Chapter Sixty-Nine
Sea bass has few bones, making it especially suitable for elderly people.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Jin realized that she had been planning to send some things to Zhou's grandparents, and sea bass would be the perfect gift.
"Qi Qiu, I'll buy you a big bass."
Bai Qiqiu waved his hand, "Brother, we're all family, there's no need to be so formal about buying things."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I'm giving this to my grandparents. If I'm eating it myself, I won't give you any money."
Bai Qiqiu still shook his head, "Brother, you can just take it and deliver it directly. I've lived at your house for so long, and your husband has never looked down on me for being a freeloader. He has never asked me for money, and he has never shortchanged me on any good things. If I were to take your money, I would be a terrible person."
Mu Jin sighed helplessly, "You've helped with so much chores at home, the mushrooms..."
Bai Qiqiu said helplessly, "Brother, please stop talking, or I'll really get angry."
Mu Jin stopped talking, smiled and said, "You've developed a little temper. I won't say anything more. Go and pick out a big one from the bucket for me. I'll send it over before lunch."
Bai Qiqiu then smiled and said, "I'll go right away."
He did odd jobs at home, searching for cicadas and digging for mushrooms, and never thought about keeping the money he earned from selling these things in town.
Mu Jin had previously given him money, but he had refused it.
In Bai Qiqiu's heart, he had long regarded Mu Jin, Zhou Lin, Wen Zhaoran and Zhou Si as family.
Originally, he was like a drifting duckweed, but fortunately he found a place to live that sheltered him from the wind and rain. Bai Qiqiu was very grateful for this kindness.
Wen Zhaoran was the same; he didn't lack the money, and when he wanted to give Mu Jin some, she wouldn't accept it.
He wouldn't accept the money he earned from his busy work.
Although Mu Jin didn't say it, he could tell that the ten taels of silver he gave them, excluding the time when they bought fine rice and flour, meant that Mu Jin and Zhou Lin had used the money when they were short of cash at home.
After that, Zhou Lin went to town and never touched the money again.
Mu Jin didn't deliver the fish directly. She had just seen Mu Feng by the river and asked Mu Bai to go and call him over so that he could take him home.
To avoid trouble, Mu Jin gave Mu Feng a few more detailed instructions before he left with the fish.
"Brother-in-law, just tell Grandmother, but don't let anyone else know."
Mu Feng smiled, revealing dimples at the corners of his mouth, his eyes sparkling. "I know, brother, don't worry."
Mu Jin smiled and saw him out the door.
It's so easy to talk to smart people.
By the end of June, Zhou Lin should be able to get back a considerable amount of money.
When Mu Jin thought of this, her heart was filled with excitement, and she worked with boundless energy.
With her husband eagerly awaiting her return, Zhou Lin returned home with a bulging purse.
The couple looked at each other, their eyes and brows brimming with uncontainable joy.
After a quick dinner and a quick wash, I rushed back to my room without even bothering to look for cicadas.
Holding the heavy money bag in her hands, Mu Jin's mouth stretched from ear to ear in a wide grin.
He had no idea that he was such a lover of gold and silver.
"How many?"
Hibiscus looked at Zhou Lin with anticipation.
When Zhou Lin returned, he had taken a bath and was now only wearing his undergarments, leaning against the bed.
"Guess?"
"Six taels?"
Zhou Lin shook his head.
"Seven taels?"
He still shook his head.
"It can't be ten taels, can it?!"
Mu Jin's phoenix eyes widened slightly, her chest pounding wildly like a bull's, thump thump thump.
"Eleven taels and three mace".
Zhou Lin stopped teasing him. "The money I earned from working—peaches, eggs, duck eggs, vegetables, cicadas, and the wild vegetables and mushrooms you occasionally asked me to deliver—I delivered cicadas every day. It all turned into quite a bit of money, about three taels."
Mu Jin swallowed hard, then grinned and said, "Husband, I'm so happy!"
Zhou Lin laughed along with him; his husband's happiness made him happy too.
The silver stored in the secret compartment was used for household expenses, with one tael taken out to buy grain and cloth during this period.
Now there are only eight taels and five mace left, and only sixty-eight coins left for household expenses under the bedding.
If it weren't for the end of the month, I might still have to embezzle money from the secret compartment.
Knowing that her husband loved silver coins, Zhou Lin took some silver at noon and went to Steward Zhao to exchange it for a ten-tael silver coin.
It feels heavy and substantial in my hand.
Mu Jin took the silver out of the purse, admired it for a while, put the eleven taels of silver into the hidden compartment of the purse, and took out the five qian of loose silver from it.
"Now we've saved up nineteen taels of silver. Next month, we'll have over twenty taels. If you think about it carefully, we've saved up pretty quickly."
The hidden compartment closed, and Mu Jin took out the money pouch from under the mattress.
Zhou Lin laughed and said, "There shouldn't be that many next month. We can't catch cicadas for long. My master and I finished making a Luohan bed this month. The auspicious cranes and pine trees carved on it were well received by Young Master Zhao and his wife. Steward Zhao gave us an extra two taels of silver this time."
Mu Jin looked at Zhou Lin with a hint of admiration in her eyes.
"Husband, you are really amazing. You have only been learning from Uncle Heng for a short time, and you have already gained the master's appreciation."
Zhou Lin felt a little embarrassed by the praise, but couldn't help feeling a surge of joy.
"It's mostly thanks to my master; I was just helping out on the side."
Mu Jin shook her head, "Husband, don't underestimate yourself. Since you've been rewarded with money, it means your skills have caught the eye of a noble person, which is already quite impressive."
As she spoke, Mu Jin counted out thirty copper coins and handed them to him, "This is your allowance for next month."
With more money earned, even my allowance increased by ten coins.
Zhou Lin accepted the gift with a wry smile, thinking about how she had previously used her allowance to buy a pound of meat for her parents.
I definitely need to save up this month's earnings.
Mu Jin counted out another thirty coins and put them into her purse, then quickly added ten coins to her own account, determined not to shortchange herself.
Seeing this, Zhou Lin smiled, got up, took out his money bag, and put the copper coins into it.
Mu Jin handed him another coin, which Zhou Lin found puzzling.
“In the past, Zhaoran and Qiqiu refused the money they earned from selling mushrooms. They almost got angry with me when they tried to give it to them.”
Mu Jin laughed as she spoke, "They both really love lamb. Isn't there a shop in town that specializes in selling lamb from northern Xinjiang? They say it has a milder gamey smell. Buy five catties of it tomorrow."
Zhou Lin nodded, took the coin, and put it into his money bag.
Lying back on the bed, Mu Jin no longer felt hot, and hugged his arm, snuggling close to him.
Zhou Lin turned over, this time for real. His husband was happy, and he was overjoyed.
Bai Qiqiu, Wen Zhaoran, and Mu Bai dared not go out at night when it was pitch black. They searched in the yard for a while before going back to their room to sleep.
The peak season for cicadas had passed, and the three of them didn't find many last night.
Zhou Lin left early in the morning, taking only vegetables and peaches with him; he saved the cicadas for them to use for lunch.
"Big brother, why did you go back to your room so early last night? I was thinking of asking you to go out and look for cicadas together, but Brother Qi Qiu stopped me."
Mu Bai took a sip of the millet porridge; it was sticky and gooey, which he really liked.
Mu Jin blushed and coughed lightly, "Your brother-in-law was too tired from working in town, so I let him rest for the night."
Wen Zhaoran sighed, "I really think my brother-in-law is an iron man. I haven't seen him rest since I came to the house."
Mu Jin rubbed his back. It was better to keep busy. If he was idle, he would have a lot of energy but nowhere to use it, and his back would not be able to take it.
After breakfast, the four family members got busy with their own tasks.
Some were drying vegetables, others were weeding the vegetable garden, some were watering the plants, and others were cutting pig feed.
The sky is clear and the sun is not yet scorching, so get the work done early and you can rest more at noon.
"Hey, big brother, busy?"
Mu Jin looked up and glanced at the uninvited guest.
When I saw Zhou Lin off in the morning, everyone in the family was home, so I didn't close the courtyard gate.
Mu Qing walked in without any hesitation.
"Second brother, what brings you here?"
Mu Jin twitched the corners of her mouth, a forced smile that didn't reach her eyes. She had too much chores to do at home, and she didn't have time to argue with him.
The owl growled at Mu Qing, and Mu Jin patted it, "Go play somewhere else."
With Mu Qing heavily pregnant, we can't let anything happen to him at his house.
The owl grumbled and nestled beside Mu Jin, neither leaving nor trying to scare Mu Qing any further.
Mu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "Brother, you know that Ah Ming and I separated a while ago. You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. We have nothing at home. After your nephew is born, there will be many places that will cost money. Sigh, you and brother are living a more and more prosperous life. I came here to learn from you because of the baby in my belly."
Mu Jin chuckled. He really wasn't bothered at all by talking about the child in her belly.
If Zhou Lin heard these words, he might be moved, but Zhou Lin wouldn't buy it.
She smiled and said, "Sigh, what can we husbands know? We still have to rely on the men in the family to support us. Your eldest brother is only strong, he doesn't have any other skills. When my second brother came to visit before, he said that my eldest brother was really stupid. My second brother is so smart. My eldest brother and I were thinking that when my second brother becomes successful, he shouldn't forget his older brother who grew up with him and should give his eldest brother a hand."
Mu Qing's lips twitched, she tugged at them, and gave an awkward smile.
“That man, Amin, doesn’t think before he speaks. Brothers, don’t let his unintentional words damage our family relationship.”
Mu Jin laughed and said, "How could that be? I'm not that petty. It was just a casual remark. Don't take it to heart."
Mu Qing knew that he probably wouldn't get any benefits from this trip.
Zhou Ming went to town to find short-term work. When he returns, tell him to go directly to Zhou Lin.
He was soft-hearted and, out of brotherly affection, might let Zhou Ming learn carpentry skills from him.
He glanced at the peach tree not far away and laughed, "The peaches from the old house tree are really better than the ones at home."
Mu Jin didn't want to say more to him, so she called out to Wen Zhaoran.
"Zhaoran, are there any peaches left at home?"
Wen Zhaoran's voice came from the vegetable garden, "Big brother, I remember there are still five or six left in the cupboard at home."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Go and get three for your brother Qing. I can't spare the time here. He's heavily pregnant and came all this way. It's not easy for him."
Mu Qing was secretly annoyed, but Taozi hugged him, gave a wry smile, and left.
She secretly resolved never to seek out Mu Jin again, and that it would be better to go directly to Zhou Lin.
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