Chapter 36

Although they had added potato slices and kelp to their business, these two items brought little profit. On the best days, they could only add about fifty coins in profit after a full day’s work.

That day, when Shen Lin returned from the stall, the three of them sat together to go over the accounts. In the past few days since they started the stall, aside from the first seven or eight days when they prepared thirty pounds of sausages, they had been selling 50 pounds daily afterward. The duck products had only been added in the last half month, so they hadn’t made much money from that yet either.

But even so, Shen Mo was still extremely happy. If not for the solid 10 silvers in his hand, he would have doubted whether he had counted wrong.

“Brother Jing, it’s been less than two months, and our net profit has already reached thirty silvers!” Shen Mo cherished the 10 silver coins and fondly fiddled with them over and over in his hand.

Last time, although they earned fifty silvers from selling lipstick, it hadn’t even warmed in his hands before it was gone overnight. This time, however, they were building their family’s savings, and the significance was completely different.

Shen Lin also grinned foolishly in delight. “Big Brother-in-law, should we buy some land? In the village, a good paddy field can be bought for twenty-five silvers per mu, or we could get a dry field for fifteen silvers per mu. If not, I don’t mind working hard.

Our family can negotiate with the village head to open up new land. Although it costs ten silver coins to open one mu, the land won’t be fertile for the first few years and will need nurturing, so we won’t get much of a harvest. But the good thing is that the taxes are very low. We might be working for nothing the first few years, but once the land is fertile, things will get better.”

A farmer’s love for the land came from their very nature, and Shen Mo, being from a farming family, had an equally strong yearning for it.

He looked at Zhou Jing with eager eyes, filled with raw, unhidden desire.

His expression carried a hint of pitiful longing, much like a puppy asking its owner for a bone—pure and straightforward in its need.

It wasn’t annoying; in fact, it made him appear very endearing.

Zhou Jing couldn’t help himself. He raised his hand and rubbed the little husband’s face before smiling and said: “If you like land, of course, our family will buy some. But at this time of year, even if we buy it, we wouldn’t be able to plant anything. So my thought is that we might as well hold on to the silver for now. It can serve as working capital for our business, and after we’ve earned money for a year, we’ll be in a better position to buy land next year.”

Shen Mo nodded and said, “As long as we can buy the land, buying it next year is just as good.”

The Zhou family’s money had always been managed by Shen Mo.

Zhou Jing took out ten silvers, and the rest was put back into a small box, which Shen Mo returned to the hidden compartment in the cabinet.

“Xiao Di, this ten silvers is the share of the profit that your big brother and I agreed to give you. Take it.” Zhou Jing said.

Shen Lin was momentarily stunned, then became both angry and a little bitter with sadness. “Big brother, are you trying to distance yourself from me? Otherwise, why would you first offer to pay me wages and now give me a share of the profit? Are you treating me like an outsider? But I dare not forget that I was raised by you, and now I still live and eat under your roof.” he said.

Shen Mo felt a similar ache in his heart from Shen Lin’s melancholic tone, and he quickly explained, “Xiao Di, what are you saying? If Big Brother really treated you like an outsider, why would I give you so much silver? When I mentioned paying you wages, I already said that the bond between us as brothers wouldn’t change, but what’s rightfully yours cannot be lessened. Not to mention, in the village, many families have brothers who, no matter what happened in their childhood, when they grow up and do business together, they keep things clear and defined—that’s just how it should be.”

Shen Lin replied, “But our family is different. All the ideas and plans come from Big Brother-in-law. If we’re being honest, I’m just a helper at most. Taking twenty coins as wages seems reasonable, but I absolutely can’t accept a share of the profits.”

Shen Mo couldn’t persuade Shen Lin and could only look to Zhou Jing for help.

Zhou Jing was very pleased with Shen Lin’s reaction; this was the kind of brotherly affection that should exist—not one that forgot loyalty in the face of profit.

“I decided to give you a share of the profits for a reason,” Zhou Jing said. “First, your brother has been sick lately, and I couldn’t manage the stall; you’ve held it all together on your own. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be sitting here counting silver now. We might have even had to pawn our new clothes to cover the losses.”

Shen Lin opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, but Zhou Jing interrupted him.

“Second, you two brothers are different from others. Your big brother has treated you like a half-son since you were young; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that. Even that half-son bond is naturally different from that of other brothers. Moreover, Xiao Di, the most practical reason is that you’re a ger, and you will eventually have to marry. What your big brother and I can do is to give you the freedom to choose for yourself, without forcing you to marry someone you don’t like.”

“But gers are always in a vulnerable position and are less likely to bear sons, which makes many good men unwilling to marry them. The remaining men are either of poor character or come from families that are too poor to be suitable for marrying a ger. As for the former, your brother would agree to support you for a lifetime rather than let you marry. As for the latter, although they are poor, if a man is diligent and hardworking, both your brother and I would be willing.”

“As long as our family business is doing well, and both of you are willing to work hard, your future will never be lacking. But I worry that if a man, out of desperation because of his poverty, chooses you, will he have other thoughts once life gets better?

What if he wants to take a concubine or even marry another wife? As long as you both are living together, your brother and I won’t have any power over him. And if you don’t live together anymore, would he be willing to give you a divorce letter? If he does, what would you do then? Living alone for the rest of your life?”

“On that day, your elder brother told me about his worries. My thought was that our family business was initially supported by the three of us. Although the idea had originally come from me, the later operations wouldn’t have succeeded without the two of you. Fortunately, I saw the business as something we three jointly opened.

We all were bosses, and we would share equally. I proposed that I would take the larger share of seventy percent, while you would take thirty percent. With this thirty percent profit, you earned it through your own hard work, so you wouldn’t feel guilty about accepting it.

Moreover, with this thirty percent profit secured, you wouldn’t have to worry about the men you found later changing their hearts or treating you poorly if you couldn’t bear children, because we could always adopt!”

“Adopt?” Shen Lin was stunned.

He had never considered this step, as it concerned the path of his future life. He understood the meaning of his elder brother and brother-in-law, realizing that if he had a strong backing, he wouldn’t be troubled in the future even if he couldn’t bear a son. At that moment, Shen Lin thought of many things.

In the end, he accepted. Shen Lin said, “Elder brother, I can never forget the kindness of you and brother-in-law. I feel unworthy of the share I received. I will bow to you both, and in the future, I will definitely repay you, elder brother and brother-in-law.”

Shen Mo hurriedly got off the bed to help him up.

“In the past, it was just the two of us relying on each other. You see, the elder brother has also relieved half of his worries.”

Shen Lin accepted the silver but never forgot to take out 2 silvers to return to Zhou Jing.

“Brother-in-law, these 2 silvers are my payment for buying me. Initially, I intended to save up enough wages to return it to you. Now that you’ve given me a share of the profits, I can pay you back.”

Zhou Jing did not decline and directly accepted it.

At night, a sudden thunderbolt split the dark, gloomy sky, illuminating it as bright as day.

Shen Mo was startled awake from his sleep and anxiously looked out the window.

Through the window, he could vaguely see flashes of lightning and hear the terrifying rumble of thunder, which sounded as if it could strike into the room at any moment.

Shen Mo recalled the village rumors from the past, which spoke of a type of thunder called “heavenly thunder.” Its sound was particularly loud and fierce, and its appearance wasn’t due to pouring rain but rather because the thunder god and thunder goddess used it to strike down wicked people who had committed wrongdoings.

The more he thought about it, the more fearful he became. The former Zhou Jing was a scar on Shen Mo’s heart—too deep to ever fade away.

Shen Mo turned to look at Zhou Jing, who lay beside him.

The occasional flashes of lightning illuminated Zhou Jing’s face—he was deeply asleep, breathing steadily, seemingly unaware of the terrifying thunder.

The more Shen Mo observed him, the more frightened he grew.

He thought he had done everything in secret, but unexpectedly, when he looked up, he was caught red-handed.

“I woke you up.” Shen Mo said apologetically.

Zhou Jing, who had been sleeping soundly, was not angry at being disturbed by his little husband. Instead, his voice, soft and intentionally teasing, asked, “What do you want to do to me?” Zhou Jing’s voice carried a low, magnetic quality typical of someone just waking up, particularly alluring.

Even though he could hear it every day, Shen Mo still found himself entranced.

In a moment of distraction, the world spun around him, and he was unexpectedly dragged by Zhou Jing from his own warm blanket into Zhou Jing’s.

Zhou Jing half-pressed, half-embraced Shen Mo, and breathed into his ear, “I told you long ago to make a big quilt, but you refused. Now you sneak into my bed and try to tempt me!”

Shen Mo’s face turned red, even the tips of his ears flushed, and he hurriedly defended himself, saying, “I didn’t!”

“You shouldn’t try to argue anymore; I’ve already caught you. What should I do? Full of charm, my little husband woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t resist the temptation, insisting on pressing me down and taking advantage of me. Should I cooperate? Or should I cooperate?”

“I… I didn’t…” Shen Mo’s last words got stuck in his throat, and he could no longer say anything.

That night was destined to never hear the sound of thunder again.

After exhausting Shen Mo, Zhou Jing finally fell asleep.

—o—o—o—

In the morning, when Zhou Jing woke up, Shen Mo was still asleep.

Zhou Jing quietly got dressed and kissed his little husband on the forehead before leaving the bedroom.

As Zhou Jing stepped into the kitchen, he saw Shen Lin already waiting there.

Shen Lin had thought a lot during the night, and he didn’t sleep soundly.

In the morning, he woke up early and looked very haggard.

“Brother-in-law, it’s raining heavily outside. I don’t think it will stop today, so the sausages weren’t cooked,” he said.

Zhou Jing pushed open the window and glanced outside at the heavy rain, which seemed to press the sky down as if it were a whole hour later than usual.

“Yes, this rain isn’t going to stop today. With it being this heavy, we can’t go out to sell. Let’s put the sausages in the cellar and discuss it tomorrow!”

“Okay,” Shen Lin replied.

When Shen Mo woke up and opened his eyes, he saw Zhou Jing sitting on the floor next to the writing desk, reading. He sat up and asked, “Did my little brother leave?”

Zhou Jing paused and shook his head. “No, the rain outside is pouring heavily; it probably won’t stop today.”

As Shen Mo pushed the window open just a crack, rainwater poured in, drenching his head and face. Zhou Jing came up from behind, closed the window, and used a handkerchief to wipe Shen Mo’s face.

Shen Mo took it and wiped himself a couple of times, then he worriedly said, “Brother Jing, the rain is coming down so hard. I wonder if it will stop tomorrow?” 

Zhou Jing asked, “Why do you ask that? Does it often rain like this for several days straight here?”

Shen Mo nodded and said, “Yes, that’s also why, despite being surrounded by mountains and water, our people are still poor. The rainfall has been relatively normal in recent years, which is why the village has managed to recover a bit. In the past few years, during this time, it would often rain heavily for half a month straight. By the time the rain stopped, the crops would have flooded, and by the end of the year, we would lose more than half of the harvest.”

Zhou Jing could only offer comfort: “Don’t worry. Maybe the rain will stop in a couple of days.” 

—o—o—o—

However, the heavens were unkind, and the rain continued for three days without any sign of stopping.

Even the sausages stored in the cellar could not last long during the hot summer; they had already reached their limit. In fact, the first batch of sausages had already begun to spoil. If the rain continued without pause, it was likely that all those sausages would spoil right in their hands.

“I wonder how much longer this rain will last?” Shen Mo bit his chopsticks, worriedly saying, “The cost of our sausages and duck goods was already five silver coins, and that’s not a small amount!” 

At that moment, their total assets were only about 40 silver coins. Losing 5 silvers wasn’t too much, but it wasn’t insignificant either. 

Shen Mo was so anxious that he developed a few blisters in his mouth and couldn’t eat for the past couple of days.  

Suddenly, Shen Mo said, “Brother Jing, since we can’t set up our stall in this kind of weather, and the sausages will go bad if we keep them, how about we sell them cheaply to the villagers instead?”

It would be a loss whether they threw them away or sold them, so any amount they could earn back was better than nothing. 

“That plan is feasible.” 

So, Zhou Jing cooked the sausages, and the three of them put on their raincoats and went from house to house to sell them.

They split up at the village entrance, with each person responsible for different households, aiming to reach every family.

Some households were also worried about their fields.

Just thinking about the possibility of flooding made them hesitant to spend money on sausages, which were considered a delicacy, even though they were being sold at a lower price.

The fear of not being able to afford their New Year supplies was too great.