Chapter 22
After returning to the residence, the two first went together to Changshou Hall to pay their respects to Madam Chen. Qiao Hezhi presented two boxes of soft pastries brought from his parents' home.
The fact that they had stayed overnight at Qiao Hezhi's parents' home left Madam Chen deeply displeased, yet she did not dare to voice any criticism. With no control over the household management and no reliable aides to support her, she had no choice but to hold her tongue and defer to Fang Yu's wishes.
Qiao Hezhi was unaware of the many underlying details, only feeling that Madam Chen had become much more polite, which made things easier for him.
After leaving Changshou Hall, Fang Yu called Qiao Hezhi to the study.
"You won't have much free time from now on. I'm entrusting these things to you."
Fang Yu took down an exquisite, locked brocade box from the desk and opened it with a small key: "The keys to the family warehouse, the expenditure account books, and the servants' contracts are all here. I'm handing them all over to you to manage from now on. You'll have to take care of the inner household affairs from now on."
Qiao Hezhi was surprised and found it rather sudden: "You're letting me manage everything?"
"Naturally." Fang Yu pushed the brocade box over: "Mother is getting old and often doesn't handle things thoroughly. Moreover, like me, she originally came from the countryside and hasn't seen much of the world. While she might have no problem cultivating a small plot of land or preparing a portion of meat, managing a large household is a bit difficult for her. You grew up in a wealthy family and must have learned about household management. I feel more at ease letting you handle it."
After he finished speaking, seeing that Qiao Hezhi hadn't replied, he asked: "What's wrong? Are you unwilling?"
"I am willing." Qiao Hezhi said quickly. Managing the household was the foundation of his authority—how could he possibly refuse? "The household affairs are numerous and complex. For matters I cannot handle adequately, I will need to rely on the Master's judgment."
Fang Yu smiled: "Don't worry, if anything is troublesome, just tell me. We'll solve it together."
Only after hearing this did Qiao Hezhi take the brocade box: "Alright."
After finishing matters here, Qiao Hezhi carried the brocade box back to Xiaotong Courtyard, seemingly eager to look at the household accounts. Fang Yu smiled as he watched him return to his room. He also rested in the room for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then had a servant prepare some gifts, intending to make a trip to Fangju Village.
In earlier years, when he passed the imperial examination at the county level and became a Xiucai, he was rewarded with ten mu of good farmland, which was currently in the Yin family's hands. Although the land couldn't be considered extensive, it was still an amount that only three or four families might possess. Letting the Yin family use it for free all this time could be considered repayment for the care the Yin family provided back in the village.
He now wanted to take back the land to decide whether to rent it out or farm it himself. It needed to be properly arranged before the start of spring so there could be a harvest next year. Having an additional source of income would make the household more secure, he couldn't keep relying on Qiao Hezhi's money and eating soft rice forever.
Adding a large cloak, Fang Yu went out by carriage. The journey was long, so he brought a Confucian classic to read in the carriage, not wanting to delay his studies.
He arrived at Fangju Village a little after noon. The village had just finished lunch. Unlike the busy spring and autumn seasons, there weren't many people in the fields at this hour in winter. Those who saw the carriage passing by put down their hoes and craned their necks to watch.
When the carriage reached the middle of the village, it couldn't proceed further, so Fang Yu had to get out. The villagers in the fields, recognizing Fang Yu, gathered around to greet him.
Fang Yu exchanged a few pleasantries with the villagers and gave some pastries and cakes to the children before heading towards the Yin family's house.
"Rao'er, is everything you said yesterday true?"
In the small, square courtyard of the mud-brick house, Old Man Yin was lounging with his legs crossed, warming himself by the hot charcoal fetched from the stove. He glanced at the young woman who was sewing a coat nearby.
Yin Rao'er put down her work upon hearing this: "Father is only thinking to ask if it's true now? If it were false, would I have rushed back early in the morning to tell Father and Mother about it?"
"That's because you came home crying and sobbing, not explaining things clearly." Old Man Yin didn't believe the Fang family would suddenly be so decisive. After all, it had been so many years, and he knew Fang Yu's soft, pliable character. If he had any assertiveness or backbone, he wouldn't have been coaxed into letting them use those ten mu of good land for so many years with just a few words back then: "Didn't they still send you back by carriage? And they gave so much nice fabric. Did you throw another tantrum?"
Hearing this, Yin Rao'er grew anxious: "I didn't say a single unpleasant word at the Fang house. Instead, cousin defended his fulang and reprimanded me, and even Aunt Chen wasn't spared. It seems cousin has shifted his affections elsewhere. He even said he would come to take back the land he gave our family. Father, instead of thinking of a way to deal with this, you're here doubting your daughter? If we really lose that land, our family will have to return to hard times."
"Last time, Fang Yu even came to the village in the rain to see you, and brought many gifts and pastries. He came to coax you, but you insisted on arguing with him, saying being a concubine has no dignity, urging him to divorce his fulang and make you the principal wife. You even let slip about the marriage proposal from the people of Jinqiao Village. How could he be happy about that?" Old Man Yin complained: "The Fang family has risen high and has powerful backing. Now, even the silver that falls from the cracks between their fingers would be enough for our family to live on for some time. You had to go and say such unpleasant things."
"Weren't you the ones, Father and Mother, who told me that our family, though of farming status, is not lowly tenant farmers? No matter how rich the Qiao family is, they are still of the despised merchant class. Now Father turns around and blames me? If it weren't for your daughter skillfully maneuvering in front of cousin, could our family have the good life we have today? Even the silver for brother's wedding came from what I got from cousin!"
The Yin mother, listening to the father and daughter blame each other, threw down the fire tongs in annoyance: "Enough! What time is it now, and you're still arguing about these useless things! If the Fang family really intends to take back the land, we should think about what to do!"
"He wouldn't dare!" Old Man Yin glared. They had farmed the land for over three years. The land was fertile, and they had had bumper harvests the last two years, living a comfortable life. If they suddenly lost this land, and had to rely solely on their own three mu of poor land—not only would the harvest be bad, but they'd also have to pay taxes, and the corvee exemption fee for their eldest son—they would suffer greatly: "If he really has the nerve to come take the land, then he can forget about ever seeing Rao'er again."
"What if he doesn't want to marry me anymore?! Then not seeing me would be exactly what he wants!"
Yin mother said: "He's liked you since childhood, can he change so easily? It's also that you've been too guarded. You have to give a man a little taste of sweetness. Now that he has money, there are so many temptations outside. If you still act like before, only letting him look but not touch, wouldn't he get tired of it?"
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