Chen Liejiu Sells Chicks
With Xu Huaixian away at the Qinglian Academy, over three thousand newly hatched chicks remained at home. Feeding this brood consumed alarming amounts of grain daily, and the cramped incubation shed could no longer contain them.
Selling them quickly became imperative.
When Xinghua villagers expressed interest, Chen Liejiu seized the opportunity to test the market. The standard price was three coppers per chick—a rate set during peak hatching season (March-April) when supply outstripped demand.
By June, scarcity typically drove prices to four or five coppers. Frugal villagers usually purchased early to avoid premium costs; those who missed out often skipped chicken-rearing entirely rather than pay extra.
Despite the seasonal price hike, Chen Liejiu honored Xu Huaixian's promise, maintaining the three-copper rate. He even allowed customers to handpick their chicks—a rarity when most sellers foisted weak or sickly birds on buyers.
This approach delighted villagers, though a few still grumbled about costs. Over forty households purchased chicks—mostly one to six each—totaling over a hundred sales.
Calculating potential earnings, Chen Liejiu scratched figures into the dirt:
Fifty villages × 100 chicks ≈ 5,000 sales
Their stock of 3,000 would sell easily.
A shadow fell across his calculations. Looking up, he recognized Jiang Xiaoshan—a timid ger who, like Chen Liejiu, had orphaned young and raised siblings alone.
But unlike Chen Liejiu's boldness, Jiang cowered from attention, shoulders perpetually hunched as if bearing invisible blows.
Two years prior, Jiang had sold himself to the abusive Sun Wangcai to fund his drowning brother's treatment—rejecting Chen Liejiu's offer to help collect debts instead.
"Wangcai promised not to beat me if I bear his child!" Jiang had insisted then, blind to the lies.
Now, Jiang stood before Chen Liejiu, sleeves tugged nervously over bruised wrists, clutching six sweat-slicked coppers—clearly scrimped from meager household allowances.
"Brother Liejiu...may I buy two chicks?"
Chen Liejiu eyed the coins—undoubtedly stolen from Sun's tightfisted control—and gestured to the shed. "Pick any two."
Jiang's sunken eyes brightened as he selected two lively hens.
Pointing to a corner basin, Chen Liejiu added, "Take two dying ones too—no charge."
Jiang hesitated. "But...I've no more money."
"Waste of grain keeping them alive," Chen Liejiu shrugged. "Take them or don't."
Gratefully, Jiang scooped up the listless chicks—potential eggs for his siblings if they survived.
As more villagers bought chicks, they passed the Xu family's fields, taunting Xu Fugui and Ma Cuifen:
"Elder Uncle, why not buy chicks from your nephew's husband? Might get them free!"
Ma Cuifen sneered, "Unnatural hatchlings bring disease! Enjoy your poultry plague!"
A buyer retorted, "Better plague than your poisonous tongue! Said he'd fail at hatching and studying—yet here he succeeds at both!"
Ma Cuifen's face purpled. "Three thousand chicks? He'll never sell them all! The feed costs will bankrupt him!"
The next morning, Chen Liejiu mobilized his ten debt-collectors—each carrying baskets of chicks to neighboring villages.
"Chen Da and Chen Wu—cover distant villages. Chen Nan and Chen Peng—try the county town," he instructed. "Don't let them overheat."
His team obeyed eagerly—Chen Liejiu's generosity made him their preferred leader despite being a ger. Recent profitable months had many saving for new clothes—unthinkable luxuries before.
At Shengyuan Money House, Chen Liejiu inquired about delinquent accounts.
Manager Wu produced ledgers. "Dare you pursue these?"
Chen Liejiu targeted manageable rural clans—not the untouchable gentry. "Three percent commission?"
"Thirty!" Wu countered.
Deal struck, Chen Liejiu prepared for confrontations.
Meanwhile, Xu Huaixian donned Qinglian Academy's pale blue robes, settling into the rigorous schedule:
Morning: Two 2-hour lecturesAfternoon: Two 2-hour lecturesBreaks: Two incense-burning intervalsNoon Rest: 1 hour
Classes commenced at Chenshi (8 AM)—a merciful start for Xu Huaixian's frail constitution. His routine:
Wake at dawnMedicinal tonicsBird's nest stewArrive precisely as lectures began
Assigned to Class D (basic Tongsheng level), Xu Huaixian shared a dorm with Duan Youyan and Pei Wangshu.
During literature class, the teacher demanded rhythmic recitation—a torture for Xu Huaixian's compromised lungs.
"Teacher," he rasped, "recitation induces dizziness. May I be exempt?"
The instructor dismissed this as laziness until Xu Huaixian coughed blood onto his handkerchief mid-verse—promptly fainting the teacher.
Rumors spread: "Class D's new scholar is a glass figurine—breathe wrong and he shatters!"
Even Headmaster Zuo demanded a liability waiver before allowing Xu Huaixian to continue.
At lunch, three unlikely companions joined Xu Huaixian's isolated table:
Zhang Bingwen (Class C): Teacher Zhang's grandson, fiercely loyalDuan Youyan: The stern-faced dormmate who'd diagnosed Xu Huaixian's conditionPei Wangshu: The brash rich kid who'd brought chicken soup after the coughing incident
"Who cares if others avoid you?" Duan shrugged. "We're labeled your clique anyway."
Pei smirked. "Fail the exams? No matter—my family's money lasts lifetimes."
Xu Huaixian revealed his plan: "Study relentlessly. Pass the Xiucai exams in August. Advance to Class B—then they'll beg to network with me."
Pei choked on his rice. Two months from Class D to Xiucai? Delusional!
During lunch break, a gatekeeper summoned Xu Huaixian: "Someone waits at the rear gate."
There stood Chen Liejiu in crimson robes, sunlight haloing his figure.
"Husband—" Xu Huaixian barely stopped himself from shouting the modern endearment, substituting the local term: "A-Jiu!"
The affectionate diminutive (酒-alcohol → 阿酒-A-Jiu) softened Chen Liejiu's usual boldness. He smiled. "I like that."
From his pouch, he produced two silver ingots (20 taels total). "Earnings from debt collections. Spend freely."
Xu Huaixian gaped. Twenty taels in days?!
"Manager Wu assigned high-value accounts," Chen Liejiu explained vaguely, avoiding mention of his extortion tactics—like threatening to burn delinquent clans' crops.
He then unveiled a lunchbox: "Wang Wanwan made chicken soup—your recipe."
The rich broth contrasted starkly with the academy's bland fare—usually cooked in cheap ramie oil Xu Huaixian detested.
"From tomorrow," Chen Liejiu declared, "meals will be delivered daily. No more academy food!"
Xu Huaixian's protest died at Chen Liejiu's stubborn glare. When did my husband regain domestic control?
As parting neared, Xu Huaixian lingered awkwardly.
Chen Liejiu recognized the look—identical to Xiaomei's when he departed for mercenary work.
"What's wrong?"
"...It's somewhat hard," Xu Huaixian admitted. Missing you is hard.
Chen Liejiu pulled him close, brushing lips against his cheek. "Better now?"