Chapter 38: Dividing the Money

Both Mrs Wang and Chen Lu looked at Chen Feng with surprise, and Chen Feng nodded at them and said, “Let’s go, we’ll have wontons first, we’re hungry.”

They arrived at the wonton stall and ordered four bowls of wontons, each costing twelve wen. Mrs Wang wasn’t reluctant to spend. The wonton skins were thin and the meat plentiful, so fragrant that the two children didn’t even wait for them to cool down, as they continuously eat. If she wasn’t worried about their little stomachs, Chen Feng would have wanted to order another bowl for them.

During the meal, the last Needlework basket was sold to a young lady.

Chen Lu said, “It’s so delicious. It’s a pity we can’t bring a bowl back for Father.”

Chen Feng pointed to a braised meat stall opposite and said, “We can’t take wontons with us, but they sell braised meat there. Let’s buy some for Father.”

Mrs Wang said, “That stall is Xu’s Braised Meat from Mingshui Town. I heard it’s especially fragrant.”

Chen Dabao sniffed and said, “Yes, it’s fragrant. I can smell it from here.”

Mrs Wang said, “After buying the braised meat, let’s go inside the temple to kowtow to the Bodhisattva, thank the Bodhisattva for helping A’Feng recover from her illness, and add some more money for incense. Also, if we can meet the fortune-teller monk who read A’Feng’s fortune, that would be great. We must thank him and fulfill his auspicious words.”

The group entered the temple, kowtowing to the Bodhisattva and offering a generous amount for incense. After walking through several halls, they still hadn’t come across the monk who had read the fortune, and they didn’t even know his monastic name, leaving Mrs Wang feeling disappointed.

Chen Feng, on the other hand, was secretly pleased, she didn’t want to encounter any eminent monks.

After leaving the temple, they bought a pound of braised meat, and Chen Feng also bought a small packet of candied winter melon for each of the two children.

The scorching hot afternoon of midsummer felt even hotter after leaving Honglin Mountain. Chen Feng saw carts and donkey carts on the roadside but didn’t dare to hail a “taxi” as Mrs Wang would definitely disapprove.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to walk far before encountering a cart from Guqiao Village. They all got on, along with two women from Xiangluo Village.

One of the women said, “Sister Wang, I heard that your Needlework baskets are selling for ninety wen each. You must have made a good amount of money today.”

Mrs Wang hurriedly replied, “We didn’t earn that much. We priced them high, and many people refused to buy. Many were sold at a low price.”

The other woman said, “If you priced them so high, how low could the price have been? With a cart full of baskets, you must have made four or five taels for sure. Oh, you’ve earned almost half a year’s worth of income for our entire family. You’re really capable.”

The people on the cart were envious.

Mrs Wang, Lu, and Dabao quickly denied, “It’s not that much.”

The woman sneered, “What’s the rush? Even if you earn more, no one is going to snatch it from you.”

Chen Feng didn’t deny, thinking that if they couldn’t acknowledge such a small amount, how would they build a big house in the future?

Upon their return to the village, it was nearly sunset, and they could see Chen Ming anxiously looking into the distance from under the eaves. Seeing them return, he quickly got up and went to the gate.

He saw that, except for Mrs Wang carrying a back-basket, everyone else was empty-handed and asked with a smile, “Have you sold everything?”

Dabao put his index finger to his lips and exaggeratedly hushed, “Grandpa, speak quietly, let’s go inside to talk.”

The group closed the gate and the door, entering the western room, and asked Dabao to watch outside from the window to see if anyone entered the courtyard. Chen Dabao eagerly crouched on the kang, attentively watching outside.

Mrs Wang placed the money from the back-basket on the kang table—a large pile, interspersed with a few small silver ingots. When Chen Ming and the others saw Chen Feng place several silver ingots on the kang table, their eyes widened, as it was the first time they had seen so much silver.

Chen Dabao, still watching outside, proudly said, “My mother is so capable to earn this much money. And Grandma, all these Needlework baskets were made by Grandma.”

Chen Lu nodded vigorously, “Yes, sister and mother are both capable.”

Mrs Wang’s eyes turned red as she said, “A’Lu’s legs can finally be cured.”

Chen Ming was so excited that his body trembled a bit. He stared at the silver and said, “With this much money, not only can A’Lu’s legs be cured, but we can also add some land for A’Feng and her son, allowing the family to live a good life. With that in mind, he pushed two twenty-tael silver ingots in front of himself and pushed the remaining money to Chen Feng. He smiled, “I know. The Needlework baskets have earned so much money, and A’Feng deserves the most credit. I’ll keep forty taels, ten taels for A’Lu’s leg treatment and thirty taels for A’Lu’s future marriage and the construction of a house. A’Feng can use the remaining money to buy some land, and there will also be some money left for Dabao’s education and marriage. You and your son will have no worries in the future.”

Seeing Chen Ming’s distribution, Chen Feng had to admire him, he was truly a generous and good man.

Chen Feng mixed the silver together and pulled out a twenty-tael silver ingot, saying, “This is the money for A’Lu’s leg treatment. Ten taels might not be enough, so let’s prepare more.” She then pushed three twenty-tael silver ingots to Chen Ming, “This sixty taels is for mother’s work and daughter’s filial piety to father and mother, especially to you father. You must keep it. A’Lu not only needs to cure his legs but also needs to go to school, and you and mother must live a good life.” She then pushed the remaining thirty-six taels in front of herself, “This money is for us to use slowly. We won’t buy land for now, we’ll decide later when we earn more money.”

Seeing Chen Ming about to reject it, Mrs Wang held his hand and said, “As the head of the family, you’ve taken care of your daughter for over ten years. This is her first time earning money, you should accept her filial piety.”

Her voice was somewhat choked up. She had always been grateful to Chen Ming for treating Chen Feng as his own, and now that A’Feng could finally filially support him through her own abilities, she was happier than anyone else.

Chen Feng tugged at Chen Ming’s sleeve and said, “Father, you should accept it. You’ve seen your daughter’s abilities. You will receive more filial piety from us in the future.”

Dabao, still crouching by the window, also urged, “Grandpa, you see how well my mother pampers you, you should accept it.”

Chen Ming nodded, excitedly saying, “Good daughter, Father will accept it first. Father never dreamed that there would be so much money. If A’Feng and Dabao need it in the future, come to me.”

The group counted the money earned from selling the Needlework baskets, totaling over three thousand wen and six small silver ingots. Mrs Wang was to manage this money for household expenses.

Deciding where to keep the silver had been a headache for Chen Ming and Mrs Wang, and in the end, they moved the chest near the kang to dig a hole in the ground and buried the jar of silver.

The group also discussed that after the house was built, Mrs Wang would take Chen Lu to the capital for his leg treatment. Chen Feng particularly wanted to go to the capital, but she had to stay home to take care of Chen Ming.

Chen Feng also suggested replacing the thatched roof with tiles, as thatched roofs were prone to leaks, and changing the fence to a brick wall for safety and privacy. Not only the newly built house but also the old house would be modified.

Chen Ming disagreed, “The new house should indeed have a brick wall courtyard, ensuring safety for you and your son, and it won’t cost much, just a few more taels. Everything else, we’ll see later. Our family’s earnings today can be calculated by others. The total is over four taels, and A’Lu still needs to go to the capital for his legs…”

Keeping wealth discreet was especially important for families like theirs, with health issues. Chen Feng reluctantly agreed.