Chapter 29: The Most Frustrating Moments in Life

Cai Cong waited and waited. He waited through supper, then through the midnight snack, but the imperial decree never arrived. In the end, he could only mutter to himself and go to bed.

Back in Cai Family Village, trouble had arisen. Since the day Cai Gang delivered the bedding and tried to visit Cai Cong at the county office, he had been chased away. No matter how he questioned the yamen runners about Cai Cong, their lips were sealed; not a single word slipped out.

One day passed, then another. As time dragged on, the villagers began to lose hope that Cai Cong would be released. Even Sister Cai felt her expectations dwindling, though she still clung to a faint wish in her heart.

While many worried about Cai Cong, there were those who were overjoyed. Taking advantage of his position, Cai Tian gradually seized control over the beggar’s chicken business. Cai Cong had always run things so that the more one worked, the more one earned. But now, with his grandfather as the clan chief, Cai Tian monopolized the trade. The villagers could only produce the beggar’s chickens; all the sellers were his people. Trouble quickly followed. The villagers’ income plummeted to a pittance, and even the communal grain reserves were appropriated by Cai Tian.

There was no way to resist. Anyone who dared complain would find their door kicked in by night and suffer a beating and the wreckage of their belongings. If you tried to report it to the authorities, you’d be told such household matters were for the clan chief to resolve. If the chief deemed it worthy, he’d submit a petition himself.

Unfortunately, the old man had fallen ill, while Cai Tian stationed men at his door to prevent anyone from seeking help, beating anyone who dared try. Ordinary folk’s greatest skill is enduring hardship: so long as there was enough to eat, they endured, telling themselves that even with less income, it was better than the days when they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from.

Cai Tian, meanwhile, was in high spirits. Now, when he visited the brothel, even the courtesan who had once looked down her nose at him would nestle close, her voice gentle and sweet for fear he’d seek pleasure elsewhere. At the gambling house, he never had to worry about money—even if he lost everything, the casino would lend him more without a word. Everywhere he went, people greeted him as “Master Cai.” The sensation thrilled him to his core.

Only Sister Cai, clutching her large sum of silver, made his eyes burn with envy. Alas, he had yet to find a way to get his hands on her money. He couldn’t simply rob her, not when the beggar’s chicken business was still officially hers and all dues had to be paid in full. All he could do was withhold the villagers’ share, which vexed him to no end.

“Master, you’re here! Please, have a seat—what would you like to play tonight?” The moment Cai Tian entered the gambling house, attendants hurried to serve him. There weren’t many high rollers who lost more than they won but still came back, so naturally, they treated him well.

“I lost yesterday. Today, I’ve come to win it all back. I’ll sweep the tables clean!” Cai Tian announced, his face flushed with excitement. He relished being fawned over. But luck was against him that night. Every bet—whether he chose high or low—went the wrong way. His money dwindled, and others began to use his bets as a guide for what not to do, always betting the opposite.

The peals of laughter and cheers from the winners grated on him, as though mocking his misfortune. There was nothing he could do but scowl and keep betting. Before long, the fifty-odd taels of silver he’d brought were gone, and only then did panic set in.

It might not sound like much, but he had already squandered a fortune in recent days; this fifty taels included some set aside for buying ingredients. Without that, how could they prepare the beggar’s chicken? Who would buy from them?

“Master, there’s no need to fear loss. Would you like to borrow more and try your luck?” Immediately, someone approached him with more silver—gambling houses had always lent at high interest.

“Fine, bring me twenty taels. Damn it, I refuse to believe my luck is this cursed!” Cai Tian gritted his teeth. This wasn’t his first time borrowing; after signing an IOU, someone soon brought him eighteen taels of silver.

But even as the sun set, Cai Tian failed to recover his losses. Instead, he accumulated several IOUs, totaling several hundred taels. He staggered out of the gambling house, dazed. Not only could he not repay such a sum—no one in Cai Family Village could scrape together that amount.

He’d considered paying his debt with the secret recipe, but the final steps were known only to Cai Cong’s confidants, and he couldn’t get hold of them no matter how he tried.

Upon returning home, he found his wife sobbing in the kitchen. Since coming into money, Cai Tian had seldom spent time at home, and when he did, he was never kind to her, finding her coarse and unattractive.

“All you do is cry! You wretched woman, it's no wonder I lost all day—your crying has cursed me! I’ll beat you to death, you jinx!” Seeing her tears, Cai Tian found a target for his frustration. He struck her with a heavy slap, knocking her to the ground, then unleashed his fists and feet upon her.

Panic gnawed at him. He owed several hundred taels, and by tomorrow, the interest would compound. Where was he to find the money? Yet all he could do was vent his rage on his wife.

“Big Brother, stop! You’ll kill Sister-in-law if you keep this up!” At that moment, several of Cai Tian’s friends arrived and, witnessing the scene, hurried to intervene.

“Consider yourself lucky, you wretch. For the sake of my friends, I’ll spare you this time. Why are you still standing there? Go prepare food and wine!” Cai Tian barked, while his wife wiped the blood from her mouth and limped away to tend the firewood.

“Brothers, come with me to the other room. I have something I need your help with.” Cai Tian led the way into the main hall. After much thought, he realized that only Sister Cai possessed so much money.

Once inside, Cai Tian spoke heavily, “Brothers, you’ve eaten and played well these past days, but that life may be over. Soon, you’ll be back to eating coarse grains. Don’t blame me.”

At his words, the mood in the room soured immediately. Someone spat, “What’s that supposed to mean, Cai Tian? Think you’re somebody now, want to kick us aside?”

At the prospect of no more easy money, they even stopped calling him “Big Brother,” addressing him by name. But Cai Tian didn’t care. With feigned remorse, he said, “Do you take me for that kind of man? We’re brothers—good times and bad, together. But I was unlucky today, lost everything at the gambling house, and now I owe several hundred taels. I can’t pay it back; by tomorrow, they might beat me to death. If I die, you’ll lose the benefit of the clan chief’s name, and then you’ll be scraping by, same as before.”

“You—how could you? Without the title, how will I make money?”

“I ought to kill you right now. Didn’t you know your own limits? Thought you were a big shot and dared to rack up such debts?”

A torrent of abuse followed. These so-called friends cared only for themselves; if not for appearances, they’d have beaten Cai Tian bloody on the spot. The thought of returning to poverty was unbearable—so easy to go from frugal to lavish, so hard to go back.

Cai Tian sneered inwardly, knowing these ingrates cared for nothing but their own gain. Suddenly, he slammed the table with a bang, startling everyone into silence, even his wife with the wine and dishes froze at the door.

“All you know is complaining! I’ve got a way to pay off the debt. Once that’s settled, we’ll be back in charge of the beggar’s chicken business, won’t we?”

“Ha! So you had a plan all along—scared me half to death!”

“I knew it! Only a hero like you would dare bet so boldly.”

“Yes, yes, but what’s the plan?” Desperate to keep their comfortable lives, they shamelessly flattered him, forgetting how they’d cursed him moments before.

“Don’t forget, there’s a well-off household in the village—plenty of money and grain, and only a woman and a group of orphans inside. If, on a dark night, some strongmen should rob and kill them, that’s just fate, isn’t it?” Cai Tian’s tone was chilling, his eyes burning with rage. Cai Cong, do you remember how you humiliated me in public? Tonight, I’ll kill your mother and those beggar children, to vent my hatred!

“What? Murder? They’re our kin—Sister Cai is your cousin! Besides, her son isn’t someone to trifle with.”

Someone protested at once. Though killings weren’t rare in those days, they were the work of outlaws. Ordinary folk like them had rarely taken a life.

“What’s so formidable about him? He struck the lord’s men, was arrested nearly a month ago—he may already be dead in prison. Speak up: will you do it or not? If you refuse, don’t blame me when you’re starving, for I gave you a chance!”

Cai Tian spoke with impunity. These men were little more than petty crooks, once content with pilfering chickens, now addicted to spending money in brothels, drinking and gambling. He couldn’t believe they’d willingly give up such a life.

(End of chapter)