Chapter 18 - The Cannon Fodder Little Fulang [Quick Transmigration]

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well.

Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

And, as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters.

Time flew, and before they knew it, it was early April of the following year, with less than a month left before Wu Kang'an's upcoming provincial examination.

 

By now, the Wu family had managed to purchase a shop in town and formed long-term partnerships with the villagers. Many in the village had started raising chickens, ducks, and geese, and planted large vegetable gardens. Even the village butcher had shifted from his old trade to become a pig farmer, selling his entire stock exclusively to the Wu family—an arrangement that earned him more than his previous work.

 

The Wu family, too, had expanded the products they sold beyond braised pork, adding a variety of other meats and vegetables to their menu. As for their farmland, they decided to lease it out to local farmers, as they were now too busy managing the shop to tend to the fields themselves.

 

Initially, Dong Heng's mother had joined the villagers in raising poultry. However, when he brought his chickens and ducks to sell to the Wu family, they refused to buy them. After all, Dong Heng had wronged them, and who would tolerate such treatment without consequence? The village was now firmly allied with the Wu family, while the village head and his family were naturally unafraid to stand up to Dong fulang.

 

Infuriated, he stormed to the Wu family's shop in town, shouting accusations at their door, claiming they lacked ethics and likely even poisoned their food, warning customers to beware of the Wu family's "evil" intentions.

 

Regular customers, who'd enjoyed the Wu family's braised meat for ages, were unfazed and continued their patronage. But new visitors and those who only occasionally bought from the Wu family grew wary.

 

During that period, their business took a drastic downturn. Although they still had customers, sales weren't nearly what they had been. With reduced demand, the Wu family purchased fewer supplies, prompting the villagers to inquire. Father Wu explained how Dong fulang had caused a scene, negatively impacting their business.

 

The villagers, who had just begun to enjoy a better quality of life, were infuriated by Dong fulang's meddling. Some began tossing stones at his house, frightening him so much that one early morning he rushed to the county town to seek out Dong Heng.

 

Dong Heng, however, had no way of fixing the situation. Silently, he harbored resentment, vowing that once he achieved success in the imperial exams, he would return to put these "fools" in their place—especially the Wu family.

 

Meanwhile, Wu Bai devised a plan to turn things around. He suggested that each day at noon, the family gather in the shop's back room for lunch, making sure to eat in full view of the customers, each of them visibly savoring the braised dishes.

 

Wu fulang felt conflicted at first. Weren't those dishes money in themselves? Now, with their business so slow, it seemed like a terrible waste to have the whole family feasting on them. But Father Wu, as head of the household, decided to go along with Wu Bai's idea.

 

For the next few weeks, passersby and customers alike could see the Wu family cheerfully eating their braised meat every day. Eventually, people saw that the family was perfectly fine, full of vigor, and the initial rumors faded away. Gradually, customers returned, and business rebounded to its former state.

 

Only then did the family fully appreciate Wu Bai's strategy.

 

...

 

Wu Kang'an soon returned home.

 

He was to set out very shortly for the neighboring province to take the provincial exam, and he'd come back to inform his family.

 

The provincial exams were hosted in different provinces on a rotating basis, and this time, it was held in the neighboring province, forcing Wu Kang'an to travel farther than usual. Wu Bai didn't plan to accompany him, as the shop kept him busy enough, and his presence wouldn't be of much help anyway.

 

After a family discussion, they decided that Father Wu would accompany Wu Kang'an to the neighboring province, while the others would stay behind.

 

With the academy pressing him, Wu Kang'an only stayed the night before setting off the next day with Father Wu. This time, the Wu family didn't need to rent a carriage; they had bought one of their own, and Father Wu drove it to see Wu Kang'an off.

 

After Father Wu's departure, the shop grew even busier. Just then, it was discovered that Wu Bai's eldest brother's fulang was expecting—the first grandchild of the Wu family. Everyone was overjoyed and treated the news as a precious blessing.

 

Seeing this as a chance to ease their workload, Wu Bai suggested hiring two new workers for the shop. This way, everyone could have a bit of relief, and his sister-in-law could focus on a safe and healthy pregnancy.

 

Everyone readily agreed with Wu Bai's proposal. After discussing it, they decided to hire someone from each of his two sisters-in-law's families. Both families had shown good character, never coming to freeload off the Wu family's success, proving themselves trustworthy.

 

Since they were all relatives, it felt natural to help each other.

 

With the decision made, Wu Bai's eldest sister and second sister prepared to visit their respective in-laws. However, given his fulang's pregnancy, Wu Bai's elder brother went in his place.

 

The hiring went smoothly. Wu Bai's eldest sister-in-law had three brothers; the youngest, who had no steady work, came to help in the shop. His older brothers were well-established—the eldest was a carpenter, making a living from furniture crafting, while the second had started raising poultry, making a good income after Wu Bai allowed him to sell them his chickens, ducks, and geese.

 

The second sister-in-law's family had only two sons including him, so his older brother, who'd recently had a child and was feeling the financial pinch, eagerly accepted the job offer.

 

With extra hands on deck, Wu Bai's workload lightened. His primary task became preparing the family's unique spice blends each morning, then passing them to the others for cooking. Since the spice recipes were the heart of their business, Wu Bai mixed them in a private room at the back, away from the sisters-in-law's view.

 

As for his sisters-in-law, Wu Bai had only taught them the necessary cooking skills, and they showed no signs of favoring their own families over the Wu family, giving him full confidence in their loyalty.

 

Time passed swiftly, and a month and a half went by in the blink of an eye.

 

One day, Wu Bai returned from purchasing spices to find a large crowd gathered around their store. His heart skipped a beat, fearing trouble, and he hurried through the crowd, tense as he reached the door.

 

Inside, all seemed calm, with no sign of conflict. Wu Bai exhaled in relief.

 

"Bai ger, you're back! Go take a look in the back courtyard," his second sister-in-law's older brother told him with a smile.

 

Wu Bai walked quickly to the courtyard, where he found Father Wu and Wu Kang'an had returned, their faces glowing with joy. He relaxed completely, his face breaking into a delighted grin.

 

"Father, Second Brother, you're back!" Wu Bai exclaimed, brimming with excitement.

 

Seeing their radiant expressions, and the whole family's elation, Wu Bai quickly guessed the news—Wu Kang'an must have passed his exams. But he still wanted confirmation. "Second Brother, how did the exams go in the neighboring province? You have no idea, ever since you left, your fulang's been worried sick about you every day. You can't let him down after all he's been through!"

 

Wu Kang'an glanced at his fulang, who flushed and turned his face away in embarrassment. Seeing this, Wu Kang'an chuckled.

 

It had been years since he'd seen his fulang so shy. Back when they first married, they'd been bashful around each other, but over time, that had faded. He hadn't expected to witness such a scene today.

 

Now, he realized how little time they had spent together, mostly because he was often busy at the academy. Seeing his elder brother's family already expecting a child while he and his fulang, due to their frequent separations, still hadn't had any, a wave of guilt swept over him. Resolute, he stepped forward and took his fulang's hand.

 

Surprised, his fulang looked down, flustered. Noticing the teasing smiles on the family members' faces, he tried to pull his hand away, but Wu Kang'an held on tightly.

 

"My dear, you've worked so hard these past years," Wu Kang'an said gently. "Now that I've passed and become a juren, I promise you'll never have to struggle again. Get ready to enjoy a good life."

 

Father and Mother Wu, seeing the affectionate closeness between their second son and his fulang ger, felt nothing amiss. In fact, they were pleased. After all, they weren't getting any younger, and it was high time they had grandchildren to hold and spoil to their heart's content. The closer their son was with his fulang, the sooner their wish might be fulfilled.

 

Spurred on, Wu fulang suggested that the second son's fulang rest and nurture his body in preparation for carrying a child, leaving his tasks to Father Wu, who accepted the arrangement happily.

 

Meanwhile, the crowd outside the Wu family's braised meat shop slowly dispersed when they realized they wouldn't be seeing the freshly appointed juren anytime soon.

 

By evening, after closing the shop, the Wu family returned home.

 

Only then did Wu Bai bring up another matter. "Second Brother, I heard Dong Heng also sat for the provincial exam. Did you run into him? Did he make it as well?"

 

The mention of Dong Heng dampened Wu Kang'an's mood, and he replied reluctantly, "Yes, he also passed."

 

Wu Kang'an had always held a grudge against Dong Heng due to his mother's past slander of their shop. He had hoped his own success would outshine Dong Heng, only to discover that Dong had also passed—and had ranked nearly the same as him. Their names had appeared side by side on the list, a bitter reminder that Dong Heng had taken the same exam.

 

Dong Heng was also a student at the county academy, but under a different teacher, so Wu Kang'an hadn't known he would be taking the provincial exam.

 

Seeing his brother's discouragement, Wu Bai comforted him. "Second Brother, don't lose heart. Just work harder. Who knows? Maybe next time you'll pass the imperial exams and become a jinshi!"

 

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