Chapter 5

Outside, the rumors were flying, but Fang Jifan didn’t care at all. He was busy with his accounts. A few days later, Wang Jinyuan began to hire people to move the household items. Manager Yang burst into tears again, almost fainting.

Deng Jian followed behind Fang Jifan pitifully. Fang Jifan was very polite to the people Wang Jinyuan had hired: "Gentlemen, please be careful when you lift. This is a family heirloom of the Fang family. Although our surname has changed, it still has feelings. Be extra careful with this porcelain vase. It’s a Ru kiln vase passed down from my great-grandfather. If it gets damaged, I’ll feel guilty. Come, little Deng, get the gentlemen some water to drink. They are guests, don’t neglect them."

Deng Jian rolled his eyes and bluntly said, "None."

Fang Jifan knew he was being childish. These past two days, Deng Jian had been looking at him with a complex expression. He wanted to ignore it, but then thought, if he ignored it, he wouldn’t be Fang Jifan. How could a Fang family wastrel act so considerately? He had to be cautious. It had been a few days since he last pricked himself; he couldn’t afford to slip up.

So he put on a stern face and roared, "You dog, what do you mean by ‘none’?"

"The tea set has all been sold," Deng Jian admitted, a bit afraid of Fang Jifan, and softened.

Fang Jifan suddenly understood. At the time, he was so excited about selling everything. If the black wood prices soared, it would bring in several times the profit. Driven by greed, Fang Jifan had sold everything for the silver.

Actually, even if the black wood prices hadn’t soared, it wouldn’t have been a big loss. Black wood was still a rare commodity in this era, so he wouldn’t have lost much: "You should have said so earlier. Go with Accountant Liu and buy some household items. Be frugal with the money. The cheaper, the better. The young master needs to save money for big things!"

Deng Jian cried, tears falling, and knelt at Fang Jifan’s feet: "Young master, can’t you change your hobby? Go to the brothel, the gambling den, anywhere, just don’t do big things."

Fang Jifan felt a deep sigh in his heart. If he didn’t do big things, would he be raised to be a waste by everyone around him?

He felt helpless but put his hands behind his back and whistled loudly: "If you keep nagging, I’ll break three of your legs!"

...

With over a hundred thousand taels of silver, all spent on black wood, the market was completely drained. This was another major event in the capital. Fortunately, everyone was already used to the Fang family wastrel’s behavior. Besides mocking it as a topic of conversation, they soon forgot about this absurd act.

Fang Jifan’s antics had the Fang family in an uproar for a whole month. Now, it was scorching summer, and the weather was getting hot. The Xiangfei fans finally had a use. No longer did he have to pretend to be elegant and cool by fanning himself in the cold, which Fang Jifan found purely ridiculous, but he was Fang Jifan.

One early morning, Little Xiang rushed in, and Deng Jian shouted: "Young master, young master, get up... get up..."

Fang Jifan slightly raised his eyes and saw that it was still dark outside, immediately getting angry: "So early in the morning, what’s your problem? Did you take the wrong medicine? Who gets up this early?"

Deng Jian was stomping his feet in a hurry: "Lord... Lord... has returned victorious. The soldiers who accompanied Lord on the expedition just reported that Lord has entered the city and will be home soon. He was supposed to go to the palace to pay respects, but he was worried about the young master and came home first. Young master, get up."

Father... has returned?

Fang Jifan shivered.

Wasn’t it said he wouldn’t return so soon? This trip was to suppress the rebellion of the Yunnan chieftains, where there was much miasma and the barbarian soldiers were cunning, unwilling to easily engage in battle with the court. It was supposed to drag on until the end of the year, but it was only early summer.

Fang Jifan had a vague feeling that things were about to go wrong.

But he put on a calm face and said, "Oh, get dressed, I need to welcome my father..."

The words "my father" had just left his mouth when he saw Deng Jian suddenly look at him with alarm.

Fang Jifan’s heart skipped a beat. What’s going on? What’s wrong?

Deng Jian squinted his eyes, thinking Fang Jifan’s illness had flared up again, and muttered, "The young master has never called Lord ‘father’ before."

You beast!

Fang Jifan cursed inwardly. Is this man even human? Worse than a pig or a dog, not even recognizing his father.

He had to cough and say, "The young master has grown up, can’t he be a bit more sensible? The young master hasn’t finished speaking, and you dare to interrupt? Humph, what I meant was, the young master needs to go welcome that old man, my father!"

Deng Jian immediately beamed with relief, as if a great weight had been lifted: "That’s right. I was scared to death just now, really afraid the young master’s illness hadn’t fully recovered. Manager Yang has already written to Lord to report the good news. If Lord returns and finds out the young master’s illness isn’t fully recovered, he will definitely punish me. Now seeing the young master completely recovered, I feel..."

At this point, he choked up, tears of joy streaming down his face.

Fang Jifan’s heart was in turmoil. He let Little Xiang help him dress. Once he was fully dressed, he saw Little Xiang looking down, blushing as she looked at her embroidered shoes. Fang Jifan suddenly remembered and put on a mischievous look: "Little Xiang, you’ve grown up..."

He gave her a quick pinch, and outside, the sound of firecrackers could be heard. Fang Jifan rushed out of the room like he was escaping. At the Fang family’s main gate, he saw a martial official, a valiant man, just dismounting his horse. Manager Yang led a row of over a dozen servants.

The martial official was broad-shouldered and muscular, looking very fierce. He had a square face and a square mouth, which contrasted sharply with Fang Jifan’s delicate and handsome appearance...

Could I be the son of the neighbor, Old Wang?

Fang Jifan secretly stuck out his tongue.

Fang Jifan’s father, Fang Longjing, had a stern and fierce look. As he looked around, he exuded a killing aura. But when he saw Fang Jifan, his sharp gaze instantly softened. He took a few quick steps forward, grabbed Fang Jifan, and said, "Jifan, you were ill, and I was anxious in the southern border. But the war couldn’t be delayed, so I took a risk and advanced. Fortunately, heaven blessed us, and the rebellion was quickly quelled. I rushed back, and on the way, I heard that your illness had recovered. Truly, our ancestors have blessed us."

So, it was because of his illness that his father had taken such risks and hurried back. No wonder he returned so early.

Fang Jifan felt a strong sense of paternal love, his heart melting. He looked up at this stranger and said, moved, "Father..."

The word "father" had just left his mouth when he saw a hint of suspicion cross Fang Longjing’s face.

Manager Yang, the doctor, and Fang’s doctor all looked surprised.

Sigh...

Fang Jifan had to steel himself and laughed loudly, "You old man, you’re finally back."

"Ha ha!" Fang Longjing also laughed, his suspicions gone. How could his son, Little Fang, have a brain disease? He’s perfectly normal, just like before! He patted Fang Jifan’s shoulder and said, "Good son, let’s go inside. Since you’re better, you haven’t done anything bad, have you?"

Hearing his light and teasing tone, it seemed that even if he had done something bad, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Indeed, a father knows his son best.

No wonder a wastrel like Fang Jifan would emerge. Such indulgence would ruin any son.

Fang Jifan sighed inwardly. What had to come would come: "What bad things could I do? I just sold some land."

Fang Longjing still laughed and said, "Just selling land, ha ha. Selling a few dozen acres isn’t a big deal. Sell as much as you want. If you need money, just tell your father. In the future..."

Fang Longjing suddenly noticed that Manager Yang looked like he had lost his mother and felt a chill in his heart: "How many acres did you sell?"

"Several thousand!" Fang Jifan said, "To be precise, over two thousand acres."

"Two... two... thousand... acres..."

Page break for ads

Page break for ads end