The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 23: Secretly Observing

Chapter 23: Secretly Observing

“Is the news reliable?” Meng Shuituan hoped it was false.

Song Yuyan didn’t answer directly, only saying, “By May at the latest, an official document will come down, and then you’ll know if it’s true.”

In fact, when she told Meng Shuituan about this, she played a trick. She first made him focus on Tang Haogen’s status, then brought up the liquor tax quota. She didn’t say it came from Tang Haogen, but Meng Shuituan would assume it did because of his position, making him more likely to believe it.

Of course, Song Yuyan wasn’t lying to him. If she didn’t make the matter sound serious and reasonable, he wouldn’t take it seriously. Only Tang Haogen’s status as a government clerk could make him pay attention.

She wasn’t worried that Meng Shuituan would verify it with Tang Haogen. First, he didn’t know Tang Haogen. Second, the court’s decree would come soon. By the time Meng Shuituan recovered from the shock, everything she said would match up.

But Meng Shuituan still naively hoped, “What if, I mean, what if the liquor office doesn’t care about small businesses like ours?”

Song Yuyan understood his wishful thinking. In her past life, even after knowing people were arrested for these things, he still risked selling liquor, probably thinking his good relations with neighbors meant they wouldn’t report him.

Before Meng Shuituan faced consequences, Song Yuyan couldn’t change his mindset. But if he did face them, it would be a devastating blow to the Meng family.

Song Yuyan could only advise, “Shuituan, you need to prepare for both possibilities. You can think the liquor office won’t care about your small business, but you also said ‘what if’? According to the liquor ban, making fifteen jin of yeast or smuggling three dou of liquor into the city means death. Brewing liquor, over twenty jin in the city or thirty jin in the countryside, means death. If someone reports you for selling liquor privately, even if it’s less than thirty jin, it’s enough to bankrupt you.”

Meng Shuituan’s eyes widened, filled with fear and amazement. “Does the law really say that? Song Da, you know so much! What should I do?”

Song Yuyan sighed and carefully said, “Either you stop brewing liquor privately until the heat dies down…”

Before she finished, Meng Shuituan interrupted anxiously, “How can that work? If we don’t sell liquor, how can our family get by?”

“So the other option is, from today, you buy yeast from the liquor office. That way, you won’t worry about being reported for brewing privately.”

“Doesn’t that mean giving the liquor office a big sum of money?” Meng Shuituan felt heartbroken, as if someone had cut a chunk of flesh from him.

Song Yuyan understood his feelings. After all, something that used to be free now cost a large sum, so he naturally felt unwilling.

So, she used her trump card, saying, “You don’t have to pay, but have you thought about your parents? If you get reported and arrested, what will they do? You’re their only son. Without you, how can they stand in the village? When they’re old, who will manage things for them?”

From what the original host knew in her past life, the Meng family spent all their wealth to save Meng Shuituan from the liquor office. After that, his parents’ health declined due to the stress. Meng Shuituan wanted to save them, but with the family broke, he couldn’t afford a doctor.

Later, he borrowed money everywhere to buy medicine for his parents, but it was a bottomless pit. That’s why he ended up joining rebels.

Meng Shuituan’s expression grew heavy. He still held a sliver of hope, but thinking of his parents possibly being implicated, his heart sank.

After a long pause, he patted Song Yuyan’s shoulder and said, “Song Da, you’re right. I’ll handle this carefully.”

Song Yuyan inwardly sighed in relief. She didn’t expect the “old generation’s preaching,” which modern youths hated, to work so well here.

____

After temporarily resolving Meng Shuituan’s potential tragedy, Song Yuyan didn’t relax. Meng Shuituan was just a minor trigger. The main reason for the original host’s death was herself.

From analyzing her possible future, even if Meng Shuituan escaped trouble, she likely couldn’t avoid the original host’s fate. The original host had many shady friends, each a potential Meng Shuituan.

Also, the original host was unpopular and hated. Even if not implicated by friends, someone might report her. Whether she stole during that time or not, to the prefect, she was just an ant, a trivial tool for political achievements. Her fate wouldn’t change.

So, was this situation unsolvable?

Not necessarily.

Song Yuyan believed nothing was absolute, and there was always a chance. She wasn’t good at scheming, so she did her best and aimed to have a clear conscience.

Focusing back on bamboo weaving, she first made the bamboo baskets Aunt Fierce needed, treated them to prevent insect damage, and set them out to dry when the weather cleared.

The naughty child Song Yuban, seeing the baskets drying outside, shifted from being devoted to straw weaving to wavering—should he stick with straw weaving or learn bamboo weaving from Song Yuyan?

Song Yuyan didn’t know his “ambitions,” but her bamboo weaving wasn’t a secret. She didn’t hide it and occasionally guided Song Yuban when he eagerly tried.

As for the little radish head Song Yuzhuan, with her bamboo horse, she played at the doorstep more often.

At first, neighbor kids would giggle and call, “The little cripple is out again!”

These kids, aged six or seven, some as young as four or five, mostly meant no harm to Song Yuzhuan. But they didn’t realize how their words affected her.

Song Yuzhuan, who had just mustered the courage to go outside, started to retreat.

A snotty-nosed boy saw her bamboo horse, his eyes lighting up, and pointed, asking, “What’s that?”

The other kids’ attention shifted to Song Yuzhuan’s bamboo horse.

“It’s my bamboo horse,” Song Yuzhuan replied bravely, her eyes holding a hint of hope. She wondered if having a bamboo horse would make them want to play with her.

“Horses don’t look like that. What a weird horse!” another kid shouted.

Song Yuyan, drying baskets in the yard, thought, “…” *Is a bamboo pole more like a horse?*

She wasn’t eavesdropping, but the building materials here weren’t soundproof. She could even hear neighbors’ nighttime noises, so hearing this in the yard was no surprise.

She wanted to intervene but thought if she jumped in every time Bing’er faced trouble, it wouldn’t help her regain confidence and might make her more dependent and timid. So, she decided to observe first.

Outside, the snotty-nosed boy ran to Song Yuzhuan’s side and asked, “Where’d you get that horse?”

“My big brother made it for me.”

The boy wiped his snot, smeared it on his clothes, and asked, “Can I play with it?”

Song Yuzhuan hesitated, afraid that if she refused, he wouldn’t play with her.

The boy didn’t give her time to think and reached to grab the bamboo horse. Song Yuzhuan, who was hesitating, now held on tightly.

The boy pushed Song Yuzhuan to grab the bamboo horse.

At that moment, Tang Ye, quietly watching from his doorstep, stepped forward and shouted at the boy, “Don’t steal other people’s things. That’s wrong!”

The boy ignored him, but Song Yuzhuan, shedding her timid and pleasing demeanor, got up, pushed the boy back, and snatched her bamboo horse.

The boy and Tang Ye were stunned, not expecting the once-pitiful Song Yuzhuan to be so fierce.

Song Yuyan, who had started to step out, pulled her leg back. She had underestimated the little radish head’s determination to protect her “toy.”