Great Tang Idyll - Chapter 23

Willow leaves are green on both banks, and dragonflies stand on the shallow grass. The sky is blue with a few floating clouds, and the water reflects the dew that condenses. Swallows gather with purpose, and the wind comes, leaving some sound. Wildflowers swirl with the waves, shimmering with every gentle sway.

The next morning, Song Jinggong finally arrives at the banks of the Luoshui River. Looking at the scenery before him, he should feel relaxed, but he senses that something is off.

From Sanshui County to here, the day before has grown late. Plus, he needs to check if anyone is following him, so he casually finds an inn to stay at mid-journey, which leads him to see the person carrying silver next to the Steward.

After confirming that someone is indeed following him, he finds it strange that this person is not being discreet. Shouldn’t a person who is tailing someone else keep a reasonable distance? This guy, however, trails him just twenty steps behind.

Whenever he stops to look back, normally, one would hide a little. But this person just stares ahead, pretending not to know him. Does he think Song Jinggong is a fool, unable to recognize someone even after a little while?

What is even more infuriating is that he has already chosen an inn, and there is another inn right next to it. If he wants to follow, he should stay in that other inn.

In the end, staying at the same inn is tolerable, but while eating in the dining hall, there are only two tables by the window. They both sit down facing each other, and even if he spat, he wouldn’t miss. It is only because there are few people and many empty tables; otherwise, would they be eating together like this?

This isn’t just following; it is clearly monitoring. He wonders how Steward Zhang intends to handle this. Does he want to tear the facade?

Standing near the dock, Song Jinggong ponders what is going on and why he feels uneasy. Is it because of the follower? Steward Zhang’s attitude? The grievances suffered from the Zhang and Wang families’ estates? None of those seem to fit.

After thinking for a while, he attributes his feelings to the fact that his actions have been quite bold this time, taking advantage of others severely, which leads to such feelings.

Turning his head, he glances at the person squatting about ten steps away from him, fiddling with the grass on the ground. From this distance, he can see a line of ants busily carrying things beneath that person’s feet, who is using the grass to poke at them.

Song Jinggong sighs deeply. He really wants to go over and ask that person, “How old are you?”

How can such a person be sent to handle matters?

Shaking his head, Song Jinggong doesn’t want to waste his thoughts on such a foolish person. It is better to check on the unsellable items transported back from the foreign lands first.

Thinking of this, Song Jinggong steps toward the dock, where the boat he has hired is still docked. Of course, he hasn’t paid any fare for it. As a conman, he won’t pay for boat fare; instead, he has made an arrangement with the Tibetan Gang, saying that once the goods arrive, they will split the profits.

By the time Song Jinggong reaches the dock, someone on the boat has already recognized him and hurried over to greet him respectfully. “Greetings, Master Song! Have you found someone to buy the carrots? That’s wonderful! We’ve spent quite a bit on food and drink these past few days; if we can’t sell anything, we’ll be in big trouble.”

Although the attitude is respectful, there is a hint of complaint in his words, and Song Jinggong understands that anyone in the same situation would be unhappy.

“Yes, it’s coming soon. Where’s Song Rini? Find him; I need to discuss something important.”

The person Song Jinggong is referring to is a minor leader of the aristocratic class from the Tibetan Gang. He has numerous connections with this group and has adopted some of their habits.

Upon hearing that Song Jinggong is asking for the leader, the person can’t help but show a slight expression of joy, still respectfully replying, “Master Song, our leader has found a way to get rich. He’s already left this place and might return in a couple of days.”

“Get rich? He can get rich? Good! I’d like to know how he plans to do that, and where the wealth is!” Song Jinggong chuckles, thinking it is ridiculous that this foreigner wants to get rich in this place.

Seeing Song Jinggong’s tone of disdain, the man feels a bit dissatisfied but still maintains a smiling demeanor and continues, “Our leader really has found a way to get rich. He said that once you arrive here, he’ll let you see it.”

Seeing how certain the man is, Song Jinggong becomes puzzled. Could it be that Song Rini really got lucky and discovered something? But that doesn’t seem possible, so he asks, “How did Song Rini discover it? And where does he want me to go?”

“There was someone who came to ask if we wanted to buy chicks, saying they could be sold cheaply—two wen for one chick, the kind that grows up and lays eggs,” the man replies.

At this, Song Jinggong is no longer puzzled; he is dumbfounded. A chick here usually costs over thirty wen—not too expensive, but a hen is different. It can lay eggs, and even if eggs are cheap, they are still worth at least one wen each. A chick can grow up and start laying eggs without taking too long; about six months is enough.

Buying a small chick for two wen, and feeding it for six months wouldn’t cost too much—just a few wen if you let it find its own food outside, which would save even more. After six months, that money would start rolling in continuously.

This price is simply too cheap. When a hen is brooding, it can’t lay eggs; during those days of delay, the money from the eggs would already be several wen. How can it be so cheap?

“Scammer, I don’t expect that I, Song Jinggong, would also encounter a scammer.” This is Song Jinggong’s most instinctive thought, but he doesn’t know how the other party is scamming. Since the other party is selling chicks instead of eggs, it is easy to tell whether it will work or not.

“Alright, I’ll go over now and find someone to lead the way.” Song Jinggong truly can’t understand, wanting to see for himself. He calls out, takes one last look at the silly-looking stalker, and is led away from the dock toward the place where they sell chickens.

The sound of birds chirping and butterflies chasing each other fills the air, with misty mountains in the distance and soft light enhancing the floating dust nearby.

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan just get up in the morning, have some milk, and instead of going back to sleep, they head to the vegetable garden in the courtyard, ready to prepare something for the adults to eat. They only need a little broth and some crumbs for themselves.

“Are there no mung beans? I want to stew some.” Wang Juan looks around but doesn’t find any mung beans; there are only cowpeas.

Zhang Xiaobao, like a thief, struggles to twist off a small round eggplant about two inches in diameter from the eggplant patch. He digs out a small piece with his thumb and stuffs it into his mouth, nodding in satisfaction.

“Xiaobao, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be eating eggplants right now and sneaking like that.” Wang Juan sees Zhang Xiaobao stealing a bite and can’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

“I’m afraid others will find out. This eggplant is too small; it would be a shame to eat it like this, but this is the sweetest time for eggplants. You should try some.”

As he speaks, Zhang Xiaobao digs out another piece and offers it to Wang Juan.

Wang Juan doesn’t know what to say. How can a person his age do something only a child would? She reaches out to knock the small piece away. “Can’t you do something serious?”

“Never mind, Xiaohong, you can have it. It’s really sweet. After you finish, help us pick the eggplants; we’ll have this for lunch.” Zhang Xiaobao readily gives the small piece of eggplant to Xiaohong.

Xiaohong accepts it and really eats it. She hasn’t had any food since she got up in the morning, and with only two meals a day, even a bit of eggplant is good.

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan watch as Xiaohong quickly eats the eggplant, both stunned. After a while, Wang Juan finally says, “Xiaohong, don’t worry. Once Xiaobao and I earn some money in the next few days, we’ll make sure that the people working on the farm can eat four meals a day—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack.”

“Thank you, Little Miss. Actually, we’ve gotten used to it. Not to mention four meals, even three meals would cost quite a bit.” Xiaohong’s eyes brighten, but then she thinks it is impossible. Which farm would give the workers four meals?

Wang Juan knows that Xiaohong won’t believe in the possibility of getting four meals without actually experiencing it, so she doesn’t say anything more and pulls Zhang Xiaobao to look at other vegetables while Xiaohong picks the eggplants.

“Actually, just having four meals isn’t enough. These people are always working hard all day and must be on call at night. In the future, we need to prepare more fruits to provide them with the necessary nutrition. The better their health, the more they can accomplish.”

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan arrive at a small green onion field. As they squat down, he says, “For normal people, three meals a day is enough. Those servants are really exhausted, and they all live together as families on the farm.”

“When children are fewer, parents feel sad, and when parents are fewer, children feel upset. Stability and unity are the most important. With proper nutrition, people’s lifespans will also increase. When Juan and I grow up and the next generation on the farm comes out, the farm will need its own culture as well.”

“Yeah, there’s no rush. I’ll arrange things later; you handle the planning, and I’ll take care of the organization. If we have more family servants in the future, I’ll train them. While they’re still young, I plan to find some military operation materials from this era, combining theory with practice to develop tactics.”

Wang Juan supports this idea and wants to apply what she has learned before. Noticing the nervous look from Zhang Xiaobao, she smiles and says, “Don’t worry; I won’t rebel and get you, the Zhang family, in trouble. What are we preparing for lunch?”

“Eggplants, cooked with fish. After steaming, we’ll mix them with green onions and sauce. There’ll be garlic eggplants, minced meat eggplants, dry-fried eggplants—this one needs the water from mountain chili seedlings—caramelized eggplants, braised ribs with eggplants, and oil-braised eggplants with peas. Eight of those will be enough, plus a seaweed and shrimp soup with an eggplant. For the main dish, let’s have fried stuffed eggplant.”

Zhang Xiaobao counts on his little fingers, listing everything for Wang Juan. After listening, Wang Juan nods seriously, “Okay, I think this will work. I’m planning to have tofu for dinner tonight, so I’m counting on you for a full tofu feast.”

“No problem, I’ll make sure to complete the task. The only thing I’m worried about is whether using brown sugar for the caramelized eggplants will taste bad. I’ll get some charcoal later to filter out the sugar residue; that will make cooking easier in the future.” Wang Juan says this, and Zhang Xiaobao readily agrees, looking eager to try it out, leaving Wang Juan speechless.

“Alright, anything to eat is fine. Do you think that scammer Song will do things as you want?” Wang Juan redirects the topic back on track.

“Don’t worry, I know people like him. He has the same mentality I did when I first start conning people,” Zhang Xiaobao says nonchalantly.