“No, we now have 115 taels of silver. I earned 100 taels today, so it’s enough for us to open a brick factory and build a house, and the brick factory will keep earning money for us. It’s guaranteed profit with no risk,” Lu Qing corrected Han Qiuniang.
“What?” Han Qiuniang’s pupils widened in shock. She never expected they actually had more than 100 taels of silver. Where did so much money come from?
“Husband, am I dreaming?” Han Qiuniang truly couldn’t believe they possessed over 100 taels.
“You’re not dreaming. It’s real,” Lu Qing said, smiling as he gently tapped her forehead. This little girl always startled so easily.
“One hundred taels of silver… that’s so much. I probably wouldn’t be able to spend it all in my life,” Han Qiuniang said, her eyes filled with longing. Their family finally had 100 taels of silver—this was true wealth.
They returned home. Zheng Yulan, Han Qiuniang, and Dong Chunhua saw Han Qiuniang trailing behind Lu Qing with a beaming face, clearly elated by something.
“Cousin, what made you so happy?” Zheng Yulan asked.
“Not telling you,” Han Qiuniang said, feigning mystery.
“Cousin, you’re really not telling?” Cheng Su’e and Zheng Yulan closed in from both sides and tickled her waist.
“Ah! Stop, stop, I’ll tell you, okay?” Han Qiuniang surrendered at once.
“Husband told me our family now has 100 taels of silver.” Han Qiuniang shared the news.
The three women froze completely. Zheng Yulan, Dong Chunhua, and Cheng Su’e stared straight at Lu Qing.
One hundred taels of silver? Impossible.
“Husband, is Cousin telling the truth?”
“Yes!”
“Ah?” The four women looked dumbfounded. What kind of answer was that? Yes? It even sounded strange to them.
“It’s true,” Lu Qing clarified.
“My heavens,” Cheng Su’e covered her mouth in shock. In her mind, 100 taels was an enormous sum.
“So we won’t starve in the future?” Dong Chunhua asked blankly. One hundred taels of silver was unimaginable.
“Of course you won’t starve. From now on, you’ll eat well with me, Lu Qing. And later, each of you must give me a chubby son. The Lu family needs to grow its branches,” Lu Qing said with a happy smile.
…
Early the next morning, Lu Qing washed up. Han Qiuniang had already prepared his meal. This was the benefit of having several wives.
After breakfast, Lu Qing took out the 100 taels of silver. The four women stared at the bright silver, still feeling like this was all a dream.
“Huh?” The four women froze, not understanding his intention.
“Husband, what are you doing? We can’t accept this,” Cheng Su’e said, waving her hands quickly.
“Yes, since when do women manage money? If outsiders hear about this, they’ll say we don’t follow proper womanly conduct,” Dong Chunhua added.
“That’s right,” Zheng Yulan nodded.
Lu Qing smiled. “I don’t think that way. Take the money. What if you need to use money someday?”
Han Qiuniang immediately waved her hands. “No no no no no, Husband, how could we ever need money? And even if we did, we can ask you for it.”
“But what if I’m not by your side?” Lu Qing asked. Han Qiuniang suddenly had no way to respond.
“Besides, Sun Magan taught me something—don’t put all your eggs in one basket. This 100 taels is our family’s foundation and our security. If something happens in the future, we won’t be left helpless,” Lu Qing explained patiently.
“All of you take it. Carrying so much silver on me is inconvenient.”
Lu Qing wasn’t worried they would run off with the money. In this society, a woman followed her husband completely. Since they had married Lu Qing, they would not harbor other thoughts. That was something Lu Qing appreciated.
“This…”
“Take it,” Lu Qing said, handing each of them their share.
“From today onward, you don’t need to dig wild greens anymore. Just stay home and cook. If the four of you still can’t manage, I’ll ask Aunt Zhang to help.”
Lu Qing clearly had a plan in mind.
“Cook?” Zheng Yulan didn’t understand. What meals needed the four of them?
Who could eat that much?
“I’m opening a brick factory. A brick factory needs workers. I think one copper coin a day with two meals—lunch and dinner—is fair,” Lu Qing explained.
“Don’t be stingy with the food. Make sure everyone eats their fill,” Lu Qing reminded them.
“We’ll listen to you, Husband,” Han Qiuniang said.
“Good!” Lu Qing pinched the cheeks of two of them. These were his good wives.
After explaining everything, he rushed into the mountain forest. He had set traps yesterday and wanted to see if he caught anything.
Two hours later, Lu Qing came down the mountain.
“Why is he carrying prey? Isn’t Lu Qing a Xiucai? How does he even know how to hunt?”
Villagers of Manglong Village saw Lu Qing carrying three wild rabbits and two pheasants, each showing a shocked—and envious—expression.
Three rabbits and two pheasants was a huge harvest. Even the experienced hunters of Manglong Village rarely had such a good day.
“He was in the mountain forest for less than two hours. How did he catch them?”
“This…?”
Everyone looked curious. Thinking back, it really was strange—less than two hours and he returned fully loaded.
“Must be good luck!”
“Then why don’t you have such luck?”
“Lu Qing has been strange ever since he got married. Suddenly rich, suddenly skilled. Does that mean Han Qiuniang isn’t cursed? Maybe she actually brings fortune?”
Seeing Lu Qing’s recent changes, people began to reevaluate Han Qiuniang.
“This…”
“Lu Qing!” two villagers suddenly called out.
“Is something wrong?”
“You caught a lot today.”
“Just lucky.”
“Not just luck. You must have some kind of technique, right?”
“It’s nothing special. I just set a few traps,” Lu Qing said honestly. He could hide the ginseng matter, but hunting wasn’t something that needed hiding.
“Traps? But when we set traps, we never get anything!”
The villager felt depressed. They knew how to set traps too… so why didn’t they get the same results?
“Maybe because I set more traps,” Lu Qing said with a smile.
Setting traps was also a skill. You couldn’t just place traps randomly. You needed to observe, analyze, and choose the best spots. Wild animals were not to be underestimated.