"Xiao Mei, go down to Shopkeeper He and collect twelve hundred taels in banknotes." Chang Haowen raised his brows slightly and spoke casually.
"Yes, young master."
The maid beside him left the room at once and returned shortly afterward.
Payment and goods changed hands.
Xu Mingwei breathed a sigh of relief, gaining yet another glimpse of his younger brother's abilities.
A few words were all it took to sell it for two hundred taels more.
That was no small sum for the Xu Household.
"Young Master Chang." Xu Mingyuan cupped his hands. "Our household will be opening a fruit and vegetable shop on Everjoy Street in the West Market in a few days. If you have the time, please come to the opening ceremony."
"We'll have Jade Pears for sale then. You could buy a few to try, Young Master Chang."
"If I haven't left Qingjiang by then, I'll certainly join the festivities."
Xu Mingyuan nodded, and the two brothers took their leave.
Once they were gone,
the maid named Xiao Mei glanced at the tiger hide and suddenly asked, "Young master, our residence hardly lacks things like this. Why show them such favor?"
"As for Jade Pears, we have an entire orchard of them."
"They might be precious here in the Qingjiang County Seat, but in our Commandery Seat, Jade Pears are hardly anything rare."
Chang Haowen chuckled. "Different places, different circles. Naturally, you can't judge them all by the same yardstick."
"The Xu Household grew from ordinary commoners to its current standing in barely more than a decade. Their methods are far from ordinary."
"Aren't they just upstarts?"
Xiao Mei seemed unconvinced and continued gently waving the jade fan.
"Whether they're upstarts depends on their descendants. If the heirs of three generations are all shrewd, a single lifetime can lay the foundations of an aristocratic clan."
Chang Haowen suddenly turned toward her, a faint smile on his lips. "What did you think of those two today?"
Xiao Mei tilted her head in thought, then smiled. "They're both quite handsome, but not as handsome as you, young master."
Chang Haowen smiled in amusement and teasingly scolded her. "You shallow little thing. What am I to do with you?"
"Heehee."
Xiao Mei stuck out her tongue and giggled. "If you really want my opinion, Xu Mingyuan has a very nimble tongue and a clever air about him. His older brother is rather dull, sitting here like a block of wood. Terribly boring."
"Xu Mingyuan is the second son, while his older brother is the eldest legitimate son of the household. Naturally, the expectations placed on them differ.
"Look at my eldest brother. Isn't he reserved too? Whenever we meet, he only exchanges a few pleasantries. He rarely opens his heart and chats freely about everything under the sun."
"That's true." After some thought, Xiao Mei nodded in surprise. "Every time I see the eldest young master, I'm frightened from the bottom of my heart."
"With an eldest legitimate son like that, the Xu Household has someone capable of carrying on its legacy. At the very least, it will continue to flourish during these brothers' generation."
"And besides..."
"Besides what, young master?"
"I rather envy them. Though their halls aren't filled with gold and jade, they treat one another with sincerity. Unlike the legitimate descendants of certain great lineages, who are born into embroidered swaddling clothes, unaware that threads of scheming have already been stitched into the silk."
"They have no choice but to keep their guard up."
"Really? How come I didn't see any of that?"
"Silly girl. If you could see it, you'd be a young lady rather than a maid."
"I like being your maid, young master. I'll serve you all my life." Xiao Mei laughed softly, sliding one hand down from the back of his neck to his chest.
Chang Haowen caught her soft hand and gave it a gentle tug.
Caught off guard, Xiao Mei let out a delicate cry and, half resisting and half yielding, tumbled into his lap.
"This Young Master Chang is quite extraordinary. He probably isn't from Qingjiang. With such bearing, he may be from the Commandery Seat."
As they walked along the street, Xu Mingwei spoke in a low voice.
"I thought the same, Big Brother. That's why I've kept in touch with him. I hope this connection will prove useful to our household someday," Xu Mingyuan replied.
"In this regard, I can't match you."
"Haha, Father has always kept you at his side and taught you, Big Brother. How could you be any worse than me? Just look at how deftly Father handles his relationships with everyone around him."
"I don't possess even two or three tenths of Father's shrewdness."
"You've simply devoted most of your energy to the Martial Way."
Xu Mingyuan's eyes lit up, his gaze turning bright and keen. "If the Xu Household is to advance further, we'll ultimately need a powerful martial artist to hold the fort. Look at the Xu Lineage. Producing a single First-Class Martial Artist allowed them to throw their weight around Dongxi Village for over twenty years."
"Even with Father's intelligence and talents, he could only bow low and make himself small."
"But those days are coming to an end."
At that, Xu Mingwei smiled knowingly and agreed. "Yes, they are."
Xu Mingyuan offered to show him around some more, but Xu Mingwei shook his head and declined, saying there was no hurry.
He then left through the city gates, mounted his horse, and returned to Dongxi Village.
Xu Mingyuan and the others had won over quite a few independent fruit and vegetable vendors in the West Market, but they had only agreed to sell their produce to them. None had agreed to pay rent for a stall.
He knew this had to be done one step at a time, so he did not push them.
The shop they had purchased occupied a sizable plot, though more than half of it was intended for stalls.
Since no one had agreed yet, that section could only be closed off for the time being.
The remaining space was enough to display the Xu Household's various fruits and vegetables.
Soon, the opening date for the Xu Household's shop was set.
Xu Mingyuan sent invitations to some of his acquaintances and contacts.
Everything else was easy enough to handle. Only the Jade Pears posed a problem.
Xu Mingyuan feared that if the Xu Lineage learned his household would no longer sell them Jade Pears, they would make things difficult, perhaps even resort to force or turn up to cause trouble on opening day.
He even made a special trip home to discuss the matter with Xu Chuan.
But Xu Chuan told him not to worry about it and simply to return to the County Seat to prepare for the opening.
Xu Mingyuan naturally trusted him and obediently returned to the County Seat.
He purchased a residence with two successive courtyards in the North District near the West Market, to serve as the Xu Household's home in the County Seat.
Before long, the day of the Jade Pear harvest arrived.
Only one day remained until the Xu Household's shop opened.
The Xu Lineage naturally knew nothing of the Xu Household's undertaking in the County Seat. As expected, Xu Mao arrived at the Xu Household with seven or eight household servants.
Xu Mao was the eldest son of the Xu Lineage's Third Master.
As the Third Master grew older, he had handed the task of purchasing Jade Pears over to his son several years earlier.
Arriving at the Xu Household's entrance,
Xu Mao looked it over for a while, disdain showing in his eyes.
A middle-aged steward beside him leaned closer and whispered, "Eldest young master, the Xu Household isn't what it used to be. Its reputation in Dongxi Village is now no less than our Xu Lineage's."
"Don't forget the Third Master's instructions before we left."
"I know. I'll be polite to Xu Chuan."
Xu Mao answered impatiently, but added inwardly, If he knows what's good for him.
The middle-aged steward glanced at him a few times and sighed inwardly.
Both men were nearing forty, yet compared with Xu Chuan, this young master was earth to the other's heaven.
He spoke and acted like a rash teenager, utterly heedless of the consequences.
"Is the Xu Family Head at home?" The middle-aged steward put on a smile and called out.
No sooner had his voice fallen
than two children, a boy and a girl, came out. The girl was holding a white cat whose reddish-gold eyes watched the people in the courtyard.
They were the siblings Xu Mingxian and Xu Mingshu.
"Who are you?" Xu Mingxian asked warily.
Hearing the voices, Bai Jing hurried out from an inner room. When she saw the visitors, she smiled. "Oh, it's Young Master Xu and the Xu Lineage's steward."
"My husband and the others have gone to pick Jade Pears. I expect they'll need a little while before they return."
"I see. Then we'll wait here in the courtyard."
"All right."
Bai Jing nodded, then brought out two chairs for Xu Mao and the middle-aged steward.
Xu Mao stared at the docile white cat in Xu Mingshu's arms. Seeing its reddish-gold eyes, he wondered in surprise, Where did this mutant white cat come from? If I took it to the County Seat and presented it to County Magistrate's Deputy Yang, he would surely be delighted.
"Girl, let me have a look at that white cat in your arms."
Xu Mingshu turned her head aside, ignoring him as she continued playing with her pet.
"Hah, such poor upbringing. Just what you'd expect from the offspring of some feral brat."
At those words, anger immediately clouded Bai Jing's face, and she snapped, "Young Master Xu, mind your words!"