Chapter 95: Looking for Trouble

Li Dechen was a diligent man, and he did everything with a keen eye for efficiency. No sooner had he finished eating than he led his eldest son, Li Biao, over to the old Liu household. With them they carried a long coil of rope and a small cloth sack of ashes.

“Good day, master of the house. Good day, Elder Master Liu.” Li Dechen tugged Li Biao forward to bow respectfully to Old Liu and Liu Yitiao, as reserved as ever.

Liu Yitiao cupped his hands in return. “Thank you for your hard work, Elder Li.”

“Yes, yes. Since Elder Li came so early, why not come inside for a cup of tea and a short rest?” Old Liu was unaccustomed to receiving guests out in the yard; it always felt a little discourteous to him, so he smiled and invited father and son inside to talk.

“No, no,” Li Dechen hastened to wave him off. “There is no need for Elder Master Liu to be so polite to us. The two of us can stand here in the yard. Please do not trouble yourselves on our account.”

It was not the first time, and Liu Yitiao was no longer surprised. Turning to Old Liu, he said, “Father, Elder Li has a stubborn nature, nothing more. Don’t make things difficult for him.”

With that, Liu Yitiao rose and said to Li Dechen, “Since Elder Li does not wish to rest indoors, let us be off now. There are more than three thousand two hundred mu of land, and if we wait too long, I fear even an entire afternoon will not be enough.”

“Just so, just so. Please go ahead, master of the house.” Li Dechen led Li Biao aside and respectfully made way for Liu Yitiao, then followed close behind.

It was January, and the weather had yet to warm. The fields were bare, bleak, and desolate to the eye.

After less than a quarter of an hour, Liu Yitiao and the others reached the edge of the land.

Liu Yitiao pointed to the vast expanse before them and said to Li Dechen, “Elder Li, this is my more than three thousand mu of fields. The village has already marked the boundaries at every edge, so please divide them as you see fit.”

“Yes, master of the house.” Li Dechen gazed quietly at the wasteland stretching beyond sight and gave a slight nod. More than three hundred mu, nothing much. In his long life, the old man had seen, tilled, and planted far more land than this.

Li Dechen took the rope from Li Biao’s shoulder and said to Liu Yitiao, “If the master of the house has business to attend to, you may leave on your own. Leave these trifles to us servants. By evening at the latest, father and son will have divided these fields. At that time we will report the results to your residence.”

“Very good. Then I shall trouble Elder Li with it.” Liu Yitiao nodded in satisfaction. This was the advantage of being a landlord: there was no need to do everything yourself. When something had to be done, all it took was a word, and others would see it through for you.

Just as Liu Yitiao turned to leave, a fresh breeze drifted over, carrying a sharp, pungent stench to his nose.

Human waste.

He stopped in his tracks and suddenly remembered that at this very place he had once hired men to dig a large pit for storing night soil. So much time had passed since then—who knew how much had accumulated in it now?

Liu Yitiao raised a hand to stop Li Dechen just as he was about to begin measuring, and instructed, “Elder Li, let the surveying wait a moment. Come with me and look at something first.”

As he spoke, Liu Yitiao took Li Dechen by the arm and led him a little way into the fields, following the wheel ruts left over the past several days by the night-soil carts. An even more overpowering odor rushed at them. Liu Yitiao could not help but cover his nose. The smell was truly foul.

“Master of the house, what is this?” Li Dechen asked in surprise. How could such a sickening reek be in this field? What on earth was this new landlord doing?

Liu Yitiao smiled at him and quickened his pace by a couple of steps. “Elder Li, do not be impatient. Once you see it, you will know what it is.”

“Night soil? Fertilizer?!” Li Dechen exclaimed in surprise when he saw the enormous manure pit, nearly ten meters across. Having tilled fields for so many years, of course he knew that this filth was a farmer’s treasure.

“Master of the house, where did you gather so much night soil?” Even a pit half full of this yellowish-white matter would be more than most households could accumulate in a year or two. How had the master of the house managed it? Li Dechen once more looked at Liu Yitiao in confusion.

Liu Yitiao saw that, in such dreadful conditions, Li Dechen’s expression never changed. His breathing remained even, as though he could not smell the stench at all. He could not help but admire him. This was a true farmer indeed, far better than a half-baked novice like himself. Back when he had done practical training, all the fertilizer had been chemical; when had he ever seen such pure, unadulterated farm manure?

“I gathered this from the night-soil collectors in the county town, to use as fertilizer for future cultivation,” Liu Yitiao said, bravely lowering the sleeve that covered his mouth. “Every morning, someone delivers more. But for more than three thousand mu of land, this one pit is truly too small. So I would trouble Elder Li to have each of the twenty groups we divide established dig another pit at the edge of the fields.”

“Rest assured, master of the house. Leave it all to this old man.” Li Dechen nodded, looking at Liu Yitiao with eager enthusiasm. This landlord was a man who got things done.

Many had thought of collecting night soil, yet almost none had ever truly set about doing it. Small households could not afford it; large households disdained it.

It was a vicious circle: those who knew the value of night soil could not afford it, and those who could afford it despised its filth. Thus, in many large cities, the night soil collected by the workers was simply dumped into the moat.

“Very well, then I shall trouble Elder Li. I still have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave.” At last unable to bear it any longer, Liu Yitiao covered his nose again and turned away in haste.

Li Dechen, meanwhile, stood contentedly by the manure pit for a little while longer before going to find Li Biao and begin the work.

When Liu Yitiao returned home, he tucked the letter he had prepared earlier and the jade bracelet that Madam Liu had taken out into his robe. After saying a word to Old Liu and Madam Liu, he mounted Liu Wuhen and rode out.

He was going to see the girl he intended to marry, and to present the token.

By now, Liu Yitiao had made up his mind: he would marry here, have children here, and build his life here.

Since the past could no longer be changed, he might as well let it go with the wind. After all, a man still had to live.

When he arrived at the Zhang household, he discovered that they had a guest.

A scholar, one of Zhang Chuwen’s classmates.

As Zhang Chuwen led Liu Yitiao inside, the scholar also rose and gave Liu Yitiao a slight bow.

“Brother Chuwen, who is this gentleman?” Liu Yitiao looked at the scholar. Tall and slender, with fine brows and handsome features, he had an excellent appearance and seemed to possess some promise as a pretty-faced dandy. Liu Yitiao felt a twinge of irritation.

“Heh heh, Brother Yitiao, let me introduce you.” Smiling, Zhang Chuwen pointed to the scholar and said, “Brother Yitiao, this gentleman’s surname is Huang, his given name is Chengfeng, and his courtesy name is Feiyun. He is a gifted young man from Sanyuan, and in this year’s examinations he and I were of the same cohort.”

Then he introduced him to Huang Feiyun as well. “Brother Yunfei, this is the brother-in-law I just mentioned, Liu Yitiao. It is rare for the two of you to meet here at my place today, so you should take the opportunity to become better acquainted.”

“Brother Feiyun!” Liu Yitiao was the first to offer his hands in salute.

“Brother Yitiao, an honor.” Huang Feiyun raised his hand in return, though his manner was not particularly warm.

After the three had taken their seats with guest and host properly arranged, Huang Feiyun cupped his hands toward Liu Yitiao and said, “I hear that Brother Yitiao has already set a wedding date with Miss Chuchu, and that before long the two of you will be joined in matrimony. Feiyun is here to offer his congratulations.”

“Thank you, Brother Feiyun. To win Miss Chuchu’s favor is Yitiao’s good fortune.” Liu Yitiao could tell from Huang Feiyun’s gaze that the man did not mean him well, and knew there was surely more to come, so he only answered with a light smile and a nod.

Sure enough, as soon as Liu Yitiao finished speaking, Huang Feiyun set out to make trouble. “If Brother Liu managed to pass Miss Chuchu’s three tests, then you must be a talent of the age, and your literary brilliance must surely far surpass my own. Just a few days ago, I encountered two difficult problems and have pondered them for many days without finding an answer. Since I am fortunate enough to meet Brother Liu today, I hope you will instruct me.”

A troublemaker, then.

He knew about Chuchu’s three tests; this was surely a failed suitor from some fallen family.

He was challenging him.

Liu Yitiao glanced at Zhang Chuwen and saw him repeatedly shaking his head and winking warnings at him. Liu Yitiao only smiled faintly and did not take it to heart. He cupped his hands toward Huang Feiyun and said, “Brother Feiyun flatters me. Yitiao is but a common man; in talent and learning, how could I compare with even a fraction of Brother Feiyun?”

“However,” Liu Yitiao continued in the same calm, courteous tone, “if Brother Feiyun has truly encountered some difficult problem, then Yitiao would be bold enough to offer a little consideration and perhaps be of some help.”