Chapter Forty-Nine

Much of the yard had been turned into vegetable gardens, and if it were to be dug up to build a pigsty, Mu Jin would be heartbroken.

Fortunately, there is an open space a little further away from the main house, on the far left corner of the wall.

At that time, the sun was blocked by the branches of the big locust tree outside the courtyard wall, and since the hibiscus had planted enough vegetables, she did not turn over the soil in that direction.

“This plot of land is enough. It’s sheltered from the wind and faces the sun. We’ll cut off the branches of this locust tree that are blocking the light. It’s also far from our house, so there will be less of a stench.”

Bai Qiqiu walked around and decided on the location of the pigsty.

The group got right to work. Mu Jin and Zhou Si went to the river to fetch water, while Wen Zhaoran brought over the straw they had bought.

Bai Qiqiu picked up a shovel he had made from melted-down old iron pots and dug a shallow trench in that spot.

A layer of gravel piled up in the yard was laid down, and then covered with a layer of yellow soil mixed with straw, which was then tamped down.

Wen Zhaoran helped fill the soil, watched for a while, and said, "This is just like Uncle Huang laying the floor for the house."

Bai Qiqiu smiled and said, "Normally, pigsties don't need to be this elaborate. I learned this trick from Uncle Huang when he laid the floor. Perhaps it will make the pigsty easier to clean. Anyway, the stones in the yard are just sitting there."

Wen Zhaoran didn't understand any of this, but her admiration for Bai Qiqiu only grew stronger.

"Brother Qi Qiu, you're really amazing. You learned how to lay flooring just by looking at it once."

Bai Qiqiu sighed and asked, "Is this so hard to learn?"

He had no idea how Uncle Huang did his work; he never kept it from him. Usually, when Uncle Huang went to lay floors at other people's houses, he would ask an outsider to go out.

Bai Qiqiu was quick and efficient at his work, and the pigsty was easy to build. By noon, the ground of the pigsty had been compacted and solidified.

He deliberately left some empty space on the side, planning to dig a pond later to pile up pig manure.

When Zhou Lin returned home from town, the walls of the pigsty were already taking shape and looked quite presentable.

"Big brother is back."

Bai Qiqiu was washing his hands in the yard when Wen Zhaoran poured water for him with a wooden ladle.

Zhou Lin nodded. He had thought that Bai Qiqiu wouldn't be able to do it well, but he never expected that it was just as good as the pigsty made by the man, and even looked more refined.

Mu Jin came out of the kitchen and shook the water off her hands.

"How's the pigsty? Is it alright?"

As she spoke, she looked at Zhou Lin with a hint of anticipation.

Although Bai Qiqiu was mainly responsible for building the two pigsties, Mu Jin added a couple of handfuls of yellow mud to the walls, feeling quite proud of herself.

Zhou Lin smiled and said, "You guys are really amazing. I didn't expect you to actually be able to build it."

Mu Jin puffed out her chest, a hint of smugness in her expression. "You underestimated us, didn't you? Once the wood and bamboo are dried tomorrow, the pigsty roof will be finished in a few days. After you're done, make the feeding and water troughs. Once the pigsty is built, I'll go and bring the piglets back."

Zhou Lin had never seen Mu Jin look like this before, and he looked at her with some curiosity for the first time.

Since he met Mu Jin, his husband had always been intelligent and mature; when had he ever acted so childishly?

Microsoft smiled and said, "I'll be done by tomorrow. I'll call when I get back."

Mu Jin was taken aback. "How come the work was finished so quickly this time?"

He thought it would be like the work at the Zhao family's residence, taking about ten days.

“Miss Qian’s dowry was almost finished, and since there are many carpenters there, it was done even faster.”

Mu Jin nodded. "The food is ready. Go wash your hands and come eat."

For dinner tonight, Mu Jin cooked venison and stir-fried some greens.

At the dinner table, Zhou Lin picked up some green vegetables with his chopsticks and placed them on a rough-textured steamed bun, glancing at Bai Qiqiu seemingly unintentionally.

"When I came back, I ran into my fourth brother. He was off today and would be staying home for two days."

Bai Qiqiu was stunned when he heard this. He had been busy these past few days and had completely forgotten about Zhou Qiang.

Mu Jin placed some venison on his plate and said with a smile, "You should go find your fourth brother tomorrow; it's been a long time since you two have seen each other."

Bai Qiqiu thought for a moment and said, "There's no rush. Let's finish building the pigsty first."

Mu Jin chuckled. Bai Qiqiu looked nothing like the person who had been so desperate to marry Zhou Qiang before.

When Zhou Qiang returned home, he was unaware that he was now worse off than even a pigsty.

He was still speechless. He had vowed to spend more time with him and come to town to look for his brother whenever he had free time, but he hadn't seen him at all during his break this time.

This is something I shouldn't be thinking about, but for some reason, I feel really uneasy about it.

"My little one is back! Take a rest, I'll go to the kitchen and make you a bowl of steamed egg custard."

Zhou Wushi smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling with wrinkles.

Zhou Qiang remained calm, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Mother, I ran into my eldest brother on my way back. He said Qi Qiu is living at his house now. Is that true?"

Zhou Wu rolled her eyes; just hearing Bai Qiqiu's name annoyed her.

"That's true. Who cares what they do? Let them go wherever they want."

Zhou Qiang's eyes darted around, thinking that once Bai Qiqiu knew he was back, she would definitely be unable to sit still and would come looking for him.

Having understood, he steadied himself and put the book box inside the house.

Early the next morning, the mud walls of the pigsty were erected, and Mu Jin and Wen Zhaoran picked out the better straw and piled it aside.

Bai Qiqiu and Zhou Si went to the mountains to cut down the wood and bamboo poles needed for building the pigsty shed, and brought them back to the yard to dry.

When Zhou Qiang arrived, Bai Qiqiu was chopping bamboo in the yard.

The owl hooted at the newcomer a few times, and Bai Qiqiu looked up at the sound.

With a slight smile in his eyes, he got up and patted off the bamboo shavings that had fallen from his clothes.

"Why are you here? Night Owl, we're all on the same side, don't call me that."

The little owl grunted twice, circled around Zhou Qiang, and then trotted off to find Mu Jin.

Zhou Qiang looked at Bai Qiqiu, who seemed more energetic, then turned to look at Mu Jin and coughed lightly.

"Come and see my older brother and the others."

Bai Qiqiu glanced at Wen Zhaoran, who was following Mu Jin and helping to sort the straw.

He gave a soft hum, looking completely at ease.

"I know what you're thinking. Zhaoran and Muzhou are doing great, so don't do anything to ruin their relationship."

Zhou Qiang opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but then he thought, so be it if it's a misunderstanding. Wouldn't it be better if he could call off the engagement because of this?

"I can't help it, my favorite thing is beautiful women."

Bai Qiqiu nodded in agreement. Who doesn't like a beautiful woman? He liked one too.

Zhou Qiang had expected Bai Qiqiu to be furious upon hearing his words, but to his surprise, Bai Qiqiu seemed to agree wholeheartedly.

He was momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say.

"Stop looking, it's not yours anyway. Look at me instead."

Bai Qiqiu waved his hand, and Zhou Qiang even saw a hint of pity in his eyes.

She was instantly furious. "I won't look at anyone else."

Bai Qiqiu knew that he had forced this marriage, so he wasn't angry when he heard this.

"Look at you, I'm just telling the truth, why are you getting angry? I've been busy these past two days and haven't had time to look for you. Are you going to eat here later?"

Seeing that Bai Qiqiu was still smiling and not angry at all, Zhou Qiang didn't want to say anything anymore. He didn't even greet Mu Jin and stormed off in a huff.

Bai Qiqiu felt rather helpless. He had spoken to him in a gentle and polite manner, but he didn't know what he had done to offend him.

After thinking about it, I decided to go back and chop bamboo.

Zhou Si said softly, "Big brother, does Qi Qiu really like fourth brother?"

Hibiscus, who watched the whole thing: "..."

He didn't know what to say.

Wen Zhaoran said to Bai Qiqiu, "Brother Qiqiu, you've made him so angry that he left. Why don't you go after him and coax him?"

Zhou Si and Mu Jin: "..."

This was the first time I'd ever heard someone tell a young man to comfort an angry man. It made me feel that Zhou Qiang seemed more like a young man who needed to be taken care of than Bai Qiqiu.

Bai Qiqiu didn't find anything strange about it. "I'll go after I finish these things. I didn't know he was the type to sulk."

Zhou Si and Mu Jin, "..."

Upon hearing this, it has to be said that Bai Qiqiu was more like a man coaxing his own husband!

Considering that Wen Zhaoran and Bai Qiqiu were both from the northern frontier, perhaps that's just how the customs are there.

After splitting the bamboo and laying it out to dry in the yard, Bai Qiqiu went to the Zhou family to find Zhou Qiang after lunch.

Mu Jin watched his departing figure, shook her head, and once again felt that Zhou Qiang had gotten a great deal by marrying Bai Qiqiu.

The weeds in the fields sprouted again, and the farmers had no time to rest. Mu Jin and Zhou Si quickly picked up their hoes and went to the fields.

The weather is getting warmer, and in a while, it will be time to start growing seedlings of green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, and most other vegetables.

Zhou Lin returned home early today, arriving at Shenshi (3-5 PM).

Seeing that Mu Jin and Zhou Si were still busy in the field, she picked up the wedding cake in her hand and waved it at the two of them.

Mu Jin wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and smiled slightly.

"Are you done with work?"

Zhou Lin walked up to him and nodded. "Master Qian gave me a packet of wedding cakes. Try some."

The hibiscus was spotted from afar; it was wrapped in red oil paper and looked very festive.

"We'll eat when we get back. I'll finish this hoeing job first, then you can go back."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lin took the hoe from his hand and handed the wedding cake he was carrying to Mu Jin.

"You and Si'er go back first, I'll do the hoeing."

Mu Jin couldn't compete with him, and considering that there were only a few rows left on this plot of land, she said helplessly, "Fine."

Zhou Si glanced speechlessly at Zhou Lin. Her older brother had come to the field without giving her a single look, and the two of them were completely oblivious to everyone else, gazing at each other with affection, seemingly unaware that she was also there.

"Big brother, you go back first, I'm still a little short."

Unable to persuade the two to give in, Mu Jin had no choice but to take the wedding cakes and go back first.

Bai Qiqiu returned from the Zhou family's house around dinner time, a smile playing on his lips, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Brother Qi Qiu, have you calmed him down?"

Bai Qiqiu nodded, looking helpless, and sighed, "Sigh, men always have so many problems."

The only man, Zhou Lin, “…”

Mu Jin couldn't help but be curious. The Zhou family, especially Zhou Wu Shi, was not easy to deal with. How did Bai Qiqiu manage to come back from that family so cheerfully?

He opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to ask Bai Qiqiu about his private affairs.

However, Wen Zhaoran didn't think too much about it and asked directly, "Brother Qi Qiu, how did you coax him? Teach me, so that if I ever anger Mu Zhou, I'll have something to learn from."

Bai Qiqiu laughed and said, "You don't need to coax me. If Mu Zhou is still angry with you, then he's being ungrateful."

Hibiscus: "..."

Wen Zhaoran blushed and muttered a few words under her breath.

Zhou Si smiled and shook his head; he actually felt that what Bai Qiqiu said made some sense.