TTTQF Chapter 140

Happiness Purrs

"Big brother, when are we going to arrive?" Xiao Shitou peeks out the carriage window and then turns back to ask.

Jiang Miao doesn’t even look up. “That’s the ninth time you’ve asked that.”

Xiao Shitou pouts. "Then can I go out and ride a horse?"

Jiang Miao shakes his head mercilessly. “No, that’s the seventh time you’ve asked that.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Xiao Shitou turns to look out at the scenery again. Pei Mu, petting the now-grown Xiao Baidian, watches him in puzzlement, wondering why Xiao Shitou is so impatient. Compared to being stuck all day in school reading books, he much prefers traveling with Brother Miao and the others like this.

Xiao Baidian lets out a lazy meow, likely in agreement. This black cat, well-fed and well-kept, has grown larger than any of the local cats, its fur sleek and glossy—nothing like the scrawny kitten it once was. The patch of white fur on its head now looks even more like the shape of a moon. Sometimes, when Jiang Miao sees it, he’s tempted to call it "Bao Heitan" (Little Black Coal).

Today marks their fourth day traveling toward Cangzhou to take up their posts. For most of these four days, they’ve been inside the carriage, even sleeping in it at night.

From the East Gate, they enter the main road, and after a turn at a nearby fork, they head toward Cangzhou. Since few merchants travel this way, there are few places to stay along the route.

Jiang Miao is curious to experience the “abandoned temple” lodgings of the classics, but when Pei Che and the others see the actual temple ruins, they look so horrified, as if entering would mean risking their lives. Jiang Miao decides against it.

Fortunately, their carriage is large, and with Jiang Miao's suggestions and the artisans’ skillful modifications, it's nothing like the average carriage. First, the seats inside—previously fixed wooden planks that can't be removed—leave little room for sleeping. 

Jiang Miao proposes that the craftsman make these seats detachable, so the panels can flatten and combine, forming a sort of bed. Laying a blanket over it makes for a rather comfortable sleeping arrangement.

Then, there is the carriage roof. Originally, it’s just covered with standard rainproof fabric, but in heavy rain, water seeps through the seams, leaving the interior damp. Jiang Miao has several layers of thick oil paper sewn under the rain cloth and fastened to the roof, ensuring that even in a downpour, there are no leaks. Additionally, he has a black cloth cover made to absorb some of the heat when the sun is strong, preventing it from heating the interior directly.

Finally, Jiang Miao has the carriage’s base raised, creating an empty compartment below for luggage storage, with wooden railings around the edges to prevent anything from falling out. For extra security, items can also be tied down with ropes if needed.

This modified carriage is the perfect vehicle for comfortable travel. Even Old Master Feng can’t help but feel a twinge of envy—he worked hard on the road in his early years, and if he had a carriage like this, he would have endured far less hardship.

Of course, the carriage’s upgrades come with one drawback: it’s heavier than an ordinary carriage and therefore a bit slower. But they aren’t racing anyone—comfort and safety are the priorities.

“Let’s stop here for the night,” Pei Che says, lifting the curtain to look outside.

He has chosen a spot by a river, about two meters wide, with a gentle slope on the near side, covered in wildflowers and green grass, making for a beautiful scene.

“Alright,” Jiang Miao agrees readily, obviously satisfied with the spot. His gaze, however, is focused not on the slope but on the river itself.

A river means fish, and after days of eating mostly dried provisions from home, even his cooking can’t quite stave off the craving for something fresh.

The three carriages behind them also come to a halt, and when the drivers hear Pei Che’s decision to spend the night here, they unharness the horses and lead them downstream to drink and graze. Chan Yi and Wenjing bring out the cooking utensils, setting them on a foldable table, while a few guards take out hoes to dig and set up the stove—a task they are already quite accustomed to by now.

Nearly everyone is busy, Jiang Miao included. He picks up a long stick, borrows some thread and needles from Chan Yi, and begins crafting a fishing rod, hoping to catch a couple of fish from the river.

Hearing that his brother is going fishing, Xiao Shitou grows interested and drags Pei Mu over to a patch of richer soil, eagerly digging for worms with a small shovel.

Pei Che glances around, feeling a bit out of place with everyone working while he is idle.

Jiang Miao, tired of Pei Che’s wandering, points to another stick he has picked up. “Sharpen the end of this stick. If I can’t catch anything, you can just spear a few fish.”

Pei Che takes the order and picks up the stick, moving off to the side. The nearby mountains are so bare you can almost see the top at a glance; otherwise, he would definitely pull out his bow to hunt some game for food.

Jiang Miao uses the time to finish making the fishing rod. He threads the half of a worm that Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu have dug up onto the hook and swings it hard, casting it out into the river, then settles in to wait.

The river is indeed full of fish. Perhaps because they have lived peacefully without anyone hunting them, these fish are quite bold, swimming near the rod and even trying to nibble on the worm.

Growing a bit impatient, Jiang Miao finally sees a fish bite. He grips the rod with both hands and gives a strong yank. Unfortunately, the fish hasn’t bitten firmly enough, and as it is jerked out of the water, it panics, gives a sharp flick of its tail, and splashes back into the river, leaving only a circle of ripples on the water surface.

“Sigh!” The sighing sound comes simultaneously from three mouths. Jiang Miao looks at the disappointed faces of Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu, clears his throat, and says, "See? You can’t rush things. If I wait for the fish to bite firmly, I’ll catch it."

“Mm-hmm!” The two little ones nod furiously, showing not a hint of objection to Jiang Miao’s timely lesson. But they’ve only managed to dig up half of a worm—the other half has squirmed back into the soil and disappeared, so now they are out of bait. What to do?

Just as Jiang Miao is about to get up to dig for more, Pei Che’s voice comes from beside him. "Just watch me." His tone carries a barely hidden self-assurance, clearly confident in the stick he has sharpened.

His words instantly draw the kids’ attention, and they turn toward Pei Che, eagerly waiting for him to display his prowess.

Pei Che smiles, turns to face the river, locks onto a fish swimming below, and then, with sharp focus, thrusts the pointed stick down hard.

In that moment, Jiang Miao’s mind flashes to an image from an elementary school textbook: a boy holding a harpoon and fiercely stabbing at prey. Unfortunately, Pei Che’s result is the same—he stabs only air.

Looking puzzled, Pei Che can’t understand why he’s missed. He is sure he has aimed directly at the fish.

Jiang Miao laughs out loud without holding back. “Weren’t you telling us to watch you? Watch you stab at the air? Doesn’t look like you’re up to it, does it?”

Pei Che shoots him a glance, presses his lips together, and then turns back to the water. Fixing his eyes on the calm river, he aims at the fattest fish he can find and thrusts again, only to miss once more. He repeats this several times, all to shake off Jiang Miao’s “not up to it” comment.

Seeing this, Jiang Miao realizes Pei Che is getting stubborn about it. If he doesn’t step in to calm him down, Pei Che will likely be at it till midnight.

“It’s fine if we don’t have fish. I notice some fresh wild greens nearby; we can just eat those,” Jiang Miao says, trying to ease the situation.

Hearing this, Pei Che turns to stare directly at Jiang Miao. “Are you saying I won’t manage to catch even one fish?” His expression hints at fierce determination—if Jiang Miao dares to nod, Pei Che seems ready to spear fish until he catches one just to prove him wrong.

Alright, maybe that doesn’t help.

Naturally, Jiang Miao can’t nod. Pretending not to understand, he leans closer, looks at the fish Pei Che is aiming at, and says, “You know, sometimes water can trick your eyes. For instance, the fish seems to be here, but it’s probably… over there!”

Refraction—high school physics that Jiang Miao is glad he hasn’t forgotten.

Pei Che’s attention shifts to Jiang Miao’s advice. He hesitantly aims at the new spot, and though he doesn’t catch the fish, this time he doesn’t just hit empty water; his stick actually makes contact.

With the trick now understood, Pei Che waits for the fish to settle back into place, then aims at one from a lower angle and strikes. The fish’s tail thrashes wildly, splashing water everywhere. The two kids gasp in amazement—they hadn’t expected Pei Che to actually catch one.

“Well? Am I… good or not?” Pei Che asks, lowering his voice on those last words, carrying a subtle tone that makes Jiang Miao’s ears warm and face flush.

He regrets ever coaching him!

Although he thinks this, Jiang Miao still says, “Good, very good! Catch a few more for everyone’s dinner.”

With a confident “Leave it to me,” Pei Che passes the fish to Jiang Miao and readies himself for the next catch.

Jiang Miao takes the fish over to where Chan Yi and the others have prepared the cooking tools, and he begins to clean and prep it.

Dinner includes a grilled fish for each person, along with stir-fried wild greens and cured meat, a chilled wood-ear mushroom salad, bamboo shoot stew with cured ribs, and steamed rice as the main dish. The group eats enthusiastically, savoring each dish. At first, the guards are a bit reserved, but they gradually relax around the others. They think about joining in to catch fish earlier but don’t want to disturb Pei Che and Jiang Miao’s fun, so they are thrilled to eat fish personally speared by their young master. Xiao Baidian, too, is happily gnawing on a small fish, purring contentedly.

After the meal, Jiang Miao takes the three of them on a walk along the riverbank. A gentle breeze sweeps by, and they all feel deeply at ease.

It is now early May, and the weather is steadily warming as the Dragon Boat Festival approaches. Remembering how his rice dumplings brought in profits for the Jiang family shop around this time last year, Jiang Miao feels a surge of excitement. Those managing the shop this year should still be making them, right? That kid Tang Lin craves money just as much as he does.

Before leaving, Jiang Miao renegotiates a contract with Tang Lin, granting him full responsibility over the shop. His monthly earnings are now based on profit-sharing instead of a fixed salary. This means his income is tied directly to the shop’s success—the better business goes, the more he earns; if business is slow, so are his profits. After all, managing his own shop can’t have the same outcome as managing someone else’s.

Still, Jiang Miao doesn’t want to take any chances. While he has the support of the Duke’s household behind him and figures Tang Lin wouldn’t dare betray him, he also knows that greed can lead anyone astray. So he arranges for Li Ping and Jiang Yu to handle the accounting and deposits, with the monthly proceeds being stored by Manager Wu of the Jiang residence.

Li Ping isn’t one to speak much, but he has a sharp eye for numbers and is hard to deceive. Since this task comes with added responsibility, Jiang Miao allocates a small share of profits to the couple as a bonus, though they insist they can’t take more. In truth, Jiang Miao wants to offer some extra support for Jiang Yu.

Jiang Miao also makes provisions for his Second Uncle’s family. He instructs Manager Wu to ensure gifts are sent during the three major festivals each year. Additionally, he hires workers to help during spring planting and fall harvest, covering the head tax as well. If Jiang Miao personally manages these tasks, his Second Uncle might have some complaints, but if he arranges for someone like Manager Wu to handle them, his uncle, even if hesitant, finds it hard to refuse. Especially with someone as persuasive as Manager Wu, who can talk anyone into a corner.

…

That night, they rest in the carriage. By the sixth day of travel, they begin to pass a few houses along the roadside, meaning they now have occasional lodgings and no longer have to sleep in the carriage.

On the tenth day, a heavy rainstorm hits, cooling the stifling heat but also bringing bad news. The mountain slope near the official road into Cangzhou collapses from the rain, with a massive landslide blocking the mountain pass entirely.

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