GD (QT) Chapter 9

“Dad, was that really the County Magistrate just now?”

“Of course it wasn’t a fake.”

“The Magistrate actually personally escorted you out! Dad, what exactly did you talk about?”

Lin Yu explained a bit, summarizing: “Basically, your father invented a more flexible and lightweight plowshare. It’s exactly what the Imperial Court needs, so the Magistrate was very pleased.”

Lin Pan and Lin Lai didn’t yet realize the historical significance of the curved-shaft plow, but they knew that a County Magistrate was a very high-ranking official. For such a man to personally see their father off proved just how incredible their father was.

Lin Lai was no longer anxious; she turned boastful. “I knew that doorkeeper was talking nonsense. He said Dad would get a flogging. I think he’s the one who deserves a flogging.”

Lin Yu paused. “Did that man bully you?”

Thinking of her father’s recent “mighty deeds,” Lin Pan was afraid that if she nodded, her dad would charge back and smash the yamen to bits. She quickly shook her head. “No, no. He just kept saying you were a liar, but we ignored him.”

“Right, he just has no vision,” Lin Lai added.

Lin Yu smiled. “Come on, Dad will take you to the market for a good look. We’ll buy everything the house is missing.”

Hearing this, the sisters immediately forgot about everything else.

Lin Yu felt the house was practically empty and needed everything, but once they arrived at the market, the sisters were so frugal and calculating that they spent less than a hundred copper coins total.

Lin Yu couldn’t help but speak up: “Buy more of the daily necessities.”

“Don’t skimp on the soy sauce and vinegar, or the food won’t have any flavor. Buy more eggs, too. You’re both too thin; from now on, eat an egg every day to build your strength.”

He looked at their patched-up clothes and added, “Let’s go buy some fabric. I’ll get a new set of clothes made for each of you.”

Lin Pan shook her head immediately. “No need. It’s not a festival or New Year; why make new clothes? The ones I’m wearing are still fine.”

“It’ll be cold soon. We need to buy cotton for winter clothes and quilts.”

Lin Yu searched his memory and found that the three sisters didn’t even own winter coats; they could only huddle together in bed shivering during the winter. He cursed the original owner once again for being an unfit father—his own daughters were covered in chilblains, yet he had the gall to give money to his nephew for new clothes.

Lin Yu made the final call: “Fabric and cotton first, then eggs right before we leave so they don’t break.”

The sisters exchanged a look. “Dad, how much is this going to cost?” Lin Pan reminded him hesitantly. “Even if we have savings, we can’t spend it like this. We can buy eggs in the village for a cheaper price. We just had wild chicken and pork—we don’t need to ‘recover’ that much. Other families are lucky to have an egg once in a while.”

Lin Yu didn’t agree. Instead, he asked, “What? Are you afraid your father can’t earn money and will let you go hungry?”

The sisters shook their heads frantically.

Lin Yu smiled and patted their foreheads. “The County Magistrate thinks your father is capable and saw me out personally. Put your hearts at ease; from now on, our family will never lack money. Now, listen to Dad. We’re buying it now.”

Unable to argue, Lin Pan and Lin Lai could only follow. But watching their father spend money like water, exhausting all the copper coins they brought in a short time, made their hearts skip a beat.

On the way back, Lin Pan whispered, “No wonder Dad wants us to manage the money. With the way he spends, no amount of money could be kept.”

Lin Lai agreed. “Dad is just happy today because the Magistrate praised him. We’ll let it slide this once, but we have to advise him better in the future.”

…

When the family left the county town, the cart was piled high. Lin Pan and Lin Lai refused to get on, insisting on helping push. They were afraid the eggs would break on the cart, so they carried them in baskets.

Lin Yu bought two tanghulu¹candied haws, shoving one into each of their hands to let them snack as they walked.

“So this is what tanghulu tastes like. It’s so good,” Lin Lai licked the treat carefully, her lips stained red.

This was Lin Pan’s first time eating one as well; she had only ever seen the spoiled boys in the village eating them before. She held her stick up to her father’s mouth. “Dad, you have one too.”

“That’s for kids. I don’t care for the taste,” Lin Yu said truthfully.

Lin Pan didn’t believe him and gathered her courage to act spoiled. “Dad, just one bite? It looks so red and delicious.”

Lin Yu couldn’t refuse. He bit off one hawthorn. It was sweet on the outside, but the inside was so sour it made his teeth ache. “The taste is just average,” he evaluated.

“I think it’s great! Delicious!” Lin Lai disagreed. “The sugar coating is crispy and sweet, and though it’s sour inside, there’s a sweet aftertaste.”

Lin Pan took a bite, her eyes curving into crescents. “I think it’s delicious too. Dad, it seems you really don’t like sweets.”

“If you like it, take your time. We’ll buy more next time we come to town,” Lin Yu laughed.

Lin Pan quickly said, “Tanghulu doesn’t fill the stomach. Just a taste is enough.”

“Three copper coins a stick isn’t expensive. we can afford it,” Lin Yu said.

Lin Lai was focused on something else. “Dad, can we really come back? Will you really bring us to town again?”

Lin Yu answered without hesitation: “Of course. You two are the little managers of our house. If you don’t come, I won’t even know how to haggle.”

Hearing this, the two girls felt incredibly valuable. They said happily, “We still paid too much for that fabric; the boss agreed way too quickly. We have to haggle more next time.”

“We can also ask others what price they paid first so we have a baseline.”

Listening to them discuss their plans—no longer sounding uneasy—Lin Yu felt happy.

…

The sisters loved the tanghulu so much that even after an hour’s walk back to Qingshan Village, they still had half left.

“Lin Er is back! Why is there so much stuff on the cart? What did you buy?” Several old women chatting and working at the village entrance stretched their necks to look.

Lin Yu didn’t even look up. “The house had nothing, so I just bought a few things.”

The sisters remained quiet as the three of them hurried home. Behind them, the women began to gossip.

“A whole cart full… that must have cost a lot of money.”

“Likely from that wild boar. They say Lin Er has great luck.”

“How big was it? Lin Er is stingy—he’s from this village, yet he didn’t share any meat for us to taste.”

“Old Mrs. Lin must be regretting it now. If she hadn’t fallen out with him, she’d have a share of that boar.”

“Third Auntie, why didn’t you stop them to see exactly what was in there?”

The woman known as Third Auntie curled her lip. “I didn’t dare. You weren’t there the other day. When Lin Er gets angry, he looks like he’s ready to kill. It’s terrifying.” Her eyes darted around, and she headed toward the Eldest Lin’s house.

“Sister-in-law! Your Second Brother just dragged a huge cart of goods back. There might be a share for you, why don’t you go check?” She giggled. “Oh, I almost forgot. Lin Er severed ties with you. I guess you won’t be getting any of those benefits anymore.”

“Go away! My family’s business is none of your concern!” Old Mrs. Lin yelled, chasing her off.

Once the woman was gone, she turned to see her eldest son looking dejected.

“Mother, Second Brother is too cruel. The moment he makes money from a boar, he wants to cut us off. He even smashed our house! Are we just going to let this go?” Lin Da complained.

He had sent his wife back to her maiden home to gather information, but there had been no news. His two sons in town still needed money for their studies; Lin Da’s hair was turning white from worry.

Seeing her precious son so distressed, Old Mrs. Lin gritted her teeth. “I’ll go find the Clan Leader and ask him to judge this fairly. I don’t believe a son can be so lawless!”

Lin Da’s eyes lit up. “With the Clan Leader involved, Second Brother won’t dare disobey.”

…

Back home, the father and daughters began tidying up.

“Third Auntie actually didn’t reach out to grab anything. Usually, she sticks her head into everyone’s business,” Lin Lai joked once they were safely inside.

Lin Pan laughed. “You little devil. She didn’t dare—she’s afraid Dad will hit her.”

As they unloaded the cart, Lin Yu overheard and smiled. “It shows that people fear the ‘wicked.’ You don’t have to be too kind when dealing with the world.” The girls looked thoughtful.

Once the kitchen supplies were stored, only the fabric, cotton, and several boxes remained on the table. Lin Pan touched the cotton cloth, feeling it was better than anything she’d ever worn. But it was expensive.

“Dad, I don’t know how to make clothes,” she said worriedly.

Their mother had died early, so the sisters had never properly learned needlework. Previously, the eldest sister had done it, and after she married, their father would pay the grandmother to do it. But that cost money. They had tried to learn on their own, but they only knew how to patch old clothes. Using such good fabric felt like a waste to the young girl.

Lin Lai added, “If only Big Sister were here. Maybe when she comes back, we can ask her to teach us.”

“Mid-Autumn is coming; Big Sister will definitely visit,” Lin Pan missed her sister.

Just as they were talking, a coughing sound came from outside. The sisters’ expressions changed instantly. “Dad, I think it’s Grandpa Clan Leader,” they whispered.

Lin Yu recalled the Lin Clan Leader from the original owner’s memory—a man who loved putting on airs and using his status to suppress others. He raised an eyebrow; he knew nothing good came from this old man’s visits.

Lin Yu quickly cleared the table, shoving the new goods into the inner room. “Listen to me: stay quiet and let your father handle this.”

Seeing how calm he was, the sisters felt their panic fade.