TATLC Chapter 98 — Cousin

A few days had passed since Chen Jing’s incident, and Huaxia Trading Company could barely be described as peaceful. Chen Xiaomi was busy managing the business and gradually forgot about the Chen family matters.

“Xiaomi-ge, your aunt is here,” Qin Ming reported as he hurried in. Qin Ming had long since recovered and was now lively and full of energy.

Qin Ming was very envious of his older brother Qin Lang’s work. However, he was still a bit young, and Lu Lin hadn’t assigned him any tasks yet. Qin Ming wanted to follow along on deliveries, but the people in the transport team all thought he was too young to be helpful and might even hold them back, so they wouldn’t let him go.

Frustrated, Qin Ming could only hope he would grow up quickly.

“Please invite her in,” Chen Xiaomi said.

Chen Chun’er had previously borrowed five wen from him for travel expenses. Chen Xiaomi had originally wanted to give her more, but his aunt just wouldn’t accept it.

Chen Chun’er walked in carrying a basket.

Lu Lin glanced at what was in the basket and said helplessly, “Aunt, you didn’t need to bring anything when you came to visit.”

Chen Chun’er’s basket contained a large piece of meat, at least ten or so jin. For a rural family, bringing such a large piece of meat when visiting relatives was considered very generous.

However, Chen Xiaomi’s life had improved enough that he wasn’t particularly craving meat anymore.

Chen Chun’er smiled and said, “Your uncle is a butcher, so we’re not short of meat. I just brought you some.”

“Aunt, you’re too kind,” Chen Xiaomi quickly replied.

Chen Xiaomi noticed the slightly awkward expression on Chen Chun’er’s face and guessed that his aunt probably needed a favor. “Aunt, did you come because you have something you need?”

“Xiaomi, I heard you’re now in charge of everything in this shop?”

Chen Xiaomi nodded. “Yes, I manage pretty much everything.”

“This shop of yours isn’t small. Are you still short of people?” Chen Chun’er asked.

Seeing his aunt’s nervous demeanor, Chen Xiaomi had a good idea of what was coming. “We are short-staffed. We still need a few more people, but we haven’t found suitable ones. Aunt, do you have someone to recommend?”

Every so often, they had to deliver goods from Lin Town to Liu Town. Sometimes they were short-handed, and Lu Lin had to go himself. Chen Xiaomi had been wanting to hire more people but hadn’t found suitable candidates. With the shop’s business expanding, the need for more staff was growing.

Chen Chun’er’s heart filled with joy as she said, “What do you think of your cousin? He’s almost sixteen now. Although he’s a bit simple, he’s strong. If you think he’s suitable, could you give him a job?”

Chen Xiaomi asked confused, “Doesn’t he help Uncle with butchering pigs?”

From what he knew, Chen Chun’er had married a butcher named Zhang Laoda, known as Fast Knife Zhang, who was famous for his exceptional pig-slaughtering skills in all the surrounding villages.

Butchers might not have the best reputation, but they earned good money. Chen Chun’er had a son and a daughter, so Zhang Rui should logically inherit his father’s trade.

Chen Chun’er sighed. “That boy… is afraid of blood. His father has tried to teach him many times, but he just can’t learn. A while ago, he went out with a merchant group, but not only did he fail to earn any money, he even lost what he had.”

Talking about her son, Chen Chun’er couldn’t help but sigh. Her son wasn’t lazy, but he just seemed to lack that bit of luck.

The goods from the recent trading trip had been confiscated, and all the people who went on the trip suffered significant losses and seemed quite discouraged.

Chen Xiaomi’s eyes widened in surprise. The butcher’s son was actually afraid of blood. Now that was hilarious.

“Ah Rui is getting older now, and he can’t just keep doing nothing.”

In the past few years, with continuous wars, the common people’s lives were hard, and life hadn’t been easy for Butcher Zhang’s family either. Things had only recently started to improve a bit. Her husband could still work now, so they wouldn’t let their son go hungry, but having such a grown young man just staying at home doing nothing wasn’t right either. He was about to get married, and being a butcher’s family already made it hard to find matches. If he didn’t have a proper job on top of that, no decent family would be willing to marry their daughter to him.

Chen Chun’er had visited Huaxia Trading Company once before and felt that the shop was very spacious and well-decorated inside, which gave her an idea. After going back and thinking it over, she decided to come ask for help.

Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, “That’s fine. If cousin is willing to come, let him. To start, he’ll get one tael of silver a month. If he does well, we can add a bit more later.”

Qin Yi earned two taels per month, but he had martial arts skills, and besides, Qin Yi was already an experienced worker. For Zhang Rui who was just starting, it wouldn’t be good to immediately raise his pay to Qin Yi’s level right away.

Chen Chun’er immediately said, “One tael is too much.” She hesitated, then added, “Actually, you could pay him less, but it would be best if you provided meals. Your cousin, well, he has quite an appetite.”

Chen Xiaomi smiled and said, “That’s no problem.”

Chen Xiaomi was earning more silver now and didn’t mind spending more on food. Chen Xiaomi thought his own appetite wasn’t small either, so Zhang Rui’s appetite couldn’t be that much bigger.

When Lu Lin learned that Chen Chun’er had come to recommend her son for work, he didn’t pay pay much attention. His business was expanding more, so he needed more people. From what Xiaomi said, Chen Chun’er seemed like a decent person, so her son probably wouldn’t be too bad either.

“Your cousin faints at the sight of blood,” Lu Lin said, sounding amazed.

Chen Xiaomi nodded. “Yeah.”

Lu Lin pursed his lips. It was really strange for a butcher’s son to be afraid of blood. But many things just couldn’t be helped. In his previous life, Lu Lin knew of a family who worked hard to get their child into medical school as a top student, only to discover at the last moment that the child fainted at the sight of blood and had no choice but to drop out.

At the Zhang’s

Butcher Zhang glanced at Chen Chun’er who had returned home and asked, “How did it go?”

Chen Chun’er nodded. “It’s settled. One tael of silver per month, with meals provided.”

“That’s not bad,” Butcher Zhang looked at his son, who was eating at the table, feeling a familiar pang of worry.

Butchering was the family trade. Though it wasn’t a prestigious craft, if possible, Butcher Zhang still hoped his son would carry on the tradition. The boy was plenty strong, but the moment he saw a large pool of blood, he would panic and feel short of breath.

Butcher Zhang had once thought his son was spineless and unmanly for being so weak at the sight of blood, so he tied his son to a tree and made him watch him butcher pigs.

He thought that once his son got through this ordeal, he wouldn’t be afraid anymore. Who knew his son would be scared out of his wits and afterward reacted even more severely to blood. Chen Chun’er saw her son’s pitiful state and had a big fight with Butcher Zhang. He himself regretted it deeply, and in the end, the matter of Zhang Rui learning to butcher pigs was quietly dropped.

Zhang Rui hunched over his bowl of rice, eating heartily without speaking, but his face turned red.

Chen Chun’er looked at Zhang Rui and said, “Ah Rui, tomorrow you’ll come with me to Huaxia Trading Company to report for work.”

“Alright, but Mom, will they really provide meals?” Zhang Rui asked.

Chen Chun’er gave him a resigned look. “Don’t worry, it’s all settled. They won’t let you go hungry.”

“When you get there, it won’t be like home. Don’t just think about eating. Be quick with your hands and feet,” Butcher Zhang advised.

Zhang Rui nodded and said, “I know.”

Butcher Zhang took a sip of wine, hesitated for a moment, then asked, “That matter with your eldest nephew borrowing money has been resolved, right?”

Chen Chun’er nodded. “It’s resolved.”

“That’s good. If it wasn’t, and our son went there to work, he might get dragged into it.”

Butcher Zhang slaughtered pigs for a living. The villagers all looked down on him, believing his fate was too bloody, so no one wanted to marry him. Back then, he had spent over twenty taels of silver to marry Chen Chun’er. Actually, when Chen Chun’er first married into the family, Butcher Zhang still maintained contact with the Chen family out of respect for her.

However, after he sent them meat several times, they never offered anything in return. Once when he went to the outhouse, he accidentally overheard his father-in-law and brother-in-law talking about how he had heavy blood and evil energy, and they were afraid to eat at the same table with him for fear of bad luck.

Butcher Zhang was furious. After that, he mostly cut ties with them.

This time, when Chen Jing got into trouble, the Chen family came asking for help. They demanded ten taels of silver right off the bat. Butcher Zhang only had a little over ten taels saved up, which he needed to save for Zhang Rui’s wedding. Naturally, he refused. He hardened his heart and scared away all the Chen family members who came.

The next day, Zhang Rui came to report for work. He had an honest and simple face, with large, expressive eyes that made him look bright and alert.

Although Zhang Rui lived in a village far from the shop, he had heard of Huaxia Trading Company’s reputation. Zhang Rui heard the villagers say that Huaxia Trading Company was a black shop where everything was extremely expensive, practically a place that robbed people of their money.

Although the shop’s goods were expensive, the owner was very clever. The shop sold things you couldn’t buy anywhere else. So, even though the place was somewhat of a scam, it still attracted a lot of customers and probably made a good amount of money.

Chen Chun’er brought Zhang Rui to Huaxia Trading Company early in the morning, arriving around noon.

“Ah Lin, this is my son, Ah Rui. I’ll have to trouble you to look after him from now on,” Chen Chun’er said sincerely.

Lu Lin smiled. “Aunt, you’re being too polite.”

Zhang Rui looked at Lu Lin curiously and asked with confusion, “Lin-ge, I heard this shop has a big boss. Doesn’t he manage the shop’s affairs?”

Because he knew Huaxia shop was related to his cousin Chen Xiaomi, Zhang Rui had been paying attention to news about the shop. However, the villagers in his remote village didn’t know much.

When Chen Jing got into trouble earlier, Chen Chun’er didn’t want to get involved but was also worried. So, she had Zhang Rui secretly go to Dashi Village to find out what was happening. When Zhang Rui secretly went there, the whole village was talking about the Chen family’s affairs.

Many people expressed sympathy for Chen Jing getting into big trouble, and a few people envied Chen Xiaomi for being wealthy.

Zhang Rui was also very impressed that this cousin could come up with thirty taels of silver just like that. His own father earned a decent living, but their family savings only amounted to a little over ten taels.

Zhang Rui had also accidentally learned that many villagers were gossiping behind Chen Xiaomi’s back that he was embezzling money from the shop, which was why he had money to spare.

Chen Chun’er gave Zhang Rui a smack and said, “You brat, why are you asking so many questions?”

Lu Lin smiled. “It’s fine. Actually, the big boss has important things to do, so he doesn’t come often. We just need to regularly give him the account books and the shop’s profits.”

Zhang Rui nodded as if he understood.

Looking at Zhang Rui’s expression, Lu Lin had a faint feeling that the young man might have heard some rumors.

Lu Lin had already heard the rumors about them pocketing money on the side. Previously, Lu An had been fired for precisely that reason. Lu Lin figured that with the rumors spreading so widely, someone who didn’t like him probably hoped the rumors would reach the “big boss’s” ears so he would get fired.