Chapter 18: Heaven Won’t Hear, Earth Won’t Answer

“Mother!”

“Dashu, what are you doing here at this hour?”

“I came to tell you something. I’m leaving right after.”

“What is it?” The old woman tensed—could something have happened to her daughter?

After a back-and-forth exchange, she asked, “Are you sure?”

“Positive. Also, isn’t there a big bamboo forest in your village? Pick the shoots and send them to the Liu family next to us—they’re buying.”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you from all the way out here? Lihua’s mother is still waiting for me—we have to go!”

“Would you like to drink some water?” The old woman suddenly remembered—they’d been standing at the doorway chattering all this time and hadn’t even let him inside. How senile of her.

“No need, I’m not thirsty. We’ll head off now. I’ll come visit you another day!” As he spoke, he handed her the pastries the shopkeeper had given him. Aiya, in such a rush—he should’ve bought some meat for his mother-in-law while he was in town.

…

“Father, how do you plan to collect the bamboo shoots? If we pick them ourselves, not only will it be exhausting, we won’t gather much.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Buy them from the villagers. One copper coin per jin. They pick them and strip the outer leaves before handing them over.”

“Hiss—”

His daughter sure was ruthless. They’d be pocketing seven copper coins pure profit, just for boiling the shoots?

“One coin—won’t they think that’s too little?”

Zhao Zhenyu stopped in her tracks and looked at him seriously. “Father, how much does a jin of leafy greens sell for? Not only do you need to grow them for months, they’re also hard to sell.”

There was no room for bleeding-heart kindness. If she could make money, that was her skill.

Zhao Dashu suddenly came to his senses. He grabbed her and kept walking. “You’re right. We’re also paying Uncle Liu wages, so we shouldn’t be partners. I’ve heard too many stories of brothers falling out over silver.”

“Exactly. That’s what I meant. After all, to the outside world, it’s their business. If we’re asking them to act as our front, we shouldn’t underpay. How about this—thirty copper coins per person, per day?”

“That works. That’s more than one tael a month—not bad at all.” Where else could you find such a good gig?

“You go talk to them.”

“Got it!”

Bamboo shoots are all about freshness—once the season passes, that’s it.

“Shunzi! Hey, Shunzi!”

“What’s up?” This stuff was really easy to dig. He’d already filled four baskets in less than a day. Hauling them down the mountain, no one even batted an eye. After all, they were just wild weeds.

“Stop digging for a sec—I need to talk to you. I’m collecting bamboo shoots from the forest. Want to help?”

“What do you want those for? You can’t eat or drink them.”

“They’re very much edible. I’ve made a deal with a restaurant in the county. They want them. You and your wife help me—how about it?”

“No more digging dandelions?” That stuff brought in a decent sum every day.

“Nope. Let my mother-in-law’s side take over. The county can’t consume that much anyway.”

“Help you pick bamboo shoots?” This guy was always full of surprises—one idea more out-there than the last.

“Not pick—collect. Others will do the picking. You and I will handle the receiving in the Courtyard. Your wife and mine will take care of removing the bitterness. I’ll pay you thirty copper coins a day—not together, per person. Deal?”

“You’re serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Hard to say whether he was joking or not—but he definitely didn’t seem reliable.

“Stop digging. Come over to my place. Let’s talk it over. And bring Sister-in-law too.”

Madam Zheng: …

Well, whatever. They’d already cleared the patch of mushrooms anyway. Their daughter said the two families should sit down and discuss how to handle the work.

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

Liu Shunzi had no choice but to grab his wife and follow.

“Uncle, Aunt—you’re here!”

Dashu’s daughter, Zhenyu, seemed different from before.

“Shunzi, here’s the deal—you know I can’t let the old house know I’m making money, so I need you and your wife to be the face of this. I need your reputation.”

“That’s fine. If we’re doing it, then we’re doing it.”

“When you get back, talk to the village chief. Tell him you’re collecting bamboo shoots—one copper coin per jin. Only want tender shoots—no old ones. If there are old ones, cut them down. All shoots must be stripped of their leaves.”

“Got it. How much are we collecting?” Surely they wouldn’t let people pick freely—there was no way they could eat that many shoots.

“As many as we can get.” His daughter had said once the season passed, they’d be gone. So collect as many as possible. If they couldn’t sell them all, she’d pickle them or dry them. Whatever she said, he’d do—he was just a tool man.

“You’re sure? We can really use that many?”

“Yes. But you and Auntie will need to work hard—there’s a lot to do.”

Hard work was nothing to a farming family. Liu Shunzi thought it over but hesitated. “Dashu, the thing is… I don’t have money to pay people! All the private savings in our house add up to just over twenty copper coins. That won’t get us far, especially with no cap on how much we’re collecting.”

Silver? Ha! With a rich backer like his daughter, he wasn’t the least bit worried. She was like a walking gold mine—just from selling medicinal herbs, she brought home over ten taels a day. Today, she sold a recipe and got dozens more. He pulled five taels from his pocket—his daughter had just handed it to him.

“Here, use this to start. If it’s not enough, I’ll give you more.”

What the heck!?

Liu Shunzi fell right off the rock he was sitting on, and Madam Zheng nearly lost her balance too.

After a long pause, in a trembling voice, he asked softly, “You earned this digging herbs?” Had this guy found ginseng? He’d heard ginseng was incredibly valuable—even a single root hair could cost a fortune, especially the older ones.

“Of course. Why else do you think my whole family’s been holed up in the mountains every day?”

Zhao Dashu stood up straight, chin slightly lifted, full of pride. Just look—he pulled out a bit of silver and scared the guy into falling on his backside.

Zhao Zhenyu, watching from the side, had to lower her eyes. She really couldn’t bear to look.

“You brat—you’re something else!” Liu Shunzi clapped him on the shoulder, sincerely impressed. If Dashu could fork out that much silver, then this bamboo shoot business must be legit.

“No kidding!”

Liu Shunzi: Geez, say you’re great and you really go puffing up!

“Let’s go back now.”

“Wait. Later, I’ll have the wife and Zhenyu help out at your place—I’ll come too. You and I will handle receiving; the women will deal with removing bitterness. We’ll work at your entrance—no one gets into the Courtyard.”

Liu Shunzi nodded in understanding. “Got it. If they want to sell, they’ll have to play by our rules. But… your Father—what do we do about him?”

“He agreed to let me rest for ten days. I’ll deal with whatever comes after that.”

Seeing his resigned expression, Liu Shunzi was quiet for a moment. Then he said sincerely, “Dashu, we’ve been brothers for over twenty years. Let me say something from the heart: divide the household early.” Otherwise, by the time the Zhao Family had sucked him dry and tossed him out, he’d really be left calling to the heavens with no answer, crying to the earth with no help, his whole family doomed.

Zhao Dashu looked down at his two strong legs, groaning inwardly. So in the end, he still couldn’t protect them?

“Uncle Shunzi, it’s not that my Father doesn’t want to split the family—it’s that Grandfather won’t let us leave.”

Damn!