Chapter 34: The Human Heart Is Unfathomable, Vigilance Is Essential

This incident utterly disgusted Xu Mo and Chen Miaoyi. Chen Miaoyi furrowed her brows tightly, covering her mouth and nose in anger. “Who could be so vile! To throw such filth into our home…” But before she could finish, nausea overtook her, and she hastily turned away, unable to bear the sight.

Xu Mo’s face darkened with fury. “Who else could it be but Xu Tong?” he said in a low voice.

As soon as Chen Miaoyi heard this, she exclaimed, “Husband, Xu Tong has gone too far! We must report him to the authorities first thing tomorrow!”

Now that their debts were finally repaid, Chen Miaoyi no longer feared the officials; she spoke with determination. But Xu Mo replied, “Miaoyi, though we both know Xu Tong is behind this, we have no proof. If we’re charged with false accusation, it’ll be us who are flogged.”

Chen Miaoyi grew anxious. “Then what should we do? We can’t just let them bully us like this!”

Xu Mo was at a loss for solutions. “Miaoyi, it’s filthy here—go back inside. I’ll clean this up.”

Of course, Chen Miaoyi wouldn’t leave Xu Mo to do it alone, so together they fetched water and carefully washed the courtyard.

***

By the next morning, word had spread through Chicken Crow Alley that someone had dumped filth at Xu Mo’s house. Everyone in the alley guessed it was Xu Tong’s doing. But what good was guessing? Without evidence, no one could do anything to Xu Tong.

All anyone could do was sigh in sympathy and helplessness—who told Xu Mo to provoke such a scoundrel?

After last night’s ordeal, Xu Mo worried about leaving Chen Miaoyi home alone, so he planned to take her to his uncle’s house before heading to Delicacies Pavilion himself, intending to fetch her again on his way home that afternoon.

As soon as they arrived, Xu Hui greeted them excitedly. “Cousin, sister-in-law, I have news for you—the General Store has sold out all our soap!”

“Really, Huihui? How do you know?” Chen Miaoyi asked joyfully.

Xu Hui lifted her chin with pride. “I went to the General Store yesterday and happened to overhear a customer asking for soap. The clerk said himself—it’s sold out!”

Chen Miaoyi immediately looked to Xu Mo. “Husband, if the soap is selling so well, should we send another batch?”

Xu Hui agreed eagerly. “Yes, cousin! The second batch of two hundred bars is ready—we can deliver them anytime.”

Xu Mo pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “No hurry. Let’s wait a few days.”

“Why, cousin? This is such a great opportunity to make money!” Xu Hui didn’t understand.

Chen Miaoyi was puzzled too.

Xu Mo explained patiently, “I already told Manager Liu last time that the soap-making process is complicated and time-consuming. If we deliver another batch so soon, she’ll definitely become suspicious…”

“With her shrewdness, she’ll quickly realize it’s not as difficult as I claimed. Then she’ll insist we increase production.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Xu Hui pressed.

Xu Mo shook his head again. “For now, it’s not wise.”

He continued, “The only reason soap sells for five strings of cash a bar is its scarcity. If we increase the supply, the market will be flooded, prices will fall, and profits won’t be as high.”

Xu Hui nodded. “I see, cousin. You want to keep prices high for a while so we can earn more, right?”

Xu Mo grew serious. “That’s one reason. But what I fear most is others discovering we make soap at home.”

He gestured around them. “Miaoyi, Huihui, our courtyard wall is just so high. If we ramp up production, we’ll need to burn far more wood ash and buy much more lard.”

“Sweetwater Lane is a small place. If the neighbors see us constantly burning wood ash and purchasing lard, won’t they wonder what we’re up to?”

Chen Miaoyi immediately understood. “Exactly, Huihui! If someone sneaks in and learns how to make soap, our secret will be lost.”

Xu Hui’s brow furrowed, her expression growing grave.

Xu Mo went on, “Even if the neighbors don’t care, if we deliver too often, Manager Liu or someone else with ulterior motives is more likely to discover where we live.”

He paused, then added meaningfully, “The human heart is unpredictable. We must be vigilant.”

Both Chen Miaoyi and Xu Hui grasped the gravity of the matter and nodded in agreement with Xu Mo’s approach.

Noticing that Xu Tieshu and Xu Ping’an hadn’t appeared, Xu Mo asked, “Huihui, where are uncle and cousin? Not at home?”

“They went to the market,” Xu Hui replied. “Now that we have money, Father wants to repair our house in the country. When he’s older, he says he won’t stay in the city but will retire peacefully in the countryside.”

“Which village?” Xu Mo asked.

Xu Hui looked puzzled. “Gushan Village—my maternal grandmother’s home! Don’t you remember, cousin? You visited once when we were little.”

Xu Mo shook his head; he had no memory of it.

Noticing Xu Hui’s surprise, Chen Miaoyi quickly explained, “Huihui, your cousin was ill a while back—it probably affected his memory.”

Xu Hui nodded, letting the matter rest.

Mention of Gushan Village reminded Xu Mo of Qin Moutou. “By the way, I met someone yesterday—he’s also from Gushan Village.”

“Who?” Xu Hui asked.

“A young fellow, about your age.”

“What’s his name? Maybe I know him!” Xu Hui grew interested.

“Qin Moutou, lives at the end of the village. Three jujube trees in front of his house.”

Xu Hui broke into laughter. “Qin Moutou! Of course I know him! Our homes are so close, I can see his house from our doorway. Every time I visited grandma as a child, I’d play with him—we’ve known each other since we were little.”

Xu Mo hadn’t expected such a coincidence and suddenly had an idea. “Huihui, when uncle goes back to Gushan Village, can Miaoyi and I come too?”

Xu Hui nodded at once, grinning. “Of course! There’s plenty to do repairing the house—we could use some extra hands!”

Her words made Xu Mo and Chen Miaoyi both laugh.

***

Before noon, Xu Mo arrived at Delicacies Pavilion.

Just like the day before, the standing long jump challenge at the entrance was as popular as ever, with lines of participants and crowds three and four rows deep, making the street impassable.

Xu Mo had barely paused at the door when Ning Yongqiang hurried out to greet him.

As he drew near, Ning Yongqiang asked with concern, “Mr. Xu, are you and your wife all right? Nothing happened, did it?”

Hearing this, Xu Mo immediately understood. “Young Master Ning, you’ve heard already?”

Ning Yongqiang nodded. “When you didn’t show up, I sent someone to look for you, and everyone in Chicken Crow Alley was talking about it.”

His face darkened with anger. “That scoundrel Xu Tong—what a despicable, shameless thing to do! It’s vile beyond words!”

Xu Mo only shook his head—no amount of anger or invective would solve the problem. Better to keep calm and think of a solution.

After a few more curses, Ning Yongqiang suddenly said, “Mr. Xu, why don’t you and your wife come stay at my house? I’m worried that Xu Tong and his gang will trouble you again. If you live at my place, you’ll have nothing to fear!”