Chapter 38

At the banquet, Tian Wen was, of course, seated with the Village Chief, even carrying an air as if he was about to overshadow him. The Village Chief’s face was dark; his displeasure was written all over it. But Tian Wen didn’t care. Everyone was flocking to him now; he’d completely washed away the humiliation of his family’s earlier return to the village.

He stood before the Village Chief, a hint of condescension in his eyes, like a superior looking down. “Uncle, I’m a Scholar now. I recall our village has a few top-quality plots of land. Since no one’s been buying them, you might as well just sell them to me.”

Huailing Village covered a considerable area, but the population wasn’t that large. Even after refugees had settled in the village years ago and land had been distributed, there were still plots left. Those remaining lands were all formally registered with the County Yamen. They weren’t something the Village Chief could just decide to sell on his own.

The Village Chief’s face was already showing displeasure. He said in a deep voice, “Today is to celebrate you passing the Scholar exam. As for other matters, we can discuss them tomorrow. Buying land isn’t a quick transaction. You’re a scholar; you understand this better than I do.”

Tian Wen naturally recognized it as a stalling tactic. He’d worked so hard to pass the Scholar exam precisely for this—to wring the maximum benefit for his family and to slap the faces of everyone who’d once looked down on him, especially Tian Yao. He wanted Tian Yao to see that being the husband of a cripple was worse than being his concubine!

While trading insincere pleasantries with the Village Chief, his eyes were constantly searching for Tian Yao and Yu Nian.

Yesterday, Tian Liu had gone to their house, cutting off any excuse for them not to attend. And now, the couple had split up—one with a bunch of gers, and the other sitting next to a deaf old man. They were clearly avoiding his intimidating presence.

Well, there was plenty of time. He wasn’t in a hurry. His status was different now. He had all the time in the world to grind them down slowly.

Once the feast began, Tian Yao slipped over to Yu Nian’s side. He didn’t want to eat. They just made a token appearance at the table. Tian Wen, carrying a jug of wine, was going around toasting everyone. Tian Yao pouted, cursing him silently.

After several rounds of drinks, Tian Wen finally arrived at their table.

“You once said I was just a Child Scholar. What do you say now?” He stood over Yu Nian, looking down at him, the pent-up resentment in his chest finally released. At this moment, he didn’t feel his presence was inferior to Yu Nian’s in any way.

Yu Nian just smiled. “Then, of course, congratulations are in order.”

Beside him, Tian Yao was grimacing. Even from a distance, he could smell the alcohol reeking from Tian Wen. It was disgustingly nauseating.

Tian Wen’s tail was practically wagging to the heavens. Tian Yao reached for Yu Nian’s hand, but Yu Nian just gave him a subtle shake of his head. It was better not to stir up trouble over a minor thing.

Eventually, Tian Wen got his fill of flattery and compliments from Yu Nian and left their table with a satisfied air.

Tian Yao pouted, very unhappy. “Why did you praise him so much? Weren’t you disgusted?”

Yu Nian just stroked his hair. “Why get into a pointless fight right now? Once he’s heard enough, he’ll get bored and stop showing off in front of us. If he wanted to hear more, I could keep it up all night.”

Tian Yao just couldn’t stand seeing Yu Nian act humble and submissive in front of Tian Wen. If Yu Nian’s family hadn’t fallen, someone like Tian Wen wouldn’t even have been qualified to speak in his presence!

Yu Nian coaxed him. “Don’t be mad. Shall we go home? These dishes don’t look very appetizing anyway.”

Still huffing, Tian Yao said nothing more and pushed Yu Nian home.

Over the next few days, Tian Yao didn’t want to go out at all. But village gossip traveled fast. First, word spread that Tian Wen had bought half of the village’s vacant land. Then, it was said that Wang Cuihua was now discussing marriage prospects for Tian Liu. Ordinary villagers were no longer good enough in her eyes; her sights were set on the town. She even thought Tian Liu was worthy of marrying into the Prefectural City.

“Mother! I told you, I have my own plans for Xiao Liu’s marriage. He won’t be shortchanged!” Tian Wen came rushing home to stop her as soon as he heard the rumors she was spreading. Wang Cuihua had just seen off another Matchmaker.

Wang Cuihua was used to having the final say at home. Now that Tian Wen was a Scholar, he was starting to defy her, and she deeply resented it. “What plans do you have? You’re a man; you don’t know how to assess these things. Tell Mother, what’s your idea?”

Tian Wen finally said, “I have a classmate from a well-off family. He passed the Scholar exam this time too. His family will have him continue the exams. His scholarly talent is outstanding; becoming a Provincial Graduate is just a matter of time. If Xiao Liu marries him, he’ll be the fulang of a Provincial Graduate. Can that compare to the dirt-scratchers you’re looking at?”

As he spoke, Old Man Tian puffed silently on his pipe. Tian Liu sat to the side, head down, his thoughts unknown.

“What classmate?” Tian Wu was the one who asked. Tian Wu was the most invisible person in their family. He was rarely home, always working in town, in the prefectural city, everywhere around, doing manual labor just to earn money. All of it to fund Tian Wen’s education. “The one who took you to the gambling den last time? What kind of good person is that?”

Years of hard physical labor had left Tian Wu’s back slightly stooped. He was very tanned from working outdoors, and even a whole winter hadn’t lightened his skin. He looked nothing like the refined and scholarly Tian Wen and Tian Liu. He’d received Tian Wen’s letter long ago, saying he would pass the Scholar exam, telling him to come home.

“What does a brute like you, who only knows labor, understand?!” Tian Wen shot him a glare. “For families like theirs, those are just normal social activities. Of course, I’m thinking of Xiao Liu’s best interest.”

Tian Wu lowered his head, remembering the debts Tian Wen had run up at the gambling den at the start of the year. Wang Cuihua had emptied the family savings and even spent the money Tian Wu had painstakingly saved for his own future marriage. He sighed, stopped looking at Tian Wen, and asked Tian Liu directly, “Xiao Liu, what do you think?”

Tian Liu kept his head deeply bowed. “I’ll listen to Father and Mother’s arrangements.” Perhaps it was the phrase “husband of a Provincial Graduate” that had scrambled Tian Liu’s mind. Thinking of how happy Tian Yao seemed with his crippled husband made him burn with resentment. He was clearly better than Tian Yao in every way, yet Tian Yao was still happier.

Tian Wen looked down condescendingly at Tian Wu, and Tian Wu said no more.

Wang Cuihua and Old Man Tian also had to defer to Tian Wen’s opinion. “Then… when will his family come to present the betrothal gifts?”

Tian Wen stood up and walked over to Tian Liu. “Xiao Liu, your brother won’t harm you.”

Tian Liu faintly sensed something was wrong. He looked up. “What do you mean by that?”

Tian Wen finally came out with it. “That classmate of mine… he’s already married. But after all these years, his wife hasn’t produced a child. So… you’ll enter his household as a concubine first. Once you give birth to a child, he can elevate you to Equal Wife.”

Tian Wu shot to his feet, his voice a furious roar. “What did you say?! Our Xiao Liu, a clean, innocent ‘ger’, to rush off and become someone’s concubine?!”

“Better to be the concubine of a future Provincial Graduate than to marry some dirt-farmer! What’s wrong with that?” Tian Wen stared at Tian Wu. Since childhood, Tian Wen had always been cleverer and more adored by their parents. Why else would their parents make Tian Wu work to support his studies? He was certain that with such a tempting prospect laid out, their parents wouldn’t refuse.

Tian Wu looked at Wang Cuihua and Old Man Tian. Wang Cuihua avoided his gaze and simply asked, “If there’s no child, he can be cast out. Why not just divorce his wife before Xiao Liu enters the family?”

Tian Wu stared at Wang Cuihua in utter shock. “Mother!”

“Your brother is right. Better than marrying some farmer. It’s better to…”

“Xiao Liu, what do you think?” Tian Wu didn’t let Wang Cuihua finish. He just looked at Tian Liu.

Tian Liu remained silent, head still bowed.

“You have no objections to being a concubine?”

Tian Liu said quietly, “Let Big Brother talk to him. Can’t he just divorce his wife?”

Tian Wen said with a slightly pained expression, “You know how it is. We just passed the Scholar exam. To divorce your wife as soon as you rise in status… isn’t that a bad look? Just wait a while. There’s no rush. Mother, don’t you agree?”

Tian Wu let out a bitter laugh. “I really never imagined… a few years in town made you all forget your roots.” He shook his head. “In that case, Father, Mother, let’s use this opportunity to divide the family.”

Tian Wen flew into a rage. “Divide the family at a time like this? Tian Wu, has your brain rotted?!”

Tian Wu looked at him very calmly. “In the past, I agreed to Father and Mother’s wish to fund your studies. Now that you’ve achieved success, you certainly don’t need the few copper coins I make by carrying sacks for others. You’re destined for great things. From this day forward, let’s split this family. I want nothing. I will give Father and Mother two hundred wen a month for support. After this, there’s no need for us to associate.”

Tian Wen simply could not comprehend what was going through his brother’s head. Just as they were on the verge of sweet success, he wanted to urgently divide the family?! Only an idiot would do that!

“You said this. In the future, no matter how much this family prospers, you cannot come back to claim a share.”

Tian Wu’s mind was made up. He immediately found the Village Chief. The Chief tried to talk them out of it but saw both sides were adamant, so he stopped trying. A document was drawn up, and Tian Wu was cut off completely from the family.

Just as Tian Wu had arrived, he left. He took nothing from the house. He looked at Tian Liu silently for a long moment, finally just shook his head, and walked out the door.

A couple of days later, news spread that Tian Wu had married a widow with a child. They just signed the marriage certificate in town, and the family left town for good, their whereabouts unknown.

The Tian Wen family was in total uproar. None of this had much to do with Tian Yao anyway. His biggest concern right now was what he’d found inside Little Dad’s box of belongings: a book about planting those seeds.

He draped himself over Yu Nian’s back, watching as Yu Nian deciphered the contents little by little for him.

They were in the yard, a table set up, with Little Dad’s handwritten notes and the remaining seeds laid out, comparing them one by one.

“This category… Little Dad recorded the name as… ‘something’ tomato?” Yu Nian still couldn’t fully understand what all of Little Dad’s characters meant and had to guess based on context.

He held up a handful of these seeds. The notes after that had no words, just drawings.

“Yao Ge’er, does this drawing mean we should soak the seeds in water first?”

Tian Yao leaned in. He was much better at understanding Little Dad’s drawings than the text. He quickly grasped it. “Yes, it means put the seeds into warm water and soak them for an hour. While soaking, stir them.”

Although he couldn’t remember the script Little Dad taught him, he remembered the symbols. “Yu Nian, this symbol means ‘one,’ and the ones after are ‘two,’ ‘three,’ ‘four,’ ‘five,’ ‘six.’ I still remember those.”

“So the seeds we planted before didn’t sprout because we used the wrong method.” Yu Nian was relieved. “Does it say when to plant them?”

“Little Dad drew a willow branch. That means springtime, right?” Tian Yao asked. “Should we try again?”

Yu Nian nodded.

Following the method in Little Dad’s drawings, they soaked the seeds in warm water. Tian Yao stirred constantly, then let them sit in the water for another two hours before scooping them out. They moved the soaked seeds to the plot, watered them again after planting, and kept the soil moist.

After this, Tian Yao was even more anxious, checking the patch nearly every day.

On the fourth day, he finally saw the planted seeds sprout, breaking through the soil.

At the very same moment, a sharp, piercing scream echoed through the village. He bolted home instantly. Yu Nian was perfectly fine, and Tian Yao let out a huge sigh of relief.

Yu Nian was also puzzled. Tian Yao pushed him toward the village center. Halfway there, they saw several children, badly frightened. Yu Nian stopped one of them.

The kid was so terrified he could barely breathe. When Yu Nian asked him what was wrong, he stammered, “The village… lots of bailiffs came… all carrying swords! They… they went to Tian Wen’s uncle’s house!”