Chapter 132

When Zhou Lin brought the steaming hot tofu home, Zhou Si brought over the fox fur and was talking to Mu Jin upstairs.

“These silver fox furs are really beautiful. If we collect more and get four or five, my brother-in-law says we can make a fox fur coat that’s really warm.”

Mu Jin gently stroked it for a while and smiled, "It's so warm to hold, but foxes are not easy to catch, especially silver foxes, which are rare and precious."

"If we can't catch them, then we'll save up enough money to buy them. Red fox fur is a bit cheaper, and if we save up for two years, we'll definitely be able to afford them."

Bai Qiqiu, who was standing to the side, said, "No need to buy them. We can have Mu Zhaoye make them again next year. I still need silver fox fur. I was thinking of making a red fox fur quilt."

Mu Jin smiled gently, "So you're willing to let your husband go into the mountains again?"

As she spoke, she carefully wrapped the silver fox pelt in the leftover cotton silk cloth from making the lining for Xiao Taozi, separated it from the red fox pelt, and gently placed it into the chest.

"It's not like we're hunting tigers, so I trust him to go. The fox pelts he hunted this time were sold for a lot of silver in the prefectural city. It's more than what we at the dye shop earn even after working ourselves to the bone for half a year."

"Speaking of which, a few days ago, I witnessed Brother Zhaoye shooting down a pack of wolves. Tsk tsk, he was so chivalrous. If he had been wearing less, he would have been even more dashing."

Bai Qiqiu chuckled, "Luckily I'm tall, otherwise I would really look like a fat man weighing around 300 pounds."

Zhou Si peeled peanuts, "When the wolf came down the mountain, I was terrified, but thankfully I escaped unharmed."

When a wild beast comes down from the mountain, few can help but feel fear.

Wen Zhaoran said proudly, "I wasn't afraid."

"I didn't expect you to be so bold, Zhaoran."

Bai Qiqiu and Mu Jin exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.

"It's not that he's brave, it's that he's very alert. He only woke up after the wolf was gone, and he had no idea that the wolf had come."

Wen Zhaoran glared at Mu Jin, "Big brother, just tell me, am I scared or not?"

Mu Jin chuckled, "That's really not the case."

Zhou Si smiled broadly, glanced at Mu Jin's rather frighteningly large belly, and said softly, "My little nephew is about to be born, and to be honest, I'm really looking forward to it."

Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran nodded in unison, "We've been looking forward to this for almost a year. A few days ago, we saw Mian Ge's handsome young man and we were really envious."

"Mian Ge's little sweetie has big eyes, just like her father's. They're white and soft, like a little glutinous rice ball. She's really adorable."

A few days ago, the full moon celebration for Mu Mian's son, Mu Yuntang, was held in a small way due to the snow disaster. Only a few close friends, including Mu Jin, were invited to gather together.

Seeing this, Mu Jin and the others wished they could secretly take him home.

Especially Mu Nianjun, who has a little rascal at home, held him so tightly she didn't want to let go. She looked like she wanted to trade children with Mu Mian.

"No matter who my little nephew looks like, he'll definitely be just as good as anyone else."

After all, before Wen Zhaoran came, Mu Jin was one of the most handsome men in the village, and Zhou Lin was good-looking. How could their child be anything less than perfect?

Bai Qiqiu laughed and said, "However, if he takes after his elder brother, he will definitely be a handsome man, and the young master will definitely be the only handsome young master in the village."

Mu Jin smiled and gently touched her belly, her heart filled with anticipation for her unborn child.

The guys were chatting inside the house when Zhou Lin put the tofu into the kitchen, picked up a broom, and carefully swept the yard.

A few days later, after verifying the information, Mu Genfa called the villagers to his house to collect the money.

With a little over one tael of silver coming into the family, and thinking of the spoiled wheat, Mu Jin wasn't so distressed anymore.

The weather is getting colder and colder, so we put all the pigs in a pen to keep them warmer.

At the cattle pen, Mu Jin used the leftover cotton from making cotton curtains to make a "cow cotton-padded coat" for the big yellow cow, shaped like its body.

Wearing it on a cow will at least keep it a little warm.

Previously, Mu Jin thought it was a waste to build pigsties, cattle pens, and chicken pens with blue bricks. Now, looking at it again, she realized it was fortunate that the pens were made of blue bricks and tiles, covered with thick straw curtains, which could block the wind and prevent the heat from dissipating easily.

Zhou Lin and Lin Huzi took great care of the straw, quickly sweeping out the wet and dirty straw and replacing it with new, thick straw and wheat stalks.

The little fire in the enclosure never really stopped burning, all day long.

Luckily, we had enough firewood stored in the woodshed at home; otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to burn it like a flowing stream.

Nowadays, the road into the mountains is completely blocked by thick snow walls. Some families who don't have enough firewood have cut down the trees they planted in their yards to burn as firewood.

We'll buy new saplings and plant them again next spring when the weather gets warmer.

The villagers of Mujia Village are now unable to leave the village, and outsiders cannot come in either. Because of the family's dyeing workshop, they are afraid that they will not get much business this winter.

Zhou Lin had also finished the work he brought home to the carpentry shop in town.

However, he didn't rest. Taking advantage of his spare time, he used the remaining wood to make quite a few trinkets.

For more than half a month, it didn't snow much. Even when it did, it was mostly light snow, and it would stop after a day at most.

With the sun shining brightly, the villagers whose houses had collapsed began to repair their roofs.

The village gradually returned to its former hustle and bustle.

Before we knew it, it was December. Although there hadn't been as much snow as before, the weather was getting colder and colder.

The river was frozen solid, covered with a thick layer of snow. Even with a hammer, the ice was impossible to break through the snow.

Zhou Lin drew a full bucket of steaming well water from the well at home.

Previously, for convenience, we mentioned the water in the two water tanks in the kitchen, but now they are frozen solid and unusable.

The water in the well not only didn't freeze, but it was also warm to the touch when it was pulled out.

Compared to most families in the village who don't have wells, their family has much more convenient access to water.

Mu Zhaoye's family does have a well. Zhou Si, Mu Nianjun, and the others, who mostly call him their husband, line up with the villagers to draw water from the village's public well. They fetch water twice a day. Because they live close to the public well, it's convenient, except for the wait.

The cotton tree is closer to the hibiscus tree, so Muling Bridge usually fetches water from there.

With the New Year approaching and Mu Jin still showing no signs of pregnancy, Zhou Lin has been feeling both worried and excited these past few days, and hasn't slept well for several nights in a row.

Even after the 27th of the lunar year, Little Peach was still peacefully nestled in Hibiscus's belly.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, Bai Qiqiu's family was very busy. He occasionally came here, and he and Wen Zhaoran also became nervous along with Zhou Lin.

Wang Li, having taken someone's advice, has been following Mu Jin around like glue for the past two days, much to Mu Jin's amusement and exasperation.

The one who was about to have a child became the most composed person in the family.

On the 28th of the year, the family slaughtered two pigs for the New Year. They sold one and kept the other, giving some to Bai Qiqiu, Mu Nianjun, Zhou Si, and Mu Mian. The remaining 60 or 70 jin were kept for the family to eat.

With New Year's Eve approaching, Little Peach still showed no signs of coming out, only occasionally turning over. After lunch, Zhou Lin looked at Mu Jin's belly and became even more anxious.

Mu Jin comforted him, "What's the rush? Just come out when it's time..."

Before she could finish speaking, a sudden wave of pain shot through her stomach. Mu Jin's eyes widened, and she grabbed Zhou Lin's sleeve.

She said in a trembling voice, "I'm...I'm going into labor. Take me to the room downstairs and quickly go get Grandpa Zheng!"

With childbirth imminent, it would be a lie for Mu Jin to say she wasn't afraid, as it was the first time she had ever done so.

Zhou Lin was taken aback, then immediately picked up Mu Jin and ran out like a gust of wind.

Some time ago, Zhou Lin cleaned up the large room downstairs for Mu Jin's convenience when she gave birth, and in early winter, he built a large bed and put it in.

Mu Jin had made several extra cotton curtains, and she had already taken two of them and hung them up.

Two days earlier, the bedding had been laid out, and Zhou Lin gently placed the hibiscus down.

He turned around and hurried out of the house.

"Zhaoran, hurry back to your room and keep your older brother company!"

He left behind only one sentence and vanished without a trace.

Wen Zhaoran paused, then immediately understood. "Li-ge'er, help your elder brother boil some water."

After saying that, he hurriedly went into the house.

Wang Li had boiled water countless times in the dye shop and was already skilled at it. She obediently poured the water into the pot, and the stove, which had just been extinguished, was relit.

Zhou Lin carried Grandpa Zheng all the way here. The few villagers he encountered saw this and understood what was going on.

"Oh dear, judging from the looks of it, it seems that Jin-ge'er is about to give birth."

“There’s nothing much going on at home for the time being, so why don’t we go over and help out? Lin is a tough guy, and Jin’er is doing this for the first time, so he probably doesn’t know what to do. Let’s help if we can.”

"That's true. Judging from the old couple in the Zhou family, they probably won't go over there either."

"It's good enough that she doesn't cause any trouble."

During the conversation, about five or six women and their husbands arrived at Zhou Lin's house.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Zhou Lin saw Wen Zhaoran staring at Bai Qiqiu, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, carrying out a basin of bloody water from the house, his eyes red.

Yun Fulang said, "Young Lin, don't worry, this is how it is when young men and women give birth."

“That’s right, don’t just stand there like a stick. Giving birth is hard work for a boy. If you have any food at home, bring it over and I’ll cook it and keep it warm in the pot so that Jin’er can eat when he’s hungry.”

A woman patted Zhou Lin on the shoulder, looking at him with disdain.

Zhou Lin immediately came to his senses and, in one breath, listed all the food he could think of at home.

"Auntie and Uncle, we have pork, rice, flour, brown sugar, red dates, peanuts, persimmons, and walnuts at home. We'll slaughter a chicken, and we'll have three or five eggs left. We'll go slaughter the chicken right now!"

Yun Fulang quickly stopped him, "How can Jin Ge'er eat so much? He can't eat anything too greasy either. I'll go and stew a bowl of egg custard and cook some brown sugar, red date, and millet porridge."

Zhou Lin hurriedly said, "Uncle Yun, how can you have strength if you don't eat meat?"

Yun Fulang glared at him, "After Jin Ge'er gives birth to the child, we can stew some chicken soup, pig's trotters, carp and the like to nourish him."

A woman laughed and said, "I didn't expect that young Lin would be so caring."

With the help of several women and husbands in the village, Zhou Lin was finally less flustered, but his furrowed brows never relaxed.

In the courtyard, Zhou Lin was filled with anxiety and paced back and forth at the doorway.

When Wen Zhaoran and Bai Qiqiu came out, they saw this and said, "Brother-in-law, didn't our brother tell you to wait outside the building?"

Just after carrying Grandpa Zheng back, Mu Jin chased him out of the house. Zhou Lin stood at the door, trying to ease Mu Jin's pain, talking non-stop, more than he had in the entire year.

Hearing him rambling on at the doorway, and with her stomach aching terribly, Mu Jin felt a growing resentment towards Zhou Lin.

They sent him straight to the courtyard, and only then did I finally get some peace and quiet.

Zhou Lin listened to the muffled groans coming from inside the room, his face full of worry.

"I'm not going to say anything now. How's your older brother?"

Bai Qiqiu nodded. "It will take a while. Brother-in-law, you can rest in the main room."