The Heir

Сhарter 71: Esсареd

"Writе a letter quiсklу and havе Da Lang соmе bасk." In thе evening, thе family sat together, еаch with thеir own wоrriеs. Оld Shоpkеереr Li сoughеd and spokе.

"It’s timе to hаve Da Lang rеturn. Who knows hоw this matter will turn оut? I think thоsе twо brоthеrs frоm the Du familу аre unrеliаblе; we сan’t rеlу entirelу оn them." Wu Shi sаt to the side, wаtching the flickеr оf thе oil lаmp, her tonе fillеd with сonсеrn.

"Dа Lаng wrоtе a lеttеr a fеw daуs ago, sаying hе’d bе bаck in thе nехt сouple оf days. My yоunger brother might аlso cоme аlоng. Da Lаng mentioned in his letter that two stone pits were dug in Wuyuan, and the gains were substantial." Zhao Shi said.

"I’ve already sent Xi Ge’er to the carriage house to have someone deliver a message. I believe Eldest Brother will hurry back as fast as he can." Zhen Niang added from the side.

"Amitabha, the sooner he returns, the better. This time, the family will have to spend money to avoid disaster." Hearing that things were going well in Wuyuan, Wu Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

"It’s all Da Lang’s wife’s fault," Zhao Shi muttered.

"Don’t just blame Da Lang’s wife. Isn’t all the money in this family earned by Da Lang? Yet you insist on holding all the money tightly in your hands. How could Da Lang’s wife not develop some resentment?" Wu Shi retorted impatiently.

Old Shopkeeper Li remained silent on the side, merely narrowing his eyes in thought. He didn’t interfere in the disputes among the women in the family, leaving it to Wu Shi to admonish Zhao Shi.

He actually agreed with Wu Shi’s words. Jingfu’s wife was good in every way, except she was too tight-fisted with money.

"You can’t say all the money was earned by Da Lang alone. Whether it’s the coal stove or the mining pits in Wuyuan, weren’t they all Zhen Niang’s ideas? Da Lang’s wife is easily influenced, and her mother is always looking out for her two sons, constantly scheming against Da Lang’s wife. I’m just afraid she’ll be tricked by her brothers. How can I not hold the money tightly? Besides, I want to save more for Zhen Niang. Her situation is different from others. How can she manage without enough savings?" Zhao Shi explained, her tone tinged with a hint of grievance.

"Thank you for your concern, Mother." Zhen Niang said from the side. Although Zhao Shi had her flaws, her care for Zhen Niang warmed her heart.

"Ah," Wu Shi fell silent.

"Alright, that’s enough. I’m not saying you’re entirely wrong. Saving money for Zhen Niang is right, but you should also give Du Shi her due." Old Shopkeeper Li said.

"Yes," Zhao Shi replied.

"Zhen Niang, don’t rely entirely on the Du brothers for the Medicine Hall matters either. Tomorrow, go and notify them. Our Li family must pay what we owe. After all, these are matters of life and death." Old Shopkeeper Li then turned to Zhen Niang.

"Grandfather, I understand. I’ll go to the Medicine Halls in the city first thing tomorrow morning to notify them." Zhen Niang replied.

"Hmm." Old Shopkeeper Li nodded.

Afterward, everyone returned to their rooms. The night was deep, and they had to rest. Du Shi had gone to her parents’ home, so Xiao Guan was being looked after by Zheng Shi.

With such things happening in the family, it would be strange if anyone could sleep soundly. Thus, Zhen Niang tossed and turned in bed all night, only falling asleep as dawn approached.

When she opened her eyes again, she heard the sound of Uncle Shui’s wooden clapper signaling that the water was boiling, echoing through the alley.

Zhen Niang got dressed and got up. Thinking that no one would have the mind to light the coal stove and boil water in the morning, she decided it would be better to fetch some hot water first.

With that thought, she picked up the copper kettle, opened the courtyard gate, and prepared to fetch hot water.Unexpectedly, as soon as the door was pulled open, she saw someone sitting by the entrance. Zhen Niang was startled, and upon closer look, she realized it was actually Du Shi.

"Sister-in-law. When did you return? Why didn’t you come inside after arriving home? What are you doing sitting here by the door?" Zhen Niang exclaimed in surprise, hurriedly asking questions as she tossed aside the copper kettle and went to help Du Shi up.

But she could only feel that Du Shi was covered in a layer of frost, with even her temples damp with traces of icy dew. Clearly, she must have been sitting by the door for quite some time.

"Sister-in-law, how long have you been sitting here?" Zhen Niang cried out again in alarm. Then, with great effort, she helped Zhao Shi up: "No, sister-in-law, you must go inside quickly to warm up, or else you’ll catch a chill."

As she spoke, Zhen Niang began dragging Du Shi toward the house. Du Shi only groaned softly, allowing herself to be pulled along. Though she was thin, at this moment she seemed to be unconsciously resisting, making it impossible for Zhen Niang to move her. Zhen Niang had no choice but to shout, "Mother, come quickly!"

"What’s wrong, what’s wrong?" Hearing the commotion outside, Zhao Shi and Zheng Shi, who had been lightly sleeping, rushed out.

"I don’t know what happened. When I opened the door this morning, Sister-in-law was sitting outside. She must have been there for a long time—there’s frost on her hair," Zhen Niang explained.

"Then hurry and bring her inside," Zheng Shi said, stepping forward to help Zhen Niang drag Du Shi into the house. Winter had already arrived, and the houses near the city gate were naturally cold and damp. At this moment, the room felt icy.

"I’ll go light a brazier," Zheng Shi added, then hurried into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Zhen Niang helped Du Shi onto the bed and wrapped her in a quilt.

"Speak up, what exactly happened? You’re useless just sitting there dumbfounded. Tell us so we can discuss it together," Zhao Shi said impatiently as she sat down, her tone urgent. What could have happened? It was truly maddening.

Only then did Du Shi sniffle, open her mouth, and try to speak, but her teeth were still chattering. Clearly, the cold hadn’t yet worn off.

Just then, Zheng Shi brought in the brazier. Worried that Du Shi was too chilled, Zhen Niang didn’t let her warm herself directly by the fire. Instead, she placed the brazier nearby, allowing the room to slowly warm up.

After a while, Du Shi finally regained her composure, only to burst into tears.

"Crying, crying, all you know is crying. What good does crying do now? Hurry up and tell us, what exactly happened?" Zhao Shi snapped angrily.

"My two brothers ran away, and my mother is threatening to hang herself at home," Du Shi finally managed to say.

It turned out that after Du Shi hurried back to the Du family yesterday, the Du household was already in chaos. However, Shen Shi and Du Shi stubbornly refused to admit any wrongdoing. Later, when Du Shi mentioned how Zhen Niang had discovered tung oil mixed in the cooking oil, Shen Shi and the Du brothers finally grew fearful.

Thus, following Du Shi’s instructions, they explained to everyone the solution the Li family had proposed and agreed to pay the medical expenses first. As for the subsequent compensation issue, that would require time for everyone to sit down and discuss properly.

With this promise from the Du family, and given the urgency of treating the illnesses, everyone eventually left. After all, the Du family had at least offered some explanation.

The matter of compensation would have to be addressed later.

Everything seemed to be proceeding step by step, and it appeared the situation would eventually calm down.But unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, Du Shi felt somewhat unsettled. She wanted to discuss the compensation issue with her two brothers afterward, thinking that since she couldn’t sleep, her brothers probably couldn’t either. It would be better to talk about this matter together again.

However, when she got up, called Shen Shi, and went to look for her two brothers, Du Da and Du Er had actually taken advantage of the night to run away. Not only that, but they had also taken all the money from the oil workshop with them.

Shen Shi was so angry she nearly hanged herself.

But Du Shi thought that with her two brothers gone, the responsibility would inevitably fall on the Li family. The Du family’s father had long passed away, and now there was only Shen Shi left. Even if she wanted to take on the burden, she couldn’t. So, in the middle of the night, she called her aunt over to help take care of Shen Shi. She then hurried home, wanting to share this news with her family first.

But when she reached the door, she hesitated, afraid that Zhao Shi might really divorce her in a fit of anger. Du Shi knew all too well that Zhao Shi might very well do just that.

So, in this state of hesitation, she sat down at the door, her mind in a daze, not even realizing how cold it was.

When Zhen Niang heard her sister-in-law recount these events, she was truly outraged. She knew the Du brothers had no integrity, but she never imagined they could stoop so low.

Meanwhile, Zhao Shi had already started cursing: "Those two scoundrels, why don’t they just die? Running away like that. May they be hit by a carriage on the road, drowned in water while on a boat, and die far away from home."

"What’s going on now?" At this moment, Old Shopkeeper Li and Wu Shi came out from the neighboring room and asked.

Zhen Niang explained the situation of the Du brothers’ escape.

"Grandfather, I’m afraid this matter will fall on our family," Zhen Niang said, taking a deep breath.

Old Shopkeeper Li nodded but then asked Zhen Niang, "How do you plan to handle this?"

"Since we can’t avoid this, we won’t try to. But even if we suffer a loss, we must do so openly, not in secret," Zhen Niang said.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Shi quickly asked.

"Are you thinking of taking over the oil workshop entirely?" Old Shopkeeper Li said, as Zhen Niang’s thoughts seemed to align with his own.

"Exactly. Since the Du brothers have run away and this matter has fallen on our family, the oil workshop should belong to us. The Du brothers will have no share in it from now on," Zhen Niang said through gritted teeth.

The Du brothers’ actions were truly infuriating.

Zhen Niang made this decision out of necessity. Since her family couldn’t escape this situation, they had to choose the best among the bad options. Since they were taking on the responsibility of the oil workshop, it should rightfully belong to the Li family.

This oil workshop was a fairly sizable one in the county, with complete facilities including buildings, warehouses, and oil presses. It was a considerable asset, and there was no reason to let it go.

More importantly, they couldn’t afford to keep dealing with the Du brothers. Therefore, taking full control of the oil workshop was essential.

Coincidentally, the Ink Workshop had secured the ten-year usage rights to the Luo Family’s pine field, which was fully planted with tung oil trees. In the future, they wouldn’t need to send the oil to other workshops for pressing. From a long-term perspective, acquiring this oil workshop wouldn’t be a loss.

"But have you considered what will happen if the Du brothers return in the future and try to take the oil workshop back from us?" Old Shopkeeper Li reminded her."Don't worry. Since the Du brothers have fled, this tung oil poisoning incident will inevitably be brought to court. The county magistrate will surely require us to handle it, and we can then request that the magistrate award the oil mill to us. Otherwise, we have no reason to bear all the responsibility. At that point, the magistrate will have no choice but to issue a warrant for the arrest of the Du brothers. But this won't happen overnight, and the poisoned commoners cannot wait. When the people riot, it will be the magistrate who suffers the headache," Zhen Niang said.

For the sake of maintaining peace within the county, as long as the Li family agreed to handle the aftermath, the magistrate would inevitably make such a ruling—a decision that was both reasonable and justified.

Moreover, after their family had sacrificed so much, they couldn't simply give up the oil mill and let the Du brothers benefit. If they didn't give it up, what would happen when the Du brothers returned? Would the two families become entangled again? Therefore, they had to act decisively when the time came.

"Good, it's settled then," said Old Shopkeeper Li.