Chapter 88 - 88 88 Changes

Words : 1930 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

88: Chapter 88: Changes 88: Chapter 88: Changes “Bro, what do you do for a living?” Xiao Fang said as he poured Liu Hun a cup of wine, then continued, “You might see me chased around like a grandson, but having wandered all over, my eye for people is still pretty sharp. I can tell you’re no ordinary fella.” “Haha, what’s so extraordinary about me? I’m just a rural lad!” Liu Hun replied with a laugh to Xiao Fang. Just as Xiao Fang was about to respond, Ying Nanhong came up smiling with a dish and said, “Listen to him! He’s really quite capable!” “What kind of skills?” Xiao Fang’s interest was piqued instantly. Traveling north and south like a peddler, besides selling his own products, he also needed to look out for other opportunities and talented individuals. These weren’t just dinner table conversation topics but could also potentially be future fortunes. Ying Nanhong smiled gracefully, seated herself nonchalantly next to Liu Hun, and began listing Liu Hun’s capabilities to Xiao Fang, like she was showing off treasures she had collected over the years, able to think of all sorts of things. Xiao Fang, seeing this beautiful woman, could talk the talk and was also successful in running her restaurant lively and bustlingly, figured she was no simple character and must have a good eye for people. So, he put down his wine cup on the table and said to Liu Hun, “Brother Guan, I have a proposition for you, what do you think?” Liu Hun readily responded, “What’s the proposition? Just say it!” Without any hesitation, Xiao Fang blurted out, “Brother Guan, I’ve got quite a bit of fabric shoes on hand. I see that there are quite a few people in the towns under Yongding County, but the market isn’t developed. So, could you think of a way to help me sell these shoes?” Before Liu Hun could even respond, Xiao Fang continued, “Brother Guan, of course, I wouldn’t let you toil for nothing. Sell these twenty thousand pairs of fabric shoes for me, and I’ll split half with you. Plus, I also have business in the county town, and you can come to me for anything you need in the future!” Ying Nanhong glanced at Liu Hun beside her, guessing that after the incident with Xu Gaowang, Liu Hun would definitely not dare to accept. But surprisingly, Liu Hun did accept, slapping the table and saying, “Done! I’ll take on this task, and you’ve got me as a friend too!” “Great! Come on, let’s fill up our cups again!” Xiao Fang really hadn’t expected Liu Hun to agree so readily, and was quite curious to see how Liu Hun would pull it off. After the first crop of tea leaves had been harvested, Wanbao Village finally had some downtime. According to the agreement between Liu Hun and Xiao Fang, Xiao Fang would go to the county town to get the goods, while Liu Hun needed to figure out a way to sell the fabric shoes. Liu Hun thought it over—fabric shoes really weren’t like vegetables and fruits, where you sell continuously. This batch needed to be sold off in one go, without considering long-term business. To quickly sell everything off in one go, he needed to gather people quickly. What method could quickly gather people—A stage for plays! So, Liu Hun drove his tractor to nearby East Town. As he was still sitting on the tractor, thinking about how to discuss this matter with Lin Shanhu, a tumult had already erupted at the Lin Family troupe. “Big senior brother, you tell me! It’s been over two months without any salary, what are we supposed to eat?” a junior asked Wang Tiankun. Wang Tiankun was visibly impatient and snapped, “Go on! As if you’re the only one who knows how to eat? The only one who wants money? Don’t I damn well know how to eat? Don’t I want money? I’d like to eat well, too. But right now, our troupe leader is sick! We haven’t got any gigs, what money do we have to hand out? You want the north wind to blow some your way?” “Big senior brother, but what do we do if this goes on?” another junior asked, looking thoroughly aggrieved. “What to do? How should I know what to do? Have you got pig brains? All you do is ask me what to do?” Wang Tiankun cursed angrily, irked by the thought that Lin Mengmei had promised to marry him and now reneged, and now he couldn’t even get a penny. One of the juniors by Wang Tiankun’s side, hearing this, suddenly displayed a look that thrived on chaos and tentatively said, “If this goes on...do you think our Lin Family troupe will eventually disband?” Another junior, seeing that Wang Tiankun didn’t argue, got the same mischievous thought and added, “Yeah! If we don’t take on gigs and just sit around, what’s the point? And the master won’t release any funds.” “The master is seriously ill and needs money for treatment. Maybe the master has spent all the money on medical bills.” “Look at you, sprouting right from the scallion field, as if you’re the only clever one who knows the master needs money for treatment? Don’t we all know? The problem is, our master has performed for so many years, bought such a large house, he must have saved some money. Seeing us in this state, shouldn’t he take out some money to appease us?” “You’re making sense! This money was earned together by all of us, so why can’t we use some of it now! If we’re just going to hide it, what’s the point? We might as well disband and start our own thing! We can make loads of money following the eldest brother, don’t you think so?” As these words were spoken, I saw some who wanted to be “founding fathers” almost ready to crown themselves; Wang Tiankun felt some hesitation, but this small thought, once blown by the misguided wind, grew uncontrollably. As the eldest disciple, he surely had his reservations about speaking openly, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. After all these years with the master, watching him buy properties and prepare a dowry for his daughter, anyone who said they weren’t envious was lying. “Ahem... about this matter...” Just as Wang Tiankun was about to speak, a voice interrupted him from behind. “What do you want with this matter?” Lin Mengmei walked over with a bowl of medicine in her hand; she had heard the conversation a while ago but had remained silent until she saw Wang Tiankun waver about raising a rebellion, at which point she couldn’t hold back anymore and stepped forward. Seeing it was Lin Mengmei, Wang Tiankun laughed and asked, “Oh, it’s my junior sister. How’s master’s illness?” “How is it? Do you really care? Are you genuinely concerned or just pretending?” Lin Mengmei challenged Wang Tiankun, her heart bleeding from those earlier words. Wang Tiankun’s face turned red, and he retorted, “I am the master’s eldest disciple. Of course, I genuinely care! If I don’t care, then who will? Right?” “Hmph! Really? You think I didn’t hear what you guys were discussing just now?” Lin Mengmei confronted Wang Tiankun and the disciples supporting him, putting everything out in the open, “You want money? Want to start your own faction? Or even take over? You really have the audacity! Have you forgotten what you promised when you first joined?” The disciples all stared wide-eyed, too scared to utter a word, but then a brave one stepped forward and said, “We know to respect the teacher and honor his teachings, but the master, he...” “What about my father? Has he treated you poorly? Has he neglected you? Does he owe you everything...” As Lin Mengmei was heatedly speaking, a doctor hurried out of Lin Bao’s room, interrupting her, “Mengmei! You better go see your father! He... he seems to be fading fast!” “Crash!” Hearing this, Lin Mengmei instantly froze, and the bowl in her hands dropped to the floor, smashing to pieces. She stood stunned for a while until the doctor called out to her again, prompting her to hurriedly run inside. Watching this unfold, Wang Tiankun felt a complex mix of emotions, among which, unbelievably, was joy, a joy that seemed increasingly difficult to contain. “Eldest brother! Eldest brother!” Li, the head of the disciples, called out to the dazed Wang Tiankun, suggesting with a greedy expression, “Eldest brother, what are you thinking? The master is in a bad way; we should go in and see him.” “That’s right! Let’s go! We need to see him!” Wang Tiankun’s heart thumped wildly, his joyful excitement wild as an untamed stallion, as he began to fantasize about taking over as the head of the Lin Family Troupe, living in the best room of this large house, cuddling Lin Mengmei, and commanding his fellow disciples. “Dad! Dad!” Lin Mengmei lay prostrate on Lin Shanhu, crying in agony, never imagining that a simple training exercise would cost her father’s life. “Cough cough cough... cough cough cough...” Lin Shanhu covered his mouth with a handkerchief to cough a few times. When he moved it away, it was covered in blood, indicating serious internal damage. Seeing this, Wang Tiankun knew Lin Shanhu was nearing his end and approached him, feigning concern, “Master! Master! You can’t leave us behind!” Lin Shanhu stared at Wang Tiankun, never having imagined that at this moment, Wang Tiankun was actually hoping for his death. He grabbed Wang Tiankun’s hand with one hand and Lin Mengmei’s hand with the other, then made them hold hands and said, “Mengmei, Tiankun, you two are the ones I care about the most. After I’m gone, don’t mourn for me. Hurry up and get married, and take over the Lin Family Troupe.” After speaking, knowing his daughter’s stubborn personality, he added to Lin Mengmei, “Mengmei, I know you want to go to university and study, but your dad has neither the means nor the ability anymore. From now on, marry Tiankun and live well. Give up on this university dream.” Hearing this, Lin Mengmei cried even harder, Lin Shanhu’s heart also heavy with reluctance to make such a decision, but Lin Mengmei being a woman, definitely couldn’t shoulder the burdon of the troupe alone and would suffer being alone without support eventually. “Dad! Don’t worry! I will definitely not disappoint you! I will lead the Lin Family Troupe to greater heights! Bei loving and compassionate with junior sister, and live a good life! We will surely have a big, healthy son!” Wang Tiankun promised in front of Lin Shanhu, though it sounded more like his own boundless and wonderful fantasies about the future. “Good! Tiankun, take the junior brothers out first, I want to spend some time alone with your junior sister,” Lin Shanhu told Wang Tiankun, wanting to leave the last moments of his life for Lin Mengmei. “Okay!” Wang Tiankun immediately led the disciples out of Lin Shanhu’s room, and once outside, he turned and summoned the doctor, asking, “Doctor, how severe is the troupe leader’s illness really? Is there truly no cure?”

Chapter 88 - 88 88 Changes

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