The Family Had Split, Why Should I Care if They Go Broke? - Chapter 30

Xu Zhichun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “But—”

“That’s settled. Or are you saying I can’t let you help me with anything else in the future?”

If Xu Zhichun refused again, it would just seem pretentious. “All right then, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Xu Zhichun fetched a large bowl and poured out the peanuts with pig’s trotters. Asking Aunt Zhu’er to wait a moment, she quickly stir-fried with brown sugar water, thickened the sauce, and dished out half a bowl of braised pork for her. “This was made with pork belly I bought yesterday. It should taste pretty good. Take it back and try some.”

Looking at the glossy, ruby-red cubes of braised pork, glistening with sauce, steaming and fragrant, Aunt Zhu’er couldn’t help swallowing and grinning. “Not just good—this smells amazing! I’d better hurry back for dinner!”

“Take care, Auntie.”

Then Xu Zhichun and her brother Liang Mingxuan set the table and ate as well.

Braised pork, peanuts with pig’s trotters, paired with lightly stir-fried bok choy sprouts—each of them had a big bowl of glistening, white rice.

After the meal, Xu Zhichun busied herself making konjac tofu and konjac knots, while Liang Mingxuan helped with the prep work.

The boy was steady and meticulous. With just a few instructions, he worked quickly, neatly, and to exact standards—even better than Xu Zhichun had imagined.

Xu Zhichun felt proud and satisfied. Not to boast, but her boy was truly remarkable—not only good at his studies, but also this capable with work.

Sure enough, talented people have good minds: they can draw inferences, apply knowledge across tasks, and grasp things thoroughly. No matter what they do, they outshine others. That kind of talent can’t be envied into existence.

The next morning, Xu Zhichun got up early to make ice jelly.

Compared to other work, this was much lighter. Xu Zhichun only bothered to use a little over a jin of stone flower’s seeds to rub for ice jelly; the rest she made with jelly powder she’d found in the harbor warehouse.

Liang Mingxuan got up too, helping her with the work.

By the time things were almost ready, Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband, Aunt Zhu’er, and Uncle Qi Tian had all arrived.

After hearing his wife talk last night about how much money they’d made, Uncle Qi Tian had been shocked. Today, seeing Xu Zhichun, he smiled especially warmly.

A good person indeed!

In these times, anyone willing to bring others along to share in prosperity was absolutely the best kind of good person.

“Zhichun, just tell me what you want made, and I’ll get right on it.”

“Ah, thank you for the trouble, Uncle Qi Tian.”

There were quite a few things Xu Zhichun needed built.

For the kitchen, she wanted a five-tier storage rack to hold jars, baskets, and containers of all sizes. In the storage room, she wanted two chest-of-drawers taller than a person for storing goods. Then, two bathing tubs—one for her and one for her brother. Three tall wooden barrels, taller than half a man, plus three large basins for soaking konjac tofu, konjac knots, and ice jelly.

In addition, she wanted a wardrobe for each of their bedrooms and another desk for her brother’s room.

Qi Tian nodded as he scribbled and sketched marks with charcoal on a thin wooden board, notes only he himself could understand.

Seeing this, Xu Zhichun relaxed. She had worried she’d given Uncle Qi Tian too many things at once and he might not remember, but clearly, a professional like him needed no extra fretting from her.

For most items, she didn’t mind. But for the wardrobes and desk, Xu Zhichun had her own ideas. Last night, she’d even had the boy sketch out a simple design with brush and paper.

Now she showed the drawing to Qi Tian, explaining each detail.

The wardrobe she wanted was a modern-style modular wardrobe. A large wardrobe with five doors, divided into multiple layers of shelves of different sizes, with two built-in drawers, plus two tall empty spaces with rods at the top for hanging clothes.

The desk was to be rectangular, with a bookshelf connected to the desktop, divided into compartments of various sizes for storing brushes, inks, papers, inkstones, and books.

When Qi Tian saw the drawing, he was instantly stunned.

Xu Zhichun felt a little uneasy. The drawing was simple, and she thought making it shouldn’t be troublesome, but she wasn’t a craftsman and didn’t know if her thinking was really accurate or not.

After all, there was always going to be a gap between ancient people and those from modern times.

“Uncle Qi Tian, do you think this… can actually be made?”

Hearing this, Aunt Zhu’er grew a little nervous too. “Eh—Brother Qi, it’s only a few pieces of furniture, right? Shouldn’t be hard?”

She had already patted her chest, promising Zhichun it would work, so Brother Qi had better not let her down now.

“Huh? Not hard at all. I can, I can! Absolutely, I can!” Qi Tian slapped his thigh, his eyes shining as he praised Zhichun, “Zhichun, this wardrobe and desk design of yours is brilliant, absolutely brilliant! A desk made like this isn’t just for writing—it’s convenient for storing things, and can even be used as a bookshelf. And dividing the wardrobe like this makes everything organized at a glance. Truly ingenious. I’ve been making furniture for years, and never thought of this. It’s wonderful!”

Aunt Zhu’er patted her chest and laughed, scolding lightly, “Look at you—why didn’t you say so earlier? You scared me for nothing. Zhichun is clever; she can think of plenty of things. Since you can make it, then hurry and get it done.”

Xu Zhichun also smiled. “I was only thinking of convenience. If it can really be done, that’s wonderful.”

Her house was old, and she didn’t want to fuss too much with furniture now. Making money was more important. Once she saved enough to build a new house, then she would have furniture made entirely to her liking—that would be ideal.

In truth, she really wanted to sleep on an ancient-style babu bed1. When the time came, she could consider other things slowly, but she was determined to have a genuine babu bed.

Qi Tian said, “Zhichun, let me discuss something with you. This wardrobe and desk—may I make them for other households as well?”

Zhichun couldn’t help but laugh and nodded. “Of course you can.”

She was actually surprised he even asked her. After all, in this era, who talks about intellectual property? Even if Uncle Qi Tian didn’t ask and just made it for others, she would never have known.

Besides, whether it was the wardrobe or the desk, anyone who saw the style could simply copy it by imitation—why would he even need to ask her?

Seeing her answer so straightforwardly, Qi Tian was delighted. He quickly added, “Furniture this unique and practical will definitely be popular. I can’t just take advantage of you for nothing. So the furniture I’m making for you—consider that your payment. I won’t take a single coin, not even for the wood. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to use quality timber.”

“This—”

“Don’t you dare refuse.”

Aunt Zhu’er also laughed. “Zhichun, since your Uncle Qi Tian said so, that’s how it should be. Don’t stand on ceremony.”

Xu Zhichun hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise. Thinking it over, she realized Uncle Qi Tian wouldn’t lose out, while she saved a considerable sum herself. “Then I must thank you, Uncle Qi Tian.”

“Hehe, don’t mention it. I should be the one thanking you.”

Qi Tian was in such high spirits that he didn’t even stop to rest. After watching them load the ox cart to head into town, he hurried straight home to start work.

When inspiration strikes, you can’t afford to delay—right?

He was in a state of pure exhilaration, as though enlightened all at once, with a sense of drawing inferences and connecting ideas. He needed to work while thinking carefully, to craft the wardrobe to perfection.

Once they reached the town, as usual, Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu’er set up their stall, while Xu Zhichun and Liang Mingliang went to deliver goods.