Chapter 131: A Happy Ending for All

Taiping Town.

Su Youjin, dressed in his seventh-rank military officer robe, walked down the street with his hands clasped behind his back.

Behind him followed two soldiers. One carried a double-layered porcelain thermos filled with hot goji berry tea, while the other carried a folding stool—specifically one equipped with a backrest.

"Lord Flag Commander, come inside and warm up!" Merchants along the street called out enthusiastically upon seeing Su Youjin, with some even stepping out to try and pull him into their shops.

"New tea has just arrived, Lord Flag Commander, come and taste it..."

"No, no, it's broad daylight." Su Youjin shook his sleeves with a look of feigned reluctance. Wouldn't that ruin his carefully cultivated image?

His main job nowadays was to stroll around the town every day, much like an idle vagrant. Yet, this particular vagrant was feared by everyone, as he was busy observing the businesses of each household and calculating how much market tax should be collected the following month.

At first, everyone thought he would be difficult to deal with and that he would strip them to the bone. To their surprise, as shrewd as Commander Su was, he was actually a thoroughly good man.

Every time, he would calculate their earnings with crystal clarity, and then, depending on their attitude, offer them a thirty or twenty percent discount.

On balance, each household's burden was ten to twenty percent lighter than it had been under the former Commander Liu. Naturally, everyone spoke highly of the Flag Commander, eagerly striving to show their filial respect so that they could qualify for the thirty percent discount rather than twenty percent the following month...

"Commander, we've just got freshly steamed pork belly and hot Erlang liquor inside. Come in with the brothers to grab a few bites and warm up your bones before you go back to work!" Proprietor Liu of the Liu Family Restaurant welcomed him warmly.

"Brother, I'm actually a bit hungry." The soldier carrying the thermos behind him was Su Youxi, a reserve soldier serving in the Su family.

"How many meals have you eaten today? And you're still hungry." Carrying the folding stool was another reserve soldier of the Su family, Su Youli, who somewhat looked down on this gluttonous and lazy cousin of his.

"But I really am hungry..." Youxi said with a aggrieved expression. "I've been starved all these years as a soldier; eating for a month or two isn't going to make up for it."

The Su family had a total of two regular soldiers and two reserves in active service. Reserve soldiers had it very tough, receiving no military pay and having to rely entirely on the clan for support. The eldest uncle never hesitated when it came to taking care of his own kin; the moment he gained even a sliver of power, he brought them right under his wing.

Of course, in his line of work, using one's own people was an absolute necessity. Otherwise, you could end up dead without even knowing how it happened...

"Go have a few bites," the eldest uncle said, deeply versed in the art of employing men. Although he usually relied more on Youli, he was more protective of Youxi.

"Alright, coming right up, Big Brother!" Youxi replied happily.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Address people by their official rank while on duty!" Youli glared at him, only to see that Su Youjin had already continued walking forward.

"Where is the lord going?" the two quickly asked.

"You guys go on in, I'm going to walk around a bit more." In the span of half a year, Su Youjin had already grown a potbelly; how could he dare to stuff his face recklessly? Before leaving, he didn't forget to instruct them, "Remember to pay."

As for how much they would pay, he left that entirely to them.

The eldest uncle strolled alone for a few steps, then habitually pushed open the door of the Sweet Water Shop.

The hanging bell on the door gave a pleasant chime, and Su Youcai behind the counter reacted by reflex: "Welcome! What would the esteemed guest like to drink... Oh, Big Brother, come on over."

And then the three of them calculated the accounts for the eldest uncle all over again.

~~

After listening to the financial report, the eldest uncle completely lost his desire to attend to official duties.

Realizing that Thousand-Household Master Ma happened to be at home, he simply had the other two put away their shop boards, pick up the New Year goods they had bought, and head over to Thousand-Household Master Ma's residence to deliver the silver.

Thousand-Household Master Ma was overjoyed to see the three of them and smiled at his seated wife beside him, "How about that? Aren't the children of my elder brother's family capable?"

When the old master had visited the town last time, Thousand-Household Master Ma had forcefully kept him for several days, so they were now barely considered close family friends, which was why he asked his wife to greet the guests together.

Lady Ma was a second wife, only slightly older than the female proprietor, and as a noble fifth-rank lady, she had initially been somewhat reluctant to come out... because her brother had previously wanted to take over the Sweet Water Shop, only to be rebuffed by Thousand-Household Master Ma.

Therefore, she had always harbored resentment, but the moment she saw the silver, all her grievances vanished. She smiled and said, "I keep hearing my husband praise you boys all day, and it turns out to be entirely true."

"You flatter me, Aunt. If Uncle hadn't looked out for us, how could the two of them have ever gotten this business off the ground?" Su Youjin quickly seized the opportunity to climb up the pole, addressing Thousand-Household Master Ma as uncle. Although Lady Ma was more than ten years younger than him, calling her "Aunt" rolled off his tongue as smoothly as silk.

"I've looked out for plenty," Thousand-Household Master Ma chuckled derisively. "It'll be a miracle if they don't lose money for me!"

Despite his grand household and vast estate, his mother, wife, and dependents ate and drank heavily, and with high expenses, his year-end accounts essentially just broke even, leaving little silver to be saved.

While he was still in office, things were manageable, but once he retired, he would be like "crack melon seeds on an upper rack—outgoing exceeds incoming," and things would look grim indeed.

Yet, with this massive influx of cash from the Sweet Water Shop, he could finally stash away some retirement money.

"You don't need to give this much; just the appropriate amount will do." Knowing that this included a token of filial respect, he generously said, "We're all family here, no extra flattery or tributes are needed."

"Shouldn't family show even more filial respect?" Su Youjin smiled.

"Hahaha! Youjin really knows how to talk!" Lady Ma was thoroughly delighted, feeling that this "tubby nephew" was both capable and smooth-tongued, and her husband had certainly not misjudged him.

Yet Thousand-Household Master Ma was not just exchanging polite pleasantries with them. He had his son seal up a full fifty taels of silver, handed it to Su Youjin, and said, "I heard from Qianli that Sulu is going to Luzhou to study next year. The prefectural city is not like our small place here; expenses are astronomical. As his grand-uncle, I don't have much to offer, so take this silver to help the child with his studies."

"It's too much, I really can't accept this," Su Youcai hastily declined, saying, "Never mind studies, this is enough to buy a mansion in Luzhou."

"Then buy a mansion in Luzhou with it," Thousand-Household Master Ma waved his hand dismissively. "That way the child will have a place to stay. Qianli told me their living conditions are too poor, and they can see their breath condensing in the air when they sleep at night."

No matter how Su Youcai tried to refuse, he ultimately had no choice but to accept it with resignation.

Thousand-Household Master Ma still wanted to keep the three of them for dinner, but Su Youjin interjected, "Tomorrow the old master is going to the county town to see his grandson, so we all have to head back to Erlangtan tonight."

"Oh, is that so?" Thousand-Household Master Ma no longer insisted on keeping them, and instead said, "Then tomorrow I'll go to the dock to see off my elder brother, and I'll have old Liu arrange a boat..."

"A boat won't be necessary; a boat from the county is coming to pick up Brother Qiu for a lecture," Su Youjin hurriedly said. "The old master will just travel on their boat."

"Haha, that's fine too," Thousand-Household Master Ma finally let them go, saying, "Then I won't keep you any longer. Take advantage of the daylight and head back early."

After escorting the three all the way to the main gate, he turned back to the hall, only to find his young wife displeased and saying, "My lord, what madness has gotten into you? Even if Qianli is going off to study, there's no need to give him fifty taels!"

"Did Qianli send me two hundred and fifty taels?" Thousand-Household Master Ma replied calmly. "Firstly, wool comes from the sheep's back; I'm merely trading a favor that costs me nothing. Secondly, these fifty taels aren't dividends but a show of respect. Once they give that formal tribute, the transactional debt is cleared, and what I want now is genuine sentiment, understand?"

"What sentiment is worth fifty taels?" Lady Ma remained unconvinced.

"A woman's perspective is always short-sighted," Thousand-Household Master Ma scoffed. "You simply have no idea how much a child prodigy is worth in the Great Ming. Sulu's reputation hasn't spread widely yet, but by next year, once the phonetic spelling system circulates, his value will multiply a hundredfold! By then, even if I offered them a hundred taels, they wouldn't bat an eye."

"Wait, my lord, are you the thousand-household, or are they?" Lady Ma was thoroughly confused.

"A thousand-household is worth squat! Besides, I'm already sixty, how many more years can I serve?" Thousand-Household Master Ma sighed. "Whereas that lad is not even sixteen, and he's Qianli's classmate. If we forge a solid relationship now, he can look after our family for three generations."

"Since he's Qianli's classmate, he's still just a student who passed the county exam. How can my lord be so certain he's destined for greatness?" Lady Ma asked in disbelief.

"I too have read books and passed the county examination, and I know what scholars are like—a lad who can make Magistrate Lu and Academy Principal Zhu treat him like the apple of their eye is definitely not limited to the stature of a mere provincial graduate!" Thousand-Household Master Ma said in a deep voice:

"Even if he ends up with bad luck and only manages to pass the provincial exam, he will still be the very first provincial graduate produced by our Yongning Guard. By then, even the Commander will address him as brother. Tell me, won't he be able to help Qianli?"

Thousand-Household Master Ma broke it down piece by piece until Lady Ma finally enlightened, and she dawned with realization: "So my lord has made another investment."

"You could say that. The ventures I, your lord, take a fancy to have never lost money," Thousand-Household Master Ma nodded with absolute confidence.

"Just wait and see, this might well turn out to be the finest investment of my life!"

~~

Returning from Thousand-Household Master Ma's residence, Su Youjin brought his two well-fed and well-watered cousins, along with his own coachman, to escort his second brother's family back to Erlangtan.

Upon their return, they could immediately feel the festive atmosphere pervading the clan. Every clansman they met on the street was radiant with joy, rushing to greet them the moment they laid eyes on them, treating the female proprietor almost like a living deity!

"What's going on, did gold ingots fall from the sky?" Su Youjin asked with a smile upon seeing Su Yang and his father.

"Almost, Big Brother! Dividends! The clan is finally paying dividends! The last time we paid dividends, I was still wearing split-crotch pants!" Su Yang said excitedly.

"Haha, I figured as much," Su Youjin laughed aloud. He could roughly gauge the situation of the Su Family Winery through the accounts of the Sweet Water Shop, he just hadn't expected the dividends to be distributed so early.

"I remember it used to always be distributed around the Little New Year," he said to Su Yang's father nearby.

"The chief manager said to distribute the money early so everyone can prepare properly for the New Year," Su Yang's father, Su Youming, smiled. "Life has been too poor these past few years, and there are too many things the family lacks. Once the Little New Year passes, you won't be able to buy them even if you want to."

"Haha, that's true," the eldest uncle laughed. "Well, looks like we can finally have a good New Year."

"Indeed, indeed, and all of this is thanks to the female proprietor!" The clansmen chimed in one after another, offering sincere thanks to the female proprietor on horseback.

"Everyone contributed their own effort. I should be the one thanking you all..." The female proprietor, long reigning at the pinnacle of emotional intelligence, uttered a few remarks that left the clansmen overjoyed, wishing she could turn into a member of the family right then and there.

Then, a blunt and outspoken elder couldn't help asking: "Youcai, will we get to drink your wedding wine next year?"

"Haha, exactly, don't let the female proprietor slip away!" Another even more unfiltered person blurted out their innermost thoughts.

The female proprietor's face instantly turned as red as a piece of crimson cloth, and she lowered her head in silence, looking like a bashful little bride—as if she were a completely different person...

"Haha, as for that..." Su Youcai had never concealed his improper relationship with the female proprietor. Naturally, he stepped up to deflect the pressure for her, wrapping his words in poetic mist:

"When shall we trim the western window candle together, and talk of the time when rain fell on Bashan at night?"

True to form, this left the clansmen dumbfounded, thinking to themselves that scholars were truly different; even when talking about setting a wedding date, they couldn't understand a single word...

"Alright, stop prying everyone, my sister-in-law has thin skin, you can't just ask so directly! When it's time for the wedding feast, invitations will naturally be sent to you!" The eldest uncle also stepped in to rescue the female proprietor, though inwardly he was extremely smug.

If it weren't for him subtly matchmaking during the first lunar month, how could there be these red plum blossoms blooming in the twelfth lunar month to herald the arrival of spring?