Chapter 86
Hibiscus picked wild fruits from the mountains, selecting the largest and best ones, and sent them to the Zhao residence for the old lady and the others to try.
Mu Jin also had Zhou Lin deliver a small basket of rice noodles to the noodle shop. Mu Jin and Zhou Lin spent the whole morning hawking their wares in town and earned a little over five qian of silver.
The remaining unsold items were mostly of poor quality, rejected by the townspeople.
Mu Jin glanced at the sun, realizing it was getting late, quickly packed up her basket, and drove her mule cart home.
As she passed the village entrance, Mu Jin couldn't help but glance at Zhou Fengnian's house.
The courtyard gate was wide open, and one could vaguely see the boy who was pregnant with Zhou Qiang's child sitting quietly in the courtyard, carefully peeling chestnuts.
Zhou Fengnian sat not far away, glancing at the young man every now and then, his hands never stopping chopping wood.
Hearing the sound of mule hooves, the two looked up and saw Mu Jin and Zhou Lin, and smiled at them.
Zhou Fengnian waved to Zhou Lin.
"Nephew, nephew-in-law, have you gone to town?"
Zhou Lin and Mu Jin nodded in unison. Seeing that the young man didn't seem to be being bullied, they couldn't help but feel a little more favorably toward Zhou Fengnian, their uncle who rarely spoke.
"I was just thinking of coming to find you. We're renovating the house in a couple of days and we're thinking of ordering a new bed and a wardrobe. I'll go to the mountains to cut the wood. Do you have time, nephew?"
Zhou Lin nodded. "Uncle, take the timber to my master, and he and I will work together to make it for you."
Zhou Fengnian smiled and said, "Okay."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the sun began to set, and Zhou Lin hurriedly returned the mule cart to Mu Zhaoye.
Early the next morning, Zhou Lin went to the wooden frame and got busy.
Nowadays, there is less work for carpenters, so when Zhou Lin has free time, he goes to the mountains and forests to find cypress wood and cut it down to take home.
Mu Jin was quite busy; with the changing seasons, she sent a lot of fabric to families in the village who needed to make new winter clothes.
The cotton and ramie taken to Mu Nianjun have all been spun into cotton cloth and cotton-linen cloth.
Once the hibiscus was brought back, it was quickly dyed.
New quilts, new cotton-padded clothes, stuffed with cotton picked in the autumn, soft and fluffy to the touch.
When Mu Jin finished making it and delivered it to Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran, both of them looked very happy with it.
Mu Jin shook her head and chuckled.
Bai Qiqiu sighed, "It's so warm, brother, thank you."
"We're all family, let's not talk like strangers. Aren't we going fishing in the river today?"
Mu Jin's eyebrows curved slightly as she thought that today was September 30th, the time when Mu Zhaoye should be fishing in the river, and she asked him a question.
Bai Qiqiu carefully placed the quilts, cotton-padded clothes, and trousers he was holding into the chest and cabinet.
"We're going. We'll be there in a bit. Mu Zhaoye said we need to catch a few more fish before the river freezes over."
Mu Zhaoye and Bai Qiqiu went hunting in the mountains a while ago, and Bai Qiqiu hasn't mentioned going hunting with them since.
Hunting is a dangerous job; you really risk your life for money.
If it weren't for Mu Zhaoye's excellent archery skills, Bai Qiqiu would have been gored and injured by a male wild goat.
Even now, Bai Qiqiu still feels lingering fear when he thinks about it.
He didn't go, nor did he let Mu Zhaoye go again.
He didn't want to become a widow before even getting married.
As he spoke, Bai Qiqiu went out of the house, took the fishing net from the woodshed, and Wen Zhaoran followed him to the riverbank.
Mu Jin saw them off, closed the courtyard gate, and went back inside to sew up the remaining cotton trouser leg of Zhou Lin's pants.
After finishing her needlework, the sun was high in the sky outside the window. Mu Jin stretched and used her foot to hook her shoes out from under the bed. She got out of bed to prepare lunch.
There were still two pounds of wild boar meat left at home. Mu Jin thought for a moment and decided to make dumplings with dried green beans and pork filling.
Wen Zhaoran and Bai Qiqiu hadn't returned yet, so Mu Jin quickly kneaded the dough.
"Big brother! Look!"
Mu Jin was preparing the filling in the kitchen when she heard Wen Zhaoran and Bai Qiqiu's extremely excited voices.
The two men carried the wooden basin and used their shoulders to push open the door. The large fish in the basin thrashed about, splashing out a lot of water.
"Such a big fish?!"
Mu Jin stared in disbelief, looking at the impressive display of energy. One fish filled a large basin, its scales about half the size of a palm, making it appear to be a carp weighing over twenty pounds.
Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran put the wooden basin on the ground and wiped the sweat from their foreheads, whether from exhaustion or the heat.
"When it first started, the force was incredible. Several men pulled together and were almost dragged into the river."
Mu Jin had never seen such a big fish before. He felt that the large carp in the basin could slap his face until it was swollen.
"Why were you carried home?"
Mu Jin thought to herself, "Such a heavy carp should sell for at least thirty coins. It would be such a waste if we just ate it ourselves."
"Mu Zhaoye said that we should keep the food for ourselves and he would come over for a free meal later."
As a result, at lunchtime, in addition to the plump, white dumplings, there was a large pot of braised fish on the family's dining table.
Mu Jin called Zhou Lin, picked out a large bowl of fish maw, and delivered it to Zhou Si.
Before eating, he also brought a bowl to Mu Nianjun.
The pot was full of fish, and a lot of it was given to the men who had gone fishing with them. The family ate it all, and there was still a little bit left in the pot.
The fish was big, and the bones were big too. The meat was firm, just like eating pork. Every now and then, I would spit out a fish bone that was longer than my finger.
The fish head was so big that it couldn't fit in a large bowl; the fish brain alone could fill half a bowl.
Everyone ate to their heart's content and let out a deep burp.
"Our village's river is so wide and so big, there might be fish even bigger than this one."
Bai Qiqiu's eyes were full of eager anticipation.
Mu Zhaoye glanced at Bai Qiqiu and laughed, "This kind of fish is rare and hard to come by. We've hit the jackpot this time."
Mu Jin nodded in agreement, "How could we possibly have such good luck every time?"
Bai Qiqiu understood this principle, but he still harbored a sliver of hope that he might be able to eat a meal of fish meat, just like pork.
Zhou Lin, who was standing to the side, finally finished eating the big fish head, sucked on the last bit of fish bone, and let out a soft burp.
"Brother Lin, I went to town a while ago and bought a shop. I'm thinking about what kind of business to start."
Mu Zhaoye felt that since he was getting married and needed to support his family, he needed to have some income.
He asked a man who had come back from northern Xinjiang with him for help, and a few days ago he bought a shop facing the street in town at the lowest price.
Mu Jin's heart skipped a beat. "Does Brother Zhaoye have something on his mind?"
Mu Zhaoye smiled and said, "I do have some ideas, but it depends on whether Brother Lin is willing."
Mu Jin smiled knowingly, "With such a good thing, how could A Lin not be happy? He'd be too happy to even think about it."
Zhou Lin and Bai Qiqiu were both completely confused, not knowing what the two were talking about.
"Brother, what are you two talking about? Why are you so happy? And you, Mu Zhaoye, how come you didn't even tell me about such a big thing as buying a shop?"
Bai Qiqiu already regarded Mu Zhaoye as her own husband, so he naturally wanted to know when Mu Zhaoye spent money.
Mu Zhaoye smiled and said, "I just wanted to give you a surprise."
"Let it go this time, but you must let me know when you need to spend money in the future."
Mu Zhaoye nodded and said to Zhou Lin, "Brother Lin, I have a lot of strength but no skills. After thinking it over, I found that I have a friend whose family is in the timber business. If I buy timber from him, he will give me the lowest price. Opening a carpentry shop would be the most suitable thing for me."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lin immediately understood, and his eyes lit up. "Zhao Ye wants me to work as a carpenter in the shop?"
"Two taels of silver a month, and for every piece of furniture made, you'll get 30% of the profit. I'll also invite Uncle Heng to my shop tomorrow. What do you think, Brother Lin?"
Zhou Lin glanced at Mu Jin, who nodded gently.
Zhou Lin then turned to Mu Zhaoye and said, "That would be perfect."
With the matter settled, Zhou Lin felt a slight sense of relief. "Zhaoye, when will your shop in town open?"
"On the eighth day of the tenth month, the timber was ready. There was a well and a kitchen in the backyard, and two bedrooms upstairs where you could cook your own meals and take a nap at noon."
Zhou Lin smiled and nodded, saying that he would just bring a quilt with him.
Bai Qiqiu sighed, "Why don't you think about opening a dye shop?"
Mu Zhaoye sighed helplessly, “The large dyehouse in town is the only dominant one. If we go to town, we probably won’t be able to collect as much cloth as we can in the village.”
Bai Qiqiu was just saying it casually; if he were to actually travel from the village to the town every day, he probably wouldn't be very willing.
The days flowed by quietly like water, busy and peaceful, never to return.
Before we knew it, early winter had arrived, and the weather had turned completely cold.
Zhou Lin and Mu Heng signed a contract with Mu Zhaoye, and the master and apprentice took on private jobs. As long as it didn't interfere with the work of the shops in town, Mu Zhaoye wouldn't interfere.
In the village, a cabinet and a bed can be passed down for three generations.
Unless it's for a wedding, they rarely make large furniture. They usually use wooden beams to repair farm tools, make wooden buckets, benches, doors, and windows.
The profits are meager, so it's better to go to town where you can earn more money.
On the eighth day of the tenth month, as promised, Zhou Lin put on a thin cotton coat and trousers early in the morning, and the whole family got ready and boarded Mu Zhaoye's mule cart to head to town.
This was the first time Mu Jin and Bai Qiqiu had seen the shop that Mu Zhaoye had bought in town.
The newly hired shop assistant greeted the shopkeeper with a broad smile.
The backyard was much larger than the shops next door, with three large rooms filled with all kinds of timber.
Besides Mu Heng and Zhou Lin, Mu Zhaoye also hired three carpenters, one of whom was a man who had worked with them at the Zhao residence.
When acquaintances meet, they are especially eager to see each other, and Zhou Lin, in particular, became more talkative.
Upstairs there are two bedrooms, one with two small wooden beds and the other with three, so that the carpenters can rest comfortably.
The accountant was already seated at the counter. When he saw Mu Zhaoye and his group arrive, he stood up and greeted them.
At the counter, there are several books of furniture designs that Mu Zhaoye specially commissioned an artist to draw, and customers can choose the furniture style they like.
It's strange that it looks quite convincing.
Firecrackers went off as the new shop opened, and the townspeople, drawn by the sound, gradually came in.
Bai Qiqiu covered his ears, laughing so hard his teeth were almost invisible.
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