Chapter Thirty-Nine
Zhou Lin is a man who is completely focused when he does his work, and his serious and dedicated demeanor is quite attractive.
Mu Jin looked at him for a while with her eyes crinkled, and then she heard a servant from the Zhao family say that there was a young man at the door looking for him.
"It must be Si'er. Lin, take your time. I'll go out and sell the extra spring vegetables at home with Si'er. I'll come find you when I'm done."
Mu Jin thought for a moment, then leaned down and whispered to Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin nodded hurriedly, his eyes now only focused on how to turn the wood in front of him into sturdy tables and chairs, perhaps not even hearing what Mu Jin was saying.
Mu Jin shook her head helplessly and followed the servants of the Zhao family out the door.
Although every household in the town has a yard, every inch of land is precious, and compared to the yards of farmers, the yards are as small as sparrows or eagles.
Because even if the people in the town raise poultry and grow vegetables, they can't raise or grow much.
We planted some vegetables that our family liked to eat, and mostly we had to buy them from the market.
The spring vegetables that Mu Jin and Zhou Si brought were fresh and green, looking tender and delicious.
Especially the garlic scapes, they break easily with a gentle snap, they're so crisp.
"Young man, how much are your garlic sprouts?"
"My dear husband, it's only one coin a pound. My brother just picked it this morning. Look how fresh and tender it is. It goes well with meat or eggs."
The husband was about to haggle over the price when the woman behind him said directly, "Weigh out five catties for me."
"The Yun family, can you eat five catties?" the husband asked with a smile.
“This isn’t my son’s husband. He’s pregnant and has been clamoring for this for a long time.”
As the women and husbands gathered around, they chatted and bought a lot of spring vegetables. As the sun rose higher, fewer and fewer people came to the market.
Looking at the basket, which contained about three to five pounds of spring vegetables, Mu Jin thought for a moment and said, "Si'er, it's getting late, and it'll be hard to sell them. Pack up and go home."
Zhou Si nodded, covered the spring vegetables with burlap, and said they could stir-fry them for lunch when they got back.
How did you get to town?
Hibiscus patted the wilted vegetable leaves off her clothes and asked softly.
"I came with the aunties and uncles from the village."
Zhou Si picked up the shopping basket, patted his trouser legs, and replied.
Mu Jin glanced at the sky. There were probably fewer people on the road by now. Zhou Si was handsome, and she couldn't rest easy letting him go back alone.
"Your older brother is probably done with his work. Come with me to the Zhao residence for a while. There's a rice noodle shop that opened in town. The owner said he came from the southernmost part of the town and fled here during the floods. He settled in our town. Once your older brother gets a job, let's go try some rice noodles and celebrate."
This was when Mu Jin was chatting with Steward Zhao while waiting for Zhou Lin. She heard about rice noodles, which she had never eaten before. She was very curious and her mouth watered just from hearing about them.
After thinking it over, Zhou decided to stay since Mu Zhou and Mu Bai were both at home and there was nothing urgent for him to do back there.
When the two arrived at the Zhao residence, Zhou Lin happened to come out from inside.
Mu Jin's eyes lit up, and she asked, "So? Do you like your cooking?"
Zhou Lin nodded with a simple smile, "It's done. I'll start working on it here this afternoon. I'll get three taels of silver when it's finished. I mustered up my courage and talked to Steward Zhao about the carving pattern. Steward Zhao agreed. I'll have the master craftsman come over, and I'll assist him. I can give the master craftsman six taels of silver."
Mu Jin smiled broadly, "Husband, you're so amazing! When Uncle Heng finds out I'm going back at noon, he'll be overjoyed."
Zhou Lin scratched his head; the simple-minded man was visibly happy and excited.
This was the first time in his life that he had earned so much money through his own efforts, and he was overjoyed beyond words.
The three of them arrived at the rice noodle shop with smiles on their faces. It was lunchtime, and the shop was bustling with people coming and going.
"Gentlemen, the shop is very busy right now, so you may have to wait a while. Please order first and sit here and wait. I will call you when it's your turn. Please understand."
Mu Jin was in a good mood and wasn't in a hurry, so she smiled at the waiter.
"With the shop doing so well, what do you order the most?"
The young man wiped the sweat from his forehead with the white cloth on his shoulder.
Hearing this, he replied, "My shopkeeper sells food from the southernmost part of Qichao. Not only in the town, but also in the prefectural city, it's the only place that does it. People come to eat from 9 am to 5 pm, and the busiest time is during mealtime. My shopkeeper has been worried lately because he's almost out of food."
After the waiter finished speaking, another group of people arrived, and he dared not chat with Mu Jin any longer. He hurriedly said, "Sir, our shop's best-selling dishes are meat sauce rice noodles, crossing-the-bridge rice noodles, and sour soup rice noodles, which are also exceptionally delicious. Meat sauce and sour soup are fifteen coins a bowl, and crossing-the-bridge rice noodles are twenty coins. What would you like to eat?"
The waiter mentioned three kinds of rice noodles. Since there were three of them, Mu Jin thought for a moment and said, "Then let's have one bowl of each."
"Okay, please wait a moment." With that, he went back into the shop and called out, "One bowl each of sour soup, meat sauce, and 'Crossing the Bridge' soup."
Zhou Si felt a pang of regret for the money; the money they earned from selling spring vegetables was barely enough for one meal.
But thinking that his older brother had gotten a job and was in a good mood today, it wouldn't hurt to treat him to a nice meal once in a while.
Zhou Lin naturally obeyed whatever his husband said. Steward Zhao had just given him a tael of silver as a deposit, which he would give to Mu Jin later; it would be enough.
While waiting, Mu Jin and the others chatted idly. Before long, the waiter came out and called them in.
This rice noodle is made from rice and is similar to noodles, but smoother and whiter. The broth, including the sour soup and meat sauce, is reddish. A layer of yellow chicken oil floats on top of the Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles, making it look lighter.
Mu Jin chose the sour soup rice noodles, and tried a bite of the others as well, but still preferred the sour soup flavor.
The Zhou brothers, Lin and Si, liked all three kinds of soup. The three of them savored each one carefully and drank the soup completely.
"Burp, I'm so full. This rice noodle was actually quite delicious. It's a pity Zhaoran isn't here."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I'll have my second brother bring him over to eat then."
The three rested for a while, paid their bill, and left the rice noodle shop.
Zhou Lin hurried off to work at the Zhao residence, called Mu Jin aside, and handed her the silver, saying, "One tael of silver, take it back with you."
Mu Jin smiled and whispered to Zhou Lin, "Come back early this afternoon, don't travel at night."
Zhou Lin nodded and entered the Zhao residence. Mu Jin then pulled Zhou Si back to the rice noodle shop.
"Big brother, what's wrong with you..." Zhou thought to himself, could it be that he wasn't full and wanted another bowl? When did his big brother become such a big eater?
Mu Jin smiled and said, "You'll find out soon enough."
As he spoke, he waved to the waiter who had just served them.
"Sir, what's wrong? Did you leave something behind in the shop?"
There were fewer people around now, so the waiter saw him and walked over.
Mu Jin shook her head. "I just heard you say that your shopkeeper is worried because he doesn't have enough vegetables. I happen to have some spring vegetables here. I grow quite a few in my vegetable garden. If your shopkeeper is interested, I can send some over every day."
Upon hearing this, the waiter laughed and said, "I see. You wait here, I'll go and call the manager for you."
The owner of the rice noodle shop looked like someone from the south – fair-skinned, not very tall, and with a gentle appearance.
"Are you the ones selling spring vegetables?"
Mu Jin nodded and lifted the burlap sack. "Please look, shopkeeper. These were all picked this morning. They're a little wilted now, but they'll be fine after soaking in water for a while. They'll all be fresh and tender again."
The shopkeeper leaned over and glanced at it, then nodded. "It's alright. I need at least fifty catties of spring vegetables a day, just small greens. Do you have enough at home?"
After thinking for a moment, Mu Jin nodded directly, "Yes."
The shopkeeper smiled. These past few days he had been sending his shop assistants to the market to buy vegetables, but the quality of the vegetables varied, and preparing them was tedious, sometimes requiring trips to several places, which was troublesome.
Old Li, who has the most vegetables at the market, hasn't come these past two days. Most of the vegetables at the other stalls, weighing ten or twenty kilograms, are ones he doesn't want to use.
Previously, he had been buying directly from people and having them deliver it to his shop, but while everything was fine at first, they would start mixing in rotten leaves to pass off inferior goods as superior ones. It was better to just buy directly from the market.
I recently stopped trading vegetables with a farmer, and now my shop is running out of vegetables at the market.
"Alright, if the dishes you bring tomorrow look good, it will be one coin per pound. But let me make this clear: if you try to fob me off with bad food, don't blame me for getting angry."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "This is a rare opportunity. Don't worry, shopkeeper, I certainly won't ruin my reputation and miss this chance to make money."
The shopkeeper smiled without saying a word. He had heard these words many times, but none of them had been able to do them yet.
The remaining spring vegetables in the bamboo basket were tender, just over a pound of small greens. Mu Jin wasn't stingy; she gave them directly to the rice noodle shop owner to curry favor.
On the way back to the village, Zhou Si asked in confusion, "Brother, we have a lot of green vegetables in our garden, but fifty catties a day is no small amount. It won't last long before we have to wait for the next batch. I'm afraid we'll have to break our promise to the rice noodle shop owner soon."
Mu Jin picked a willow leaf, blew on it, and asked, "Si'er, what do you think our family has the most of?"
Zhou Si shook his head; he felt that his family lacked everything.
Mu Jin patted his head and laughed, "Open space, the yard is such a big open space. Keep the front yard well, and plant vegetables in the rest. The vegetables in the garden can last for a while. If it really doesn't work, we can buy them from other people. Two catties for one coin, we can make some money."
Zhou Si suddenly realized and said admiringly, "Brother, you are really amazing. You sold the vegetables in the house while eating. From now on, our family can earn fifty coins a day by selling vegetables. Before, my brother would only earn sixty coins when he went to town to carry heavy loads."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "That was before. Now, your eldest brother has earned three taels of silver for the family with just one move."
Zhou Si smiled and said, "That's right, my older brother is the most powerful right now."
As they approached the village entrance, Mu Jin instructed, "Si'er, don't tell anyone about this."
Zhou Si nodded heavily. He understood the principle that making a fortune quietly and flaunting it would only attract envy and harm others.
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