These past two days, the base hadn’t received any fresh kelp. They’d been processing the stock they’d stored up. Fortunately, the base’s hottest product right now was dried laver, so operations continued smoothly every day—there was no sign that anything was amiss.
Xie Yushu wasn’t in a panic. She could afford to wait—she was curious to see how long the Bai family could hold out.
Bailian Town, the Bai household.
“Fulang, it’s time for your medicine.” A servant entered and handed Su Sheng the prepared decoction.
Su Sheng took the bowl, blew gently across the surface of the liquid, and waited for it to cool before drinking it down in one go.
The bitter medicine made him frown. He took the sour apricot the servant handed him and popped it into his mouth, the bitterness fading away.
He was drinking a pregnancy-stabilizing tonic. He’d been found to be with child last month, and his wife had finally come to see him—telling him the wind outside was strong and cold, that he shouldn’t leave the house these few months, and to rest properly in his room.
This wasn’t her first child. She already had several—the youngest now eleven. She liked children; one more was no trouble.
Su Sheng wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, set the medicine bowl on the table, and casually asked, “What has the head of the household been up to lately?”
“The master’s been busy with business lately. I heard from the steward that she found an empty lot near the ferry and is preparing to set up a drying yard,” the servant replied, looking at Su Sheng with some confusion. “Wasn’t that your idea, fulang?”
When they’d discussed it, they hadn’t kept it from him, so he’d heard it clearly.
After receiving this news, Su Sheng twisted his handkerchief in his hands, his heart suddenly uneasy and pounding—as if something bad was about to happen.
He regretted agreeing to his mother and father’s request to speak to his wife. Something felt off, his chest racing with dread.
That day, Su Ping and Cai Zhi had slipped in through the Bai family’s side gate and come quietly to his room. As soon as they saw him, they flung themselves at him, tearfully railing against Su Chi’s wife.
“Sheng Ge’er, your mother and father worked so hard to raise you. Can you stand by and watch us be bullied by that black-hearted Xie family?”
“We were just trying to tend to our land and find a bit of work to supplement the household, so your little sister could have some meat to eat—and that would lighten your burden too, wouldn’t it? But that Xie woman, with her big business, didn’t even think of us when hiring—she only took in some mad widower who came out of nowhere! Your mother and I just can’t swallow this.”
“It’s probably Chi Ge’er behind it, whispering nasty things about us behind our backs. Otherwise, we’re all one family—why would she treat us like this? Look at any other family in the village—they all help each other out! Why should the Xie family be the exception?”
“Yes, we did wrong by Su Chi a few years ago, but he’s married now and it’s been so long—why can’t he just let it go?”
They’d have to be out of their minds to think of you, Su Sheng thought sourly, though he didn’t dare say it to their faces.
Watching his parents’ ugly, self-righteous expressions—spittle flying as they argued—Su Sheng felt a wave of nausea and covered his mouth, nearly gagging.
He knew all too well what his mother and father were like. They never learned from their mistakes; everything was always someone else’s fault, always someone else wronging them. They’d crawl toward any benefit they could—call it shrewdness if you wanted to be kind, but it was really just stupidity, greed that made everyone despise them.
Earlier, when they’d gone to Su Chi’s house to take this and that for their family’s sake, he hadn’t said anything—he’d benefited too. But this time, they wanted him to find a way to take down the Xie family and ruin their business.
But how could he possibly have that kind of power?
Then Cai Zhi leaned in and whispered a plan in his ear: “The Xie family’s in the seafood business—and isn’t the Bai family in business too? With all these years of experience, how could they possibly be afraid of a tiny Xie family?”
“Look, the Bai family’s struggling right now. This is the perfect chance to find a new way forward. That Xie family business looks simple and easy—your wife is surely more capable than that Xie woman.”
Cai Zhi could be surprisingly sharp at times—almost prescient.
How could he not see that the Bai family’s fortunes were declining? The betrothal gifts they’d promised had been miserly, delivered grudgingly. And with such a large household to support, money must be tight—which meant business wasn’t doing well. It was no different from farmers struggling with bad soil—what was so hard to understand about that?
They droned on and on, and Su Sheng was tired of listening.
He was only a concubine in the Bai household, not the principal husband. How could his wife possibly listen to him? She’d never been particularly fond of him—she’d married him as a mere diversion. He knew his place.
He didn’t expect her to dote on him—he just wanted to live a comfortable, leisurely life.
But his mother and father came to him every month asking for money. His little sister needed meat, the family needed new clothes, and even when their land had been dug up by thieves, they’d come asking him for compensation. All the money he’d saved had gone to them. How could he not resent them?
He said so plainly, but Cai Zhi shot back: “Oh, my dear Sheng Ge’er, you’re pregnant now—you’re the most precious person in the Bai family. Just mention it to your wife; she’s sure to dote on you right now, and she’ll listen to what you have to say.”
Seeing his son’s expression soften, Cai Zhi sensed an opening and pressed on: “What if your wife pulls off this deal? The Bai family will have money, and she’ll remember your good advice. Once your health is stable and you give birth to a daughter, that principal husband’s position will be yours for sure. Isn’t that much better than being a concubine?”
The Bai family’s previous principal husband had died of illness. Now Su Sheng was the only concubine. If he really had a daughter…
His thoughts churned, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. For once, he felt his father had said something worthwhile. The temptation of becoming principal husband was too great to resist. After hesitating for a long while, he nodded in agreement.
After they left, Su Sheng pressed a hand to his chest and sat back down on the couch, rubbing his temples to calm himself. Then he instructed the servant: “Next time, don’t let them in without my permission.”
“Yes.”
·
Over at the Bai family’s drying yard, several thousand jin of kelp, bought at inflated prices, sat piled up in a warehouse, neglected. The whole yard reeked of fishy seaweed; anyone passing by held their breath, afraid of gagging.
Bai Pu kicked the yard’s foreman: “This is the kelp you dried? Take a look at what you’ve produced!”
She shoved a bundle into the foreman’s arms, forcing her to get a good look.
The foreman held the kelp, not daring to speak, silently enduring the boss’s kicks and cuffs—though at least it was just vented anger, not a real beating.
Bai Pu looked at the foreman’s pathetic demeanor and grew even angrier. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She’d been coming to inspect every day, and every time she’d be so furious she nearly passed out.
Who knew where the foreman had found these workers? They were hopelessly clumsy—either dropping the kelp into mud and dirt or drying it into limp, sorry-looking sheets that no fool in the market would buy.
And she had Xie’s Seafood’s dried kelp in hand. She didn’t even need to examine it closely—one glance was enough to see the difference. The two products were worlds apart. Even an idiot would buy from Xie.
The foreman felt she’d been treated unfairly: “Boss, we’re just following your orders. Besides, our town is small—where are we supposed to find experts in drying like that?”
Bai Pu kicked her again: “Then how does the Xie family manage it? Did that Xie woman do it all by herself?”
Her finances were stretched thin. She’d been looking for new ways to make money, and just then Su Sheng had come to her with the idea. She’d thought it was worth a shot.
She’d heard about the Xie’s Seafood that had burst onto the scene, and seeing their success, she’d long been tempted.
Xie’s operation in Qianwan Village was no secret. She’d sent people to ask around.
Curiously, her people had also approached those who worked for Xie’s, but their mouths were tighter than clams—they wouldn’t reveal a thing. Loyal to the core.
The villagers, on the other hand, talked freely. She’d learned about the huge profits involved and decided on the spot to get into the business.
Not only that—she wanted to run the Xie family out of it.
At first, she’d thought it would be easy: just dry some kelp and sell it for good money. But after a few days of observation, she realized things were far more complicated than she’d imagined.
The situation had grown thorny.
·
Su Chi had been uneasy all day at the shop, his mind wandering. In the afternoon, he closed up early and went home.
That evening, he made a simple meal of steamed cured meat and braised vegetables for the two of them.
Before bed, Xie Yushu pulled him close: “What’s wrong? You’ve been distracted all evening.”
Only then did Su Chi look up at her: “I… did my aunt and uncle cause any trouble at the base?”
“Not at all.” Xie Yushu denied it without a second thought.
She turned and blew out the candle, wrapping her arm around Su Chi’s waist as they lay down. She just wanted to hold his soft body and get a good night’s sleep—she’d had a long, exhausting day.
After a long while, the person in her arms was still tense, clearly not ready to sleep. Xie Yushu opened her eyes to look.
In the darkness, she could see her fulang’s gaze—clear and bright as a mountain stream, shimmering with unshed tears. She immediately leaned down and kissed him, only pulling back when he gently tugged at her sleeve.
Su Chi’s eyes wavered with uncertainty, and a hint of grievance crept in. Xie Yushu knew exactly what he was thinking. She stroked his face and finally relented a little: “There is a bit of trouble, but nothing serious. Don’t worry about it.”
Su Chi wouldn’t have it. He took her hand and held it firmly, his expression grave: “How can I not worry? If they end up causing you trouble, how could I be blameless?”
Xie Yushu pinched his cheek lightly, finding it amusing how seriously he was blaming himself: “What does this have to do with you?”
Su Chi sighed, his brows furrowed with distress: “They already disliked me. After I married you, they started disliking you too. And now they’re the type to hold grudges and seek petty revenge—so they’ve found someone to make trouble for you. They’ve definitely caused problems for your base.”
Su Chi wasn’t stupid. Last time, Ye Youchun had made everything clear. Those two loathsome relatives had inexplicably taken a grudge against his wife, and their son had married into the Bai family, who were also in business. He’d put the pieces together immediately.
He guessed they’d cooked up some scheme at the Bai household, which was why Xie Yushu’s business was now in trouble. And she wouldn’t tell him about it because she didn’t want him to feel guilty or upset.
Su Chi’s spirits plummeted, his heart filled with self-blame.
Xie Yushu sensed the shift in his mood almost immediately. She started to say, “This—”
But before she could finish, she heard his self-reproachful words.
“It’s all my fault,” Su Chi said, his voice low as he buried his face in the pillow. “I don’t know why my aunt is like that. My mother… my mother was such a wonderful person.”
His mother had been so good—yet her sister, born of the same parents, had turned out so unhinged and detestable. Su Chi couldn’t understand it.
Before he knew it, his eyes had reddened, and two large teardrops rolled down his cheeks, soaking into the soft pillow, leaving a small damp patch.
Before more tears could fall, a warm fingertip pressed against his skin.
“I know, I know—any mother who raised my fulang to be so wonderful must have been a good mother,” Xie Yushu said, her thumb brushing away his tears, her voice as gentle as if she were handling something precious. “But not every fruit on a tree is good—there are bad ones too, aren’t there?”
Su Chi froze at her words, his lashes still clinging to tears, staring at her blankly: “Aunt… is a bad fruit?”
“The whole family is bad fruit.”
Xie Yushu pulled him closer, patting his thin back rhythmically: “Your mother was good, so she and your father raised such a wonderful fulang like you.”
“Obedient, kind, good at everything—running a shop all by yourself, taking such good care of me—where would I ever find another fulang as wonderful as you?”
Su Chi’s ears burned at her shameless praise. She always knew how to cheer him up with sweet words.
And it worked like a charm—his tears stopped immediately, and warmth flooded his heart.
“Xiao Chi,” Xie Yushu called him softly again, “they have nothing to do with you. You are who you are. Let them do their evil—they’ll get what they deserve in the end.”
“Mm. Bad fruit never ends well.” Su Chi pursed his lips and surreptitiously wiped his tears on Xie Yushu’s collar, then said in a small, grave voice, “Bad fruit rots in the ground and turns into fertilizer.”
“Ha ha.” Xie Yushu buried her face in Su Chi’s neck and let out a muffled laugh.
“What are you doing?” Su Chi was a little annoyed—was she laughing at him?
“Nothing. Just thinking my fulang is so adorable.” Xie Yushu pulled back and kissed him soundly a few times.
Still not satisfied, she couldn’t help but praise him again: “Baby, you really are so adorable.”
After that laughter, Xie Yushu was wide awake. Her exhaustion from the day’s work had vanished, and she was full of energy—now she only wanted to do something naughty with Su Chi.
Su Chi was mumbling, “I’m not a little baby,” but before he could get more than a few words out, Xie Yushu stole his breath away. Their breaths mingled closely, noses touching, lost in a lingering kiss.
The room was dark save for the soft, faint sounds that drifted out from time to time.
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