Chapter 238: The Injustice of This Era
It was a good thing that his son was looking out for him, but Wen Xiuyi truly didn’t think it was much of a hardship.
“Rest assured, your dad won’t let himself suffer. Today was only because you two arrived that I came back home. Usually, Little Ma and I just go straight into the city to dine at a restaurant, come back after eating to boil some water for a quick shower, and head straight to sleep. This daily routine is much more normal than it used to be,” Wen Xiuyi said.
Yet right at this moment, Wen Yao unexpectedly interjected, “Brother, you go back first. I’m going to stay for a few more days.”
Wen Jun and Wen Xiuyi turned their heads to look at her in unison. Wen Yao said directly, “Today, Brother Little Ma told me that the conditions in several villages around here are quite similar to Sanyuan Village. He said he would take me around to have a look.”
Wen Xiuyi reached out and poked Wen Yao’s head. “When did you already make arrangements with him? How can a young lady like you go out with a man all by yourself?”
Wen Yao had forgotten that this wasn’t their own era. She blanked out for a moment—as expected, things were still incredibly inconvenient here.
Sigh.
Wen Jun didn’t know what kind of riddle the two were playing, so he asked directly, “Yao’er, what are you staying behind for?”
Only then did Wen Yao recount the matter of seeing so many households raising ducks today.
“I want to check out the situation first, then go back to discuss it with Grandma. Grandma’s soybean paste workshop currently only makes soybean paste. If we add salted duck eggs and century eggs to it, we should be able to make a bit more money,” Wen Yao said.
The father and son pair exchanged a glance. Wen Jun thought about it and said, “But traveling such a long distance all the way over here to collect duck eggs, won’t it be too much trouble?”
This was what Wen Jun was worried about. After all, even by horse carriage, it took a whole day to travel from the prefecture seat to their town. If they were hauling duck eggs, they certainly couldn’t run too fast for fear of jolting and breaking the eggs.
Wen Yao had considered this problem as well, so she stated directly, “I was thinking this: if it’s feasible, we can find a trustworthy person in the prefecture seat specifically responsible for collecting the eggs. Once they reach a certain quantity, we can transport them back together. That way, it saves us from running back and forth, and it also saves us from going door-to-door to collect them; we can just have them deliver the eggs to a fixed location.”
Before this, Wen Yao had harbored the notion of making salted duck eggs and century eggs. However, because her two aunts treasured those duck eggs at home like precious gems, this girl never had a chance to lay a hand on them, so it had been shelved. Why had she suddenly developed this desire again? Could it really be solely because she saw every household raising ducks today?
“Yao’er, are you trying to give those villagers a helping hand?” Wen Xiuyi asked suddenly.
Wen Yao’s eyes darted away slightly. “No, I just want to make money.”
“Tsk,” Wen Xiuyi let out a sound, choosing not to expose her as he continued, “The terrain around here is a bit like a water town, so almost every single household raises ducks. Although this prefecture seat is large, these duck eggs aren’t actually very easy to sell off.
They haven’t received any education either. In this world, poor people are not fit to study. The only thing they can think of is farming, and using the advantage of having many ponds to raise ducks. Once the ducks lay eggs, they sell the eggs to add a few coins to the household.
If they have good luck setting up a stall, they might sell some. If they have bad luck and run into someone forcing the prices down to buy their goods, they can’t bear to eat the eggs themselves, so they can only sell them at a loss.
Their farming methods have all been passed down generation after generation. Without good maintenance of the paddy fields, it’s very easy for the yield to drop. I’ve already discovered a lot of these problems over the past few days. Sigh.”
Listening to Wen Xiuyi’s words, Wen Yao kept her head low as she picked at her fingers. She admitted that today had originally been a mere whim, which was quickly dispelled by the issue of transportation. But when she saw those villagers encircling Wen Xiuyi as he left, the gratitude, reluctance, and respect on their faces made Wen Yao feel that she ought to do something.
Now that her thoughts had been exposed by Wen Xiuyi, Wen Yao pursed her lips and said, “I still want to look at the situation first. In any case, there are always more solutions than difficulties. If it truly doesn’t work, we’ll talk then. Besides, I haven’t told anyone right now except you two.”
Looking at his sensible daughter, Wen Xiuyi couldn’t help but rub her head again. “My Yao’er has grown up.”
Since that was the case, it was impossible for Wen Jun to leave his sister here alone. “Then I’ll stay behind to accompany you. Dad, you busy yourself with your work. I’ll accompany Yao’er to follow Brother Ma for a look.”
With Wen Jun around, Wen Xiuyi could rest easy.
The next day, all three members of the family boarded the horse carriage. Ma Qiang delivered Wen Xiuyi to that Sixi Village mentioned yesterday. In any case, the village chiefs of the previous few villages had already been called to the prefectural office to be briefed, so they would arrange Wen Xiuyi’s work. Ma Qiang simply drove the carriage to take Wen Yao and Wen Jun around the various villages.
After a full day, Wen Yao’s greatest lament was the issue of transportation. Sitting in the horse carriage for a full day truly jolted her severely. Sure enough, the saying “if you want to get rich, build a road first” was not false at all.
But at this time, building roads was not the concern of ordinary folks like them; that was the government’s business.
After wandering around for two consecutive days, Wen Yao also gained a rough understanding of the situation around the prefecture seat. It was time for the brother and sister pair to head back. If they didn’t return soon, Grandma and Dr. Jin would be worried to death.
Before leaving, Wen Yao specially made a box of pastries to give to Ma Qiang as thanks for taking care of them these past few days. In reality, ten taels of silver were hidden beneath the small pastry box.
This was the benefit she gave to Ma Qiang, and she also wanted Ma Qiang to take good care of Wen Xiuyi during this period of time.
When the two returned home, they were indeed given a fierce scolding by Old Madam Luo. They had agreed to go for two days before returning, but the trip ended up lasting seven or eight days.
Of course, only Wen Jun himself bore the brunt of the scolding. Toward Wen Yao, it remained a case of loud thunder but little rain.
“Grandma, Grandma, stop scolding, stop scolding. I went to find a grand plan to make a fortune for you.” Seeing his own brother looking aggrieved, Wen Yao quickly stepped forward, took the old lady’s arm, and walked away.
The moment Old Madam Luo heard “grand plan to make a fortune,” she instantly stopped scolding, her expression shifting as fast as could be. “What grand plan to make a fortune?”
Wen Yao leaned close to the old lady’s ear, muttering and whispering as the two shared secret words, completely out of earshot for the people beside them.
Wen Xiuzhu pricked up his ears and tried to edge over, only to be smacked back by Lady Li.
“Hurry up and sort them out. Yao’er said all of this fine duck down must be plucked out, saying it will be useful in winter. Don’t even think about slacking off.” Lady Li tossed a burlap sack right in front of Wen Xiuzhu, staring at him with wide eyes. Inside were all the feathers they had saved up.
Although she didn’t know what exact use it had, Lady Li now listened to whatever Wen Yao said; doing the work was all that mattered.
This man still wanted to eavesdrop on Yao’er and his mother’s secret grand plan? He would have to clear it with her first.
Wen Xiuzhu pulled back his thoughts sheepishly, silently parting the sack to begin working. Before he had sorted out much, he managed to get himself covered in feathers.
His life was truly bitter. If he wasn’t going up the mountain or down to the fields, he was caught to sort out feathers. He originally wanted to find some solidarity to complain a bit to the third brother, but turning his head, he saw the third brother and his wife sorting quite seriously. The third brother even edged close to Lady Cai from time to time, gesturing with the sorted feathers in his hand as the couple laughed merrily—completely unlike him.
Looking down, duck feathers; looking up, a tigress.
Sigh, can’t afford to provoke her, can’t afford to provoke her.
Wen Yao and Old Madam Luo hid in the corner, muttering for a long time before Old Madam Luo finally understood.
