The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 10

Just as she had expected, the moment Cheng Shaoan told his elder brother about his plan to start a business, Cheng Shaotang rejected him without hesitation.

“Think about it,” he said. “How many jobs have I found for you over the years? And have you managed to stick with even one of them for half a year? Doing business is anything but easy. If you keep working three days and slacking off for two, forget making a profit—you’ll barely scrape back your initial capital.”

Cheng Shaoan was left tongue-tied, not daring to argue.

Cheng Shaotang let out a long breath. “Since you say you want to run a small business, what exactly do you want to do? How much capital do you need? What are the prospects for profit? Have you considered any of this?”

Hearing this only made Cheng Shaoan hang his head even lower. Every word from his brother hammered home how useless he felt.

Seeing him lose confidence before he had even begun, Ling Yu grew anxious and kept shooting him meaningful looks. But Cheng Shaoan was far too dejected to notice her at all.

Ling Yu muttered a quiet “useless” under her breath, then stepped in helplessly. “Even so, since Second Brother finally has the heart for something, letting him try isn’t a bad idea. He’ll need to marry and raise a family sooner or later. Better for him to start learning how to support himself now, so he’ll have something of his own in the future.”

Hearing her voice, Cheng Shaoan jolted, suddenly catching on. He shot her a guilty glance, only to receive a sharp glare in return. His neck shrank automatically as he forced himself to clear his throat. “Sister-in-law is right, Brother. I can’t rely on you to feed me forever.”

Saying it made him think of the carefree life he’d been living off his brother all these years. A rare hint of embarrassment colored his handsome face, which he quickly tried to suppress. “I looked into it carefully. About five-plus miles ahead of our village, there’s a three-way intersection, and plenty of people pass through. A few days ago, I counted roughly—from dawn to noon, at least a thousand pedestrians and carts go through there every day.”

Hearing him speak with such detailed confidence, as though he’d truly studied the matter, Cheng Shaotang looked surprised. “Go on.”

Cheng Shaoan instinctively glanced at Ling Yu, receiving her encouraging look, and seeing his elder brother listening with full attention, he steadied himself, and even his voice grew a little louder.

“Among these thousand or so people, about thirty percent are headed to the county town over nine miles away, and the other seventy percent are on their way elsewhere. I was thinking, why not set up a stall there to sell some dry food and tea? Nothing complicated, just simple things like sesame cakes that keep well, so we don’t need to keep charcoal burning all the time. And since the weather’s hot, we can stock up on more tea and mung bean soup.”

“I roughly calculated the cost… the initial investment would be about five taels of silver…” His voice lowered more and more as he mentioned the capital, his money pouch completely empty.

Cheng Shaotang looked at him without a word, his expression unreadable.

Feeling uneasy, Cheng Shaoan cast a pleading look at Ling Yu.

Ling Yu shifted her gaze thoughtfully and said gently, “I think what Second Brother said is worth considering. Five taels isn’t too much or too little. To put it bluntly, even if it fails, it’s within what we can afford. But if it succeeds, the household will gain another source of income. And at the very least, Second Brother will be able to hold himself a bit straighter in the future. Don’t you think that makes sense?”

Cheng Shaotang stared at her deeply. Ling Yu’s eyelids twitched, but her face didn’t show the slightest reaction.

“Since that’s the case, then let’s do it.” After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“Really?!” Cheng Shaoan’s eyes lit up; he couldn’t believe his brother had agreed so easily.

“Just one rule: if this venture loses money, you’ll give up the idea of doing business once and for all and go find yourself an honest job,” Cheng Shaotang said sternly.

“Okay!!” Overjoyed, Cheng Shaoan agreed without hesitation and bolted out the door, eager to tell their mother the good news.

“Even if the eldest brother stands in place of the father, Second Brother isn’t a three-year-old anymore. He’ll have to marry, have children, and take on the responsibilities of a husband and father. He can’t rely on you for everything. You just like worrying over nothing,” Ling Yu said softly. Seeing the wistful look on Cheng Shaotang’s face, she walked over and began kneading his shoulders.

“When Father passed away, Shaoan was only four. Mother struggled on her own as a woman. As his elder brother, naturally I had to look after him in every way. But because I’ve spent so many years running around the country, I haven’t been home much. Even though I noticed he has many bad habits, I never had the time to teach him properly. Over the years, he just grew into the person he is now.”

“You’re right,” Cheng Shaotang murmured with a long sigh. “It’s rare for him to show such genuine enthusiasm. We might as well let him try. Whether he succeeds or fails isn’t the real point. What matters is that he learns to steady himself in life. If he can rely on his own feet from now on, Mother and I won’t have to spend every day worrying.”

He paused before continuing, “Give Shaoan the capital he needs from the thirty taels I handed you last time. I took on another assignment today and will be leaving the day after tomorrow. I won’t be here to look after him. I’ll have to trouble you.”

“We’re all one family. What’s this talk of trouble?” Ling Yu replied. “But how long will you be gone this time? Xiao Shitou has finally warmed up to you. If you disappear for three to five months again, he might not remember you at all.”

That was just like him—always taking responsibility onto his shoulders, always anxious about others. When their father died, Shaoan had only been four years old. But he himself had been nothing more than a nine-year-old child, forced to grow up overnight.

“If everything goes well, I should be back in about three months.” Though he tried to sound calm, Cheng Shaotang carried a quiet, unspoken worry about the mission. He simply couldn’t bring himself to burden her with it.

Ling Yu noticed none of his inner tension. Armed with memories from her previous life, she knew he would return safely this time, so the looming separation didn’t trouble her as much as it once would have.

The couple lingered in conversation a little longer. From the courtyard came Xiao Shitou’s wobbling little voice, calling “Dad! Dad!” over and over. Cheng Shaotang’s expression softened, and he strode out with a quiet smile.

“Sister-in-law! Tomorrow, let’s head to the county and get everything we need. Flour, mung beans, sugar, tea…” Cheng Shaoan materialized out of nowhere, counting the things they needed to buy on his fingers.

Ling Yu gave her sleeve a light flick, glanced at him sideways, and after a long while, slowly said, “Don’t forget, the five taels for capital are a loan from me. You’ll return it in a year. For your brother’s sake, I won’t charge interest. Just the principal.”

“And another thing,” she added, tone smooth as a blade, “profits are split sixty-forty. Don’t tell me you’re planning to go back on that.”

Cheng Shaoan’s grin froze mid-shape. He scrubbed his nose awkwardly. “I know, sister-in-law… no need to say it again.”

But a moment later, stubborn hope flared anew. With a shameless grin, he tried, “Sister-in-law, how about fifty-fifty? Just consider it?”

“Sixty-forty,” Ling Yu snapped lightly. “A man keeps his word—unless you’d rather betray our agreement? Because if so, I suppose I can go have a chat with Cousin Qiaorong.”

Her expression darkened meaningfully as she made a movement to rise.

“No, no, no, whatever you say, sister-in-law, is correct!” Panicked, Cheng Shaoan hurriedly grabbed her sleeve as though she were seconds away from announcing his execution to the entire clan. Only after he managed to coax her did he mumble weakly, shoulders drooping like a scolded puppy.

Ling Yu took in the sight of him, wilted like a frostbitten eggplant. Ling Yu, well-versed in the principle of giving a slap followed by a sweet treat, slowly added, “Yesterday, I was doing needlework with Cousin Qiaorong. She asked me to thank you for helping her and her daughter find the family willing to sell their land.”

“Really? Really? Did she say anything else?” Cheng Shaoan perked up so sharply he nearly bounced, eyes shining like someone had just dangled a bowl of braised pork in front of him.

“She said men with a heart as kind as yours are rare these days.”

“My cousin is too kind. It was just a small favor, a small favor…” He said the words modestly enough, but he grinned from ear to ear.

Ling Yu almost laughed aloud at his silly, delighted expression, but swallowed it down, deciding she might as well strike while the iron was red-hot.

“Cousin Qiaorong truly is a remarkable girl. Pretty, gentle, and skilled, she can do needlework better than most older seamstresses. These days, nearly all of her family’s expenses are supported by what she earns with her own hands. It is truly remarkable that a young girl can have such great skills.”

Cheng Shaoan straightened instantly, a spark igniting inside him like someone had poured hot oil onto a dying flame. Inspiration surged through him.

Right, if his beautiful cousin could support a family, then he, as a full-grown man, had even more reason to work hard. Only then would he have the confidence to stand before her family and propose in the future.

“Sister-in-law, rest assured! This time, I will give it everything I’ve got!” He nodded vigorously, his voice resolute.

Ling Yu watched him trot off with that fiery enthusiasm of his. Only when his silhouette finally vanished did the smile on her lips gradually fade.

The saying that girls love handsome men was indeed true. Across both her lives, Jin Qiaorong had always looked at Cheng Shaoan differently. Her praise of him being a ‘rarely kind-hearted young man’ wasn’t flattery cooked up for his sake; those were her own genuine words.

Ling Yu could also tell that Qiaorong, faced with a handsome and earnest boy like him, indeed felt something, a light flutter of affection, no more. Whether those feelings deepened or faded would depend entirely on what he did from here on.

Beautiful girls never worry about marriage. Because they don’t worry, they have choices. Even if they are overwhelmed by the choices, they still have to choose the ‘best’ one. As far as Jin Qiaorong is concerned, Cheng Shaoan is not yet considered the ‘best’ one.

Ling Yu’s feelings toward Cheng Shaoan were now somewhat complicated. There were moments when simply looking at him dragged up memories from her past life—memories of the things he had done, the ones she still hadn’t forgiven. At those moments, irritation boiled inside her. She wished she could split the family right then and there, leaving him to his fate!

But she also understood Cheng Shaotang far too well. Regardless of what Cheng Shaoan had done or would do, Shaotang would never abandon his own brother. He had already taken Cheng Shaoan as a responsibility he must bear, the way only an eldest brother could.

The saying went, “The eldest brother is like a father.” And Shaotang embodied that perfectly.

Since she couldn’t shake him off, she might as well put him to good use. Shaotang would never agree to her going out and doing business openly, so she would handle things behind the scenes instead. If Cheng Shaoan turned out to be capable, then everything would benefit both sides. But if he turned out to be useless…

Just imagining how a useless Cheng Shaoan would waste her five taels of silver made Ling Yu feel a sharp, sorrowful sting—the kind that hit straight in the wallet.