Chapter 81
The town entrance was bustling with activity; the autumn harvest had just ended, and people had sold their grain for money.
The villagers' wallets are bulging now, and since they've come, they'll buy some things they need to take home.
There were quite a few people selling winnowing baskets and hampers. Luckily, when Mujin was at home, she had a clever trick: while the family was dyeing cloth, she used the dyes at home to weave patterns on the baskets and winnowing baskets.
Therefore, the items in front of the hibiscus stood out from the crowd of ordinary winnowing baskets and crates.
The price is the same, and whether they are villagers or townspeople, most are happy to buy the nice-looking ones.
Before long, only two winnowing baskets remained of the items woven by Mu Jin.
The dried fruits, acorns, and walnuts we brought sold for a little over one coin per pound, more than the price of a whole basket when sold to the shop.
The coins clattered as they were tossed into the purse, and Mu Jin listened to the delightful sound, her eyes crinkling with joy.
Seeing that it was getting late, Mu Jin called out, "The last two winnowing baskets are here! Selling them cheap, eight coins for both, take them together."
Just then, two women walked by hand in hand. Seeing that the weaving was exquisite and the price was cheap, they bargained back and forth with Mu Jin.
The young man was no match for the two women; Mu Jin was truly outmatched.
Seeing this, Bai Qiqiu said loudly, "Aunties, this is already very cheap. My elder brother wove these all day and night. His hands are swollen. If you don't have enough copper coins, please let us have them. There are other people who want to buy them."
When a woman saw that someone had actually come, she said hurriedly, "Oh, you young man... alright, eight coins it is."
He took out his money pouch, counted the coins carefully twice, and then handed eight copper coins to Mu Jin.
After selling out all the things they brought, Mu Jin put the basket of dried fruit into the cart and strolled around the once-a-year Autumn Festival with Zhou Lin and the others.
Zhou Lin had now saved up sixty-eight coins. Seeing the snacks being sold by the vendors, he thought of buying some for Mu Jin to try.
Candied hawthorn berries, dragon's beard candy, knotweed flower candy, fried dough twists, boiled rice cakes...
After a long stroll, Mu Jin had a bunch of snacks in her arms and was holding a candied hawthorn in her hand.
Zhou Lin's purse was empty of twenty-seven coins, but he was beaming with joy.
He's happy when he spends money on his husband.
Mu Jin gave him a playful glare, then shoved the things in her arms into Zhou Lin's arms and began to savor the candied hawthorn in her hand.
Wen Zhaoran took a bite of the candied hawthorn that Mu Jin had asked Zhou Lin to buy for him, and watched as Mu Zhaoye also surrounded Bai Qiqiu, buying a large bag of things.
Among the group, all were couples. Suddenly, the candied hawthorn in his mouth tasted terribly sour, and he missed Mu Zhou a little.
The group ate and shopped as they went, and after a while, when they were satisfied with their shopping, they went into town to look for the wooden boat at the academy.
As noon approached, the number of restaurants and taverns in the town was much higher than usual due to the Autumn Festival.
Fortunately, the restaurant where Wen Zhaoran was treating them was Caiyun Restaurant, the largest in town. Although it was expensive, there were still seats available.
The group sat in the lobby, and Wen Zhaoran was finally able to spend money freely. With a wave of her hand, she ordered all the restaurant's signature dishes.
Mu Jin quickly pulled him back, "Take it easy, you've ordered so much, how can we possibly finish it all?!"
Wen Zhaoran waved his hand, "Big brother, don't worry, I brought enough money."
Mu Jin was exasperated. Was this really a matter of money?!
Yes, there are some, but the main problem is that ordering so much food is probably too much to finish and would be a waste.
The waiter's eyes lit up, and his mouth was practically stretched to the back of his ears.
"Don't worry, sir. If you can't finish it, you can take it with you. There's a quiet room upstairs where you can enjoy the view of Qingshui Town. Please come upstairs with me."
Because Wen Zhaoran spent a lot of money, the group was directly invited into a private room, and the waiter's attitude was much more enthusiastic than when they first entered the restaurant.
Hibiscus: "..."
No wonder people often say that money can make the devil turn the millstone; spending money and not spending money really do make a difference.
Looking out from the second floor of the restaurant, the town streets are clearly visible, and the view is indeed better than from the first floor.
Wen Zhaoran looked at the scenery outside the window for a while and sighed, "Brother, how about we renovate our house and build a two-story wooden house? I'll pay for it."
Mu Jin's heart fluttered for a moment, but she still shook her head with a smile, "Your brother-in-law and I will save up some more money. We can't possibly spend your money."
“Hey, brother, even if you treat me like an outsider, we’re family. There’s no need to distinguish between yours and mine.”
Mu Jin smiled helplessly, "What you said really hurts my feelings."
Wen Zhaoran realized he had spoken out of turn. In all these days, Mu Jin and Zhou Lin had treated him like a younger brother.
Clutching at Mulan's sleeve and shaking it, she said coquettishly, "Big brother, I know you care about me the most, that's why I thought of spending money on you. Besides, I'll be staying at home for another two or three years."
As he spoke, he glanced at the wooden boat beside him and asked, "What do you think?"
Mu Zhou smiled slightly, his eyebrows curving upwards. Having spent so much time at the academy, he had acquired a scholarly air and a gentlemanly demeanor.
“Brother, let’s listen to Zhaoran. My father came to town a while ago and took a fancy to the bamboo house in the academy. Father asked me to inquire about it. It’s made of cypress wood. We’ll cut the wood ourselves from the mountains. We don’t need to buy new tiles. It will house five or six people. I estimate it will cost seventeen or eighteen taels.”
Mu Jin sighed and laughed, "It's almost as big as two or three brick houses now."
He preferred brick houses, but a two-story wooden building would be quite comfortable to enjoy the mountain breeze upstairs.
Then he and Zhou Lin can just pay some more money.
"Alright, we'll cut the wood from the mountains, but we won't be able to finish until next spring."
Wen Zhaoran smiled and said, "If you agree, then it's fine."
He was fortunate to receive help from Mu Jin and Zhou Lin, who freed him from slavery and gave him a new life.
I've been thinking about how to repay them, and I had previously considered giving them money, but neither of them wanted it.
Wen Zhaoran had no choice but to accept it today, and he was overjoyed that Mu Jin finally agreed.
As they talked, one steaming dish after another was served.
Steamed mutton, Song Sao's fish soup, Dongpo pork, roasted mutton, steamed gizzard, roasted beef, meat patties, steamed rice cake...
As soon as the dishes were served, the group forgot all about their conversation. The aroma of the meat filled the air. A spoonful of Song Sao's fish soup was so fresh, smooth, tender, and fragrant that it made their tongues tingle with delight.
Zhou Lin had rarely eaten meat before, let alone the food on the table.
The first bite of the melt-in-your-mouth Dongpo pork, fragrant but not greasy, almost made me feel like I had wasted the first twenty-odd years of my life.
They buried themselves in their food, unable to stop eating or even exchange a few words.
For a moment, only the sound of chopsticks and bowls could be heard on the table. I thought we wouldn't be able to finish the food, but the bowls and plates were cleaned up completely, and not a drop of fish soup was left.
Bai Qiqiu rubbed his slightly full stomach and sighed, "I owe it all to Zhaoran. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would never have been able to eat such delicious food in my entire life."
Upon hearing this, Mu Zhaoye glanced at him. Once the two of them got married, it would be fine to eat together four or five times a year.
It wasn't as bad as he described.
Wen Zhaoran let out a soft burp. He hadn't eaten such delicious food in a long time, and his stomach was bulging with fullness.
"Waiter, pack two servings of roasted mutton and Dongpo pork, and also Song Sao fish soup."
After giving the instructions, Wen Zhaoran smiled at Mu Jin and said, "Brother Si and Uncle Mu haven't tried it yet. Take it back for them to try."
Mu Jin smiled and nodded, saying that since she had already spent so much, spending a little more wouldn't matter.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they escorted Muzhou back to the academy, then drove their mule carts home.
Mu Jin didn't ask how much Wen Zhaoran had spent, but she figured it must have been more than three taels of silver. Hearing that, she would feel a pang of regret.
Back home, I put the bamboo basket in the woodshed.
The pigs in the house started grunting, so Mu Jin quickly fed them, then went to the backyard to clean the chicken coop and fed them some more food.
As soon as Zhou Lin returned, he went to Mu Heng's place, while Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran went to deliver food to Zhou Si and Zhou Ling.
Mu Jin cleaned the house inside and out, touched the dyed cloth drying in the yard, and seeing that it was dry, she was afraid it would get damp again as the sun set, so she quickly brought it back inside.
As the sun set and a cool breeze swept in, the family was still savoring the delicious food from the restaurant, and they didn't eat much for dinner.
"I didn't know what simple food was before. I thought the food at home was already very good. It turns out I had never eaten anything good before."
Bai Qiqiu picked up a piece of his son's pickled vegetables with his chopsticks and sighed with a smile.
Mu Jin chuckled, "This is what they mean by it being easy to indulge in luxury but difficult to be frugal. After eating the good stuff, it's hard to swallow our food anymore, isn't it?"
Bai Qiqiu smiled and shook his head. "Not really. I can eat anything. I was just thinking, we've made braised pork at home before, but it's never been as good as the Dongpo pork from the restaurant."
Wen Zhaoran wasn't very hungry. He drank a bowl of millet porridge and then didn't eat anything else.
"Brother Qi Qiu, if you knew, you could become the head chef at a restaurant."
"The way restaurant food is prepared is naturally different from that at home."
Although Zhou Lin occasionally reminisces about the delicious food at the restaurant, he is not a picky eater. He can eat anything, good or bad, and the difference lies in whether he eats quickly or slowly.
As a result, he and Bai Qiqiu finished all the food on the table.
Wen Zhaoran put down the bowl and gently wiped his mouth. "Big brother, when are you going to the mountains to cut wood?"
Zhou Lin put the last bit of pickled vegetables into his bowl, and thought for a moment after hearing this.
"There have been many happy events in the village lately, and we'll be busy with the furniture order at Zhaoye's place for another three to five days. It might not be until next month."
Wen Zhaoran sighed softly. He had originally planned to buy it directly from the lumber shop, but he figured his elder brother would definitely not agree.
The mountain in Mujin Village has not yet been bought by anyone; it is a public mountain belonging to the village, so we should save money wherever possible.
However, he probably won't be able to move into his two-story wooden house until next summer.
Seeing his expression, Mu Jin chuckled and said, "So you really want to live in an apartment building? Aren't you comfortable living in your current house?"
Wen Zhaoran shook her head. "It's comfortable, but I like the feeling of looking out from a high place."
Hibiscus remained silent, still childlike at heart, but ultimately she didn't give in and went to buy the wood.
These cypress logs aren't cheap; the cost of buying them would be enough to build another wooden house.
“A-Lin is busy, let’s go to the mountains tomorrow to look for some and cut some down as soon as possible.”
Wen Zhaoran smiled and nodded, "Okay."
As the moon gradually rose, the group finished their dinner and returned to their house.
As autumn deepened, Hibiscus took out a slightly thicker cotton quilt.
"Are you really going to build a wooden house?"
Zhou Lin lay down on his side and said to Mu Jin.
Mu Jin rolled onto the bed and pulled down the curtains. "You don't like it? Or do you want to build a brick house in the back?"
“Brick houses are sturdier, but if you like, you can build one.”
Hibiscus lay beside him and laughed, "When the wooden building is destroyed, we can renovate it and build a brick house. I've never lived in a room on the second floor before."
Zhou Lin hugged him and said, "If you like it, then build it. I'll finish building the cabinet as soon as possible and then go up the mountain to carry the wood down when I have time."
Mu Jin nodded, leaned against Zhou Lin, gradually calmed down, and fell into a deep sleep.
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