Chapter 13: Finally Arrived

Midnight struck twelve.

On the island.

“Acquired the Qing Nang Book. Study it?”

“Yes, study it.”

Lin Shaowen’s expression was filled with excitement.

Finally, he had waited for this moment. Even without much knowledge before, he knew that the Qing Nang Book was a work by Hua Tuo, and it was one of those lost ancient texts.

Countless traditional Chinese medical insights flooded his mind—this time he was truly set.

“The second catch…”

“Acquired one hundred jin of vegetables.”

“Bad luck.”

Lin Shaowen cursed under his breath and cast his fishing rod back into the sea.

After a while,

“Acquired the Luban Book. Study it?”

“Study it.”

An immense wealth of carpentry knowledge surged into his mind, leaving him overjoyed. It was like receiving a pillow just when you felt sleepy. He had been planning to find a reliable carpenter to make furniture, but with the Luban Book, he could just do it himself.

Otherwise, he would have to spend ages explaining to the carpenter what exactly he wanted.

“Time to sleep, time to sleep.”

Lin Shaowen returned to bed, fully satisfied.

The next day.

The courtyard was abuzz again.

Leidali was directing workers carrying wood toward the west wing of the backyard. The bark had already been stripped off the timber, revealing intricate patterns that amazed many onlookers.

It was the weekend, and everyone in the courtyard had come out to watch the spectacle.

“Where did this kid get so much money?” Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth.

“Exactly. How long has he been working?” Liu Haizhong said with envy.

“This must be worth at least a hundred yuan,” Yan Bugui began calculating.

“A hundred? It must be over a thousand.”

The rarely seen elderly deaf lady’s words caused a shock.

“Grandma, how much did you say?” Yan Bugui swallowed nervously.

“Do you know what kind of wood this is, boy?” the deaf lady sneered.

“I… I don’t recognize it,” Yan Bugui shook his head.

“Ancestor, what kind of wood is this?” Yi Zhonghai asked urgently.

Over a thousand yuan? Once he figured this out, he’d definitely report Lin Shaowen.

He had worked diligently for decades to save less than three thousand yuan, yet this young guy Lin Shaowen had thousands? Even if he wasn’t stealing, it must be some shady business.

“This is golden-thread nanmu wood. In the past, emperors were buried using this kind of timber,” the deaf lady said with envy.

Now that she was half-buried in the earth herself, if she could get a set of golden-thread nanmu coffins, she would die in peace.

“Whoa!”

Everyone gasped.

Golden-thread nanmu wood—though everyone lived in the city, this was something only found in legends.

“Report that little bastard,” Jia Zhangshi shouted.

“Yes, report him,” Liu Haizhong agreed.

Yan Bugui said nothing but was clearly tempted.

“Will the wood be confiscated if we report him?” Shazhu asked curiously.

Though he had cooked a meal for Lin Shaowen and they had shared drinks, he still stood on the side of the elder—the elder’s authority was sacred and untouchable.

“Don’t report him now,” Yi Zhonghai said mysteriously. “Wait until he turns the wood into furniture. If he goes to jail… whoever registers the house will get the stuff.”

“That’s right,” Shazhu slapped his forehead.

Indeed, old hands were always wiser.

“But we can’t let him turn all the wood into furniture,” the deaf lady said.

Yi Zhonghai immediately understood. “Don’t worry, ancestor.”

He knew the deaf lady’s intention: she just wanted to keep some of the wood to make a coffin.

“A small problem,” Liu Haizhong spoke up. “If… I say if, our house registration doesn’t come through, what then?”

“If the house registration fails, can’t you still move the furniture?” Jia Zhangshi scoffed.

The crowd exchanged glances, tacitly agreeing not to say more.

He Yushui, who had been silent, looked shocked, and Qin Huairu was frightened.

Were they really okay with scheming against Lin Shaowen so blatantly?

Jia Dongxu was still alive, and she hadn’t yet been broken by life—she still had some morals.

At this moment, Lin Shaowen was unaware of their schemes. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.

“Keep the money safe,” Lin Shaowen handed the money to Leidali.

He never asked whose timber it was.

“Thanks, boss,” Leidali happily pocketed the money, making a fifty yuan profit from start to finish.

After patting his shoulder, Lin Shaowen pushed the cart and left.

Yi Zhonghai and the others awkwardly turned their heads upon seeing him.

Lin Shaowen ignored them and rode his bike to the supply and marketing cooperative.

When he returned, there was a set of carpentry tools on the bike.

“Xiao Lin, are you… going to make furniture?” Yan Bugui was surprised.

“Just trying my hand,” Lin Shaowen smiled.

“No, you can’t just try. What if you ruin the wood?” Yan Bugui warned anxiously.

“Yeah, Xiao Lin, I know a carpenter. I can introduce one to you,” Yi Zhonghai hurriedly added.

“You little bastard, don’t mess around. If you ruin the wood, you’ll regret it,” Jia Zhangshi said.

“I could just burn it all up, and it wouldn’t be your problem, right? Ridiculous,” Lin Shaowen rolled his eyes and was about to return to the courtyard when Jia Dongxu suddenly grabbed him.

“Lin Shaowen, don’t mess around.”

“Are you crazy? Let go of my bike,” Lin Shaowen said irritably.

“I… I just don’t want you to waste things,” Jia Dongxu stammered.

“Waste what? Waste your wife?” Lin Shaowen blurted out.

Suddenly, all eyes turned to Qin Huairu.

“Xiao Lin, you filthy rogue.”

Qin Huairu covered her face and fled.

“You, Lin, what nonsense are you spouting?” Jia Dongxu exploded. The words stung, though not much, but the insult was severe.

“Hey, don’t get worked up. I really haven’t done anything with your wife,” Lin Shaowen said awkwardly.

“You little bastard, you’ve had your eye on that prostitute all along, haven’t you?” Jia Zhangshi glared at Lin Shaowen.

“No, if you call your wife a prostitute, then what about your son…” Lin Shaowen began, but everyone understood his meaning.

“Haha!”

Shazhu laughed, and soon the entire courtyard was filled with laughter.

Even Yi Zhonghai couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Lin, I’m going to settle this with you,” Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth and charged.

Lin Shaowen didn’t dodge. He grabbed Jia Dongxu’s hair and tripped him, pinning him to the ground.

“You little bastard, how dare you hit my son…”

Jia Zhangshi rushed forward, but before he could reach Lin Shaowen, Lin used his foot to hook him, causing Jia Zhangshi to lose balance and fall forward.

Jia Zhangshi landed on Jia Dongxu, nearly crushing him to the point of coughing blood.

“Enough! I admit I was wrong. Stop this nonsense.”

Lin Shaowen stood up and brushed off the dust.

“No, this isn’t over,” Jia Dongxu shouted fiercely from beneath Jia Zhangshi.

“What do you want, then?”

Lin Shaowen lit a cigarette and handed one to the elusive Yan Bugui.

“You…”

Jia Dongxu thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with a good way to punish Lin Shaowen.

“Compensation. You have to pay,” Jia Zhangshi shouted.

“Yes, pay up… five yuan, no, ten yuan, or this isn’t over. I’ll report you to the authorities,” Jia Dongxu threatened. “Think carefully—if this blows up, who’d want to marry you?”

The third page ends here.