Chapter 121 The Fairy's Country Life (Part 2) Whose milk does she drink, whose advice does she take...?
When Mu Chuan inquired about the matter, he comforted him, "Actually, it's not a pure gold hoe. Even your gold hairpin has a copper core inside. Pure gold is so soft, how could you use it to hoe the ground?"
Lin Daiyu felt that it wasn't much better.
"And those gems on your hands, let alone His Majesty, even if I were to use them to hoe the ground, I would get blisters after ten or so strokes. They're just for show; I reckon His Majesty won't use them more than three times each time."
"You'd better stop comforting me," Lin Daiyu sighed. "Let's talk about something else."
After leaving the ancestral hall, the two did not get into the carriage, but walked home along the main road.
Although it's village land, this main road has been compacted several times, so there's no mud even when it rains, let alone when it's sunny. In short, it's not only clean but also very spacious.
Lin Daiyu said, "The third day of the eighth lunar month is my maternal grandmother's birthday. I almost forgot."
His tone was slightly unnatural, and considering the content, Mu Chuan frowned: "The third day of the eighth lunar month? We can't go back. I was thinking of taking you up the mountain to see it, have you ever been up a mountain before?"
She's never been up the mountain; she rarely even leaves her house.
Although Mu Chuan paused for a moment, that was enough time to think, so his speech was a little shorter.
"Send some things back. As the saying goes, a married woman obeys her husband, so you have to listen to me."
Lin Daiyu smiled immediately upon hearing the words "marriage is for the husband to follow,"
It wasn't just that she was laughing at her third brother for never telling her what to do and for always going along with her wishes; it was also a joke about her maternal grandmother: "My maternal grandmother said the same thing."
Mu Chuan suddenly realized: "What your maternal grandmother likes is definitely not good. There's no such thing as 'yes' or 'no,' we're the same. Anyway, don't worry about it. She's an elderly person, so just send her some nourishing foods. I'll have someone deliver them."
"Third Brother—" Lin Daiyu was about to say something tenderly when she suddenly felt something was wrong behind her. She turned around and saw that there were girls and boys of all ages behind her, and several women with protruding bellies who were obviously pregnant were walking in front of her, stepping right in their footprints.
Lin Daiyu had never seen such a scene before, and instinctively reached out to grab Mu Chuan's hand: "Third Brother!"
"It's nothing." Mu Chuan firmly took Lin Daiyu's smooth, delicate hand and smiled, "Yesterday I went to the private school with the village chief, and the teacher was teaching the legend of Nuwa and Fuxi. How did Nuwa and Fuxi come to be?"
Lin Daiyu thought for a moment and asked in confusion, "Did Huaxu step on Thor's footprint?"
When the people following behind realized they had been disturbed, the leader quickly explained, "We just want to have a child as strong as the adults, or as beautiful as the lady."
He looked rather embarrassed.
Mu Chuan then lowered his head and whispered to Lin Daiyu, "Have you noticed that there are more people following behind you than behind me? They all like you very much."
Reminded by Mu Chuan, Lin Daiyu immediately felt embarrassed. Since arriving at the Rongguo Mansion at the age of six, she had rarely received such undisguised affection.
Moreover, putting everything else aside, they also know how to respect the elderly and care for the young, so they let the pregnant woman walk in front and had someone protecting her.
Lin Daiyu chuckled, revealing two small dimples on her face: "You can follow if you want, just don't crowd."
Her voice tightened slightly, and Mu Chuan liked that tone of hers. He then took Lin Daiyu's hand and asked, "Shall we slowly go back?"
Lin Daiyu's lips were always upturned, showing a joyful and heartfelt happiness.
The two strolled leisurely back to their mansion at the foot of the mountain. As Lin Daiyu entered, she saw people leading lambs, calves, and piglets inside.
Especially that sheep, with its snow-white wool, reminded her of the two white yaks, one big and one small, that she kept at home.
When her third brother gave it to her, he said that the ox was gentle and could be ridden. She's already ridden a horse... well, you could say she's ridden one, right? It's time to try riding an ox.
However, there's no time to think too much about it now. You have to bathe before the ceremony and afterward, since the ancestral hall was filled with smoke all morning, and even osmanthus oil couldn't mask the smell.
By the time Lin Daiyu finished washing up and drying her hair, it was already late afternoon, and the sky was getting a bit gray.
It was quite strange that her third brother didn't come to disturb her while she was washing up. Lin Daiyu followed the trail and found Mu Chuan outside the kitchen.
A bonfire had been lit and a grill set up in the large open space in front of the kitchen, and Mu Chuan was standing at the front grilling meat. He held a wire mesh grill in each hand, and the food inside was sizzling.
"You're here?" Mu Chuan turned to look at her. "Sit down first. Today I'll let you try my cooking. Back when I was roasting meat in the camp, they would even snatch the charcoal dripping with oil and lick it."
It smelled quite nice. Lin Daiyu glanced around at the seats. The middle seat was definitely reserved for her parents-in-law, so she chose the second best spot with a good view of her third brother.
Before long, family members came over in twos and threes, each finding a place to sit down. Perhaps because the food smelled so good, they barely exchanged a few words and were all waiting to eat.
The key to barbecue is to use high heat to seal in the sauce, low heat to grill slowly, and you have to be generous with the seasonings.
Nowadays, things like cumin, pepper, and chili powder, while no longer as expensive as gold when they were first introduced, haven't dropped to the point where people can eat them without feeling guilty.
Mu Chuan was different. He not only used a large fire to roast the meat until it was slightly charred, but he also used a lot of seasoning, as if he wanted to put more seasoning into the fire than into the meat.
Especially with Lin Daiyu watching, the barbecue turned into a performance competition.
Spices of seasoning were scattered out, a few sparks appeared in the flames, and as the oil dripped down, it not only made a sizzling sound but also released a tantalizing aroma.
As Huang Guihua looked at it, she laughed and scolded, "You've really gotten married!"
Although Lin Daiyu heard it, these words didn't really resonate with her.
It was getting dark, and her third brother stood behind the fire, looking at people through the firelight. His warm and beautiful orange-yellow color made people feel at ease.
From Mu Chuan's perspective, Lin Daiyu is seen through the fire. His beautiful wife, with this filter, is like a fairy being pulled down to the mortal world, or rather, pulled down by him.
It makes you feel both proud and strangely exhilarated.
"This side is spicy, and this side is not spicy." Mu Chuan placed the spicy plate on his parents' table, and then held up the non-spicy plate for Lin Daiyu.
"First, the mutton. It's quite cold showering here, so some mutton will warm you up. I've always known you can't handle spicy food very well back home, so I didn't—"
Lin Daiyu laughed and nudged him, saying, "And there's your sister and your niece too."
Mu Chuan sighed and then added, "There will also be honey-glazed roasted pork neck later."
"Okay." Lin Daiyu added another piece of roasted mutton and fed it directly to Mu Chuan. "You should try some too."
The first batch was cumin-roasted lamb, the second batch was black pepper-roasted beef, and finally there was honey-roasted pork neck. Lin Daiyu ate to her heart's content.
But when she returned to her room at night, she always felt that there was still a cumin lamb smell in the room.
"Third Brother," Lin Daiyu said, somewhat displeased, "go wash up quickly. You smell like that; I might bite you if I get hungry in the middle of the night."
“Even when you weren’t hungry, you still bit me quite a few times in the middle of the night,” Mu Chuan said as he went to the side room.
Lin Daiyu chuckled twice, then added from behind, "Close the windows and doors first, let the steam warm you up before taking off your clothes, so you don't catch a cold."
Mu Chuan went to wash up. Lin Daiyu thought about it. She was now very used to Mu Chuan being good to her, and she was also very used to being good to Mu Chuan in return.
She took off her clothes and got into bed, wrapping herself tightly in the blanket: "I'll warm up the bed for you too."
Mu Chuan returned quickly. To be honest, the main problem was that his clothes smelled bad; his body was secondary.
He was wrapped in a long robe, and his body was still damp. His originally tanned, firm skin had taken on a pinkish tinge from being soaked in hot water.
Third Brother looks very young.
Lin Daiyu smiled, revealing two small dimples, and patted the person next to her: "Third Brother, come quickly? Are you cold?"
It has to be cold!
Mu Chuan managed to shiver a few times, then pulled off his robe and jumped onto the bed: "Madam, it's cold."
Lin Daiyu laughed as she went up and hugged the man. But the third brother in her arms was so hot he was practically steaming; he wasn't cool at all.
Unfortunately, since she had thrown herself into his arms, Mu Chuan had no chance to let her break free. He let go and held Lin Daiyu in his arms, pressing his warm hands against her body: "Why are you colder than me? Let me warm you up."
Lin Daiyu laughed and dodged, saying, "Third Brother is being a liar. I have things to do tomorrow."
"What could possibly happen? It's our own home; we could stay in bed for three days straight without any problem."
"Mom said she's taking me out for a stroll tomorrow, and told me to wear red and dress up nicely. I wonder if we're going to visit some elder?"
Mu Chuan laughed, "I've been granted a title, and the entire Lin Family Village has become our family's tenants. Where are the elders now? I'm the oldest, so you are too. Mother is going to take you out to show off. Wear red, and in a grand way—tsk tsk."
Mu Chuan sighed twice: "We've never seen anyone as good-looking as you in Linjia Village. It's a pity my mother beat me to it. I should have taken you out to show you off. Remember to bring some silver ingots and give one to any children you meet."
Lin Daiyu was so full of joy that she practically lay on Mu Chuan's chest, her hands on his shoulders, and said with a smile, "Wasn't today enough for you to show off? I walked all the way back from the ancestral hall with you, and my legs are sore."
"Your legs are sore?" Mu Chuan repeated, "Let me massage them for you."
"Don't pull back the covers, it's cold. Why did you crawl under the covers? It tickles—" Lin Daiyu reached out to scoop him up. Logically speaking, it should have been easy for her big third brother to scoop him up, but although she managed to scoop him up, she couldn't pull him up.
After struggling for a while, Lin Daiyu was covered in sweat. Mu Chuan's muffled voice came from under the covers: "You're sweating? Let me wipe you off. You'll catch a cold if you get damp."
It was completely dark when Lin Daiyu leaned against Mu Chuan's chest and asked lazily, "This afternoon I saw someone leading a sheep over. Was it to play with Yousheng?"
"Sheep?" Mu Chuan placed his hand on Lin Daiyu's back, stroking it absently. He could stroke it for a lifetime, and he could stroke it for a lifetime.
"The sheep... well, not exactly—it did keep you company, and you even praised its tender meat for not being gamey."
Cumin-roasted lamb?
Black pepper roasted beef?
Honey-glazed roasted pork neck?
"How novel!" Lin Daiyu chuckled. "Third Brother, stew it next time. I like mutton soup that's all white."
The next morning, Lin Daiyu dressed in red, with a red cloak covered in thick white fox fur, and wore a full set of gold jewelry, and went out with Huang Guihua.
Not to mention the people of Linjia Village, even Huang Guihua was stunned when she saw her.
What does it mean to be rich and prosperous? The Mu family is thriving and their son has a bright future. He should marry a wife like that.
Lin Daiyu stepped forward and took Huang Guihua's arm, smiling as she asked, "Mother, where shall we go first?"
Huang Guihua thought for a moment. She wanted to tour the whole village, but her daughter-in-law was too delicate, and she felt bad for her walking so much. They would take it slow.
“Let’s go to your second aunt’s house first.” Huang Guihua led Lin Daiyu toward the village entrance and said, “She is called your second aunt, but she is actually five degrees of kinship. However, our village doesn’t pay much attention to this. As long as we are from the same village, burn incense in the same ancestral hall, and our ancestors are together, then we are one family.”
As Mu Chuan had said yesterday, this was a show-off, and since they were going to the village entrance, Lin Daiyu understood without a doubt that it was the most frequented place. She smiled at everyone she met along the way, and by the time she reached the village entrance, she was already followed by quite a few people.
Wouldn't you call this showing off? Her mother-in-law should be satisfied, right?
Huang Guihua was more than satisfied; she was smiling so much her face ached. Now, if you asked her to keep a straight expression, she wouldn't know how.
Upon arriving at her second aunt's house, Lin Daiyu and Huang Guihua were welcomed into the main room.
After the person was called, Lin Daiyu suddenly remembered that this was also her second aunt, much better than her original second uncle's aunt who was not even within five degrees of kinship.
Huang Guihua and her second aunt sat down separately. Before they arrived, her second aunt was husking corn. Huang Guihua chatted for a bit and subconsciously picked up a corn to husk as well, but her hand started to hurt after only a couple of huskings.
"Sigh... I haven't worked for almost a year, and these calluses are almost gone."
"Isn't it good that the calluses have disappeared?" Auntie laughed. "My calluses aren't as thick as before, and I don't have to do so many chores anymore. Life is so much better than before!"
The two chatted, and although Lin Daiyu couldn't really get a word in edgewise, she listened with great interest to what they were talking about... something she'd never heard before.
In reality, it's not much different from the Rongguo Mansion; it's all the same stuff, just presented in a different way.
Just as my grandmother disapproved of the master of the house for drinking, playing with his concubines, and being idle, there are also people here who are lazy and drink all day long, and who go out and wander around when they have spare money.
Furthermore, the second maternal aunt of the Rongguo Mansion disliked Zhu Da's sister-in-law, and life as a widow here was not easy either.
until--
Second aunt: "You know my youngest son. Although he has a lot of strength, he's not very shrewd. I was afraid he'd be deceived, so I thought I'd send him to the army camp to gain some experience. We're all family here, how could we possibly harm him?"
Huang Guihua listened and nodded.
My second aunt sighed again: "But who knew that after we found him a wife, she insisted that he go to the capital to make a living, and that he work as a laborer at the docks on the Tonghui River. How can he do that kind of work for a lifetime? He won't even get old, he'll be full of illnesses by the time he's thirty. Sigh, I can't persuade him otherwise."
Huang Guihua slowly rubbed the corn one by one, and sighed, "When my youngest son got married, you advised me to listen to whoever's mother he was drinking. Why can't you see through this now?"
By the time Lin Daiyu realized what she had heard, it was too late.
This is too crude. What does it mean to say "whoever feeds you, you have to listen to them"?
I need to think of something else.
You have to listen to whoever feeds you.
Whose milk did you drink?
Breastfeeding.
Her face flushed red instantly, and she stood up abruptly.
Huang Guihua was engrossed in her conversation when she saw this and was startled: "What's wrong?"
"Nursing—no, Lin Daiyu couldn't stay any longer. She pretended to be calm and said, 'I just remembered that I have something to say to Third Brother.'"
Huang Guihua chuckled twice, waved her hand, and said, "Go on, that's how it is when you're newly married, you can't be separated from her for even a day."
Lin Daiyu blushed and practically flew home.
Mu Chuan was in the study, looking at the battle report of Pingnan Town on the map. When he saw Lin Daiyu come in, he folded his things and asked, "What's wrong? Why is your face so red?"
Her third brother always had some herbal tea on hand. Lin Daiyu drank two cups before she felt a little better, but she couldn't think about that sentence. If she did, she couldn't control her wild thoughts.
"Mother said..." Lin Daiyu hesitated several times, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. Finally, she made up her mind, closed her eyes, and said, "Mother said to listen to whoever's milk you drink."
"This isn't right, is it?"
Hearing her third brother's reaction, Lin Daiyu finally felt a little better. She opened her eyes and saw her third brother looking at her with a mocking expression.
"You didn't listen to me, so you've been eating for nothing."
Aaaaaaahh ...
"Third Brother!"
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