Chapter 109
The newly opened half-acre vegetable garden is very close to the backyard gate of my house, and not far away is a stream flowing down from the mountain, making watering very convenient.
Because the family's blue-and-white printed fabric making technique is now unique in the town, after the dozen or so bolts of fabric sent by wealthy families in other villages, people in the town, hearing the news, also quickly sent a lot of fabric.
The firewood in the dyehouse stove never stopped burning; they were extremely busy.
After the New Year, Bai Qiqiu asked Zhou Lin to help him carve many new patterns on the printing plates.
Following the furniture catalog from the carpenter's shop in town, I found the town's painter and had him paint the green background with white dots, blue prints with small yellow flowers, and clouds—all newly developed by him...
Anyway, there were about sixteen or seventeen complicated new styles, including red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, mixed with some re-dyed colors, along with some old styles, all compiled into a thin booklet.
The townspeople or villagers who came to deliver cloth were overwhelmed by the variety of patterns in the booklet.
Aside from the blue-and-white printed fabric I'd been longing for, I chose quite a few other patterns that caught my eye.
Those who came went back, and the word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred, eventually attracting many more families.
Bai Qiqiu is currently as busy as a spinning top, either working in the dye house or taking Wang Li and Wen Zhaoran to the mountains to collect firewood and pick buckthorn and indigo leaves, the tender leaves of which can be used to dye a light green color.
Seeing that the dye shop was running out of dye and there wasn't much dye left to harvest in the mountains, Zhou Lin helped buy more than half a cartload of dye from the town.
Years ago, we ate a lot of chickens and ducks at home, but now we only have three hens and two ducks left.
Nowadays, the vegetables from our family are supplied to two shops, and both shops buy our eggs and duck eggs. So even if we raise more, we don't have to worry about selling them.
Compared to a rice noodle shop, the Zhao family's restaurant requires twice as many vegetables and eggs.
At the end of February, Mu Jin asked Zhou Lin to buy fifty plucked chickens and twenty plucked ducks from the town.
These chickens and ducks are easier to raise than chicks covered in yellow down. If you raise them for a month or two, you can start collecting eggs.
After careful consideration, it's still more cost-effective to just buy larger poultry.
With the dyeing workshop so busy these days, all the household chores have fallen on Mulan's shoulders.
After the crops in the fields are planted, Mu Jin spends the morning cutting pig feed, feeding poultry, picking wild vegetables, digging bamboo shoots, and gathering mushrooms. In the afternoon, she tends to the newly opened vegetable garden. These are all trivial tasks that keep her busy.
If Zhou Lin returns early, he can help clear the wasteland so that vegetables can be planted sooner, which will bring in income sooner.
In the midst of their busy work, summer quietly arrived. The vegetable garden was ready, and Mu Jin quickly applied some fertilizer, divided the vegetable seeds into plots, and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Zhou Lin has been busy these days. After returning home, he went to the mountains to cut down trees and bamboo without resting for long.
The newly opened vegetable garden was surrounded by a bamboo fence that was more than half a person high.
Mu Jin closed the fence gate, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and looked at the neat and tidy vegetable garden. The corners of her mouth had been turned up ever since she arrived.
Suddenly everything went black, and Mu Jin staggered before regaining her balance.
Mu Jin stood there for a while, thinking that she must have been too busy and overworked these days, so she didn't take it to heart.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the house, he lost his senses and fainted on the ground.
This startled Wen Zhaoran, who was helping to hang the cloth to dry in the yard. "Big brother!"
Suddenly, Mu Jin heard a sound that seemed to come from the distant horizon, and it even had an echo.
"Dr. Mu, is it true? Is my elder brother alright? How is my little nephew?!"
Dr. Mu was so flustered by Bai Qiqiu's frantic pace that he felt dizzy and had no choice but to wave his hand helplessly.
"Qiu-ge'er, stop spinning. You're dizzy. I've already told you it's nothing serious. It's just that Jin-ge'er is overworked and the pregnancy is a bit unstable. I'll prescribe two doses of medicine to stabilize the pregnancy, and then he can rest and recuperate for a while. During this period, he absolutely must not do any dirty or strenuous work."
Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran were overjoyed and nodded in unison, "We will definitely take good care of our eldest brother and won't let him touch the ground!"
Doctor Mu chuckled. These two boys that Mu Jin had taken in were treating him no worse than his own younger brothers.
"There's no need for that, we still need to move around."
Wen Zhaoran thought for a moment and said, "Dr. Mu, neither Qi Qiu nor I have ever taken care of a pregnant man before. What can't my brother eat or do? Could you please write down a list so we can remember it and learn from it?"
Before Doctor Mu could even speak, Wang Li's delighted voice came from beside the bed.
"Brother, brother!"
The group rushed to the bedside, and Bai Qiqiu sighed and said with a smile, "Big brother, you're finally awake! You scared us to death."
Mu Jin's complexion was still a little pale, but she forced a smile and said softly, "It's nothing, I'm probably just too tired."
Wang Li held Mu Jin's hand, "Brother, it's alright now."
Mu Jin smiled at him, "It's alright, Brother Li, don't worry."
Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with joy.
"Big brother, Qi Qiu and I are going to be promoted in the next generation!"
As Wen Zhaoran spoke, she smiled and winked at Mu Jin.
Mu Jin was taken aback. Her other hand, which was not being held by Wang Li, unconsciously patted her stomach, and her eyes immediately lit up.
"Is it really true?!"
Bai Qiqiu laughed and said, "Brother, would we lie to you about this?"
Mu Jin was both surprised and delighted. Overwhelmed with excitement, her pale face flushed slightly, giving her a healthy glow.
He secretly thought that when Zhou Lin returned and heard this news, he would probably be overjoyed.
“Brother, you are now carrying two babies, which is not the same as before. Doctor Mu said that you cannot overwork yourself and need to rest well for a few days.”
Mu Jin nodded gently, cherishing the child he and Zhou Lin had longed for for so long.
Seeing this, Bai Qiqiu pulled up Wang Li, who was standing to the side.
"Brother, you should rest well. Zhaoran and I will go get your medicine."
Wang Li was reluctant to leave, tugging at Mu Jin's sleeve, "Brother."
Wen Zhaoran said softly, "Li-ge'er, Big Brother just woke up. Let him sleep a little longer. Shall we go and brew some medicine for him?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Li obediently let go and followed Bai Qiqiu out the door.
Wen Zhaoran took a bag of pastries from the small cabinet and handed it to Mu Jin.
"Brother, have something to eat first, then go to sleep."
Hibiscus sat up and nodded gently.
Seeing this, Wen Zhaoran didn't linger and left with a joyful heart.
When Bai Qiqiu got the medicine, he also bought a medicine stove from Doctor Mu. Just as he started decocting the medicine, Zhou Lin rushed into the courtyard in a great hurry.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and like a gust of wind, he entered the bedroom in the blink of an eye.
Mu Lingqiao, who was following behind Zhou Lin, also looked a little worried.
Mu Jin fainted, which greatly frightened Wen Zhaoran and Bai Qiqiu. The two carried Mu Jin back to the bedroom, and then Bai Qiqiu went to the Mu hunter's house.
Because Mu Mian was pregnant, she didn't dare let him know. Mu Lingqiao kept it from him, only saying that she had to go out for a while, and hurriedly drove the mule cart to the town.
Upon receiving the news, Zhou Lin was so shocked that he stood there dumbfounded.
If Mu Lingqiao hadn't grabbed him and pulled him onto the mule cart, he might have remained stunned for who knows how long.
The two remained silent throughout the journey, only cracking their whips to drive the mules rapidly.
Seeing Zhou Lin's absent-minded appearance, Mu Lingqiao sighed inwardly, thinking that if anything really happened to Mu Jin, he, her brother, would probably follow her.
Thinking this, he quickly lashed out with the whip twice more.
Mu Jin had eaten more than half of a bag of pastries and was about to take another piece when the door was suddenly pushed open.
"Jin'er!"
Zhou Lin was panting heavily, staring wide-eyed at Mu Jin.
Seeing that Mulan was sitting peacefully on the bed, with crumbs of pastry still on the corner of her mouth, her anxious heart slowly calmed down a little.
"Are you alright? How did you faint?"
As Zhou Lin spoke, he placed a pair of rough, large hands on Mu Jin's forehead.
From the town to the village, Zhou Lin was filled with anxiety. He even considered the possibility that if Mu Jin really got into trouble, he would feel no regrets and would simply go with her.
Mu Jin looked at Zhou Lin, who was still a little out of breath and whose forehead was covered in sweat, and smiled.
"There is something going on, but it's a good thing."
As he spoke, he put the pastries aside and guided Zhou Lin's large hand, which had been on his forehead, to his lower abdomen, where it stopped.
He looked at Zhou Lin with a smile in his eyes.
Zhou Lin was speechless, stunned for a moment. Her husband said it was a good thing, a good thing!
My usually slow-witted brain finally clicked for a moment.
Overjoyed, his large hand, which was resting on Mu Jin's lower abdomen, trembled slightly.
Incredulous: "Really?"
Mu Jin smiled and nodded.
Zhou Lin hugged Mu Jin tightly, too excited to speak.
Mu Jin's eyes filled with a smile.
Mu Lingqiao was unaware of the excitement the couple had in the bedroom. Hearing Bai Qiqiu say outside the courtyard that Mu Jin was out of danger, he was relieved.
Without lingering any longer, I hurried home.
Mu Jin is only two months pregnant, so Wen Zhaoran and Bai Qiqiu didn't tell Mu Lingqiao.
Pour the decocted medicine into a bowl and take it to the bedroom.
Zhou Lin was still holding Mu Jin and hadn't let go. The door was open, and Wen Zhaoran blushed when she saw this.
Bai Qiqiu coughed lightly, "Brother, the medicine is ready."
Mu Jin blushed and patted Zhou Lin.
Zhou Linping calmed himself down and took the medicine bowl from Bai Qiqiu's hand.
Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran naturally wouldn't stand in the way of the couple in the room, but unfortunately Wang Li lacked that kind of foresight.
They wanted to go inside, but Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran each took one arm and gently dragged them out, closing the door behind them.
The joy of hibiscus's pregnancy permeated every corner of the house.
However, it's a good thing, but now there's work to be done everywhere in the house.
Mu Jin is currently recuperating. As for the remaining people, Wang Li will not be mentioned for the time being, and Bai Qiqiu has a lot of things to do besides the dyeing workshop.
Wen Zhaoran was not the type to do manual labor.
After much thought, I realized that we still need to hire two people to help manage the household.
Mu Jin was reluctant to spend the money, thinking that after resting for two or three days, she would be able to get up and do chores.
Unfortunately, this time, Zhou Lin was very assertive, stating that before the child was born, the heaviest job Mu Jin could do was to pick beans and tomatoes in the vegetable garden.
Knowing that his family was doing it for his own good, Mu Jin stopped pretending and stayed home to rest and prepare for childbirth.
Zhou Lin took two days off and spent one day at home with Mu Jin, noticing that he looked much better.
The next morning, I went to the village chief's house.
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