The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 275

 

| TBBOTOF | 275

The ox cart wasn’t fast, but it was steady, rocking gently and almost lulling him to sleep. He yawned several times in succession, struggling to resist the urge to rub his eyes.

Still, he wasn’t the kind of person to let his guard down easily; no matter how drowsy he was, he wouldn’t sleep.

With his head bowed and his bundle clutched in his arms, he looked like he was on the verge of dozing off. Perhaps that was why the other three in the cart didn’t bother to strike up a conversation with him.

One of the women, though, was overly enthusiastic and curious. She chatted away about how she raised plenty of ducks at home, and asked him to prioritize buying her ducks the next time they needed to collect them.

Ever since his family started selling braised duck and chicken, the villagers had increased the number of poultry they raised. 

But as Wei Dong began expanding their trade routes, the demand from their family alone became too large for the village’s supply. They had to source their poultry from outside.

Tang Xu didn’t agree to the woman’s request immediately. After all, each time he collected poultry, he needed to inspect their size and condition. He wouldn’t take them if they were too thin, and he didn’t want ones that were too fat, either.

The ox cart ambled along until it entered the town. The Tang family’s braised goods shop was located on the main street, a bit farther from the town gate. The ox cart couldn’t go that far, so Tang Xu had to walk the rest of the way himself.

The streets were lively, lined with vendors selling breakfast: buns, wontons, noodles—there was plenty to choose from.

When he arrived at the shop, the front door was locked—it clearly wasn’t open for business yet.

Tang Xu circled around to the back street, but the back door was shut as well. From the courtyard, he could hear people talking.

“Dad!” Tang Xu called out loudly.

Tang Erhu had just washed his face and was using a cloth to dry off the water when he paused, hearing someone call out "Dad."

"Did I just hear Xu Ge’er’s voice?" he wondered aloud.

Wang Cuicui walked over to pick up the washbasin and said, “You must still be half-asleep. I told you to rest a bit longer—you’re not fully recovered yet.”

“Rest, my foot! Lying around makes me feel stiff all over, and there’s so much work to do,” Tang Erhu grumbled discontentedly.

“Dad! Auntie!” Tang Xu called again, knocking on the door.

The two in the courtyard were stunned for a moment. After exchanging a glance, they quickly made their way to the back door.

Wang Cuicui opened the door, her face lighting up with surprise and delight as she looked at Tang Xu. “What brings you here? Is Dongzi back?”

Tang Xu shook his head lightly. “He’s not back yet. I came to talk to Ah Li and Ah Yao about something.”

Seeing his older son arrive, Tang Erhu was visibly happy, but as soon as he realized Tang Xu had come alone, his expression immediately darkened. His tone grew stern as he scolded, “What nonsense is this!”

“Dad, just look at my face. My cousin specially applied powder for me. I came by ox cart, and no one noticed me,” Tang Xu said while observing his father’s expression. His brows furrowed slightly. “Dad, are you feeling unwell? I think I heard Auntie say earlier that you’re not fully recovered?”

“I’m fine. See? Don’t I look perfectly fine now?” Tang Erhu waved dismissively, clearly unconcerned. “What are you here to see those two about?”

As he was speaking, Liu Yao and Tang Li both came out of their respective rooms. Though they were engaged, since they weren’t yet married, Tang Erhu was strict about them not sharing a room.

“Brother!” Tang Li called out cheerfully as she ran over upon seeing Tang Xu. But when she got a closer look at his face, she froze momentarily, then burst out laughing. “What happened to your face? What did you put on it?”

She didn’t immediately think he might be sick.

Tang Xu sighed and rubbed at his face, showing her the powder that came off on his fingertip. “I was planning to just smear a bit of black ash, but my cousin insisted on using powder. My face feels itchy now. Let me go wash it off first; I’ll talk to you two after.”

With that, he quickly walked into the house.

“Xu Ge’er, have you eaten yet?” Wang Cuicui called after him.

“I have, Auntie. Don’t save me a portion.”

Despite his reply, they still set aside some food for him. Tang Xu sat at the table, holding a bowl of porridge. The ox cart ride, though steady, had been jostling enough to leave his stomach feeling unsettled.

“What made you come all the way here?” Tang Erhu asked, taking a sip of his own porridge before speaking.

Tang Xu had originally planned to first discuss the matter with Tang Li and Liu Yao to hear their opinions. If they didn’t want to go, he wouldn’t mention it to Tang Erhu.

But now that his father had asked directly, there was no point in hiding it.

“Ah Dong bought a property in Yongcheng—a shop with a small courtyard, enough for someone to live in.” As soon as Tang Xu said this, the other four people present turned their attention to him.

By now, the family had become almost desensitized to the idea of Ah Dong buying properties here and there. But hearing that it was in Yongcheng, Tang Erhu was stunned for quite a while.

Yongcheng!

Even though he’d never been there, he’d heard of it—a major city in the region, famous for its wealth. It was said that anyone who could afford to live there must be very well-off. 

His son-in-law did business in Yongcheng, and every time he returned, he brought back all sorts of fine goods.

Still, Tang Erhu never expected that they would go so far as to buy a shop there!

“You bought property there? Are you planning to move to Yongcheng?” Tang Erhu voiced his confusion. “Didn’t you just start building a new house here?”

“No,” Tang Xu replied, setting down his bowl and using his chopsticks to pick up a small piece of pickled radish. “Ah Dong’s idea is to leave Zhao Ming there to run a braised goods shop. He’s also hired three more people to help out. But I think it’s important for at least one of us from the family to go as well.”

He chewed on the pickled radish, his gaze landing squarely on Liu Yao.

Liu Yao had just taken a bite of his steamed bun. When he looked up and met Tang Xu’s eyes, he nearly swallowed it whole.

“Brother Xu? What are you trying to say?” he asked nervously.

Tang Xu raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t said anything yet. That’s why I came here—to talk this over with you two.”

Tang Erhu furrowed his brows slightly but kept silent.

Liu Yao turned his head to look at Tang Li, who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

Truthfully, after his initial surprise, Liu Yao felt a surge of excitement. If he lacked ambition, he wouldn’t have agreed to follow them to town and help open a shop in the first place. 

What set him apart was his grounded nature—he wasn’t one for scheming, and he was wholeheartedly devoted to Tang Li.

“Here’s the way I see it,” Tang Xu said, setting his chopsticks down. “I was thinking that after you two get married, you could move there and develop something for yourselves. But if you don’t want to go, that’s fine too. Zhao Ming is steady enough, and we’ve got his papers in hand. He’s not likely to do anything that would hurt our family’s business.”

Tang Xu had always believed in trusting those he worked with. Although it carried some risks, he was confident that this particular gamble was manageable.

Liu Yao nodded. “Big Brother, let me think it over.”

Tang Li pressed her lips together and lowered her head without speaking.

Tang Xu glanced at her but didn’t push further.

After breakfast, they got busy with their work. Tang Xu helped prepare the chickens and ducks for braising, while Tang Li stayed quietly beside him, unusually silent.

With a sigh, Tang Xu said, “Ah Li, tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Brother, I’m scared,” Tang Li admitted. The idea of starting over in an unfamiliar place was something she had never dared to consider.

“What else, besides being scared?” Tang Xu asked calmly.

Tang Li bit her lip, hesitated, then glanced up to gauge his expression. Seeing the gentle look on his face, she gathered her courage and said, “I’m afraid that if we go there, I might not do well, and we won’t make any money.”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Tang Xu said reassuringly. “When you started selling braised goods in town, you started from scratch too. Over in Yongcheng, we’ve already built a reputation by selling dried braised duck, so the name is out there. The shop will cater to city residents for braised goods, and the dried braised products can be sold to markets outside.

“We definitely won’t lose money,” he added confidently. “You can count on that.”

Tang Xu, while grounded in his rural roots, had a broader perspective thanks to his different experiences and education.

“What if we run into trouble there?” Tang Li asked hesitantly. Being in an unfamiliar place, with no one to turn to for advice, was a daunting thought.

“Ah Dong must have already made the necessary arrangements,” Tang Xu reassured her. “If we focus on honest business, trouble won’t just come looking for us. And even if it does, it’s nothing to be afraid of.”

He noticed, however, that she still seemed resistant, and he sighed inwardly. It seemed unlikely that the plan would work out.

Sure enough, later that day, when Liu Yao was driving the ox cart to take Tang Xu back to the village, he brought up the matter.

“Brother Xu, I don’t think I can go to Yongcheng,” Liu Yao said as he guided the cart. Tang Xu couldn’t see his expression but could hear the heaviness in his voice.

It wasn’t hard to guess that Tang Li had refused, even though Liu Yao himself likely wanted to go.

After thinking for a moment, Tang Xu said, “How about this? Next time, you and Ah Li join the trade caravan for a trip to Yongcheng. Go see the place for yourselves. If you think it’ll work, we can discuss it further.”

Liu Yao turned his head, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. “Really?”

“Of course. I’ll talk to Ah Dong about it when he gets back,” Tang Xu said, patting Liu Yao on the shoulder. “Don’t be discouraged. I know you want to go out and make something of yourself, but we’ll need to take it step by step with Ah Li.”

“I understand, Brother Xu,” Liu Yao replied, nodding earnestly.

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Update: So after tl up to 200+ chapters I realized that my initial theory might have mislead all you guys (c140) about the original TX, regardless if I was right or wrong, I shouldn't have not spoil anything to you guys. 

It's still not even confirmed if I was right or not in the first place, so I'm sorry for saying this kind of theory in the first place.

So, I want to say sorry to you guys for potentially ruining reading this story with this theory and I won't let this kind of thing happened again.