Top Scholar

Chapter 132 Everyone is happy
Taiping Town.

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

Two soldiers followed behind him, one carrying a double-walled porcelain thermos filled with hot tea made with goji berries, and the other carrying a small stool with a backrest.

"Commander, come in and warm up!" Shopkeepers along the street greeted Su Youjin warmly, and some even came out to try to pull him into their shops.

"The new tea has arrived. Commander, please come and have a taste..."

"No, no, it's broad daylight." Su Youjin flicked his sleeves in disgust. Wouldn't that ruin his image?
His main job now is to wander around the town every day, much like a street hustler. But this street hustler is feared by everyone, because he observes how each business is doing and calculates how much stall fee he should collect next month.

At first, everyone thought he was hard to fool and that they were going to get their hands on him. But to their surprise, although Commander Su was shrewd, he was actually a very kind person.

He could always calculate their income clearly, and then, depending on their attitude, he would give them a 30% or 20% discount.

All things considered, each family's burden is 10-20% lighter than when Commander Liu was in charge. Naturally, everyone praises Commander Liu and is vying to show their filial piety so they can pay 30% instead of 20% next month...

"Commander, here's some freshly steamed braised pork belly and some hot Erlang wine. Come in and have a couple of bites with the brothers to warm up before you get back to work!" Mr. Liu, the owner of Liu's Restaurant, greeted them warmly.

"Brother, I'm really a little hungry." The soldier carrying the thermos behind him was Yu Dingsu Youxi, who served in the Su family.

"How many meals have you eaten in a day? Still hungry?" The one who brought him the stool was Su Youli, another member of the Su family. He couldn't stand his lazy cousin.

“But I’m so hungry…” Youxi said aggrievedly, “I’ve been hungry every day during my years in the army, and it takes a month or two to recover from that.”

The Su family had two regular soldiers and two unemployed men in service. The unemployed men were in a very bad situation; they received no military pay and had to rely on the clan for support. The eldest uncle never hesitated to take care of his own family members, and whenever he had a little power, he would bring them to his side.

Of course, you have to use your own people to get into this line of work, otherwise you won't even know how you died...

"Go and have a bite to eat." The eldest uncle was well-versed in the art of employing people. Although he usually relied more on Youli, he was more protective of Youxi.

"Okay, big brother," Youxi replied happily.

"How many times have I told you? When you're on duty, use your job title!" You glared at him, but Su Youjin continued walking forward.

"Where are you going, sir?" the two asked quickly.

"You two go in, I'll look around some more." Su Youjin had developed a potbelly in just six months, how could he dare to overeat? He didn't forget to remind the two of his meal, "Remember to pay."

He didn't care how much he was given.

My uncle strolled around for a few steps and then habitually pushed open the door of Sweet Water Restaurant.

The doorbell rang with a pleasant tinkling sound, and Su Youcai behind the counter reflexively said, "Welcome! What would you like to drink, sir... Oh, brother, come over here quickly."

Then the three of them went over the accounts with the uncle again.

~~
After hearing the expense report, the uncle completely lost interest in his job.

Since Commander Ma happened to be home, he simply had the two of them get off the bed, carry the New Year's goods they had bought, and go to Commander Ma's residence to deliver the silver.

Commander Ma was delighted to see the three of them and said with a smile to his wife, who was sitting beside him, "How about it? Isn't my elder brother's child capable?"

Last time the old man came to town, he was kept there for several days by Commander Ma. Now that they have become family, he asked his wife to come and greet the guest as well.

Madam Ma was a second wife, only slightly older than the proprietress, and she was a noble fifth-rank lady. She was initially reluctant to come out... because her brother had wanted to take over Sweet Water Restaurant, but was turned away by Commander Ma.

So she had been unhappy, but seeing the money made her completely forget her complaints. She laughed and said, "I've heard the master praise you all the time, and he's absolutely right."

"Auntie, you flatter me. Without my uncle's help, how could they have made their business successful?" Su Youjin had already taken advantage of the situation and started calling Commander Ma "uncle." Although Madam Ma was more than ten years younger than him, he called her "auntie" with great smoothness.

"I've taken care of plenty of people," Commander Ma sneered. "They're lucky they're not making me pay up!"

Despite his large family fortune, he also relies heavily on his mother's food and drink, and his expenses are high. He basically breaks even throughout the year and can't save much money.

It's fine as long as he's in office, but once he retires, he'll be like someone who's eating melon seeds while sitting on a railing—living beyond his means, and things will get ugly then.

With this large sum of money from Sweetwater Restaurant, he can finally save some money for his retirement.

"No need for so much, just give what's due." He knew there was a filial piety fee involved, so he generously said, "We're all family, no need for extra filial piety."

"Shouldn't we be even more filial to our own family?" Su Youjin said with a smile.

"Hahaha! Youjin really knows how to talk!" Madam Ma was very happy, thinking that this 'fat nephew' was capable and had a pleasant way of speaking; her husband had indeed made the right choice. But Commander Ma wasn't being polite to them. He had his son seal a full fifty taels of silver and hand it to Su Youjin, saying, "I heard from Qianli that Su Lu is going to study in Luzhou next year. The city is not like our small place; the expenses are much higher. As his uncle, I don't have much to offer, so please give this silver to the child for his studies."

"That's too much, I can't accept it." Su Youcai quickly declined, saying, "It's enough to buy a house in Luzhou, let alone study."

“Then let’s buy a house in Luzhou,” said Commander Ma, waving his hand. “That way, the children will have a place to live. I heard from Qianli that their living conditions are terrible; they can even breathe out white vapor when they sleep.”

No matter how Su Youcai tried to refuse, he couldn't, and in the end he had no choice but to accept it.

Ma Qianhu wanted the three of them to stay for dinner, but Su Youjin said, "The old man is going to the county town to see his grandson tomorrow, so we all have to go back to Erlangtan tonight."

"Oh, I see." Commander Ma then stopped trying to persuade him to stay and said, "Then tomorrow I'll go to the dock to see my elder brother off, and I'll have Old Liu arrange a boat..."

"No need for the boat, the county will send a boat to pick up Qiu-ge'er to give lectures." Su Youjin hurriedly said, "The old man will take their boat."

"Haha, very well." Commander Ma finally released them, saying, "Then I won't keep you any longer. Take advantage of the time before it gets dark and head back early."

He escorted the three of them to the front gate before returning to the hall, where he saw his young wife say unhappily, "Master, what's gotten into you? Even if they traveled a thousand miles to study, you shouldn't give him fifty taels!"

"Did Qianli send me two hundred and fifty taels?" Commander Ma said indifferently, "Firstly, the money comes from the sheep anyway, so it's just a favor. Secondly, this fifty taels isn't a profit-sharing but a tribute. Once someone gives a tribute, the relationship ends. What I want now is a relationship, understand?"

"What favor is worth fifty taels?" Madam Ma protested.

“Women are so ignorant,” Commander Ma snorted. “You have no idea how much a child prodigy is worth in the Ming Dynasty. Su Lu’s reputation hasn’t taken off yet, but once the phonetic spelling scheme is announced next year, his value will increase a hundredfold! At that time, even if I give them a hundred taels, they won’t care.”

"No, sir, are you the commander of a thousand households, or are they the commanders of a thousand households?" Madam Ma was confused.

“What’s a commander of a thousand households? Besides, I’m already sixty. How many more years can I work?” Commander Ma sighed. “That kid is not even sixteen yet. He’s also Qianli’s classmate. If we get along well, he can take care of three generations of our family.”

"Since they are classmates from afar, he is still a student at the lowest level. How can you be so sure that he will rise to prominence?" Madam Ma asked incredulously.

"I've also read books about passing the county examinations and know the character of scholars—this young man, whom Magistrate Lu and Headmaster Zhu treat with such devotion, is definitely not just a mere candidate for the imperial examinations!" Commander Ma said in a deep voice.
"Even if he's unlucky and only becomes a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), he'll still be the first Juren from Yongning Guard. At that time, even the commander will have to treat him like a brother. Do you think he could be of great help to Qianli?"

After much explanation and persuasion, Madam Ma finally understood and exclaimed, "So, Master has made another business move!"

"You could say that none of the businesses I've set my sights on have ever lost money," Commander Ma nodded confidently.
"Just wait and see, it might be the most brilliant stroke of my life!"

~~
After returning from Ma Qianhu's residence, Su Youjin, along with his two well-fed cousins ​​and his own groom, escorted his second cousin's family back to Erlangtan.

Upon their return, they could feel the joyful atmosphere of the tribe. Every tribesman they encountered on the street was overjoyed, and they rushed to greet them, especially the landlady, whom they treated like a goddess!

"What's wrong? Did some gold ingots fall from the sky?" Su Youjin asked with a smile when he saw Su Yang and his son.

"Uncle, it's almost time! We've received our dividends! The clan has finally distributed dividends. The last time we received dividends, I was still wearing open-crotch pants!" Su Yang exclaimed excitedly.

"Haha, I knew it." Su Youjin laughed. He could get a general idea of ​​Su's Winery's situation by looking at the accounts of Sweet Water Distillery, but he didn't expect to start distributing dividends so early.

“I remember that we used to distribute them around the Lunar New Year,” he said to Su Yang’s father, who was standing next to him.

"The head steward said to distribute the money early so that everyone can make some preparations for the New Year." Su Yang's father, Su Youming, laughed and said, "These past few years have been too poor. There are too many things that we lack at home. After the Lunar New Year, we can't even buy them if we want to."

"Haha, that's true," the uncle laughed. "Now we can finally have a good New Year."

"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to the proprietress!" The tribesmen echoed, sincerely thanking the proprietress on horseback.

“Everyone contributed. I should be thanking everyone…” The proprietress, who always possessed exceptional emotional intelligence, made the villagers overjoyed with just a few words, wishing she were one of their own.

Then one of the outspoken elders asked, "Youcai, will you be able to attend your wedding next year?"

"Haha, that's right, don't let the boss's wife run away!" And then there were those who didn't think twice, blurting out their true feelings.

The proprietress's face turned bright red instantly. She lowered her head and remained silent, like a shy young wife. It was as if she had become a completely different person…

"Haha, this..." Su Youcai had never hidden his improper relationship with the landlady. Naturally, he wanted to draw attention to her, so he spoke vaguely:
"When shall we trim the candle by the west window together, and talk of the night rain in Bashan?"

As expected, it stunned the clansmen, who thought to themselves that scholars were indeed different; they couldn't even understand a simple date...

"Alright, stop asking. Your sister-in-law is too shy to ask so directly! When it's time for the banquet, we'll send you an invitation!" The uncle also came out to help the proprietress out of the predicament, but he was secretly very pleased with himself.

If it weren't for Laozi's subtle matchmaking during the first month of the lunar year, how could there be red plum blossoms in the twelfth month announcing the arrival of spring?

(End of this chapter)