Lin Chaodong's refusal was rather loud and his tone rather harsh, which was quite an overreaction, prompting Yue Jiuyue to look up and give him a proper look.
Wow! He's so resistant to living in the servants' quarters! Has he awakened some kind of master's spirit? Then why did he agree to let Liu become a wet nurse? He even thought it was a very honorable job. Aren't these two blatant hypocrites?
Oh well, he'll only stay for two or three days when he comes back, let him do as he pleases.
"Um."
Yue Jiuyue agreed, and then she didn't lift her eyelids to look at him again.
Lin Chaodong awkwardly picked up Dazhuang with his left hand and Xiaoman'er with his right, then strode out like a whirlwind.
Grandma Zhou followed her out, and Liu took people to the South Lake to wash clothes. Suddenly, only Yue Jiuyue, who was still eating watermelon, was left in the house. She didn't have any special reaction. Since there was no one else in the house, she didn't have to care about anything. She would take a bite of watermelon and complain, "It's really bad" or "It's too bad".
Lin Chaobei went to town in an oxcart. Since he didn't need to buy much, he returned before lunchtime.
The reason he didn't compete with Lin Chaonan for the carriage or rush to the county town was because of the shops and houses Lin Chaonan had bought in town a while ago.
Lin Chaobei was even more curious because Lin Chaonan had personally selected all of them. He also really wanted to experience what it was like to be a shopkeeper. He was determined to go to town this time. He had already asked Lin Chaonan about the location of the shops. In fact, he had secretly compared the shops in town and thought about which shop he should choose to make more money if Yue Jiuyue wanted him to look after the shops.
After all, if he became the shopkeeper but the shop didn't make money, Yue Jiuyue would definitely doubt his abilities, and having a good eye for choosing shops is also a kind of ability.
On this trip, he found several well-located, spacious, and bright shops. These shops used to belong to wealthy families in the town. They had fled due to a natural disaster and didn't want to come back, so they instructed their stewards to sell the shops.
This is just a small town, and the shops here aren't worth much. If you rent them out, it wouldn't even cover the cost of the manager running back and forth to collect the rent every year. It's more cost-effective and less troublesome to sell them.
After looking at the shop, Lin Chaobei, who had no interest in the house at all, went and bought everything he wanted. He was so excited that he bargained fiercely with the seller until the day was over. Even after he had bought everything, he was still excited and couldn't help but hum a song as he drove the oxcart home.
As for what he was humming, he didn't even know it himself. He had never seen an opera performance, let alone heard a song. He had only occasionally heard Huang Banxian sing some lyrics when he was in high spirits, but he couldn't understand them and had never learned them. At this moment, he was simply humming randomly because he couldn't express the joy in his heart.
As soon as he got home, before he could excitedly tell Yue Jiuyue about the shops he had visited, he saw Lin Chaodong sitting in the main room, making Dazhuang laugh.
"Mother, elder brother? Why are you back?"
Lin Chaobei was very surprised. Didn't he say he wasn't coming back? Wasn't he supposed to stay there so that Liu Shi wouldn't be unable to find him? Why did he suddenly come back without a word? Could it be that he heard about their mother's situation and came back to ask for money to buy a house?
It's no wonder Lin Chaobei thought of Lin Chaodong the moment he saw him. It was Lin Chaodong's performance over the past year that made him think of him this way. Lin Chaodong was no longer the eldest brother who protected them and their brothers alongside their mother. Now he was just their sister-in-law's man, and even their children, Xiaoman'er and Dazhuang, had to take a backseat.
"Oh, the fourth brother is back! I just came back to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together."
Even he himself didn't believe these words, let alone Lin Chaobei, who already suspected him of having ulterior motives. The way he smirked and rolled his eyes almost made Yue Jiuyue laugh.
"Alright, aren't you hot after being out all morning? Aren't you thirsty? Here, have a bowl of water. It's freshly drawn from the well, so it's cool and refreshing."
Yue Jiuyue scooped up a bowl of mint water and handed it to Lin Chaobei, who was still rolling his eyes and wanted to say something more.
Lin Chaobei immediately put on a smiling face, happily took the bowl, and gulped it down.
"Mom, it's delicious! So sweet! And it's refreshing!"
Lin Chaodong: (╬￣皿￣)
Jealousy distorted him beyond recognition.
He hadn't been back for two or three months. Now that he's finally come back, his mother doesn't seem to care about him like this. She didn't even give him a bowl of mint water that was just drawn from the well, let alone a bowl of warm water!
Sure enough, he was no longer his mother's good eldest son. He had no status in the family anymore. Even his younger brother would roll his eyes at him. He didn't know what to do. His fists were itching. He really wanted to hit his brother.
Well, I can only dream about it.
In the past, my younger brother could hit me as much as he wanted.
Now, he has to think about what the consequences would be if he hit his younger brother, and whether he could bear those consequences.
It's because he had something he wanted.
"Go back and take a shower, change your clothes and come over for dinner. We've been waiting for you."
Yue Jiuyue was like a kind old mother, earnestly instructing her youngest son.
"Okay, I'll go right away!"
Lin Chaobei chuckled, turned around and left, completely ignoring Lin Chaodong beside him, which made Lin Chaodong feel even more bitter!
He used to receive the same treatment. Although his family's financial situation wasn't as good as it is now, he was his mother's favorite child back then, followed by his fourth child, and then his second and third children.
Now, for no apparent reason, he has become the least favored person in his family, yet for various reasons he can no longer act as freely as before, which makes him feel very frustrated.
Lin Chaodong's frustration went unaddressed.
In fact, if he weren't so shameless, no one would even invite him to meals.
After lunch, Yue Jiuyue didn't even take a nap before joining Liu and the others in making mooncakes.
The dough was steamed, then lard was added and the filling was mixed with the dough. The mooncake filling was prepared by Zhou Lao Da's family and Zhou Lao Er's family. In addition to Zhou Lao Tai, who had to watch over Da Zhuang, even Zhou Liu Ya joined in making mooncakes.
The dough, made with lard, is oily and not very sticky. You have to shape it into a wrapper, then wrap the filling inside, and then pinch the opening closed. You have to be careful and meticulous, otherwise it will fall apart and the mooncake will not be able to take shape.
Of course, the dough, after being filled and sealed, is then placed in a mold and pressed into various shapes, such as peaches, the character for "fortune," fish, the character for "longevity," flowers, and so on.
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