Chapter Thirty-Seven
The three of them were digging for wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain, chatting idly, enjoying the warm spring sunshine.
“Brother, I’ve been thinking that it’s fortunate that Zhaoran is good-looking, otherwise, this matter would be difficult. But then I thought, the county clerk might not be the clerk in a few years, so it’s not too late to deal with it later.”
Mu Jin continued digging for shepherd's purse, shaking her head slightly with a helpless expression.
"On the way back, I thought about how the registrar might not give up and send someone to the village to verify. I was really nervous at that time. But thankfully, it turned out to be a good thing in the end."
As Wen Zhaoran listened to their conversation, a hint of a smile appeared on her face, as she felt free to go out without any worries for the first time.
"Brother, your village is quite beautiful, with lush mountains and clear waters."
"Now it's your village too," Mu Jin said with a teasing expression.
Wen Zhaoran blushed slightly and glared at Mu Jin.
Mu Jin chuckled, never expecting that Wen Zhaoran was so easily amused.
"Oh, so this is the boy you brought home, Jin'er. He's really handsome."
Mu Mian walked over at some point, looking at Wen Zhaoran with a mixture of envy and admiration in her eyes, clicking her tongue in praise.
“He’s my brother’s husband now,” Mu Jin said with a smile.
Mumian joked, "It's strange, it's enviable. I also want to have such a handsome brother-in-law."
Mu Jin and Zhou Si laughed heartily, "Then you can be envious. Even if my brother's husband were in Baiyun Village, he would be one of the most handsome men, hard to find."
Baiyun Village is a village in Qingshui Town known for its beautiful women.
Mu Mian smiled and, seeing that Wen Zhaoran was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into a hole, stopped teasing her.
He then said, "There's a lot of water celery growing by the river, and I went to the hillside yesterday; there's a lot of wild garlic there."
"I'll go after I dig up this patch of dandelion. You go ahead first."
Mu Mian nodded, and before leaving, she glanced at Wen Zhaoran one last time, thinking how many men would envy this wooden boat.
There were plenty of wild vegetables in the mountains, and quite a few people came to dig them up. The three of them worked until almost sunset before they managed to gather three large bamboo baskets of wild vegetables.
"Strange, when did it become so lively here?"
Zhou Si, carrying a bamboo basket, looked at the women and husbands chatting idly in front of his house, cracking melon seeds, and was filled with doubt.
Mu Jin understood immediately and smiled, saying, "Uncle and Aunt are chatting."
Upon hearing this, a woman looked up, patted the sunflower seeds off her clothes, and glanced around.
"Oh my, Jin-ge'er is back? This must be Zhou-xiaozi's fiancé, my goodness, he really is..."
The woman was at a loss for words, and after a long pause, she said, "It's really too beautiful."
"Young Master Zhou is so lucky with women!"
Another man slapped his thigh and said, "I thought he was just bragging, but tsk tsk tsk, if only I could meet him like that, I could tell my son Niu Dan'er."
"Forget it, your Niu Dan'er isn't good enough for him."
The commotion attracted a lot of people, and many men peeked in, their gazes toward Wen Zhaoran quite displeasing.
"Uncle, Aunt, please continue your chat. We're going home to cook dinner."
After saying that, he took Zhou Si and Wen Zhaoran home and closed the courtyard gate.
"You two keep the door tightly closed tonight, and let Night Owl stay in your room."
Zhou Si and Wen Zhaoran nodded. Mu Jin sighed. They say that beautiful women are a source of trouble, and being too beautiful doesn't seem to be a good thing.
However, this matter had to be faced sooner or later. When Zhou Lin returned home, Mu Jin gave him some more instructions that night, telling him to be more alert while sleeping.
Sure enough, a stranger entered the house that night. The little owl pricked up its ears and barked frantically at the door.
Zhou Linhe put on his outer clothes, picked up the thick wooden stick he had prepared, and took a few glances in the moonlight. He saw a dark figure fleeing from the top of the wall.
He didn't chase after them, but said to Zhou Si, "Third brother, they've escaped. You two can go to sleep now."
Zhou Si and Wen Zhaoran, who were huddled in the corner of the bed and dared not come out, finally felt relieved upon hearing this. The little owl stopped barking and lay under the headboard with its eyes narrowed.
Early the next morning, Zhou Si and Wen Zhaoran both had dark circles under their eyes, clearly indicating that they hadn't slept well the night before.
Mu Jin comforted him, "I expected this from the beginning. Although most of the men in the village are good, there are a few older widowers whose minds are not pure. Perhaps they will get better over time. I will go to town with Nianjun's oxcart to sell wild vegetables later. You two can go with your eldest brother to Uncle Heng's place, or you can call Mian'er, Zhou'er, and Bai'er. In short, you must not act alone."
Before he got married, he had suffered a lot of troubles. Not going out alone would save him a lot of trouble.
Wen Zhaoran and Zhou Si nodded heavily, which reassured Mu Jin.
Regardless, farmers rarely have a moment of leisure except during winter. To make a living for their families throughout the year, they still have to keep busy.
Yesterday, I dug up wild garlic, lamb's quarters, water celery, dandelion, and purslane, plus bamboo shoots for making bamboo baskets. After breakfast, I carefully washed them all again at home.
Zhou Lin saw that the two of them were not going to his master's place with him, so he didn't force them. In broad daylight, as long as they didn't run around, there would be no problem.
After packing the wild vegetables, Mu Jin carefully instructed them again, "No matter what others say, you must not go out alone, do you understand?"
Wen Zhaoran nodded, "Big brother, I've got it."
When Mu Nianjun and the others arrived, they greeted each other, and with the rising sun, the oxen set off for Wangzhen.
"How have you been these past few days? Your family is already short of food, and you even secretly took in a child. Can you afford to feed him?"
Mu Nianjun looked at Mu Jin with unwavering eyes. In his heart, there was no distinction between beautiful and ugly people, only between friends and outsiders. No matter how beautiful Wen Zhaoran was, he would be unhappy if she took a bite of food from Mu Jin. He was very protective of his own.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Don't worry, Brother Nianjun. Zhao Ran gave me the money. Thanks to him, I bought a lot of fine rice and flour, and I ate quite a bit of it."
Mu Nianjun's expression softened a bit. "I was wondering why. Last time you asked your brother-in-law to bring you fine rice and flour. I was wondering if Lin had paid him. Turns out it was that guy who bought it."
Mu Jin nodded. "He has a pitiful background, and now he's engaged to Mu Zhou. I treat him like a younger brother."
Mu Nianjun's anxiety subsided. He was worried that Mu Jin would become a burden, making their already impoverished family even worse off.
"As long as he's a good person, that's fine. But he is indeed good-looking."
Hearing this, Mu Sheng, who was driving the oxcart in front, turned around and said blankly, "What's so good about it? It's just a mouth, a nose, and two eyes. I think you're prettier than me."
He came out of curiosity after being told about it by the other men in the village, but when he saw it, he found it was nothing special.
Mu Jin chuckled, "Brother-in-law, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No one can compare to my Nianjun, right?"
Mu Sheng nodded in agreement.
Mu Nianjun blushed and scolded, "Drive your oxcart carefully, don't lead us into the ditch."
Turning to Mu Jin, he said, "Don't listen to your brother-in-law's nonsense. He sees everyone the same and can't tell the difference between good and bad."
Mu Sheng, driving the oxcart ahead, didn't dare look back, but couldn't help but speak up, "I think you're the most beautiful, it's true."
Mu Jin was overjoyed, but Mu Nianjun slapped him on the head: "Shut up."
The wild vegetables sold very well this time. Mu Jin cleaned them up very neatly, which pleased Steward Zhao.
"To be honest, my dear husband, many of the wild vegetables that come to our mansion to sell are not as clean as yours. Yesterday, our cook said that he would buy your vegetables from now on because they are easy to clean and only need a little washing."
Butler Zhao chuckled. Over the past few days, he had truly appreciated this down-to-earth and hardworking young husband. After comparing many places, he felt most at ease buying vegetables from the family he had chosen from Gujia Village.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Thank you, Steward Zhao. It's just what I should do."
Butler Zhao nodded with a smile, "Young master, you may send us any wild vegetables or fresh food you have in the future."
The Zhao family had their own estate, where they cultivated fruit trees, flowers, and fields, and built pavilions and towers for sightseeing.
The host family allocated another plot of land and specially arranged for people to raise livestock and poultry and grow vegetables. The family had no shortage of meat, eggs and vegetables, and only craved wild animals.
Mu Jin's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded, saying, "Steward Zhao, my husband is a carpenter. Apart from wild vegetables and other food, if you come across someone who wants furniture made, you can rest assured to entrust it to my husband. The furniture he makes will definitely not make you lose face."
"Oh? Now that you mention it, I do remember. The master is preparing to open a new shop, but the cabinets and other furniture haven't been installed yet. If your husband is interested, have him come to see me tomorrow."
Mu Jin's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Steward Zhao. I'll have him come early tomorrow."
Steward Zhao smiled. Ever since he first met Mu Jin at the hunter's place, he felt a connection with this young man.
She gave him a chance to sell wild vegetables. The vegetables he sold were not only of good quality, but each one was also washed very clean. She was a down-to-earth person, so her husband must be a good person too.
Butler Zhao was happy to cooperate with such families, as it saved him a lot of trouble.
Mu Jin was happy. After thinking for a moment, she went to the butcher shop and bought two pounds of meat to nourish Zhou Lin at noon.
When Mu Jin returned to the village in high spirits, she ran into Zhou Qiang, who was returning home from his day off, as soon as she reached her doorstep. Zhou Wu glared at him with displeasure, as if she wanted to burn a hole through him.
The once desolate foothills were now more lively than usual because of Wen Zhaoran.
Zhou Wushi clearly didn't want to be laughed at in front of others, so she entered the courtyard with Mu Jin with a sullen face.
Zhou Qiang scanned the courtyard several times, but did not see the rumored beauty, and was slightly disappointed.
“Brother, you’re not being fair. You only think of your brother from your mother’s side when there’s something good. Your brother from your husband’s side isn’t even engaged yet. If there’s such a good-looking girl, you should tell me about her first.”
Mu Jin put the bamboo basket into the kitchen. Luckily, the meat was hidden inside, otherwise Zhou Wu Shi would probably have snatched it away.
Hearing this, he laughed and said, "What are you saying, little brother? You are a scholar, and you will surely marry a beautiful young lady in the future. No matter how good-looking a boy who has drifted from the far north to here is, he is not good enough for you."
Madam Zhou snorted, not wanting to waste any more time, and said in a deep voice, "Where's Zhou Si? Where did he go? Bring him back to me!"
Mu Jin's heart tightened upon hearing this. The two of them hadn't come for Wen Zhaoran; it was probably related to the embroidery workshop.
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