W Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Shouldn’t Have Entrusted

Ling Xing went to the meat stall again to buy some more meat and pig skin, and incidentally paid Wu Dali for the pig skin from last time.

He needed a pound of pig skin every day, but because the amount was small, it wasn’t expensive. Wu Dali also calculated that one pound of pig skin was about three copper coins.

While sharpening his knife and cutting meat, Wu Dali said, “You’re buying a lot of meat, so I’d normally include some pig skin anyway. Wu-shu will just give you the rest, no need for you to pay extra.”

When dealing with people, if you’re not too precise, there has to be give and take.

Ling Xing knew that Wu Dali was being kind, so he didn’t insist on paying. He thought that as usual, when Wu Dali’s ge’er, Wu Shuang, came to buy soup dumplings, he would give him two extra each time.

“Then thank you, Uncle Wu.”

Xie Qingya also bought two pounds of streaky pork, which was cheaper than pure fat meat and more expensive than pure lean meat.

After they bought their things, they hurried back to Xiao Liucun. Ling Xing was thinking about Ling Yue’s schooling, and since Xie Qingya knew the situation around the village well, it was appropriate to ask him.

“Qing-ge’er, do you know if there are any good private schools around our village? I want to send Ling Yue to school.”

“Then you’ve come to the right person.”

There weren’t many private schools in the villages, only two in total under Yunxia Town.

The closest one was a two-quarter-hour walk from Xiao Liucun.

However, that private school was more like a clan school. The village shared the same surname; they were all one family and quite exclusive.

If someone with a different surname wanted to study there, they would have to pay twice the tuition fee.

The other one was farther away, taking more than half an hour to walk from Xiao Liucun.

It was run by an old xiucai, and not many people went to study there; you could count them on two hands.

Studying was the most expensive thing, and it wasn’t just a matter of having money at home; you had to have the talent to actually study.

In fact, not many children in the village attended private school.

Although they knew that studying was good, no family could afford the cost.

It was quite fortunate that there were two private schools around Xiao Liucun.

There were only two or three in each town, and a few more in the county, with five private schools.

“Liu Family Village is closer, and the private school teacher they hired is good, but they are very exclusive, and the tuition fee is also more expensive. Ling Yue is not in good health right now, so if you really want to let Ling Yue study, it’s better to go further away, to Lu Xiucai’s place in Xiaoxi Village.”

Listening to Xie Qingya’s words, Ling Xing also thought it made sense.

No matter how good the private school in Liu Family Village was, if the environment wasn’t good, it wouldn’t work. If they went there, he could imagine what the child would suffer.

Xiaoxi Village was a bit far, but he had to go to town every morning anyway, and if he took the main road, it would be convenient to drop Ling Yue off at the private school.

Today, he was out with Xie Qingya, so it wasn’t good to take up his time. Ling Xing thought that after setting up his stall tomorrow, he would go to Xiaoxi Village to check it out.

If Xiaoxi Village didn’t work either, he would wait a bit, and after he had some money in hand, he would look for a private school in town.

…

Ling Xing returned home with his basket, only to feel that the atmosphere in the house was not right.

Shen Lai, who was usually the most boisterous, was now sitting quietly in the courtyard with Xiao Chun, Xiao Xia, and Ling Yue, basking in the sun.

The four children were lined up from oldest to youngest, not daring to breathe loudly, behaving extremely well.

Ling Xing scanned the children. Shen Lai covered his mouth and shook his head, Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia lowered their heads to avoid eye contact, and only Ling Yue blinked her big eyes at Ling Xing.

“What’s wrong?”

Ling Xing asked Ling Yue softly.

“Auntie got angry and hit Second Brother, and his mouth is bleeding. Then Second Brother left and hasn’t come back.”

Ling Xing had expected that Shen Hui’s plans to study and take the imperial examinations wouldn’t go smoothly, but he didn’t expect him to be beaten.

He couldn’t say much about this matter and could only go to the kitchen to put down his things first.

After arranging everything, he started to make lunch.

He cut some meat, minced it, stir-fried it with salt and soy sauce, and even a little bit mixed with the batter would have a salty and savory meat flavor.

The Shen family returned from the fields, and Ling Xing learned that Shen Hui hadn’t gone to the fields.

He had originally heard that he had gone out and thought he was busy in the fields.

But he hadn’t gone, which made Ling Xing a little worried.

“Father, or should I go look for him?”

Shen Chengshan stopped Ling Xing, “Erlang won’t have any problems, he knows what he’s doing. Instead, Xing-ge’er, why don’t you take some food and go see your mother? I’m afraid she’ll be too upset.”

Ling Xing knew about the things that had happened in the family before.

The Shen family hadn’t hidden anything from him and had told him everything.

It was precisely because he knew that Ling Xing couldn’t persuade Xu Youfang to agree.

Shen Chengshan’s words made sense, and Ling Xing nodded in agreement, “Okay, Father.”

He took the batter that Cao Manyue had prepared, covered with a layer of savory meat sauce, and went to find Xu Youfang.

The space in the west room was smaller than that in the east room. At this time, all the windows were propped open, and sunlight poured in, making it quite bright.

Xu Youfang was sitting under the window, using the light to trim velvet threads.

After buying the copper wire, Xu Youfang had been practicing according to what Ling Xing had said.

She was good at embroidery and had a natural sense of color and flower shapes. After a few trials and errors, she was already able to make simple velvet flowers.

Seeing Ling Xing come in, Xu Youfang didn’t show any unusual expression on her face, but smiled slightly and greeted Ling Xing, “Xing-ge’er, you’re here. Look at the new colors I mixed, aren’t they pretty?”

These were the colors of peach blossoms, with a natural transition of pink and red. After being ironed with a hot iron, the surface of the embroidered threads rotated under the light, creating a noticeable reflection, which was very beautiful.

Xu Youfang understood the shape of the flowers. While they were still hot, she used a small round stick to slightly shape them. She did well in the details, and after the whole thing was assembled, it looked even more lifelike.

“They’re beautiful. After Mother makes more, I’ll take them to town to sell at the stall. They’ll definitely be popular.”

Ling Xing handed the batter forward. “Making things to earn money is important, but eating is also important. Your health is your capital, Mother, don’t wear yourself out.”

Ling Xing was the only one in the family that Xu Youfang couldn’t bear to scold. She felt that she had lived up to everyone in this family, but she only felt sorry for Ling Xing.

She had made him a widower at such a young age.

Even though she didn’t have an appetite, she listened to Ling Xing’s words at this time, put down the work in her hands, and took the ceramic bowl.

She scooped a spoonful of batter and added some minced meat.

The aroma of the meat was rich, and it made the batter less dry and difficult to swallow.

“I can tell it’s you who made it as soon as I taste it, it’s very delicious.”

Xu Youfang’s appetite was piqued after eating a few bites. After praising him, she told Ling Xing to go eat quickly.

After thinking it over and over, Ling Xing couldn’t help but open his mouth and say, “Mother, Erlang really seems to want to study and take the imperial examinations.”

The sudden words made Xu Youfang’s stirring motion stop.

If it had been someone else, Xu Youfang would have told them to leave long ago.

Because it was Ling Xing, she sighed softly, and her voice was much hoarser when she spoke.

“I know.”

She was the one who gave birth to her child, so how could she not know?

Xu Youfang remembered clearly the way Shen Hui looked when he carried his book bag to the family school to study when he was a child.

That child held a book in his hands to read, regardless of the severe cold or scorching heat. Whether it was the teacher who taught literature or the teacher who taught martial arts, they all said that this child was a good seed.

At that time, not only she, but also the clan had high hopes for Shen Hui.

He was very excellent, whether in learning literature or practicing martial arts.

But no one expected that a good, big family could be destroyed overnight.

They were lucky enough to escape.

Along the way, some died and some were injured.

In the end, only their family survived.

Xu Youfang felt that this was God giving them a way to live, so they should live in peace and stability.

She didn’t want any more fine clothes, jade food, or becoming an official.

She only wanted her family to be safe and together.

After living in peace for so many years, when Shen Hui seriously said that he wanted to take the imperial examinations, Xu Youfang was more surprised than afraid.

She didn’t understand why he suddenly wanted to take the imperial examinations.

In the morning, she had scolded and beaten him.

Shen Hui stood still and let her scold and beat him. In the end, she asked him again if he still wanted to take the imperial examinations.

He still said firmly, “Yes.”

Xu Youfang knew that her second son was serious and wouldn’t change his mind.

Helpless, she could only point to the door and roar, “Get out, I don’t want to see you.”

Xu Youfang regretted it as soon as she said it.

The sad look in that child’s eyes when he turned around also made her heart ache.

She shouldn’t have said “get out,” those words were too heavy.

But Shen Hui left quickly, not giving her any chance to take them back.

“Xing-ge’er, Erlang has been obedient since he was a child. He never expresses his preferences, and he takes whatever he’s given. He doesn’t reach out for things that aren’t given to him. This is the first time he’s told me what he wants to do, but I told him to get out.”

Xu Youfang cried bitterly, and Ling Xing took out a handkerchief and squatted on the ground to wipe her tears.

“I’m afraid, you don’t know how painful it is to have a knife fall on your body, and how sad it is to watch the people around you get hacked to death. A little bit of hardship and a little bit of tiredness don’t mean anything. I just want my family to live well.”

Ling Xing held Xu Youfang’s hand, silently comforting her.

After speaking her mind, Xu Youfang felt much better. She also knew that people couldn’t live in the shadow of the past forever.

Now was not like before, the turmoil had passed, and they could look forward.

It was wrong to make the child stay in place and suffer because she was afraid.

Xu Youfang patted Ling Xing’s hand, sniffed, and forced a smile.

“Mother made a fool of herself in front of you. I heard that Erlang hasn’t returned yet. I was a little too harsh with the beating and scolding today, and I don’t dare to look for him, afraid that he’ll resent me.”

She had never beaten and scolded her children like this before. This time, she was just overwhelmed by her emotions and hit him too hard.

That child was stubborn and didn’t dodge at all, taking it all.

Xu Youfang felt both pain and anger in her heart.

She didn’t dare to look at Shen Hui’s injuries, and she didn’t dare to listen to Shen Hui say that he was fine. She could only ask Ling Xing to help her, “Xing-ge’er, when he comes back, can you help Mother take a look at his injuries? Also, bring a message for Mother, tell him to study hard, and Mother will support his studies.”

Ling Xing nodded upon hearing this, “Okay.”

It wasn’t until evening that Shen Hui came back carrying a pile of banana leaves.

As soon as he got home, he saw a figure rushing over.

“You ran to the mountains for so long without eating?”

Shen Hui lowered his head and saw Ling Xing frowning, his voice a few decibels louder than usual.

“Is ge’fu worried?”

“How can I not be worried? You can get banana leaves anytime, why did you have to go without eating, without bringing any dry food or snake repellent, and with injuries!”

The snake repellent had run out last time, and Ling Xing hadn’t had time to ask Xie Qingya to exchange it. Seeing Shen Hui carrying banana leaves back, he knew that he had gone up the mountain without bringing any snake repellent.

He also hadn’t eaten, so if he encountered a snake and was physically weak, Ling Xing didn’t dare to think how dangerous it would be.

Shen Hui put down the banana leaves and explained to Ling Xing, “There are no banana leaves at home, and ge’fu has to set up a stall tomorrow, so I went into the mountains to get some leaves.”

After listening, Ling Xing felt a bit stuffy for some reason.

He had to say that Shen Hui was following his eldest brother’s will very well. He was really good to him, this ge’fu in name only, and there was nothing to say.

He thought of everything for him and helped him do things.

“There’s still some oil paper at home. If there are no banana leaves, you can use it first. Even if there’s no oil paper, I can set up my stall a day later. Your safety is more important than banana leaves, why don’t you cherish your body so much?”

The tall and strong man was scolded into lowering his head, listening without saying a word.

Only after Ling Xing finished speaking did Shen Hui open his mouth and say, “I caught something to eat on the mountain, I didn’t go hungry. Next time, I’ll bring snake repellent before going up the mountain…”

Shen Hui wanted to reach out and smooth Ling Xing’s furrowed brow, but he held back because of his status.

He didn’t expect Ling Xing to worry about him like this.

“From now on, I’ll leave you a note wherever I go.”

He didn’t want Ling Xing to be frightened because of him.

Shen Hui’s attitude was too good, and Ling Xing saw that he wasn’t really injured, “You have to do what you say.”

“I will.” Shen Hui promised.

After saying that, Ling Xing looked at the injury on Shen Hui’s face. The beating was really heavy. The corner of his mouth was broken, and there were obvious bruises on his cheeks.

“Do you still have that medicinal powder for treating injuries? I’ll add some water to it and apply it to your injuries.”

Shen Hui wanted to say that he could do it himself, but in the end, he didn’t open his mouth until he entered the house and sat by the bed.

The injury on his face was nothing to him, he had been knocked out by a wild boar and fell on a tree trunk before, and that was really painful.

But seeing that Ling Xing cared, he let the other party apply the medicine.

“Today, I ran into Xu Qi-ge in town, and he said he wanted the medicinal powder you made. Also, Mother told me that she agreed to you studying and taking the imperial examinations, and she’ll support your studies. You have to study hard.”

Shen Hui knew about his mother’s agreement to let him study.

At this time, because he had overestimated his own rationality and underestimated the attraction of the person in front of him to him, he had no time to take care of anything else.

Shen Hui’s body was tense, and a string in his head was tightly stretched, ready to break at any time.

At such a close distance, he only needed to tilt his head slightly to touch the person he only dared to dream of in his dreams.

Reason tugged at his nerves, and the fragrant breath floated. Shen Hui turned his gaze and could clearly see the fine fluff on Ling Xing’s face, his long eyelashes, his straight nose, and his rosy, full lips.

Shen Hui used force with his hands, his fingernails digging into his flesh.

He bit his tongue with his teeth, and the pain forced back more reason, barely uttering, “Okay.”

The wound at the corner of his mouth was relatively small, and Ling Xing leaned closer.

His breath hit Shen Hui’s face, and Shen Hui jumped back as if he had been electrocuted.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he frantically took the small wooden piece for applying medicine from Ling Xing’s hand. “I can do the rest myself, ge’fu.”

Ling Xing was startled by Shen Hui’s sudden action. After reacting, he only thought that Shen Hui was afraid of the pain and was too embarrassed to say it.

He was also going to report Shen Hui’s injuries to Xu Youfang to save her from worrying, so Ling Xing nodded and said, “Okay then, I’ll go first, Erlang, apply the medicine properly.”

Watching Ling Xing’s departing figure, Shen Hui sat motionless, holding the wooden piece.

After a long time, he raised his head weakly and leaned back against the wall, not knowing what to do with the emotions in his heart.

Eldest brother, you shouldn’t have entrusted him to me to take care of…

And he shouldn’t have had thoughts about him.

“Xing-ge’er!”

Xie Qingya’s voice came from outside. Ling Xing hurried out of the west room and saw Xie Qingya and his husband, Wang Juan, each holding a pile of books.

Xie Qingya was about to put the books in Ling Xing’s arms, but seeing Shen Hui out of the corner of his eye, he was afraid of crushing Ling Xing, so he handed the books to Shen Hui instead.

Wang Juan followed his husband and piled the books in Shen Hui’s arms.

Xie Qingya said, “These books can all be used by Ling Yue, let him look at them first.”

Books were not something you could buy whenever you wanted. Ling Xing really couldn’t refuse, so he could only make more delicious food to send to Xie Qingya and them later.

“Thank you, Qing-ge’er.” Ling Xing glanced at Shen Hui, “By the way, Erlang is also preparing to participate in the imperial examinations, can he read these books?”

Xie Qingya and Wang Juan were a little surprised, they didn’t expect Shen Hui to have this thought.

After regaining his senses, Xie Qingya smiled, “Of course he can, he can read them however he wants.”

While Xie Qingya was chatting with Ling Xing, Shen Hui walked to Wang Juan’s side.

“I want to take the exam next year, can I ask Wang-xiong for some guidance?”

Wang Juan looked at Xie Qingya’s smiling face and coughed weakly.

“Okay.”

Early the next morning, Ling Xing got up early to prepare to set up his stall.

Xu Youfang, as usual, got up even earlier to make something to eat for Ling Xing and Shen Hui.

Ling Xing washed up and went to the kitchen. Seeing Xu Youfang smiling and adding batter for Shen Hui, he knew that the mother and son had resolved their differences, and he smiled along.

The two came to town. The stall that originally sold buns and steamed buns had been rented out, but the stall owner who sold hair accessories not far from the previous stall had moved to another place, and Ling Xing happened to rent it.

Fortunately, it wasn’t far away. As soon as Ling Xing and Shen Hui arrived, people came over.

Some asked why he had suddenly stopped setting up his stall before, and some said that there were buns and steamed buns sold on Mayu Street, asking what was going on.

Ling Xing didn’t want to tear open Ling Yue’s scars for others to know.

Therefore, he only said that he had stopped for a while because something had happened at home, and that the buns and steamed buns sold there were made using his recipe.

He also said that he would no longer sell buns and steamed buns in the future, but soup dumplings.

The recipe was in Ling Xing’s hands, and he could do whatever he wanted with it, so the diners couldn’t say anything. Besides, if they wanted to eat buns and steamed buns, they could also buy them on Mayu Street.

Although the taste made there was a bit worse, and they were reluctant to put filling in the buns, and the steamed buns were also small, at least there was something to eat.

Hearing Ling Xing say that he was selling new food, the diners consciously lined up.

This small stall owner might look young, and he wasn’t a chef from any big restaurant, but the snacks he made really tasted great.

The key was that the price was right, and they could all afford it.

They were all diners who had accumulated from before, and they had followed and eaten several things, completely trusting Ling Xing.

This was also why Ling Xing chose to continue setting up his stall in this neighborhood.

After the soup dumplings came out of the oven, Ling Xing still gave out samples to try.

Otherwise, he was afraid that if he just quoted the price, he would scare people away again.

Because the soup dumplings were full of juice, they couldn’t be cut open like buns and steamed buns to try.

Ling Xing specially wrapped small soup dumplings the size of a thumb and also brought some vinegar for the diners to dip and taste.

Although the thumb soup dumplings were small, they had the same flavors.

With one bite, the fresh and delicious juice burst open in the mouth, and the springy skin wrapped the savory meat filling. Because spices were used inside, the taste of the meat filling was completely different from what was made at home. It was so delicious.

After dipping it in vinegar, the sour aroma of the vinegar combined with the soup and meat filling, creating a rich taste experience. The slightly sour taste of the vinegar also relieved the greasiness of the meat, and the aroma made people unable to stop.

After trying the samples, a series of price inquiries rang out from the small stall.

Ling Xing showed them the normal size of the soup dumplings, “Soup dumplings are two copper coins each.”

“This is more than half the size of the previous buns and steamed buns, why is it still selling so expensive?”

“Yeah, the skin is also thin, it doesn’t use much flour, one copper coin each is about right.”

Ling Xing knew that someone would say this, so he said, “The skin is thin, but other things are added inside, so that the skin is not soaked and broken by the soup. The cost is naturally higher. Also, the soup dumplings use meat filling, and I added spices to this meat filling to enhance the aroma and remove the fishy smell. Everyone knows the price of those spices, right?”

Hearing Ling Xing say this, the diners immediately understood why this thing was selling for two copper coins each.

Spices were more expensive than meat.

Only wealthy families could afford to buy them, and they didn’t expect that they could eat something made with spices in their lifetime.

Their stomachs were amazing, they had become precious.

The diners felt it was worth the money, and they no longer hesitated and paid to buy.

The owner of the bookstore had eaten the soup dumplings Ling Xing had sent before and really loved the taste. They were much better than buns and steamed buns.

He sent someone to check every day, and he didn’t expect to really run into it today, so the clerk bought twenty soup dumplings in one breath.

Ling Xing had thought that the soup dumplings wouldn’t sell as well as the buns and steamed buns, but he didn’t expect the business to be pretty good, and the speed was faster than the buns and steamed buns.

He guessed that everyone lacked meat and fish, and the meat in the soup dumplings was fragrant, and the overall taste was better, so they were naturally willing to spend money.

After closing the stall, Ling Xing and Shen Hui put the things in the warehouse, and then went to the meat stall to buy meat and pig skin.

“Uncle Wu, give me three pounds of pig skin today, and count it as my pig skin money.”

Seeing that the soup dumplings with meat sold so quickly, Ling Xing thought of making some pig skin jelly to sell.

Anyway, it was convenient, so he would make some and see if it would sell. If it didn’t sell, the family could eat it.

When buying flour, he had to buy extra spices.

The soup dumplings sold in one day required six pounds of meat filling, plus four pounds of pig skin jelly. The spices needed for the meat filling and pig skin jelly cost forty-five copper coins.

In order to enhance the aroma and remove the fishy smell, this money couldn’t be saved. Good taste was the most important thing.

After buying everything, Shen Hui still carried it all on his back, taking Ling Xing on the main road.

On the way to set up the stall today, Ling Xing told Shen Hui that he wanted to go to Xiaoxi Village to see the private school.

It wasn’t far from town to Xiaoxi Village, and it took three-quarters of an hour to walk.

When they arrived at the entrance of the village, they asked about Lu Xiucai, and the villagers, knowing that they wanted to ask about the private school, enthusiastically gave Ling Xing and Shen Hui directions.

Lu Xiucai’s house was quite easy to find, the roof of his house was the only one in the whole village with tiles.

The house was half blue brick and half mud brick. As soon as they reached the door, they heard the sound of reading coming from inside.