Chapter 48: Lu Xun Once Said

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Lu Xun Once Said

’A visitor?’ Ji Huan didn’t recall expecting anyone.

But since someone had come all the way to her door, she had to go and see who it was.

Widow Xie decided to harvest all the vegetables from her garden, and Hu Liang went to get the handcart. Dacheng tried to sneak off with Ji Huan but was promptly grabbed by the ear and dragged away.

Ji Huan and Dabao strolled back toward their dilapidated shack. From a distance, they saw someone milling about in the yard, looking at this and touching that. Every so often, he’d pop a few of the sun-drying dates from the mat into his mouth.

’Who is this guy...? He’s certainly making himself at home.’

Just as Ji Huan was grumbling to herself, the man looked up, spotted her, and jumped up, waving excitedly. "Hey there, sis! Your big bro is here to see you!"

Ji Huan’s face immediately clouded over.

Zhen Jili. It was him!

The moment Ji Huan opened the door, Zhen Jili strolled right in, swaggering about without the slightest awareness that he was a guest.

He shook his head with every other step, TSK-TSKing as he walked.

"How can you live in such a wretched state? Is this place even fit for human habitation?"

"Why not? Are my brother and I not human?" That man, Zhen Jili, really had a knack for getting under her skin.

"That’s not what I meant." Zhen Jili continued with a grin. "I’m just saying, didn’t you make thirty taels off me? Why not build a couple of new rooms? This shack doesn’t even have a heated bed. You’ll freeze to death in the winter."

"It’s spent." Ji Huan couldn’t be bothered to explain the details to him. They weren’t close, and there was no need to cry poverty to him.

Zhen Jili’s eyes went wide. He circled her, looking her up and down, then circled her again. Only when Ji Huan’s brow furrowed in irritation did he finally stop and rub his nose.

"They say young women like to buy face powders, flower hairpins... I was just wondering where you spent all that money."

Ji Huan nearly spat out the sip of tea she had just taken.

"Mr. Zhen, farming families have plenty of things to spend money on just to get by. Who has the spare time or money for face powders and flower pins? Besides, to spend thirty taels entirely on flowers and powders... how vain and empty-headed would I have to be?"

"Look at you, getting all worked up. I was just asking out of curiosity..."

"Our transaction is complete. You have no right to ask. Now, tell me what you’re here for."

Ji Huan didn’t believe for a second that he had traveled all this way just for idle chit-chat.

His attempt to be friendly having failed, Zhen Jili didn’t get angry. He simply pulled a pouch from his sleeve, dangled it in front of her for a moment, and then tossed it onto the table.

"Open it. Take a look."

Not knowing what he was up to, Ji Huan did as he said and opened the pouch. She froze.

Inside the pouch were five ten-tael silver ingots—a total of fifty taels.

Without giving it a second glance, Ji Huan tied the pouch shut and tossed it back, her expression guarded. "What are you plotting?"

"Oh, for goodness’ sake..." Zhen Jili let out an exasperated laugh. He was starting to think she was even better at provoking people than he was.

"Do I really look that much like a bad guy? Is the four-word phrase ’up to no good’ carved on my forehead? Can’t you ever think the best of me? For instance, that I’m a righteous, kind-hearted man who couldn’t bear to see you and your brother freeze in this hovel, and so came to lend a helping hand and aid the poor and weak."

Ji Huan held up a hand, signaling for him to stop. "Keep talking like that and you’ll achieve enlightenment on the spot, Mr. Zhen. But whatever you say, I can’t accept a reward for no merit. Lu Xun once said that one must not accept a sudden windfall."

"Who’s Lu Xun?" Zhen Jili was suddenly very interested in this supposed fool who would turn down free money.

"...Who he is isn’t important. What’s important is, can you be a man about it and just say what you mean? Stop beating around the bush."

Zhen Jili looked utterly wronged. "I really did just come to give you money! I honestly don’t have any other intentions, I swear!"

Ji Huan eyed him with a frown. "Are you really planning to become a monk?"

Zhen Jili shook his head decisively.

"Is the silver burning a hole in your pocket, then?"

Zhen Jili listlessly shook his head again.

"Then..."

"When it comes down to it, you just don’t see me as a good person."

Zhen Jili sat down and cut to the chase.

"For my service in presenting the formula, I’m now in the General’s good graces. But since the hand cream hasn’t been officially rolled out, the General couldn’t give me a huge public reward. Instead, he gave me one hundred taels of silver for now. I felt bad that I only gave you thirty taels before because I was short on cash. It felt like I was taking advantage of you, so I hurried over to make it right."

Ji Huan watched his microexpressions as he spoke. He didn’t seem to be lying. ’Maybe I really did misjudge him.’

She cleared her throat. "It’s not that I thought you were a bad person, it’s just... I’ve seen plenty of scammers in my time, but I’ve never met one who was eager to *give* money away."

Zhen Jili shot her a sideways glance, scowling.

"’Scammer’ is... never mind, I’m sure it’s not a compliment. Anyway, you need to be clear about one thing. I didn’t intentionally take advantage of you last time. We of the Zhen family have an ancestral creed: whoever takes advantage of a woman will suffer terrible luck. My fortunes have only just turned, and I’d rather not have them turn back so quickly."

Ji Huan was speechless. "...Your family’s ancestral creed is certainly... unique."

Zhen Jili snorted. "If it weren’t for this creed, you wouldn’t be getting this windfall!"

What else could she say? "Then please thank your ancestors for me. But you should still take this money back. I agreed to the price, whether it was high or low. No one held a knife to my throat. Our deal was done, fair and square. There’s no reason to fleece the same sheep twice. My ancestors may not have left a family creed, but I’m sure they wouldn’t approve of this."

"Heh!" Zhen Jili chuckled. "Is your ancestor named Lu Xun by any chance? The big fool who turns down money?"

Ji Huan lowered her gaze to her teacup. "Say what you will. I’m not taking the money."

’Even if I believed people were inherently good, taking money from a near-stranger felt dangerous.’

’Besides, a sudden windfall and a sudden disaster often go hand-in-hand. It’s the same old story of fortune hiding misfortune. One moment of greed—who knew what kind of trouble it could bring?’

"I never would’ve guessed. You look so sharp, but you’re actually a fool." Zhen Jili didn’t know what to say. This was the first time in his life that giving money away had been so exhausting.

"Alright, let’s reason this out. Strictly speaking, this isn’t really a windfall, is it? You know the value of that formula better than I do. You’ve seen how much it’s benefited me. The hundred-tael reward is nothing; the real rewards are yet to come. Most importantly, I’ve made a connection with the General. I’ll be able to climb to much higher places because of this—that’s something no amount of silver or gold can buy. Seeing everything I’ve gained, you really don’t have any regrets?"

Ji Huan shook her head.

Zhen Jili choked on his words. "Fine. You don’t regret it. Then it’s me... I’m worried. I’m afraid you’ll go back on your word and sell the formula to someone else. Just assume I’m being a petty, distrustful man, how about that?"

"That’s a lie. The formula itself is worthless to you now. Even if I sold it to ten more people, it wouldn’t affect you. You’ve already achieved your goal."

’Zhen Jili’s ambition wasn’t about money. He wanted to climb the social ladder, and the hand cream was just his springboard. Now that he had found a powerful patron to help him achieve his goals, he wouldn’t care if every shop in the city started selling hand cream, as long as there were no issues with the supply for the army camp.’

All the fight went out of Zhen Jili.

"Alright, you win! I’ll call you my ancestor! My ancestors really did leave that creed. Maybe you don’t feel like I took advantage of you, but I did! Ever since my luck started turning, I haven’t been able to sleep at night! I’m terrified of jinxing it. What if everything I’ve gained suddenly disappears? Who am I supposed to cry to then? You? Are you going to take responsibility?"

"Hey, don’t try to shift the blame to me. What does that have to do with me?" ’So,’ she thought, ’when trickery fails, he resorts to being shameless.’

Zhen Jili slapped his thigh. "See? You don’t want to be responsible, and you can’t afford to be, right? Well, that settles it!"

Seeing that Ji Huan was about to argue again, Zhen Jili pointed at Dabao, who was sitting on the threshold with his back to them. "Even if you won’t think of yourself, you have to think of your brother. You know how cold the winters are here in the Northern Pass. There’s no way you two can make it in a place like this. You might be able to tough it out, but what about your brother’s frail body? I heard he just recovered from a serious illness. Can your heart bear to see him suffer? I’m not trying to scare you, but building a proper house before winter sets in is the only sensible thing to do."

Of all the things Zhen Jili had rambled on about, only this last part truly struck a chord with Ji Huan.