Saying those things would only add to the sorrow of parting for your family. It would be better for everyone to enjoy these few days together.
Sigh! If only he had given the money to his mother when he left, now he's only adding to his sorrow of parting!
He realized that in the two days he had been home—well, less than a day if you count carefully—all his expectations had been disrupted.
"I don't need the money! You keep it for yourself. It's better to be frugal while traveling. You can't live alone without money!"
Yue Jiuyue did not accept Lin Chaoxi's silver notes. Instead, she got up and went back into the house, and came out again after a short while.
"Here you go! Take it!"
Yue Jiuyue took a thousand taels of silver directly and handed it to Lin Chaoxi, explaining to Lin Chaobei and Wang Xiaoxue, who had just returned from the kitchen:
“Your second brother is away from home, fighting on the border. There must be a shortage of everything there. Winter is coming soon, and I don’t know if they have enough food to get through the winter. Having some money on hand means they can buy whatever they need.”
"Mother, I understand!"
Lin Chaobei and Wang Xiaoxue spoke up at the same time. If their home wasn't in Dongling, they should have contributed something at this time as well.
"Um."
As long as the young couple doesn't cause trouble, it's fine. The worst thing is to encounter someone who is greedy for money and short-sighted, only eyeing the old man's savings for his funeral.
"Mother, I can't take it!"
Lin Chaoxi refused.
“Over the years, I haven’t been able to properly take care of you, so how can I possibly accept your money!”
Yue Jiuyue: (▼DRAN▼#)
Who's the old person?! Who's the old person?! Can't you speak properly?!
No wonder the second brother is still single; there's a reason for it.
"It's not all for you. If you keep all the money, what if your comrade needs it? You'll be penniless then, wanting to help but having no money to spare. That would be so painful!"
After Yue Jiuyue's persuasion, Lin Chaoxi had no choice but to accept it.
The reason he only had less than five hundred taels of silver was because he usually helped his comrades.
My comrade is injured, but we don't have money to see a doctor or get medicine. We can't just watch him tough it out, can we?
Such things happen a lot in the border town, especially during wartime and in winter. The climate there is harsh, and they don't have enough clothes and food to get through the winter. When they get sick or injured, they mostly have to tough it out.
If we pull through, we'll still be comrades-in-arms fighting side by side.
If we can't make it through, then let's meet again in eighteen years!
Lin Chaoxi felt that the few light silver notes in his hand were heavier than a thousand pounds, so heavy that he couldn't even lift his head.
How old are you, still sponging off your parents!
Lin Chaoxi felt ashamed, his whole body burning with embarrassment!
"Alright, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Isn't the point of making money to spend it? It's more meaningful for you to spend it than for me to."
By the way, when are you leaving? How much stuff can you take with you? I was thinking of taking all the dried sweet potatoes we had at home with you, so you can grind them into flour to cook, or just boil them.
The same goes for corn; it's best to mix it with wheat flour, otherwise it won't hold together. I don't think you'll understand even if I explain it, so try it yourself tomorrow and you'll see.
Oh, and there's cotton too. Looks like there won't be enough time to make you a cotton-padded coat. We'll make as many as we can, and you can take the rest along with the fabric!
Yue Jiuyue wanted to ask Lin Chaoxi if he needed salt, but then she changed her mind and gave up. After all, salt is regulated nowadays. If she rashly took out a lot of salt, especially of super high quality, she might end up in jail, and maybe never come back...
Forget it, let's just give him what we can. As long as Lin Chaoxi can take it, let him take as much as he can. It doesn't matter if he takes everything. Anyway, they live in the countryside and can just grab whatever they can find to keep them from going hungry.
Moreover, they have money and shops, so they will definitely not go hungry or cold.
"mother……"
Lin Chaoxi couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears, grabbing Yue Jiuyue's hand.
Yue Jiuyue: (⊙x⊙;)
What's going on? Are you touched?
She wasn't in a hurry to be moved; she was thinking of quickly instructing her servants to help make cotton-padded clothes, as many as they could, since the border town was short of everything.
"Don't cry, okay? We need to think of something quickly. How are you going to take all that grain from home? Should we ask a few comrades to come with us? Or should we ask your brother and the others to help us get it to the border town? We should find a caravan to go with us, right?"
While gently patting Lin Chaoxi's back to comfort him, Yue Jiuyue was also planning how to transport all the things to the border town, as it seemed unsafe to rely solely on the people at home.
"Oh, by the way, tomorrow you should go check the cellar and the warehouse, and take whatever you want!"
Yue Jiuyue reminded her that she was just flustered and said whatever came to mind, and that her mind was actually a mess.
"What do we have at home? Sweet potatoes, corn, wheat, millet, cotton, apples, pears, radishes..."
Dried sweet potatoes, corn, wheat, and millet are all sun-dried, so they're easy to carry. Cotton can be stuffed into burlap sacks, but the rest is fresh and not so easy to transport. Perhaps we'll need baskets? We can put some wheat bran at the bottom of the baskets to prevent damage. Oh, and eggs, pickled vegetables, duck eggs, and things like that too.
Let's count it all. There's quite a lot to bring. We'll definitely need to hire a carriage. It would be best to buy one, to save on the long journey. If anything goes wrong on the road, like the horse getting sick or the carriage breaking down, we won't have to pay for it. After all, it's our own stuff, so we don't have to worry about anyone else damaging it.
"Second brother, how exactly are we going to transport it out? You need to give me a clear plan. If you can't figure it out, I'll have fourth brother go out and buy a horse-drawn carriage."
Carriages are relatively easy to find, but horses are not so easy to buy. You might have to travel to several counties, and possibly even to the prefectural capital, to buy enough horses.
Oh dear, now that I think about it, she'll be very busy from now on!
"Smack!"
Yue Jiuyue casually patted Lin Chaoxi, a little harder than when she was comforting him, just because of the thought of "ouch" in her heart.
Well, she didn't do it on purpose.
However, she didn't take any heavy pictures, so there was nothing to be ashamed of.
That's right, Lin Chaoxi actually stopped crying.
Has he finally come to his senses?
"What's wrong? Have you cried enough?"
Yue Jiuyue teased him with a smile.
"mother……"
Lin Chaoxi was genuinely embarrassed by the teasing. The burly man lowered his head shyly, smiled, wiped away his tears, and answered her question.
"Mother, let me check how much stuff we have first, and then I'll call my comrades to come and get it. I'll have to trouble you with the horse-drawn cart, because we only have horses, not many, and they're not enough to pull the cart. If we don't have enough horse-drawn carts, oxcarts or donkey carts will do."
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