Chapter 6While Feng Li and Mrs. Jiang were discussing matters concerning the second branch of the family, Feng Cang and his wife Mrs. Jian were likewise talking about the first branch. Feng Cang remarked, "This residence isn't particularly large, but Dalang actually bought three hundred mu of land—that's no small sum."Mrs. Jian's family ran a wedding cake shop that had been passed down for two or three generations. In good years, it earned five hundred taels annually, and even in leaner years, it brought in three hundred. Her mother's younger sister had originally been just a helper at the shop, but because she excelled at making flower-shaped cakes, Mrs. Jian's father had forcibly taken her as a concubine. The aunt worked in the shop day after day, doing the work of two people, which allowed the family to earn nearly six hundred taels a year.But precisely because of this, after Mrs. Jian's engagement was settled, the aunt let herself relax completely, and the illness accumulated from years of overwork suddenly erupted. On her deathbed, she secretly hid all her private savings for Mrs. Jian.Her elder sister had married the county magistrate's son as a second wife, which made her part of an official household. After bearing a son, every time she returned home, she arrived on a tall horse, carrying herself with all the airs of an official's lady. Her second sister's husband's family owned two shops in the area, both selling white flour. Though they were uneducated, the family was well-off. Only her own in-laws were not so good.She had a fair, oval face and was quite comely. At the time, a wealthy family had sought her as a daughter-in-law, but her father believed marrying a xiucai scholar was the best choice—especially since Feng Cang had passed the imperial examination at a young age. Her family had heard his household was also in business, and if he later passed the provincial or metropolitan examinations, not only would she become an official's wife, but her natal family would enjoy the benefits as well.However, after marrying into the family, things were completely different from what she had expected. Her father-in-law was stingy, and the family business fluctuated between good and bad. Her mother-in-law was muddle-headed and couldn't even manage the household properly.On ordinary days, when they attended wedding banquets at other people's homes, they would pack up the leftover soup and scraps to bring back and eat for three more days. The two servants she had brought with her were almost constantly busy helping with the shop and the housework.Her husband's family provided no support whatsoever. If she wanted new clothes or good food, she had to dip into her dowry. Fortunately, she had brought a dowry of one thousand taels, which made life somewhat more comfortable for her, her son, and her daughter.Of course, Feng Cang was acceptable in his own way—now serving as a private tutor in a wealthy household, which was respectable enough.Mrs. Jian had previously only known that the Feng family was from the countryside of Hanyang Prefecture. She had also heard that the eldest branch's household wasn't doing well, so much so that Feng Dalang had only married at nearly thirty years old. But seeing things today, that was clearly not the case at all. Though Cloudwater Town couldn't compare to the prefectural seat or Hankou, it was a rather prosperous place. The eldest branch of the Feng family had both shopfronts and a residence, and had acquired this much farmland—clearly, the eldest branch had been hiding their wealth all along.The eldest branch of the Feng family had no idea what an impact they had made on the second branch. That morning, Feng Li invited them to town for breakfast. Unexpectedly, Second Uncle Feng asked Feng Li, "I heard you took back Lai the Elder's fields and won't let him farm them anymore? Why didn't you say anything to us about this? Yesterday, Lai the Elder came looking for me demanding an explanation!"Feng Li was nothing like his father, Old Man Feng, who preferred to smooth things over. He said, "That old fellow is something else. Wealthy Man Tong himself told me that Lai rents the Tong family's fields but owes rent year after year, and he's vicious to boot. Now that I've bought the land, I naturally want to rent it out to honest, dependable people to farm. What's more, Lai the Elder poisoned an entire pond of my fish a few days ago. Fortunately, Hu Si bought new fry and I decided not to pursue it further. Otherwise, letting him off without sending him to prison was already an act of mercy—and he still dares to come looking for trouble with me?"Second Uncle Feng had nothing to say to that. Feng Li glanced at Mrs. Lai and said, "Lai the Elder still didn't want to leave and tried to farm my fields directly. I took some men over and we've already enclosed the land as polder fields."He was naturally tall and powerfully built, and had worked in places like money shops where all sorts of rough characters gathered—he wasn't afraid of such people.That single retort struck Second Uncle Feng and Mrs. Lai dumb. Feng Cang pretended to be deaf and mute, desperately hoping to stay out of the family dispute. Feng Li had a glib tongue, could hold his own in both words and deeds, and was generous to boot. Since they had eaten his food, they couldn't very well talk back—Second Uncle Feng and the others dared not say another word.Mrs. Jiang watched all this and felt even more admiration for her husband. Yingniang also felt that her father truly understood the ways of the world without being corrupted by them—when the time came to act, he acted.After breakfast, Second Uncle Feng took his youngest son Feng Yu to buy items needed for the wedding, using of course the eldest branch's donkey cart. On ordinary days, Feng Li's household used it when Old Man Feng needed to buy coal, haul firewood, or purchase vegetables. It was part of Mrs. Jiang's dowry, and on regular days it was fed with the finest fodder, always well-fed, and personally tended to by Old Master Feng.Additionally, Feng Li himself had a horse-drawn carriage for transporting people. Whenever they needed to go somewhere a bit farther, they would take the carriage.The donkey and the horse were important livestock for the household. Feng Li still had to remind Old Master Feng: "Later, when you send them back to the countryside, make sure to drive the donkey cart back.""What? They're all relatives—that wouldn't be proper." Old Man Feng always felt his son went too far.Feng Li waved his hand: "If they need to buy more things, we can drive it over again. Don't lend out the cart and horse casually. Other people won't take good care of our horse and donkey. Don't lend them out just to save face—this is Yuechan's dowry."Old Man Feng had his share of flaws, but he was very obedient to his eldest son—especially now that the entire household's belongings had been acquired by Feng Li. He knew his son had good judgment, so he naturally said, "Alright, I agree."As for Second Uncle Feng and his wife, who had taken their soon-to-be-married youngest son Feng Yu out for a day of strolling, they returned empty-handed, leaving Yingniang utterly stunned. One would think that Cloudwater Town was now a bustling hub for goods traveling north and south, with abundant products at cheap prices—yet they had bought nothing at all.Feng Li was just stepping out of the study, book in hand, and found it equally baffling: "The wedding is only days away—how is it you've bought nothing?" At the very least, they should have prepared some decorations. Though they still planned to hold another ceremony in Wuchang Prefecture, they had invited so many fellow villagers here that it couldn't afford to look too shabby.Second Uncle Feng said nothing, and it was his wife, Mrs. Lai, who spoke up: "We couldn't find anything nice to look at."In the countryside, when hosting a wedding banquet, one had to stock up on meat, vegetables, firewood, and coal well in advance—not to mention bowls, chopsticks, tables, and chairs all had to be prepared ahead of time. Even the cook had to be booked early; you couldn't just show up and expect everything to be ready.Mrs. Jian felt deeply ashamed. As the daughter of a concubine, she was more sensitive than most, and even Feng Li's glance felt like needles pricking her back. Her in-laws were just like that—grudging every single coin as if it would cost them their lives, even leaving their New Year's shopping to the very last day out of sheer reluctance.So when she saw that the eldest branch of the family had more cured meat and salted fish than they could finish, eggs piled high in bamboo baskets, rice, millet, and beans overflowing their containers, not to mention all sorts of pickled vegetables with excellent flavor—none of which cost much silver—it was plain to see they were a family that truly knew how to live.It was just her in-laws who were so strange. The money would have to be spent eventually, and buying things at the last minute even cost more, yet they refused to prepare ahead. Even her younger brother-in-law's tuition was always paid on the very last day, to the point that the teacher never had a kind expression for anyone in her family. She simply couldn't understand why.

Yingniang