It was getting late, and Fu Wencheng and his companions bid their farewells.

Before leaving, Fu Wencheng reminded once more, “Wenyu, Mr. Tang’s last words essentially agreed to a request from you. You should save it for a crucial moment and not bring it up lightly.”

Scholar Zou also nodded in agreement, “Indeed, Wenyu, you should think carefully about this.”

Fu Wenyu agreed.

He felt that there was nothing he currently needed Mr. Tang’s help for, so rather than thinking about how to make a request to Mr. Tang, it would be better to simply regard him as an angel investor. With his modern mindset, he still felt he couldn’t accept such a valuable gift with ease.

Perhaps in the future, if there’s an opportunity, he could advertise Mr. Tang’s shops in his writings? For example, the Fuguilou Restaurant, known for its many lamb specialty dishes, could be featured in his next piece.

After seeing off Fu Wencheng and Scholar Zou, the three returned to the main hall.

Upon entering, they noticed that Mrs. Liu had sneaked in at some point and was eagerly eyeing the items on the table and the floor, holding a red box in her hand.

“Ahem…”

Fu Wenyu coughed twice, “Aunt, what are you doing?”

Mrs. Liu turned around, and upon seeing the stern-faced Fu Dashi and the smirking Fu Wenyu, she awkwardly said, “Oh, Wenyu, you’re back. Dad, I was just about to help Wenyu carry these back.”

“With so many things, wouldn’t it be tiring for you to carry them alone?”

Fu Wenyu, of course, wouldn’t say he was tired; in fact, he wasn’t, so he replied, “Aunt, I’m not tired at all, and I have help too.”

After saying this, he called out to the door, “Fu Rong, come help move these things.”

In front of Fu Qingshi and his wife, they made several trips to move all the items sent by the Tang family back to their own home. Fu Wenyu could no longer contain his laughter and chuckled with delight.

The twisted expressions on his uncle and aunt’s faces were truly a sight to behold.

Meanwhile, Fu Rong, touching the items, exclaimed in surprise, “Brother, are all these for our family?”

“Yes, they’re all for us.”

Fu Wenyu rummaged through the pile, found the gift list, and then separated the items accordingly, dividing them into several piles of varying sizes.

He then realized that the Tang family must have given careful consideration before sending these gifts.

There were three main piles.

One was for him, containing suitable fabrics, writing materials, and some books. Although the books were handwritten copies, not originals, their content was no worse than the ones he had lent out in exchange for food.

Another pile was for Mrs. Zhou, containing dignified fabrics and a set of silver jewelry. Fu Rong’s pile was similar, with fabrics in different colors and jewelry more suited to a younger taste. Clearly, they had been carefully prepared with their family situation in mind, leaving no one out.

Besides these, there were also gifts for Fu Dashi and the four members of the second branch.

However, theirs were not as valuable. Second Aunt’s pile not only lacked jewelry but also the fabrics were visibly inferior to Mrs. Zhou’s.

It seems the discord between the two branches was no secret.

Fu Wenyu didn’t mind.

He set aside some unmarked items, obviously standard pastries from shops, to be distributed later. Today, the clan leader and others had come to support him, and it was only right to thank them.

As for the gifts prepared by the Tang family for the second branch, not only did he not add to them, but he also took some out, leaving only two items that were neither valuable, attractive, nor sellable.

Yes, he was that petty.

Since only a superficial relationship remained between the two families, only superficial gestures were necessary.

By the time he finished sorting, Mrs. Zhou had returned.

She had clearly heard something on her way back, as she asked upon entering, “Wenyu, I heard that something happened with the wet nurse at Mr. Tang’s house, and he came to thank you today?”

“Yes,” Fu Wenyu pointed to the items in the room, “These are his gifts of thanks.”

Mrs. Zhou was surprised, “So many?”

On her way back, she had only heard that Mr. Tang had given them a piece of land and many gifts. But no one could specify exactly how much, each person exaggerating more than the last.

Mrs. Zhou had thought they were just making it up.

“Actually, there aren’t that many,” Fu Wenyu, having carefully reviewed the gift list, said, “Mostly pastries, preserved fruits, candies, and other edibles, clearly prepared for us to share with others. Additionally, there are tea, wine, fabrics, jewelry for you and sister, writing brushes and ink for me, and books, among other things.”

“Just the brushes and ink alone come in two boxes.”

After a careful review, Fu Wenyu felt that the Tang family had been considerate, not sending overly valuable items. The total value of these items should be less than a hundred taels.

Just then, Fu Rong suddenly exclaimed, “Mom, brother, come quickly, look at this! There’s a whole box of pouches here, filled with silver.”

Fu Wenyu: “…?”

He hurried over and found it was exactly as his sister said—a full box of about twenty embroidered pouches, each containing silver ingots, just like in the dramas.

Wow, with this addition, the total value was definitely more than a hundred taels.

For a moment, Fu Wenyu felt a complex mix of emotions.

Returning them was clearly out of the question. Fortunately, Fu Wenyu had already decided to regard Mr. Tang as his angel investor, so he quickly calmed down and handed the pouches to Mrs. Zhou.

Mrs. Zhou, touching the pouches, marveled, “These are made of fine materials.”

“These pouches, and these fabrics, some I’ve only seen at Mrs. Li’s place, said to be from the south of the Yangtze, costing several taels, even over ten taels per bolt, and the Tang family has sent so many.”

As she spoke, she seemed worried, clearly thinking about the principle of not accepting undue rewards.

Moreover, she had heard on her way back that the Tang family had also given fifty-three acres of land, which was the major part of the gift. Thinking about how the second branch of the Fu family had caused a fuss over a few acres of land, even considering marrying their daughter to landlord Chen’s foolish son for a dowry, Mrs. Zhou felt a complex mix of emotions.

Fu Wenyu, however, didn’t think too much about it.

Not accepting gifts was one thing, but since they had been accepted, there was no need to overthink it. He will just give back when he has the ability, so he was quite at ease.

After comforting his worried mother, Fu Wenyu had her and his sister stay at home while he went out to deliver the sorted gift boxes and pastries, preserved fruits, and candies to various families. Everyone was curious about Mr. Tang, and almost everyone he met on the way wanted to chat with him, of course focusing on the fifty-three acres of land, with some even asking if he was willing to sell it.

Of course, Fu Wenyu wasn’t going to sell the land, as he wasn’t short of money now, so he declined all offers. After much delay, he returned just in time for dinner.

“Wenyu, come eat.”

Mrs. Zhou called out, “I’ve already been to your grandfather and uncle’s place with Rong’er. Your grandfather said you should get up early tomorrow, and he’ll take you to the government office to transfer the land deed.”

“Once it’s registered, the land will be yours.”

Fu Wenyu nodded, “Understood, mom.”

“Actually, when I went to deliver things to the clan leader’s house earlier, he said the same thing.” The Tang family handled things meticulously; today, along with the land deed, they had also sent the signed transfer documents, so they only needed to go to the government office tomorrow to complete the transfer, without needing the Tang family to be involved again.

Fu Rong, however, was unhappy, “Brother, Aunt complained that we gave too little, she wanted more, but mom and I didn’t agree, and grandfather scolded her for being greedy.”

“Let them be.”

Fu Wenyu replied indifferently, thinking it better to save the good stuff for the uncles and brothers who would help with the house construction in a few days, rather than giving it to them.

Mrs. Zhou clearly thought the same, “I’ve already arranged with your sixth aunt to help with the cooking. She’ll also buy the ingredients, we’ll just give her the money.”

But mentioning this reminded her of something, so she said to Fu Wenyu, “Wenyu, since the family is now better off, why don’t you go back to school? Last time when we visited the embroidery shop, Madam Li also asked about your studies.”

“Mom thinks you should continue your education.”

Mentioning Madam Li naturally reminded Fu Wenyu of the Li family’s kindness to him.

So he said, “Mom, pick some items from what the Tang family sent and take them to Madam Li. Although we agreed to deduct the money we owe them from the future profits of the velvet flowers, now that the Tang family has sent so many things, I think we should send some over as a gesture of goodwill.”

“As for studying, I need to ask the teacher first.”

He remembered that when he left the private school, the teacher had comforted him, saying his knowledge was sufficient to take the county exam, and advised him not to forget his studies even after returning home.

If that’s the case, perhaps he could study at home?

That would be ideal.

After all, he was currently in mourning, and there was still a long time before the county exam. Studying at home would give him more freedom to do as he pleased.

Mrs. Zhou didn’t understand much about the imperial examinations, only reminding him to find time to ask.

Tonight’s dinner, as usual, included eggs, one poached egg per person, with Mrs. Zhou sprinkling a bit of sesame oil and chopped green onions on top, making it fragrant when served.

After finishing the meal, the three of them had also settled all the family matters.

Mrs. Zhou and Fu Rong would go to the Li Embroidery Shop tomorrow to teach the embroiderers how to make velvet flowers, aiming to produce more before the New Year. Fu Wenyu, having just finished his last manuscript and not yet started the next, would stay home to help with the house construction. They could hire someone to cook, and buying more meat would keep people from gossiping, but as the only male in the family, Fu Wenyu couldn’t shirk his responsibility in the construction work.

…

While the Fu family was having dinner, families in Fujia Village and beyond were also gathering for their evening meals.

Common folks usually didn’t adhere to the custom of ‘no talking during meals or before sleep,’ so they would chat about the latest news while eating, especially since some liked to eat at their doorsteps, village entrances, or alleyways, chatting with others as they ate. Thus, in just an afternoon and evening, news about ‘Mr. Tang’s son being swapped,’ ‘the storybook coming true,’ ‘Mr. Tang sending lavish gifts,’ ‘fifty acres of land,’ and so on spread rapidly throughout Liuzhou.

First within the city, then to villages along the way, and then to other places.

Fujia Village was no exception.

So the next day, after breakfast, many who were not home yesterday or were curious about what the Tang family had sent came to visit the Fu family, wanting to see the land deed and what valuable gifts Mr. Tang had given to Fu Wenyu.

But unfortunately, they didn’t see anyone, only the second branch of the Fu family was at home.