TATLC Chapter 32 – Going to Town Together

The weather was getting colder, and Chen Xiaocai and Chen Xiaomi both wore gloves.

The animal hides that Lu Lin had previously sent to Grandma Shen were used to make over a hundred fur gloves of different sizes. Lu Lin gave Grandma Shen two pairs and took the rest back.

“Da-ge, there’s a fair in a few days! Are we going too?” Chen Xiaocai asked.

Chen Xiaomi nodded. “Yes, we’ll go together.”

Chen Xiaomi took out the gloves and said, “We’ll sell these gloves there.”

The furry gloves were quite warm and cozy. They came in different styles, most with a simple design that looked like tubes with an opening for the thumb. Some were more complex with flaps that could be buttoned for complete enclosure or flipped up to allow the fingers to move freely, which was quite clever.

Chen Xiaocai took out a pair of gloves and said, “I wonder if they’ll sell. These things are very warm, but they’d get in the way of work.”

The gloves got dirty easily too.

“They should sell well. There’s a fair in a few days, and many people will be there, including sons from wealthy families.” Gloves were a novelty, and some young gentlemen from prestigious families would probably buy them to show off or to give to the girls they fancied!

“Da-ge, you said you’d take me and Xiaomi to the fair?”

Chen Xiaomi nodded. “Yes, that’s right!”

Chen Xiaomi had wanted to take his two younger brothers to a fair for a long time but never found the opportunity. This was the perfect chance.

The upcoming fair was a big event, and people from all the surrounding villages would likely go to town.

Chen Xiaomi planned to take this batch of gloves to the market and sell them depending on the situation.

…

On the day of the fair, Lu Lin and the others got up early and headed to town. Chen Xiaomi brought both Xiaocai and Xiaomai, making it a family outing.

Chen Xiaomai was visibly excited, constantly peeking through the cart’s curtain to look outside.

In comparison, Chen Xiaocai was more reserved, but his sparkling eyes betrayed his inner excitement.

Along the way, Lu Lin passed some villagers. Normally, villagers would arrange to rent carts together when going to town, but this time was different. The few ox carts and mule carts in the village had all been booked early, and those who couldn’t secure one had to go on foot.

When several villagers saw Chen Xiaomai’s mule cart pass by, envy flickered across their faces.

“Chen Xiaomi’s life sure has gotten more comfortable, he even bought a mule cart.”

“Yes! The other day, people from the neighboring village brought him gifts, fish, meat, all sorts of things.”

“I heard Zhang Dazhu and his group also went to bring gifts.”

Zhang Dazhu and the others were men who helped Chen Xiaomi repair his house. They learned how to build kangs from Lu Lin and earned quite a bit of money in town. However, because the village head kept complaining that Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin were disloyal, preferring to help outsiders, they hadn’t thought to bring gifts to Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin.

When Liu Guiyong and others from Dawan Village brought gifts, rumors spread in town saying that Liu Guiyong’s group was showing gratitude, while the people of Dashi Village weren’t as decent as those from Dawan Village and only knew how to take advantage of others.

The people of Dashi Village were benefiting without showing gratitude, learning skills but then badmouthing those who taught them. The villagers’ character really wasn’t that great.

This rumor actually originated from the Yang family’s servants. Chen Xiaomi had a good relationship with Young Master Yang, and the Yang household’s steward sympathized with Chen Xiaomi, so the rumor spread widely.

The rumors became widespread throughout Dawan Village, where many families now had kangs, and Lu Lin had also purchased two thousand jin of unsold sweet potatoes from Dawan Village.

When Zhang Dazhu and the others went to work in town, people asked them where they had learned their skills and whether they had ever thanked their teachers.

Zhang Dazhu’s group was embarrassed by these questions, stumbling over their words without knowing how to respond.

People in town said this was why Chen Xiaomi was reluctant to teach kang-building skills to his own villagers. The villagers weren’t as decent as those from neighboring villages.

Later, Zhang Dazhu and the others thought it over and brought gifts, along with plenty of firewood.

Lu Lin’s family had built another kang and was brewing alcohol, which consumed a startling amount of firewood.

Zhang Dazhu’s actions stirred controversy in the village. Some thought it unnecessary, while others felt it was appropriate.

The villagers had different opinions, but one thing was certain, Chen Xiaomi’s reputation in the village had changed drastically.

“What’s going on with Chen Xiaomi’s family? How did they suddenly rise up like this?”

“I heard they found something valuable in the mountains.”

“This world is really unpredictable! Who would have thought that Chen Xiaomi, who doesn’t acknowledge his grandfather or grandmother, would end up living better and better…”

“That’s not quite fair to say. If the old woman hadn’t forced Chen Laoer to go into the mountains back then, would that tragedy have happened? After he died, the old woman wanted to sell Xiaocai to be a servant. Did you know the young master of that family Xiaocai was going to be sold to loves beating people? He’s already beaten two maids to death. If Xiaocai had been sold there, he probably wouldn’t have lived long. That old woman is too biased.”

Before, Grandma Chen had constantly badmouthed Chen Xiaomi throughout the village. Since Chen Xiaomi was a Shuang’er with strange strength, everyone believed the old woman’s words. But now that Chen Xiaomi had money, and Zhang Dazhu, Grandma Shen, and others were earning money through him, people began to think that Chen Xiaomi wasn’t so bad after all. Heaven watches what people do, and if Chen Xiaomi was truly as bad as they said, how could his life be getting better and better?