TATLC Chapter 26

Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating! here’s an extra chapter!

The news that Chen Xiao Mi bought a donkey and carriage caused an uproar in Big Stone Village.

Chen Xiao Cai walked back and forth around the carriage in excitement: “Big brother, is this really ours now?”

Chen Xiao Mi rested an arm on his hip and said proudly: “That’s right, Cai, look at that donkey, look how long its legs are.”

Chen Xiao Cai beamed with a smile, only a handful of villagers could afford a draft animal, the donkey cart was definitely a symbol of luxury in the village.

Chen Xiao Cai stroked the donkey and said: “How great is this!”

All children like to go to the city for fun, their parents will probably buy them snacks and toys if they behave well. Going to town is just a fun experience for children that they can brag to their friends about even if they end up getting nothing.

Never did Chen Xiao Mi take Chen Xiao Cai to the city, as Chen Xiao Cai was still too young to walk for several hours straight. Chen Xiao Cai could vaguely remember that the last time he went to town was with his father before he died, but that was many years ago.

Chen Xiao Cai knew it was difficult for his elder brother to borrow an ox cart from other villagers, so he had never shown any sign of wanting to visit the city even though he dreamed of going to the city and doing some sightseeing. Chen Xiao Cai petted the donkey and could not help but imagine him coming along with Chen Xiao Mi next time he went to the city.

It took Chen Xiao Cai a long time to notice the new blanket on the carriage: “Big brother, this blanket looks so thick and warm!”

“Lu Lin has just recovered from a dangerous illness, this blanket is for him.” Chen Xiao Mi said.

Chen Xiao Mi was fully aware that Lu Lin was the reason why their entire family was doing so well, he felt they were taking advantage of him, and he realized Lu Lin was not as strong as them, so he tried his best to make Lu Lin feel comfortable.

Chen Xiao Mi and the children had never complained about the cold since they built the kang, but Lu Lin would still nag him about how bitter the wind was.

Lu Lin told Chen Xiao Mi that there was something called air conditioning from where he came from, it would make the room cool in summer and warm in winter. Chen Xiao Mi was a bit doubtful if it was true, it had nothing to do with how much he trusted Lu Lin, he simply thought it was too good to be true.

Chen Xiao Cai frowned when he heard that the blanket was for Lu Lin, he thought the blanket was for their younger brother Chen Xiao Mai. He could not help but catch a glimpse of Lu Lin who was busy in the kitchen: ‘He’s still alive and in good spirits, he doesn’t need this blanket!’

The villagers who heard Chen Xiao Mi had just bought a donkey cart did some quick calculations, they were amazed at how rich he was, he spent ten taels to marry Lu Lin, and now he spent about another ten taels on this donkey cart!

The more they talked about it, the more they were convinced that Grandma Lu was trying to steal from Chen Xiao Mi. They all knew how greedy Grandma Lu was. Plus Chen Xiao Mai had confirmed it, ‘Children and fools speak the truth’.

And soon there was news that Chen Xiao Mi had sold alcohol to a restaurant in town, which was why he had become so rich.

Many villagers began to regret that they had not married their sons into Chen Xiao Mi’s family. ‘Our whole family could have lived in peace and comfort if my son had been matched with Chen Xiao Mi!’

Grandma Lu was furious when she heard Chen Xiao Mi had bought a donkey cart. She fell ill from pent-up frustration for days, none of her family members believed her when Lu Lin accused her of stealing, and then her grandson Lu Cheng Yu was suspended from school because of it, Grandma Lu was so sick that she couldn’t get out of bed. But no one believed her because she used to pretend to be sick to get family members to do things for her.

“Mom, that Chen Xiao Mi is very rich, isn’t he?” Lu Tong exclaimed. Lu Tong still hated the couple for rejecting her last time when she asked Lu Lin to return home to help with the Autumn Harvest.

Tang frowned and said: “Bastards! Bastards the lot of them! That Lu Lin, it’s shameful how he has ignored us since he married Chen Xiao Mi, he shouldn’t have said anything even if your grandmother really stole from them, it has ruined your elder brother’s good name! Even I was too embarrassed to leave the house recently.”

“But mom, do you think grandma tried to steal from them?”

“I don’t think Lu Lin would lie about it, but the problem is that it’s not stealing, we’re all family now!  Lu Lin is married to Chen Xiao Mi!” Tang said boldly.

Lu Tong narrowed her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She just felt that her cousin, Lu Lin had changed since he tried to commit suicide.

To return to the couple.

Lu Lin could finally say goodbye to the door plank because they built a kang, he and the Chen brothers had shared a kang. Chen Xiao Cai had noticed that Lu Lin always tried to hug Chen Xiao Mi after it got dark, and Chen Xiao Mi would always blush.

Chen Xiao Cai was just a boy, but somehow he knew a married couple should have privacy, he felt he and Chen Xiao Cai should sleep in different beds now.

Lu Lin woke up this morning with morning glory, he felt very embarrassed for hugging Chen Xiao Mi. Chen Xiao Mi was so embarrassed that he pretended nothing had happened and left kang.

Lu Lin, on the other hand, was deep in thought. ‘This space and time is boring as fuxx, there is no entertainment except for some adult activities. I need to build rooms for the two kids soon, otherwise I’ll die a virgin!’

Lu Lin pulled Chen Xiao Mi aside after they had breakfast: “Xiao Mi, what do you think about building more rooms?”

He continued when Chen Xiao Mi was about to say no: “Xiao Cai is becoming a big boy, he will get married one day, let’s build him a nice and beautiful room so that he can impress the girl he likes in the future.”

Chen Xiao Mi narrowed his eyes, he had never thought of that.

“Let’s build a stable for the donkey too, and a chicken coop. We pay a lot for animals, we don’t want them to freeze to death in winter.”

Chen Xiao Mi hesitated for a while: “Hmm, I agree with you, but it is not cheap, we are talking about at least eight taels of silver here.”

“If money is your concern, we can always sell one more batch of alcohol. The restaurant owner said that he wants to buy more alcohol from us, plus it is very popular to warm up with a bowl of alcohol among the rich.”

Chen Xiao Mi shook his head and said: “That’s not necessary, we have money for that.”

Chen Xiao Mi had a total of twenty taels of silver in hand now, he could easily afford to build one more room, a stable and a chicken coop. But that silver had great sentimental value to him.

Lu Lin smiled and said: “Good, let’s get started. I just thought people might start asking us how we managed to brew so much alcohol in such a short time if we sell one more batch.”

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said: “I agree with you, money is not our concern right now, the problem is that I don’t think we can hire extra help.”

Chen Xiao Mi was confident that he could do the renovation himself, but building a room from scratch was not easy, the smart thing would be to hire someone professional.

Chen Xiao Mi was worried that people would refuse to work for him because of his reputation even though he was willing to pay a high price.

Lu Lin seemed completely unconcerned: “Money talks. I’m sure we can hire help as long as we’re willing to pay a fair price, we can hire people from other villages if our own villagers don’t want to work for us.”

Lu Lin couldn’t help but think about the modern society where all the employees complained about their bosses, but they felt reluctant to quit for the Almighty Yuans.

Hearing that, Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said: “That’s a good idea, we can just rent somewhere else.”

“Alright then, I’ll talk to the Village Chief and ask him to spread the word for us.” Lu Lin said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you just offended him a few days ago, remember?”

“Haha, it’s more like a token effort, otherwise people will complain if we only hire from other villages.” Lu Lin showed a sly smile.

“You’re right.” Chen Xiao Mi was impressed.

“Are we really going to build a new room? Do we have the money, big brother?” Chen Xiao Cai asked in surprise.

“We do, Xiao Cai, and don’t worry about money.”

Chen Xiao Cai gasped.

‘We are that rich now, since when?’

Lu Lin visited Zhang Cheng, the Village Chief, and told him that they would greatly appreciate it if he could spread the word and hire help for them.

The Village Chief flatly rejected Lu Lin on the pretext that he believed the villagers were busy.

“Father, why is Lu Lin here?” Asked Zhang Jin.

“They’re building a room, and he wants me to hire some villagers for them.”

“Why did you refuse?”

“Have you met Chen Xiao Mi before? What if he goes crazy and starts attacking people?” Zhang Cheng was surprised that his son asked such a question.

Zhang Cheng criticized the couple, especially Chen Xiao Mi. He firmly believed that it was only a matter of time before Chen Xiao Mi brought disaster to their village.  So he rejected Lu Lin without thinking about it.

Zhang Jin defended Chen Xiao Mi: “But it’s not Chen Xiao Mi’s fault!  Grandma Chen forced Chen Xiao Mi’s father to risk his life hunting! Chen Xiao Mi had to act tough to provide for his two younger brothers!”

Zhang Cheng pulled a long face and said: “What nonsense are you talking about? Chen Xiao Mi is unfilial, end of story! I dread to think what would happen to our village if everyone was like Chen Xiao Mi.”

Zhang Jin frowned, but he did not continue his conversation.

“But dad, that donkey is innocent, you don’t want to see it freeze to death, do you?”

“The problem is that no one wants to work for Chen Xiao Mi even if I spread the word for him.” Zhang Cheng said that with the greatest assurance.

Zhang Jin just sighed silently.

 

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T/N: I feel like people are going to hate on Xiao Cai so just to remind you he is a CHILD an 8 year old. Obviously he thinks its weird that a grown adult man is scared of the cold while children like him aren’t. Anyways comment below what you think of this chapter!!

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