Chapter 215: Battle Between Husband and Wife
Editor: Atlas Studios
Even if Mrs. Fan was sad, she couldn’t do anything to Fan Zijin for the time being. After all, her son wasn’t by her side now. He wouldn’t listen to her when he was around, let alone when he wasn’t around.
However, she still had to do her best to help her son achieve what he wanted to do. No matter what, she wanted to repair the relationship between mother and son.
After thinking for a moment, Mrs. Fan said, “It’s not difficult for you to buy grains. Coincidentally, my dowry farm hasn’t been sold yet. My Fan family also has hundreds of acres of fertile land under our name. The harvested grains are still piled up in the warehouse. I’ll sell them to you at a 20% discount off the grain merchant’s price.”
Butler Chen hurriedly bowed and said, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. How can I let Madam suffer a loss? I’ll pay whatever price the grain merchants offer you. Otherwise, if Young Master finds out, I won’t be able to explain myself later.”
Mrs. Fan looked at him with a frown. Butler Chen smiled bitterly and said, “Please understand, Madam. I think Young Master wishes to accomplish a great career to impress you. I’m afraid Young Master won’t feel good if you lower the price now.”
Mrs. Fan sneered and said with tears in her eyes, “He probably doesn’t want to owe me too much, right?”
“Madam, you’re just saying that out of anger. You gave birth to Young Master. Is there a bigger debt of gratitude than that?”
Hearing Butler Chen’s words, Mrs. Fan finally felt a little better. She waved her hand and said, “Alright, you can leave. I’ll get the steward to look for you later. I also have a few good friends here who have quite promising dowries. Let me know how much grain you wish to buy later, and I’ll help you be the middleman.”
Butler Chen didn’t expect the problem that he had been struggling with for so long to be resolved just like that. He simply knelt down in gratitude before returning happily.
Mrs. Fan turned around and went back to the house to prepare something for her son. Since Butler Chen was going back to Xingzhou Prefecture, she would ask him to bring some things back for him. Also, Haoran and Xiuyuan were men and there wasn’t a lady to take charge of affairs in the house. It was inevitable that they weren’t attentive enough in their daily life, so she had to prepare some things for them.
Mrs. Fan’s order made the entire Fan Residence bustle with activity. When Fan Wensi returned from the government office, he saw that the people in the mansion were busy. Frowning, he pulled a servant girl over. “What are you going to do with this?”
When the young lass saw that it was Old Master, she was shocked. She said, “Master, please rest. These are clothes prepared for Second Young Master. I went to the sewing room to bring them back.”
Fan Wensi’s eyes widened. “Zijin is back? Why didn’t anyone inform me?”
The young lass quickly waved her hand and said, “Second Young Master didn’t come back. He sent a steward here. Madam wants to pack some things and ask that steward to bring it over to Second Young Master.”
Fan Wensi heaved a sigh of relief and touched his chest. “Phew. I thought that unfilial son was back.” At this point, he felt that she had been too cowardly just now, so he frowned and said, “It’s best if he doesn’t come back for the rest of his life. If he dares to return, I’ll definitely break his legs. Unfilial son!”
Fan Wensi returned to the backyard angrily. Seeing that the main wife was so busy, he turned around and decided to go to his concubine without thinking.
Unexpectedly, when Mrs. Fan heard that Fan Wensi was back, she came out to welcome him. Seeing that he was heading west, she knew that he was going to his concubine’s place again.
With a scowl, Mrs. Fan shouted, “Fan Wensi, don’t you dare go to the West Wing!”
Fan Wensi was shocked. When he came back to his senses, he saw Mrs. Fan running over aggressively and hitting him. He quickly reached out to block her and shouted, “Your place is in a mess. I’ve been exhausted for the entire day. Why can’t I go elsewhere to rest?”
“Pfft, are you going to rest or work out with those little vixens? Why aren’t you asking why my place is messy? Our son has been gone for a year, and this is the first time he took the initiative to ask someone to send a letter back. Aren’t you going to ask about him or read it? Are you even human?”
When Mrs. Fan thought about how her relationship with her son had deteriorated because of this man, she was so angry that she punched him.
As Fan Wensi dodged, he shouted, “It’s best if that unfilial son doesn’t come back for the rest of his life. Why should I ask about him? Don’t you think about what he did? Not only did his letter make me lose hereditary privilege which I had painstakingly obtained, but it also made me impeached by the imperial censor. What do you want me to ask about him?”
“He’s in Xingzhou Prefecture, where there’s a war. Why are you so ruthless? Is he your biological son?” Mrs. Fan kicked his butt. As she chased after him, she said, “If you hadn’t begged for hereditary privilege for your concubine’s son, would he have run away from home? You can’t differentiate between legitimate and concubines. You dote on your concubines and disrespect your main wife…”
Fan Zijin did not know that another huge battle had broken out between his parents because of him. At this moment, he was solemnly placing a cloth bag on the table and opening it, revealing the golden corn inside.
Fifth Miss Shen picked up a corn and looked at it. She asked, “Is this the corn that Emperor Shizong mentioned and the maize that was belittled later on?”
Fan Zijin nodded. “This year, our Xingzhou Prefecture planted 28 acres.”
Smiling, Fifth Miss Shen threw down the things. “My Shen family’s ancestors have also planted them before. Putting aside the taste, the yield is far from what Emperor Shizong said. I wonder why Young Master Fan brought this thing all the way to Jiangling?”
Fan Zijin chuckled and sat opposite her. “The Shen family failed to achieve a good yield because you didn’t use the right method. Do you know how much corn we harvested from our 28 acres?”
Fifth Miss Shen looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“16,016 catties. That’s 572 catties per acre.”
Fifth Miss Shen’s heart skipped a beat, but she said, “It sounds not bad, but it’s far from what Emperor Shizong said. In a high-grade land, if it’s meticulously tended to and is well-fertilized, a yield of 300 to 400 catties per acre of wheat is not unachievable. This corn is a novel thing after all. Even if the yield of the acre is higher, everyone’s acceptance of it is still not very high.”
Fan Zijin knocked on the table and said, “It was planted on low-grade land. Base fertilizer wasn’t used and it wasn’t all that well-fertilized. Furthermore, there’s a drought in Xingzhou Prefecture this year.”
Only then did Fifth Miss Shen gradually become serious. She pinched the corn and did not speak for a long time. Finally, she asked, “Is this your business?”
“No.” Fan Zijin looked at her with starry eyes and smiled. “This is the West Camp’s.”
Fifth Miss Shen was surprised. She thought that this was Qi Xiuyuan’s personal business, but she didn’t expect it to be the entire West Camp’s. Frowning, she said, “This is a big business. I can’t make the decision. I have to wait for my third brother to come back.”
Fan Zijin said with a smile, “I can wait, but the data in our hands can’t wait. In just 20 days, three passers-by have already visited my cousin’s camp.”
Smiling, Fifth Miss Shen said, “I’ve long heard that Little General Qi is incredibly skilled in martial arts. He shouldn’t have let those people succeed so easily, right?”
“Certainly, but it’s tiring to be disturbed like this.”
Fifth Miss Shen thought for a moment and said, “My third brother will be back soon. As soon as he comes back, I’ll come with him to see you. How about that, Young Master Fan?”
“Then I’ll wait for the two of you in the inn.” Fan Zijin cupped his hands in greeting.