W Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Scholars Are Just Full of Schemes…

Shen Chengshan, following the old custom, was about to take out money to give the clerks as a tip for their hard work.

But they didn’t take it at all.

For such a trip, the magistrate gave each of them six taels of silver.

However, if they were found to dare accept bribes from the common people, even if it was only a single copper coin, they would be directly dismissed and expelled from the county government.

On matters of the people’s livelihood, the magistrate was not open to any compromise.

Wang Tuan and Sun Youyu had accumulated a lot of silver in the past two years, far more than they had earned in the previous seven or eight years combined.

Why would they be so foolish as to offend the magistrate for the sake of a fly’s leg?

Moreover, even if they were to accept bribes, they couldn’t accept money from the Shen family.

After all, someone from this family could show their face in front of the magistrate. If they accidentally revealed it, it would truly be a case of picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon.

The two waved their hands, avoiding the copper coins in Shen Chengshan’s hand as if they were fleeing for their lives, and left directly.

The recipe issue was resolved, and the result even exceeded Ling Xing’s imagination.

That day, Ling Xing, along with Xu Youfang and Cao Manyue, made a lot of cold noodles, steamed rice cakes, buns, and steamed buns at home, all for the Zhao family’s three brothers to take back to the mountains the next day.

The next morning, as soon as dawn broke, Xu Youfang got up to pack things.

The large back basket was filled to the brim with food, as a thank you to the in-laws.

At this critical time of sowing, they had sent the strong laborers from their family to his.

Moreover, the Zhao family’s three brothers had not been idle these past few days. During the day, they followed along to plant food, working diligently and energetically.

The Shen family had seen it all.

Now that the matter was resolved, people had to go home to work. They couldn’t just say “be careful on the road” without giving anything.

After the Zhao Changming and his brothers finished eating, they felt warm and comfortable all over.

As they were about to leave, Xu Youfang stopped them, pointing to the back basket covered with banana leaves not far away, “Take those back home to eat.”

The Zhao family’s three brothers knew what was in the back basket.

Last night, when they came back from the fields, the stove was still smoking, and the house was full of steaming white air.

Of the things made, besides the buns and steamed buns, they had never seen or eaten anything before.

Even the buns and steamed buns, they had only just seen and eaten.

They were entirely indebted to the Shen family for the past two days, having eaten several meals that were truly delicious beyond compare.

The emperor in the palace probably didn’t eat anything more delicious than this.

Not only was it made with good grain, but they also saw them adding white sugar.

How precious was that? A hundred coins a catty!

A whole big back basket; the Shen family had given them something truly valuable. How could the Zhao family’s three brothers be so embarrassed to accept it?

They declined for a long time, but in the end, they couldn’t decline it.

Xu Youfang pretended to be angry, speaking with a stern face, telling the younger generation that they were not allowed to refuse what the elders gave.

That appearance and momentum were indeed a bit intimidating.

Helpless, Zhao Changming could only say embarrassedly, “Then Mother… I’ll shamelessly accept it.”

“Go back and divide it among the family to eat, don’t be reluctant to eat it and save it. It won’t last for two days. If it goes bad and you eat it, you’ll get a stomachache, which is bad for your health.”

Xu Youfang instructed them to pay attention to the time, otherwise, they would definitely put it away and not eat it until who knows when.

“Also, Yan likes to eat sweet things and dates. I guess she will love the steamed rice cake, your brother-in-law added plenty of sweet dates to it, tell her to eat more.”

Zhao Changming easily carried the back basket filled with food, and nodded with a simple smile upon hearing this, “Okay, I understand, Mother.”

After seeing off the Zhao family’s three brothers, the Shen family smiled at each other.

With the matter resolved, the tense spirits were relaxed, and a feeling of turbid air dissipating from their chests, making them feel much lighter all over.

Shen Gui, while teasing Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia, asked Ling Xing with some confusion.

“Brother-in-law, if we give the recipe to the magistrate, and the magistrate makes it public directly, everyone will know it. Wouldn’t that be an even bigger loss?”

Shen Gui’s brain was a bit muddled, but he could still see that the current magistrate was someone who wanted to improve his reputation.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t do those thankless things.

If he wanted to improve his reputation, then it was very likely that he would directly publicize the method of fermenting and expanding the dough.

This would benefit the people’s livelihood and gain the praise of the common people.

That was indeed the most likely possibility. Shen Gui felt that his brother-in-law couldn’t have not thought of this.

Since he had thought of it, then why did he still do it this way?

Ling Xing thought for a moment before replying, “Whether it’s made public or not, our family’s business won’t be affected.”

If it wasn’t made public, his business would only be a small steamed bun stall.

If he had some power and background, then he could cooperate with people with financial resources and power, and gradually expand the steamed bun stall.

Going out from Yunxia Town, covering the entire county, the entire prefecture, and even more.

But even the capital he had to open a steamed bun shop, Shen Hui sold his hair, and the family worked tirelessly to go up the mountain to chop firewood, and then go to town to sell it.

If he really disregarded everything and partnered with powerful people, then not to mention him.

Even the Shen family, the entire Xiao Liucun people combined, would not be able to keep the recipe.

Zhao Chuping was a good example. His steamed bun stall had just started to improve, and already someone was eagerly jumping out.

Merchants value profit. When they see such huge profits, how could they still keep their word?

It is difficult for people to overcome their instinctive desires.

Right now, he couldn’t choose to cooperate with anyone with power and background.

In a situation where he couldn’t choose, he couldn’t make much of a scale relying on himself alone.

The current scale of the steamed bun stall was already the limit.

The main reason was also that he was really powerless. To say it a thousand times, ten thousand times, it was impossible to keep this recipe in his hands.

Since it was destined that he couldn’t keep it, then naturally he had to maximize the benefits.

Compared to the magistrate, Ling Xing trusted other powerful people even less.

Local snakes were the most difficult to deal with. The magistrate who was parachuted in could completely control everything in the county magistrate in two years, which showed that he really had the means.

In addition to what Ling Xing had observed before, giving this recipe to the magistrate was the best choice.

He was originally going to send official reputation.

Otherwise, with the magistrate’s vision, how could he look up to this business?

If it was made public, there would be many steamed bun stalls appearing. But he had already obtained a plaque personally written by the county magistrate.

A trustworthy merchant personally certified by the county magistrate, the business would not be too bad in the end.

From the beginning, Ling Xing had already considered the road ahead.

Even if the steamed bun stall business was not good, he could still sell other things.

Right now, he had enough capital, unlike in the beginning when he had no money and couldn’t move an inch.

He wanted to open a new food stall, completely more than enough.

If someone else took a fancy to his new recipe, then Zhao Chuping was a lesson from the past.

It could be said that as long as Yunshui County didn’t change magistrates for a day, no one would think about coming to steal his recipe again.

Unless that person’s background and power were greater than the magistrate’s.

Shen Gui understood and sighed, “It’s still good to be an official. If I were an official, I would definitely ensure that my brother-in-law would no longer be subjected to that humiliation.”

Shen Chengshan snorted upon hearing this, “Give up on that idea. When you were grabbing items at your first birthday, you tore up a book. Not only did you tear it up, but you also threw it on the ground, and then grabbed a rouge box.”

Heaven knows how happy he was when this kid grabbed the book for the first time.

And the result?

He was just teasing his old man.

Speaking of rouge, Shen Chengshan still couldn’t figure out who put that thing up there.

This was the first time Shen Gui had heard about his first birthday, and he felt novel and unfamiliar, “Rouge? What did I grab that for?”

“Who knows what you’re thinking.”

Shen Chengshan commented truthfully.

“What officials or not officials, as long as everyone in the family is healthy and safe, and we’re all together, that’s better than anything.”

Xu Youfang was evoked by sad memories, interrupted the conversation between the father and son, frowned slightly, with some melancholy.

Shen Gui had no memory of what happened before.

He was only three years old at that time.

But the thing like confiscating property and exterminating the family, whether you have an impression or not, it’s not a good memory anyway.

He quickly shut his mouth, somewhat guiltily lowering his head.

He had said something wrong again…

The steamed bun stall was finally able to operate normally, and Ling Xing was so happy that he didn’t sleep well at night.

Before, he would feel tired and want to give up even if he set up the stall every day without fail.

Especially on rainy days, the mountain roads were difficult to walk, and renting an oilcloth shed cost another ten coins an hour, and the number of customers would be halved.

Now he just felt that the stable life before was the best.

Even if he earned less, at least he could sleep soundly and not worry.

He knew how much he earned every day.

If he wanted something, he could save up his copper coins.

Anyway, he would always save up, and besides, he didn’t earn little.

Tonight, he finally didn’t have to sleep so crowded. Shen Lai slept sprawled out, unlike Ling Xing, who only fell asleep in the second half of the night with his eyes open.

Before he had slept for a long time, he got up to go out to the stall.

He was yawning all the way, only becoming much more awake when he got to the warehouse.

When Shen Hui went to get things, Ling Xing hesitated for a moment, but still specially said thank you to Li Huiyuan.

He was the only one who heard what the clerk said that day.

The family didn’t know that Li Huiyuan had helped. Wang Tuan later told Ling Xing that Li Huiyuan didn’t want him and the Shen family to know what he had done.

Therefore, when he went, he concealed it from Ling Xing.

Therefore, Ling Xing did not mention the follow-up actions of Li Huiyuan to his family.

But he did know it now. Standing in front of Li Huiyuan, it wouldn’t be good to pretend that he didn’t know anything.

Right now, there was nothing he could do to repay Li Huiyuan’s favor. Ling Xing could only owe it first, and then sincerely say thank you.

With just two words, Li Huiyuan knew that Ling Xing already knew what had happened.

Thinking about it, he understood that Wang Tuan had told him.

He had gone to deliver the plaque that day.

Li Huiyuan saw Shen Hui approaching and lowered his voice, whispering, “Ling Ge’er, the reason I didn’t say anything was because I didn’t want you to feel pressured when you faced me. I don’t want you to keep thinking about how to repay this favor. Moreover, the reason the magistrate was able to finally agree was because your recipe was worth it. So you don’t have to take this matter too much to heart, just be as relaxed and casual with me as before.”

Great kindness doesn’t need thanks, Ling Xing noted this favor in his heart.

Since Li Huiyuan made a request, then he would do it according to what Li Huiyuan wanted.

He nodded with a smile, “Okay, Third Brother Li, I understand!”

Li Huiyuan looked at Ling Xing’s smiling face and was slightly stunned, seeming to see the brilliance of the morning sun.

When Shen Hui came out, he saw the two talking and didn’t rush forward. He stood not far away and watched for a moment, his face becoming more and more unsightly.

He stepped forward and said, “Third Brother Li, let’s talk for a moment.”

Li Huiyuan was stunned by the person, and was caught by the other’s brother-in-law, and also felt that it was impolite, so he nodded lightly.

Shen Hui glanced at him, and explained to Ling Xing, “I’ll discuss the storage of the warehouse with Third Brother Li, wait for me here for a moment.”

Ling Xing nodded and said okay, and Shen Hui signaled to Li Huiyuan to walk towards a secluded corner not far away.

Before Shen Hui could speak, Li Huiyuan said apologetically, “It was rude of me, I offended Ling Ge’er.”

“This shouldn’t be said to me.” Shen Hui suppressed his emotions, his expression much calmer. “I called Third Brother Li here, want to ask if Third Brother Li agreed to some requests from the magistrate, so as to promote the magistrate’s such help?”

After hearing Shen Hui’s words clearly, Li Huiyuan put away his apologetic expression and smiled slightly.

“Just now I also said to Ling Ge’er, it’s not that I did anything. But the magistrate values that recipe, so he is willing to help so much.”

“How much does he value it?”

Shen Hui asked.

Li Huiyuan paused for a moment, as if surprised by Shen Hui’s keenness, and seemed to be thinking about whether to say it or not.

In the end, he didn’t resist Shen Hui’s probing gaze.

He sighed softly, not leaving any traces, and truthfully said, “The magistrate is preparing to send the recipe to the Lin Family in the capital. What creations will occur later is still unknown. But it is already enough for Magistrate Lin to help Ling Ge’er a little more for this matter.”

“So, what Third Brother Li said to my brother-in-law, it’s not humility but the truth.”

Shen Hui stared at Li Huiyuan, his tone slightly cold, “My brother-in-law has a simple mind, such ambiguous words will cause him to misunderstand many things. I have an uninvited request, and I hope that Third Brother Li can explain it carefully to my brother-in-law.”

“You… How did you hear that?”

Li Huiyuan confirmed that Shen Hui was a bit far away at the time, and he deliberately lowered his voice, so he shouldn’t have been able to hear it.

It wasn’t hearing, it was seeing.

Although he couldn’t see it clearly because of the light.

However, by piecing together the upper and lower sentences, he could roughly see it.

Shen Hui didn’t tell Li Huiyuan that he could read lip language, he only said, “But in any case, thank you for running that trip later, so that things can be resolved so quickly and effectively.”

He said polite words neither warmly nor coldly, thinking that if his brother-in-law hadn’t seen the magistrate’s attention to the recipe, it wouldn’t be this kid’s turn to take credit in front of his brother-in-law.

Scholars, ha…

They were full of schemes.

Li Huiyuan was a little unhappy about Shen Hui’s evasive answer.

He raised his head to look at Shen Hui, wanting to see something, but was quickly forced back by Shen Hui’s aura.

This made Li Huiyuan inexplicably feel a little embarrassed, and he actually retracted his gaze in the confrontation again.

It was as if he had lost to Shen Hui.

It was twice.

This realization made Li Huiyuan frown slightly, and he didn’t want to stay in Shen Hui’s line of sight any longer. Flicking his sleeves, he went directly towards Ling Xing’s direction.

Shen Hui raised his foot and followed, listening to Li Huiyuan’s detailed explanation to Ling Xing again.

The magistrate actually valued that recipe so much?

Ling Xing was still a little incredulous after hearing it.

Recalling his emotions when he saw Magistrate Lin, he could only say that he was worthy of being an official. He really didn’t see how much Magistrate Lin valued it at the time…

If he had known, he would have explained the reason clearly at that time.

“I still want to thank Third Brother Li. If it wasn’t for Third Brother Li seeing it and helping me run another trip, and saying a word, things wouldn’t have been resolved so perfectly.”

Li Huiyuan knew that Ling Xing didn’t think he hadn’t helped at all because of this, and his mood was much more joyful. He couldn’t help but smile and said, “It’s okay, I’m used to running to the county government anyway.”

Leaving the warehouse, Ling Xing repeatedly thought about Lin Qingyu’s expression and demeanor at the time in his mind.

Sure enough, he still couldn’t see it at all.

At most, he could feel that this Lord Lin was happy that he praised him, and was willing to give him some shelter, that’s all.

These officials are really, their hearts are unfathomable.

When they were almost at the place where they set up the stall, Ling Xing saw a person with his hands in his pockets, craning his neck and looking around not far from the stall.

When the other party saw him, he immediately waved his hand and ran over hastily.

After getting a little closer, Ling Xing could see who the person was.

It was the stall owner of the noodle stall across the street before, Wang Youmai.

Running over, Wang Youmai’s breath was unstable, and his tone was very urgent, “Oh, I finally waited for you, I seem to have seen your younger brother!”