Chapter Seventy-Eight
The steamed buns in the bamboo basket were all made with wheat flour, without any other flour mixed in, and each one was soft and delicious.
A pot of cloudy wine, filled to the brim of several small wine cups.
The group ate and admired the moon, enjoying the cool breeze.
The mooncakes with jujube paste filling are sweet, fragrant, and soft, but they are also expensive. A pack of four mooncakes costs fifty coins.
If it weren't for the Mid-Autumn Festival, I really wouldn't have been willing to eat the hibiscus.
Gazing at the bright moon in the sky, the group of people calmed down for a moment without prior agreement.
"Brother, do you think Chang'e would be happy if she abandoned her husband and went to the moon alone in order to achieve immortality?"
Bai Qiqiu sighed. If he had a beloved husband, he certainly wouldn't abandon him for the sake of a lonely immortality.
He longed for something but couldn't have it, while most others didn't appreciate it once they had it.
Mu Jin shook her head, took a bite of the mooncake, and said softly, "There must be a lot of helplessness involved."
Bai Qiqiu put aside his sadness about not having a girlfriend yet, and said, "Zhaoran, speaking of which, did Brother Muzhou go home today on his day off?"
Wen Zhaoran drank a cup of turbid wine, feeling somewhat drunk, and nodded sluggishly.
Xunran said, "I'm going back. I can stay at home for a few days. After the autumn harvest is over, I'll go back to the academy."
"Has the man I asked him to keep an eye out for has been found yet?"
"Oh? He didn't say. I'll ask him tomorrow."
Bai Qiqiu, who was eager to get married, gently poked his little head.
"Take your brother's matter to heart. If he can get married before the end of the year, he can save on the late marriage tax next year."
Wen Zhaoran nodded gently, "I understand, Brother Qi Qiu, you... you can rest assured about the thousand taels of gold."
"A heart worth a thousand taels of gold?"
"A gentleman's promise is as precious as a thousand pieces of gold. Brother Qi Qiu, don't worry, I will definitely marry you off."
Bai Qiqiu chuckled. "Alright, then I'll be waiting."
Mu Jin felt helpless and wanted to advise him not to care too much about a man's appearance, as being able to support the family was the most important thing.
But Bai Qiqiu was the kind of guy who wouldn't give up until he hit a brick wall, so after thinking about it, he didn't say anything.
Let him try his luck first. If he can marry a scholar and then doesn't have to toil in the fields for a living, that would be good too.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the crops in the fields gradually ripened, including sorghum, cotton, and ramie for the second harvest.
The moment I open my eyes, I'm faced with endless tasks.
Mu Zhaoye brought in a large bed, which was usable enough, so he didn't rush to have the other furniture made for him.
Zhou Lin hasn't gone to Mu Heng's place these past two days, and has been busy with the autumn harvest at home.
With Zhou Lin around, Mu Jin felt that the work in the fields was much easier.
She sighed inwardly, realizing that a family still needs a man; otherwise, it would be too exhausting.
The sorghum was brought home by cart and laid out to dry in the yard. Once it was dry and the grains were loosened from the cob, it would be easier to thresh.
Mu Jin and her friends picked the split cotton bolls from the two acres of cotton in the field, put them into baskets, and carried them home.
Cotton bolls that weren't fully split open were laid out in the yard to dry, revealing white cotton fibers. The cotton bolls were then broken open by hand, the cotton fibers inside were scooped out, and thrown into a burlap sack placed to the side.
It took two or three days of harvesting to bring all the cotton from the field back.
Zhou Lin uprooted the remaining cotton stalks from the field, transported them home, and dried them to use as firewood.
Wen Zhaoran touched the fluffy, soft cotton and exclaimed, "It's truly amazing how so much cotton has grown from such a tiny seedling."
Mu Jin smiled as she removed the side buds and topped the cotton plants. It felt like only yesterday. All that hard work, looking at these fluffy white cotton plants, made it all worthwhile.
Zhou Lin went to cut down the ramie and soaked it in the river, waiting for the cotton to dry so he could send it over to Mu Nianjun to help weave a few bolts of cotton-linen cloth.
Despite putting in a lot of effort, the two acres of land were not as fertile as fertile fields. Only about 100 catties of cotton were harvested. After removing the cotton seeds, only about 40 catties of lint remained.
Each person needs four jin of cotton for cotton-padded clothes and trousers. With four people in the family, that would take sixteen jin. Each person also needs a five-jin quilt, which would take twenty jin.
He and Zhou Lin made a quilt for two people, which would still weigh about eight jin (4 catties) even if they tried to be frugal.
Mu Jin calculated that there were only about six pounds of cotton left. After weaving the cloth, there wouldn't be much left.
Hibiscus thought of making all cotton and linen fabric, with more cotton to make the fabric softer and less irritating to the body.
If you do the math, you can weave more than five bolts of cotton and linen cloth.
With just two bolts of cloth, you can make all the quilts, cotton-padded clothes, and trousers for your family during the winter.
There are more than three bolts left, which will be kept to make new clothes next year.
After Mu Jin sorted things out and waited for the cotton and about twenty catties of ramie to be dried and threshed, she quickly took them to Mu Nianjun's place.
With plenty of ramie, Mu Jin thought of weaving it directly into fine linen cloth.
Mu Nianjun accepted two coins from Mu Jin, and refused any more.
“You’re not in a rush. I’ll just give you two bolts of cotton and linen next month, okay? I’ll take my time with the rest. It won’t delay anything.”
Mu Jin nodded, leaving behind a bag of milk cakes that Zhou Lin had bought for Xiao Weiwei when he went to town that morning.
"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Nianjun."
Mu Nianjun smiled. Seeing that Mu Jin had gotten back to normal life, his lingering worries finally subsided.
Mu Jin played with Xiao Weiwei for a while, but then, due to family matters, she didn't stay long and hurried home.
The sorghum was dried, threshed, dried again, and then stored in the kitchen. We harvested a little over three dou (a unit of dry measure), which is about forty-five or forty-six jin (a unit of weight).
Bai Qiqiu sighed and laughed, "After a year of hard work, we haven't sold a single grain of rice."
Wen Zhaoran helped carry the sorghum into the kitchen. "Wouldn't it be better to keep it for ourselves?"
Bai Qiqiu smiled. If it weren't for Zhou Lin's carpentry skills and the income from the family's vegetables, things would really be bad.
They couldn't exchange the grain for silver, and they didn't even dare to get sick during the winter.
However, everything is just right now.
His family had little land, so the autumn harvest was completed quickly.
While everyone in the village was busy working in the fields, Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran continued working on the dyeing workshop.
Zhou Lin went to do carpentry work, while Mu Jin took advantage of the few people around and quickly went to the mountains to pick a lot of dried fruits, mushrooms and fruits.
That night, by the light of an oil lamp, they quickly prepared the clothes and thicker shoes that Zhou Linqiu would wear.
One autumn rain brings a chill; the autumn harvest is not yet over, but the weather is already getting cooler.
When Mu Zhaoye's new house was completed, two imposing, thick, maroon doors could be seen at the entrance.
Climbing the steps and opening the door, you are greeted by a clean courtyard paved with bricks and stones. The houses are arranged in a U-shape, and the backyard is where the family's newly purchased livestock, the mules, live.
The rooms were bright and spacious, with woodsheds, kitchens, and storerooms that were even more impressive than the bedrooms of many families.
Excluding the main house in the east wing, there are five bedrooms left, presumably for future children.
Most villagers dared not visit Mu Zhaoye's house, but just looking at that magnificent gate from the foot of the mountain, they could only imagine the magnificent scene inside, which made them extremely envious.
Uncle Mu, instigated by Mu Zhaoye's stepfather, visited Mu Zhaoye's house three times but dared not enter. In the end, he timidly returned home.
He comforted himself, knowing that as long as Mu Zhaoye's mother didn't enjoy the good life, he was at ease.
As long as a man has money, even if he is impotent, there are plenty of young men and women who want to marry him.
Moreover, Mu Zhaoye may look fierce, but I have never heard of him hitting anyone.
Many were only after money, not caring about the gruesome scar on Mu Zhaoye's face, thinking only of the young men and women who would marry into the family and enjoy a life of luxury.
Matchmakers have been knocking on his door these past two days, driving Mu Zhaoye to the brink of annoyance.
It wasn't that he disliked being matched with people, but the young men and women he was matched with were so frightened upon first meeting that they couldn't even speak properly. How could they possibly live together after that?
He built a new house, intending to settle down, marry a husband or wife, live happily together, and have a few children later.
But it's pointless to marry someone who doesn't even dare to talk to you.
However, it's not the fault of those young men. They might want to, but when they saw Mu Zhaoye in person, even the men didn't dare to look him in the eye for a moment. Let alone some young men who don't even dare to kill a chicken these days, there really wasn't anyone who wasn't afraid.
As Mu Zhaoye saw the family off at the door, the boy's legs were still trembling, and he sighed inwardly.
For Bai Qiqiu, Mu Zhou actually found him a classmate who was not yet engaged.
This afternoon, Bai Qiqiu dressed neatly and went to meet the matchmakers, Mu Zhou, Wen Zhaoran, and Mu Jin.
Bai Qiqiu had taken a liking to the scholar; he was fair-skinned and delicate, quite pleasing to the eye.
But scholars are often attracted to beautiful women, and he assumed that Wen Zhaoran's friend must be quite attractive.
As it turned out, a young man even taller than him arrived. After exchanging only a few words, he made an excuse about something happening at the academy and fled.
It goes without saying how disappointed Bai Qiqiu was.
Mu Jin comforted him, "That scholar was just unlucky. Qi Qiu, as someone who's been through this, I'd like to say a few more words to you. When choosing a husband, you can't just look at his face. If you pick someone you like but he's only good-looking, you'll suffer a lot in the future. You still need to find someone who can handle things."
Wen Zhaoran nodded in agreement, "That's right, Brother Qi Qiu, look at the two you picked before, they both love to visit brothels. If they really get married, just thinking about their future makes me feel heartbroken for you."
Bai Qiqiu sighed softly, "I just think, if I marry a big, burly man, what will happen to the sons I have, no matter who they take after? They can't be like me, so old and still unable to get married."
Mu Jin was speechless. A while ago, she and her husband had been worried about this matter for some time.
Wen Zhaoran laughed and said, "Brother Qi Qiu, I think you are very good, but you are a bit tall. Then just find someone taller than you. When you have children, there will definitely be someone taller than them. Those who don't like you are all short men. Perhaps they felt they were not good enough for you, so they ran away in a panic."
Bai Qiqiu laughed.
Mu Jin also said, "Let's not worry unnecessarily. There's always a way out."
Bai Qiqiu felt much more at ease and smiled, saying, "Brother, Zhaoran, you should go home first. I'll walk around a bit more."
Mu Jin nodded. Some things, she had to figure out for herself.
Bai Qiqiu listened to the rustling wind in the mountains and forests. Late August was strangely cool and pleasant.
There were still some farmers in the fields, busy harvesting rice because they had a lot of land.
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