Inside the room.
Lu An had a sour face, his teeth grinding together.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Anman said unhappily, "It's all because of my mother. She actually persuaded me to do forced labor. All I did was lose my job, and she actually wants me to do it. Our family is not that poor. It's just a tael of silver."
Lin Xiuer said somewhat dejectedly, "Mother is too biased towards Cheng Yu."
Lu An said angrily, "That's right! To marry Li Fangyue, the family spent dozens of taels of silver, and Mother didn't even blink an eye. Now she's arguing with me about a single tael of silver."
Lin Xiuer was also very unhappy. After Lu An lost her job, Tang Shi often complained about her, and Lin Xiuer felt a little ashamed.
"The old lady and the old man still love Lu Chengyu the most!" Lin Xiuer couldn't help but complain.
Before, when the second wife was around, Lin Xiuer didn't feel that the old lady was biased. Now that the second wife is gone, Lin Xiuer feels that many things are different.
"Who exactly is Lu Lin working for? Many people in the village are getting rich because of him. The villagers have a very high opinion of him," Lin Xiuer said sourly.
Many people in the village now make money by selling embroidery to Huaxia Trading Company. Lin Xiuer secretly made some embroidery and asked someone to sell it to Huaxia Trading Company.
Lin Xiuer used to look down on Lu Lin, but now she has to rely on Lu Lin to make money. This makes Lin Xiuer feel a little ashamed. If she hadn't really had no other choice, Lin Xiuer would never have done this.
Lu An said sullenly, "Who knows?"
Lu An already knew that Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi had found work in town. Before he lost his job in town, the villagers liked to bring him up with Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin. Lu An used to think that the two were his juniors and he was too lazy to pay attention to them. Now, he felt that it would be embarrassing, so he was too lazy to ask.
"I heard that many people in Dawancun make sweet potato chips and sell them in toy shops, and Lu Lin takes a cut of the profits." Sweet potato chips aren't worth as much as toys, but if you sell a lot, you still make a considerable amount.
Lu An, his face dark, said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about it anymore."
Lu An lost his job, and what he hated most was hearing all sorts of news about Lu Lin's "ability".
Lu Lin hid in the room, thinking about new doll designs.
Lu Lin originally thought that the matter of forced labor could be settled by paying one or two taels of silver, but he never expected that the villagers would now think he was a tycoon, and quite a few people would come to him to borrow money.
Lu Lin truly experienced the meaning of "people fear becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat."
A group of people started a conversation about trivial family relationships, and they started asking for hundreds of coins.
For Lu Lin, this amount of money was nothing to him, but that didn't mean he was willing to be taken advantage of. Moreover, once this matter started, it would be even more difficult to handle later. If he helped this person but not that person, people would always have something to say about it.
Since he kept getting caught on the street, Lu Lin started hiding and avoiding people.
When Granny Shen saw Lu Lin's condition, she sighed. She had originally planned to go back to her hometown to take a look, but after hearing about the forced labor, she decided against it.
Once this labor service begins, it will be easy for people in the village to borrow money. Granny Shen knows that in the eyes of the villagers, she is now very lucky and has made a lot of money. If she doesn't lend money when people come to her for help, her reputation will definitely be ruined.
After a series of autumn rains, winter finally arrived.
Chen Xiaomi sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "The people in this town really live a refined life!"
When Chen Xiaomi lived in the countryside, she relied on burning firewood for heating. Here, she relies on burning charcoal. Firewood is readily available on the mountain, but charcoal costs money in town. Sometimes Chen Xiaomi feels that lighting a stove early is a bit wasteful, but after lighting the stove, the room becomes much warmer and more comfortable.
Lu Lin walked in and said, "The weather has suddenly turned cold!"
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "Yes, business in the store seems to have gotten worse recently."
Lu Lin crossed his arms and said, "It's probably because the weather is cold, so people don't like to go out."
At this time of year, winter is very cold, and if you accidentally catch a cold, you'll have to spend a lot of money. Recently, there have been far fewer people from the countryside coming to town.
Lin Xiuer became pregnant earlier than Li Fangyue and gave birth to a son. The villagers all liked boys, and the old man and woman were very happy about the birth of Lin Xiuer's son. However, the family already had Lu Songzhi, so Lin Xiuer's birth of this son was just icing on the cake.
Lin Xiuer gave birth to a boy, which made Tang Shi look forward to Li Fangyue's pregnancy even more.
Tang has been treating Li Fangyue well lately, hoping she will give birth to a son. Lin Xiuer gave birth to a son, which put a lot of pressure on Li Fangyue.
After waiting and waiting, the day finally arrived for Li Fangyue to give birth.
The old lady had high hopes for Li Fangyue. After Li Fangyue became pregnant, she gave her a lot of nourishing food. Perhaps she accidentally overdid it, and as a result, Li Fangyue had a difficult childbirth. She endured a day and a night of suffering and almost lost her life to give birth to a girl.
The old lady's face fell when she saw that the baby was a girl.
Tang was also very disappointed. Lu Chengyu was not young in the countryside, and Tang still hoped that this child would be a son. Lu Chengyu did not like girls very much. After the daughter was born, he only glanced at her and did not hold her.
Li Fangyue was not happy when she learned that she had given birth to a girl, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Inside the courtyard.
Chen Xiaomi munched on a dried sweet potato, looking rather bored. "Li Fangyue gave birth to a girl."
"Lu Chengyu is probably going to be disappointed," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaomi blinked and said, "I guess so."
"However, Lu Chengyu and Li Fangyue are still young, and they will be able to have a son sooner or later." I heard that Li Fangyue's pregnancy was well-nourished, and she is now plump and healthy. Li Fangyue was not very good-looking to begin with, and she has gained a lot of weight, which has made her look much better.
Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin and asked, "Do you prefer boys or girls?"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "It's all good, it's all good." As a modern person, Lu Lin didn't place much importance on having a son or a daughter. In his previous life, Lu Lin was gay and never thought about having children. Being able to have a baby in this world made Lu Lin very happy. Chen Xiaomi pouted, thinking that Lu Lin probably still preferred a boy.
Looking at Chen Xiaomi's expression, Lu Lin said, "I'm telling the truth, don't feel pressured."
Chen Xiaomi nodded, looking at Lu Lin's expression.
In November, Lu Lin told Chen Xiaocai to close the shop and come back home for the Chinese New Year.
After the doll craze had subsided, the shop still managed to sell a few dolls occasionally. When Lu Lin suddenly told her to close the shop and go back, Chen Xiaocai was a little reluctant. However, she thought that she hadn't seen her older brother and Xiaomai for a long time, and felt that she could earn the money slowly later. For now, she decided to go back first.
When Chen Xiaocai put up a sign that he was closing down, it alarmed some of the town's residents. Many were worried that they wouldn't be able to buy the dolls if the shop closed, so they rushed to buy them. As a result, the shop sold quite a few more dolls before closing time, earning thirty taels of silver.
When Chen Xiaocai returned, Xiaomai was overjoyed.
Chen Xiaomai clung to Xiaocai's leg, howling and howling for a long time. Lu Lin, watching Xiaomai's random shouts, always felt that Xiaomai must have been a wolf in her past life.
Lu Lin settled Qin Yi and Qin Lang's wages with the father and son, and also gave them an extra three taels of silver as a bonus, which made Qin Yi feel very embarrassed.
"Brother Lin, is it alright for us to stay in this house during the winter? Will the owner of this house have any objections?" Qin Yi asked somewhat nervously.
Lu Lin said that the owner has gone to another place to take up an official post and will not be returning in the near future.
Qin Yi was relieved after hearing this.
Qin Yi didn't really want to go back to the mountains. It was fine while he was in the mountains, but once he came out, he didn't want to go back. The caves were always damp in winter, and when the wind blew into the caves, he could feel a bone-chilling cold, which made him feel a headache just thinking about it.
Grandma Shen was overjoyed to see Shen Chi return. The grandmother and grandson hadn't seen each other for a long time, and they chatted for a long time in the house.
Chen Xiaocai walked into the room and saw a pile of books, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones on the table. She was a little puzzled and asked, "Brother Lu, where did all this come from?"
Lu Lin said with a hint of pride, "I bought it for you."
Chen Xiaocai asked, puzzled, "Why would I buy this? I don't want to take the imperial examinations." He wanted to be a big boss in the future, make lots and lots of money, and be incredibly wealthy.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaocai with some disdain and said, "Why are you so unambitious, kid?"
Chen Xiaocai looked at Lu Lin and said, "Brother Lin, you're not that old! If you work hard now, you might just become the top scholar in the imperial examination!"
Lu Lin: "..." This brat Xiao Cai is quite the smooth talker; he actually dared to make fun of him.
Lu Lin had read the books here. The characters used here were somewhat similar to traditional Chinese characters, but in reality, the differences were quite significant.
Lu Lin felt that with his abilities, he could manage to write the characters here, but to learn to write classical Chinese texts with proper tones and rhythms would be quite a challenge. The scholars in this area had been practicing calligraphy since childhood, and his calligraphy was really embarrassing.
"I, your brother Lin, have limited talent and am powerless to help, so I can only place my hopes on you," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaocai said, somewhat puzzled, "Brother Lin, what's the use of you buying this book? There's no one willing to teach me."
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaocai and said, "Don't worry about that. With money, why worry about not being able to hire a teacher? I've found one for you to teach you to read. I don't expect you to learn much, I just want you to be able to read. Chen Chi can learn with you."
Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "Okay then!"
In Chen Xiaocai's eyes, being literate was still a very prestigious thing. In the eyes of the villagers, people who could read were extraordinary. Chen Xiaomi wanted to send Chen Xiaocai to school, but the school wouldn't accept him. Although Chen Xiaocai said he didn't care, he was actually a little disappointed.
Lu Lin prepared writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for both Chen Xiaocai and Shen Chi. When Grandma Shen found out, she was moved once again.
Learning to read and write requires a lot of money. Moreover, this place values the idea that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. Unless a family is extremely wealthy, they will not allow their daughters and Shuang'er to learn anything.
Chen Chi was very curious about the fact that he was going to learn from Chen Xiaocai.
Lu Lin found an elderly scholar in his fifties or sixties to teach the two children. This scholar had spent his entire life taking the imperial examinations, but in his later years, his family became increasingly impoverished, forcing him to open a small school in the countryside to make a living. The scholar's knowledge was limited; he could only provide basic education for young children.
Lu Lin didn't have high expectations for the old scholar; he only wanted him to teach Chen Xiaocai and Shen Chi in his family to read.
Lu Lin only bought writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for Chen Xiaocai and Chen Chi, but he told the other children in the family that they could also attend the class if they wanted.
Xiaomai had no interest in studying. The Qin brothers were initially curious and listened for a while, but later lost interest.
Lu Lin held a book in his hand, which was covered with pinyin annotations.
Lu Lin had the old scholar read through several articles and marked them with pinyin for easy memorization. This way, Lu Lin could read the articles by simply comparing them with the pinyin.
Chen Xiaomi had no idea what pinyin was, but after seeing Lu Linbiao's pinyin, she knew what the characters were, which she found amazing.
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