The whole family went inside to eat. Zhao Feng first served the elders their rice, and only at the end did she and Xiu’er get their own portions.
Holding her bowl, she thought for a moment, then instructed Xiu’er, “You follow me and learn how to make face powder—you’ll use it in the future. You also need to learn arithmetic and reading, and you need to build up your courage and cunning. You have to learn to negotiate prices with shopkeepers on your own, sell new things, and protect your secret formula. Then you’ll be able to make money steadily for the rest of your life.”
“Me, negotiating with a shopkeeper all alone? I wouldn’t dare.”
Xiu’er frowned in distress, hesitation clear in her eyes.
“First time’s always awkward, but the second time comes easier. If you want to stand on your own two feet and live well in the future, you have to learn. What others have is never as good as what you have yourself. With your own skills and craft, you can go to the ends of the earth without fear.
Why did my eldest brother dare to agree to split the family? Because all three of us siblings have the skills and confidence to earn money. Even after splitting, we’re not afraid of not being able to support our mother.”
She sighed and continued, “If you ask me, it’s my father who was the shrewd one. All three of us siblings went to school—reading broadens your horizons and teaches you reason. To get us three kids educated and skilled, my father took plenty of losses and scoldings. But now, look at him—he knew exactly what he was doing.
All the work at our family’s distillery is done by my second brother and my father. Distillery work is grueling, but my second brother’s skills are solid, and now he has the guts to go it alone.
My eldest brother has a natural gift for studying, and I can make a few trinkets and do some small business. Xiu’er, your father and brothers backing you up just gives you confidence—in the end, it has to come from yourself.”
Zhao Feng let out a deep sigh. “I always thought that with my father as my support, even if the sky fell, I wouldn’t be afraid. My father taught the most important part of brewing—the starter culture fermentation—to me and my second brother. I’m a bit quicker-witted than my second brother, and I have a better natural talent for herbs. As long as we siblings stick together, we’re not afraid of not making money. My father had already prepared our escape route long ago.”
With that, she lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth, her nose stinging as she thought of her father. She knew her father had always known that her grandmother and second uncle were selfish and unreliable.
Seeing her so upset, Xiu’er felt a pang of sympathy. “Feng’er, it’s all in the past. Don’t be sad. This time I’ll really learn the skills properly, no slacking off. I’ll do whatever you say, alright?”
“Hurry up and eat. When you’re done, you two go do your work.”
Aunt Li gently scolded them—the more they talked, the sadder the children got.
Mrs. Xu let out a faint sigh but said nothing.
“Don’t go blabbing about what happens in our house. That old woman will come making trouble again.”
Fifth Grandpa reminded the family.
“Ah! Father, don’t worry. We know what we’re doing.”
“Uncle Gangzi, find someone to fix up Sixth Grandpa’s courtyard later. We can move in there for now—otherwise it’s too cramped for Brother Huzi and his family.”
Zhao Feng was every bit the household manager, handling everything inside and out.
“Alright, once we’re done with the fieldwork this stretch, I’ll fix it up for you.”
“Fix it up nicely—we’ll be living there for a while.”
In her heart, Zhao Feng planned to build a new courtyard later, reserved for her second brother. Her eldest brother was going down the Imperial Examination path, so there was no rush for him yet.
Since they were going to live in Sixth Grandpa’s courtyard anyway, they might as well make it nice. Later, they could leave it directly to Fifth Grandpa’s family—it could serve as a wedding home for Brother Huzi and the others, and count as their thanks. But if she said it outright, Fifth Grandpa would definitely refuse. Since they were living there anyway, she’d use this excuse to fix it up properly, and when the new courtyard was built and they moved out, the old one would be left to them with no room for refusal.
“Alright.”
Uncle Gangzi nodded in agreement. If they were staying long-term, it needed proper repairs—otherwise wind and rain would ruin it.
After the meal, the men went to the fields to work. Zhao Bin went along too—even if he couldn’t use his hands, he could do other things.
In the afternoon, Zhao Feng took Xiu’er and taught her hand-over-hand how to make face powder. She planned to make the other two types of water powder and rouge as well, but the main goal was to teach Xiu’er.
Fifth Grandpa went visiting in the afternoon, strolling over to Eighth Grandpa’s house.
Eighth Grandpa’s family had plenty of land too, but he and Eighth Grandmother no longer farmed. They just raised chickens and grew vegetables in the courtyard. Their son Zhao Yang had been an apprentice in someone’s shop as a youth, and now he was already a second-in-command manager, capable of handling things on his own.
Their land was rented out to others to farm—they were too old to work it themselves anymore.
“Fifth Brother, have you eaten? Old man, Fifth Brother is here.”
Eighth Grandmother called out, welcoming Fifth Grandpa inside.
“I just ate. Came to chat with Old Eighth.”
“Come sit inside. I’ll pour you some water.”
Eighth Grandmother warmly ushered him in and bustled off to the kitchen to get water.
“Fifth Brother, you came to see me about something, didn’t you?”
Eighth Grandpa could tell from the look on his face that something was weighing on him.
“Yeah, something’s on my mind. I can’t quite figure it out, so I wanted to talk it over with you.”
Fifth Grandpa sat down, and Eighth Grandpa lit his pipe for him.
“You’re worried about Binzi’s family, aren’t you? I figured that was eating at you.”
Eighth Grandpa naturally knew what was on his mind.
“That Feng-ya girl is sharp as a tack. She figured out what happened with Yan-ge and kept pressing me with questions.”
Fifth Grandpa took a puff of his pipe and glanced at Eighth Grandpa.
“Not surprising. Yan-ge’s children are all exceptionally clever. Fifth Brother, Binzi is the only Xiucai in our whole village—we can’t let him be ruined at their hands.”
Eighth Grandpa frowned, a note of urgency in his voice.
“I understand, but this isn’t something I can decide on my own. You think the clan genealogy can just be changed at will? Touching the clan genealogy requires the consent of the entire village. Back then, Fourth Brother gave out favors to make it happen. Now we’re left with orphans and widows—how am I supposed to go asking people for money?”
“Then what do we do? We can’t just let them run wild. Did they go make trouble again today? They dare to cause trouble right under your nose. Once us old folks kick the bucket, there’ll be no one left to keep that family in check.”
“Feng’er told me about a way to make money today. She plans to have Zhao Yi run the distillery on his own, and the profits will go toward building a school for the village, with workers hired from the village as well.
The girl came to me on her own and asked me and you to back her up. I was thinking this can’t get done without your Zhao Yang helping to organize things.
I heard Zhao Yang’s contract is almost up. Ask him—let’s have our three families work together. Zhao Yi and his lot don’t have any elders to support them or give advice, and we old bones can still stand behind them and cheer them on. If we can get this off the ground, I’ll be able to make changes to the clan genealogy.”
Fifth Grandpa looked at Eighth Grandpa, his eyes burning bright. He knew this old man was just waiting for his son and daughter-in-law to come back.
Zhao Yang had only one son and one daughter, both in the provincial capital, though his wife often brought the children back to visit.
Eighth Grandpa and his wife weren’t bad people—they just feared their son would go astray without someone by his side. They refused to let the daughter-in-law stay and serve them, insisting instead that she take the children to be with their son. A family should stay together, after all.
But during the busy farming season, whenever she had free time, the daughter-in-law would bring the children back to pay respects to the old couple.
Eighth Grandpa’s eyes lit up. “I’m willing in my heart, but when it comes to Zhao Yang, I don’t have the final say. He signed a ten-year contract. It looks glorious on the surface, but really he went to be a servant for them. It just wasn’t an indentured servitude contract back then. In truth, he still has to watch people’s faces and follow their moods at the master’s household.”
“Zhao Yang has been out there running around for so many years—he must have picked up some skills. Write to him and let him know, have him think it over. You don’t know this, but today Feng’er went to the embroidery shop, drew a design, and made ten taels of silver just like that. Now she’s at home making scented balms to sell too—the goods are already prepared. I can see this girl has what it takes to make something happen. She’s got a plan.”
Fifth Grandpa let a little information slip.