Qian Hong was both stupid and malicious.

Back then, he schemed time and again to harm Yan Xiaoyu, and even now, when Yan Xiaoyu thinks back on it, he still seethes with hatred.

Now that the Qian family is in dire straits, Yan Xiaoyu is thriving and riding high. If the two were in each other’s shoes, Qian Hong would never let Yan Xiaoyu off the hook.

Yan Xiaoyu didn’t kick a man when he was down because he didn’t want to get his hands dirty. But he was more than happy to hand the tofu recipe over to the villagers just to get back at the Qian family.

While Magistrate Zhong was in office, Qian Hong had abused his power and offended many people in the county. After Magistrate Zhong was brought down, Old Man Qian immediately moved all his businesses back to Lantai Town. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t afford the rent in the county seat; he was also afraid of retaliation from the local merchants.

The people in the county hated Qian Hong with a passion—they would have devoured him alive if they could. Now that the Qian family was cowering in Lantai Town, they didn’t dare set foot in the county seat again. Lantai Town was only so big; as the villagers’ tofu business took off, the Qian family’s business was bound to decline.

Yan Xiaoyu was delighted to hear this.

This would not only avenge the wrongs of the past, but also keep the Qian family in check, preventing them from regaining their power. From then on, even if Qian Hong were to commit any further misdeeds, he wouldn’t have the means to do so. Of course, revenge is secondary; what matters most is helping the villagers.

Yan Xiaoyu wanted to give the tofu recipe to the villagers, and Yan Shaocheng had no objection.

“Once we’re in the capital, we’ll still need the villagers to help look after our estate and fields. Giving them the tofu recipe is a way of repaying them. But with so many people in the village, how do you plan to distribute the recipe? Are you going to give it to everyone at once?”

“No,” Yan Xiaoyu shook her head. “If everyone in the village learns it and goes into the tofu business together, I’m afraid they’ll end up squabbling among themselves. By then, fighting over a few taels of silver, they’d stir up trouble in the village—and that would give others the perfect opportunity to cause trouble.” 

“Why not give the recipe to the Yu, Liu, and Zhao families instead? Let Aunt Yu take the lead, with Aunt He and Uncle Li assisting her, and the three families run the tofu business together. Each of the three families will take one-tenth of the silver earned, while the Yu family will distribute the remaining seven-tenths to the villagers. Everyone will get a share—except for those few families who are at odds with our two households. The tofu business will require hiring workers, who should be recruited from the village and paid at market rates.”

As for the specific distribution of the silver allocated to the village, and the criteria for selecting workers from the village, Yan Xiaoyu chose not to get involved, leaving full authority to Yu Chunying to handle.

Although Yu Chunying isn’t the village head, she’s done just as much for the villagers as Niu Fugui. In fact, when it comes down to it, Niu Fugui isn’t as responsible as she is. 

Yan Xiaoyu felt completely at ease entrusting the tofu business to her.

After hearing this, Yan Shaocheng also thought it was a good idea: “That’s a great idea. This way, the villagers are all in this together, and everyone benefits.”

Like Yan Shaocheng, He Qiuhua and Yan Xiaoyue were also in full agreement. After they reached a consensus, Yan Xiaoyu sought out Yan Xingmao to discuss the matter.

Yan Xingmao thought about it for a moment and agreed: “Once we go to the capital, we won’t be able to look after things here, so we really should give them the recipe.”

A touch of wistfulness crossed his face: “After working on this for over a year, suddenly having to hand it over—I really do feel a bit empty inside!”

Yan Xiaoyu found this amusing: “Father, you’ve worked so hard all these years. Why not take this opportunity to rest for a few days and go to the county seat to spend some time with Mother? Take her to try all the food and entertainment the county has to offer. After all, isn’t the whole point of running a business to ensure our family has plenty to eat and live in comfort? Once we get to the capital, you’ll have plenty of time to keep yourself busy!”

Yan Xiaoyu had intended for Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua to take a break and rest up. But he also knew his parents were the type who couldn’t sit still; if they weren’t working, they wouldn’t feel at ease.

Sure enough, Yan Xingmao smiled good-naturedly: “It’s good to have work to do. As long as I can help you two, Dad’s happy!”

Now that they’d reached an agreement, Yan Xiaoyu brought up the matter of handing the tofu recipe over to Yu Chunying and the others.

That day, A-Chai was driving the ox cart, taking Yan Xiaoyu back to the village.

The matters he had discussed with Yan Xingmao earlier had all been brought up when Yan Xingmao was on his way to the city to run some errands. This was shortly after Yan Shaoxuan had won the top prize in the imperial examinations, and it was Yan Xiaoyu’s first return to Xiling Village.

Just as the sun was setting, quite a few villagers were cooling off and chatting under the old locust tree by the gate of a village home. Upon seeing Yan Xiaoyu, everyone stood up to greet him, their attitudes warm and friendly.

“Brother Yu’s back! Have you eaten yet? If not, come over to my place later for a bowl!” 

“Brother Yu, you’re back from the county seat, right? Coming back at this hour—is something up?” 

“……”

Yu Chunying also called out, “Xiaoyu, why don’t you come inside for a bowl of mung bean soup? Your younger Nian-ger made it—it tastes pretty good.”

Hearing the commotion, Nian-ger came out of the house and waved repeatedly at Yan Xiaoyu: “Brother Xiaoyu, come quick! I made the mung bean soup with lily bulbs and honey—it’s delicious!”

Yan Xiaoyu shook his head: “I’ll pass on the mung bean soup, but I need to talk to Aunt Yu about something. Aunt Yu, could you and Uncle Niu come over to my place later?”

Yan Xiaoyu took the opportunity to let them know as well. The three of them eagerly replied, “Sure, no problem!”

After Yan Xiaoyu left, Yu Chunying went inside, and Xiaoyu saw her off. Aunt He and Uncle Li also went back to make their own preparations.

As soon as they left, the discussion began.

“They made this mung bean soup with honey, as if they were afraid no one would drink it, yet we’ve been sitting here for so long and they haven’t even served us a bowl.” 

“You’re such a nitpicker. With so many of us here, how could they possibly keep track of everyone?”

“Yeah, I wonder why Brother Yu is looking for them?”

“Do you really have to ask? It’s definitely something good! Whenever Brother Yu asks them for a favor—”

“Man, just look at Aunt He and the others—how come they’re so lucky? They only did Brother Yu and his crew a tiny favor, and he’s remembered it all this time!”

“Exactly! Brother Yu’s about to become a Jinshi’s Fulang. From now on, even if he just lets a little something slip to Aunt He and the others, it’ll be enough to keep them set for life! If only we’d helped Brother Yu back then!”

“Come to think of it, we’re from the same hometown as Brother Yu, too. If only he’d given us a little help as well!” 

“He actually has, but it’s still not as much as what those three families got—after all, the bond isn’t the same!”

“……”

Everyone fanned themselves with their rush fans, whispering among themselves, their expressions a mix of envy and curiosity.

“Come to think of it, why did Brother Yu specifically emphasize just now that the men could come or not, but that Aunt Yu, Aunt He, and Uncle Li absolutely had to go?”