Chapter One Hundred: A Family Should Stay Whole and Together

After entering the house, the old man invited the proprietress to take the seat of honor above the fire pit. He served the best Mengding Mountain tea in the house and laid out four types of tea snacks, showing his complete sincerity.

Once the old man set his mind on something, his execution was top-notch!

The proprietress was even more so. After sipping her tea, she presented eight carefully prepared birthday gifts. In the local custom, eight gifts are the maximum, known as the "Eight Immortals Wishing Longevity," representing the most ceremonious birthday offering.

The first gift was a set of navy blue Songjiang cotton robes, perfect for the old man to wear in the autumn.

"Oh my, it even has intricate vine patterns!" Su Daji took it upon himself to act as the proprietress’s mouthpiece, saying, "Even when Sixth Brother was a centurion, he never wore such fine Songjiang fabric."

"Never worn it," the old man agreed, cooperating without his usual sharp-tongued remarks about being "too flashy."

The second gift was a pair of satin-faced, multi-layered sole shoes with cloud-shaped decorations on the toes and auspicious clouds embroidered on the heels.

"Goodness, these shoes are top-tier. They only look right on someone who has been an official; us common folk wouldn't be able to pull them off," Su Daji immediately heaped on the praise.

"Never worn them..." the old man replied.

The third gift was a mahogany cane carved with pine and crane patterns.

This naturally drew more gasps of admiration from Su Daji: "Is this dragon-taming wood? May I try it? The weight is just right, and it feels neither cold nor hot to the touch. It truly is the finest cane! Put on that outfit and walk around with this, and all the old men at Erlang Beach will be envious of you!"

"Never worn them..." The old man stopped, realizing his slip of the tongue, and glared at his seventh brother: "Stop making such a fuss, you look so unrefined!"

"I just haven't seen these things before..." Su Daji chuckled sheepishly. His most important job now was to keep the proprietress happy so she would never return to the Cheng family. For that, he would not only play the straight man to her jokes but even kiss her feet if he had to.

Thus, the remaining five gifts—a jin of donkey-hide gelatin from Shandong, two jin of Mengding Mountain tea, two packs of osmanthus sugar cakes, a brass hand-warmer, and a pack of emblic leafflower fruit from Yunnan—all received the tireless praise of Manager Su.

Of course, it wasn't just Su Daji’s sycophancy; the gifts truly touched the old man’s heart. He had been craving the dried, sliced emblic fruit for a long time. Right then and there, he couldn't resist pairing it with some dogwood and rolling it in a betel leaf.

It was an instant head-rush, and the more he chewed, the better it felt...

"Good, very good. You’ve spent a fortune, child. I accept your heart, but in the future, just come empty-handed. Don't bring anything else," the old man said, squinting with a look of pure bliss, whether from the betel leaf or the proprietress's flattery, no one could tell.

"That won't do. Before, I had no money and couldn't show my filial piety, but now that I'm a bit better off, I must make up for the past," the proprietress was so articulate, and she was generous with her money too.

She then presented gifts for the old lady, the eldest brother and his wife, and the children, Chun-ge and Jinbao. Each one was perfectly suited to the recipient, enchanting the womenfolk completely.

Without an insider, she could never have chosen such fitting gifts...

The hour was still early, and seeing the whole family in such harmonious spirits, Su Daji felt relieved to take his leave. The distillery was busy as a beehive; he couldn't afford to waste the whole afternoon here.

"Come early for drinks tonight," the old man said as he walked him to the stairs.

"I can't speak for other days, but I'll definitely be here early tonight," Su Daji laughed, walking away with his hands behind his back. He was now certain that even if Scholar Cheng himself were to intervene, he wouldn't be able to pull the proprietress back.

~~

With no outsiders left, the proprietress smiled and said, "There is one more piece of business. The Sweet Water Shop has been open for half a year, and the harvest has been good. I’ve brought the dividends for the family."

"We agreed to divide them at the end of the year, why the rush after only half a year?" the eldest brother asked with feigned protest.

"Rules are made by people, and don't we pay the centurion his share every month?" the proprietress laughed. "The family is not well-off, yet the money is just lying idle in the accounts; how could I bear that?"

Su Youcai also chimed in, "Big Brother, the proprietress has her own plans; we should just listen."

"Very well, then we won't stand on ceremony," the eldest brother said, rubbing his hands in excitement.

"In the first half of the year, new products were launched every month, so sales have been on the rise. By the end of June, the profit was 150 taels," the proprietress said, showing the ledger to the shareholders. "From this, Centurion Ma should receive 30 taels, and the family should receive 24 taels. However, Centurion Ma expects an additional tribute, which goes to whoever is the current centurion; once he steps down, that will end. I will pay that myself, so you don't need to worry about it."

This had been discussed beforehand, so no one had any objections.

"Also, we need to set aside some funds to sell Erlang wine in the second half of the year, so let's distribute 20 taels to the family for now." With that, the foster mother handed a heavy silver packet into the hands of the eldest sister-in-law.

The eldest sister-in-law hadn't touched so much silver in at least ten years. Her hands trembled with excitement, and her voice cracked as she said, "We only opened in February? We earned so much in five months? That means we'll get forty or fifty taels a year? Ha-ha-ha-ha..."

"There won't be as many kinds of fruit in the second half of the year, so sales will likely decline," the proprietress smiled. "However, if our Erlang wine can successfully open up the market, the year-end dividend will only be more, not less."

"Oh my, dear sister. We didn't do anything; how can we take so much money?" the eldest sister-in-law, though simple-minded, had not a shred of malice. "Why don't you take half back? Otherwise, it’s like we're taking advantage of you..."

"Sister, you don't know the situation. As a lone woman, my business relies entirely on Second Brother, Big Brother, and my two good sons to keep it running," the foster mother shook her head, taking Su Lu’s hand. "Even now, it’s Qiu-ge who has to help me make every decision. If anyone is taking advantage, it’s me."

"We are all one family, what is there to talk about taking advantage?" Su Youcai waved his hand with a smile. (In reality, the proprietress was also paying him a monthly wage.)

"Exactly, exactly, Second Brother is right," the proprietress nodded. "Whether we earn it here or there, isn't it all for the children?"

"Right, we are one family. From now on, you are my own sister!" The eldest sister-in-law nodded vigorously, excitedly shoving the silver into her husband’s hands, and tying on her apron, she said, "Sister, you wait, I’m going to make you something delicious."

The old man rolled his eyes. *Whose birthday is it, anyway?* But seeing as that was the extent of the eldest sister-in-law's social grace, he didn't pick a fight.

The old lady, who had been smiling happily without knowing exactly what was happening, suddenly said, "Eldest daughter-in-law, can we eat less sorghum flour from now on?"

"Don't you worry, Mother, from now on we’re switching to mixed-grain flour!" the eldest sister-in-law declared heroically.

Mixed-grain flour was a step up from plain sorghum, offering better texture and nutrition. Most importantly, it was easier on the digestion.

"Sister, I’ll help you in the kitchen." Seeing the sister-in-law heading out, the foster mother offered to help.

"No, no, you just sit and drink your tea," the sister-in-law waved her off. "I don't like people adding to the mess when I'm cooking; it’s faster without you..."

"Ah..." The foster mother was stunned, thinking, *Is she insulting me?*

"Your sister-in-law’s speech is always a bit blunt; you’ll get used to it," the eldest brother explained with a wry smile.

"But her heart is in the right place," Su Lu added.

"Oh, oh, it’s fine, it’s fine," the foster mother laughed quickly. "A straightforward temper is a good thing. I’m the same way; people like us have no hidden malice."

~~

The eldest sister-in-law had originally planned for six dishes and one soup, but in her excitement, she upgraded it to ten dishes and two soups! And she didn't delay the start of the banquet at all. Furthermore, all the ingredients had been coordinated by the eldest brother from town.

At dusk, the main room was brightly lit. The Eight Immortals table was set up, piled high with large plates and bowls!

The birthday star, dressed in his brand-new Songjiang robes, looked at the sumptuous spread with deep emotion. Over the years, as the family fortunes declined, his and the old lady's birthdays were usually just a bowl of longevity noodles with eggs, some pickled radishes with bacon, and two river fish caught by Xia-ge.

On this day last year, it was just when Qiu-ge had been carried home; how could the family have the heart to eat? It was only late at night that his daughter-in-law cooked him a bowl of noodles, which he ate half-heartedly.

But look at this year!

In the center of the table was a large bowl of Dongpo pork, the three-layered belly meat cut into perfect squares, glistening with an enticing red luster! Beside it, on a long platter, was a whole steamed mandarin fish, scored with elegant patterns, topped with ginger strips, doused in hot oil, and drizzled with soy sauce—a sight to behold.

Surrounding the two main courses were the braised pig trotters the old lady had been craving, the Eight-Treasure Duck brought by the proprietress, a large platter of salt-and-pepper river shrimp, and fragrant stir-fried celery with pork strips. Even the vegetarian dishes were upgraded: the usual stir-fried greens were now sautéed with rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, and the stir-fried tofu with scallions had become shrimp and tofu!

Chun-ge and Xia-ge had returned from work, and the old clan leader and Su Daji had come to join the old brother for his birthday. Yet, the old man kept glancing at the door, growing increasingly restless as time passed.

It wasn't until the travel-worn figures of his younger son and daughter appeared at the entrance that he finally let out a genuine, heartfelt smile.

"Auntie!" Little Jinbao, who had been drooling over the feast, sprang up.

"Young Aunt," Su Lu and Su Tai stood up quickly. They hadn't seen the aunt who had raised them in half a year, and they missed her dearly.

The aunt hugged the three children, feeling that nowhere was as good as home.

Seeing that none of the children greeted him, the younger uncle sheepishly approached his elders, paid his respects to the clan leader and his seventh uncle, and then presented his birthday gift to his father.

The old man, however, put on a stern face and said, "Why are you only returning now?!"

"Father," the younger uncle immediately began to lament, "the Chishui River isn't open for navigation yet. My sister and I set out yesterday morning; the donkey was exhausted to the point of foaming at the mouth, let alone us!"

"If it's hard to travel, you shouldn't have come back at all," the old man said, his heart softening.

"How could that be? It's Father’s birthday; even if I had to walk through fire, I wouldn't miss it!" the younger uncle vowed, patting his chest.

"Hmph, smooth talker. Go wash up and let's start the feast," the old man said, patting his younger son’s cheek.

"Yes," the younger uncle hurried off to wash up and change into clean clothes.