Chapter 204: “Brother Tree”

At the three quarters into the hour of the Pig (9:45 PM), the bright moon hung high in the sky, and most households in Lexiang County had settled into silence.

Only Ansi Courtyard remained lively.

Under the kumquat tree, Wei Hai, his face flushed and reeking of alcohol, held up his wine bowl and clinked it against the tree. Then, he poured half of the wine onto the tree’s roots before gulping down the rest in one go.

Hic!

Letting out a drunken hiccup, Wei Hai leaned against the tree trunk and chuckled.

“Brother Tree, listen to me…”

“I’ve been troubled by something lately…”

“Can you guess what it is?”

Saying this, Wei Hai pressed his ear against the tree trunk and nodded, responding with a few “Mhm, mhm, that’s right.”

“As expected, Brother Tree understands me best!”

“My son—ever since Mr. Gu—oh, and your kumquat—cured his illness…”

“He’s been fully devoted to the tavern and to me and his mother.”

“Such a filial child!”

“But every time I bring up finding him a wife and arranging a marriage, that rascal either brushes me off or makes excuses to run away!”

“He’s not getting any younger, he’s got good prospects—so why isn’t he getting married and having children sooner?”

The tree’s leaves rustled, producing a soft shasha~ sound.

“Exactly! Exactly!”

“How can I not be worried?”

“Brother Tree, you follow Mr. Gu, so you must be smarter than me… Give me some advice!”

Shasha~ shasha~

“Huh?”

“‘Forcing a melon off the vine makes it taste bitter’? You mean if I push too hard, he’ll just resent it?”

Shasha~ shasha~

“You’re suggesting I arrange for a few young women to work at the tavern?”

“Let feelings develop naturally over time?”

“Brother Tree, your idea is good—but I’ve already tried that…”

“I sent three young ladies before, but each one ended up leaving in tears!”

“When I confronted him about it, he actually looked me in the eye and told me that next time I hire help, I must let him approve them first. Said something about wages not being the issue, but if any step in the brewing process was mishandled, it would ruin our reputation!”

Shasha~ shasha~

Wei Hai picked up a wine jar, poured himself another drink, and let out a long sigh.

“Brother Tree, you really get me! Let’s drink—let’s drink!”

The crystal-clear wine splashed into his bowl, while droplets scattered at the base of the kumquat tree’s roots.

Not far away, Gu Ning’an, who was sipping tea at the stone table, couldn’t help but activate his spiritual power, channeling it into his eyes to carefully examine Wei Hai and the kumquat tree.

After confirming that neither man nor tree was under the influence of any “unclean presence,” he finally spoke.

“Brother Wei, do you want to have some tea to sober up?”

Wei Hai waved him off.

“No need! I’m not drunk, Sir… If you’re tired, go ahead and rest. Tonight, I’m going to drink to my heart’s content with Brother Tree!”

…The kumquat tree indeed has some spiritual energy, but… can you really understand what it’s trying to say?

Gu Ning’an smiled helplessly, stood up, and said, “Alright then, I’m off to bed. You two… have a good chat.”

“Hmm! Goodnight, Mr. Gu!”

Shasha~ shasha~

After returning to his room, Gu Ning’an didn’t go to sleep immediately. Instead, he opened the letter Wei Hai had brought and began reading it.

As a former top scholar, Wen Songmo’s handwriting was exceptionally elegant. The letter spanned thousands of words, each character meticulously written—neat, refined, and easy on the eyes.

In the letter, Wen Songmo first extended his New Year’s greetings to Gu Ning’an and explained his regrets for not being able to visit in person.

He then expressed his gratitude for the kumquat that Gu Ning’an had given him. After all, aside from Wei Hai and the others, his only remaining family was probably “Round Ball.”¹

He mentioned that “Round Ball” had become even more energetic lately, no longer resembling an old dog that had lived for over twenty years.

After some casual talk about his daily life, Wen Songmo got to the real issue—just how exhausting the “mess” in Xiangzhou was.

In a few short months, he had managed to return all the wealth that the fake magistrate had extorted from the people and merchants.

The reason he was able to do it so quickly was that the fake magistrate had a habit of keeping detailed accounts.

However, while most of the money was successfully returned, some merchants still couldn’t be compensated. Some of the funds had been squandered by the fake magistrate, while others had flowed into different jurisdictions.

The squandered money was unrecoverable, and the funds that had ended up elsewhere—if discovered—were seized by those territories. As for the money that wasn’t found, there was no way to trace it.

But that wasn’t the biggest problem…

The real issue was that Xiangzhou’s merchants and business owners were dwindling.

Everyone was “afraid”—afraid that Xiangzhou would only stay stable for a short while before reverting to its old ways. So, those who had the means had already moved their businesses elsewhere.

With fewer merchants, a chain reaction of problems followed.

Take grain merchants, for example. With them gone, farmers no longer had a stable channel to sell their crops.

Without a proper distribution channel, farmers had to sell their grain themselves, which led to wildly fluctuating prices.

As a result, conflicts between farmers and buyers escalated. No one wanted to suffer a loss, and everyone wanted a better deal, leading to an increasing number of disputes being taken to the local magistrate’s office.

Food shortages, economic struggles, tax issues… Governing a prefectural city that influenced dozens of counties and hundreds of villages—small problems accumulated over time, taking root and becoming incredibly difficult to resolve.

After finishing the letter, Gu Ning’an picked up his brush and paper. Drawing from his past life’s experience in writing policy essays, he proposed several possible solutions.

For example, he suggested establishing a Farmer’s Bureau, led by village chiefs from various counties and villages, to centralize grain collection. The Xiangzhou county office could then regulate pricing, purchase the grain collectively, and distribute it in a unified manner—ensuring stable income for the farmers.

He wrote several similar proposals. However, implementing them all would be an arduous task, and ultimately, Wen Songmo would have to decide which measures to prioritize.

After sealing the reply in an envelope and placing it on the table, Gu Ning’an could still hear Wei Hai outside, drunkenly rambling to the kumquat tree about family matters.

With a chuckle, he blew out the oil lamp, cast a silencing spell, walked to his bed, loosened his robes, and lay down to sleep.