“No. It was a man who claimed to be a member of the clan. I have never seen him before, so I came looking for patriarch Wang.”

“What’s the matter?” Wang Wenhe came out. Shao Yunan had already stated that he would not enter the house, so he might as well come out himself to save the situation from going out of control. Wang Wenhe’s wife and daughter-in-law also came out. Shao Yunan, with his hands behind his back, righteously said, “Patriarch Wang, today someone brought a bag of rice and a piece of meat to my house, saying that since we are from the same family and clan, they wanted me to teach them the method of making tea. They also said that the jam method I sold to Zhao Lizheng should have been ‘given’ to you, patriarch Wang. I’m here to ask if all the clansmen of the Wang clan think so? Does patriarch Wang and the clan elders also think so? Is it true that whatever ways I think of to make money in the future must be given by me to the Wang clan members without compensation, otherwise it would be ignoring clan affection?

Wang Wenhe’s expression changed. Wang Shuping’s expression also changed, while Wang Qian just scolded. “What kind of shameless thing spills dirty water on our family?” Aunt Wang then stood up and said, “Yunan, who went to your house?” Shao Yunan said loudly, “I don’t know. When he came, he said that he was Shijing’s cousin. He said they were from the same clan and wanted the tea making method. Patriarch Wang, in our family of four, only Wang Shijing’s name is in the family tree, while I, Shao Yunan, is not a part of the Wang clan. It’s also not like the Wang clan members never showed any kindness to our family. Shijing and I will always remember it and repay each person. But some people shouldn’t use this so-called friendship and clan love as a bargaining tool.

“Other than that, when we spoke to Wang Qing and Nizi about entering the clan genealogy, the two children cried and said they were unwilling to do so because they never felt that the Wang clan gave them any protection. The two children also said that they were either beaten or scolded for as long as they could remember. Before the adults of the family even got up, the two children had to get up to feed pigs, chickens, cook, and do the laundry.”

“While Nizi was only two or three years old she already had to wash her Aunt’s clothes. When Wang Zaizheng was studying, Wang Qing had to cook for the family and wash the male family members’ clothes. When he accidentally touched his uncle’s books, he was punished with kneeling all night. Their grandmother and aunt even said in front of them that when Nizi grew up they would sell her to big family as a concubine to earn money, and if Shijing died, they would let Wang Qing take over serving in the army, so that they could not only save silver, but also not waste food on him. This is the impression that the two children have of their relatives and of their clan!”

There was sighing all around and fourth Aunt Wang directly shouted, “Is Wang Dali’s family crazy?!” Wang Wenhe and several clan elders trembled, but it was still a personal family matter. How could such a thing be said aloud? They couldn’t even think of it. Shao Yunan did not intend to give any face to some people, so he directly said, “For Shijing, it goes without saying, as we all know. When I got married, some people never came to the door, let alone help. But knowing that I found a way to make money, they directly came to our door to ask for it, taking it for granted. Not to mention that Wang Qing and Nizi are not willing to be included in the family tree, I, Shao Yunan, am not willing either! Wang patriarch, Shijing and I don’t dare to ask you for anything more, but I still need to ask you to discipline the clan and not always find trouble with my family. If you are still human, don’t force me anymore. If you force me to death, no one will be happy! If you want the tea making method, fine! Give me 10,000 taels! Otherwise don’t even think of it!”

Leaving behind the fierce words and not giving Wang Wenhe a chance to open his mouth, Shao Yunan turned and left. His fierce look made everyone around him not dare to even try to stop him. Wang Wenhe was also furious. Even with all kinds of talk going around, he really didn’t expect that old lady Wang would really treat her eldest son’s family like this. It was no wonder that Shao Yunan would go to the county school. Family or not, they simply gave him no way to live.

“Patriarch, this matter absolutely cannot be tolerated. It really gives us no face!” Old father Wang, who had just returned from the construction site, was very angry. “Who in the clan would dare to have a way to earn money in the future? If anyone has one, wouldn’t it be all for nothing? The method of making jam was figured out by Yunan himself. Others don’t have the ability to do it, so they blame Shao Yunan and others? Which clan patriarch set this clan rule? That if the clan members have a way to earn money, it must be gifted to the clan? Look at what happened in our clan! It’s a disgrace!”

Old father Wang was Wang Wenhe’s elder. Although he was not a clan elder, he still had a lot of prestige in the Wang clan. Old father Wang was also aware of the fact that Shao Yunan had given Uncle Wang a way to make money. Wang Shijing asked him to supervise the construction work because he was too old to work in the fields, so he took special care of him. Shao Yunan’s words made his face burn as a member of the clan and he was even angrier with the shameless people who went to Shao Yunan’s house for the tea making method. When Zhao Lizheng got the news he rushed over. Although he didn’t hear everything from the start, he still understood what was going on. He spoke out with a cold face. “Zhao clan members who do such a thing would be expelled from the clan!”

With just this sentence, Zhao Lizheng stabbed Wang Wenhe directly in the heart. Then leaving with his son, the other onlookers of the Zhao clan also immediately dispersed. Patriarch Sun, who was also present, also followed with a stab. “The Sun clan should also listen carefully. Those who do such things will be expelled from the clan.” Zhao Lizheng’s family had already received tangible benefits, and Shao Yunan said that he would not interfere with what Zhao Lizheng would do with this method. Zhao Lizheng was already planning to use this method to help the clan. The Sun patriarch was Sun Erjiang’s cousin, a true family member. Patriarch Sun was relatively impartial and his relationship with Zhao Lizheng was good, so he could see very clearly that being friends with Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan will definitely not harm the Sun clan. Which farmer could easily get the jade plate of the magistrate? This alone was enough to arouse his attention towards Shao Yunan.

After inserting a knife, the Sun clan patriarch also let his clan members disperse and then left. Wang Wenhe, supported by Wang Shuping, was shaking with anger as he asked, “Who went to Shijing’s house?!” Someone muttered in a low voice, “I think I saw Dafu go to the Shijing’s house with his wife.” Then someone else answered, “I saw it too. It looked like they were carrying meat.” Fourth Aunt Wang immediately sneered, “I told you so, it turned out that that family is also shameless. Patriarch, we Wang clan are really capable people. Shao Yunan and Shijing already told me that they would think of some way to help the clan after the busy farming season is over, but then someone shamelessly went to their door… What did the Dafu family do when Shijing came back from outside? Did they give him food or even a bag of rice? Our family never asked Shijing and Yunan about the tea making method, so from where did they get the face to do that?”

As soon as fourth Aunt Wang finished, someone immediately asked, “Fourth Aunt, Yunan and Shijing really said they would help the clan?” Fourth Uncle Wang just shot back, “Yunan already said that he would repay any kindness shown to him. He knows how to be grateful.”

“…” Many people became silent, while the families who had helped Wang Shijing during the most difficult time when Wang Shijing came back were happy. Several families that already received inside information already unconsciously raised their chin. Wang Wenhe was so angry that he trembled and roared, “Go, go and call Dafu and his wife over!” Today, it was not only the members of the Wang clan who were humiliated, but even a patriarch like him! What did they mean that the jam should be given to him?!

Someone went to call Wang Dafu over, while Wang Dafu’s father, Wang Benchang who was in the crowd and was very ashamed still said, “Dafu is not wrong either. If it weren’t for the help of the clan how could Shijing separate from his family? He also wasn’t the one who should marry Shao Yunan. If Wang Zhisong didn’t withdraw from this marriage, wouldn’t Shao Yunan be someone else’s wife?”

Father Wang opened his mouth and spat out, “So it’s all right for your family to go to Yunan to ask for the tea making method? And it’s all right to ask Yunan to give the jam recipe to the patriarch? Is it also alright to throw dirty water on the patriarch?! If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that it was the patriarch who asked Wang Dafu to ask for the jam recipe for him!”

Wang Wenhe’s face became even darker  and Wang Qian cursed. “Who doesn’t know that your family is the closest to old lady Wang’s family?! If you want the recipe for jam, there is no need to throw dirty water on our family!! Why do these shameless people like to stick together so much? You shameless people are the reason why our Wang family has no peace!”

“Mother.” Wang Shuping stopped his mother and asked his wife to help her go back inside the house. Wang Benchang was younger than Old Father Wang and had little prestige within the clan, but all his family members were fond of taking advantage of others. When Wang Dafu and Chenxiang went to Shao Yunan’s house to ask for the tea making method, Wang Benchang also knew and supported it. Unfortunately, they all underestimated Shao Yunan’s combat effectiveness. To a modern man, a family like Wang Benchang’s was just a farce. How could this type of people have anything to do with him?

Edited by: Jaisland

Proofreader: 

Support translation: