Chapter Fifty-Eight
They then sent another seven days' worth of mulberries to the Zhao residence, leaving the mulberry patch almost completely depleted.
He earned one tael and five mace and eighty cash.
When Mu Jin returned home, she put the four taels of silver she had exchanged into the secret compartment. Now the family had a total of nine taels of silver.
After admiring the gleaming silver for a while, he closed the hidden compartment with satisfaction, laid out the mattress, and went out to retrieve the cotton cloth he had bought for Zhou Sitian's makeup.
Today, after receiving money from the Zhao family in town, Mu Jin went to the pastry shop and bought a bag of milk cakes for Xiao Weiwei.
The little baby grows taller with the wind. In just a few days, Mu Jin felt that Xiao Weiwei had grown a lot.
“Oh my, our Weiwei has grown up again. In a while, your little uncle won’t be able to carry you anymore.”
Mu Jin, her eyes crinkling with a smile, held Xiao Weiwei and couldn't resist giving him a kiss on his fair and rosy cheeks.
Little Weiwei kicked her chubby little legs, revealing a toothless, innocent smile, and her milky saliva flowed out.
Mu Nianjun took out the cotton cloth she had woven from the inner room, and seeing this, she skillfully took out a soft handkerchief from her bosom and wiped him.
"You drool so much." She chuckled playfully.
With many chores to do at home, Mu Jin held Xiao Weiwei and chatted with Mu Nianjun for a while.
Seeing that the sky was getting gloomy, he didn't linger and hurried home before the rain started.
When Mu Jin returned home, the sky was covered with dark clouds, thunder rumbled, and heavy rain poured down.
Raindrops strung together on the eaves, and the yard, which had been paved with pebbles these past few days, looked less muddy than before, and my feet weren't covered in mud as much anymore.
The smell of earth filled the air, and the rain poured down harder and harder, washing away the sweltering heat of the past few days.
The room was dimly lit. As soon as Mu Jin entered the room, she placed the cotton cloth on top of the chest and cabinet.
He took off his outer clothes, put on his inner clothes, sat on the bed, and took the sewing basket from the chest and cabinet.
Zhou Lin was tall and had big feet. Mu Jin picked up the shoe pattern and compared it to his own; it was about two and a half times the size of his hands.
I put the thimble on my finger, listened to the rain, and quietly began sewing the sole of the shoe.
The sound of rain pattering down made one drowsy. After sewing half of it, Mu Jin couldn't resist the drowsiness and put the sewing basket back on top of the cabinet.
I covered myself with a thin blanket, lay down, and fell asleep in no time, accompanied by the sound of rain.
The heavy rain didn't stop until Zhou Lin returned.
The peach trees in the yard were washed clean and turned a vibrant green, with raindrops occasionally dripping from their leaves.
Zhou Lin stood at the doorway, scraping the mud off his shoes with a twig, his face showing worry.
"Ah Jin, I'm back."
Mu Jin happened to come out to empty the water used for washing vegetables. When she saw Zhou Lin enter, she looked hesitant.
"What's wrong?"
Zhou Lin felt guilty for a moment, "Today my master asked me to buy meat, and I saw that it looked fresh, so I bought two catties as well."
Mu Jin chuckled to herself, realizing that he hadn't told her before buying the meat.
Because Zhou Wushi would ask Zhou Lin for money from time to time, Mu Jin was afraid that he would soften his heart and give away the money in her hand, and never gave Zhou Lin any pocket money.
The only money Zhou Lin could spend was the money he earned from selling the vegetables to the rice noodle shop this morning.
"I'll buy it then. We haven't had meat at home in a long time. Where's the meat?"
Mu Jin glanced at Zhou Lin's empty hands and couldn't help but ask.
"On the way back, I ran into my parents and fourth brother. My parents kept asking for it, and since there were other villagers around, I... let them take it."
Upon hearing this, Mu Jin's smile faded slightly, and she poured the water outside the door.
"What a coincidence! Did you give your mother the money from selling the vegetables?"
Zhou Lin hurriedly shook his head, "No, I didn't give it to you. After deducting the money for buying pork, the rest is all here."
As he spoke, he took out his money pouch from his pocket.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "The meat is given to our parents, which fulfills your filial piety. However, although we have saved some money at home, there are many places to spend it, so we should be more frugal and save more."
Zhou Lin nodded, feeling a slight sense of relief.
Although Mu Jin was somewhat angry, she was mostly angry at the Zhou family.
With Zhou Wushi and Zhou Laosan both present, along with the villagers, out of filial piety, even he couldn't save most of the meat.
"I went to Nianjun's place to get some cotton cloth today, and I saw Xiao Weiwei. I was so happy to see her."
As Mu Jin spoke, a hint of shyness appeared on her face, and she glanced at Zhou Lin with a hesitant expression.
Zhou Lin took the wooden basin from his hand, his heart filled with excitement.
"Then let's get one too!"
Mu Jin gently patted his arm. "You know how expensive it is to raise a child. Food, clothing, shelter, everything costs money. You don't want our little boy to run around the village naked, do you?"
There were several poor families in the village. In the summer, their children would often wander around with their birds, and in the winter, they would wear cotton-padded clothes in rotation, with only the children who needed to go out wearing them.
Zhou Lin grew up in the same way. When he got older, Zhou Ming also grew up, and he started wearing the tattered clothes that Zhou Ming had left over.
"I will work hard and never let our children suffer."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Let's save up thirty taels of silver, then we'll have the baby, okay?"
Zhou Lin nodded emphatically, his enthusiasm for making money instantly surged.
Most of the vegetables at home were in season, so Mujin made a dish of green beans with minced garlic, a cucumber salad, and a bowl of cold noodles.
A few frog croaks came from the air. Mu Jin stirred the cold noodles and said to Zhou Si, "Si'er, I brought the cotton cloth back. What color do you like? Your older brother will take it to town tomorrow and dye it."
Zhou Si picked up a green bean with his chopsticks and smiled when he heard this, "Thank you, brother. Let me think about it."
Mu Jin smiled and nodded, "Just tell your older brother tomorrow morning, no rush."
Wen Zhaoran stirred the noodles and sighed, "Brother, we haven't had meat at home for a long time. After eating vegetables for so many days, I'm almost turning into a rabbit. Brother-in-law, if you go to town tomorrow, I'll give you some money to buy a few pounds of mutton. I'm craving your mutton soup."
Mu Bai nodded in agreement, "I'll go home tomorrow and bring back a pound of cured meat."
Mu Jin glanced at Zhou Lin, who looked embarrassed, and said with a smile, "Your brother-in-law was thinking of buying meat for us to enjoy today, but he ran into our parents. Since your brother-in-law is so filial, he gave the meat to them. We can have him buy more tomorrow."
Zhou Si said helplessly, "Big brother, didn't Father and Mother leave you even half a catty?"
Zhou Lin felt even more guilty and dared not open his eyes to look at the men in front of him.
"You don't know your elder brother. He's the most honest and filial man. How could he possibly think of leaving half a catty?"
Zhou Si was speechless and didn't say anything more, burying her head in eating noodles.
Mu Bai sighed, "Brother-in-law, I heard people say you were a bit blindly filial, but I didn't believe it. I didn't expect you to be like that. You give your aunt whatever she wants and don't care about my brother at all."
Mu Jin feigned anger: "Mu Bai! What are you saying! Is that how you talk to your brother-in-law?"
Mu Bai pouted, shrinking back after being yelled at by Mu Jin, still somewhat unconvinced, and muttered, "Can't I even speak the truth?"
Bai Qiqiu chimed in, "Auntie did something wrong. How could she not even leave any meat scraps for her brother-in-law?"
Mu Jin glared at them both and said to Zhou Lin, "Lin, Bai'er is still young and doesn't think before he speaks. Don't be angry with him."
Zhou Lin was overwhelmed with guilt and couldn't muster any anger.
Feeling incredibly distressed, she looked up at Mu Bai and asked, "Bai'er, is that really what others are saying?"
Mu Bai glanced at Mu Jin and nodded. "Brother-in-law, don't be too upset. They said that this is your only flaw. Everything else is good. You are hardworking, can endure hardship, and have skills. You can already be considered a good man in the village. You can change that in the future."
Zhou Lin gave a wry smile. Mu Sheng had subtly hinted at this to him before.
However, because his mother and Musheng's father had argued, he assumed that Musheng disliked his mother and didn't take it to heart.
This is also why Zhou Wu was so unwilling when he borrowed Mu Sheng's oxcart when he married Mu Jin.
Unexpectedly, others viewed him the same way, not as a filial son, but as a blindly obedient one.
Zhou Lin ate dinner without any appetite, and returned to his room looking listless and dispirited.
Mu Jin sighed, "Don't be angry. Bai'er didn't mean it. He praised you to me a few days ago, saying you've become even more handsome."
Zhou Lin shook his head. "I'm not angry, it's just that after all these years, I've realized that in other people's eyes, I've actually..."
Mu Jin sat down next to him and asked with a smile, "What is it?"
Zhou Lin remained silent, his expression complex.
Mu Jin leaned against him and whispered, "Before we married, Mu Mian came to my house and told me something, but I still married you. Do you know why?"
Zhou Lin looked bitter and shook his head.
“Because I thought you would change for me. We’ve been married for almost half a year, and you’re becoming more and more like the head of the household. You’re always there for me when things happen. I’m really growing to love you more and more, and I’m becoming more and more dependent on you. You see, I wasn’t wrong back then, was I?”
A surge of joy welled up in Zhou Lin's heart. He hugged Mu Jin tightly and nodded vigorously.
I will change it for you.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I went to the silver shop today and exchanged the copper coins I had saved at home for silver. It was quite a hassle. I thought about it and decided to talk to the manager of the rice noodle shop and pay him silver monthly. They will keep the books there, and I will keep the books here as well. They can just give us the silver directly, which will save me the trouble of exchanging it myself."
Zhou Lin nodded, "I'll talk to the shopkeeper about it tomorrow."
Mu Jin lay in Zhou Lin's arms, playing with his hair. "I'll give you twenty coins a month for pocket money from now on, so you won't have to worry about needing money in town."
Zhou Lin was about to shake his head when Mu Jin said, "However, once it's all gone, it's gone. You'd better be careful with it."
Zhou Lin sighed, "I understand. Is this your test for me?"
Mu Jin picked up a lock of hair and poked him. "You're overthinking it. You can spend these twenty coins however you want. I'll also give myself twenty coins for pocket money, and I can spend it wherever I want. You're not allowed to ask me anything."
Zhou Lin chuckled and nodded. "Okay."
Mu Jin said gently, "Don't look so gloomy anymore."
Zhou Lin turned over, hugged Mu Jin, and nodded gently.
The moon is bright and the stars are few; tomorrow will be another beautiful day.
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