Chapter Forty-Two: Should the Charcoal Kiln Be Sealed or Not?

To tell the truth, when Seventh Uncle was alive, there was nothing particularly unbearable about Seventh Aunt. She was sharp-tongued, yes, but not beyond reason. Yet, ever since Seventh Uncle passed away, the woman had grown increasingly unruly.

The patriarch furrowed his brows. By rights, he ought to rebuke her—a gathering of men discussing business over wine, and yet here she was, a woman neither joining the table nor leaving out of propriety, plopping herself down as if she belonged. But then, recalling that after his seventh nephew’s death, the widow had not remarried in three years, struggling to raise her two children and managing as best she could, he felt she still cared for the Wu family. In the end, the patriarch refrained from harsh words and let her be.

He then turned to Seventh Brother, saying, “Seventh, just listen to Ning. Put this matter aside for now.”

“Tomorrow, have your family come over and learn from Li Wenbo. That way you won’t be caught off guard when the time comes.”

Seventh Brother nodded. “Alright, I’ll do as you say, Patriarch.”

The old patriarch finally found some dignity as head of the family in this. He continued, “Besides, you really can’t start your business just yet. One of the old kilns at the charcoal works has collapsed. Gather a couple of men, repair the kiln first, then we’ll talk about anything else!”

Seventh Brother was handy with masonry—repairs to kilns and walls at the Ning household were usually his tasks. But this time, when the patriarch gave his instruction, Seventh Brother hesitated.

“Patriarch…” he began, troubled, “Let me be frank. If we keep running things the way the Chen family does at their kiln, our few kilns in the hollow won’t last long. Why waste the effort?”

“Exactly!” Seventh Aunt, having barely quieted down, immediately jumped in.

“When I went to Chen Village this time, I didn’t spend much time helping the Chens harvest their fields. Most days, I was in their charcoal works, cutting wood.”

“I heard Old Chen has struck a deal with a big charcoal merchant from Xiangyang and built five new kilns this summer. Their operation is huge.”

Everyone was shocked. “Five more kilns?”

No wonder Seventh Aunt had spent two months there as a summer laborer—Old Chen clearly intended to monopolize the winter charcoal market in Fangzhou.

Seventh Brother hurried to warn the patriarch, “Then you must be cautious. Our kilns in the hollow might not make it through the winter.”

“They must not be shut down!” the patriarch thundered, slamming the table and glaring at Seventh Aunt. “And you, a woman, what business do you have meddling in men’s affairs? Is it your place?”

Seventh Aunt pursed her lips and muttered, “Just saying what’s true.”

“Enough, enough.” Wu Ning, seeing another argument brewing, hurried to smooth things over. “Auntie, say no more. Patriarch is getting on in years, don’t upset him.”

He turned to reassure the old man, “If you say don’t close them, then we won’t. It’s your word that counts. Why be anxious?”

“How can I not be anxious?” The patriarch, still fuming, began to scold Wu Ning. “Your business is unreliable. What if the customers stop coming to this mountain hollow? If we lose the charcoal kilns, how will we survive here?”

He swept his gaze over everyone present. “A bunch of short-sighted fools!”

“Alright, alright,” Wu Ning nodded repeatedly, though he hadn’t seen the patriarch this angry in some time. “Yours is the long view, we’ll do as you say.”

“Work! Keep working! What’s the problem?” Wu Ning echoed the patriarch’s words, pretending to support him as he looked around the group. “So what if Old Chen has ten or more kilns? Even if we’re left with one, it still makes charcoal. Toss the wood in, seal the kiln door, and let it burn. It’s all the same stuff—we sell it just the same!”

He spoke to please, but the patriarch was unimpressed. “Get out of the way! You know nothing, acting like you’re clever.”

Everyone laughed, and Seventh Brother teased, “Ninth, you’ve probably never seen charcoal made, have you?”

“No, I haven’t!” Wu Ning replied, unabashed.

“I knew it,” Seventh Brother laughed. “Seal the kiln door? You’d snuff the fire out!”

The patriarch agreed, “Always using your little tricks. Pretending to know things you don’t.”

“Wait, now, hold on a minute!” Wu Ning protested, lowering his head and raising his arm, trying to assert himself.

Had he missed something? He looked up in confusion. “How do we burn charcoal in our kilns then? We don’t seal the door?”

“Our kilns? No one seals the door on a charcoal kiln!” Seventh Brother began to explain. “The key to making charcoal is controlling the heat—it takes an experienced kiln worker. Too little fire, and the wood won’t turn; too much, and it all turns to ash.”

“You have to keep the fire going for two or three days. If you seal the door, you’ll smother it. How could it burn then?”

Wu Ning was dumbfounded. Why was it so different from what he’d imagined?

He’d read web novels in his previous life, and, though only in passing, he distinctly remembered that in those stories, the charcoal kilns were sealed tight. Could it be…

Suddenly, Wu Ning smacked his forehead. Was this another one of those time-travel quirks?

Thinking on it, he felt some regret. Had he known he’d end up in the Tang dynasty, he would have memorized all those dusty tomes at the Tang family home—The Twenty-Four Histories, the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government, and so on. At the very least, memorizing a couple of time-travel novels would have been useful. Now, he was left with nothing but a few odd tricks.

The others were oblivious to Wu Ning’s frustration. Thanks to his interruption, the patriarch’s anger had cooled considerably. Unfortunately, Seventh Aunt was not one to care about timing or the patriarch’s temper. No sooner had things quieted down than she stirred trouble again.

“Heh, since everyone’s here, I have something I’d like to discuss with the clan head,” she announced.

The patriarch frowned, and Sixth Uncle was displeased. “Seventh Sister-in-law, it’s rare for us to gather at Ning’s home for a good meal. Don’t go making trouble for the patriarch again.”

But such words had no effect on Seventh Aunt. She retorted, “Easy for you to say, Sixth Brother. You’ve never gone hungry.”

“Your family’s doing well—heard you’ve opened a guesthouse these past two months, living the good life with fine food and drink. But have you thought about how, since your brother passed, my family’s been on the brink of not having a meal on the table?”

Sixth Uncle was furious. Ever since Seventh Brother died, he had helped her household more than anyone, yet she showed no gratitude. He snapped, “When have you ever missed a meal? I, Wu Changshan, would rather let my own children go hungry than let Sanhu and Qiao’er lack a meal. I’d leave my own fields fallow to tend yours first!”

“You heartless woman!”

Seventh Aunt fell silent. No matter how shrewish, in front of so many people, one still had to acknowledge reason. Sixth Uncle’s deeds these past two years were beyond reproach. At harvest, Seventh Aunt had left her own fields and gone to Chen Village for extra wages, confident that Sixth Uncle would handle her harvest for her.

Now, head lowered and face pale, she bit her lower lip, gathering her breath. “Anyway, I don’t care. I want to withdraw my share!”

She looked up at the patriarch, ignoring Sixth Uncle completely.

“When the charcoal kilns were built, my husband invested five strings of cash. I want them back.”

“I need the money!”

Wu Ning, snapped out of his thoughts, looked up at Seventh Aunt, a sly smile on his lips.

Well, this was quite a way to withdraw from the partnership!