The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 273

 

| TBBOTOF | 273

The few coins he got made him stare.

If Wu Hong remembered correctly, that pork jerky was made by Tang Xu

At the beginning of the year, Wei Dong started coordinating with the caravan. Every time he had to carefully plan the quantity and make arrangements.

Although Wei Dong had six or seven men to accompany the cart, the caravan usually had a large number of carts to manage. If his goods exceeded the capacity, the caravan had to prepare extra carts in advance. 

Otherwise, if they ended up with over ten big crates and only five or six carts, it would be a real problem.

Because of this, Tang Xu often heard Wei Dong discussing the items to be transported with Zhao Ming over those couple of days.

Given that each trip lasted a long time and all sorts of issues could arise on the road, Tang Xu always made sure Wei Dong was well-equipped, especially preparing various snacks and dried meats for him.

That said, Wei Dong wasn’t the stingy type. The men who accompanied him on these trade trips also got to enjoy the snacks specially prepared for him by his husband. 

Every time Wei Dong shared them, his expression was filled with pride.

Tang Xu had previously made pork jerky at home. It involved pounding lean meat into a paste, mixing it with various seasonings, and then pressing it into a thin sheet on a baking tray. After baking it in the oven for about ten minutes, you’d take it out to cool and cut it into palm-sized pieces with a knife.

For the elders and children at home, he would cut the jerky into small pieces to make it easy for them to eat. 

But for Wei Dong, he’d prepare larger chunks.

Before leaving, Tang Xu had prepared two boxes of jerky. He ate one box on the road. 

To be honest, this was much tastier than the tough, hard jerky, and even now, when Wu Hong thinks about that taste, he can’t help but salivate.

After Boss Liu left with the goods, Wu Hong couldn’t resist and went up to ask, “Brother Dong, isn’t that pork jerky the snack that Brother Xu made for you? Why are you selling it?”

Wei Dong shot him a cold glance, and Wu Hong immediately felt his skin tighten.

He thought Wei Dong was angry, but to his surprise, Wei Dong just said, “I eat enough of it. I’m sick of it.”

The meaning was that Wei Dong had eaten too much of the pork jerky and was starting to feel tired of it. However, he didn’t want to fully give away the snacks that his husband had made for him. 

Normally, sharing with the people around him was fine, but he wasn’t willing to give them all away, so he decided to sell it instead. The money earned from it could be used to buy other little things for his husband, which seemed like a good plan.

Wu Hong’s face twitched at this explanation—he never expected such a reason.

Wei Dong didn’t say anything more to him and got up to head towards the room where the goods were stored.

Boss Liu took away five boxes, leaving eight boxes that Wei Dong had brought over. These boxes were filled with air-dried marinated duck and chicken. 

Although the quantity was considerable, after the last visit, Wei Dong wasn’t sure if Boss Liu had already placed an order with him. 

When the time came, another four boxes would be taken away. The remaining one box was meant for gifts, and the boxes left behind could be sold at the market.

Yes, he had bought a shop at the market.

Though he had purchased the shop, he couldn’t move in just yet. It still needed some tidying up. 

Additionally, the shop interior needed some renovation, with shelves and cabinets being a necessity.

“Come with me tomorrow,” Wei Dong said to Wu Hong behind him.

Wu Hong didn’t ask any more questions and simply nodded.

Wei Dong was a very efficient person. Once he had figured out how to set up the shop, he immediately contacted a carpenter to have the necessary cabinets made in advance.

It was only at this point that Wu Hong learned Wei Dong had bought a shop at the market.

That’s real money!

Wu Hong thought to himself.

“Ah Dong, do you plan to hire people here?”

Wei Dong shook his head. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Wu Hong’s eyes twinkled, and he said, “You could rent it out.”

Wei Dong raised an eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.

“When the caravan comes, you can use this place to sell goods. When they leave, you can rent out the shop. That way, even if there are no goods here, the shop won’t be left empty,” Wu Hong explained.

Wei Dong lowered his gaze, thinking for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s not a good idea.” 

He considered that if the shop was rented out and didn’t become popular for selling goods, then even if they brought in a lot of products, they would still end up in the same situation as now, needing to find ways to sell them elsewhere.

He looked at Wu Hong and stared at him for a long while without speaking.

Wu Hong felt uneasy under his gaze, unsure of how to stand.

“Brother…Brother Dong, what are you trying to tell me?”

“Can you make marinated duck and chicken?” Wei Dong asked him.

Wu Hong nodded. “Yes, I can. Back home, I used to make them with my mother.” 

He was quick-witted and immediately realized the purpose of Wei Dong’s question. His eyes widened in surprise. “Brother Dong, are you planning to have me open a marinated meat shop here?”

“Mm,” Wei Dong nodded. “You can open a marinated meat shop. Every time the caravan comes, they’ll bring you air-dried marinated meats, and you can sell both kinds together.”

Wu Hong was confused. “But if it's marinated, will they still buy the air-dried ones?”

“Two different flavors, how could they not sell? Plus, this kind of product can be stored for a long time and can be sold for a good price elsewhere,” Wei Dong thought it over more and more, finding the idea increasingly feasible. 

However, he realized that it wouldn’t work for Wu Hong to run the shop alone—he’d still need someone to help him.

Wei Dong thought of Zhao Ming.

When Wei Dong first brought Zhao Ming back, he had planned to train him for trade work, but Zhao Ming’s personality wasn’t suited to dealing with people; he was too reserved. It would be better to leave him here to help Wu Hong run the shop.

“If I have you and Zhao Ming run the shop here, do you think it would work?” Wei Dong asked.

Wu Hong thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, it would.”

But…

“But my mother probably wouldn’t agree.” He was already away from home, and if he left again, it would break her heart, especially since his father’s health wasn’t good right now.

He sighed and said, “Brother Dong, let’s discuss this matter a bit more.”

Wei Dong responded with a “Mm,” agreeing that they needed to think it over.

Anyway, the shop had already been bought, so there was no rush to start the business. They would first move from the rented house to the shop.

In the past few days, when there was nothing else to do, Wei Dong wandered around various markets and even brought back a skinny, half-grown boy.

When he brought him back, Wu Hong was shocked. The boy looked nervous and frightened, and Wu Hong, gathering his courage, grabbed Wei Dong’s arm.

Wei Dong turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Brother Dong, why did you buy people again?” Wu Hong pointed at the awkwardly standing boy.

“We need someone who can work here,” Wei Dong said, waving toward Zhao Ming. “I told you yesterday—you’ll work with him.”

Zhao Ming nodded. “Got it.”

Last night, Wei Dong had told Zhao Ming about keeping him here to help run the marinated meat shop. Zhao Ming didn’t show any resistance and seemed a little happy about it.

He wasn’t a talkative person, and it was rare for Wei Dong to see him express emotion, so he asked.

Zhao Ming’s answer was simple and straightforward.

He spoke directly, "I'm very happy to help you."

He was a person who understood gratitude and reciprocated kindness. Even though he had been bought, he didn’t feel looked down upon.

Especially after coming to the Wei family, he had been treated very well.

"I know my personality is dull, and I don’t do many things well, but I can learn," Zhao Ming said, his eyes bright as he looked at Wei Dong. "Brother Dong, I won’t let you and Brother Xu down."

Wei Dong thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, I believe you."

In mid-April, Tang Xu received a letter from Wei Dong.

It was a large sheet of paper, filled with quite a bit of writing.

Tang Xu looked at the sprawling handwriting and sighed heavily. He then called out, “Ah Xi! Come read this letter, your brother’s handwriting is giving me a headache!”

Wei Xi, who had been weeding in the front yard garden, straightened up when he heard the call, a smile spreading across his face.

He and Tang Yang had been weeding the garden, and initially, it was just the two of them doing the work. But to their surprise, the children couldn’t sit still. Seeing them busy, they found it interesting and decided to join in the gardening.

The various vegetables in the garden had all sprouted, some already growing quite tall, but the weeds grew faster than the vegetable seedlings. Every few days, they had to come in and pull the weeds, or else they would take away the nutrients meant for the vegetable plants.

The little ones weren't capable of doing this kind of work. Wei Xi and Tang Yang not only had to pull the weeds themselves but also had to watch out for the children, making sure they didn’t accidentally pull up the vegetable seedlings, thinking they were weeds. 

They also had to remind them not to step on the plants, or else the seedlings would be trampled to death, ruining the whole crop.

This was much more exhausting than doing the work themselves, but unfortunately, the kids wouldn’t go away. They insisted on helping in the garden.

Now, hearing Tang Xu call him, Wei Xi shook off the fatigue and felt refreshed.

“Ah Yang, keep an eye on them. Don’t let them step on the seedlings.”

Tang Yang looked at his cheerful retreating figure and then at the children who were pulling up garlic shoots along with the weeds, sweating all over.

“Brother, I can read letters too! Why didn’t you call me?!”

“Er Bao! That’s garlic, not a weed!”

“Xiao Bao~ that’s chives, not a weed!”

“Da Bao! You stepped on the persimmon seedlings!”

“Ahhhhh! You guys!” Tang Yang suddenly yelled and held his head, his voice loud.

The children was startled by his shout, and they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

Tang Yang took a deep breath, pointed outside the garden, and sternly commanded, “Go play outside! Don’t cause any more trouble, or else I’ll eat all of your snacks!”

The threat was serious, and the children quickly ran out of the garden. But then Tang Yang noticed that they had stepped on a few more vegetable seedlings.

Luckily, the garden was big, or he would have been really upset.

All of them quickly ran into the house, and when they entered, Tang Xu looked up and said, “You got yelled at, huh? You guys didn’t listen and went to cause trouble.”

They were covered in dirt, with mud all over. Tang Xu glanced at his eldest son and said, “Go, take them and wash up.”

All three of them rushed out again.

Wei Xi, having cleaned himself up, came over and took the letter. He unfolded it, scanned it quickly, and frowned. “My brother bought another person.”

Tang Xu raised an eyebrow. “Did he buy the shop?”

“Yes, he did,” Wei Xi clicked his tongue and couldn’t help but say, “He spent eight hundred taels. The shop has a  front and a small yard in the back—so expensive.”

“Not really expensive,” Tang Xu replied lightly. “What else?”

“He plans to leave Zhao Ming there and have him run the marinated meat shop,” Wei Xi turned the page. “Also, he might return later, he’s going to Mincheng City to pick up his aunt and uncle. His uncle’s illness can be treated.”

Tang Xu nodded. “That’s good.”

“Brother, do you think Zhao Ming will be okay running the shop there?” Wei Xi asked, a bit worried.

Tang Xu thought for a moment and said, “There’s nothing wrong with it. Zhao Ming is reliable. Letting him run the shop might actually work out.”

“What if he takes the money and runs?” Wei Xi said, still uneasy.

“Where would he run to? His identity documents are all here with me. Even if he does take the money and run, where can he go?” This was one of the reasons Tang Xu was reassured.

Here, everything is tied to identity documents. These documents are stamped with several official seals, and they can't easily be forged. Besides, if someone moves to a new city and wants to stay there, they need to get a certificate from the local government.

In short, even if Zhao Ming wanted to run, he wouldn’t have valid identification. He would be an illegal resident—one of those people who would get caught immediately if someone checked.

“Being caught as an illegal resident is no joke. They might even send him to the frontier to dig stones,” Tang Xu added.

Wei Xi was still uneasy, but he didn’t have any other concerns.

Tang Xu wasn’t completely at ease either. He was still considering that he’d need to find someone trustworthy from their own circle to go.

Someone from their own circle...

He frowned slightly. Right now, it seemed that the only people who could live there and whom he could trust and capable were Tang Li and Liu Yao.

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