Chapter Ninety-Seven
That night, Mu Jin finally sorted out and understood Zhou Qiang's situation.
Once this man had tasted meat and fish, he could no longer resist.
Because of Xue Ge'er's matter, Zhou Qiang dared not go to Yue Man Lou to fool around anymore, and honestly studied at the academy for a while.
His fiancé, Jin Ge'er, came to town with Zhou Qiang's mother-in-law and visited him a few times.
The fair-skinned, handsome fiancé dangled in front of him twice, making Zhou Qiang's heart itch with desire.
Before long, he couldn't resist pulling Jingge'er into the grove of trees in Baiyun Village.
Bai Jin didn't resist much and reluctantly gave in.
He then used paint to draw a birthmark on his face, which fooled everyone for quite some time.
Until two days ago, Bai Jin was feeling unwell and thought that it wouldn't be so easy for the boy to get pregnant, so she didn't think about it.
His parents called a doctor for him, and that's when they found out he was more than a month pregnant.
Not long after they started dating, she became pregnant.
Bai's parents were furious, but after all, he was their own son. They couldn't very well have him give birth at home to their unborn grandson, who was still in Bai Jin's womb.
Old Man Bai personally visited the Zhou family overnight and hurriedly moved the wedding date to early November.
Although Mu Jin didn't know the details, she had guessed a lot of things.
"Fourth brother, how come he always does things that a well-educated scholar would never do?"
Mu Jin lay flat in the warm, sun-dried bedding, inhaling the pleasant, cozy scent of the blankets, while not forgetting to apply eye drops to Zhou Lin.
But thinking about it carefully, both of Zhou Qiang's girlfriends got pregnant very quickly.
After much thought, Mu Jin could only come up with the idea that Zhou Lin hadn't eaten as well as Zhou Qiang when he was young, and had worked much harder, which probably had damaged his health.
Winter is a much quieter time, so we should make sure to give him some extra nourishment during this period.
Zhou Lin, unaware of Mu Jin's thoughts, frowned slightly, feeling that his fourth brother was truly acting too recklessly.
He worked in town during the summer and had heard some things about it.
If this gets out, Zhou Qiang's career prospects will be bleak.
"I'm going to help out at my parents' place tomorrow. Would you like to come along and take a look?"
Zhou Lin thought for a moment and then gently shook his head.
"Since Father and Mother are keeping our fourth brother's matter a secret, we'll just pretend we don't know anything about it."
The oil lamp in the room went out, and it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Because Zhou Lin didn't see the corner of his husband's mouth that was secretly curled up beside him.
The fact that Zhou Lin is increasingly less involved in the affairs of Zhou Laosan and Zhou Wushi is a good sign for Mu Jin.
Zhou Lin then spoke up again: "If Mother makes things difficult for you, then come home. I'll talk to Mother about it later. If we don't help, we'll only suffer injustice."
Mu Jin's smile widened even more.
"Aren't you afraid your parents will beat or scold you?"
Zhou Lin sighed, "How can I not be afraid? Even if I am afraid, I have to reason with Mother. We've separated our households and don't live together anymore. If I get scolded, I'll just get scolded."
Mu Jin chuckled; Zhou Lin was now a man who could handle things a little better.
On the first day of the month, after the rooster crows three or five times, a large, red sun rises from the east.
Judging by the looks of it, it's going to be another nice day.
Mu Jin ate breakfast early in the morning and, without delay, went straight to the Zhou family's house.
Since they planned to come, they tried their best to make sure that Zhou Wushi had nothing to criticize.
When Mu Jin arrived, Mu Qing was holding a little boy with snow-white skin, a pink mole on his forehead, a drooling mouth, and biting his own little hand. She and Zhou Wu Shi were having a great time playing with him.
Judging from appearances, distance makes the heart grow fonder; the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has become closer than before.
Although he disliked Zhou Ming and Mu Qing, he couldn't help but soften a bit when he saw such a gentle and sweet boy.
"Big brother's here? Have you eaten yet?"
Mu Jin nodded gently, and couldn't help but reach out to tease the boy in Mu Qing's arms who was giggling at him.
"Is this the first time you've met Suo'er, brother? Suo'er, look, this is your uncle who hasn't visited you since you were born."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "When Suo'er was a month old, your older brother and I thought we would come and see her. We never expected that the full moon banquet would be changed to a 100-day banquet. No matter how eager I am to see Suo'er, I have to follow your couple's arrangements."
His words placed him and Zhou Lin in the position of relatives who only visit each other during holidays.
It was almost as if he was telling Mu Qing directly that their two families were no longer close.
The implication was that since your son is a boy and your parents don't like him and don't want to hold a full-month celebration, whose fault is that?
Mu Jin was so angry she almost ground her teeth to powder. Every time he clashed with Mu Jin, he never got the better end of the deal.
With a forced smile, he said, "Brother, you're still as quick-witted as ever."
Mu Jin smiled but remained silent, withdrawing her hand from teasing Xiao Suo'er.
With such a father and stepfather, no matter how adorable she is now, she probably won't be able to get close to him and Zhou Lin in the future.
Zhou Wushi put away her smile. She had long since broken off relations with Mu Jin and they both knew what kind of people the other was. She was too lazy to pretend to be a kind mother-in-law.
When Zhou Si returned, the whole family was there. After looking around, he got straight to the point.
“Your fourth brother’s wedding is the last major event of your generation in our family. As the older brothers, you should contribute money if you have it, and contribute your strength if you have it.”
Mu Qing hurriedly said, "Mother is right. Ah Ming and I are not very capable, we only have strength. Before Fourth Brother gets married, if there are any chores to do at home, Mother, please just tell Ah Ming and me."
After saying that, he glanced at Mu Jin. Although his family had saved up some money, there was no way they would take it from him to help Zhou Qiang.
Zhou Wu looked at Mu Jin and spoke before Mu Jin could:
"Don't tell me you don't have any money. Da Lin didn't earn much as a carpenter in town, but now he's working at Mu Zhaoye's carpentry shop, so he's probably saved up quite a few taels of silver."
Mu Jin looked troubled. "Mother, you can earn several taels of silver just by opening and closing your mouth. It's not that easy to earn money."
Just as Zhou Wu was about to get angry, Mu Jin leaned forward and whispered something in Zhou Wu's ear.
Zhou Wu's face turned from red to white and then to green, a rather fascinating sight.
With a smile on her lips, Mu Jin sat back down in her chair.
Zhou Si looked at Mu Jin, puzzled, only to see Mu Jin nod slightly at him.
Feeling a little relieved, she sat quietly in the chair, looking obediently as if listening to Zhou Wu's instructions.
Zhou Wu's heart heaved a few times. She had been angry with Mu Jin so much that this time she was not so angry that she fainted.
"It's because I'm thinking too little. Never mind, your father and I will figure out a way to deal with the money. But Jin-ge'er, your family does own a dye shop. Your fourth brother is getting married, and the wedding clothes will be dyed red. As the eldest brother, you can't shirk your responsibility. Otherwise, I'll have to go and ask Da Lin myself."
Mu Qing held Xiao Suo'er, her expression one of utter astonishment.
Mu Jin knew when to stop, but she didn't want Zhou Wu Shi to take too much advantage of his family, so she lowered her eyes.
In the blink of an eye, Mu Jin looked up and smiled, "Mother, what are you saying? It's my own brother's wedding, so his elder brother and I will do our best to help. But as for this dye shop, I only provided the land; it belongs to Zhao Ran and Qi Qiu, so I don't have the final say. However, we're all family. When I go back, for my fourth brother's sake, I'll swallow my pride and talk to them about taking half of your money, okay?"
Zhou Wu was furious, pointing at the hibiscus, but dared not vent her anger.
He took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll do as you say."
Too lazy to pay any more attention to Mu Jin, she turned to Zhou Si and said, "Your husband is a butcher, so there's no shortage of meat at home. You can have the meat for your fourth brother's wedding banquet."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Si first glanced at Mu Jin, then looked at Zhou Wu Shi, his expression clearly indicating that he and Mu Jin were in cahoots and that he knew exactly what Mu Jin had just whispered in her ear.
Seeing this, Zhou Wu gritted her teeth and asked, "Is there some difficulty?!"
Zhou Si nodded in agreement. “Mother, I am, after all, a married man. My in-laws have been quite dissatisfied with me recently, to the point that they separated me and my husband. It’s really hard for me to say anything.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Wu's expression became slightly unnatural for a moment.
Zhou Si sighed, "I can only go home and talk to my husband to see if we can sell it to our family at a lower price than usual."
With Mu Jin holding leverage over Zhou Qiang, Zhou Wu Shi dared not jeopardize her most beloved youngest son's future.
Still unable to hold back, she gritted her teeth and said, "Our youngest son is still your fourth brother. If he's not well, what good will it do you two?!"
Mu Jin just laughed, "What are you saying, Mother? Si'er and I naturally hope that our fourth brother will be well. His elder brother and I are both farmers who make a living from the soil. We want to help as much as possible, but unfortunately, we are willing but unable to do so."
Mu Qing, standing to the side, listened to their cryptic exchange, completely bewildered and unable to understand what they were saying.
They had just agreed that he would get more money from them, but his mother-in-law suddenly changed her mind.
Zhou Wushi glanced at them with annoyance in her eyes and waved her hand.
"Once I get the cloth back from Jun-ge'er, I'll have someone send it to you so you can dye it carefully."
After speaking with Mu Jin, he turned to Zhou Si and said, "As for the meat and the price in silver, tell your father and me as soon as possible, so as not to delay things."
"Alright, that's all for you two. Go back now."
The family was happy that Zhou's aunt and uncle would be coming over to help Zhou Wushi later, so she didn't want to see them and feel annoyed. But now, just looking at Mu Jin made her feel like she would live ten years less.
Mu Jin obediently took her leave and came to the Zhou family. In less than half an hour, she came out completely unharmed.
After leaving the Zhou family, Zhou Si gently patted her chest.
"Brother, what did you and Mother talk about? Why did she suddenly change the subject?"
Mu Jin leaned down and whispered in Zhou Si's ear what had happened at the Zhou family's place yesterday.
Zhou Si was surprised. "I knew it! No wonder Brother Lingyun asked around yesterday but didn't get any information."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "As long as no one knows about this, Mother will keep a low profile for the sake of Fourth Brother."
Zhou Si felt much relieved and chuckled, "Fourth brother is our mother's only weakness. Okay, I know about this. Don't worry about eldest brother. I won't even tell Lingyun."
Mu Jin and Zhou Si parted ways, and Mu Jin returned home in a rather pleasant mood.
As soon as the courtyard gate was opened, Bai Qiqiu's familiar voice could be heard.
"Big brother, you're finally back."
Mu Jin's eyebrows immediately curved into a smile.
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