He Zifeng went to the county office to report for duty. After his vacation, when he went back, all the officers were very polite to him.
“Brother He.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“There’s a drinking party among the brothers today, come and show your support?”
He Zifeng greeted each one individually. He was now a small leader among the officers, managing about ten people, all from the same group as him during the last mission execution. Everyone thought he would light three fires as a new official, but he said nothing and kept everything the same as before.
He Zifeng knew that his promotion this time was too fast and could easily make people jealous. It was best to stay low-key. Besides, he was originally someone who had just entered here not long ago. Although he had Brother Xiong as his guide, Brother Xiong himself was also a marginalized figure in the government office.
A place like the county office was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Even the Xie family’s youngest son could be stuffed in here. Who knew if there were other wealthy young masters who couldn’t be provoked. It was best to keep everything as usual.
Chief Zhu had a deputy managing things here and didn’t come to check attendance daily. Everything that happened each day was reported to him by his deputy. When Chief Zhu heard that He Zifeng had reacted this way when he first arrived, he laughed and said: “I said he was good.” There was some appreciation in his eyes.
This way there wouldn’t be conflicts easily. Don’t look at him being promoted to leader – several people had fallen because of this before. The more someone wanted to work hard to show off, the more it made people feel uncomfortable! Not to mention anything else, including Chief Zhu himself – if he managed this place particularly well, it would make him look incompetent. No one liked subordinates who thought too much.
He had the merit of catching the male and female villains, and the higher-ups would remember. Good swords should only be used when there’s business. Usually, they should be kept in the scabbard.
He Zifeng didn’t need to patrol the streets now, but he was someone who came from hard times and felt more comfortable doing some work. He still went out to patrol the streets, with Xie Rui following beside him.
Xie Rui was timid, and no one liked to play with him. Only He Zifeng paid attention to him, so now he liked to follow He Zifeng around. He Zifeng let him be and didn’t drive him away like others did.
After a while, they saw Xu Li hurriedly coming out of a large mansion. When he saw He Zifeng, he was slightly stunned but didn’t greet him. He lowered his head and quickly left.
Xie Rui didn’t know about the previous relationship between He Zifeng and Xu Li, but at this moment he excitedly started gossiping.
Xie Rui said: “Boss, do you know who he is?” Without waiting for He Zifeng to speak, he said from the side: “Everyone in the county town is talking about it. The matter of the Gong family’s illegitimate son – he’s that person’s spouse.”
He Zifeng raised an eyebrow and said: “What are people in the county saying?”
Xie Rui said: “What else could they say? They’re saying that at fifty years old he still produced such a big son – the household management isn’t strict! Before there was the matter of the official silver, and they sued the Gong family. The Gong family people hate them to the bone and naturally want to mess with them. I heard they only acknowledged the grandson back into the family.”
“These two are now neither master nor master, neither servant nor servant, just staying there. They only got a small broken tea shop, and that tea shop hasn’t opened for half a year. The shopkeeper is still one of the main wife’s people.” He was somewhat gloating.
The Xie family and the Gong family originally didn’t get along. Encountering this kind of thing, not kicking them when they were down but just mocking them behind their backs was already being generous.
He Zifeng knew their lives must not be going smoothly. Just now when he met Xu Li face to face, he looked much more haggard. Before, Xu Li’s father was the village chief, and Wan Hai was the most promising young man in the village – they could be said to have had unlimited glory.
Coming to the county was also their choice. After they had consecutive problems in the village, they probably didn’t want to stay in the village long ago. Although life in the county was more difficult, at least the villagers didn’t know, and they could maintain their former dignity.
Now everyone lived their own lives, and He Zifeng wouldn’t deliberately mock him either. Each to their own path – this was just right.
…
When Xu Li saw He Zifeng wearing officer’s clothes, a trace of embarrassment flashed across his face. When he got to his own tea shop and just entered, he saw Wan Hai checking the accounts there.
Wan Hai still had some ability and naturally saw the huge deficit in the account books. He hadn’t been acknowledged back into the ancestral line yet and couldn’t receive the ten taels of silver monthly allowance for young masters. His biological father said that all expenses had to come from this shop, and said that his son was no coward – as if he would be a coward if he didn’t make this shop work well.
However, Wan Hai’s three sons had entered the family genealogy. Each child could receive two taels of silver monthly, so three people meant six taels of silver. This money was collected by the couple on their behalf. They were also mocked by the maids and servants, who said they even wanted the children’s money, showing they were incompetent. There were all kinds of unpleasant words.
Wan Hai had previously thought that disciplining a servant wasn’t much, but it was discovered by the main wife, who said he was cruel-hearted and was indeed a savage from who knows where, making him kneel in the ancestral hall all night.
For a grown man, kneeling in the ancestral hall wasn’t hard to bear, but the sense of humiliation was very strong. Wan Hai didn’t have a single close person around him, only Xu Li beside him, saying: “It’s really too much. This old tea is collected at new tea prices. They say they’re giving a shop, but it’s actually just an empty shell – worse than an empty shell. With an empty shell I could still make new plans, but who would have thought there’s also a shopkeeper and two assistants who’ve been spoiled like masters. I can’t even order them around!”
This young master position made him feel so frustrated that he regretted it. If he had known it would be like this, he would rather not have acknowledged this relationship. Now their status was awkward.
Some people even said directly in front of Wan Hai that little Wan Shi wasn’t even proper when she was a foot-washing maid. Hearing such words was embarrassing, let alone when everyone was talking about his own mother. This feeling was indescribable – just thinking about it made him angry.
Wan Hai wanted to separate from the family, but as soon as he mentioned it, he would be scolded for not following rules. In wealthy families, rules could kill people, and there was no way out. Moreover, there were holiday gifts, three festivals and two birthdays, and even some elderly servants had to be given gifts. His six taels of silver was just a drop in the bucket.
Wan Hai’s biological father had eight sons, and these eight sons each had their own children. He also had to give rewards to the younger generation, and this expense alone was painful. Moreover, those little beasts weren’t decent either – once they discovered that what he gave wasn’t good, they would directly throw it on the ground and refuse it, embarrassing him.
Xu Li washed his face with tears every day. When he left the village, people still envied him. They had no idea what kind of life he was living. The day before yesterday, Xu Li’s father wanted to come and meet his in-laws, but not only did he have to enter through the back door, servants on the spot said that the Gong family wasn’t the kind where just anyone could climb up to be relatives, which made his father leave in anger on the spot.
Xu Li felt so stifled living these days that there was always a breath in his chest that he couldn’t spit out.
Only now did Wan Hai understand what his mother had planned for him back then. If his son could pass the imperial examinations and then be acknowledged back into the Gong family, life would be completely different. At least it would bring glory to the ancestors, not like now being like rats crossing the street.
Ever since he presented the beautiful jade to the Gong family last time, Xu Li also learned about the three thousand taels silver note. He said: “Can we separate from the family? Just like He Zifeng did back then – with silver, we would definitely live well in the county.”
But Wan Hai was frightened by the previous official silver incident and said: “Let’s endure for a few more days. Right now, who knows how many people are watching us. If we’re discovered, there might be more trouble!” He finally learned to hide his abilities.
Xu Li said: “When will these days ever end?” He couldn’t live even one more day like this.
Just then, they saw an old woman coming in from outside. When she saw Wan Hai, she cried. Wan Hai looked carefully and was shocked. Afraid that others would see, he quickly took her to a nearby deserted alley.
Xu Li had glanced at her just now and thought his eyes were playing tricks, but seeing Wan Hai’s expression, he knew it wasn’t that simple and followed over.
Hearing the crying from far away made his heart tremble. This person was none other than Wan Hai’s biological mother, little Wan Shi.
Xu Li wanted to know what was going on. As soon as he approached, he heard little Wan Shi crying and complaining that her little bit of money had been robbed. She had begged for food all the way back.
Little Wan Shi had some beauty and had originally thought of finding another household like He Donglai’s. But she misjudged her current appearance – no one was interested. Before, little Wan Shi had given her son a fake address, afraid he would come looking for her. But the hardship of life outside far exceeded her imagination, so she came to seek help.
Wan Hai then told her about his own experiences. Mother and son held each other and cried bitterly.
But after crying, little Wan Shi asked him for money. No matter what, a starved camel was still bigger than a horse – they still had six taels of silver monthly allowance they could collect without fail.
Wan Hai had been squeezed by the Gong family repeatedly these days and only had a bit over one tael in his pocket. This was only the beginning of the month, and they had to spend until the end of the month. But seeing his mother in this state, he gritted his teeth and gave her one tael of silver.
Little Wan Shi heard that He Donglai had sold the sauce workshop and gotten twenty taels from the Gong family, plus eighty taels of silver. She used to think she was in high demand, but after going out, she discovered she was now old and faded, making her feel more and more that He Donglai was a good catch.
Also, they still had two sons, He Fan and He Tong. If she said a few soft words, it would definitely work.
Wan Hai only said to little Wan Shi: “Mother, whatever you want to do, I don’t care, but I’m already barely able to take care of myself now. Please have pity on your son and don’t come looking for me anymore.”
Among little Wan Shi’s three sons, she had always loved Wan Hai the most. Although she understood that Wan Hai was in difficulty, hearing him say these words still made little Wan Shi somewhat sad. This person’s heart was really too cruel – to abandon his own mother when he said so.
Little Wan Shi didn’t say anything else and turned to leave.
Just as Wan Hai was about to leave, he saw Xu Li by the alley. There was some disappointment in Xu Li’s eyes as he said: “How many more things are you hiding from me?”
He had trusted Wan Hai completely before, but recent revelations—hiding the silver notes and beautiful jade without telling him, his pillow companion, and the fake death of his mother-in-law. He suddenly discovered that although he had three children with him, Xu Li felt like he barely knew his husband.
Xu Li was still waiting for Wan Hai’s answer, but Wan Hai had been suppressed for too long and directly got angry, giving Xu Li a slap and yelling: “Everyone in the world is against me, and now you too?”
