Chapter 11: Compassion for the World and Mankind

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Mrs. Tian held a tray in her hands.
“Just as you young brothers are drinking, I made you a plate of braised meat to go with the wine.”
Lin Feng smiled, “That’s too kind of you.”
“You helped us sell so much; we must thank you properly,” Mrs. Tian said, placing the braised meat on the small table and standing there with a gentle smile.
Lin Feng, reading her expression, understood and asked, “Is there something else Mrs. Tian needs our help with?”
Mrs. Tian rubbed her hands nervously. “Our second son’s house…”
“Is it that you still don’t have enough money?”
Mrs. Tian nodded vigorously. “We’re a bit short. Young brother, could you help us a little more?”
“Do you have other things to sell at home?” Xiao Die asked.
“No, nothing else…”
“If your family doesn’t have anything, does anyone else want to sell? Auntie can buy them at a fair price for me. For livestock like pigs and sheep, I’ll pay an extra coin to help you sell them, and for poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese, I’ll pay an extra hundred wen each.”
Mrs. Tian’s eyes lit up with surprise. “When do you want them, young brother?”
“Preferably before tomorrow night. The day after, we’ll take them to the market early.”
“I’ll make sure to have them ready by tomorrow!” Mrs. Tian was eager to earn money quickly to help her second son buy a house. “By the way, young brother, if you need help with anything, just say the word. My daughter usually doesn’t farm, but she can help you.”
“All right, come by tomorrow. I do have something she can help with.”
Tian Xier nodded, her eyes shining with joy, clearly eager to work alongside Lin Feng and the others.
After Mrs. Tian happily left with Tian Xier, Xiao Die asked Lin Feng, “Sir, wouldn’t it be better if we bought directly from farmers? That way, we’d make more profit.”
“First, we’re not familiar with this area. Second, there aren’t many people like Mrs. Tian’s family who urgently need to sell livestock. Even if there are, it’s usually only one or two animals. So, we’d have to go house to house in nearby villages and towns, which would take a lot of time and effort — not worth it. Third, as the saying goes, a distant relative is not as helpful as a nearby neighbor. Helping Mrs. Tian is also helping someone in need.”
“Hmph, it’s probably her second son’s wife who thinks living in the village is too harsh and is pushing him to buy a house in the county,” Xiao Die remarked.
Lin Feng laughed, “You seem to know everything.”
“When elder brother was bedridden, I often heard the second son’s wife quarreling with him loudly at night. How could I not hear? The quarrels have lessened these days, probably because they want Uncle Tian and his wife to buy them a house, so they’re acting more obedient.”
“Where is the second son’s wife from?”
“She’s the illegitimate daughter of a family in the town. She married the second son because he’s the only scholar in the mountain village and seen as a good catch.”

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It seems that scholars in the Great Chu Kingdom hold a relatively higher status.
After dinner, the night was dull again. He had no choice but to lie down early and continue his habit of going to bed early and rising early.
No nightlife, no mobile phones, and no women.
Xiao Die was not his woman, nor a plaything for his release.
She had no servitude contract, so fundamentally, she wasn’t a maid.
He only regarded her as a little sister, equivalent to a middle schooler in modern times.
Now, Xiao Die and Liu Xi had also begun to accept their roles as younger siblings.
Though Lin Feng wasn’t sentimental, seeing Xiao Die and Liu Xi freezing on the street in the cold, he still showed a glimmer of humanity.
That dark, stormy night when he broke into his father’s concubine’s room was not an act of bestial lust, but because he overheard that she and the steward were having an illicit affair and would rendezvous that night.
Driven by impulse after drinking, he decided to catch them in the act.
He caught no adultery but heard the concubine scream “Rape!”
Immediately, a crowd swarmed around the room. At that moment, he was so scared he felt like he’d soiled himself.
When his father decided to punish him with family law, he was extremely discontent. Facing his hypocritical elder brother who pretended to care and urged him to confess, he resolutely kicked him into a pond.
He despised that hypocrite who always acted concerned but harbored ill intentions.
However, his father did not know this. Enraged, he immediately wrote a severance letter, disowning this unfilial son and banishing him from the family.
But he would not be driven away so easily or leave Chu Capital without reason.
One day, he would return!
But returning would not be simple; he needed money.
Otherwise, he would be crushed upon arrival in Chu Capital.
So, all he thought about now was making money at all costs.
Half asleep, he finally fell asleep.
In the morning, Xiao Die woke him up. Probably from exhaustion, he overslept and didn’t hear the rooster crowing, recalling that the rooster Mrs. Tian sold yesterday had likely already become manure.
Xiao Die entered and tidied his bedding and clothes, saying, “Big brother, Mrs. Tian’s daughter, Xier, has already arrived and is cleaning the yard.”
“So eager?” Lin Feng opened the door and indeed saw Tian Xier tidying the yard.

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Seeing Lin Feng, Tian Xier suddenly became shy and whispered, “Lin... Big Brother Lin...”
“I didn’t ask you here to clean the yard,” Lin Feng smiled.
“My mother told me to come early to help you. I saw you hadn’t gotten up yet, so I started cleaning the yard first.”
“Does your family have such large wooden boxes?” Lin Feng pointed to the boxes used for the lottery in the open kitchen.
Tian Xier immediately nodded. “Yes, how many do you need?”
“Two, please tell your mother to return them after use.”
“All right, I’ll go get them now!” Tian Xier quickly ran back to her yard.
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