Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Cooperation
After the meal, Qin Hui Yin set the cash box on the wobbly table and called Tang Lu Wu and Tang Yi Xiao over. They sorted copper coins, threading them into strings of 100 wen so the final count would be clear at a glance.

“One hundred seventy bowls of chilled jelly noodles at five wen each,” Qin Hui Yin said, tallying quickly. “Add the braised meat money, subtract what we spent on supplies… we have 1,345 wen left.”

Li Tao Hua’s eyes widened. “So today we earned one tael of silver and 345 wen?” Her voice rose with hope. “If this keeps up, we might really earn 50 taels in one month! From now on, we make more. We sell more. Two taels a day!”

“It’s new right now,” Qin Hui Yin said, pouring cold water over the dream before it could fly too high. “Of course lots of people are buying. In a few more days it won’t feel fresh anymore. Business will drop.”

Tang Yi Chen, who had been listening in silence, spoke without looking up. “There are too few customers here. In a prosperous town, we’d make far more. But right now we have no other way. If we want to do business in town, we need capital.” He paused. “For now this is small, but it’s enough to support the family. It’s still a way out.”

Qin Hui Yin looked at him. “If you can solve our problem with Chen Zhong Yi, what we’re making now is enough for everyone to live quite well.”

Tang Yi Chen pressed his lips together, the smallest sound leaving him. “I know.”

That afternoon, Tang Yi Chen went out. When he returned, several tall village men followed behind him, carrying newly made tables, chairs, and benches into the yard.

Li Tao Hua rushed out, eyes darting between the furniture and Tang Yi Chen like she’d caught him stealing. “How much did this cost? We’ve earned a little, but we can’t spend like water.”

Her face pinched as if each plank had been carved out of her heart.

Tang Yi Chen’s voice stayed flat. “I’ll cover it. It won’t come out of the household money.”

“With what?” Li Tao Hua demanded. “Where did you get silver?”

“I bought it on credit,” Tang Yi Chen said. “When I go back and earn money copying texts, I’ll pay it.”

One of the men—sweat-darkened at the collar—wiped his brow with his sleeve and grinned. “Brother Chen keeps his word. We trust him. We also heard what happened to your family. No need to rush. Pay when you have the money.”

Li Tao Hua stared, momentarily speechless.

Carpenter Zhang and his two sons were the only ones in the area who made furniture; nearby villages all went to them. Li Tao Hua had once tried to buy a stool on credit and been chased out like a thief. Yet Tang Yi Chen could order a whole set and they weren’t even worried he’d default.

Qin Hui Yin came out then, wiping her hands on her apron after finishing tomorrow’s chilled jelly noodles. She stopped short when she saw the new furniture, her face lighting up.

“Finally—new tables and chairs!” she said, genuinely delighted. “The old ones were so worn. Every time I sat down, I was scared they’d collapse into splinters.”

Seeing Qin Hui Yin so pleased, Li Tao Hua swallowed whatever else she wanted to say.

“Um…” Qin Hui Yin edged closer to Tang Yi Chen and lowered her voice. “Could we also buy a bathing tub on credit?”

Tang Yi Chen: “…”

He glanced at her, eyes quiet and clear, as if asking whether she ever knew the meaning of restraint.

Qin Hui Yin gave a dry little laugh and shifted away, muttering under her breath, “We’re siblings in name, at least. Won’t even help with a little thing. Stingy.”

She could tolerate the ancient toilet—cleaned properly, it was unpleasant but survivable.

But there was no bathing room here. Every wash had been done with a wooden basin. The Tang family didn’t even have a proper tub. These days she’d been forced to sponge off like a miser, unable to sit and soak.

[Who could understand how I feel?]
[Can a wipe-down really count as clean?]

Tang Yi Chen turned toward the carpenter’s sons. “Brother Da Zhu—can we trouble you to make a bathing tub as well?”

“No problem!” Zhang Da Zhu thumped his chest. “Brother Chen, if you need anything else, just say the word.”

“That’s all for now. Thank you.”

After they left, Tang Yi Chen asked, “Is there anything else you need me to do at home?”

“No, no—go do your work.” The moment he agreed to the tub, Qin Hui Yin felt absurdly satisfied.

[As expected of a gentle male lead. Completely different from a wicked villain.]

Tang Yi Chen didn’t force his way into their work. Once he confirmed there was nothing else, he returned to his room to copy texts.

His desk sat by the window where the light was best. When he looked up, he could see the courtyard.

Qin Hui Yin was at the stone mill, pushing until she was breathing hard. Tang Lu Wu took over next; after a short while, her face gleamed with sweat too.

Li Tao Hua clicked her tongue, impatient. “Move. Useless.”

Then she stepped in and pushed as well, jaw set.

Grinding pea flour was brutal work for women. Tang Yi Xiao was still little; even when he offered, no one let him.

Tang Yi Chen came out.

Under several pairs of eyes fixed on him, he felt an unexpected prickle across his scalp. He said nothing—only took his place at the mill and pushed.

The stone turned smooth and steady under his hands.

“Wow,” Qin Hui Yin blurted. “I didn’t imagine a scholar could have that much strength.”

Tang Lu Wu looked at him as if he hung the moon. “Elder Brother isn’t some weak scholar. When he’s home, he helps with the work too. Elder Brother is the pillar of our family!”

Tang Yi Chen, always reserved, felt more uncomfortable the longer they stared. His ears warmed. He kept pushing.

Li Tao Hua clapped her hands. “You three bring out the dirty clothes. I’ll wash them.”

Tang Lu Wu nodded immediately. “We’re low on firewood. I’ll go up the mountain to gather some.”

“I’ll go with you,” Tang Yi Xiao said, grabbing a sickle.

With Tang Yi Chen taking over the mill, the rest of them would only be standing around. The braised meat was already simmering; it only needed someone to check the fire now and then. Better to do other chores.

Qin Hui Yin stayed behind.

Tang Yi Chen didn’t know the rhythm of grinding pea flour; he needed someone to tell him when to add peas, when the flour was fine enough, how to keep the stone from jamming. So she remained, hands dusted white, watching and guiding.

[It’s a little magical.]
[I’m under the same roof as a fictional male lead… and I’ve even become his stepsister.]
[In the original story, this stepsister caused trouble at every turn, and her relationship with the male lead was terrible.]
[Now Tang Lu Wu hasn’t died, Tang Yi Xiao’s medicine hasn’t been cut off, and the original host didn’t have time to offend him.]
[He probably doesn’t hate me anymore, right?]

Qin Hui Yin watched Tang Yi Chen’s profile—the straight back, the calm face, the small tightening of his jaw when the stone resisted.

[Is the male lead really only 14?]
[Leaving aside how “mature beyond his years” comes standard with a male lead… he’s taller than ordinary people.]
[Even from a common background, he carries a natural air of nobility.]
[In a crowd, you’d spot him at a glance.]
[If he isn’t the male lead, who is?]

She cleared her throat. “What should I call you? Calling you by your name feels rude. If I follow Sister Lu Wu and call you Elder Brother, you’ll probably feel awkward. How about… Brother Chen?”

Tang Yi Chen didn’t look away from the mill. “Mm.”

Qin Hui Yin took that as permission. “Brother Chen, my mother married your father. I know you don’t really like us—mother and daughter. But you can see it too: we’re one family now. I truly want everyone to live in harmony. You don’t need to worry that my mother and I will bully your younger siblings.” She paused, then said it plainly. “From now on, let’s be a proper family. All right?”

[If I latch onto the male lead and play the good sister, maybe I can borrow a bit of his fortune.]