Chapter Twenty
"Mom, spring is almost here. The clothes in the chest and wardrobe have been sitting for all winter and they're bound to smell a bit damp. Could you tidy them up? I'll wash them all tomorrow, dry them, and they'll be ready to wear in a few days."
When Zhou Si returned after washing the clothes, she spoke to Zhou Wushi, who was sunbathing in the yard.
Zhou Wu opened her eyes slightly, her voice languid from the sun, "They're all in the chests and cabinets. Take them all and wash them."
Zhou Si nodded, squinting in the sun, hung up the clothes, and went to the kitchen to help Mu Jin with her work.
"Brother, I'm going to wash the clothes that have been sitting in the chests and cupboards for a long time tomorrow. Do you want to come with me? The ground is about to thaw, the vegetable garden needs to be turned over, and there's a lot to do in the fields. I don't think I'll have time to wash so many clothes by then."
Mu Jin understood and agreed, "Okay, let's go together tomorrow morning."
The New Year is almost over, and there's not much meat left at home. The only meat left is the cured meat that my older cousin and his family gave us.
Zhou Wushi was reluctant to eat it. At noon today, Mu Jin stir-fried cabbage and vermicelli with lard, and also stir-fried shredded radish.
In the village, every household eats cabbage and radishes for the winter, along with pickled cucumbers and other simple farm-style meals.
This time, Zhou Wushi didn't let Mujin serve rice and started to skimp on Zhou Lin and Mujin's food again, but Mujin didn't fight for it.
Only by being willing to risk everything could he bring down Zhou Wushi and put himself through some hardship. It was only because of Zhou Lin's affection for him that he was able to make the tough decision to separate the family.
Seeing how obedient he was, Zhou Wu was surprised. Then she thought that he must have been scolded by Zhou Ling when he went back to his parents' home.
Otherwise, why would she come back with red eyes? Perhaps she realized that without her family's support, she didn't dare to cause trouble.
Thinking she had figured out the key, Zhou Wushi became even more arrogant and didn't put a single grain of rice in the bowl of Mu Jin's Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin paused, holding half a rough steamed bun. He had been eating well these days and had forgotten what he used to eat.
There were two small bowls of food. Zhou Wu was afraid that if Zhou Lin ate one more bite, Zhou Qiang would eat one less bite.
They simply divided the vegetables up, and when it was Zhou Lin and Mu Jin's turn, all that was left was the vegetable soup.
Seeing this, Zhou Qiang thought of scooping some food from his bowl for Mu Jin, but Zhou Wushi stopped him with a chopstick.
“We spent a lot of money on the New Year. You need to study hard, so you should eat more. Even if word gets out, no one can say anything. After all, our family is poor.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Mu Jin and thought about how he had just married into the family and was already bringing up things like brotherly love and respect.
Let's just shut him down and see what he can say then.
Unexpectedly, Mu Jin acted as if nothing had happened and chimed in, "Mother is right. Fourth Brother studies hard, so he should eat more."
This made Mu Qing glance at him a few more times, wondering what her scheming older brother was up to.
Zhou Wu choked for a moment, the words she wanted to say to Mu Jin stuck in her throat, neither coming out nor going down.
Zhou Lin didn't care about eating these things himself, but when he glanced at Mu Jin, he felt extremely guilty because she was following him and now she couldn't even get enough to eat.
He broke the half of his coarse flour bun in half, soaked it in the vegetable soup, and moved it closer to Mu Jin.
"Ah Jin, you eat, I'm not hungry."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I have enough to eat. You do a lot of hard work, so you need to eat more."
The two kept offering the food back and forth, which made the onlookers feel rather desolate and forlorn, as if they might not have another meal after eating this one.
Zhou Laosan's lips twitched, and he remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
Zhou Lin couldn't persuade Mu Jin otherwise, and had never found the coarse steamed bun so hard to swallow.
She barely ate anything for dinner. Lying in bed, Mu Jin was so hungry that she had no strength left and felt dizzy.
Even back when she was at her parents' home, when Mu Laoqi married Zhou Ling and she was working under her stepfather, she had never been this hungry.
My stomach is rumbling loudly, and I feel a bit acidic.
Zhou Lin sat up. "I'll go to the kitchen and see what else we have to eat."
Mu Jin quickly stopped him, "Don't go, you won't be hungry if you fall asleep, go and rest."
Zhou Lin looked at her with deep remorse, "Ah Jin, it's my fault for being so incompetent, making you suffer like this with me."
Mu Jin smiled slightly in the darkness. Her husband wasn't incompetent; he was just too kind to be taken advantage of.
"What are you talking about? The family is short of money right now, and my fourth brother still has to take the imperial examination. Things will be better after this period."
The more gentle and considerate Mu Jin was, the more distressed Zhou Lin felt. Her husband was truly suffering because of her.
Under the gentle moonlight, the two endured their hunger and gradually drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, after having a breakfast consisting only of soup, Mu Jin and Zhou Si went to the riverbank together.
Zhou Si hadn't eaten much these past two days and felt weak. The cold wind forced her to muster some energy.
As soon as the two reached the riverbank, a woman spoke up, "Jin-ge'er, have you found your new clothes?"
Mu Jin feigned surprise, "How did you know my clothes were missing, Auntie?"
The woman waved her hand, flicking out a handful of foam.
"Oh, it's all because of your stepfather. He told me yesterday that he was so aggrieved. If you ask me, Jin-ge'er, you really are in the wrong. We've seen how your stepfather has treated you all these years. Although he's not his biological son, he's better than some of the biological sons in the village. How could you suspect your stepfather of stealing your clothes? You've really lost your conscience."
It's no wonder that Zhou Ling is so shrewd, good at acting and dealing with people; when people talk about him in Mujia Village, almost everyone praises him.
Over the years, he has managed to keep the Mu family in perfect order and presents a kind and amiable demeanor to outsiders. No wonder others side with him and not with Mu Jin.
The other women and their husbands along the riverbank chimed in, praising the hibiscus.
Mu Jin looked like she had something to say but couldn't. "Auntie, Uncle, that cloth was a wedding gift from Brother Nianjun. It was a bolt of cotton cloth. I lost my composure in my haste."
The woman smiled and said, "It's good that you know you're wrong. Apologize to your uncle later. We're all family, and this matter will be over."
"But I can't blame you. This bolt of cotton cloth is worth a lot of money. Did you find it?"
Mu Jin sighed and shook her head, saying, "Not yet. I'm so worried. Money is secondary. It's all about Brother Nianjun's kindness. Sigh, it's my fault for being so careless."
"If you pay close attention, even if someone else takes it, you should be able to recognize it."
Mu Jin nodded in agreement, "I also embroidered my and my husband's names on it, so people will definitely recognize it when they meet."
"The characters are embroidered? That makes them even easier to recognize."
"Don't take it too seriously. Your brother Nianjun is the best at weaving, he doesn't need this piece of cloth. You can talk to him about it later, and he will understand."
As they were talking, several more women and men arrived. Thanks to Zhou Ling's tearful account yesterday, the neighbors around the Mu family all knew about the matter.
The news spread like wildfire, and by the time most families in the village knew, Mu Jin had returned home for the New Year, much to Zhou Ling's dismay.
Because of those women and their husbands, they couldn't help but say a few words about Hibiscus.
Seeing that the time was almost right, Mu Jin gave Zhou Si a look.
Zhou Si understood, hammered the garment in her hand a few times, and quickly changed into another one.
Yesterday morning, Mu Jin told Zhou Si about it. Zhou Si was also surprised that his mother would do such a shameful thing as stealing someone else's husband's dowry.
He hesitated several times. If he did as his elder brother suggested, his mother's reputation would be ruined, and he wouldn't benefit from it either. His own marriage would become even more difficult.
But when Zhou Lin and Mu Jin thought about Mu Liang's matter, they put in a lot of effort and even managed to get him a dowry of three taels of silver.
Zhou Si finally nodded.
"Hey, Si'er, wait a minute, where did you get these clothes?"
Zhou Si was taken aback. "Big brother, these are our mother's clothes. I took them from her wardrobe today. She told me to wash them and wear them in the spring."
"Jin-ge'er, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with these clothes?"
Mu Jin looked shocked, and a hint of sorrow appeared in her eyes; she seemed unable to speak.
The woman and her husband, who were washing clothes by the river, were talking about Mu Jin losing her clothes. Now, looking at him like this, how could they not understand?
"This is what you lost?"
The woman who had initially greeted Mulan hesitated before speaking.
Mu Jin nodded slowly, picked out the one she made for Zhou Lin from Zhou Si's pile of clothes, and pointed to the embroidered character "Lin".
“This is my husband’s name.” Then he pointed to another item, “This one is mine.”
The crowd gasped, exchanging glances several times. "Could it be that you washed it, and your mother-in-law accepted the wrong one?"
Zhou Si chimed in, "That's right, eldest brother, Mother must have accidentally accepted the wrong thing."
Mu Jin wanted to say something, but then stopped herself.
Just then, Uncle Mu happened to be by the river and saw the situation. He said, "It's not a good thing to take your husband's dowry. Well then, I've just finished washing mine. Wang family, please keep an eye on it for me. Jin-ge, I'll go with you to your house and ask your mother what's going on. If it's really a misunderstanding, we can clear it up."
The other two women put down their mallets, saying, "I'll go with them too."
Seeing that the others had also gotten up, he put down the washing stick and stopped washing his clothes.
Mu Jin hurriedly said, "Aunties and uncles, thank you for your trouble. Uncle Mu and the two aunts from the Mu family can come along. If too many people go, people who don't know the situation might think that I'm going to confront my mother-in-law."
The people who were called back regretted that they had gotten up too late and missed the first glimpse of the excitement.
But since Mu Jin has already said that, going along with her would only annoy people.
Of the two aunts Mu Jin chose, one was a notorious gossip in the village. Once she knew something, even the village dogs would know within an hour.
The group took the two sets of clothes back to the Zhou family home.
Zhou Wushi was in the kitchen, cooking a special meal for Zhou Qiang, steaming cured meat, slicing it, and plating it.
Hearing someone calling her from the courtyard, and seeing Zhou Si and Mu Jin, she said, "You're done washing so quickly?"
Looking down, he saw the two sets of clothes in Mu Jin's hands, and his expression stiffened.
Uncle Mu asked, "Zhou family, Si'er says these clothes are yours?"
Zhou Wu steadied herself and asked, "Yes, what's wrong?"
The woman who followed was surprised and looked at Zhou Wushi in disbelief. It really was her who took it!
Zhou Wu felt a sudden, inexplicable panic.
Uncle Mu's face turned cold. "These clothes were made by Mu Jin for him and Lin boy, how did they become yours?!"
Zhou Wushi remained defiant, saying, "Just because he says it's his doesn't mean it's his. These are clothes I made for my youngest and second sons, how did they become his?"
The cotton fabric given by Mu Nianjun is simple and elegant, suitable for any man to wear. The two outfits made by Mu Jin are suitable for Zhou Qiang and Zhou Ming, as Zhou Qiang is not yet fully grown.
Mu Jin looked disappointed and said softly, "Mother, I embroidered A Lin and my name on this dress."
A single sentence struck Zhou Wu like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing a deafening ringing in her ears.
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