Chapter 107
The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day to visit one's maternal grandparents' home.
Before the New Year, the family bought a lot of New Year's gifts for visiting relatives and friends. Mu Jin packed a bag of pastries, two handfuls of maltose, a pound of meat, and went back to the Mu family with Zhou Lin.
Wen Zhaoran couldn't cook, so she went with him to the Mu family's house.
Anyway, he comes often, and although he is not yet married into the family, he is already the prospective husband of the Mu family.
As the years go by, it's understandable to follow along and make some moves.
Bai Qiqiu had planned to go back to Mu Jin's place on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but unfortunately the timing conflicted.
So I decided to come back on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.
Along the way, many villagers carried bamboo baskets in their left hands, covered with cloths, filled with gifts for visiting relatives.
The toddler, who could walk, hopped and skipped behind his parents.
Young babies are often held in the arms of the man who is in charge of the household.
With a piece of candy in her little mouth that she didn't usually get to eat, she was so happy that her mouth watered.
Laughter filled the air, and Mu Jin unconsciously joined in the laughter.
Of all the years, the Spring Festival is the most lively and festive time.
During the New Year, quarrels and arguments are often considered unlucky by the villagers.
Regardless of any past grievances between families, villagers tend to forgive and forget during the Lunar New Year.
Because of this, the village is most harmonious during the Spring Festival.
The laughter and cheerful conversation brought a sense of peace and warmth to those who listened.
Families with many relatives will have to visit each other until around the tenth of the month.
Fortunately, aside from her maternal family and Master Zhou Lin's side, Mu Jin also visited Uncle Zhou Lin's family and then quickly delivered a New Year's gift to the Zhao family.
The rest is to get together with Bai Qiqiu, Zhou Si, Mu Nianjun, Mu Mian and their families.
By the eighth day of the month, those who were supposed to exchange gifts had finished their business.
During a rare moment of leisure, I had some leftover stewed meat from years ago. I sliced hibiscus and stir-fried it with cabbage.
I've eaten more meat in the last few days than I did in the entire previous year combined.
Mu Jin's chin has become much rounder, and she looks to be in great health.
Zhou Lin was no longer as thin as a stick; he had become increasingly strong and powerful.
Mu Jin understood this deeply at night. When she clung to Zhou Lin, the way she touched his waist and abdomen made him even more reluctant to let go.
Wen Zhaoran hadn't changed much; she was still as beautiful and exquisite as ever.
“Brother-in-law, we’ve saved up quite a bit of wood before the New Year. Once the snow melts, let’s go to town and hire a craftsman to build the wooden house.”
Zhou Lin picked up a piece of cabbage with his chopsticks, thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait a little longer. When the weather gets a bit warmer, we'll cut down more trees and finish the spring planting."
Wen Zhaoran nodded slightly, secretly deciding to make her home as beautiful as the idyllic paradise described in books.
As the three were eating, Bai Qiqiu hurriedly ran home.
"Brother, brother-in-law, something terrible has happened! Uncle Fengnian beat up Uncle Qin!"
Mu Jin immediately put down her chopsticks, her face full of surprise, "Huh?"
A bad feeling suddenly arose in my heart.
Zhou Lin put down his chopsticks and quickly stood up. "What happened?"
Bai Qiqiu took a breath. "I'm not entirely sure what the specifics are, but I know it seems to be related to Li Ge'er."
After finishing the last sip of soup, Mu Jin, Zhou Lin, Wen Zhaoran, and Bai Qiqiu went to Uncle Qin's house.
A crowd gathered at the entrance of the courtyard, including people visiting relatives during the holiday, as well as many people from other villages who came to watch the commotion.
Kimura was furious; it was the Lunar New Year, and he had finally had a peaceful period.
After only a few days of peace, trouble has arisen again.
"Fighting and brawling during the Lunar New Year? You'd better go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to reflect on your actions!"
Although Zhou Fengnian was full of resentment, he obeyed the village chief's orders and followed the men who had come to escort him to the ancestral hall.
Uncle Qin's eyes darkened, and without saying a word, he got up and silently followed.
The two men who were fighting left, so there was nothing to see. The group of people gathered at the door were completely baffled as to why the two honest men had started fighting.
The two went to the ancestral hall, and the group of confused villagers gradually dispersed.
Mu Jin and Uncle Qin's eyes met, but Uncle Qin's eyes flickered for a moment.
Zhou Chuxue glared at Uncle Qin with an unfriendly look, then pulled Wang Li aside and turned to go home.
Mu Jin and the others followed, and none of them spoke along the way.
Upon arriving at Zhou Fengnian's house, Zhou Chuxue told Wang Li to go back to his room to rest, while the rest of them went to the main room.
"Uncle, what exactly happened?"
Hibiscus sat in the chair and asked softly.
Zhou Chuxue said bitterly, "You can know a person's face but not their heart. The Qin couple may look like honest people, but their hearts are even dirtier than the patrons of Yuemanlou."
Mu Jin frowned slightly. "What did they do?"
"Your uncle is quite shrewd. When he visited relatives today, he learned that one of the boys the Qin family had adopted happened to be from his uncle's village. He found out why the Qin family only adopted boys. He initially thought it was because most families wouldn't abandon their sons, but there are always families with many sons. He never imagined it was for the purpose of continuing the family line!"
Mu Jin was astonished. "How could this be? Back then, Uncle Qin was willing to give up his own child rather than get a divorce. How could he do this now! Could it be that the young man is lying?"
Zhou Chuxue said angrily, "Your cousin and I heard what that boy said, so we didn't even have lunch at his uncle's house and rushed to the Qin family. If we had arrived a step later, a big mistake might have been made!"
Mu Jin frowned, unable to understand it at all.
"If you want a son, you can always buy a concubine now. Why go through all this trouble?"
Having seen all sorts of people in the brothel, Zhou Chuxue thought about it for a moment and understood the reason.
"She couldn't bear to give up her reputation as a devoted husband. Back then, she refused to marry another woman for his sake and even separated from the family to live alone. In fact, she has earned the praise of many women and husbands over the years because of this. If she were to buy a concubine, wouldn't that be a slap in his face? What would have been the point of all that she did in the past few years?"
Mu Jin was speechless, and Zhou Lin looked on in disbelief.
“Those runaway boys are all normal boys, not easy to control. The boys who are mentally unstable are easy to coax. These days, because we have been visiting them often, we have become much closer to the couple. Also, because the fever damaged their brains, it has no effect on the children.”
Zhou Chuxue took a breath and said, "After Li Ge'er gives birth, we'll just say to outsiders that it was Uncle Qin who gave birth to him. We'll also dye the mole on Li Ge'er's forehead pink. Everything will be as if nothing happened. Besides, in their eyes, Li Ge'er is not related to me or your uncle. I guess they think we won't care about him."
"Uncle Qin is hardworking and gets along well with the villagers. When I was young, he helped me when I was working alone in the fields at noon. There must have been a misunderstanding."
Zhou Chuxue sighed deeply, “Brother, people’s hearts are the most fickle. Perhaps Uncle Qin was a good man before, but over the years, men his age have many children and grandchildren. The children of other families in the village play and frolic on the village road. It’s impossible for him not to be envious. Every man wants a child with his own bloodline. No matter how much affection the two of them have, over the years, I’m afraid there’s not much left.”
Zhou Lin frowned so deeply it looked like he could trap a fly. "This is just speculation."
Zhou Chuxue shook her head helplessly, "More than any of you, I want Li Ge'er to have a good home."
Zhou Lin was stunned, his heart filled with complicated emotions. He really couldn't believe that the man who had helped him so much in the past would be like this in private.
Seeing this, Mu Jin said softly, "People are not simply black and white. Uncle Qin was a good person before, but now he has done something wrong. We cannot simply let go of all the good things he did in the past and say that he is a bad person who has corrupted his conscience. It's like saying that a wicked person who has committed heinous crimes is actually a good person because he did a good deed at the end."
Zhou Chuxue glanced at Mu Jin and smiled gently, "Jin-ge'er sees things clearly. Alas, I really don't know what to do with Li-ge'er now. His father and stepfather came by a couple of days ago. Alas."
Before she could finish speaking, Mu Jin knew that she had probably caused trouble again.
With a slight shift in his eyes, he said, "Uncle, this matter is easy to handle. The Wang family is the most bullying of the weak and fearing the strong. Mu Fu, a relative of mine in our village, is a distant relative. According to seniority, I should call him Uncle. I wonder if Uncle would be willing to spend some money for Li-ge'er?"
Zhou Chuxue was quick-witted; she understood Mu Jin's meaning as soon as she finished speaking.
"What Jin-ge'er means is to have Mu Fu-hu come forward and buy Li-ge'er from the Wang family, while your uncle and I will actually provide the money. Then, we can go to the county government to have Li-ge'er removed from the slave register?"
Mu Jin nodded. It's so convenient to talk to smart people; they just get to the point.
Zhou Chuxue smiled slightly, "Jin-ge'er is quite clever. Then I'll trouble you to tell Mu Fu-hu that they asked us for five taels of silver before. I estimate that three taels should be enough to settle this matter."
"Alright, I'll make time to visit Mu Fu's family in a couple of days. Once the fifteenth is over, I'll get this done as soon as possible, lest something unexpected happens."
Zhou Chuxue nodded, "Thank you for making this trip for me, Brother Jin."
As he spoke, he took out a coin from his purse and gave it to Mu Jin. He couldn't go to Mu Fu's house empty-handed.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Jin accepted the silver.
Once Wang Li is pulled out of the fire at the Wang family's residence, Zhou Fengnian's guilt towards Wang Liu should be relieved.
After finishing their business, Mu Jin and Zhou Lin didn't linger and hurried home.
Two days later, Mu Jin carried two catties of meat, a jar of wine, and two packages of pastries, and Zhou Lin went with her to Mu Fuhu's house.
On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Fengnian went to Wangjia Village.
On the fourteenth day of the year, the Wang family came to Mujia Village. At Zhou Fengnian's house, they went back and forth with the steward sent by Mu Fuhu to negotiate a price.
In the end, Wang Li sold it to Mu Fuhu for four taels of silver.
A single contract of servitude severed all ties between Wang Li and the Wang family.
For Wang Li, it was a relief, a fortunate thing.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, Mu Jin wove two large lanterns out of bamboo strips and covered them with red paper, making them very festive.
Zhou Lin helped hang it at the entrance of his yard.
As the weather gradually warms up, at night, the village children, carrying lanterns made by their families, run and play along the village roads.
In the darkness, the tiny lights resembled fireflies in the grass.
The Lunar New Year holiday is over.
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