Chapter 28: The Scheme Comes to Nothing

Is it that he didn't want to? It was that he lacked the ability.

Who wouldn't want parents who favored them and children who were capable? But he had to actually have them first.

"Look at you, acting all aggrieved," Mrs. Wu said dismissively, rolling her eyes. "I meant for you to go ask the eldest brother if he’s selling his house. How much would he sell it for? We can haggle the price down and buy it later."

"Then why don't you go ask the eldest sister-in-law yourself?"

"That woman is as cunning as a fox. If I go, will I get a good price? Besides, you saw it yourself—buying new land and building a house might look impressive, but the money flows out like water. If we don't go talk to them quickly, what if someone else beats us to it? If the eldest family comes to borrow money from us, will you lend it or not?" Mrs. Wu retorted sharply.

Ning Erlang fell silent at these words.

"Fine, fine. I’ll go ask in a little while."

At Ning Wulang’s house:

Old Man Ning had wanted to go to the eldest son's house early that morning. Eldest Lang was still young and inexperienced in many matters, and he wanted to go over to oversee things and offer guidance. However, Old Mrs. Mu wouldn't let him go, insisting that if he were to go, Eldest Lang had to come and invite him personally.

He waited and waited, but Eldest Lang never came.

Instead, Ning Wulang returned, carrying meat and looking quite pleased with himself.

"Wulang, your eldest brother, he..." Old Man Ning asked.

"People from the magistrate's office were there, and the eldest brother was busy," Ning Wulang said, urging Mrs. Xiao Mu to hurry up and cook the meat.

"Did every family get this much?" Mrs. Xiao Mu asked.

The smaller portion was over two pounds, and the larger one was at least five or six.

"Everyone got about two pounds; the larger portion is to honor Father and Mother."

Ning Wulang was quite proud. With his parents living with him, he could also benefit from the filial offerings of his older brothers.

"What about the pig trotters?" Mrs. Xiao Mu asked again.

"Don't the officials from the magistrate's office need to be greased? What about the village head and the local magistrate? You didn't see the way the village head and the local magistrate were acting..." Ning Wulang made a clicking sound with his tongue.

He had intended to go down to the foot of the mountain to join the excitement, but Old Mrs. Mu held him back, refusing to let him go.

Ning Wulang thought to himself that one more or one less person didn't make a difference, so skipping it was fine. He urged Mrs. Xiao Mu to hurry up and get the fire going to cook.

Mrs. Xiao Mu was furious. This blockhead only knew how to eat.

After a moment of thought, Ning Wulang added, "No, I still need to go. The eldest family is quite wealthy. Today, A-Xin bought two iron pots from the county town, along with crowbars and hammers, and they even came back in a mule cart."

"What?" Mrs. Xiao Mu widened her eyes in shock.

Two iron pots, hammers, and crowbars? This wasn't just having some money; this was having a significant amount.

Ignoring Mrs. Xiao Mu, Ning Wulang turned and headed out. Mrs. Xiao Mu had no choice but to go tell Old Man Ning and Old Mrs. Mu.

Old Mrs. Mu immediately began to curse Eldest Lang for being a scoundrel, having money but not knowing how to show filial piety to his own mother.

Old Man Ning, however, slowly sat down on a bench, his face cold and stern as he scolded, "You plague of a woman, shut your mouth."

Old Mrs. Mu looked at him in disbelief, as if she were an animal being choked by the throat. This old man was actually scolding her?

Mrs. Xiao Mu dared not stay; she immediately left the scene of the trouble to cook in the kitchen, dragging Ning Yao away with her.

In the main hall, Old Mrs. Mu burst into tears. "I can't go on living. I just can't go on living."

"If you don't want to live, then go die."

Old Man Ning felt deeply irritated. Back when the family property was divided, to avoid causing a rift with his sons, he had insisted on using his own money to buy land and build houses. He kept the bulk of the farmland and fields for himself and divided the rest as he should. He hadn't given a single copper to his sons. Did Eldest, Second, Third, and Fourth not have any resentment in their hearts, even if they didn't say it aloud? And this foolish woman—she would rather carry the crowbars to someone else's place than lend them to her own son. What was she thinking? Did she want to turn completely against her son? How had he failed to realize she was this stupid, venomous, and wicked? Did she think she could do this without anyone noticing? There were so many people in this village, so many eyes watching.

"Go ahead and court your own ruin. Keep at it, and there will come a day when you’ll suffer for it."

After saying this, Old Man Ning ignored whether Old Mrs. Mu lived or died and went back to his room to lie down.

By lunch, Ning Wulang returned, clicking his tongue and saying, "The eldest family is truly thriving. They bought such a large piece of land."

"But my eldest brother’s head must not be quite right. Clearing such a large piece of land—when will he ever finish?"

Since the eldest family hadn't invited them to join the feast, Old Man Ning felt even more bitter. Even though the table was filled with meat, it tasted like nothing to him.

Old Mrs. Mu refused to come out to eat out of spite, knowing that Mrs. Xiao Mu would save some for her, and that Ning Yao would bring it to her room and coax her to eat.

Meanwhile, Eldest Lang was busy offering toasts. He hadn't drunk much himself, but the two yamen runners had consumed quite a bit, and with the excellent food, they naturally ate slowly. It was easy to build rapport over a drinking table, and since the yamen runners weren't exactly wealthy, they rarely saw such a lavish feast, not even during the New Year.

When Eldest Lang encouraged them to drink, they didn't stand on ceremony, drinking with the village head and the local magistrate. They even played drinking games. The village head and the magistrate were literate and knew how to play the drinking games popular in the county town. Eldest Lang didn't know how, so he simply focused on pouring the wine. The atmosphere was exceptionally good.

Ning Xin and the others had finished eating and, curious, stood at the kitchen doorway to watch. Ning Kui and Ning Zhuang stood under the eaves, observing as well. The meal lasted for quite a while.

Two pounds of wine was nothing to yamen runners with good tolerance, especially when shared among four people. Eldest Lang had only consumed about an ounce or so. Once they were full and satisfied, they prepared to leave.

Eldest Lang quickly handed over the prepared money pouch. "We are simple country folk and can't offer much, but it's a token of my heart. I hope you two brothers won't look down on it."

Ruan Deqiu accepted it with a smile, and Jiang Chengbin didn't refuse either.

Eldest Lang then picked up the hind pig trotters. "Please take these back as well to add a dish to your family's table. Consider it a small token of filial respect from me to your elders."

"Brother Ning, you are too kind, truly too kind," Ruan Deqiu and Jiang Chengbin said, thanking him repeatedly.

Naturally, they reminded Eldest Lang to go to the yamen early the next morning to collect the property deeds. "Come early, and I'll wait for you at the yamen."

Having connections in the yamen made things easier to accomplish. That was just how things worked.

"Thank you, brothers! Thank you!" Eldest Lang thanked them repeatedly, warmly seeing them off. He let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

He then took the two front trotters, giving one to the village head and one to the local magistrate. "Thank you, Village Head Uncle and Magistrate Uncle, for all your running around for my family's little matter."

Having received their benefits, the village head and the magistrate were even more amiable. They told Eldest Lang to quickly pick an auspicious date and put the land clearing on his schedule.

"Yes, yes, of course."

After seeing off the village head and the magistrate, Eldest Lang picked up Ning Qi and tossed him into the air, making him shriek with delight.

"Daddy, toss me higher! Toss me higher than Big Sister does!"

Eldest Lang laughed in spite of himself. "Then I'll have your big sister come and toss you into the sky."

Ning Qi, a little smart aleck, quickly said, "Daddy toss, Daddy toss."

Ning Wen and Ning Wu crowded around, wanting to be tossed high as well. Eldest Lang took turns tossing his three sons until he was exhausted.

"No more, no more. I can't toss anymore."

The courtyard was filled with laughter. Mrs. Meng walked into the house, smiling, and packed some items into a back basket.

"A-Xin, you’re quick on your feet. Take these things to your maternal grandparents and tell them that we’ve bought land and are building a house."

Ning Xin nodded. She said to Mrs. Meng, "Mother, the rest of the silver from selling the deer is in the cabinet. Make sure you keep it safe."

She shouldered the basket and began the journey to her grandparents' home, over ten miles away.