Chapter Sixty-Three
Mu Jin was quite surprised. After a pause, she composed herself and followed the servant to the main courtyard of the Zhao residence.
As you approach the courtyard gate, you can hear bursts of laughter, the voices sweet and delicate, a sound rarely heard in the village.
As Mu Jin entered, she looked up and saw several women and their husbands, adorned with gold and jade and dressed in fine silk, surrounding an elderly woman with gray hair, a sprightly appearance, and a kind face.
Several young people sat at the table, chatting and laughing, their words all aimed at making the elderly woman in the main seat happy.
On the table were ice cream and several plates of peaches, cut into pieces, so you didn't have to eat them with your hands sticky like they did.
Several large blocks of ice were placed around it, emitting a cool breeze.
As soon as the hibiscus approached, one felt a refreshing coolness all over their body.
"Greetings, Madam. May you be well."
Mu Jin was polite, her eyes showing a hint of joy mixed with nervousness and trepidation at meeting an important person.
Old Madam Zhao smiled and nodded, her expression kind and her words gentle.
"So you are Jin-ge'er from Mu Family Village? You are quite a lovely girl."
Mu Jin maintained her smile, "Reporting to the Old Madam, I am Mu Jin."
Old Madam Zhao beckoned to him, and the young masters and ladies of the Zhao family glanced at him several times with a hint of curiosity.
Mu Jin walked over slowly, her mind racing, wondering what the old lady was up to.
"I heard from Steward Zhao that your husband works in the manor?"
Mu Jin secretly rubbed her thumb against her index finger, wondering if her husband had made a mistake in his work.
She nodded gently. "Reporting to the Old Madam, it is a great blessing for our family that we have been able to receive such a good job from Young Master Zhao. My husband and I are extremely grateful to the Zhao family for providing us with such a wonderful job."
Old Madam Zhao smiled and said, "The peaches you sent are very sweet and juicy. I've heard about you from Steward Zhao, and I've been wanting to meet you for a long time. When I heard you were coming today, I had the servants call you here. There's nothing else, so don't be nervous."
Mu Jin smiled, her expression seeming somewhat relieved.
"Meeting such an important person is nerve-wracking, but upon seeing the old lady, with her bodhisattva-like appearance and kind eyes, my heart was warmed, and I felt nothing but reverence for her."
The smile in Old Madam Zhao's eyes deepened.
"Judging from your voice, you're educated?"
Mu Jin humbly replied, "I only learned a few characters from the older brother next door when I was a child."
The woman sitting next to the old lady smiled and said, "In the village, few men can read. It's already quite good that you can read."
Mu Jin smiled, and then heard the young lady from the Zhao family speak, her voice as melodious as a silver bell.
"We were just composing poems about peaches, Jin-ge'er, why don't you write one too?"
Mu Jin laughed and said, "I only know a few characters. As for writing poetry? I really can't do that."
The husband, who was a bit older, laughed and said, "I'm just doing this for fun. I don't care about the tones or parallelism. I just do it however I want."
Mu Jin glanced at the old lady beside her, knowing that her husband would have to rely on the Zhao family for any work in the future.
It wouldn't be good if we spoiled their fun today.
"Then I will make a fool of myself and say a few words. Please don't laugh at me, esteemed guests."
After Mu Jin finished speaking, she pondered for a moment.
"The peach tree at the foot of the courtyard is big and lush."
Green branches laden with pink peaches
The peach on top is rosy red.
The bottom is green with bluish-green hairs.
The younger brother climbed the tree and gently shook it.
The older brother covered the tree with a cloth.
A bite releases a burst of peach flavor.
"Present this to the distinguished guest to taste."
"Very good, very good. Although it's a bit plain, it's quite interesting."
Old Madam Zhao smiled and gently patted Mu Jin's hand.
Everyone chimed in, "Jin-ge'er, where does your poetic inspiration come from?"
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I was thinking about picking peaches with my younger brother at home yesterday. Please excuse my poor performance."
For the rest of the time, Mu Jin used his sweet tongue to praise Old Madam Zhao, both openly and secretly.
He then proceeded to tell some amusing stories about the villagers, making Old Lady Zhao beam with delight.
The young masters and ladies of the Zhao family sitting below sighed inwardly, thankful that Mu Jin wasn't a member of their family; otherwise, with her silver tongue, she would surely have become the old lady's darling.
Seeing that it was getting late, Old Madam Zhao kept Mu Jin at the mansion for lunch.
The food served at the Zhao residence was comparable to that of the largest restaurant in town. Each dish was served in small portions and was presented exquisitely.
Old Madam Zhao placed a piece of roasted goose liver on Mu Jin's plate. Mu Jin looked flattered and quickly thanked Old Madam Zhao.
"Jin-ge'er, eat more, don't be shy."
Mu Jin nodded repeatedly. The aroma of fine rice wafted over, and even without any side dishes, he could eat several large bowls.
When dining at someone's home, one should be reserved to avoid being laughed at.
"Speaking of which, Jin-ge'er, besides Lin-xiaozi's carpentry, do you have any other sources of income at home?"
Mu Jin now knows that the one who spoke was the current matriarch of the Zhao family.
Old Madam Zhao is getting on in years and is now enjoying her retirement at home, so she doesn't really get involved in anything anymore.
The question posed by the mistress of the Zhao family was too private. Mu Jin lowered her eyes, her thoughts churning in an instant.
"Reporting to Madam Zhao, the vegetables at home are being bought by the rice noodle shops in town. In a while, when there are more peaches, we'll bring them to town and exchange them for some money. We usually just dig up some mountain produce in the mountains to earn a few copper coins."
The matriarch of the Zhao family nodded slightly and glanced at Old Madam Zhao.
He laughed and said, "Last year, Xiao Ran said that there were not enough peach trees planted in the manor, and the fruit was not enough for the beverage shop. If Jin Ge'er is willing, you can take the peaches to the beverage shop in the Zhao family to sell. It will be much easier than hawking them on the street."
Mu Jin's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Madam Zhao. I will definitely send over the best peaches."
The mistress of the Zhao family smiled gently, her eyebrows curving slightly.
How many fruits can a peach tree bear? Her family has no shortage of fruit. She's just doing him a favor because she saw how happy Mu Jin was with the old lady today.
Old Madam Zhao took a sip of ginseng soup and smiled, "I love Jin'er so much."
Mu Jin knew this, and her resolve only grew stronger; she was determined to cling to the powerful Zhao family.
On her way home, Mu Jin walked briskly, carrying two bags of pastries made by the cooks in the mansion, given to her by Old Madam Zhao, and was in a very good mood.
The situation took an unexpected turn, and the slight unpleasantness of almost being taken advantage of by the greasy beverage shop owner vanished with the wind.
"Big brother, you're finally back! Zhaoran and I almost went to town to look for you. Why are you so late?"
Mu Jin's eyes were full of joy as she handed the pastries in her hand to Bai Qiqiu, who rushed up to greet her.
"We had a meal at the Zhao residence, which took a while. Here, the Zhao residence gave us some Tang fruits and Bi Luo. You and Zhaoran can take them and eat them."
Bai Qiqiu took the pastries and, seeing Mu Jin's cheerful expression, felt happy too.
"Brother, has the peach drink shop closed down?"
Mu Jin nodded. Although this drink shop was not the same as the one in the story, the peaches had at least been sold.
After dealing with the dignitaries from the Zhao family all afternoon, Mu Jin felt quite tired.
Speaking to people in a human language and to ghosts in a ghost language is a very thoughtful thing.
Mu Jin yawned, hurried back inside, and took a nap.
The sun was scorching the earth, and without having to sweat profusely while harvesting wheat, it was quite leisurely.
As Zhou Lin returned home with the sunset, Mu Jin made cold noodles with locust leaves, served with minced garlic sauce, which was very appetizing in the summer.
Pickled vegetables were taken out of the jar, and the food was placed on the table.
As usual, Zhou Lin took a cold shower by the river, changed into clean clothes, and sat down at the table.
"When I came back today, Steward Zhao was very strange. He kept patting me on the shoulder and said that I had married a good husband. What did you do at the Zhao residence?"
Zhou Lin picked up a cold noodle, took a big slurp, and spoke with a hint of doubt, but more so with a deep sense of pride.
Mu Jin put some pickled vegetables in his bowl and sighed, "I was going home, but Old Madam Zhao called me over. We just chatted for a while."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qiqiu felt even greater admiration for Mu Jin.
Even if he forced his way in and managed to utter each word carefully, he couldn't chat with such a wealthy person for a whole morning.
The same applies to Zhou Lin.
"Speaking of which, the peaches at home, when you go to work, you can just take them to the Zhao residence. Just like the rice noodle shop, you'll be paid monthly. You can bring back the money you earned from working together."
"The Zhao family accepted the peaches?"
Mu Jin nodded.
Zhou Lin breathed a sigh of relief. This morning, seeing how uncomfortable Mu Jin was, he took some time at noon to visit two or three beverage shops, but none of them would accept his drink.
I was planning to try again tomorrow, and if it works out, I'll come back and surprise my husband.
Selling his own peaches at a beverage shop was a real challenge for Zhou Lin, a man who was dull and not good with words.
Fortunately, the peaches at home were eventually sold.
Early the next morning, the ramie in the house was dried. Bai Qiqiu was teaching Wen Zhaoran how to sort the ramie at home, while Mu Jin carried a basin of dirty clothes to the riverbank.
The river surface shimmered, and Mu Zhaoye and his group were fishing in the river not far away.
Mu Jin glanced at it, wondering how they could have time to fish during the busy farming season.
He continued pounding the clothes with his hands.
"Jin'er".
Mu Mian called out to Mu Jin, who seemed lost in thought, and walked to the rock next to him while carrying the wooden basin.
"Mian'er".
Hibiscus snapped out of her daze and smiled at Mian.
"What are you thinking about, so lost in thought?"
Mu Jin shook her head and laughed, "Everyone in the village is so busy these days, how come Brother Zhaoye has found some free time to go fishing?"
"Huh? You didn't know?"
The cotton tree moved closer to the hibiscus tree with great seriousness.
Mu Jin chuckled. He had been quite busy these days and hadn't heard about what was happening in the village for a long time.
"What's wrong?"
Mu Mian moved closer to Mu Jin and whispered, careful not to let the fishermen nearby hear.
"It's really infuriating to talk about this. You know about Zhaoye's family. Before his mother married Mu Bo, she had someone she loved."
Mu Jin nodded. This matter caused quite a stir in the village that year.
Mu Bo was unaware that he and Mu Zhaoye's mother were living a very harmonious life together.
Unexpectedly, Mu Zhaoye's mother's sweetheart came to the village looking for her.
The two were pulling and tugging at each other when they were seen by the loud-mouthed men in the village, and the story eventually reached Uncle Mu's ears.
As luck would have it, not long after, Mu Zhaoye's mother became pregnant.
Uncle Mu became suspicious and felt that something was wrong with everything he looked at.
Even after having her first son, she didn't feel much joy.
When Mu Zhaoye was born, Uncle Mu looked at his features and saw that he didn't resemble him at all.
With the added fuel to the fire by others, Uncle Mu became even more suspicious and his temper grew increasingly worse.
Mu Zhaoye grew more and more handsome. In fact, if you look closely, he inherited Mu Bo's nose and mouth, but the rest of his features were inherited from Mu Zhaoye's mother.
He picked up the best features of both of them, and sure enough, he became a handsome man.
Unfortunately, Mu Bo was blinded by suspicion and became increasingly convinced that the child was not his.
Soon after, he began to drink heavily and beat people, tearing his once happy family apart.
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