“Mother… what are you doing?” Zhenniang hurried to stop her as the bamboo broom left bloody scratches across her father’s face.

“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, what are you doing? Stop! Second Brother has finally returned—this is cause for celebration!” Madam Zheng rushed to restrain her.

Madam Zhao finally threw down the broom and wiped her tears, then shouted at Zhenniang: “What are you waiting for? Go prepare hot water for your father!”

“Yes, at your command,” Zhenniang replied with a grin. This was a display of tough love between her parents.

“What’s all this commotion about, Sister-in-law? Can’t we have some peace during the New Year?” Madam Wu, who had been waiting for hot water, came over after hearing Madam Zhao’s shouts. When she saw Li Jingfu, she staggered.

Zhenniang, who was about to fetch water, quickly dropped the bucket to support Madam Wu, exclaiming joyfully: “Grandmother, it’s Father! Father has returned—he’s not dead!”

Li Jingfu immediately dropped to his knees before Madam Wu, calling out: “Mother, I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“Is it Jingfu? It is Jingfu!” Madam Wu’s eyes filled with tears as she grasped Li Jingfu’s arm tightly. Then, with unexpected strength, she cried out: “Jingfu, I missed you so much…”

Her cry immediately drew Old Master Li from the main hall.

Not knowing what had happened, Old Master Li hurried over, with Li Jingyi following behind.

What followed was chaos, though everyone was overcome with joy.

“It’s wonderful that Jingfu has returned. Congratulations to Uncle Jinshui’s family on their reunion. I won’t intrude any longer and will take my leave,” Li Jingyi said. Though he had come with his agenda, Old Master Li had been playing dumb when they started discussing it. He had intended to speak frankly, but then the commotion erupted—Li Jingfu, presumed dead for nearly two years, had returned. Seeing the situation, Li Jingyi understood that no matter how important his business was, nothing would be settled today. He had no choice but to depart.

Sister Liujin showed him out.

Li Jingfu watched Li Jingyi’s departing figure. This distant cousin, proud of his xiucai status, had never given him the time of day before, let alone visited. His presence here now made Li Jingfu very curious. Add to that how the family had suddenly moved back to the ancestral home—clearly, during his two-year absence, the household had undergone earth-shattering changes that left him feeling uncertain.

“Father, the hot water is ready. Wash up first, and I’ll take Xiege to set off some firecrackers at the gate,” Zhenniang said. Father’s return was cause for celebration, and being Little New Year as well, firecrackers were definitely in order.

“Alright then.” Li Jingfu nodded. Meanwhile, Madam Zhao had already retrieved his old clothes from storage. As Li Jingfu took them, he seemed to remember something and pulled a cloth bag from his chest, pressing it into Madam Zhao’s hands.

“What’s this?” Madam Zhao held the surprisingly heavy bag and curiously opened it.

“Good heavens, how many gold nuggets are there?” Her eyes widened at the sight of all the gleaming gold. She quickly passed the bag to Madam Wu as if it were burning hot. Madam Wu also stared dumbfounded at the bag of gold nuggets.

“Where did this come from? I told you not to return until you’d made something of yourself, but if you got this through banditry, I’ll turn you over to the authorities right now,” Old Master Li glared at Li Jingfu. In his mind, such a quantity of gold nuggets could only have come from robbery.

“Father, your son may be a scoundrel, but I wouldn’t stoop to murder and theft. This gold was honestly obtained—I mined it in the North. Let me wash up first, then I’ll explain everything to you and Mother,” Li Jingfu explained before taking his clean clothes into the washroom beside the kitchen.

Madam Zhao followed behind him, her face slightly flushed.

The others, hearing that the gold came from mining and knowing that Li Jingfu’s misfortune had occurred in the North, found the explanation plausible.

Still, even so, the Li family members remained somewhat dazed.

The gold was simply too dazzling.

Zhenniang was particularly surprised. Luo Wenqian had made his fortune mining gold in the North, and now her father had done the same. She wondered if they had known each other, but then shook her head—if they had, surely Luo Wenqian would have mentioned her father’s situation in Nanjing.

Her mind wandered with these thoughts.

Soon, Li Jingfu emerged clean and refreshed, ate a steaming bowl of wonton noodles, wiped his mouth, and sat down with everyone. Zhenniang prepared hot tea, and after two cups, Li Jingfu sighed contentedly—this was how life should be.

Then he began explaining everything that had happened.

That year, when the merchant convoy encountered the Tartars, Li Jingfu couldn’t escape, but he was fortunate enough not to die immediately. A gold mining team happened to pass by and rescued him, though he didn’t fully regain consciousness until almost a month later.

Since gold mining teams were usually targeted by the authorities, even though they had saved Li Jingfu, they wouldn’t report it to the officials. Additionally, wolves had eaten the remaining bodies, so the officials never knew anyone had survived.

After recovering, Li Jingfu had intended to return home, but as an outsider, the mining team feared he would reveal their location and prevented him from leaving. Only after Li Jingfu began mining alongside them and proved himself in several fights did he earn their trust and become one of them. By then, he was no longer under suspicion, but Li Jingfu wanted to make something of himself at the mine first. So after having someone deliver a letter home, he stayed—though the letter had gone astray.

Afterward, Li Jingfu continued mining gold. Being literate, he eventually became a manager overseeing several miners, becoming something of a boss. The bag of gold nuggets represented his savings from these two years.

Hearing this, the Li family members all sighed in sympathy. Though Li Jingfu hadn’t detailed many aspects of life at the mine, they could imagine the hardships he had endured.

But at least now his suffering had led to success.

“Father, why did you come back looking like this?” Zhenniang asked curiously.

“The North is in chaos, and the roads are full of bandits. Any traveler who looks prosperous needs a large escort of servants and guards. How could your father, traveling alone with a bag of gold, safely reach home without this disguise?” Li Jingfu explained. The times were dangerous.

“Hmm. At least you showed some forethought this time,” Old Master Li offered rare praise, making Li Jingfu grin foolishly.

“By the way, how did we end up moving back to the ancestral home?” Li Jingfu finally asked about one of his many questions. The family’s current situation was vastly different from when he left, and he couldn’t help but be curious about the changes.

Everyone smiled, and Zhenniang took the lead in telling the story, with others adding details, and explaining everything that had happened over the past two years.

The Li family’s experiences over these nearly two years were truly dramatic, moving Li Jingfu deeply. Especially when he heard about Zhenniang’s achievements in Nanjing and securing the position of ink supplier to the Princess’s household, he could hardly believe this was his formerly gluttonous daughter.

After a while, he patted Zhenniang’s shoulder with a sigh: “Daughter, you’ve made something of yourself—more than your useless father.”

Li Jingfu felt rather melancholic. He had brought back gold intending to buy back the eighth branch’s original shares in the ink workshop, but everything had already been settled. While he was proud, he felt somewhat like the old wave dying on the beach as the new wave pushed forward.

Zhenniang couldn’t respond to her father’s words, so she just smiled quietly.

Madam Zhao glared at Li Jingfu: “What’s all this about useful and useless? Without you, how would we have her? Such nonsense.”

Everyone laughed.

“By the way, what’s the situation with Jingyi?” Li Jingfu finally asked with furrowed brows.

Old Master Li then explained how Li Jingyi was seeking the clan’s support to purchase an official position and trying to use connections with the Princess’s household. Madam Wu added irritably: “This Jingyi is getting more and more unreasonable. We can overlook how he used to look down on us, but when Li Jingming’s family returned, he stirred up trouble with the clan elders behind our backs. It only settled down after Jingming admitted his wrongdoing. That wasn’t long ago, and now he wants the clan to support his advancement. Just because he’s the only xiucai in the clan? Has he forgotten that he’s never contributed anything to the ink workshop? Forget about helping—he’s never even said a kind word. He usually avoids associating with our Li family, complaining about the smell of money. Why should the entire clan expend its resources to support him?”

The usually good-tempered Madam Wu spoke of Li Jingyi with gritted teeth. His recent pressure had been too much, and besides, getting a xiucai into an official position through donation would require enormous expense. It would drain the clan’s resources, and Li Jingyi wasn’t worth it.

“Why not buy Father an official position instead?” Xiege chimed in from the side. He and Youge now studied at the Li family’s private school, where some older students who repeatedly failed the prefectural examinations had given up on scholarly pursuits and discussed alternative paths like purchasing degrees and positions. The quick-witted boy had picked up quite a bit about this.

“How could I? I’m not even a xiucai and know nothing about official circles. That would be throwing money away. Stop talking nonsense, you rascal,” Li Jingfu glared at Xiege.

Xiege stuck out his tongue and fell silent.

Old Master Li pondered deeply. Business always needed support from official circles, and the Li family had always cultivated and supported scholars to benefit the clan and the ink workshop. Li Jingyi should have been a good candidate with his academic credentials, but his selfishness and poor character made him unsuitable. With Wang Jincai’s precedent, the Li family couldn’t risk supporting another ingrate.