The next day, Lin Xue went to the county government office as scheduled, and after finding nothing amiss, she returned home.
After breakfast, Lin Xue went to buy some materials, and when she got home, she began to build her first carriage.
The yard was full of materials she had bought, while the tools she used for making the crafts were taken from her spatial dimension.
Since it's for home use, I chose sturdy and durable wood; I didn't choose anything too cheap or too expensive.
The children were curious when they saw Lin Xue bringing back so much timber. After asking her, they learned that their sister-in-law was going to build their family's first carriage, which surprised them.
"Sister-in-law, what use is a carriage if we don't even own a horse?"
Marcos were more expensive than oxen in this era; even the cheapest one cost seventeen or eighteen taels of silver.
Where would they get the money to buy horses?
Moreover, my sister-in-law has only just started working at the county government office and hasn't even officially started her day yet.
With the ten taels of silver the county magistrate had given them and the five taels they had brought back from the villagers, their family only had a total of 15 taels of silver.
This doesn't even include what was taken from the human traffickers.
"Want horses? That's easy. Just go deep into the mountains and forests and catch a couple. Why would you need to spend money to buy them?"
Lin Xue seemed even more shocked than the children when they asked her questions.
"What? You can catch horses in the mountains?"
"I've never heard of horses on the mountain. If there were, wouldn't they have been captured and run away long ago?"
Lin Xue's answer once again surprised the children. How dangerous must it be for wild horses to live undisturbed?
Wild horses, once spotted, will be hunted by countless people.
Wild horse herds can only be found deep in the forest, in places inaccessible to humans.
"You don't need to worry about that. My master might be coming over in a while, and I'll have him take me to the deep mountains to catch a couple of them to raise!"
"You've all seen my lightness skill; even if I encounter a ferocious beast I can't defeat, I can still escape. But you've never seen my master's prowess!"
"That's truly an amazing person who can travel a thousand miles a day on foot!"
In order to find a good shield for herself, Lin Xue began to boast about her non-existent master.
Her identity is actually easy to find out. As long as the county magistrate sends people to investigate carefully, they can find out from all the sources that she is just a beggar.
However, while the identity of a beggar may be looked down upon, it also has a touch of fantasy, making it easier for people to accept the stories that are told about them.
She didn't know if the Beggars' Guild existed in this world, but the connection between beggars was undeniable, and that would never change no matter where they went.
At least according to the storytellers in teahouses, there was a gang called the Beggars' Clan.
"Sister-in-law, you still have a master?"
"But I still don't understand, sister-in-law, you're so capable, how could you have been sold to my brother in the first place?"
Because Zhou Xiaowu is not very bright, he dares to say and ask anything.
This question has puzzled the Zhou family children for a long time, but none of them dare to ask!
Unexpectedly, Zhou Xiaowu asked the question today.
"You wouldn't know this, would you? If I hadn't wanted to, how could that old woman have caught me?"
Lin Xue's words completely overturned the children's understanding. They had always thought that their sister-in-law was bought by their older brother, and never thought that there were other reasons behind it.
"Sister-in-law, can you tell us what exactly happened?"
Zhou Xiaomei blinked her big, innocent eyes at Lin Xue. Among the Zhou family's children, Zhou Xiaomei was undoubtedly the one who clung to Lin Xue the most, because in her heart, she had long regarded Lin Xue as her mother.
"This story goes back many years, when I was a little girl, even younger than my younger sister is now."
"Once, when I went out to train, I got separated from my master. Since I didn't have any money on me, I had to pretend to be a beggar and beg from people along the way!"
Unfortunately, after wandering around for most of the day, I was starving, and no one was willing to give me anything to eat.
Just as I was considering whether to break my master's rules and directly use force to snatch the food, a kind-hearted boy appeared!
He not only bought me two large meat buns, but also gave me five coins. From that moment on, I etched his face into my memory, until many years later when I met him again!
Lin Xue told the story in a gentle tone, as if what she was saying had really happened.
"Sister-in-law, could that kind young man be our eldest brother?"
When Zhou Xiaocang saw Lin Xue pause at this point in her speech, he quickly asked her a question.
"Of course, meeting your older brother again has reminded me of those desperate and helpless moments from my childhood!"
"Later, I even used that fake matchmaker to marry your eldest brother, but I never expected that your eldest brother would die on his way home."
Sigh~
"I was originally planning to give your eldest brother a few more big, healthy sons to repay his kindness in providing me with a meal back then. Who would have thought that before I could even begin to repay his kindness, he would pass away first!"
As Lin Xue spoke, she pretended to wipe away tears, which made the eyes of the children red as well.
"Sister-in-law, don't be sad. Even though your brother is gone, we're still here for you."
"I suppose the reason you married our eldest brother was to repay a debt of gratitude. It's a good thing you weren't truly head over heels in love with him, otherwise, how would you live your life in the future..."
Compared to the sadness of others, Zhou Xiaohai seemed to be thinking of Lin Xue, glad that she didn't really fall in love with their eldest brother and decided to marry into their Zhou family, but only to repay a debt of gratitude.
"Xiao Hai, thank you so much!"
The pleasant atmosphere was ruined by Zhou Xiaohai's words.
"Sister-in-law, we're family, you don't need to be so polite with me!"
"Since you're an orphan anyway, we can live together from now on. When your master comes looking for us, the five of us siblings will help you take care of him in his old age!"
Zhou Xiaohai felt a little embarrassed by Lin Xue's thanks, so he quickly changed the subject and patted his chest to promise that he would help Lin Xue take care of her master.
"Alright, then when my master arrives, I'll have him teach you some skills!"
"Let me tell you, my master knows a lot of things. He knows everything from astronomy to geography, and he can even predict 500 years into the future!"
"From carpentry to bricklaying, from health preservation to mineral exploration, there's no skill in this world he can't master!"
"When he comes, you all need to be sweet-talking and show him good respect. Even if he only reveals a little bit of his skills to you, it will be enough for you to benefit from for the rest of your lives!"
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