Chapter 32 Come to the Door

　　Zhang Xiu put down his chopsticks as he stood up: “I’m going out to see what happened. Brother Ming, please stay inside first.”

　　Tang Chunming didn’t mind either. He signaled to the children to continue eating the meat and vegetables. Those who had nothing to do in the evening could only torment others. In his opinion, it was just a family conflict caused by the corvée matter. Is this going to happen? They are just performing their duties, if no one comes, how will the money be distributed? There must be some trouble in the village because of this matter, and it is not just one or two families.

 In fact, in the final analysis, it is nothing more than poverty, plus people’s selfishness, if everyone had enough money in their hands, there would be a lot fewer troublemakers.

　　However, with very few well-off families, such as Granma Zhaos’, who are obsessed with money, I am afraid that no matter how much money they have, they will not be willing to take it out, except for using it on their precious son.

　　It is said that Zhao Laosan is about to take the imperial examination. What will the result be?

　　Da Mao and Er Mao were more interested in the meat and vegetables on the table, rather than paying attention to who was causing trouble outside.

　　After more than ten minutes, they heard Xiao Hua bark again. They stood up and looked outside. After a while, Zhang Xiu walked in from the yard, and Xiao Hua buried her head and continued gnawing the bones.

　　Seeing the look on Zhang Xiu’s face had a gloating smile, Tang Chunming guessed: “Could it be the Zhao family that’s causing the trouble?  I would like to go and see the excitement. I’m afraid this ruckus will be quite big, right?” The noise of the village could even reach his courtyard.

　　Zhang Xiu bent over: “You’re right. It was Granma Zhao and Wang Chunhua who got into a fight this evening. I didn’t expect that their fight during the day didn’t stop until now. They are so energetic, But you should rest at home. It’s hard to see the road at night. If you bump into him, you will be killed.” He gave Tang Chunming a sideways look.

　　Tang Chunming curled his lips listlessly.

　　Zhang Xiu stopped teasing Tang Chunming. He sat down, took a sip of soup, and told what he heard: “Didn’t they say that Wang Chunhua hid private money? Granma Zhao didn’t say anything during the day, but she kept watching. As for the private money, when Wang Chunhua was driven to make dinner the next night, Grandma Zhao ran to Zhao Danu’s room to search for it. As a result, Grandma Zhao found nearly twenty taels of silver. After dinner, Wang Chunhua went back to the house and found that it had been tampered with. He hurriedly looked for money, but it was gone, so he broke into the house and started a brawl.”

　　”Twenty taels?” Tang Chunming raised his two fingers with wide eyes.

　　”Yes, you can’t believe that Wang Chunhua hid so much money. Remember  what he was like when he got married, huh!” Zhang Xiu got angry as he said this. Wang Chunhua brought a small baggage with her when she got married. It’s incomparable to Brother Ming’s, but life has become more comfortable after marrying into the Zhao family. It was a great skill for him to get so much money from Granma Zhao. Now that all the money is gone, Zhang Xiu has to say he deserves it and let him have a taste of Brother Ming’s original situation. However, Granma Zhao was very unhappy when he made another fortune.

　　”That’s it.” Tang Chunming couldn’t help but give a thumbs up and expressed his admiration for Wang Chunhua: “he’s made a fuss. And it’s getting louder, where is Zhao Daniu? What will he say?”

　　”Tsk,” Zhang Xiu laughed disdainfully, “That naughty guy huddled aside and let Wang Chunhua and Granma Zhao fight together. He said a few words of persuasion dryly, but who listened to him? When I left, Third Uncle Zhao also went, I am not telling you that Third Uncle Zhao cares enough about the Zhao family.”

　　”It’s not for Zhao Laosan,” Tang Chunming rolled his eyes, “Look, the third uncle must be helping Zhao Lao San. In any case, it is Zhao Lao San who is now in charge of Wang Chunhua’s private money. He deserves to have the money taken away, but Zhao Lao San’s reputation will be worse. In the future, it will be difficult for Zhao Lao San to find a good family near the village. Who dares to marry into such a house? Of course. If Zhao Laosan becomes a scholar, it will be another matter.”

　　Indeed, if Zhao Laosan is admitted as a scholar, he will be able to turn around. Then it will be time for Zhao Laosan to be proud. Wang Chunhua will give up all her scheme to get Zhao Laosan. But what does this have to do with Tang Chunming? He had already said that he would not like to live in such a family and wished he could stay as far away as possible. Again, if he’s successful he does not need to be troubled by others, but no matter how good life is, trouble is inevitable. After it was over, he was just waiting to sit back and watch the show.

　　Zhang Xiu is not sure whether Zhao Laosan can become a scholar. When Zhao Laosan was admitted as a student, word spread in and outside the village that Zhao Laosan was a literary star who descended to earth, and that he was a child prodigy. Even Granma Zhao was highly praised by people, saying that they gave birth to geniuses, so Granma Zhao was too proud at that time. Therefore, in Zhang Xiu’s view, although Zhao Laosan is not good in character, he may indeed have some talent in reading. But looking at Brother Ming, he hopes not to pass the exam, otherwise, those people won’t stop pestering him. It will be very uncomfortable.

　　”Mom, I will also take the scholar examination in the future.” As if sensing his mother’s thoughts, Er Mao suddenly said loudly.

　　Zhang Xiu immediately cheerful: “Okay, okay, when my Er Mao is admitted as a scholar, I will be the scholar’s mother, and our Da Mao will also study hard with Ming Amo.”

　　Da Mao also nodded seriously.

　　”There’s me too, I want it too!” Ah-Lin was not to be outdone, which made Zhang Xiu even happier. He and Tang Chunming did not tell Ah-Lin that there was no brother to participate in the imperial examination. They were children anyway, so they were just happy for the time being. 

　　Tang Chunming got up early the next day. After feeding the sheep and chickens some water and food, he went to the backyard to pick vegetables. Today, people from Jinji would come over to pick up a batch of vegetables. Tang Chunming also knew that Jinji mainly wanted to come and see the condition of his vegetable garden, they couldn’t rest assured if they hadn’t seen it.

　Naturally, he wasn’t aware yet that the owners of Jinji and Tingjing Pavilion were the same person. Teng Yu even doubted whether he had anything to do with the black-faced man who delivered the vegetables.  He would come to check out Tang Chunming’s family.

　　There are a lot of vegetables in this field. After they grew, Tang Chunming didn’t do much except give them to a few people. What he ate at home was all the vegetables in the space. The vegetables in the space were nourishing and better than those outside. The quality is better, he would be stupid to leave it there. After selling a batch of space vegetables, Tang Chunming doesn’t want to take them out anymore. Unless when he is in urgent need of money, otherwise taking out too much will arouse people’s suspicion. This happened to him in his previous life. Fortunately, he doesn’t need to spend too much money. After doing it once, He became more cautious and made a lot of concealment.

　　The cucumber vines climbing on the erected shelves have already bloomed, and some have produced small cucumbers as big as a thumb. There are also luffa vines climbing in the back room. Tang Chunming made full use of the space and climbed on the walls of the back room and the backyard. There are a lot of luffas and hanging melon vines, so it won’t take long to have a big harvest.

　　But the area still has enough space. When he sells vegetables for a while, he must take over the land next to the backyard, and then let people enclose it into the yard. However, in this way, it seems that raising one dog is not enough it seems that he needs to get another dog.

　　This morning, the people in the village were still immersed in the commotion of the Zhao family from last night. A carriage drove at the entrance of the village, which immediately attracted the attention of many people. Horses are the most valuable animals. Even  Li Zheng’s family in the village is reluctant to keep a horse. Whose family has a valuable guest this early in the morning?

　　The carriage stopped on the side of the road. The driver asked the villagers for directions. When they heard that they were looking for Tang Chunming, the villagers almost suspected that they had heard wrong. However, most of the villagers were still simple and showed the directions to the driver. The family with a big yard at the foot of the mountain is now the Tang family. Since Tang Chunming became an independent household, people in the village have gradually changed their names. Especially since Tang Chunming paid the corvee yesterday without any delay, some villagers appreciated him more.

　　In the carriage, Teng Yu and Shopkeeper Qi came together. From the carriage, the two of them looked at the scenery of the village outside and the mountains in the distance. Teng Yu sighed: “This is a good place. There are mountains and water, which is a good place to live.” 

“It’s a great place, is it because of the water and soil here that vegetables like that can be grown?”

　　Shopkeeper Qi secretly laughed in his heart. The young master grew up in the city. How had he ever seen the life of the country people? Mountains and water are a good place to live. But he heard that the corvee was about to come into the village. He’s worried about the villagers.  How can they live a good life, the many mountains the fewer fields, and also the threat of wild beasts in the mountains? Not many people can live a good life.

　　Under the attention of the villagers, the carriage stopped at the door of Tang Chunming’s house, and the driver jumped out of the car and knocked on the door.

　 Xiao Hua inside the door barked first. It has become larger, and now its voice no longer has the unthreatening milky sound like it did at first, but is beginning to take on power.

　　”This Tang Fulang has a good guard dog at home.” Shopkeeper Qi got out of the carriage first, turned to his young master with a smile, and said this, as he also got out of the carriage.

　　Someone in the courtyard shouted to stop the dog barking, and after a while, someone opened the door. Shopkeeper Qi saw the man and immediately smiled: “Good morning, Tang Fulang, we didn’t bother you.”

　　This was to give him money. Of course, Tang Chunming greeted the visitor with a smile. He opened the courtyard door and  sent away Xiao Hua and said, “There are no people in the country who get up late, but you guys came here from the town early in the morning.”, you got up early, come in quickly, I was putting away the vegetables just now, you guys have a look first.”

　　The courtyard door was not closed when people were welcomed in. As a single man, he still wanted to avoid being gossiped about. Tang Chunming was often told by Zhang Xiu and gradually formed some conditioned reflexes.

　　”Hey, your yard is quite lively. Did you take care of it all by yourself? It’s not easy for Tang Fulang.” Shopkeeper Qi saw the layout of the yard clearly at a glance when he entered the yard. As the shopkeeper of the restaurant, he is responsible for everything in the daily life of the restaurant, including everything related to the restaurant. He also traveled to the surrounding countryside to select and purchase ingredients. Judging from the current situation, no one’s courtyard is as lively and vibrant as the Tang family.

　　” Just working around. How can I compare with Shopkeeper Qi and your boss? You are the ones doing big business.” Tang Chunming said modestly.

　　Teng Yu was still dressed like a rich man in a brocade robe, and he also carried a paper fan in his hand. He looked a little out of place in such a small farmyard, but he looked at ease, and he kept tapping the paper fan while he was closing it. He looked at everything in the farmyard with great interest and asked Tang Chunming with a smile how many chickens he raised, and took the opportunity to say that if his chickens tasted as good as those dishes, their restaurant could buy them.

　　”Of course you can, Master Teng, if you want it. Regarding the taste, you will know after you taste the chicken when they grow up. If the price satisfies you, it will not be a problem to sell it to your restaurant, which will save me from finding another buyer.” Tang Chunming replied with a smile.

　　Teng Yu’s eyelids twitched and he took a serious look at the chickens surrounding the fence. He sounded quite confident. Could it be that the chickens taste better like the vegetables? If that’s the case, this chicken should be eaten. The business was won, but according to Tang Fulang, it might be difficult to get it without a good price. Anyway, it will take a long time, so Teng Yu is not in a hurry. He will wait until these chickens grow up, and the number is also a bit small.

　　Of course, Tang Chunming didn’t tell him at this time that he was preparing to expand the breeding volume.

　　Zhang Xiu, who heard the noise outside, also ran over to help. Seeing Tang Chunming greeting the guests, he ran to the backyard to help pick vegetables. When he entered the house before, some villagers stopped him and asked him what was going on. How could such a distinguished guest come to the Tang family’s door? Zhang Xiu did not hide it anymore and said that it was the restaurant in the town that came to collect the food, and it was Brother Ming himself who went to the town and found buyers.

　　Teng Yu was curious about everything, even the three sheep in the sheepfold. He pointed at the ewe and asked, “Are you raising this ewe for the unborn child?” Okay, Master Teng also knows that the child needs to be fed. A ger has milk, but it is far from enough for a baby. Do all wealthy families have milk? But he also knows that people in the countryside cannot afford milk. How about drinking goat milk?

　　Shopkeeper Qi followed and didn’t know what to say. When did his young master become so curious? He even asked about the ger’s birth. Did he know that Tang Fulang had just lost his husband and was keeping filial piety?

　　”This ewe is almost out of milk, and my baby will be born in a few months.”, Tang Chunming replied, “That’s for my Ah-Lin to drink.”

　　”Oh, yes, your little ger is still young. Lao Qi, your little grandson  also drinks milk until he is three years old.” Teng Yu slapped his forehead and said with a clear face.

　　Shopkeeper Qi covered his face. He didn’t want to follow his young master. The young master was concerned about too many issues.

　　Tang Chunming replied speechlessly: “Goat milk nourishes people and can be drunk at any age. My family, Ah-Lin, drinks it, and the neighbor’s eight-year-old child also drinks it. It is quite good for shopkeeper Qi to drink some goat milk at his age. I promise you good health.”

　　”Really?” Teng Yu turned around and asked Shopkeeper Qi next to him, only to see Shopkeeper Qi’s face turn red.

　　Shopkeeper Qi was angry and couldn’t cry, so he had no choice but to say to his young master: “Young master, you should go to the backyard to check out the vegetable patch. You have to rush to pick the vegetables and send them to the restaurant.”

　　Tang Chunming didn’t know the situation and seemed to have said something that made shopkeeper Qi embarrassed. He scratched his head and went to the backyard to get it: “I have already picked it earlier. You can also take a look at the varieties of vegetables. If there are any that I don’t have here, I can replant them.” and I plan to encircle the land next to it to grow vegetables, and the quantity will increase in the future.” As he said this, he looked back at Shopkeeper Qi, what on earth did he say that he shouldn’t have said?

　　Shopkeeper Qi was very old, and when he was looked at like this by a young ger, he wanted to cover his face with his sleeves and never wanted to see anyone again. Unexpectedly, the honest Zhao Dahu would marry such a ger, and the ger’s expression did not look as desolate and sad as that of a ger who had just lost his husband. Thinking of Zhao Dahu’s description of his ger, shopkeeper Qi doubted the original relationship between the couple.

　　Teng Yu originally wanted to stay for a while, but shopkeeper Qi couldn’t wait to leave. Teng Yu had no choice but to say goodbye to Tang Chunming and told him to expand the planting area as soon as possible. The vegetables in the yard now simply couldn’t meet his needs.

　　Before leaving, he happily paid part of the money so that Tang Chunming could buy more land and grow vegetables as soon as possible.

　　Tang Chunming and Zhang Xiu sent the people to the courtyard gate together and watched them drive away.

　　As soon as they left, the villagers who were curious about the Tang family immediately gathered around. After seeing Teng Yu, who was wearing a brocade robe and dressed like a wealthy young man, the people who had been gathered around the door did not dare to come forward to inquire about anything. Now that they are gone. Only then did they dare to come up and ask questions

 They were very curious about the identity of the young master in brocade robes. How could Brother Ming know such a family?

　　”Brother Ming, have you made a deal with Jinji Restaurant in town?”

　　”You didn’t see the baskets of vegetables they loaded onto the carriage. Is this still fake?” Tang Chunming didn’t need to answer, someone explained it to him, and then asked Tang Chunming with a smile, “Brother Ming, How do you know the people at Jinji Restaurant? It seems that the young master is not an ordinary person. Brother Ming, are they still harvesting vegetables? We have vegetables planted in the ground at home. We can pick them up after a while. Okay, how much do they charge you per pound?”

　　Tang Chunming was squeezed in the middle and was bombarded with questions. He couldn’t laugh or cry, what is this? They were trying to find out the identity of Master Teng and wanted to start selling vegetables. He understood that they also wanted to make money, but could they possibly know how to do it? Will he pave the road for others like this? Is Brother Ming so kind in other people’s eyes?

　　”It seems that the restaurant where Dahu gave away wild things in the past was Jinji. Brother Ming, is this the path Dahu left for you?” Someone suddenly remembered and thought they had found the answer. That is, Brother Ming was born in the countryside like them. Although he is literate, he is not experienced in the world. How could he know such a nobleman?

　　”Okay, okay, you guys should give way and stop surrounding Brother Ming. It’s not Brother Ming’s decision whether the restaurant wants food or not. He only made a deal with the restaurant yesterday when he was selling vegetables. 

    If you are interested in selling vegetables. If you can grow the same vegetables as Brother Ming’s and send them to the restaurant, they will definitely accept them.” Zhang Xiu helped Tang Chunming to block people. These people are really terrible. Brother Ming is not the shopkeeper and Can’t decide what will happen.

　　Zhang Xiu hurriedly escorted Tang Chunming back to the courtyard. These people were really too much to bear, and they didn’t even look at Brother Ming’s condition.

　　”The same goes for Brother Xiu. I’m just asking a few questions. He is so protective of Brother Ming, we won’t steal his money.” Someone muttered after failing to find out the information they wanted.

　　”Then it depends on whether you have this skill. Can you grow vegetables in cold weather like Brother Ming?” Someone retorted.

　　Li Feng sent Yu Mu to the town before dawn, where he could buy horses to go to Dingzhou Prefecture. He borrowed the big green mule from Li Zheng’s family and traveled quickly back and forth. When he returned to the village, he happened to bump into Teng Yu and his party who had just left.

　　From afar, Li Feng saw the carriage parked in front of Brother Ming’s house and then some people left the door of Ming Geer’s house. Li Feng frowned. Who is came? Li Dashan, that man of a few words, not only did not tell  Yu Mu but also Zhang Xiu didn’t tell them that Brother Ming was doing business with the restaurant in town, so Li Feng didn’t know that the restaurant came to collect vegetables early in the morning. 

　　Teng Yu did not close the curtain anymore and was looking out to see the scenery. The road was narrow and two cars met head-on and could barely squeeze through. When Teng Yu raised his head and looked at the driver on the opposite side after his carriage passed, his cold eyes and an evil aura all over his body made him shiver suddenly in this hot weather. When he looked over again, the man seemed to be just a little braver than the others, but he was still wary in his heart. When he passed by, he held his fists and said hello to the other person.

　　Looking back at the big green mule driving into the village, Teng Yu couldn’t forget the feeling just now, and asked shopkeeper Qi: “How could there be such a tough person in this village? He doesn’t look like a man in the village at all, but… he looks like someone who came from the battlefield.” This is because there are people like this around Teng Yu. He also needs protection around him when he travels all over the world, and those people are not as fearsome as this person.

　　Although Shopkeeper Qi didn’t feel as deeply as Teng Yu, he could tell that the man was no ordinary countryman, so he suspected, “Maybe he’s a man who came back after serving in the military.”

　　This answer was not approved by Teng Yu. His feeling for that person was that he had just come off the battlefield after killing someone. As for the group of people who had returned from military service, he knew the time of their return, and were not important at all.

　　”Let’s go back and let people inquire about it.”

　　”Okay, Master.” Shopkeeper Qi didn’t ask any more questions. He originally asked people to inquire about Tang Fulang’s situation, but now it’s just one more person.

　　Li Feng’s eyes were very sharp. With one glance, he saw the basket containing vegetables behind the carriage, and he immediately understood why the carriage appeared in front of Brother Ming’s house. Ming Geer’s cooking skills and the delicious taste of vegetables are different from other vegetables. He understands the value of it better than Yu Mu, who only knows how to eat. He vaguely heard Dashan mention that Ming Geer would make a living by selling vegetables in the future. He didn’t expect him to find a buyer so quickly, but just because he knew the difference, he was a little worried that the person who came here might have other intentions.

　　For example, why do those vegetables have such a good taste? Dashan once lamented that although the vegetables grown from the vegetable seedlings taken back from Ming Ge’er’s house were tastier, they were still not as good as those in Ming Ge’s backyard. This is in the hands of one person. The secrets in your hands can sometimes bring disaster to people if not used properly.

Li Feng was worried.

　　When passing by Ming Geer’s house, the people who gathered to inquire about the news began to disperse. Not many people who saw Li Feng would take the initiative to greet him, and their voices were lowered, but those words still reached Li Feng’s ears.

　　”See, there are three big baskets full of vegetables, weighing about a hundred kilograms. I heard that fresh vegetables in this season are very expensive, more expensive than meat. Brother Ming just carried out two baskets yesterday, and today there are again three big baskets, how much money did he make!” Someone exclaimed with hot eyes.

　　”No way, isn’t it just vegetables? There are a lot of them in the ground.”

　　”No way. The man in my family works for a wealthy family in the town. I can’t be wrong just believe what their servants say.”

　　Immediately, someone calculated in his mind, and was shocked by this calculation, “Hey, doesn’t that mean that brother Ming can earn several taels of silver just by selling vegetables?” He was so surprised that his voice rose, and several people around him also raised their voices. There were also expressions of shock and envy. In their opinion, Brother Ming didn’t put in much effort at all, and the money seemed to fall from the sky.

　　Some people also focused their attention on the young master.

　　”That young master is so handsome. He is more handsome than the other masters I have seen in the county before. Maybe he is the son of a wealthy family in the city.”

　　”Oh, he smiled at us before he left. I didn’t expect the young masters in the city to have such a good temper,” he said in his heart. He smiled at me, his face turned red just thinking about it. Spring is here. The heart of spring is rippling.

　　”Brother Ming is still keeping his filial piety for Dahu, but he let such a young man come to his door. Brother Ming, could this be…” The unfinished words made people think.

　　”It’s just a joke. The young masters in this city are served by gers who are more handsome than the most outstanding-looking guy in our village. I don’t even think about how someone who wears gold and silver would like a country ger.”

　　”I haven’t taken a fancy to this handsome young man, but I can’t keep my ger’s heart…” He left his words unfinished, which aroused a burst of ridicule from people who had the same opinion. In the middle of the laugh, he felt a cold gaze coming towards him, which made him stiff. His back felt cold, and he turned around, only to see Li Feng driving away.

　　When Li Feng turned the corner and disappeared, these few people patted their hearts and said, “This boy Feng is so scary, he is from the village. He never smiles all day long. It’s frightening! I feel sorry for Brother Ming.” He’s been ditched now, but he’s a young master from the city. How dare this young man Li Feng compete with others? Bah!”

　　”No wonder Brother Ming is getting more handsome as he grows older. Ouch, I’m embarrassed to say it.” There was a burst of goosebumps-inducing laughter.

　The other people passing by frowned in disgust and subconsciously quickened their pace to stay away from these people, they were talking imprudently. Although they were also envious of Brother Ming in their hearts, they were not as bad as these gers. They were so spiteful that they made it sound like they were telling the truth.