Chapter Eighty
Mu Zhaoye's place is being watched by many eyes in the village.
The mule cart was pulling such a large load of goods, and the timber was following behind. Anyone with eyes could see why.
Because of the engagement between Mu Zhaoye and Bai Qiqiu, the whole village knew about it not long after he and the matchmaker left the Zhou family.
Zhou Si heard that he and Mu Mian had come all the way here, carrying a pheasant.
Mu Jin and Bai Qiqiu were carrying the food from the betrothal gifts into the kitchen cabinets. They didn't stand on ceremony and put down the pheasant, helping to carry the rice, flour, and wedding cakes into the house.
"It's really unexpected that Qi Qiu and Zhao Ye are engaged. The two used to argue every time they met."
After finishing her work, Mu Mian sat on a chair under the peach tree in the yard and sighed.
"Who can disagree? But aside from the scar on his face, Brother Zhaoye is a man you can entrust your life to."
Mu Jin smiled and glanced at Bai Qiqiu, who was unusually shy and hadn't said much.
"When fate comes, nothing can stop it. Our Qi Qiu is so lucky."
Mu Mian nodded, her expression full of agreement, "Countless people in the village envy Qi Qiu."
With such a large brick house and courtyard standing there, most people with eyes would want to move in.
Mu Mian's idea was correct. The families that had previously met Mu Zhaoye had been exasperated, pulling on the ears of their sons and daughters, expressing their disappointment.
"Look at you, your father and I are both here, what are you trembling for? He's not going to eat you, is he?! You're just letting some outsider get away with it!"
Regardless of the outcome, the die is cast, and regret will be of no use.
Even more distressed than the families in the village with sons and daughters of marriageable age was Uncle Mu, who was brooding at home.
Mu Zhaoye didn't mention a single word about such a big event as presenting betrothal gifts and getting engaged to him.
After the family split up, his eldest son truly didn't want to acknowledge him as his father anymore.
Instigated by Mu Zhaoye's stepfather, he originally wanted to cause trouble and establish his authority as a father.
As soon as I stepped outside, I felt a dull ache in my head, where I had been hit with a wooden stick earlier.
He turned around and went home, but then thought better of it. After all, Mu Zhaoye might not be his son, so he would just pretend he didn't have this son.
Mu Zhaoye's stepfather looked at the coward in front of him and almost ground his teeth to powder.
Even Mu Zhaoye's biological father didn't dare to go over, let alone his stepfather. He could only helplessly curse Mu Zhaoye for being unfilial at home, but he couldn't hurt Mu Zhaoye at all.
As night fell, Mu Jin lit an oil lamp and sorted through the money Zhou Lin had brought back yesterday, which she hadn't yet counted. She had earned money in August.
Zhou Lin earned two taels and seven qian from his carpentry work, plus one tael and one qian from selling vegetables, eggs and duck eggs at his rice noodle shop. Last month, he earned a total of three taels and eight qian.
Mu Jin calculated the income from the small dye shop last night by lamplight, estimating that it earned about five taels and two mace in a month.
Today, Wen Zhaoran, Bai Qiqiu, and I each received one tael and five mace of silver, and the remaining seven mace of silver was kept for the small dye shop to purchase more dyes and flowers.
Mu Jin recalled that when the silver was being distributed, Wen Zhaoran, a rich young man, acted as if he had never seen silver before, with a slight smirk on his lips.
When you receive money that you've worked hard to earn, it's truly exciting.
Their monthly income totaled five taels and three mace of silver, which made them one of the wealthier families in the village.
Mu Jin put five taels of silver into the hidden compartment, and put the remaining three qian of silver and the remaining household expenses into a money bag, which she hid under the mattress.
The money earned later had to be saved for the New Year, and some money also had to be spent on Bai Qiqiu's dowry.
After Mu Jin finished tidying up, Zhou Lin, who was still waiting for Mu Jin in bed, was too tired. He covered himself with the blanket and soon fell asleep, unable to keep his eyes open.
Mu Jin blew out the oil lamp, gently lowered the bed curtains, lay down softly, and slowly fell asleep to the sound of the gentle autumn breeze and Zhou Lin's breathing.
The next day, Mu Jin went to Mu Nianjun's place and bought wheat seeds for three acres of land. It was time to turn the soil over and sow the winter wheat.
This time, planting wheat was surprisingly easy for Mu Jin. Mu Zhaoye brought a few men who often fished with him and spent five or six days helping to turn the soil and plant the wheat seeds.
Mu Jin is not yet twenty, but she has already experienced what it's like to have a "son-in-law" twice.
It's really, really good.
After the initial shyness Bai Qiqiu felt when he first met Mu Zhaoye, he was able to command him to do chores without any blush or heart palpitations upon their second meeting.
Mu Jin watched in amazement, a slight smile playing on her lips as she observed the two bickering while working.
Mu Zhaoye seemed more vibrant when he was with Bai Qiqiu.
The two are quite well-matched.
After finishing their work in the fields, the withered yellow leaves fell one after another, and late autumn had arrived.
Bai Qiqiu and Mu Zhaoye agreed that even after they got married, Mu Jin's little dye shop couldn't be abandoned.
Mu Zhaoye's situation is neither good nor bad.
Even if they were married, Bai Qiqiu could still see Mu Jin and Wen Zhaoran every day, so he felt that it was no different from not being married at all.
I immediately felt much more relaxed.
The late-blooming peppers and eggplants in the vegetable garden should be harvested by now. The stalks should be thrown aside to dry and used as firewood.
I turned over the vegetable garden and replaced it with coriander, scallions, and garlic sprouts.
During this period, not many bolts of cloth were collected, so Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran were able to keep busy.
Taking advantage of her free time, Mu Jin moved the sorghum stalks from the woodshed and placed them in the yard, intending to weave some winnowing baskets and hampers to hold steamed buns and grain.
With nimble fingers, Mu Jin plucked the withered leaves and selected the healthy sorghum stalks that hadn't been eaten by insects, then soaked them in the prepared bathwater.
Soak for an hour until softened, then you can take them out and weave winnowing baskets and hampers.
First, weave the bottom, then the sides, and finally finish the edges. In two hours, Mu Jin wove a winnowing basket.
The basket was a little simpler, and Hibiscus even wove a tight-fitting lid for it to prevent dust from getting in when storing grain.
In the evening, a clean, new, low-sided basket for holding steamed buns was placed on the dining table, with a lid that had a small bump in the middle, which was very convenient.
The baskets for storing rice and flour are deeper on the sides, so they can hold more.
"Brother, you're really skillful."
Wen Zhaoran lifted the lid, looked at the steaming buns inside, and sighed.
"If we take this to town, we might be able to sell it for a lot of money."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Everyone in the village knows how to weave. Many people take them to town to sell. The more exquisite ones cost five or six coins, and the slightly larger ones cost seven or eight coins. Even if you make a lot of money, you can't earn much."
Zhou Lin took a bite of the chicken head. "The wild chrysanthemums in the mountains are blooming. The pharmacy in town is buying them for two coins a pound."
Before this time of year, besides looking for odd jobs in town, he would go to the mountains to pick wild chrysanthemums. On good days, he could earn forty or fifty coins, which was easier than doing odd jobs.
"We could go and look for it."
Mu Jin smiled and said that in a while, when the autumn harvest festival is held in the open space at the entrance of town, she would take some baskets and winnowing trays woven from sorghum stalks and sell them.
The villagers are reluctant to give up any job that can earn them money.
This was especially true years ago.
From the moment I open my eyes in the morning, after breakfast, I tend to the vegetable garden, go to the mountains to cut pig feed, dry pig feed, and dye cloth. In the afternoon, I cut pig feed, look for dyes, collect dried fruit, and dig wild vegetables. Now, I have another job: looking for wild chrysanthemums.
Whenever I had a spare moment, I would weave household items and make shoes for winter; I was never free.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, the mountains and forests turned red, and the villagers put on slightly thicker clothes. They got up early, and the morning mist thickened.
Bai Qiqiu's wedding date has been set for the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, an auspicious day for marriage.
Mu Jin turned over the wild chrysanthemums that were drying in the house, and carried the dried pig feed into the woodshed to store it.
There are many places in the house where firewood is used, so it's important to stock up on plenty to avoid running out of firewood in winter.
Before we knew it, the Autumn Festival was approaching. The family got up early and put the things they needed to bring into the cart. In the days that followed, Mu Jin wove a lot of winnowing baskets and hampers, and the wild chrysanthemums filled a whole sack.
In addition to two large baskets of vegetables, two large baskets of chestnuts that Hibiscus had previously collected, and a large basket of acorns, the cart was crammed full of things.
Zhou Lin led the way, while Mu Jin and Bai Qiqiu followed behind.
Wen Zhaoran laughed and said, "I've been thinking of inviting you all to a restaurant for a long time, but I've been too busy and forgot. We must go today. After we sell everything, we'll go to the academy and call Muzhou over so we can all go together."
Mu Jin smiled and nodded.
As I passed by Mu Zhaoye's house, he happened to be driving his mule out of the side gate.
Seeing this, without saying a word, he moved the things from their cart to his cart.
Zhou Lin pushed his old cart into the yard, and will push it back when he returns from the Autumn Festival.
“I was just about to look for you. You should have told me about all this cargo yesterday.”
Mu Zhaoye looked at Bai Qiqiu and smiled.
"I was too busy yesterday and didn't have a chance, but having a mule is great, it makes things much easier."
Bai Qiqiu looked at the trees rushing past and sighed.
"If you need to deliver heavy items in the future, just tell me. The mule is just sitting idle at home anyway."
Bai Qiqiu nodded.
The two sat in the front talking, while Mu Jin sat in the back watching them, her eyes crinkling with a smile, looking quite pleased.
Mu Zhaoye's cart was much bigger than his own; it could hold so much stuff, and the three of them could sit in the back with plenty of room.
Along the way, we encountered many villagers on their way to the Autumn Festival, each carrying a basket full of things.
Everyone's face was beaming with smiles. This year was another bumper harvest. They sold their grain, exchanged it for silver, and were able to have a prosperous New Year.
Mules are much faster than oxcarts, and before the villagers could even say a word, they had already left them far behind.
Despite the bumpy journey, Zhou Lin sat beside Mu Jin, protecting her.
The secret passage: Next year we need to work harder and buy a cow. It will be convenient for turning the soil, hauling things, and going to town.
There were already many stalls set up at the entrance of the town. Mu Jin found a spot in the middle and unloaded the things she wanted to sell from the cart.
Mu Zhaoye helped deliver the vegetables and wild chrysanthemums to the rice noodle shop and the pharmacy. As the sun gradually rose, vendors selling candied hawthorns and sugar figurines moved about at the town gate, creating a lively scene with people coming and going.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com