Chapter Thirty-Four
When Zhou Lin came back today, his smile stretched from ear to ear.
Upon entering, he went straight to Mu Jin, his excitement barely concealed.
"Ah Jin, have you heard? Fourth brother and brother-in-law both passed the county examination!"
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I even went to check the list when we were in town. If I had known, my uncle and the others would have called us home for dinner."
Zhou Lin was taken aback. "We should also go back to our parents' place."
Zhou Qiang's passing of the prefectural examination was a great honor for the Zhou family, and he was overjoyed.
"I was thinking of using the money I got from selling bamboo shoots to buy some snacks. When my son Si'er goes back later, I'll have him take them with him."
Zhou Lin still wanted to go back and check on Zhou Qiang first, and hesitated for a moment after hearing this.
"How about we go back to our parents' place first, chat for a while, and then go to our father-in-law and mother-in-law's place, okay?"
Hibiscus lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Let me make this clear, we're not eating at my parents' house. My dad bought a lot of meat and told me in town that it wouldn't be right not to go."
Mu Jin didn't have a deep affection for Mu Laoqi and Zhou Ling, but she was quite fond of Mu Zhou.
Zhou Lin then smiled again, "Okay, let me wash my face, then we'll go over."
When Mu Jin, Zhou Lin, and Zhou Si arrived, many people from the Zhou family's main branch had already come.
Mu Qing was serving tea to her uncles when she glanced at Mu Jin.
The courtyard was bustling with noise. Zhou Wu had never been so happy. Sure enough, her youngest son made her proud the most.
Mu Jin personally handed the pastries to Zhou Qiang, saying, "Congratulations, Fourth Brother, your future will surely be bright."
Zhou Qiang accepted it, and he was overjoyed.
He hadn't really studied much but still passed, though he came in last place. None of his other cronies made the list.
He felt that he was destined to be an official.
Zhou Lin looked pleased and patted Zhou Qiang on the shoulder, "Fourth brother, well done!"
Zhou Si also gave Zhou Qiang the money pouch embroidered with green bamboo that she had specially kept the day before.
"Little brother, you're really amazing! I admire you so much!"
"Thank you, elder brother. Elder brother, third brother, Mother has cut some meat today and is also preparing to roast a goose. You and elder brother can eat at home for lunch."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I ran into my father in town. He asked me and A Lin to come over. I already agreed to his request, so we won't be eating at home today."
Zhou Wushi didn't want to see them either. Although she was chatting and laughing with others, she kept her ears perked up, listening to the commotion over there.
As soon as Mu Jin finished speaking, she said, "Then let's go early, so as not to keep our in-laws waiting."
Zhou Si stayed at the Zhou family home, while Mu Jin and Zhou Lin went back to Mu Jin's parents' home together.
The Mu family had just as many people as the Zhou family, and when they saw Mu Jin and Zhou Lin arrive, they warmly welcomed them inside.
Mu Zhou was extremely embarrassed. He tugged at Zhou Ling, who was talking non-stop, as if he had passed the imperial examination.
"Little father, I'm not a student yet. I still have to take the exam in April. Please don't say that, it's embarrassing."
Zhou Ling's eyes were full of smiles, "I'm so happy today, my son has really made me proud. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Mu Zhou couldn't sit still any longer. Just then, Zhou Lin and Mu Jin came over, so he got up and went over to them.
"Zhou'er, I bought your favorite peach shortbread." Mu Jin looked at Mu Zhou with a smile.
Mu Zhou smiled and said, "Thank you, brother."
"Have you gone to pay your respects to your teacher?" Mu Jin asked, afraid that Zhou Ling might be too excited and forget the proper etiquette.
Mu Zhou nodded. "I've already been there. My uncle told me to bring ten catties of meat with me."
Mu Jin was finally relieved.
Mu Bai pressed on, "Second Brother really stole the show today; every uncle praised him."
"Your second brother is amazing, he deserves to be praised."
Mu Bai nodded with a grin. "Big brother, speaking of which, your house has been repaired. I was thinking of going to stay at your place for a few days in a couple of days, but my uncle thinks I'm too noisy and will disturb my second brother's studies."
Mu Jin paused, thought for a moment, and said, "A few more days... these few days aren't very convenient."
Zhou Lin was pulled away by Mu Jin's cousins to chat, and Mu Jin, having some free time, thought of Zhou Ling's pregnancy and went to the kitchen to help with the chores.
Braised pork belly, spicy and sour fish, and even lamb chops—such a lavish meal shows how happy Mu Laoqi and Zhou Ling truly are.
Mu Jin sighed inwardly. If Mu Zhou passed the imperial examination, given the current situation, Zhou Ling would surely host a banquet for the entire village.
After eating and drinking their fill, Mu Jin and Zhou Lin didn't stay long. They chatted for a while and then went back.
Zhou Lin went straight to the wood frame shop. He had just received a big order in the past two days. A family in the village was getting married in a month and had ordered a bed and a wardrobe, which he had to finish quickly.
When Mu Jin returned home, she patted her slightly full stomach; it was the first time in her life she had eaten so much.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Si, who had already returned home, laughed and said, "Big brother, it seems Uncle Ling has made quite a few good things."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "There's quite a lot, with fish and meat. How are things with Father and Mother?"
Zhou Si shook her head. "I didn't stay there much after you left. It was more comfortable to stay at home with Liang Zhao and eat coarse food."
Wen Liangzhao had just finished watering the sprouting spring vegetables in the backyard when he heard Zhou Si mention his name.
He put down the gourd ladle and laughed, "I really didn't expect that Zhou Qiang could pass the county exam and spend his days drinking and carousing in brothels. Thinking about it, he's quite impressive."
Mu Jin chuckled. She had passed by luck, but the prefectural examination would not be so easy.
After resting in the courtyard for a while, thinking about the Zhao family's business, he picked up his bamboo basket and went out.
There are many kinds of wild vegetables that sprout in spring, such as dandelion, purslane, bracken, and elm seeds, but they are just sprouting and the quantity is not enough.
I searched around for hibiscus, but I couldn't find many in the morning, and there were even fewer left in the afternoon.
There aren't many bamboo shoots left in the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain. If you want to dig up more, you'll probably have to go deeper into the forest.
The young man named Mu Jin was hesitant to venture deeper into the bamboo forest, so he only dug up one outside and then stood up to brush the dirt off his clothes.
Not quite giving up, he wandered around outside again and actually found a Chinese toon tree.
The tender buds on the tree were a tempting purplish-red. Mu Jin put down her bamboo basket, carefully broke off a branch, and smelled it. It was definitely a Chinese toon.
They have Chinese toon trees and ailanthus trees here. If you accidentally eat ailanthus, it can make you sick.
With most of the bamboo basket full of toon leaves, Mu Jin finally returned home satisfied.
Tomorrow, Si'er and I will dig up some bamboo shoots and gather some elm seeds, make two baskets, and send them to the Zhao residence as soon as possible, so that we can at least become acquainted with them.
When summer arrives and cicadas emerge from the ground, they can be taken directly to the Zhao family mansion to sell, saving them trouble.
That evening, Mu Jin took out the copper coins from the hidden compartment and counted them with Zhou Lin.
"The fine rice and flour were bought with the money Liang Zhao gave us. Not counting that, we borrowed two taels of silver from Si'er. Now, we only have six hundred and eighteen coins left, which is more than enough to make a secret compartment."
Mu Jin laughed out loud as she counted the secret compartments. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was incredibly wealthy.
The truth is, he only had a total of 681 coins.
Mu Jin left eighteen coins, put the rest into her money bag, and threw it into the secret compartment along with the nineteen taels of silver that Wen Liangzhao had left.
"The foreman said that after he finished making the beds and wardrobes for the new houses ordered by the villagers, he would give me a monthly salary. He didn't say how much, but I guess it should be about one qian of silver."
Mu Jin straightened the bedsheets she had lifted and said, "That's great! I sold two of your wood carvings today, and I have three left. I'll go to town again tomorrow."
Zhou Lin helped spread out the quilts. "There are only three, it's not worth going. I'll carve some more and take them over together."
The hibiscus looked even more beautiful under the dim light of the oil lamp.
Zhou Lin was getting excited and was about to make a move when Mu Jin got into bed.
"It's still cold tonight. I'm not going to town just to sell wood carvings. Do you know Zhao the rich man in town?"
Zhou Lin lay down and nodded.
Mu Jin gently patted his large hand that was wandering on her back. "Stop fooling around, we're talking about serious matters."
Zhou Lin's lips curled slightly. For the first time, he didn't listen to Mu Jin, and his actions became increasingly unrestrained.
When they arrived, Mu Jin still hadn't explained what going to town had to do with Zhao Fuhu.
Early the next morning, Mu Jin rubbed her aching back, too lazy to bother with Zhou Lin, who was becoming increasingly audacious.
"Ah Jin, drink your porridge. You mentioned Zhao Fuhu yesterday, what happened to him?"
Zhou Lin got up early and, with a smile, thoughtfully served Mu Jin a bowl of brown rice porridge.
Mu Jin took a sip and said in a hoarse voice, "The Zhao family steward said that they will take as many wild vegetables as they have. I picked some toon leaves yesterday, and I will go dig up some bamboo shoots and elm seeds later to take with me."
"So that's how it is. Rich people eat too much meat and fish, so they might crave something simple like congee and wild vegetables."
Mujia Village is neither far nor near the town; it takes half an hour to walk there, but a mule cart would be much faster.
After having breakfast, Mu Jin regained some strength. Farmers all get up early, and after finishing two baskets of wild vegetables and bamboo shoots, it was still early.
Still feeling a bit weak, Mu Jin felt embarrassed, but she still asked Zhou Si to borrow the mule cart from the Mu hunter's family to avoid delaying things.
Zhou Si was going to town, and Mu Lingyun naturally wanted to go with her, so it was the three of them again.
Steward Zhao of the Zhao family readily agreed, weighed the item, and paid Mu Jin the money.
“Young master, you’re just in luck. My old lady was craving toon leaves this morning and just asked if the kitchen had any. The extra thirty coins are from me. Like I said, if you have any new ones in the future, just bring them to me.”
Mu Jin smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Steward Zhao."
This was the first time he had sold wild vegetables so quickly. The heavy copper coins weighed on his waist, and Zhou Si tugged at his sleeve, bringing him back to his senses.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I still have to go sell the wood carvings your older brother made. Si'er, you and Brother Lingyun should go back first. Anyway, there are no bamboo shoots or wild vegetables, so walking back won't be tiring."
Mu Lingyun shook his head and said, "Brother, Si'er and I are waiting for you. There was a man secretly watching us just now. We are worried about leaving you alone in town."
Upon hearing this, Mu Jin glanced to the side and indeed spotted a group of suspicious-looking men peeking out at them, thinking they were well hidden.
Mu Jin tightened her guard, not daring to stay in town any longer, and said, "Then forget it, let's go back first, and next time we can have your older brother come along."
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