Chapter Eight
As the Lunar New Year approaches, the town holds a fair on every even-numbered day of the twelfth lunar month, allowing the townspeople and villagers to prepare for the holiday.
On the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month, it was Mu Jin's turn to cook. Before dawn, moonlight spilled into the courtyard, and a few scattered crowings of roosters could be heard.
Zhou Lin picked out the ones that were passable and filled a small sack. While Zhou Wushi and the others were still fast asleep, he quietly opened the door, his sense of stealth palpable.
"Ah Jin, I'm going now. You should hurry back to the kitchen; it's cold outside."
When Zhou Lin saw Mu Jin come out, he waved his hand, not daring to speak loudly for fear of startling the people inside, and kept his voice as low as possible.
Mu Jin shoved the freshly baked coarse flour pancakes into Zhou Lin's arms, saying, "Eat these on the way."
Zhou Lin originally wanted to wait until he returned to eat, but he couldn't persuade Mu Jin, and he was afraid that the two of them would disturb Zhou Wu's family, so he had no choice but to accept it.
The first time he had ever secretly sold things to earn money behind Zhou Wu's back, he was genuinely terrified.
When Zhou Wushi and the others got up, Zhou Lin was already helping to start a fire in the kitchen. Hearing the noise, he froze for a moment.
"Father, Mother, you're up. The corn porridge is ready. Let me serve you two bowls first. Would you like pickled cabbage and radish or fermented soybeans as side dishes?"
Mu Jin's expression was gentle, and she spoke softly. Zhou Laosan grew to like this eldest daughter's husband more and more. Not only was he good at dealing with people, but he was also gentle and considerate. There was really no fault in him.
"Cabbage and radish will do."
Mu Jin served them a bowl of corn porridge and placed the freshly baked flatbread on the table. With clean, dried chopsticks, she deftly picked up some cabbage and radishes from the jar.
Zhou Laosan felt comforted. "There's a market in town today, you should go out and have a look. There's not much to do at home during the winter off-season."
Just when I was about to fall asleep, a pillow appeared. Mu Jin was thinking of going to town to check out the wood carving business.
Zhou Lin was probably feeling guilty and uneasy. He glanced at Mu Jin but didn't dare to say anything.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Thank you, Father. The paper windows in the room have several holes and can't block the wind. It's very cold at night. I was just thinking of going to town today to buy a few sheets to replace them."
Old Zhou picked up some cabbage with his chopsticks, and upon hearing this, pretended to be confused and said, "Wasn't the window paper just replaced last year? How come it's torn?"
Zhou Wu gritted her teeth inwardly. That old man had said all the nice things, and now he was putting the blame on her.
He knew perfectly well whether or not the window paper in Zhou Lin's room had been replaced before.
"It's not that the eldest brother is worried about the money spent on his youngest son's education. He wanted to exchange it for him last year, but the eldest brother felt sorry for us two, who don't earn money easily. Young men are hot-tempered, so he didn't want it."
Mu Jin watched the old couple putting on a show with a smile. She had originally planned to pay for it herself, but now she changed her mind.
“Mother, you’re right. This man is resistant to the cold, but if the cold wind blows on his head, it can cause illness and make things worse. A while ago, there was a man in Wangjia Village who couldn’t get out of bed because the window wasn’t closed properly at night.”
Zhou Wushi and the others had heard about this a few times, but they hadn't taken it seriously. However, after Mu Jin mentioned it, they couldn't help but start to have some reservations.
If Zhou Lin is truly paralyzed or ill, not to mention the money needed for medical treatment, the window paper would also need to be bought because of all the work at home.
"Old woman, go inside and get some money. The eldest son's wife went to town today to buy some window paper to put up."
Zhou Laosan was a controlling person. Although Zhou Wushi managed all the big and small matters in the family, he knew everything about them. He knew that Zhou Lin had handed over all the money he had earned over the years to the public and had nothing in his hands.
Whenever Zhou Lin spent money, Zhou Wu felt the most pain. Helpless, she gritted her teeth, went inside to get the money, and couldn't help but grumble at Mu Jin again.
Zhou Lin felt a little relieved; it wouldn't matter if those wooden things didn't sell.
The others gradually got up as well. When Zhou Si heard that Mu Jin and Zhou Lin were going to town, she begged to go with them.
We've already prepared most of the New Year's goods for the house and bought all the gifts for visiting relatives and friends, so there's nothing else we need to buy.
The group traveled light, with Mu Jin carrying a linen satchel he had sewn himself, embroidered with a hibiscus flower. He walked hand in hand with Zhou Ling in front, while Zhou Lin followed behind with a smile, as they went out the door.
Mu Qing had been feeling unwell for the past two days, and today she barely ate any breakfast, feeling nauseous, so she didn't join them in the fun.
People came and went in Qingshui Town. Zhou Si sold the embroidered handkerchiefs and purses to the embroidery workshop and got seventy coins in return.
He was closest to Zhou Lin, but he was even more cunning than Zhou Ming. After he learned to embroider, he made a deal with the manager of the embroidery shop to tell Zhou Wu that he would pay ten coins less.
Over the years, he has secretly saved up more than two taels of silver.
Since Mu Jin married into their family, Zhou Si has seen it all clearly: his mother has suffered countless injustices, both openly and secretly.
He had long wanted to get Mulan to stand on his side, so he didn't hide it from them. "Big brother, big brother, you two have to keep this a secret for me. Don't tell Mother."
Zhou Lin was somewhat angry and said, "Si-ge'er, it's not easy for our mother to manage such a large family. How can you keep secrets from us?!"
Zhou Si was speechless and regretful. His original intention was to have two more helpers in the future, not to cause trouble and get exposed.
"Big brother, you're really something. Apart from you, who in our family doesn't have some money? Take second brother for example, he's been secretly saving money for a long time."
Zhou Lin was stunned by Zhou Si's words and stood there for a moment. After regaining his composure, he said, "Our mother pays for everything we eat and use. How can you do this to her?!"
Zhou Si truly regretted it; she shouldn't have talked to Zhou Lin, who was so stubborn.
“Brother, I can’t accept that. You gave everything to Mother, leaving nothing for yourself, and what did you get in return? She wouldn’t even give you the money for the window paper. Fourth Brother has to spend more than half an ounce of silver every time he comes to town. Look at this, has Mother ever cared about me? If I don’t secretly save some money, how will I live in my husband’s family with only two quilts as my dowry when I get married?! Like you, brother, can’t even afford a place to stay that can keep out the wind?!”
Mu Jin listened quietly without saying a word, glancing indifferently at Zhou Lin, who seemed somewhat at a loss after Zhou Si's words.
"Brother, face reality. The truth is, our mother doesn't care about anyone except our fourth brother. If you don't save some money, how will you raise our nephew if she doesn't contribute a single penny? Will she live in a drafty house with you, drinking rice gruel that never even has a grain of rice to drink?!"
Zhou Si knew he had spoken too harshly. He was genuinely afraid that if Zhou Lin went back and told Zhou Wu Shi, all his hard work over the years would have been for nothing.
“My fourth brother is studying, and Mother doesn’t know how either…” Zhou Lin said, then fell silent.
Mu Jin spoke up at the right moment: "A Lin, being filial to our parents and saving some money for our family are not contradictory. If our parents get sick and the money in the house is almost gone after paying for our fourth brother's schooling, the money we have saved can help in an emergency, right?"
Zhou Si nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right, Big Brother is right."
Zhou Lin was somewhat persuaded by Mu Jin, but he still felt a little apologetic towards Zhou Wu Shi.
Seeing this, Mu Jin pressed her advantage, "Let's go see how Brother Mu Sheng is doing."
Zhou Si was puzzled, but when she found Mu Sheng, she realized that she had asked him to help sell the wood carvings, and her heart finally settled down.
Now that we're all in this together, aren't we afraid that my older brother might feel guilty and tell my mother something I shouldn't?
When Mu Sheng saw them arrive, he said something to his husband beside him and came over with his money bag.
The group found a secluded spot.
“Brother, your wood carvings aren’t very fine, but they’re cheap. I added two coins to the price you quoted me. All thirteen wood carvings are sold. The big ones are eight coins, the small ones are six coins, for a total of ninety-two coins. Check them out.”
Zhou Lin's wood carvings weren't made with particularly good wood, so it's already quite good that they can sell for this price.
Zhou Lin smiled and took it, then handed it to Mu Jin.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, how could we not trust you to handle things? Thank you for your hard work. We'll buy some window paper later and come find you. We'll take advantage of your oxcart and go back together."
Mu Sheng waved his hand and said with a smile, "Why are you being so polite? We'll have to wait a while. You guys go ahead and get busy."
Zhou Wu was also a master of thrift; the copper coins she gave were just enough to buy window paper—not a penny more, not a penny less.
"My brother-in-law helped out with all the chores, even going to the pastry shop to buy some pastries. We can't let him suffer in the cold and hardship for nothing."
Mu Jin and Mu Sheng's husband, Mu Nianjun, are close, and Mu Nianjun usually calls him "brother-in-law." Zhou Lin, who is closest to Mu Sheng, is aware of this.
She had considered asking Mu Nianjun to help her find a husband before, but she felt inferior and never did.
After they finished shopping, Mu Nianjun sold the last piece of cotton cloth she had woven. She could then pack up and return to the village.
"Jin'er, it's been so long since I've seen you since your marriage," Mu Nianjun said with a smile as she helped Mu Sheng put the cart on.
The two women's families lived close by. Mu Nianjun was five years older than Mu Jin and treated Mu Jin like a younger brother since childhood, teaching him to embroider, dig wild vegetables, collect wood, and gather fruit.
The night before Mu Jin's wedding, he was still in his postpartum period. It was cold, and his mother-in-law was afraid he would catch a chill, so she insisted that he have a double postpartum period.
Musheng could only secretly send her a piece of cotton cloth he had woven himself, which Mujin secretly put into the bottom of the prepared dowry chest.
It was only these past two days, after he had just finished his postpartum confinement period, that his mother-in-law allowed him to leave the house.
Zhou Lin delivered the wood carving early this morning; he was very concerned about the hibiscus.
When Mu Jin saw Mu Nianjun, her heart softened. She helped him up and said gently, "Brother, why did you go out? It's cold. Brother-in-law, really."
Mu Jin hadn't seen Mu Nianjun because he was blocked by someone, and she thought Mu Sheng had come with someone else. When she saw that it was Mu Nianjun, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards him.
Mu Nianjun gently poked him, "You've been in postpartum confinement for two months, how can you still be so weak?"
As Zhou Si watched Mu Jin and Mu Nianjun chatting and laughing, she always felt that her older brother treated them differently from Mu Nianjun, even though it was just as gentle as usual.
Shaking his head, Zhou Si got on the oxcart and handed the pastries he was carrying to Mu Nianjun, saying, "Brother Nianjun, your older brother bought these for you."
"I know you love soybean cake the most, so I bought it especially for you," Mu Jin said quickly, afraid that Mu Nianjun would feel sorry for him and refuse.
Mu Nianjun took it and said with a smile, "It's the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. Remember to come to your little nephew's 100-day celebration. He's changed so much every day that you probably won't recognize him."
When talking about his son, Mu Sheng immediately perked up, "He's so chubby, he's completely different from when he was born."
Everyone chuckled. Mu Jin had been busy preparing for her wedding recently and hadn't been able to visit. "I'll definitely go as soon as possible."
Snowflakes began to fall without her noticing. Mu Jin helped tighten Mu Nianjun's clothes, afraid that a single snowflake might fall inside.
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