The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 202

 

| TBBOTOF | 202

Li San's son was already half a year old. 

Although Liu Qiaoniang didn’t have to endure her mother-in-law's temper anymore, Liu Qiaoniang now had to take care of the little child every day. 

Li San was the only one in the household capable of working to earn money. Even so, relying solely on his efforts, the land was still not enough to support them.

To put it this way, with the addition of a son, there was more work to be done on the land. 

Ironically, it wasn't that they were spending more money, but rather that their expenses exceeded their income, making it a struggle to make ends meet.

Word spread around, and many people thought Wei Dong had lost his mind, leaving behind a stable life to go off and take risks. 

However, Li San felt that there was money to be made.

At that time, Li San’s son was too young. If he had decided to follow Wei Dong and leave, life at home would have been even more difficult.

Therefore, Li San wanted to have a word with Wei Dong, telling him that if he ever went out on another trip, Li San would join him.

But as things turned out, Wei Dong had been too busy recently. It wasn’t just Li San who couldn't meet him; he could hardly see Tang Xu. 

Then, their son got sick, which exhausted both Li San and his wife. With the spring plowing season underway, he had even fewer chances to find Wei Dong.

It was only after much effort that Li San finally managed to catch Tang Xu and had to stop him for a chat.

"I wanted to ask when Dongzi plans to leave again. If he goes out on another trading trip, could he take me along? I can work as his assistant." 

Although Li San hadn’t spent much time with Tang Xu, he had sensed that Tang Xu wasn’t the type who liked beating around the bush, so he got straight to the point.

Li San was in his thirties, having done physical labor for many years. His body was muscular and rock-hard. Though he wasn’t particularly tall, he wasn’t short either. 

He had the appearance of a sturdy, reliable man at a glance.

Tang Xu thought for a moment and said, "I'm not exactly sure when he'll be leaving again, but if this batch of goods sells well, it'll have to wait until the next batch is ready before they can leave. Otherwise, we won't have anything to sell."

He was a bit troubled himself, thinking about how they had taken a thousand dried ducks on the last trip, and it still felt like it wasn’t enough.

"Honestly, I wouldn't recommend you joining the trade caravan," Tang Xu said as he stepped aside to let others pass on the village road. "How about helping us with the duck preparation instead? We could have your wife come over and learn from me."

Li San's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could that work? That’s your craft!"

They needed money, but he couldn't just take someone else's trade secrets to benefit himself.

Tang Xu smiled and replied, "I'm not giving you the recipe. Instead, I'll provide you with spice packs. You can use those to braise the ducks, and then dry them. After that, I'll buy the dried ducks from you."

Since Li San and his wife were known for their hard work, Tang Xu was willing to offer them the same price he gave to Luo Pingping.

When Li San heard that they would need to prepare at least three hundred ducks, he was a bit shocked.

It took him a while to swallow hard and respond, "Three hundred? Isn't that a bit too much?"

"It's not enough," Tang Xu sighed. "Three hundred is nowhere near enough. If you could manage to prepare five hundred, that would be perfect."

 He said this with a look of regret, as if disappointed they couldn't make five hundred ducks.

Li San was left speechless.

Tang Xu roughly calculated that if they bought 300 live ducks, after processing them, they would end up with around three to five liang.

Previously, they had collected ducks from the village, and now many villagers were raising ducks with the intention of selling them to him once they were grown. 

By the time they did a third round of collecting, they might not need to travel to neighboring villages for more ducks.

"I’ll go discuss this with Qiao’er. Expect a message from me in a day or two, and then I’ll come to your place so we can talk in more detail," Li San said seriously, looking intently at Tang Xu.

Tang Xu nodded, "Sure, come over with your wife, and bring the baby along too."

Li San smiled and agreed, "Alright, you all carry on with your work. I won’t take up more of your time."

Tang Yang and Wei Xi said their goodbyes to Li San, and Tang Xu added, "I’ll be waiting for you."

After parting ways, Tang Xu led his two younger brothers to the old family home.

Along the way, they ran into many people who knew him and greeted him warmly. Tang Xu had been thinking about visiting the village school for a while now, especially since several people had mentioned that the new schoolteacher was a young man who was said to be quite good at teaching.

After a few more brief chats, they finally arrived at the old family home, just as it was nearing lunchtime.

"What brings you here at this time?" Luo Pingping, hearing the commotion, peeked out from the kitchen. 

The moment she saw Tang Xu walking at the front, she came out in surprise, "Have you eaten yet?"

"We had breakfast before heading out, but I chatted with some folks along the way, and now it's already this time," Tang Xu said, feeling thirsty. "Auntie, can you get me some water? My mouth is completely dry."

Luo Pingping quickly told them to head to the main hall while she went to the kitchen to get water.

Hearing the commotion, the elderly grandmother came out of the house, accompanied by two little children.

Tang Xu grinned and handed the two kids some egg tarts he had made, then slipped one into the grandmother's hand. "Grandma, did you miss me?"

"Miss you? Didn't you just visit a couple of days ago!" Though she said this, her face was full of smiles. "Stay for lunch. I’ll ask your aunt to stew some chicken."

"Sure," Tang Xu agreed without hesitation. He took the basket from Tang Yang's hands and handed it to the grandmother. 

"I bought some new fabric for you and Grandpa. The weather's getting warmer, so you can make new clothes soon."

"Why buy more fabric? I haven't even made clothes from the material you gave us during the New Year! There are still two unused pieces from last year. You don’t need to keep buying fabric—where would we wear so many new clothes? We work all the time, and it'd be a waste of good material." Wu Guizhi playfully patted him but accepted the fabric anyway.

Tang Xu didn’t respond to that and instead handed over a small jar to Luo Pingping. "This is fermented tofu I made before the New Year. You said you liked the taste, so I brought you a jar."

"Oh, this is great! I’ve been wondering what to pair with porridge in the mornings," Luo Pingping wiped her hands on her apron before taking the jar. 

She lifted the lid, and a rich aroma of fermented saltiness, with a hint of alcohol, wafted out.

Hearing that Tang Xu was heading to the village school, Luo Pingping said, "You all go ahead. By the time you get back, lunch will be ready."

"Alright, thanks, Auntie." Tang Xu didn’t stand on ceremony, grabbed a handful of peanuts from the table, and gestured to the two younger boys with a nod. "Let’s go, we’ll check it out first."

Wang Cuicui and Xu Ze were around, and they could handle making lunch, so staying here for the meal wouldn’t cause any delay. 

Even if they left for the village school now, by the time they got back, lunch would probably be ready, given his walking speed.

Seeing that they hadn’t left for home right away, his aunt likely guessed that they planned to stay for lunch, so there was no need to worry about them going hungry.

With the two kids in tow, they headed towards the village school. After a few twists and turns, they reached the base of a small hill, where the school finally came into view.

A wooden sign hung above the entrance with the words “Village School” hastily written in ink.

The door was open, and from inside, the faint sound of students reciting their lessons could be heard.

Tang Xu knocked on the door, and soon a young woman appeared. Upon seeing Tang Xu, she hesitated for a moment, unsure, and asked, "Are you Xu Ge’er?"

Tang Xu was taken aback. *Am I that well-known?*

Noticing his confusion, the young woman smiled warmly and stepped aside to let them in. "I’ve bought your grilled skewers and cold noodles before."

Tang Xu raised an eyebrow and gave a polite smile. "Thanks for liking it." 

After all, if she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t have gone so far just to get a taste of the fresh food.

"My husband likes the skewers, and I prefer the cold noodles," the young woman said as she led them into the courtyard. She then asked, "Did you come by for something specific?"

Tang Xu stepped aside and pointed to Wei Xi and Tang Yang, who were following behind him. "These are my two younger brothers. I was wondering if there are any requirements for them to come and study here."

"Just a moment." The young woman walked over to a nearby room and knocked. After a short while, a young man emerged. 

Although he appeared youthful, he was probably around thirty years old. He was dressed like a scholar, clean-shaven, and looked quite tidy and fresh.

The young woman gestured to Tang Xu and his brothers, briefly explaining something to the man before heading over to the kitchen.

"My surname is Wei, given name Guang, styled Yuanshan. I’m the teacher here, responsible for the beginner class and the young scholars’ class," Wei Guang said as he cupped his hands in greeting, introducing himself.

Tang Xu, intrigued by the scholar’s refined manner, nodded and smiled. "Teacher Wei, you share the same surname as my husband?"

"We share the same surname, yes, but we’re not from the same clan. We don't know each other," Wei Guang replied as he motioned for them to follow him into the main hall.

Inside, the young woman from earlier had already poured water and placed it on the table. She gave them a warm smile before leaving the room.

"That's my wife," Wei Guang explained, "She’s responsible for making lunch for the students here at the village school."

Tang Xu nodded in understanding and then gestured to his two younger brothers, who had taken seats beside him. "These two younger brothers of mine are preparing to take the *tongsheng* exam soon. If they pass, I’d like to find a reliable tutor for them. We have an old family friend who might be able to teach them, but there will be a long gap in between. Leaving them to self-study during that time feels like a waste. So I wanted to ask if they could come here for a while and study under you."

Tang Xu’s plan was well thought out. Even though the family friend of the Old Wen’s might come to teach his brothers, it wasn’t guaranteed, and even if he did agree, it could take four to five months just for the arrangements.

 In the worst-case scenario, if the friend couldn’t come, his brothers’ time would be wasted. 

So, after discussing it with Wen Lao, they had decided it would be better for the boys to study at the village school in the meantime.

After listening, Wei Guang pondered for a moment. He neither agreed nor declined right away but instead tested the two boys with some questions.

Most of the questions focused on reciting passages from various texts, and Wei Guang also looked over a few pages of their written work.

After evaluating them, he nodded, clearly satisfied. "That works. We collect tuition every three months, so they can start whenever they want."

Under normal circumstances, Wei Guang wouldn’t have accepted new students so easily, but from the brief examination, he could tell that these two boys already knew more than many of the current students at the village school, so there was no issue.

Tang Xu then asked about the tuition fee, which was one hundred *wen* per student for three months.

 Lunch wasn’t included, but if they wanted to have lunch at the school, it would cost an additional thirty *wen* per month per person.

For a village school, the tuition was not cheap.

Still, those who can afford to send their children to study are usually willing to spend the money, Tang Xu thought. 

A hundred *wen* for three months isn't much, especially compared to the two silver taels per year charged by schools in the county.

Turning to Tang Yang and Wei Xi, Tang Xu asked, "What do you two think?"

The two young boys exchanged a glance and replied in unison, "We won't eat here."

Why would they give up the good food at home just to eat at the school? 

They weren't interested in that!

　

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