Chapter Sixty-Five: The Rivalry Between Senior and Junior Disciples

“A protective charm,” Xiuhua replied.

“You got it especially for me?” Xu Zhengyong asked with a broad grin.

“Of course. It’s just a little concern from a senior disciple to her junior,” Xiuhua answered, her face proud and slightly haughty.

They both learned martial arts from the same teacher, so it was true they had come from the same school.

“I’m the senior disciple, you’re the junior,” Xu Zhengyong retorted.

This debate—who was the senior and who was the junior—had gone on for years between them. Neither was willing to concede, each wanting to be considered the elder.

“I became the master’s disciple before you did, so naturally I’m the senior!” Xiuhua insisted.

“But I started learning from the master before you did—you came after. So I’m the senior!” Xu Zhengyong shot back.

“It doesn’t matter who started first. What counts is the formal ceremony of becoming a disciple! Just following along doesn’t count!”

“I’m older than you, you’re the same age as Ruo’er. She calls me Brother Yong, so I must be your senior too!”

Wei Ruo and the Xu couple were long used to these squabbles over seniority. In the past, they’d argue nearly every month; lately, the arguments had lessened simply because they had fewer chances to meet.

Everyone laughed cheerfully.

After a while, Xiuhua did something rare—she admitted defeat. “How about this: if you return safely after joining the army, I’ll admit you entered the school before me, and I’ll call you Senior Brother.”

Hearing this, Xu Zhengyong, who normally would have been so delighted he’d jump for joy, fell silent. His playful demeanor faded, and his expression grew unusually solemn.

“Are you afraid I won’t come back?” he asked.

“If you don’t come back, you’ll just be my junior for life!” Xiuhua sniffed, turning away and hurrying back to stand beside Wei Ruo.

Xu Zhengyong returned as well, a smile on his face, the embroidered pouch Xiuhua had given him already tucked away inside his clothes.

“Since Meimei has given her gift, it’s my turn,” said Wei Ruo, who had also prepared a farewell present for Xu Zhengyong.

Wei Ruo placed a small wooden box on the table. Inside were several small porcelain bottles.

“These are just some common medicines. Each bottle is labeled—take the medicine from the right bottle if you need it,” Wei Ruo explained.

Xu Zhengyong glanced at the bottles. “Ruo’er, your handwriting is still as ugly as ever,” he teased.

“You’ve got some nerve, saying that!” Wei Ruo retorted, feigning annoyance.

Xu Zhengyong rubbed his nose, “I didn’t mean it, really. I wouldn’t dare. My Ruo’er’s handwriting is so unique, even its ugliness is adorable!”

“If you keep talking like that, I won’t give it to you!” Wei Ruo threatened, shutting the box and pretending she would take it away.

Xu Zhengyong hurried forward and snatched the box. “I want it! Of course I do! How could I not want a gift from my dear Ruo’er? Even if I never need it, I’ll still keep it with me…”

Xiuhua rolled her eyes. “Look at you, so unambitious.”

Xu Zhengyong made a face at her.

Then Wei Ruo personally went to the kitchen to prepare milk tea for everyone.

Wei Ruo rarely cooked; it was usually Xiuhua who handled the kitchen. Only when she was together with Nanny’s family did Wei Ruo take an interest.

Taking advantage of the moment, Nanny handed Wei Ruo the accounts and earnings from the past two months at Four Treasures Hall.

Previously, they settled accounts every three or six months, but now that Wei Ruo was living in the Commandant’s household and facing difficulties, Nanny thought it best for her to have more silver on hand. Most of Wei Ruo’s previous savings had gone into purchasing Xiaoyang Mountain.

“Miss, here are three hundred taels of silver in total—the profits from Four Treasures Hall in Huzhou Prefecture for the past three months, the two months’ earnings from the new shop here, and the income from selling sweet potato vines and last year’s dried sweet potatoes,” Nanny reported as she handed over the silver.

Two shops generated profits faster than one. The Four Treasures Hall in Xing Shan County earned a bit less than the one in Huzhou Prefecture, proving that Xing Shan County was indeed poorer.

The income from selling sweet potato leaves and the stock of dried sweet potatoes was much less than the shops’ earnings.

But Wei Ruo didn’t mind. Any profit was worth having, especially since this was all preparation for the large harvests of sweet potatoes to come.

After this day, Xu Zhengyong went to report for military service and, for the time being, lost contact with the Xu family and Wei Ruo.

In the days that followed, Wei Ruo, aside from attending classes at the Xie household, focused on planning her next money-making venture.

The work in the south of the city was progressing smoothly, and under Nanny’s management, everything on Xiaoyang Mountain was developing just as Wei Ruo had planned, without the slightest hitch.

The medicinal field she and Xie Ying were cultivating, with Madam Xie’s help, was also going well.

They had successfully purchased a parcel of land with poor terrain in the south of the city from the authorities.

Magistrate Qian, to demonstrate fairness, distributed the good land for free to impoverished families with no land. The poor parcels, however, could be bought for a low price—far less than the cost of arable land in the north of the city.

For example, the plot Wei Ruo and Xie Ying bought together cost only five taels of silver for ten whole acres.

So, the land itself was cheap. The real expense would be in labor and improvement, but with Madam Xie’s strong support, they had nothing to worry about.

It was only after entering this partnership that Wei Ruo learned Madam Xie came from a wealthy merchant family. Her dowry included no fewer than one hundred and twenty-eight chests, as well as many fields and shops in prosperous regions, yielding generous annual profits.

Despite being a merchant’s daughter, Madam Xie was highly respected in her husband’s family. When she married, the Xie family had not yet prospered and were not well-off; thanks to her dowry, they survived their hardest times.

Now that the Xie family was thriving, no one in the household objected to Madam Xie’s origins, and her husband had never once considered taking a concubine.

Wei Ruo, grateful for the mother and daughter’s trust, meticulously organized the entire planting process—from sowing to later maintenance and pest control, she shared all her knowledge.

Xie Ying was enthusiastic too. Every day, as soon as she saw Wei Ruo, she wanted to discuss the medicinal field, her passion so obvious that Wei Ruo almost missed the days when Xie Ying had been cold and indifferent to her.

Once you ignored me, now you never leave my side.

Their flourishing medicinal field aroused much curiosity, and some families began to consider following the Xie family’s example. After all, land in the south of the city was cheap, and the county yamen was now promoting land improvement techniques. Why not plant more and reap a bigger harvest?

The Yun family was tempted as well—after all, it was Ruo’er who had come up with the improvement methods, and there was no reason to let others have all the advantage.