Chapter 118
The bookstore owner's surname was Liu, and he looked similar to Manager Zhao, both being chubby and having a very kind and approachable smile.
After Mu Jin finished explaining his purpose, Manager Liu looked him up and down, his eyebrows curving slightly.
"Whose son-in-law is he? I've never seen him in town before?"
Because he needed to find a suitable husband for his son, he knew about 80% of the literate young men and women in the town, if not all of them.
But I've never heard of a family with the surname Mu.
Manager Liu pondered that this young man was quite handsome, and if he had a younger brother at home, he probably wouldn't be much less so.
If one's own little nemesis, who is too thin and too fat, were to find a husband whose younger brother was just as good-looking, then perhaps they could settle down.
Shopkeeper Liu was worried. He was the only child in the family, and he was born late in life. His parents and he and his wife cherished him dearly.
Not only did his elders at home spoil him, but his older sisters and brothers also gave him whatever he wanted. After he got married, his sons-in-law and brothers-in-law continued to spoil him.
It can be said that Liu's youngest son grew up in a pampered environment and never experienced any hardship.
Mu Jin's expression was gentle. "Manager Liu, I am not from the town, but from Mu Family Village."
"Village people?"
Manager Liu was somewhat incredulous. He looked at the boy a few more times. A boy who could read must come from a wealthy family in the village.
Manager Liu's heart was in turmoil. He gritted his teeth. The boys in the village were just boys in the village. His youngest son was almost sixteen. He had looked at all the families in town that he could get close to, even those who were worse off than his family, but none of them had caught the eye of that little devil.
If they are truly wealthy in the village, they are certainly better off than some families in the town.
Mu Jin had no idea what Manager Liu was thinking; she only saw him furrow his brows slightly one moment and relax the next.
He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Could it be that this bookstore didn't want him to come and copy books?
Manager Liu suppressed his thoughts; he was a man who could remain calm and collected, which was why he had reached his current position.
He reached out and took a piece of paper. "Young man, write down about sixty characters here."
Upon hearing this, Mu Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, took the brush from Manager Liu, dipped it in ink, picked up the brush, and carefully wrote down a poem she had read.
When Mu Jin was learning to read with Mu Nianjun, she cherished this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and put in her utmost effort.
Writing in the sand, I don't know how many branches I broke.
When she occasionally practices calligraphy with Mu Nianjun, she is unwilling to waste a single drop of ink.
Because of this, Mu Jin's handwriting is elegant and neat, with a steady stroke, carrying a kind of resilience hidden in gentleness.
Manager Liu nodded repeatedly, already planning to subtly inquire about whether Mu Jin had any brothers when she delivered the copied books next time.
After Mu Jin finished writing, she hadn't made a single mistake, and Manager Liu was extremely satisfied.
Holding onto the possibility that he was a relative, Manager Liu spoke again, his voice becoming much gentler.
“Young man, come this way. These are the books to be copied. You can choose two to take back. It’s two coins for every hundred characters. The more characters in the book, the more silver you’ll get for each one you copy. I have some paper cut to size for the books. If you waste a single sheet, you’ll have to pay me three coins. As for the writing brush, ink, and inkstone, I feel you’re very kind, so I’ll cover those.”
Mu Jin thought for a moment and nodded gently, "Then let's do as Manager Liu says."
Shopkeeper Liu laughed and said, "These are all classics and historical texts, which are dry and boring. These are the new storybooks that our bookstore has acquired. This one is called 'The General's Husband is Pregnant and Escapes in Secret.' The story is very dramatic and the young men and women in town love to read it. My husband, for example, was holding it and crying while reading it, cursing and crying at the same time."
Mu Jin immediately became interested and took out the book, which was much thicker than the other books.
Manager Liu sighed, “The narrative is just too long, about 150,000 words. The scholar wrote it for more than a year. Because of the large number of words, it was divided into three volumes. If you copy this book, you can take all three volumes with you.”
Mu Jin did the math and figured that even with 150,000 taels of silver, she could still make three taels of silver after copying it.
"Then these three books will do. Thank you, Manager Liu."
Shopkeeper Liu smiled, personally packed the three books, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and saw Mu Jin out of the bookstore.
Before parting, Manager Liu said again, "Copying books in a bookstore can't earn as much as writing them yourself. Young man, why don't you try writing a book?"
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Thank you for your advice, Manager Liu. If I do write a book later, I will definitely show it to you first."
Shopkeeper Liu smiled and nodded. This young man was well-mannered and neither arrogant nor humble. If he had a younger brother, he would probably be just as good.
If it's really a good match, he genuinely wants to force his youngest son to marry into the Mu family.
After leaving the bookstore, Mu Jin went straight back to the carpenter's shop.
Zhou Lin wouldn't let him go back to the village on his own. He told him to wait until noon, have lunch in town, and then drive the oxcart to take him back.
When Mu Jin returned to the carpenter's shop, she first went to the backyard to tell Zhou Lin to focus on his work.
With nothing to do, I put the books I brought back from the bookstore under the tree in the backyard, on the table where the carpenters in the carpenter's shop usually ate, and started writing and reading at the same time.
While Zhou Lin was wiping his sweat, he glanced up at Mu Jin and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
The two carpenters standing beside him were now genuinely envious. "My brother-in-law can actually read?!"
At first, they only envied Zhou Lin for marrying such a beautiful man. Little did they know that this handsome man was even more capable than them, and was also a literate young man.
Zhou Lin's good fortune in the village—being able to marry a literate man—has probably been used up entirely on finding a husband.
Mu Heng was very proud. "I've said it before, Jin Ge'er is the best boy in our village."
Now they all believed it.
In the blink of an eye, the sun quietly rose to the top of the sky.
Zhou Lin drew a bucket of water from the well in the backyard, and the men washed their faces and arms, feeling a little cooler.
Mu Jin put away the dried paper and went with Zhou Lin to the food stall across the street, where they ate a bowl of cold noodles covered with a layer of cucumber shreds.
Zhou Lin ordered an extra fried egg for Mu Jin, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
After lunch, Zhou Lin went to the pastry shop and bought a bag of walnut shortbread, Mu Jin's favorite, and then quickly sent Mu Jin back to the village.
Before returning to town, he gave me some more instructions.
"After copying the book, one can only copy for two hours a day, and then rest after half an hour."
Mu Jin nodded. "Don't worry, I know my body. I'll rest when I'm tired."
Zhou Lin drove the oxcart, turning back every few steps, but this time Mu Jin didn't see him off.
Just as Zhou Lin cracked his whip, Mu Jin turned and went home.
A feeling of reluctance suddenly got stuck in my chest.
Zhou Lin chuckled helplessly, glanced at the courtyard gate, and drove the oxcart back to town, braving the summer breeze.
The courtyard was quiet; the brothers in the family looked like they were still taking a nap.
When Mu Jin returned to the house, she opened the storybook. She had been looking forward to the most undulating part of the story while they were in town.
The sun was quietly setting in the west, but no hibiscus was seen emerging from the house.
Wen Zhaoran couldn't help but feel a little worried. "Brother Qi Qiu, should we go inside and check on him? Will Big Brother be alright?"
Bai Qiqiu nodded, picked out a round watermelon from the kitchen, cut it up, put it on a plate, and took it to the east room.
"Big brother, are you awake? Zhaoran and I cut a watermelon, it's even sweeter than yesterday's, you should try it."
Mu Jin put down her brush and relaxed her slightly sore shoulders, neck, and wrists.
He said gently, "Come in."
"Brother, what are you doing in the house?"
Bai Qiqiu placed the watermelon on the table and asked softly.
Mu Jin took a slice of watermelon and took a small bite.
"There wasn't much work left for me at home, so I found a job copying books in town since I was idle anyway."
Wen Zhaoran said helplessly, "Brother, we wanted you to rest more, but you've found yourself another thing to do."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "This job isn't tiring, and there are free stories to read. Isn't that great?"
Bai Qiqiu knew he couldn't dissuade Mu Jin, so he said, "Brother, you should take care of the little peach in your belly and don't overwork yourself."
Mu Jin nodded and handed the storybooks to the two of them. "I just finished reading the first one. It was so gripping, and incredibly captivating."
Is it really that good-looking?
Bai Qiqiu took the storybook, unimpressed, and sat down with Wen Zhaoran to read it.
Then, the three guys didn't go out much for the entire afternoon.
When Mu Bai brought Wang Li back from the foot of the mountain with a basket of wild vegetables, there were only dyed cloths swaying in the wind in the yard, and not a single person in sight.
"Big brother? Second brother? Brother Qi Qiu?"
Mu Bai called out several times, but there was no response. He muttered, "They're all not home? Where did they go?"
As the sun was about to set, Mu Bai didn't rush to look for them and put the bamboo basket into the kitchen.
Together with Wang Li, they moved the cloth that had been dyed that day from the yard into the dye house.
When Zhou Lin returned home, Mu Bai was lighting a fire in the kitchen. "Brother-in-law, my eldest brother and second brother are nowhere to be found. They haven't come back yet."
Zhou Lin was taken aback upon hearing this. "Have you looked inside the house?"
Mu Bai's little face was covered with some soot from the bottom of the pot. Hearing this, she shook her head.
“When Li Ge’er and I came back, we called them. If they were inside, they would definitely have answered us.”
Zhou Lin shook his head, tossed the tied-up old duck aside, and went back to the east room to take a look.
The door opened, and on the large bed, three boys were huddled together, reading a storybook, their eyes red and swollen from crying, with a small pile of soaked handkerchiefs lying beside them.
Zhou Lin sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation, "Have you guys been reading storybooks all afternoon?"
With her eyes swollen, Mu Jin was immediately pulled back to reality by Zhou Lin's voice.
He said in a hoarse voice, "You're back. Tsk, it's so late already."
Zhou Lin sighed helplessly, "The sun is almost setting. Get up and wash your faces. Look at you crying, your eyes are almost slits. I'll slaughter the duck first."
Mu Jin felt a little embarrassed, but then she thought that she couldn't really blame him. She could only blame the book for being so well-written that she couldn't put it down once she started reading.
Bai Qiqiu wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of his eyes. "I have to go back now, big brother. Can I take the third book back with me today?"
Wen Zhaoran was a little unhappy, "Brother Qi Qiu, I want to watch it tonight too."
Bai Qiqiu thought for a moment, "Then let's sleep together tonight. I'll call Mu Zhaoye over, and we can have dinner here. I'll stay here tonight."
Hibiscus: "..."
"I'll look at it tomorrow. The book won't run away."
"Brother, you don't understand. If I don't finish watching today, I won't be able to do my work tomorrow."
Hibiscus: "..."
"Then the three of us will sleep together tonight, in Zhaoran's room."
Zhou Lin and Mu Zhaoye, unaware that they would be spending the night alone in their rooms: "..."
Next time, I'll definitely not let Mulan bring back such a long storybook again.
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