The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Chapter 73

Once spring arrived, the snow in the fields gradually melted away, and another busy season began.

Those dozen or so men kept their word and showed up as promised on the first day of the lunar year. The main hall was packed full. Everyone discussed together and settled on the accounts and rules. Liang Yu would put up sixty percent of the capital, and the remaining forty percent would be pooled by those joining the partnership. Those who contributed money would get profits according to their shares. Those who did not contribute money would receive wages, and at year’s end they would get a share of the surplus as a New Year’s bonus. The rules were set out clearly. Liang Yu organized them and read them out to everyone one by one.

Those who did not understand had someone who did explain it to them. Once Liang Yu made sure everyone understood the rules, he had them sign and press their thumbprints on the terms. He put away the documents, kept them for lunch, and that more or less settled the matter.

After that, he still needed to recruit some young and able men from the village to train for a while before the trading journey. More people meant more safety on the road.

Liang Yu had acquaintances spread the word in various villages that they were recruiting men for a merchant caravan. Once the news went out, quite a few people came, from this village, from neighboring villages, and even from farther mountain valleys. They were all farmers. Working the land could keep you alive, but it could not dig up the silver that would change your life. When they heard that following Liang Er on trading runs could earn money, they came in waves.

Trading was risky business, and the men had to be chosen carefully. Everyone who came, Liang Yu first had the brothers take them to work in the village for a few days to see their temperament. Those who were rash were rejected. Those who talked too much were rejected. Those with sticky fingers were even more rejected…

Once they had roughly enough people, Liang Yu sent men to find out their backgrounds, temperaments, and reputations. It was troublesome, but Liang Yu felt it was necessary. Life and death hung in the balance on the road. One unreliable person could drag the whole group down.

Once these miscellaneous matters were sorted out one by one, Liang Yu gathered the selected men in the courtyard and brought out a contract. Scarface knew some characters, so Liang Yu handed him the contract and had him read its contents aloud to everyone.

The contract stated the risks of the trading journey in plain terms, hiding nothing: bandits, injury, illness, and other dangers that could cost your life. By signing this contract, you were joining of your own free will. If something happened, compensation silver would be given, but there was no guarantee everyone would make it back alive.

After the contract was read, the courtyard fell silent. Some grew afraid, quietly set down the contract paper, and squeezed out of the crowd to leave. Others sat in silence for a long time before finally gritting their teeth and pressing their thumbprints to sign. Once the trading party was set, Liang Yu had a few men who were skilled in martial arts lead them in training. He himself began to busy himself with other miscellaneous matters: where to buy goods, what the prices were like… At the start, everything had to be done in fine detail. It was hard work now, but it would be much easier later.

Goods from the north were easy to acquire. Furs, medicinal herbs, mountain products, they all came from the mountains. Liang Yu had familiar connections from years of hunting and selling goods. After running around for a few days and talking to a few familiar shops, the goods were settled.

The caravan also needed preparation. They bought more than ten mules and horses, and had four or five large carts built, all made of good wood and good iron fittings. Liang Yu had personally found the connections to pick them out. It cost quite a bit of silver, but they were sturdy and durable, good for several years of running without major problems.

These things sounded simple, but doing them was endlessly tedious, and you could not muddle through them. Liang Yu took a few of the brighter brothers and ran around all day, only returning when it was pitch dark. He would come through the door, sit down at the table, pull out a little notebook, and write and draw.

Su Qingyu brought him food. He would shovel down a few mouthfuls and lower his head to write again. Su Qingyu curiously leaned over to look. The paper was covered in messy scribbles, and the characters were written crookedly too.

Liang Yu was skilled at fighting and hunting, but this business of keeping accounts was truly not his strong suit. He looked at it for a long time, set down the brush, and frowned.

Su Qingyu watched from the side, wanting to laugh but not daring to, biting his lip and lowering his head to pour him tea.

Liang Yu reached out and pulled him into his arms, resting his chin on his shoulder, his brows furrowed tight.

Su Qingyu kissed his face. He had been watching Liang Yu’s busy state lately and felt a bit sorry for his husband who had lost some weight. He took the notebook and brush and said, “Husband, I learned a little when I was young. Let me help you figure it out together.”

Liang Yu turned to look at him and hugged him like a treasure, giving him a kiss. “My husband is so capable.”

Su Qingyu pressed his lips together in a smile and helped him work on the accounts together.

Liang Yu gave Su Qingyu the key to the storeroom. During the day he still took people running around everywhere. Su Qingyu stayed home cooking and washing clothes, kept the key to the storeroom, and helped keep the books together.

More than ten people busied themselves for half a month. Most things were sorted out, but the accounts were still a tangled mess.

Although Liang Yu and Su Qingyu had organized quite a bit, those detailed accounts had so many ins and outs that they got confused as they recorded them. The dozen or so men were even worse. They were fine for fighting, but when it came to keeping accounts, each one was more muddled than the last. Flip through a few pages of the ledger, and no one could recognize whose handwriting it was.

Su Qingyu tried to sort it out, but the accounts were too complicated, and after working at it for half a day they were still a mess.

Liang Yu sat at the table, looking at that pile of ledgers and also starting to worry.

Su Qingyu propped his chin on his hand, his little face scrunched up as he looked at the accounts. He thought of something, and his eyes brightened. “Husband, how about… asking Big Brother to help?”

Liang Yu’s hand paused.

Su Qingyu saw his expression and was a bit puzzled, but he did not think much of it and added, “Isn’t Big Brother a zancian? He’s good at keeping accounts.”

Liang Yu was silent for a while, then said in a muffled voice, “His temper…”

Su Qingyu softly urged, “Big Brother’s temper is quite good. Go try it. Big Brother isn’t an outsider.”

The next day, Liang Yu waited until Liang Feng returned from his shift and went to the main room with a stiff scalp.

Liang Feng was in the study looking at official documents. It was the busy farming season, and there was a lot of business at the yamen, so he had brought some home to work on. The table was piled with files, and his brows were furrowed tight enough to crush a mosquito.

Hearing the sound, he looked up, saw it was Liang Yu, and lowered his head back to the documents.

“What is it?”

Liang Yu stood there for a while and said, “Big Brother… we put together a merchant caravan. I wanted you to help look at the accounts.”

Liang Feng looked up at him. Those narrow eyes looked much like Liang Yu’s, with upturned outer corners and handsome brows. His temperament was gentler than Liang Yu’s fierce bearing, carrying a scholarly air, but he was not someone to be taken lightly. Years of immersion in the county yamen had made Liang Feng’s bearing even more imposing. When his brows furrowed, it made Liang Yu’s heart jump involuntarily.

Liang Feng set down his brush, looked at his troublesome younger brother, and hit the nail on the head: “You mean you gathered a dozen or so men for trading, the accounts are a complete mess, and now you want your big brother to clean up after you?”

Liang Yu said nothing.

Liang Feng stood up and walked over to him. He was half a head shorter than Liang Yu, but his bearing was not weak at all. He stared at him for two breaths, then raised his hand and slapped the back of his head. “You think I’m your bookkeeper?”

Liang Yu was in the wrong and did not dare dodge, letting his big brother lecture him.

“You good-for-nothing. I’m so busy at the yamen I don’t touch the ground, there’s a pile of spring plowing matters at home, and here you are, still finding work for me.”

Liang Yu hung his head in silence.

Liang Feng sighed, turned, and walked to the table, pushing the official documents to the side. He picked up the ledger Liang Yu had brought and flipped through it, his brows furrowing even tighter.

“What is this you’re writing? Are these characters?”

Liang Yu hung his head even lower.

Liang Feng flipped through a few more pages, his brows getting tighter the more he looked, until finally he slammed the ledger on the table. “Your husband’s handwriting is quite good. The rest of these accounts, what kind of writing is this? Can you not keep proper records?”

Liang Feng caught his breath and resigned himself. “Go, pour me a cup of tea.”

Liang Yu suppressed the corners of his mouth that wanted to turn up, eagerly went to pour tea, and brought it over to set on the table.

Liang Feng sat down drinking tea and flipping through the ledger, his brows gradually relaxing a bit. “You men, although your handwriting is terrible, the accounts are actually kept in quite some detail. What goods, which day they came in or went out, how much silver, it’s all more or less there.”

Liang Feng flipped through a while longer, closed the ledger, and said, “Alright, leave it here. I’ll find time to sort it out for you. But there’s one condition…”

He stood up and gave Liang Yu another slap on the back of the head.

“Next time something like this happens, hire your own bookkeeper. I’m your big brother, not your shop manager.”

Liang Yu nodded obediently.

“Go, go, go, don’t be an eyesore here.”

Translation Notes:

zancian (攒典): A low-level clerk or bookkeeper in a traditional Chinese county yamen (government office). They handled records, accounts, and paperwork. The closest English equivalent would be something like “county clerk” or “ledger keeper,” but I kept the romanization with a note since it is a specific historical office.