TATLC Chapter 68

Inside the room.

“In a few days, Xiaocai and I are going to the neighboring town. Don’t go to the village, just stay in town.”

“Got it.”

“Your condition isn’t ideal right now, so try not to pick fights with anyone,” Lu Lin added, still a little worried.

Chen Xiaomi shot him a glare and said somewhat proudly, “I can still beat you down with a few punches.”

Lu Lin: “…”

Chen Xiaomi pursed his lips. “Alright, I know my limits. It’s not like I enjoy fighting, it’s those people who keep provoking me.” Seeing Lu Lin treating him like a child, Chen Xiaomi rolled his eyes in frustration.

Lu Lin, Qin Yi, and Chen Xiaocai went together to the neighboring town Liu[mfn]Willow[/mfn] Town. Liu Town was much bigger than Lin Town where Lu Lin lived, and the shops on the streets were more bustling than those in Lin Town.

After arriving in Liu Town, Lu Lin rented a room at an inn.

Qin Yi and Chen Xiaocai followed him around, wandering the streets all day.

Qin Yi’s job was to accompany Lu Lin, but living and eating for free every day made him uneasy, especially since prices in Liu Town were very expensive.

After a few days, Lu Lin finally settled on a shop that was up for transfer. He paid twenty taels of silver to secure a three-year lease.

Unlike the previous shop he’d bought, this one was spacious, with a back room that could serve as temporary living quarters.

Once the lease was signed, Lu Lin hired workers to renovate the place.

He left some silver for Chen Xiaocai, letting the two stay in Liu Town to prepare for the opening, while he went back first.

Qin Yi suddenly changed from a mountain villager to a guard and couldn’t quite adapt to this change. Chen Xiaocai quickly got into his role though.

When Lu Lin busied himself with Huaxia Trading Company, Chen Xiaocai observed him from the side. He just needed to copy what he saw.

With Qin Yi’s towering presence by his side, even though Chen Xiaocai was a bit young, no one dared to look down on him.

When Chen Xiaomi saw Lu Lin return but Chen Xiaocai didn’t come back, he was a bit worried.

“You left Xiaocai all alone in another town?”

Lu Lin replied awkwardly, “It’s not just him alone, Qin Yi is watching over him.”

Knowing that Qin Yi and Chen Xiaocai were together, Chen Xiaomi finally felt more at ease.

After listening to Lu Lin’s explanation, he hesitated, “You actually put Xiaocai in charge of this sort of thing?”

“We’re short on people. Besides, Xiaocai isn’t that young anymore. He should learn to handle things on his own. Didn’t someone become prime minister at twelve? Our Xiaocai isn’t much different.”

Prime minister, a position second only to the emperor. Compared to that, he was just asking Chen Xiaocai to manage a shop, which really wasn’t much. Even so, just leaving a minor outside like this made Lu Lin feel a bit guilty.

“Did someone really become prime minister at twelve?” Chen Xiaomi asked doubtfully.

Lu Lin nodded and said, “In our era, there was.”

Chen Xiaomi said suspiciously, “Was that emperor crazy? Using a little kid as prime minister, the dynasty probably couldn’t last long.”

Lu Lin: “…” Gan Luo was a genius, but the Qin Dynasty really didn’t last long before it fell.

A few days later, Lu Lin hired a security team to transport a bunch of backpacks to Liu Town.

When he arrived at the shop, he saw several workers renovating under Chen Xiaocai’s direction.

Chen Xiaocai seemed to have referenced the setup of the Lin Town store and added many hooks on the walls to hang backpacks.

Looking at the freshly renovated shop, Lu Lin patted Xiaocai’s shoulder with satisfaction. “Good job! Well done.”

Seeing how capable Xiaocai was, Lu Lin felt a surge of pride.

Chen Xiaocai scratched his head. “It’s alright. Now that the goods are here, we can prepare to open soon.”

Lu Lin nodded. “Good.”

Many people in Liu Town had heard of the famous backpacks, but few had actually seen them.

As soon as the Huaxia Trading Company sign went up, it attracted a lot of attention. Many wealthy ladies in Liu Town who hadn’t traveled far were curious about what Huaxia Trading Company would be like once it opened.

As soon as the shop opened, customers flooded in.

Most of the backpacks Lu Lin transported to Liu Town were older models, but many people in Liu Town hadn’t been to Lin Town. They were still very curious. People here hadn’t seen many backpacks, so naturally they didn’t know if these bags were outdated.

The moment the bags were displayed, they were snatched up in a frenzy.

Students from nearby schools came in groups to buy them.

Chen Xiaocai knew there were many unsold bags back home. He grew excited seeing them sell so well here.

One-third of their stock were sold on the first day, and several special styles sold out within two days.

Seeing this situation, Lu Lin realized he had been too conservative. The first batch of backpacks he brought was still too few.

With the shop packed, Lu Lin had to stay to help Chen Xiaocai, so he sent Qin Yi back to restock.

After ten days of explosive sales, the initial craze finally died down. Lu Lin stayed in the shop for a few more days. During these days, Lu Lin didn’t interfere much. Seeing that the shop was stable and Chen Xiaocai could handle things well alone, he went back.

Once again, only Chen Xiaocai and Qin Yi remained in the store.

In the courtyard.

Chen Xiaomai sat on the ground, pouting unhappily as he let out a sigh.

The ground was covered with bamboo mats, and since the weather was hot, sitting on it didn’t feel cold at all.

He hugged his feet and rolled from one side to the other, then back again.

Chen Xiaomai had completely grown into a plump, cheerful little figure, the kind that made people smile just by looking at him.

“Shen Chi-gege, Second Brother is gone! Second Brother is gone! Has Second Brother been sold off?”

Shen Chi replied helplessly, “No.” If Chen Xiaomi was willing to sell Chen Xiaocai, he wouldn’t have waited until now. “Your second brother went out to do important work.”

Chen Xiaocai had been gone for almost a month. Before leaving, Chen Xiaocai had a chat with Shen Chi, and told him that Lu Lin wanted to send him to the neighboring town to be a shopkeeper.

Shen Chi originally thought Lu Lin might be joking, but he didn’t expect Chen Xiaocai to really be gone for so long.

Shen Chi thought back to when Xiaocai worked as a helper in the shop. When Wan Li was too busy, Xiaocai would also help watch the shop. But now over there, it seemed like Xiaocai was working alone. He wondered if he could handle it all.

Chen Xiaomai grumbled, “It’s so boring without Second Brother here!”

Shen Chi watched Chen Xiaomai roll all over the ground and said helplessly, “How about you help me braid knots?”

Chen Xiaomai’s face turned slightly red. “I’d better go find Brother Lin.”

As if avoiding something, Chen Xiaomai quickly ran off.

Shen Chi smiled as he watched Chen Xiaomai’s lively and cute retreating figure. The villagers all said Chen Xiaomai was a fool, but Shen Chi felt he wasn’t as foolish as everyone claimed. In fact, his cooking was quite delicious. He just had no talent for braiding decorative knots and always made a complete mess of them.

Thinking of Chen Xiaocai, Shen Chi felt a faint sense of regret.

There were still quite a few kids in this small courtyard, like Wan Xiaofan from the Wan family, or the Qin brothers. But Shen Chi couldn’t really play with these people.

Chen Xiaocai had been gone for several days, and Shen Chi couldn’t help but miss him.

He felt his arithmetic was getting rusty, but Chen Xiaomi originally only taught them when he was teaching Xiaocai. Now that Chen Xiaocai wasn’t here, Shen Chi felt too embarrassed to bother Chen Xiaomi.

Qin Ming held his bowl and slurped up all the noodles. “Da-ge, this is really delicious.”

Qin Lang shot him an exasperated look. “Is there anything you don’t think is delicious?”

Qin Ming scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “It’s really delicious though!”

Truth be told, nothing from the Lu family’s kitchen tasted bad. Every couple of days, they even got to enjoy some meat.

For him, these past few days felt like a dream. He didn’t have to worry about wind and rain, didn’t have to worry about not having food, and just had to lie down and rest every day.

His face flushed slightly. The Lu family’s things were good – too good, in fact.

Once they left this place and returned to the mountains, would they ever get used to it again?

Qin Ming couldn’t help but think of their life up on the mountain. Back then, when there was food, they had to eat until they were full so they could endure when there was nothing to eat. The gnawing emptiness in their stomachs was unbearable. Here, it seemed like they never had to worry about that.

“Da-ge, is it really okay for us to eat and drink for free at someone else’s house like this?” Although life was comfortable, the longer Qin Ming lay around, the more uneasy he became.

Qin Lang scratched his head. “Brother Lin said it’s fine. The food will be deducted from Dad’s wages.”

There weren’t just the two brothers in the house. Wan Xiaofan helped with cooking and making meals, and Shen Chi was even more capable. He could weave all kinds of knots and help with accounting.

Qin Lang originally thought he was pretty capable. While others his age were still fooling around, he had already learned to hunt rabbits and pheasants. His father also praised his talent, saying he would definitely be a good hunter in the future. But when he got here, Qin Lang discovered his skills didn’t seem very useful.

However, Qin Lang also found things he could do. He recently helped with chopping firewood and fetching water.

When Lu Lin needed something, he would occasionally help run errands.

“Dad’s wages? Are Dad’s wages enough to pay for it?” Living in town and eating here seemed quite expensive. This town wasn’t easy to live in. Some people moved from villages to town, but when they ran out of money, they could only go back to their village dejectedly.

“I’m not sure, but Brother Lin seems pretty generous.” Qin Ming paused, then added, “Brother Lin said the new shop is short on people. I can go help Dad there. If I go, I can get half of Dad’s wages.”

Qin Ming’s eyes lit up. “Da-ge, that’s great! You should go.”

Qin Lang glanced at him. “You’re not fully recovered yet. I’ll go once you’re better.”

Qin Ming waved it off. “I can take care of myself. I feel well enough to move around. It won’t be long before I can help you too.”

Qin Lang shook his head and sighed. “Don’t be stubborn. Last time you got hurt, you almost worried Dad to death.”

Qin Ming thought about how his injury had almost forced the family to lose everything[mfn]倾家荡产 (qīng jiā dàng chǎn) – lit. to overturn the home and dissipate the property, to lose a family fortune (idiom)[/mfn], and felt guilty. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

Qin Lang looked at his dejected brother and reached out to ruffle his hair.

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