Chapter 783 - 782: Night Talk
Deep into the night, when all was silent, the only sounds in the mountain cave were the crackling of burning wood and the intermittent snoring.
Occasionally, a hunter who hadn’t fallen asleep would whisper secrets.
In Loo Xiaoshan’s family cave, the couple lay on the heated kang bed, discussing who in the family should be sent to learn the art of tea-frying.
Loo Xiaoshan’s Wife naturally hoped her own man would go since he was not too old yet. By the end of the year, after dividing the silver, they could build a house and still have money to spare every year.
If her man learned this craft, even if they didn’t live as well as others for ten years, at least he would be safe. She wouldn’t have to be scared every time he went into the mountains, afraid that he wouldn’t return or that he would come back maimed, wondering how the whole family would survive then.
"Head of the household, it’s only right that you learn the skill! If Boss Zhang really gives us that much silver every year, we can live thriftily and get by. Once you master it, Eldest Brother will have grown up. You could secretly pass the tea-frying skill to him. When he’s learned it, let Eldest Brother fry tea for another family. Wouldn’t our life be better then?" Loo Xiaoshan’s Wife had her plans all figured out.
Loo Xiaoshan flatly refused, "That won’t do at all! What kind of people would we be then? Would that be fair to Scholar’s Lady? Would that be fair to Boss Zhang? You see those people outside, how many years they’ve suffered to learn a skill, how much silver they’ve poured into their training, and after more than a decade, they might not learn anything."
"Boss Zhang is kind-hearted, and the Scholar’s Lady must have said many good words on our behalf to fight for this opportunity for us. We mountain-folk can’t be ungrateful, we can’t do something so treacherous! Let’s not discuss who from our family should go learn. Even if one of us goes, we can’t spread this skill without the boss’s permission!"
"Who in the outside world would teach you a skill, and on top of that, provide food and clothing, and some pocket money? Although we people from Yingzi Gully are poor, we can’t do such a thing! Don’t you ever bring this up again! Or I won’t let it slide! Don’t even mention it in front of the kids, understand?"