Chapter Thirty-Five
With the cotton seeds dried and the weather gradually warming up, every household in the village is busy in the fields.
This time, Zhou Wushi did not call Zhou Lin back to the fields to work. It turned out that most of the men from the Zhou family had come to help because Zhou Qiang had passed the county examination.
Since I have no need for Zhou Lin, I'd rather not see him and not bother him, so I'm too lazy to look for him.
Mu Jin was happy to have some peace and quiet. The couple worked from sunrise to sunset, and in their busy work, they had finished most of the farm work.
That night, Mu Jin lay on the bed, feeling tired and with a sore back. Zhou Lin, by the light of the oil lamp, massaged him with his large, calloused hands.
"Ouch, be gentle. Tomorrow there will only be about three-tenths of an acre left. Si'er and I will be able to manage. You can go and help Uncle Heng when you have some free time."
Zhou Lin softened his grip, "I wonder how busy my parents are. They have a lot of land, and they probably can't manage it all."
Mu Jin patted his hand away and turned over. "My cousins are all here. If my parents were really too busy, they would have come looking for you long ago."
Zhou Lin lay down beside her, placing his large hand on Mu Jin's soft belly.
"I'll finish tending to the fields at home before I go help my master. There will definitely be a lot of weeds growing behind the wasteland. If I can't leave my master's place, it will be too much trouble for you and Si'er."
When Mu Jin placed her hand on Zhou Lin's large, fan-like hand, she appeared somewhat petite.
"It wasn't hard work. If we have a good harvest this year, we can have an easier time in the future."
The couple whispered in their bedroom at night, while the moonlight outside was as still as water.
One morning, in a small pit, with two or three seeds, Zhou Lin dug the pit in front, and Mu Jin followed behind to scatter the seeds. Zhou Si gently covered the seeds with the soil dug up from the side with her foot.
The three worked together very well, and the remaining three-tenths of an acre of land at home was planted in just one morning.
In the afternoon, Zhou Lin went to Mu Heng's place, and Mu Jin and Zhou Si carried buckets to the fields to irrigate the fields.
The fields were full of villagers bending over to work. The Mu family had a lot of fields, and while Mu Jin and Zhou Si were watering the fields, they still had four or five acres of land that hadn't been cultivated yet.
Because Mu Lingyun didn't have time to help with the spring plowing, he would send over a pheasant or rabbit whenever he had a spare moment, to supplement Zhou Si and the others' diet during the busy farming season.
When people in the village get engaged, it's usually the men who go to the bride's house and make a good impression in the fields.
Young men and women shouldn't be too eager to get married, or others will laugh at them for being desperate to marry.
Zhou Si wanted to help the hunter's family, but she was too embarrassed to go.
Mu Jin was very good at reading people. After watering the plants, she noticed that Zhou Si kept glancing quietly towards the area in the hunter's field, and she understood what was going on.
"The pheasant that Brother Lingyun sent yesterday hasn't been cleaned yet, but it was cleaned this afternoon. I also picked some mushrooms the other day, so I stewed it together. You can send it over to your future father-in-law and his family to try later."
Zhou Si's cheeks flushed. She put the wooden ladle into the bucket that still had a little water left, picked up the bucket, and went home with Mu Jin.
As soon as I entered the house, I saw Mu Bai and Wen Liangzhao standing in the yard, staring at each other, and the yard was completely silent.
Seeing this, Mu Jin quickly closed the door, rubbed her forehead, and felt a headache coming on.
"Bai'er, what brings you here?"
Upon hearing the sound, Mu Bai hurriedly went to Mu Jin's side and tugged at his sleeve.
"Brother, who is he? I've never seen him before. He's really handsome. Is he my brother-in-law's concubine?!"
Mu Jin put the wooden bucket in her hand aside; it was made by Zhou Lin overnight before the spring plowing.
"No, he...he is..."
Mu Jin's head was spinning with worry when she suddenly remembered the severe drought in the north a few days ago, which had caused many refugees to flee to Qingshui Town.
As instructed by the county magistrate, five or six refugees settled in Mujia Village, and the village chief brought them back to the village a few days ago.
“I met him a few days ago when I went to town to sell wild vegetables. He was a refugee who fled from the north. He was too weak and couldn’t keep up with the other refugees. He fell behind and missed the county magistrate’s arrangement for him to register in the village. I felt sorry for him, so I took him back to the village first.”
After Mu Jin finished speaking in one breath, she glanced at Mu Bai and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he did not suspect anything.
His younger brother was close to him, as was his stepfather. He told Zhou Ling everything, and if he found out, Zhou Ling would find out soon enough.
Mu Bai nodded. "Big brother, you're really lucky to have met such a handsome young man. I saw other refugees at my great-grandfather's house before, and none of them were as good-looking as him. He's just a man, tall, and not bad looking."
Wen Liangzhao also breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the layer of cold sweat from his forehead.
His encounter with Mu Bai was completely unexpected. He had just fed the molted chickens and ducks in the backyard, and the little owl hadn't made a sound. As soon as he arrived in the front yard, he stared at Mu Bai with wide eyes. Luckily, he didn't faint from fright.
"Brother, he's been staying at your house like this?"
Mu Jin asked Zhou Si to scoop up a ladle of water and wash her face in the yard.
“He lost his household registration when he came here, so he couldn’t go anywhere else.”
Mu Bai, carrying his small bundle, stood to the side and glanced at Wen Liangzhao a few more times. The more he looked, the more he liked her. He loved looking at beautiful women the most.
“Brother, Grandpa just got the new household registrations for those refugees from the county government the other day. You can tell Grandpa to get this handsome brother’s household registration done as well. That should be fine.”
Mu Jin was filled with thoughts; this was the best time to register Wen Liangzhao's household registration.
He nodded. "Okay, I'll go find Grandpa in a bit."
Looking up, she saw Mu Bai still carrying a small bundle. "Are you planning to stay here for a while?"
Mu Bai sighed, "Yes, it was only after all the chores at home were finally finished that I begged my uncle for a long time before he finally agreed. But it seems like there won't be enough room for you here, brother."
Mu Jin glanced at Zhou Si, saw the corners of his mouth slightly curved, and nodded to him.
He laughed and said, "There's plenty of room. Your brother-in-law just had a big bed made a few days ago. There are enough room for four people, let alone three."
Mu Bai then smiled, "Then I'll put the bundle in Brother Si's room first."
He then went straight to Zhou Si's room.
Mu Jin smiled and shook her head. "Si'er, you take care of that pheasant at home later. I'm going to my great-grandfather's place to take care of Liang Zhao's matter."
Wen Liangzhao was thrilled. If he could have a new household registration, he would no longer be the slave boy that Yuemanlou had bought back.
Mu Jin wiped the water off her face with a cloth, thought for a moment, and asked, "Liang Zhao, does Yue Manlou know your real name? Are there any marks on your body that Yue Manlou knows about?"
His face is very attractive. If Yue Manlou insists that he is the runaway Hua Zhao based on the mark, he can't fight city hall and probably can't protect him.
Wen Liangzhao nodded with a not-so-pleasant expression. "I'll go back to my room and hide the mark."
He had a birthmark shaped like a swallow on his chest, which was known to the Moon Goddess of the Moonlit Pavilion.
As for the name, perhaps his father trusted his uncles too much and gave them his real household registration.
Wen Liangzhao was his real name. When he was sold, Lady Yue knew this, and because of his nickname, she called him Hua Zhao.
After listening to his story, Mu Jin thought for a moment and asked, "Do you still have that fake household registration?"
Wen Liangzhao nodded. Before his father left, he gave him all of his belongings.
Mu Jin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "It's good that he's here. Your father has a special identity, so even if it's a fake household registration, it should be able to pass for the real one. Give me the household registration, and I'll go find my great-grandfather."
Wen Liangzhao nodded and went back to his and Zhou Si's room.
The fake household registration of Wen Liangzhao was under the name Wen Zhian. Mu Jin got the registration and, taking advantage of the early hour, went directly to the village chief's house without delay.
When Village Chief Mu heard that Mu Jin had secretly brought a stranger back to the village, he was furious and gave him a severe scolding.
"You've always been a clever kid. How could you bring a refugee of unknown background into the village so easily? Luckily, you're a young man; you can't cause any trouble. Learn your lesson next time!"
Mu Jin lowered her head and obediently accepted the scolding. "Grandpa, I know I was wrong. This is his household registration. Please take a look."
When Mu Jin arrived, she glanced at Wen Liangzhao's registered residence, which happened to be in an area affected by the severe drought.
Chief Kim took it, glanced at it twice, and closed it.
"I'll go with you to your house."
When they returned to the Zhou family, Village Chief Mu glanced at Wen Liangzhao, his somewhat cloudy eyes sharp and piercing.
"It looks good. I'll go to town tomorrow to get my household registration done, but am I sure I want it to be registered in our village?"
Kimura stroked his beard and said to Wen Liangzhao.
Wen Liangzhao nodded, handed five taels of silver to Village Chief Mu, and said with a clear and harmless expression, "I would like to trouble you to do me a favor. I have another request. When you cancel my household registration, could you please change my name to Wen Zhaoran?"
Village Chief Kim thought for a moment, then took the silver. “It’s not certain that it can be changed. You can come with me in the oxcart tomorrow.”
Wen Liangzhao nodded, but he was worried that the fake household registration would be exposed, though he didn't dare to show it on his face.
Before leaving, Village Chief Kim called Mu Jin aside and gave her a few words of advice.
“This guy seems like a good one, but his face is really intriguing and he might cause trouble. Once the household registration is finalized, you should advise him to find someone to settle down with as soon as possible.”
Mu Jin nodded. "Understood, Grandpa."
Village Chief Mu finally smiled slightly. Mu Jin's house was clean and tidy, and her life was sure to get better and better. As her great-grandfather, he saw this and was happy for them.
After Village Chief Kim returned, Wen Liangzhao looked at Mu Jin with some nervousness.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll go with you."
Early the next morning, Mu Jin, carrying the handkerchief embroidered by Zhou Si, went to the county government office in town with Village Chief Mu and Wen Liangzhao.
When the registrar was looking at the household register, both Mu Jin and Wen Liangzhao were extremely nervous, their palms sweating profusely.
Fortunately, he didn't find anything wrong. He took the five taels of silver that the village chief had secretly slipped to him, rubbed it between his fingers, and immediately became much more amiable.
"Sir, he's thinking of changing his name. What do you think?"
"What name should we change it to?"
Wen Liangzhao hurriedly replied, "Wen Zhaoran, the Zhaoran of the sun and moon shining brightly."
The registrar stroked his beard. "It's a good name."
He looked Wen Liangzhao up and down a few more times and smiled, "You're quite a pretty girl. Are you betrothed yet?"
Before Wen Liangzhao could speak, Village Chief Mu hurriedly said, "It's granted, it's granted."
"Oh? Who is this man? Don't try to fool me. I'll be frank. I have a son who is not yet married, and this young man is a good match for my son in terms of appearance."
The registrar clearly didn't believe it, and looked at the group with a smile, completely confident.
He does have a son, but he is somewhat mentally challenged and has not yet married. This young man has an extraordinary appearance, and although he is a refugee, judging from his speech, he is a learned young man.
Marrying him wouldn't be considered him marrying above his station.
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