Chapter 42, Summer Chat at the 42nd Inn

Yunyin asked curiously, "What do you want to discuss?"

Fu Wang took out a purse and handed it to her, saying, "Here's the thing, I'm eating here every day now, and it's quite troublesome to carry a big bag of money with me every day. I'll give you some silver, so you won't have to carry money with you every day anymore. What do you think?"

Yunyin took the purse, opened it, and looked inside. "No problem, I'll put it on your tab. But you've given too much money; you don't need this much."

Fu Wang shook his head and said, "I only brought these with me today. You can take them for now. Let me know when you're done, and I'll give you more."

She carefully put away her purse: "Unless you're eating dragon liver and phoenix marrow, you definitely won't run out of money before you leave."

The prices of the dishes here are already reasonable. Except for meat dishes which are a bit more expensive, other dishes can be eaten very well for a few dozen coins. Fu Wang especially loves fish. If you use two taels of silver to cook fish for him every day, he will have some left over for half a year.

June weather is like a child, unable to conceal its emotions, sometimes with raging storms, sometimes with clear skies. Qian Si and his colleagues couldn't work in this kind of weather, so they could only rest when it rained and work harder when it wasn't.

Her house is now taking shape. The mud bricks that have been built look very flat. Although she has done her best, it still doesn't look very beautiful at first glance.

Looking at the half-built wall, Yunyin asked Qian Si, "Can't we paint this wall something to make it look nicer?"

Qian Si looked back at the mottled wall and said, "Don't worry, Madam Yun, I'll fix it for you. Can you tell that most of the houses in the town and county are made of mud?"

Yunyin was astonished: "How could they be made of mud bricks? I can't tell at all." Although she hadn't specifically observed those houses, she hadn't been able to tell that they were mud brick houses despite visiting so many times.

Seeing her surprise, Qian Si smiled and said, "You didn't think it was a house made of blue bricks, did you? How could that be? Blue bricks are so expensive. How could ordinary people like us afford them? We can only think of other ways."

"Didn't you buy quicklime from me before? You can use that to coat the walls, and I guarantee it will make them look beautiful and durable."

Yunyin then realized that there were so many intricacies involved. Some people who couldn't afford lime would use clay mixed with other pigments to create beautiful walls. She couldn't help but marvel at how clever the ancients were. Even without money, they pursued beauty and used their wisdom to make life better.

After inspecting the newly built house, Yunyin continued to check on her aquaculture base. It had been raining intermittently these past few days, so she needed to check on her fish, shrimp, and eels frequently to prevent them from dying from lack of oxygen. If there was too much rain, she also needed to drain the excess water from the paddy fields in time.

She started by checking the first paddy field and continued until she finished checking all the fields. The shrimp, crabs, and eels being raised in them were all doing well, and she finally felt relieved. Just as she was planning to go to town in the afternoon to return the money she had saved to Luo Man, she heard Zhang Lin and Fu Wang talking ahead.

Fu Wang: "Did your wife say when she was going to find someone to make furniture?"

Zhang Lin scratched his head and said, "They didn't say. Why do we need to make furniture?"

Fu Wang said with exasperation, "The inn is about to be built, don't you need to make beds and tables? If you don't prepare these things in advance, how will you open for business?"

Zhang Lin: "But my wife didn't say anything, Fu Langjun. Why are you so concerned about whether my wife makes furniture or not? Let me tell you, I will never tell you anything again."

“I was uneasy ever since you tricked me into revealing that my wife was in debt. I was afraid she would blame me if she found out. I’ve learned my lesson. Don’t try to get anything out of me again.”

He snorted coldly and walked away, leaving Fu Wang alone in the same spot.

Yunyin was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to leave or stay. She touched her nose and stepped out from behind the tree, saying, "So you gave me two taels of silver because of my debt?"

Looking at Yun Yin's complicated expression, Fu Wang was momentarily speechless. He said in a low voice, "It wasn't given to you for nothing. Didn't I eat a lot of the food you made?"

During this period, Yunyin cooked a lot of fish for him, including fried small fish, braised fish, stewed fish, steamed fish, garlic fish fillets, fish casserole, cold fish, sweet and sour braised fish, and so on. He has basically tried all kinds of fish in the past two weeks, including both the ones he has eaten before and the ones he has never eaten before.

He said, "Actually, it's fine to change the dishes occasionally. I like all the dishes you make, so there's no need to make me a fish dish every time."

Yunyin raised her eyebrows and said, "It wasn't made just for you. I also love eating fish. The fish here is very fresh, and it tastes good no matter how it's cooked. I'm not tired of it yet. Are you tired of it?"

Fu Wang shook his head: "No, I was just worried that you were getting tired of it."

Yunyin: "How could that be? I'm only happy if you like my cooking." She changed the subject and said, "You really don't need to worry about not being able to pay back the money. I'll definitely be able to pay it back this year."

Fu Wang touched his nose and said, "I was afraid that if I gave you too much, you wouldn't accept it, so I only gave you two taels." He looked at Yun Yin seriously and said, "You really don't need my help? I have some savings here that I can lend you."

Yunyin said, "No need. Sister Aman is a very kind person. She has helped me a lot along the way, and I am very grateful to her. I will pay back the money I owe her as soon as possible, so you don't need to worry."

Fu Wang muttered, "If you'd rather owe her money than owe me money, am I still your friend?"

Yunyin tilted her head to look at him: "What are you muttering about over there? Come on, let's go back quickly. It's getting hotter and hotter, and even the rain isn't making it any cooler. Let's go back and have some chilled fruit. I'm telling you..."

The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the food stall. In just a few steps, sweat had already beaded on their foreheads. She quickly called out to Zhang Lin, "Linzi, go and get another bucket of herbal tea for Qian Si and the others. Also, bring some chilled fruit so they can have some."

Zhang Lin washed his hands and brought out a large bucket of herbal tea from the kitchen, saying, "Okay, wife, I'll take it to them right away."

Fu Wang picked up a cool peach and took a bite. The sweet and crisp peach made him squint his eyes. He looked at the peach and said, "This peach tastes really good. You have a good eye for food. Even the fruit you buy is so sweet."

Yunyin rolled her eyes at him and said, "It's like you've never eaten a better fruit than this. Can you say the lychees your friend gave you weren't sweet?"

Fu Wang took another bite of the peach and mumbled, "Who knows?"

The two sat under a tree, eating fruit and enjoying the cool breeze while avoiding the sun. Even though the sun was still blazing, she felt peaceful. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard Fu Wang ask, "So, which carpenter are you looking for to make your furniture?"

Yunyin was startled by his words and slapped her forehead, saying, "Oh dear, I forgot about that. I just remembered it, but I forgot about it completely in a moment."

Yunyin thought for a moment and said, "The tables and chairs that I had made by the carpenter in town before were reasonably priced. If we want to use them in the guesthouse, we will need a lot of things, and it will probably cost a lot of money."

She calculated the money she had on hand: five taels from Xia Yan and two taels from Fu Wang. She planned to return them to Luo Man. As for the money she earned from the food stall, she kept about two taels for expenses.

She didn't know if the money was enough. Now that the weather was hot, fewer people were eating out, and she was earning less. Even Xia Xiaoniangzi and the others didn't buy snacks from her as often anymore.

However, Xia Xiaoniangzi's cook has been coming to see her from time to time these past few days, asking what she needs, but she won't say. Each time she comes, she orders a dish and sits there for the whole afternoon. But she didn't come today, and I wonder if she will never come again.

As Yunyin was thinking about these random things, she heard Fu Wang cough once. She didn't pay attention at first, but when he coughed again, she joked, "Is your throat sore? Shall I make you some sweet soup?"

Fu Wang: "No need. I just wanted to say that if you want someone to make furniture for you, you can actually ask me. I'm not busy lately and can help you."

Yunyin looked up and glanced at him: "You can do woodworking?"

"I know a little, but making a table and chairs is no problem," Fu Wang said, sitting up straight. "Of course, I can make beds too, but I'm not as skilled at it as I am at making tables and chairs."

"What else can you do? Tell me and surprise me." Yunyin sat up straight and looked at him.

Fu Wang said, "I don't know much anymore. At most, I can ride a horse and repair a cart. But after doing a lot of escort missions, accidents often happen, and I'll learn those skills over time."

Yunyin asked curiously, "Then why do you know carpentry? Judging from your appearance, you didn't study it before. Carpentry requires special training, right? Are you one of those geniuses who can learn just by looking?"

Although Fu Wang didn't mention his past, he must have been well-educated. He was not only literate but also wrote quite well. It's just unclear what happened to him that made him choose to join the army rather than take the imperial examinations, and now he's even working as a bodyguard.

Although she didn't think there was anything wrong with escorting goods, she was still curious about his past.

Hearing this, Fu Wang suddenly felt a little lost. He remained silent for a long time before saying, "I'm not a genius. I just learned it from my neighbor. Although I was very young at the time, I still remembered it. I still remember how nimble his hands were and how exquisite his woodworking was."

"Where is he now?" Yunyin thought that if this person was also in Long'an County, she could ask him for help.

Fu Wang sighed and said, "I don't know. He was arrested along with my father back then, and we still don't know their current situation."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I've brought up something painful for you." Yunyin hesitated for a moment before saying, "Did you take on this escort mission to find your family?"

Fu Wang nodded: "That's part of the reason. Back then, I couldn't find out any news in the military camp, and I was also injured, so I simply left the military camp and teamed up with my comrades to help people deliver goods."

“Those who frequently travel north and south might be able to find some news, even bad news would be better than having no news at all.”

Yunyin comforted him, saying, "No news is good news. Maybe your family is doing well somewhere you don't know about."

Fu Wang: "I hope so. As long as they are still alive, I will be satisfied."

Yunyin never expected Fu Wang to have such a background. She couldn't help but think of herself. She had also lost her family early on, even her father, with whom she had a strained relationship. Now, when she thought of him, she only remembered his good qualities. Those unhappy things seemed to have long since faded away in the river of time.

She sighed, "It will be alright, everything will be alright."

Fu Wang nodded: "Yes, the country is peaceful and prosperous now, and there's not much fighting. I believe everything will be alright." He composed himself and asked her, "So, do you want me to make furniture for you or not?"