LGSLAW : Chapter 68 – Reputation

Min Chun, who was being watched by many, felt rather aggrieved these days.

Firstly, the shop he opened in town, though business was good, was exhausting and chaotic. When he ran the tofu workshop with the resources and manpower of the Miao family, he only needed to curdle the soy milk, earning money effortlessly. Now, he had to do everything by himself, and even though he knew it was profitable, he found it tiring and frustrating. The plot of the novels made it seem easy, but executing it was anything but exciting.

Additionally, perhaps people figured out that he and his mother had no background and no male family members to rely on, leading to frequent visits from hooligans demanding protection fees. It started with just once, then two or three times a month, including eating and drinking. It became unbearable.

Min Chun wasn’t the type to tolerate such bullying, so he reported it to the authorities. Despite facing numerous obstacles and having to spend money to bribe the constables and even officials, the situation eventually changed from intolerable to barely tolerable. However, he was burning through his sixty taels quickly. When he first acquired the shop, it cost thirty taels. Various repairs and expenditures took another ten taels, and with the extra payments to the authorities, he was left with only a small portion of his money. Fortunately, the cold noodle business was doing well, earning him one or two taels a month after deducting the bribes.

Initially, he had considered selling the recipe to a tavern, but the memory of the tofu recipe incident lingered. People feared the recipe might leak in the future and were unwilling to pay a high price. After some haggling, Min Chun decided it was better to open his own shop.

Unexpectedly, just when he had stabilized the shop and thought his life was finally on track, he overheard his mother discussing with an aunt about finding him a widower. 

Damn it! It was bad enough he had to work hard to support this woman, and now she wanted to tie him down with a marriage rope!

He immediately chased the matchmaking aunt away and turned back, furious.

Min Chun slammed the table and questioned, “Mother! What on earth are you doing? Am I not making enough money? Are we short of money? We’re living well now! Why are you trying to marry me off again?”

Aunt Yuan seemed to explode at this, “So what if we have money? Even the girls in brothels have money! But who dares to say they are living well?!”

“Brothel?! Are you comparing me to a brothel?!” Min Chun laughed angrily.

“Do you know what people are saying about you now?! They say a dirty, divorced young ger is running a shop, and collecting money allows people to freely touch his hand. If they don’t pay, they can grope even more! They say you’re living a great life! Am I wrong in what I said?!” Aunt Yuan angrily scolded. “I still care about face! You may not have behaved properly with Miao Yuan before, and I couldn’t control you, but are you planning to be improper with every man that comes along?! I won’t let you continue like this! You may be possessed, but I’m not!”

Hearing “possessed,” Min Chun took a deep breath and softened his tone, “Mother, I was angry at Miao Yuan. They abandoned me, and I wanted to live better than them. Those rumors about hand touching are not true. People talk nonsense. What can I do?”

“Don’t you remember what happened to Aunt Shui in the village when she threw herself into the well?! I don’t want you to end up like that! I don’t want the reputation of not teaching a ger properly, disgracing your father! I will definitely find you a man to keep you in line!” Aunt Yuan said sternly.

Min Chun rolled his eyes inwardly. Reputation, again with the reputation. He thought, he wouldn’t let such outdated notions affect him. Gossip couldn’t kill him. As long as he had money and lived well, that’s all that mattered. However, since his mother still held the authority to arrange his marriage, he had to appease her.

“Mother, how about I hire an old woman to collect the money? We’ll earn less, but there will be less gossip. As for marriage, give me a year. I’ll find someone myself. If I can’t, I’ll let you decide, okay?”

Aunt Yuan wasn’t convinced, “No way. Letting you find someone yourself? What if it’s another mess like with Miao Yuan?!”

Min Chun said patiently, “But how can you be sure the men being introduced are not after our money? Many people are jealous of our shop. If we find a greedy one who spends all our money, beats me, and gambles, would that be better?! If you want to go back to the old days of hardship, then go ahead and find someone.”

When it came to money, Aunt Yuan hesitated, biting her lip. Min Chun pressed on, “Give me a year to find out. If I can’t find someone better, I’ll listen to you.”

Finally, the mother and son reached an agreement.

After that, Min Chun hired an old woman to serve the food and collect money. It was during this time that Yang Dalang visited the shop.

As soon as Yang Dalang stepped into the shop, busy Min Chun, who was behind the wooden partition, saw him through the window.

Among the men eating cold noodles, Yang Dalang stood at the door, looking at the menu on the wall. His carefully stitched robe accentuated his tall and slender figure, and his straight posture immediately caught Min Chun’s eye.

With the skin nurtured by the magic soil, even though Yang Dalang often worked in the fields and patrolled the mountains, his skin was a perfect bronze tone, adding to his masculine charm. Even the scar on his face had faded to the point where it was barely noticeable, and his sharp, defined features were truly eye-catching.

Yang Dalang ordered a takeaway and remembered to bring a jar. There were no plastic bags in this era. Min Chun felt a bit uncomfortable, guessing that Yang Dalang had come specifically to buy it for He Ge’er.

Thinking of that pretty face, Min Chun couldn’t help but feel a sense of comparison and unwillingness. He had once taken away Miao Yuan, who was considered the best in the village, yet now Yang Dalang had found someone even better. While he struggled, Yang Dalang lived comfortably, which felt like a slap in his face.

However, wasn’t the man before him a good target?

After his argument with his mother, Min Chun had to face his marital issues. He had to admit that he had underestimated the importance of reputation and propriety. He had casually slept with Miao Yuan and then divorced him, only to face difficulties despite having money.

Carrying the label of a divorced ger, no matter how well-dressed he was, when he entered a tavern, looking for someone decent, he was either pointed at or leered at. His mother’s reminders weren’t wrong; if he ignored his reputation, it would affect his business and life. It seemed getting married again might be necessary.

However, finding a good match was impossible. Even becoming a concubine in a wealthy family would be met with disdain. He couldn’t even use tricks like saving someone from drowning to force a relationship, as he no longer had a good reputation.

So, his mother was looking for a widower (as there were few divorced men). Most of them were poor and desperate, and he absolutely didn’t want to be with those old, bald, or weak men.

Since that was the case, why not choose someone he liked, break up their marriage, and then be with him?

It would be more challenging, but what did he have to lose by trying?

Looking at Yang Dalang’s growing wealth, with a green brick house and a mountain, now a landlord renting out land, if he could use this, he wouldn’t need to struggle so much, saving money tael by tael and enduring exploitation.

He had taken away He Ge’er’s boyfriend for the Miao family’s status and power, so why not take away He Ge’er’s man for money? Although they had two sons, breaking up a marriage might be harder, but he had succeeded once, why not again? Besides, Yang Dalang seemed ambitious, growing from a hunter to a landlord. With his many assets, he could slowly tempt him, using money to lure him in.

With the thought of seizing the opportunity, Min Chun packed Yang Dalang’s order and took it to him personally.

Holding the jar, he walked up to Yang Dalang and said softly, “Seventy coins.”

Yang Dalang handed over the money, and Min Chun pretended to put it in his waistband, letting the jar slip from his other hand as if by accident.

The jar was about to fall on Yang Dalang, but in a flash, Yang Dalang caught it, turned his hand, and the jar was back in his grasp.

Only a bit of juice seeped from the jar’s lid, staining Yang Dalang’s clothes.

Surprised, Min Chun quickly put on a sorry face, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! Really, I’m very sorry!” Then he hurriedly rolled up his sleeves, trying to wipe it off.

Yang Dalang stepped back, blocking him with his hand, “No need.” He frowned and turned to leave.

Min Chun continued to act apologetic, thinking, he’s well-defended, but at least he got some on him. I’ll visit his house later with a small gift, apologizing and chatting, gradually getting closer to He Ge’er. Easy.

While Min Chun was plotting, Yang Dalang returned home with a frown.

Hearing him come back, He Ge’er happily ran out, curiously opening the jar.

“Wow, it’s really cold noodles. Why is the jar dirty? Did it fall?”

Yang Dalang wasn’t pleased, “He did it on purpose.”

“Huh?”

“Purposely spilled on me, must have a motive.”

Yang Dalang, as a part-time hunter with excellent hearing, had clearly heard the conversation behind the wooden partition.

“Huh?!” He Ge’er’s eyes widened, “A motive?! Come, tell me more!!”

Forgetting the two babies playing with Da Bai in the bedroom.

But Da Bai didn’t mind. After all, the king hadn’t had much screen time lately, meow.

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