Chapter Seventy-Two
"You...you still have the mind to fish?"
Bai Qiqiu stopped in his tracks, feeling quite incredulous at the sheer size of this person's heart.
"Do you want to come?"
Mu Zhaoye didn't waste any words with him and asked directly.
It seemed as if he wouldn't bring Bai Qiqiu along if Bai Qiqiu didn't come.
Bai Qiqiu nodded hastily, too lazy to think about what Mu Zhaoye was thinking; making money was the most important thing.
With the late marriage tax due next year, the money given by Zhou Wushi won't last more than a few years.
Despite his earlier boastful attitude towards Mu Zhaoye, he knew that finding a suitable husband to marry would be difficult.
I need to save up a few more taels of silver, lest I be unable to pay the dues and be forced into an official marriage.
"I'll go back and get the fishing net. Let's meet at the river."
As Bai Qiqiu spoke, he tried to pull Wen Zhaoran home.
"Your little fishing net won't catch many fish, you should use mine."
Bai Qiqiu paused, then asked, "How should the money from selling fish be divided?"
Mu Zhaoye's lips curled slightly, "I'll net two nets, one to sell to you, and one to give to me."
Bai Qiqiu thought for a moment, "Should we call those three men who are fishing with you? If we do, I'll just go get my fishing net and not take advantage of you."
Mu Zhaoye nodded. His fishing net was large, and with fewer people, he couldn't haul in a single net of fish.
"Then I'll go back and get my own fishing net."
Mu Zhaoye chuckled. This guy, even when offered a chance to take advantage, wouldn't take it. He didn't know whether to call him stupid or just principled.
At home, Mu Jin moved the dried wheat straw and rapeseed stalks into the woodshed.
Wheat straw can be used for firewood, for building houses and plastering mud walls, and for composting. Of course, not a single hibiscus stalk can be thrown away.
After tidying up the things drying in the yard and watering the vegetable garden, and seeing that Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran had not yet returned, he thought he would go and see what was going on.
No sooner had the bucket been put down than Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran entered the courtyard, hurriedly went to the woodshed to get the fishing net, and then went out.
All that remained for Mulan was a receding silhouette.
"What's wrong with Qi Qiu? Why is she so flustered?"
Mu Jin was puzzled and asked Wen Zhaoran.
Wen Zhaoran smiled and said, "I went to the river to fish with Brother Zhaoye."
Mu Jin exclaimed in surprise, "Half the month has already passed?!"
They say time flows like water, but this water seems to flow far too fast.
Wen Zhaoran chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Brother Zhaoye suddenly decided to go fishing today. After his parents left, Brother Qiqiu even argued with him. I don't know why, but he suddenly said he wanted to go fishing."
"Zhaoye's mother is here? Is she going to live with him?"
Hibiscus was filled with mixed emotions.
The two villages are quite close to each other. Mu Zhaoye was beaten from childhood to adulthood, but his mother never came to visit him once.
Once he had some money, he built a large courtyard and several brick houses, and that's how he made it.
He felt somewhat sorry for Mu Zhaoye.
"No, he said he just came to see him."
Wen Zhaoran shook his head and then vividly recounted to Mu Jin what had just happened at the gate of Mu Zhaoye's courtyard.
Mu Jin listened, nodding occasionally. For some reason, she wanted to put a handful of melon seeds in her pocket and eat them while listening.
I always feel that this is the only way to truly appreciate it.
After Wen Zhaoran finished speaking, Mu Jin didn't know what to say.
Uncle Mu didn't regret it earlier or later, but now that Mu Zhaoye's brick and tile courtyard has been built, he regrets it.
Her mother is the same; she never comes to see him earlier or later. Now that he's capable of supporting himself, she knows how to care about him.
If they had come to protect Mu Zhaoye earlier, he wouldn't have been forced to go to the northern frontier. His once handsome face now bears a chilling scar.
He sighed, "It's true that every household has soot at the bottom of the pot."
The soot at the bottom of his pot came from the Zhou family.
Like Mu Jin, most of the villagers in Mujia Village felt that half a month had passed in a daze without them even realizing it.
While buying fish by the river, I was still marveling at how fast this month had gone by.
Bai Qiqiu mentioned it while selling fish, only to find out that Mu Zhaoye had brought it up earlier this time.
Everyone was both amused and exasperated; there really were so many people who treated Mu Zhaoye as an almanac.
As the sun gradually sets in the west, its orange afterglow bathes Mujia Village.
Hibiscus watched a bass swimming in a wooden basin.
She chuckled and said, "Next time, when you leave fish for the family, don't leave bass. They're expensive and not easy to catch. If you do catch them, sell them quickly. Before you get married, you should save up more money."
Sea bass is much more expensive than other fish, costing ten coins a piece, enough to buy more than half a pound of pork.
Bai Qiqiu hung the fishing nets to dry in the yard, and the fishy smell was overwhelming.
“Brother, there are few families in the village willing to buy bass. This time I only caught two. It just so happens that this one didn’t sell, so I kept it for my own family.”
Mu Jin nodded, seeing that Bai Qiqiu understood and didn't just bring the best things home, so she didn't say anything more.
For dinner, I made steamed sea bass, stir-fried eggs with chili peppers, and a plate of pickled vegetables.
Bai Qiqiu helped set the table and said to Zhou Lin, "Brother-in-law, I almost forgot something important. I only remembered when I saw you."
"What's wrong?"
Zhou Lin broke off a piece of coarse flour steamed bun, picked up a piece of pickled vegetable and put it in.
“I went fishing with Mu Zhaoye today. When the fish were in the net, I chatted with him for a while. He hasn’t had a carpenter make his furniture yet and was just about to look for someone. I told him that in about ten days, the work in town would be finished. We charge less money than in town, and the work is better. Plus, you work at the Zhao family’s house. After hearing that, he said he would come to find you tomorrow evening.”
As Bai Qiqiu spoke, a hint of pride shone on his face, as if he had found a good business for his family, and he looked like he was waiting to be praised.
This afternoon, he deliberately steered the conversation towards furniture making, feeling that he had effortlessly and subtly struck a deal with Mu Zhaoye.
Thinking about this, I felt quite pleased with myself, thinking how incredibly clever I was.
Zhou Lin's eyes lit up. "Is it really true?"
Bai Qiqiu nodded emphatically, "When have I ever lied?"
Mu Jin's eyes were full of joy as she placed a piece of fish belly meat on his plate.
"Qi Qiu is really amazing. Your brother-in-law was worried that there were no jobs left in town and where to find new jobs that could last. Your timely help has solved his urgent problem."
Bai Qiqiu's eyes crinkled into crescents, and she ate the fish with even greater relish.
Zhou Lin breathed a sigh of relief; he had gotten a job from Mu Zhaoye, which should keep him busy until winter.
Mu Heng was right; Zhou Lin truly had a talent for carpentry.
What other apprentices take a year to master, Zhou Lin can learn in one or two months.
It was truly easy to learn and master; there was nothing simpler than teaching Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin seemed to have been born to be a carpenter.
With the help of Mu Heng's complete instruction, Zhou Lin was considered halfway to master the craft after more than half a year.
Aside from needing to further improve his carving skills, he felt that the other wooden beams couldn't teach him anything more.
Other apprentices take three to five years to become halfway through their apprenticeship, but Zhou Lin only took half a year, truly demonstrating exceptional talent.
Sometimes when Mu Heng talks about this with his husband, he is quite proud of it.
It was his discerning eye that led him to take Zhou Lin as his disciple. He never suffered any mistreatment while teaching him, and the two of them enjoyed teaching and learning together.
With the experience and training he received at the Zhao residence, Zhou Lin is now capable of handling things independently.
A while ago, the large wardrobe made of rosewood that the two of them had made was inexplicably having problems. The tenons and mortises, which had been measured and prepared, just wouldn't fit together.
The wooden beam was about to be measured again, but Zhou Lin only glanced at it and quickly planed off two corners of the tenon.
The mortise and tenon joints fit together tightly and perfectly.
The wooden beam was astonished.
Zhou Lin's eyes were like a ruler; he could tell at a glance what was lacking and what needed to be improved.
Such talent is something most carpenters can't learn even after a lifetime of study, or they might need to work for thirty or forty years to become so skilled that they can determine dimensions at a glance.
Mu Heng sometimes couldn't help but admire Zhou Lin, and when he thought that Zhou Lin was his own apprentice, he felt a mix of pride and envy.
Mu Jin didn't understand these things, and Zhou Lin had never mentioned them to him.
He thought carpentry was easy to learn; otherwise, how could Zhou Lin have made furniture so quickly?
If he knew, he would probably praise Zhou Lin to the skies.
Zhou Wu mistook a pearl for a fish eye and wasted such a good son.
The next evening, Zhou Lin told Mu Heng that he hadn't asked Mu Zhaoye to come looking for him, and hurriedly went to his house.
The next day, Mu Zhaoye, along with several fishermen who worked with him, carried the wood he needed for making furniture to Mu Heng's place.
Mu Heng always thought of him, and when others asked him for work, they all wanted him to have a share. Zhou Lin naturally didn't want to be separated from his master so soon.
The two of them chatted and laughed together, and they finished their work faster.
Mu Heng told Zhou Lin directly that they would split the profits equally.
Zhou Lin wanted to refuse; how could he possibly share even half a penny with his master?!
Unfortunately, Mu Heng had already made up his mind, so Zhou Lin had no choice but to obey.
The days gradually slipped by in a flurry of activity.
The family had only one last batch of peaches left, so Mu Jin didn't sell them. Instead, she gave a basket to a close relative.
After harvesting the last batch of tomatoes, the bamboo poles tied to them were pulled out and thrown aside.
The rice seedlings were pulled out, and my hands were covered in green.
The soil was turned over again, watered, and cabbage and radishes were planted. The vegetables in the garden were gradually replaced with seasonal autumn vegetables.
After finishing her chores at home, Mu Jin hurriedly went to Mu Nianjun's place and ordered two bolts of cotton cloth.
With the Indian summer heatwave almost over and the weather getting cooler, we need to hurry up and make new clothes for the autumn.
Once they got home, they had Zhou Lin take it to town and dye it in two colors: indigo and apricot yellow.
"Jin'er, you've come at the right time. There are two bunches of ripe grapes at home. Why don't you take them and have a taste?"
As he spoke, he took out a bunch of purple grapes with a strong grape aroma.
"Brother Nianjun, I don't need it, you can keep it for yourself."
Mu Jin hurriedly waved her hand, saying that there were only two skewers that were ripe, and he couldn't possibly take them.
Mu Nianjun smiled and said, "Take it. The grapes will be in season soon, and we'll have plenty to eat."
Mu Nianjun stuffed the grapes into Mu Jin's hand and turned around to say, "I was thinking that you need to make clothes for the autumn season. I finished weaving them a couple of days ago and saved a bolt for you. I was planning to send it to you in a couple of days."
Mu Nianjun took out a bolt of cloth from the inner room and said with a smile, "Take this one first. I'll have your brother-in-law deliver the other one to you after I finish weaving it."
Mu Jin took the cotton cloth and stuffed the six qian of silver she had brought into Mu Nianjun's hands.
Where is Xiao Weiwei?
Mu Nianjun took the silver and smiled, "His father took him out to play. I wonder which brother's house he went to visit."
After thinking for a moment, Mu Jin realized she still had a lot of work to do at home, so she didn't stay any longer.
"I'll come back in a few days. It's been a while since I last saw you. I'm afraid Xiao Weiwei has forgotten about his uncle."
Mu Nianjun chuckled, "He's still young, what can he remember? He'll follow whoever feeds him, he probably doesn't even know who I am."
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