Chapter 104: Mosquito Coil, can I buy you?
A conversation with Mrs. Chai made Song Jin go from feeling uncomfortable to feeling happy, but then he felt guilty again.
She was excited because everyone could see that Ji Shubai treated her differently, which made her happy, and Mrs. Chai didn't seem to mind her so-called methods.
If one is in a high position but has no means, he will become the target of public criticism. Mrs. Chai is not some innocent girl and she knows what's going on.
She felt guilty because she was sure Miss Pei would see through it.
Even if Ji Shubai explained it clearly to her, would Miss Pei really not have any wild thoughts? What would her parents think?
His daughter's marriage was ruined by a cook, who also pretended to be friends with his daughter. Most likely, he was trying to gather military intelligence.
By that time, Song Jin would not be able to explain herself, and she did not want Miss Pei to misunderstand her.
Song Jin's mood switched seamlessly from joy to uneasiness along the way. He felt uneasy in his heart and kicked stones impatiently along the way until he kicked a man selling oil with a load on his shoulder and gave him a good scolding. Only then did he calm down and run all the way back to Guhuai Lane.
It was not until she was about to enter the shop that she suddenly remembered something.
It's obvious that there's nothing going on between her and Ji Shubai. No matter how ambiguous they seem, there's still nothing going on.
Song Jin thought she was really a face-lover. Whenever a handsome man smiled at her, she would think about having children and being buried in the same grave in the future.
Song Jin slapped her forehead hard: How stupid! She was so dazzled by Ji Shubai's smile. She had no idea what he was thinking, so why was she worrying about it?
Thinking of this, Song Jin quickened his pace and ran into the shop quickly.
The days that followed were as busy as usual. Song Jin wanted to suppress all his messy thoughts. Ji Shubai happened to be out on business, and he had no chance to see Miss Pei again, so he concentrated on planning his own business.
This plan actually created a new business: mosquito coils.
It was summer now and Suzhou was flooded, so mosquitoes naturally became a nuisance. Therefore, every night when Song Jin told stories, there would always be the sound of "pa" and "pa" of slapping mosquitoes, so Song Jin thought of mosquito coils.
According to her memory, mugwort can repel mosquitoes, so the only thing left is to figure out what to do. She can't just keep using mugwort, as that would waste money and make people sick.
If you really think about it, this matter is not difficult. It is nothing more than mixing mugwort wool with something that can burn continuously and letting it continue to burn slowly. This thing is right in front of Song Jin every day, and that is charcoal.
The charcoal is ground into fine powder and mixed with finely ground moxa leaves. The problem is how to glue them together and fix the shape.
Song Jin didn't know this, but others knew it. It's the same principle as burning incense in a temple. Just use elm powder to glue it together.
Song Jin suddenly came to his senses and thought that if he added some realgar, the insects would be killed.
So Lu’s Food Store added a new job: making mosquito coils.
Grinding mugwort leaves, charcoal, elm powder, and realgar powder, several people took turns around the mill. After trying several proportions, they tried it in their own rooms first, and it worked.
Song Jin was overjoyed and began to take out silver to buy large quantities. During those days, mosquito coils rolled into circles were dried everywhere in the courtyard behind Lu's food shop. After they were dried, he would light them at the four corners of his shop at night.
It was probably the same reason why people in the 21st century went to shopping malls to use air conditioning. Song Jin's shop, which was rarely visited by mosquitoes, suddenly attracted more customers. Song Jin took the opportunity to promote her mosquito coils, and the sales volume was so great that she felt that she should not open a food store, but a mosquito coil factory.
Song Jin's first pot of gold in the true sense came from mosquito coils. When there was a buying spree at Lu's Food Store for the first time, she was surprised to find that there were not enough staff.
Fortunately, Arong came back at this time.
He hurriedly asked a matchmaker to arrange the marriage at the end of June and sent the betrothal gifts. His marriage to Dujuan was then settled and the wedding date was set for August.
At the beginning of July, he was busy preparing for the wedding. Now that everything was almost ready, he came to Lu's Food Shop. When he heard Song Jin say that there was a shortage of staff, he suggested that after the wedding, Du Juan could also come to the kitchen to help.
With more money, they can pay off their debts sooner. Song Jin was short of manpower, so there was no reason for him to refuse.
It was not until this time that Song Jin took a breath and focused on planning how to make a big profit in August or September when the autumn tiger was at its peak.
In addition to the customers in the store and the neighbors, Song Jin also set her sights on the rich, so she specially made a small batch of mosquito coils and had the Chai family's servant take them back. She was sure that the Chai family would not deny this small debt, after all, the fifty taels of reward silver had been given.
The so-called special one actually means adding spices.
The regular version has the original mugwort flavor, while the special version has labia majora added to it in order to sell at a higher price and to distinguish it from ordinary products.
Once this spice is added, the price increases exponentially, and ordinary people cannot afford it. It is only for wealthy families.
Although this business is tiring, Song Jin enjoys doing it very much.
Compared to Chai Heng who gave her a huge reward for Ji Shubai's sake, this money that she earned with her own hard work made her self-esteem fall to the ground, and she felt at ease again.
Just as Lu's Food Shop was busy and happy, a note was delivered to Song Jin's hands.
Hong Xing is getting married, and invites Song Jin to attend the ceremony.
This was what she had agreed upon when she first visited, and now it has been delivered.
Song Jin was happy and chose to wear the distant mountain purple straight-fitting coat that day, which he usually didn't want to wear. In order to avoid getting lost, he called A Rong and Chun Yun, who loved to join in the fun. After handing the milk tea for the day to the officer, the three of them went to Hong Xing's house together.
The Hong Xing family was extremely lively today. The bamboo fence was filled with tables and chairs. Many relatives came early to congratulate them. After Song Jin handed over his congratulatory gift, he was directed to a place to sit down and have some tea.
Song Jin was somewhat curious about how Hong Xing was dressed today, but she was wearing men's clothes and it was inconvenient for her to enter the room, so he asked Chunyun to go in and take a look so that they could talk.
Chunyun agreed and went.
Song Jin drank tea and chatted with A Rong.
Arong is going to get married in a few days, and he is quite curious about the ceremony here. After all, he is about to experience it, so he is watching it with great interest.
The wedding procession would not arrive until the evening, and Song Jin waited patiently. In the end, before he saw the groom, Chunyun came out of the house with puffed cheeks.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy to see the bride?"
Chunyun muttered, "Sister Hongxing is unhappy."
"Why are you unhappy?"
Chunyun raised her head, rolled her big black eyes, and thought hard. She couldn't tell what she was unhappy about, so she just said, "I saw her crying."
"Crying?" Song Jin and A Rong were both surprised: "Did you ask why?"
"I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me."
Song Jin looked at Hong Xing's parents, who were welcoming guests with happy expressions on their faces, and couldn't help but frown.
"Did Hong Xing find someone she likes and asked her parents to promise her to someone else?"
A Rong guessed this way. After all, if Du Juan failed to marry him, she would probably cry that day.
"I've never heard of it before."
Song Jin was quite close to Hong Xing in Shidinglou before. They slept on the same bed at night. He had never heard that she had anyone she liked. Why was she crying today?
Song Jin was puzzled, but it was too difficult for him to go in and ask, so he could only sit and wait. While waiting, he saw the wedding procession arrive.
From afar, Song Jin heard bursts of cannon fire and loud gongs and drums on the road outside. When she stood up and stretched her neck to look out over the fence, she saw a long wedding procession on the village road.
A drum and music troupe was beating in front, and a man was following closely behind. Song Jin saw that he was wearing a blue satin robe with wide sleeves, a red ribbon hanging on his shoulders, and a pair of gold flowers on his dark scarf. He was riding a horse, and his upper body was swaying as if he was about to fall off at any time.
At first glance, it looks like a soft noodle, thin and clumpy, as if it is about to rot.
Song Jin's eyes fell on the man's face. The more she looked, the more she felt something was wrong. She pulled A Rong beside her.
"Ah Rong, is there something wrong with this groom?"
Ah Rong also frowned: "Why does this person look so sick?"
Someone nearby who was just joining in the fun heard this and took over the conversation, saying, "If he wasn't sick, how could Old Man Liu get such a big advantage?"
"What's cheap?"
"It was for the wedding. The betrothal money was carried into the house in several boxes. He was so happy that his back teeth were exposed."
Suddenly, a loud thunder exploded above Song Jin's head. The crackling sound of firecrackers and the noisy sound of drums and flutes disappeared in an instant. Song Jin could only hear a buzzing sound in his ears.
Wedding...
An ancient word, like a poisonous bee, suddenly pounced into Song Jin's world, shattering her fantasy and making her shiver and feel sharp pain all over her body.
She stayed there, having forgotten that she was here to join in the fun.
Wearing a bright red wedding dress and a golden gauze veil, Hong Xing was led by the matchmaker into a warm sedan chair with red silk curtains.
Song Jin suddenly shouted, as if waking up from a dream: "Wait——"
However, no one paid any attention to her. She tried to run but was stopped by someone.
"Boss, we don't want to cause trouble today." A Rong held her back.
"It's their wedding, it's decided by their parents, and the auspicious time has come. Why should they wait?" The people around her also tried to stop her.
"Yes, getting married is a big deal. Both parties have already made an appointment and chosen a date. If you make a fuss, we will be the ones who suffer."
"But are we going to let Hong Xing marry such a sickly person?"
Ah Rong was speechless. Someone beside him said, "What can we do? The parents made the decision. How can you, an outsider, want to be the judge? Not to mention you, even if the county magistrate came, the marriage has been decided and no one can change it."
"This is like sending a living person into a dead person's grave."
"This tomb was dug by Hong Xing's parents themselves. What can you, an outsider, do?"
Several people around who knew the situation were talking in low voices.
"A good girl married a sickly man."
"If her husband dies in the future, it would be fine for her to remarry, but I'm afraid that she will have to wait for more than ten years without dying. By then, she will be grown up and still in her husband's family. I don't know how she will survive."
“What a sin.”
"What can we do? Our parents made the decision. What's the point of our sympathy?"
......
Song Jin's vision blurred. This was the first time she felt powerless here.
Vaguely, she seemed to see the curtain of the red sedan shake, and then a face flashed out from behind the curtain.
Hong Xing lifted her veil and saw Song Jin through the window of the sedan chair, and Song Jin also saw her.
Her eyes were red, and she had not yet left her parents' home. The makeup on her face already showed mottled marks, like a girl in her prime appearing in an old photo, looking both young and old.
Hong Xing's face flashed behind the curtain. The matchmaker following the sedan chair pulled down the curtain. The sedan chair was slowly lifted up, carrying a young girl in her prime into the bridal chamber of a sick man.
Song Jin's body froze. The joy that she had originally brought to the ceremony disappeared from her. The deathly aura of the sickly man seemed to have transferred to her, and she was completely isolated from the world. She felt as if her soul was wandering in space, and she had an absurd feeling of not knowing where she was.
"Go back, let's go find Master Ji."
This was the first time Song Jin was so anxious to see Ji Shubai that she ran out without saying a word, followed by A Rong and Chun Yun.
"Boss, have you forgotten that Lord Ji is not in the county this month? Besides, it's almost night, and no one in the government office will care about us."
A deeper feeling of powerlessness came over him, and Song Jin's legs went weak, almost tripping himself.
"What should we do then?"
The noise of the wedding procession was on one side, Song Jin's weak crying was on this side, and there was another person crying whose voice was not heard.
Hong Xing was finally carried into the wedding room today.
Song Jin was exhausted, so A Rong hired a bullock cart to go into the city, and the three of them returned safely.
Seeing Song Jin looking sick, the people in the store were surprised: "What's wrong? Didn't he go to Hong Xing's house to watch the ceremony? Why isn't he happy?"
A Rong signaled with his eyes not to ask any more questions, and Chunyun helped the girl into the inner room, fetched some water for her to wash and sleep, and told her not to mention storytelling tonight.
But Song Jin couldn't sleep. She stared at the ceiling of the bed with her eyes wide open. She looked even scarier than the groom.
She has been in this world for a long time, and ever since she was freed from her citizenship, she felt that her life was getting more and more promising. However, watching the ceremony today made her feel cold and helpless.
Outside, insects were chirping and the person next to him was breathing evenly. Song Jin turned his head to look at Chunyun who was sleeping beside him, and couldn't help but recall Lao Lu's words in his mind.
"When she grows up and is able to get married, her parents will collect the betrothal money and take her away to marry you."
At that time, will she be able to resist?
Song Jin thought, she had no choice, Chunyun had no choice either, she had to think of a way, she couldn't let Chunyun take this risk, she had to avoid it in advance.
She stood up and reached out to push Chunyun: "Chunyun, Chunyun, wake up."
Chunyun was sleeping soundly when she was woken up by Song Jin. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, asking dazedly, "Sister, what's wrong?"
"Chunyun, can I buy you?"
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