Chapter 127
In early October, the weather grew increasingly cold.
While doing chores at home, Zhou Lin made some items for Xiao Taozi.
The crib that Little Peach will sleep in when she is born, the little tiger and rabbit toys for Little Peach to play with, and a little rocking chair exactly the same as the two rocking chairs made for Hibiscus.
It was beaten according to the size of a three- to five-year-old child.
Two rocking chairs, one large and one small, were placed in the yard, which looked quite adorable.
Mu Jin's body grew increasingly heavy, and Zhou Lin took care of everything at home, big and small, without letting him worry about anything.
Hibiscus was happy to have some free time. After breakfast, she would go back to her room to copy books or make tiger-head swaddles for Little Peach.
He did the math and figured that Little Peach would be born at the end of winter, which is a cold time.
A baby needs countless diaper changes throughout the day, and if the swaddle gets wet, it also needs to be changed. It's good to have extra diapers on hand, just in case.
The north wind was howling outside. The family had harvested a lot of cotton this year. They used the cotton and linen to make cotton cloth, and the rest of the cotton and linen was used to make new winter clothes and thick quilts for the family.
The bedding brought from the Zhou family, as well as Zhou Lin's old cotton-padded clothes, were all taken apart by Mu Jin. The old cotton inside was re-fluffed and sun-dried for two days.
Several cotton curtains were sewn from fine blue linen.
To let in more light and make the house brighter, the newly built houses have large windows. However, in winter, when the wind is strong and cold, the houses are not as warm as those with small windows.
Hanging cotton curtains in front of windows and doors prevents the wind from getting in and keeps the heat from escaping, so it's not so cold.
The only regret is that once the cotton curtain is hung up, the snow-capped mountains outside can no longer be seen.
Zhou Lin and Mu Jin's room was large, but even with furniture inside, it still felt a bit empty.
Not long after Mu Jin moved into the house, she asked Zhou Lin to make a bamboo curtain to separate the two rooms.
The inner room contained a bed, wardrobe, and chests, and was placed against a large window that faced the mountain.
The outer room contains a newly built bookcase, a desk, two chairs, and a small square table.
Hibiscus's favorite cabinet, which was specifically used to store snacks, was also placed next to the desk in the outer room.
Their room was a bit too big, with two large windows. The desk was next to the other window, facing the yard.
Although the scenery wasn't as beautiful as the inner room, the village's well-arranged houses still had their own unique charm.
The weather is nice today. The hibiscus rolled up its cotton curtains, letting the sunlight stream in.
Looking at all the items, big and small, in the room, they were all painstakingly made by Zhou Lin.
Including the small peaches drying outside, Zhou Lin has really added quite a few things to the house in the past two years.
After calculating in this way, I don't know how much money I saved for my family.
If Zhou Lin hadn't learned carpentry from Mu Heng, even if he had, without Mu Heng's full instruction, his husband wouldn't have been able to stand on his own so quickly.
The situation at home will likely be quite different then, though not too bad, but certainly not as good as it is now.
Sitting in the chair in front of her desk, Mu Jin's eyes unconsciously softened with tenderness as she thought of Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin often worked outside and didn't feel anything was wrong. Even last winter, when he was working in the village, he was working for his master.
Now he stays home every day, and he takes care of everything.
Mu Jin realized how true it was that the old man always said, "There still needs to be a man in the family."
He didn't think he was a parasitic plant; he believed he could make a good living on his own.
But Zhou Lin is becoming more and more like the head of the household, and Mu Jin is gradually becoming more and more dependent on him.
Mu Jin picked up a brush, lightly dipped it in ink, and gently wrote the two characters "Zhou Lin" on the discarded paper.
She smiled. Her own husband, if he didn't depend on anyone else, or want someone else to depend on him?
After looking at it for a while, I still felt it wasn't good enough, so I rewrote it.
Once Zhou Lin finishes his work, he will teach him to recognize his own name tonight.
"Brother, come down quickly! And brother-in-law, stop working! Qi Qiu's mother-in-law and her family have gone to his house!"
Hibiscus peeked over the desk and then out the window.
"Mother-in-law? Where did Qi Qiu get a mother-in-law?"
"Zhaoye's mother, who remarried, didn't come to see Qiqiu after breakfast today. So Li'er and I went to his house to look for him. His courtyard gate was wide open, and there was arguing inside. Li'er and I didn't dare to go in, and we were afraid they would fight. So we came back quickly to ask you two for advice."
Mu Jin frowned slightly; it was not appropriate for him to meddle in the family affairs of Mu Zhaoye's family.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Don't worry, there shouldn't be a fight. Let's ask Qi Qiu when he arrives before making any plans."
It's fortunate that Mu Jin's family lives in a distant village. With their loud voices, those nearby probably know everything they should and shouldn't know.
Wen Zhaoran thought about it and agreed; Qi Qiuge's appearance was indeed quite intimidating.
Relieved, he took Wang Li to the dye shop to finish the work they hadn't completed yesterday.
As Zhou Lin worked, some sawdust got on his head. He frowned, looked up, and said, "Be careful, close the windows, don't catch a cold."
Mu Jin gave him a reproachful look, "I know, look at you."
After saying that, he closed the window.
With Bai Qiqiu's matter on her mind, Mu Jin couldn't concentrate on copying the book, so she went downstairs.
Just as Wen Zhaoran finished hanging out a piece of cotton cloth to dry, Bai Qiqiu walked over, cursing and swearing.
Before Mu Jin and the others could speak, he said angrily, "Big brother! I'm so angry! What kind of mother is she! I even spoke up for her before! I really want to smack my mouth for speaking up for her!"
Mu Jin came out of the back room and hurriedly said, "Let's go upstairs first."
Bai Qiqiu took a breath and said to Zhou Lin, who had come out of the back room with Mu Jin, "Brother-in-law, could you please go and check on Mu Zhaoye for me? He just went up the mountain without me coming with him, and I'm a little worried about him."
Zhou Lin nodded, brushed the sawdust off his clothes, and said, "I'll go find him now."
Bai Qiqiu smiled gratefully at Zhou Lin. He was worried about Mu Zhaoye and wanted to insist on going with him, but Zhou Lin gently persuaded him to come back.
Thinking that men might have something to talk about, and that they were all family, he came to ask Zhou Lin for a favor and also came over to talk to Mu Jin.
The three brothers went back upstairs and sat down in the hall. Bai Qiqiu poured a glass of warm water and drank it down in two gulps.
"What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
Mu Jin took out a bag of pastries from the house. He had met Mu Zhaoye's mother before, and she didn't seem like a wicked woman.
"Today I've truly witnessed what a soft needle is. It looks gentle and harmless, but when it hurts, it pierces the heart and is the most painful."
Wen Zhaoran couldn't sit still any longer. "Brother Qi Qiu, what's wrong? Tell me, and my brother and I will help you think of a solution."
"The matter is settled, but I still feel uneasy."
Mu Jin gently patted his shoulder, "If you're angry, just let it out."
“Brother, I used to think that Mu Zhaoye’s father beat and scolded him every day and was sorry to him, but his mother was even worse.”
Mu Jin was stunned. It really is true that you can know a person's face but not their heart.
Bai Qiqiu took another sip of warm water. "Today, Mu Zhaoye's stepfather brought his whole family to our house. He immediately asked for twenty taels of silver to support his half-brother's education. His mother was like a quail, not saying a word for Mu Zhaoye. She pulled over a boy of about ten years old behind her and just smiled and said that he was his brother. It was disgusting."
Mu Jin sighed softly, "When you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, even distant relatives come calling from the deep mountains. Now that your family is doing well, everyone with even the slightest blood relation is sticking around. You can't avoid this kind of thing."
“That’s not what I’m angry about. When Mu Zhaoye chased them away, he told me that when Mu Zhaoye was five or six years old and was beaten so badly that he couldn’t survive, he went to look for his mother but couldn’t find her. His stepfather saw him covered in bruises and treated him like an animal, not even letting him see his mother. He just kicked him out of the house, leaving only a sentence, roughly saying that if he dared to bother them again, he would divorce his mother and that he was not a member of his family.”
Wen Zhaoran gasped, her eyes reddening. Was this even human?!
Even a complete stranger, upon encountering a five or six-year-old child covered in wounds, would offer a cup of warm water, no matter how hard their heart may be!
"I suppose Brother Zhaoye was afraid of ruining his mother's happy day, so he didn't dare to go again."
Bai Qiqiu nodded with red eyes, "I didn't understand why Mu Zhaoye said everything in front of that family today. He's not usually a talkative person. Seeing my heartless mother-in-law's expression, he understood everything."
Mu Jin was astonished, her eyes widening in disbelief. "She knew?"
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so angry. Mu Zhaoye looks cold and resolute, but he is also the most soft-hearted. After being beaten by the old man of the Mu family for so many years, he was still given a chance to live a peaceful life after returning from the Northern Frontier. Mu Zhaoye said this to test her, but she looked guilty and didn’t even dare to look at Mu Zhaoye! Is there anything else that she doesn’t understand?”
"And she even had the nerve to say she wanted to see how Qi Qiu's husband was doing?!"
Wen Zhaoran was furious. He felt that Mu Zhaoye's mother was even more ruthless than Zhou Lin's mother.
"No wonder when you two got married, Brother Zhaoye didn't invite his mother or have any contact with her."
“When the new house was completed, his mother came, and Mu Zhaoye was somewhat protective of her. I suppose at that time, he didn’t know that his mother knew he had gone to look for her; she just thought that his stepfather didn’t like him.”
Wen Zhaoran looked distressed. "How heartbroken Brother-in-law Qi Qiu must be."
Mu Jin sighed deeply, "A woman follows her husband after marriage. It was already difficult for Zhao Ye's mother to remarry. If she is divorced again, she may have nowhere to go. It is true that she feels sorry for her, but it is also true that she is thinking of herself."
"Does someone like that even deserve to be called a parent!"
Wen Zhaoran said angrily, "Brother Qi Qiu, you didn't give them any money, did you?"
"How could that be! Not breaking their legs would be considered kindness on our part."
After Bai Qiqiu finished speaking, his brows furrowed and his eyes were filled with worry.
"I wonder how Mu Zhaoye is doing, and whether my brother-in-law has found him."
Mu Jin comforted him, "Don't worry, Brother Zhaoye is a man who fought his way out of the battlefield, he'll be fine."
Bai Qiqiu was still angry. "If I run into that family again next time, I'll definitely put them in a sack and beat them up to vent my anger."
Wen Zhaoran hurriedly said, "Count me in, I'll kick you a couple more times for Brother Qi Qiu."
Mu Jin smiled. If Mu Zhaoye's mother still had any maternal affection for Mu Zhaoye, she wouldn't have come to cause trouble again.
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