money.

Feeling a rush of joy in his heart, he quickly said, “I’ll go back right now to tie up the ducks for you.”

Zhou Jing neither agreed nor disagreed, simply watching as Wang Fa walked away with a cheerful grin.

Inwardly, a cold smile lingered in Zhou Jing’s mind.

“As for the rest of you, if there’s nothing else, I won’t be keeping you any longer,” he said dismissively.

Liu Wei, seeing that his cousin was about to get the money while he gained nothing, grew anxious.

He knew well that things had escalated to this point, and if he didn’t secure something now, Zhou Jing might play some trick later, leaving him defenseless. By then, it could be disastrous. It was better to strike first than be caught off guard.

“Zhou Jing, what about my ducks? You haven’t said how you’re going to handle them yet.”

“How to handle it? Liu Wei, perhaps you’re illiterate, but when the contract was signed, not only was a third-party witness present, but they even read it out loud to you. The contract clearly states it’s for fully-grown ducks and the specified collection date. Now tell me, are your ducks fully grown, or has the date arrived?”

Zhou Jing sneered with contempt. “If you want to follow the contract, then let’s follow it exactly. Since neither condition has been met, why are you here making a fuss?”

Liu Wei was dumbfounded. How had he forgotten about that detail?

His family had bought ducklings together with his cousin’s family, but unlike his own situation, his cousin’s family already had a dozen free-range ducks before Zhou Jing started his business.

When they drafted the contract, in order to make more money, they had pleaded with Zhou Jing to include those ducks in the deal.

The ducks Wang Fa was now selling were precisely that batch of fully grown, mature ducks.

Liu Wei’s ducks, on the other hand, were still a bunch of ducklings waddling around in the duck shed. How could he sell them? What was there to sell?

“Liu Wei, I advise you to think before you act. Don’t let others egg you on to be the one charging forward, only to end up getting nothing while being hit by the slingshot.” Zhou Jing said to him with a mocking tone.

But Liu Wei, having already torn off the facade, seemed to have no fear left. He decided to go all out and retorted, “Zhou Jing, say whatever you like. I’m not afraid of you. As long as I have the contract in hand, you’ll still have to obediently pay me the money.”

Zhou Jing responded ambiguously, “Is that so?”

Wang Fa left quickly and returned even faster, with his sons helping to tie up the ducks. The ducks were bound at the legs, hanging upside down in the hands of the men, squawking loudly as the rain poured down on them.

Wang Fa approached and gestured for his family to place the ducks on the ground.

“I’ve brought them all,” he said.

“Very good.” Zhou Jing nodded in satisfaction,

However, Zhou Jing suddenly shifted the tone of the conversation. “Wang Fa, by rights, since you’ve brought the ducks, I should pay you. But now, it’s not that I won’t pay you, it’s that each of your ducks is soaking wet, feathers drenched. Even a fool knows that wet ducks weigh much more than dry ones. So how do you expect me to weigh them like this?”

Wang Fa hadn’t thought about these details. Upon hearing that Zhou Jing agreed to pay him for the duck, he was so overjoyed that he lost all sense of reason. But now, the duck was wet, and it was certainly much heavier. If they weighed it like this, even he knew it wouldn’t be possible.

Shen Mo had already retrieved the silver and was standing quietly behind Zhou Jing.

Seeing Wang Fa’s dumbfounded expression, he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

In the past, when others bullied him, there was no one to stand up for him, and he could only retreat step by step.

But now, with Zhou Jing at home, he no longer had to endure such humiliation.

Shen Mo deliberately opened the money pouch, pulling the opening wide for everyone to see. Fearing that they might not see clearly, he even took out a silver ingot worth ten silver coins and waved it in front of their eyes.

“Take a good look. It’s not that my family doesn’t have the money. This one ingot alone is more than enough for your duck. But the issue now is that we refuse to be taken for fools. There’s no way we’re weighing a wet duck. So, Wang Fa, if you want the money, figure out how to dry your duck first, and then come back. Not a single coin will be short.”

This request was perfectly reasonable, leaving Wang Fa with nothing to argue about.

However, the thought of catching the duck and taking it back was troublesome. Even if it dried, with this heavy rain, it would just get soaked again.

“You can herd the duck into your house and wait for it to dry. Once it’s dry, we can weigh it, and we’ll be here waiting inside.”

“Are you dreaming?” Shen Lin sarcastically retorted, his voice sharp. “Do you think my family spent so much silver to build a beautiful and grand tile-roofed house just for you to dry your duck in? Let’s not even talk about anything else—what if your duck urinates in our house and makes the place stink? Our house isn’t like your rundown, shabby place where nobody cares about such things. Open your eyes and take a good look. To avoid any foul odors, our large courtyard doesn’t have a single duck or chicken. We avoid raising any of them ourselves precisely because of the smell!”

As he finished speaking, Shen Lin dramatically covered his nose and took a step back, as if he had already caught a whiff of the duck’s stench.

In truth, Shen Lin didn’t dislike those little chickens and ducks at all—in fact, he absolutely adored them. In his eyes, these creatures were both money and meat.

In the past, whenever he saw them, his eyes would glow with envy. Now, he was saying all of this purely to provoke Wang Fa, twisting the words in whatever way would get under his skin.

Sure enough, Wang Fa’s face turned green with anger.

Shen Mo suppressed his laughter, feeling that Xiao Di had done an excellent job. He thought to himself: ‘I’ll treat him to an extra duck leg tonight.’

“So what do you expect us to do?” Wang Fa grumbled, his voice thick with frustration.

“That’s your problem, not mine. According to the contract, we just need to sit at home and receive the ducks; everything else is your responsibility. The contract states that if you can’t deliver it on time, we have the right to void the agreement.”

Wang Fa shouted: “We will deliver on time, just wait and see!”

He led a few of his sons back to pick up the ducks again. Liu Wei, knowing that the delivery date hadn’t arrived yet and that his ducks were still just ducklings, had no reason to keep arguing. He could only leave in a dispirited manner.

It seemed that Aunt Shen wanted to say something, but Zhou Jing reached out to interrupt her.

“Aunt Shen, the rain is heavy and the road is slippery. I can’t host you any longer, so please make your way back.”

Once everyone had left, Shen Mo’s face was filled with indignation. “Brother Jing, how can we just swallow this? They are so ungrateful! We are clearly trying to help them, yet they treat us as their last lifeline, willing to drag us down with them in their desperate attempt to save themselves.”

Zhou Jing handed him a clean long shirt and smiled. “As long as I’m here, I certainly won’t let them bully us for nothing. If they want to abide by the contract, then we’ll abide by it as well. Let them understand that while I can help them, I can just as easily bring them to ruin.”

—o—o—o—

Aunt Shen knew that today’s events would likely make the Zhou family think twice about her family. She felt a bit annoyed with herself for being so easily swayed by Wang Fa.

Upon returning home, Wang Dali, noticing her gloomy expression, asked anxiously, “Mother, what’s wrong? Has Zhou Jing truly been defeated to the point that he can’t produce silver to pay us for the ducks? What are we going to do?”

Aunt Shen shook her head and replied, “No, the Zhou family has money; they’re not short on the few coins for our ducks.”

Wang Dali, still confused, asked, “Then why are you looking so worried?”

“It’s precisely because their family isn’t short of this money that I’m worried. Have you considered that with today’s situation being so humiliating, how could Zhou Jing possibly swallow his pride? He’s the type of man who would retaliate if someone even laid a finger on his wife. How could he quietly hand over silver to the people who schemed against him?”

At this point, Wang Dali also became troubled.

“What are we going to do? I quit my job just to raise the ducks; our family is counting on them to turn our situation around, especially with this year’s crops being in such poor condition!”

“Let me think, there’s always a way,” Aunt Shen murmured, falling into deep thought.

After a moment of distraction, her gaze unknowingly fell on Wang Dali, and suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind, causing her to clap her hands and laugh.

Wang Dali felt uneasy under his mother’s amused stare.

“Mother, what’s wrong with you?” he asked.

With joy, Aunt Shen embraced her son and laughed heartily, saying, “How could I not have thought of this? I can’t believe I forgot! Son, having you is the best life-saving charm for our family; no other family can compare!”

Wang Dali stared blankly at the tip of his nose. “Me?”

“Yes, you!” Aunt Shen insisted.

“You are different from everyone else in the Zhou family. They intend to marry Shen Lin off to you, so let’s go along with their plans regarding Shen Lin. Once she marries into our family and becomes one of us, those past grievances will naturally fade away.

Shen Mo cares deeply for Shen Lin; he raised him himself, and Zhou Jing is the kind of man who fiercely protects his wife and children.

If Shen Mo doesn’t let him pursue this, he won’t. So our situation is not the same as anyone else’s.”

Wang Dali listened to his mother and immediately understood her reasoning, feeling relieved.

With this realization, Aunt Shen found herself liking her son more and more.

Aunt Shen chuckled and said, “After all, my son is excellent! Otherwise, our family might have lost such a good opportunity because of my foolishness. Dali, I’ve put you through some trouble. Once the weather clears up, I’ll ask a matchmaker to propose. It’s best to act quickly to avoid any unnecessary delays.”

“I’ll do whatever you say, Mother.”

—o—o—o—

(Lucia: Oh no! The Delulu mother and son are at it again.)

After Wang Fa brought the ducks back, he also worried about delays causing other complications.

He was afraid that Zhou Jing would refuse to take their ducks, so, hurriedly drove the ducks into his house.

He instructed his wife to light a fire, urging her to roast the duck feathers dry as quickly as possible in front of the stove.

Although it was pouring rain outside, it was still summer, and the house couldn’t burn firewood. They only burned a little, keeping the windows and doors closed, which made everyone sweat profusely.

However, the ducks did dry quickly. Once they were ready, Wang Fa called a few of his sons to pack the ducks into baskets, covering them tightly with all the raincoats while they themselves were drenched. They set off for the Zhou family in the dead of night.

This time, the Zhou family did not make things difficult for them. The sixteen ducks were sold at eleven wen per catty, totaling seven hundred and 4 copper coins.

As Wang Fa held the more than seven hundred copper coins in his hands, he counted them over and over again, unable to stop smiling, and he even forgot all the previous unpleasantness.

“Zhou Jing, then we’ll be on our way. The next batch of ducks will be delivered to you on time.” Wang Fa said.

But Zhou Jing suddenly interjected, “I’m afraid that won’t be necessary. Uncle Wang, those ducks from your family should find another buyer.”

Wang Fa’s heart sank even before the copper coins in his hand had warmed up.

He stammered, “You can’t do that! We signed a contract in black and white. What right do you have not to accept the next batch of ducks from my family? I invested one hundred silver coins for those ducklings!”

This time, Zhou Jing’s smile was not cold and sinister; it was gentle, like the warmth of spring. However, the words he spoke were cruel to Wang Fa.

“Uncle Wang, it’s clearly written in our contract.” Zhou Jing said calmly. “There’s a review period. You supply the first batch of ducks, and if I’m satisfied, you can continue providing the second batch. If I’m not satisfied, I have the right to inform you after the first batch that I no longer need your ducks.

At that point, you don’t have to raise the next batch, and our contract will be terminated. Not only did you agree to this from the start, but you were very much in favor of it. You thought that this arrangement, which I informed you in advance, would prevent you from losing money by not investing in the next batch of ducklings. This is a win-win situation, right?”

“Now, based on the contract provisions, I am clearly telling you after the first inspection that I do not want your goods anymore. I am not satisfied, so do not raise the next batch. As for your decision to raise them without my consent, that has nothing to do with me; the losses are your family’s own issue.”

“You…Zhou Jing, you can’t do this.” Wang Fa was dumbfounded and sat on the ground.

He remembered that the contract stated this clearly. However, his family did not take this clause seriously at that time, as they were eager to supply the next batch on time.

They thought that since their ducks were raised well and they had just signed the contract, Zhou Jing would not refuse to accept them.

“I invested a silver coin in this! What will happen to my family’s money if you don’t take them?”

“Uncle Wang, you shouldn’t say this to me. My family is only running a small business; we’re not a charity. It’s true that your family has lost money on raising ducks, but who will compensate for my family’s losses? Just like you said, it’s because of this contract that you can hold me accountable; now, it is also because of this contract that I can free myself from you.”

“Zhou Jing, no, you can’t do this! We are all from the same village; you can’t just watch us die without helping us. This year, my family can no longer rely on the fields. If you don’t take my family’s ducks now, how are we going to get through this winter? Just consider it an act of kindness and help us out. I promise that my family will supply your family honestly from now on and won’t dare to have any other thoughts.”

“I can’t do that,” Zhou Jing said coldly. “Uncle Wang, you said that your family can’t rely on the fields, but I’m afraid that’s not just your family; all the households in the village with fields can’t rely on their crops this year. If I were to help you as you say, would that mean I should sell everything I have—even my newly built tile house?”

“I’m not asking you to help everyone. Now that we have this contract, you can help me…” Wang Fa pleaded.

“I can indeed help.” Zhou Jing paused, then said sternly: “But Uncle Wang, what gives you the right to ask me for help? All of these happened because of your stubbornness and calculation.”

Zhou Jing pointed to the door and said, “I’m sorry, but I won’t see you out any further. Please leave.”

Wang Fa wanted to argue and plead further, but his sons knew better and felt some shame.

They understood that their family had acted dishonorably in this matter.

With the contract in place, they would find no good outcomes no matter where they went.

If they further angered Zhou Jing, things might not have ended so simply, especially with Father Shen’s experience as a warning tale.

Wang Fa’s wife never expected that things would end this way. They had managed to obtain what they needed, but they also lost what they shouldn’t have lost.

When she thought about what her youngest son had said regarding the bride price, she fainted on the spot.

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