Chapter 71

“Today’s public spectacle turned out to be a good thing,” Fan Jin said thoughtfully, looking at the empty space where the crowd had dispersed.

Shuiqing nodded in understanding. “Indeed, our family won’t be envied or targeted now.”

As they walked home, tidying up along the way, they chatted.

Yan Qiuxing and the other four children were confused but followed closely, wanting to ask questions but not daring to.

Fan Jin turned back and bent down to explain to the children, “That boy, Hei Zi, is clearly from a wealthy family. Today, his grandmother and aunt brought three sacks of rice to thank us for saving his life. The villagers would never guess this is from the Bai family of Nandu.”

Yan Qiuxing and the others nodded vigorously.

There are many families with the surname Bai, and many wealthy merchants, but who would believe that the richest man in Nandu, Bai Bancheng, would give only three sacks of rice as a thank-you gift? The villagers naturally wouldn’t think that.

“If they hadn’t made such a grand entrance, and the villagers hadn’t come out in force to watch the spectacle, it wouldn’t be long before three sacks of rice turned into three sacks of gold in the rumors. Imagine if our family had three sacks of gold—could we avoid being targeted? Now they’ve seen it’s just rice, and we didn’t even keep the rice. Other villagers won’t be envious, and your uncle’s family won’t covet it.”

His elder brother’s family might mock and gloat, but they wouldn’t scheme for the gift.

Fan Jiang carried a small stool and said honestly, “I think Auntie is the one who always covets our things, whether it’s good food, fun toys, or anything nice. Uncle is fine; he always greets us with a smile and asks about us.”

Fan Jin patted his son’s head and sighed, “Foolish child, a man who lets his wife go out and cause trouble, cry, and demand things is even more despicable than the woman herself.”

“Dad means Uncle is behind Auntie’s actions?” Xing Hui immediately asked cleverly.

“Whether he directs it or tolerates it, it’s the same.” Fan Jin used to avoid speaking ill of others behind their backs, but now, in teaching his children, he deeply agreed with Shuiqing’s words: ‘Teach children the skills to make a living and the ability to discern right from wrong; don’t let them grow up naive.’

He didn’t fully understand what ‘naive’ meant, but he knew it wasn’t good to be foolish.

The children must learn to distinguish between good and evil.

Yan Qiuxing and the others already knew that their uncle was no better than their aunt. Now, this understanding deepened.

They looked at their three younger brothers, knowing that their father’s words were meant for them.

Fan Hu, though the youngest, was the first to understand.

Fan He thought back and realized that every time Auntie asked for something, Uncle never stopped her. When Auntie got what she wanted, Uncle would then step in to scold her, pretending he was helpless. Yet, he never gave up his share of the things she got.

Auntie was bad, and Uncle was worse!

Fan Jiang didn’t fully understand, but he knew he wasn’t as smart as his siblings. His method was simple: listen to his smart parents and siblings and follow their lead.

Fan Jin looked at his children, realizing that his previous notion of shielding them from the world’s evils was naive. The children were already facing those evils, and it was his duty to teach them how to recognize and avoid them.

Shuiqing had no such reflections. She left the tidying up to the children, went inside, and happily counted their money.

Counting the savings and looking at the money brought her daily joy!

Just seeing and counting it made her happy every day.

Fan Jin, accustomed to this, stood nearby, gently picking the bits of grass and debris from her hair without disturbing her.

He watched her finish counting, expecting her to put the money back. Instead, she took out five small pouches from somewhere.

“Shuiqing, where did these pouches come from?”

Without looking up, Shuiqing continued counting, “I made them from leftover fabric from the summer clothes. Not bad, right?”

She wasn’t good at making clothes, but she had used her childhood skills of sewing sandbags and cross-stitching to make these five small pouches. Although the stitches were crooked, you couldn’t tell when they were turned inside out.

“Don’t look at how ugly they are. I double-stitched them, so they’re very sturdy! I’ve tested it—they won’t drop any money.”

Fan Jin felt the pouches carefully and seriously praised them, “Yes, they are very sturdy. But Shuiqing, why did you make so many?”

Shuiqing, pleased with the compliment, explained, “The kids are growing up, and we have some money now. I think it’s time they had some money of their own; they can use it to buy what they want to eat, play with, or buy. What do you think?”

Fan Jin naturally wouldn’t oppose this idea.

Curious, he asked, “How much do you plan to give each child?”

This balance was something Shuiqing hadn’t quite decided.

She looked up at Fan Jin and said, “We’ve sold brushes four times, earning 161 taels of silver; the polygonum multiflorum earned us 38 taels, making a total of 199 taels. After deducting expenses for the ox cart, cloth, cotton, iron pot, needles, and other small items, we have 177 taels of silver left, plus a few hundred copper coins. What amount do you think is appropriate for each child?”

Realizing it shouldn’t be based just on age but also family situation, Shuiqing thought for a moment.

Fan Jin pondered, “Age is one factor, but each child has a different temperament. Yan Qiuxing is mature and sensible, so three to five taels of silver, plus some copper coins, should be fine. It wouldn’t attract undue attention. For Jiang, He, and Hu, they’re younger and often play with other village children. It’s easy for them to let things slip, so a few dozen copper coins should suffice.”

Shuiqing: … Is this difference a bit too much?

However, she had to admit Fan Jin’s reasoning was sound.

When you have no money, you’re afraid of being looked down upon and tend to show off. But once you actually have money, you fear others knowing and take great care to hide it.

She picked out some small silver pieces, putting five in each of Yan Qiuxing’s pouches, along with thirty copper coins.

For Jiang, He, and Hu, she placed fifty copper coins in each of their pouches.

No silver for the younger ones, but more copper coins would do.

Then she called out loudly, “Yan Qiuxing, Jiang, He, Hu, come in!”