Uncle Troubles

The rickety clutter of an oxcart can be heard outside the Jin family's gate around noontime.

The seedlings have arrived.

Soon enough, a regular-looking man in his early thirties knocked on the door and asked to see Fu Mei Li.

This man introduced himself as Yan Xiadong. The seedling shop involved their whole family and the shopkeeper that Mei Li initially interacted with in town was Yan Xiadong's father.

There were 260 seedlings in total in this delivery and Mei Li was so happy to see these little green plants that will soon bring her a lot of deliciousness.

Weimin came out and assisted Yan Xiadong and Mei Li in transferring the seedlings from the ox cart to the inner courtyard.

"Thank you, Uncle Yan! Here's the remaining half of the payment as promised." Mei Li handed the 35 taels that she prepared beforehand.

Yan Xiadong happily accepted the silver. He grinned from ear to ear for having completed this large transaction.

"Uncle Yan, have lunch with us first before you go back." Mei Li invited him seeing as it was noontime.

Yan Xiadong tried to decline a few times but eventually accepted the invitation.

During the meal, Mei Li asked a few questions regarding Yan Xiadong's family shop and its products.

She learned that Yan Xiadong's family have been doing their seedlings business for two generations now.

He and his brothers, as well as his sons and even a few cousins, go out to visit towns and cities near the Silk Road. They also have connections with merchants that were based around the empire's major trade ports.

Mei Li was pleasantly surprised at the extent of their business. She was also looking forward to getting more valuable plants and crops from the Yan family's shop.

As such, Mei Li entreated Yan Xiadong to be on the lookout for peppercorns and other useful seedlings and fruit trees. She also told him to keep delivering to her all the strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes that he could gather. The more the better. She would take them all!

Yan Xiadong gladly took note of Mei Li's requests. Although he was wondering why this young woman was so intent on gathering decorative berries and other strange plants, he did not probe further. All he cared about was making big business.

So, Yan Xiadong promised Mei Li that he will extend great efforts to find these plants for her.

After Yan Xiadong left, Mei Li was about to survey the inner and back courtyards and come up with an efficient garden layout for her berries and tomatoes.

Before she could get any work done, though, noisy clamor could be heard at the gate.

The two Sheng uncles barged into their residence looking as if they could eat the Jin family whole.

The older of the two was named Sheng Bao and the younger was called Sheng Bojing.

They were the older brothers of Sheng Weilan, the Jin brothers' deceased mother. The Jin and Sheng family used to have a good relationship. They were the two richest families in the village and even had a marriage connection.

Unfortunately, Sheng Weilan became sickly and eventually died in the Jin household. Grandma Sheng, the Jin brothers' maternal grandmother, blamed the whole Jin family for not taking good care of her daughter.

At first, the Sheng family willingly helped the Jins and lent them money, all for the sake of Weilan's wellbeing.

But when Weilan died, the relationship between the Jin and Sheng families immediately soured. It has deteriorated to the point that the Shengs considered the Jins an unlucky family and the Jin brothers as good-for-nothings.

Grandma Sheng often lamented that she should not have married off her daughter to the Jin household. But she never actively made trouble for her grandsons.

Unfortunately, the two uncles, Sheng Bao and Sheng Bojing, have a greedier nature. Seeing as their family had fallen out with the Jins and that the nephews had become orphans, they viewed it as a good chance to swallow the Jin family's properties.

Sheng Bao and Sheng Bojing often made trouble for the Jin brothers and always harangued them about their debts and blamed them for Sheng Weilan's death. They intended to browbeat the brothers into giving up some or even all of their farmlands.

The two uncles were seething with fury when they arrived and looked around the inner courtyard menacingly.

The Sheng uncles were hopping mad because yesterday they heard the gossip that Mingyu and Shufen went to town with their wife. When they got back, their baskets were loaded with food. And then today, a cartful of plants was even delivered to their house.

It looked like the Jin brothers came across some money, but instead of paying their debts, they squandered the silver on other things instead. How infuriating!

Fu Mei Li and Jin Weimin were still in the courtyard when the two uncles came in. They immediately received dark scowls from the two middle-aged men.

"Good day, uncles. What can we do for you?" Jin Weimin greeted Sheng Bao and Sheng Bojing.

"Third Jin, where is your first brother? Get him out here now!" Sheng Bao demanded.

"Sorry uncles, first brother went to town today and hasn't returned yet."

"Then bring out your second brother!"

"Second brother went up the mountains, so he isn't here either."

"Good, very good. You know you have done wrong so everyone went out to avoid us." Sheng Bojing hollered with a red face.

"What do the two uncles mean by we have done something wrong?" Mei Li asked with her brows furrowed. She was getting annoyed by the racket these two were creating. Thankfully, they were inside the inner courtyard and have not attracted the gossipy neighbors.

Sheng Bao looked at her disdainfully. "Word in the village is that you went to town and brought in lots of food. Today, a cart full of plants was delivered to your door. You obviously have a lot of money, so why are you not paying your debt?!"

Weimin saw how his two uncles treated Mei Li and he was angered. No one should disrespect their wife, especially in front of him.

"First uncle, let's talk slowly. No need to shout at my wife like this."

Sheng Bojing exploded upon hearing that. "Bah! Third Jin, you're actually talking back to your uncles now, are you?! You ungrateful brat!"

Mei Li was quickly losing her patience. She was used to intelligent conversations and professional arguments. Facing shameless people who shout and rant was not her forte.