Lin Zihan has been feeling a bit lonely lately.
Their family is large, with many children, and it's always a lively and bustling place.
Especially now, there are a few ghosts living in the house. As soon as you enter the house, you can see them. It's like having a few more relatives.
However, even with so many people and ghosts around, Lin Zihan still felt like he was watching their festivities alone.
He sat alone in the corner of the corridor, holding a piece of sweet cake that his sister had bought yesterday, stuffing small pieces into his mouth.
Watching the bird hop down from the eaves, tilt its head and stare at the sugar cake in his hand, it took two steps forward, and when Lin Zihan looked over, it spread its wings and flew away.
But these greedy birds soon hopped back to his feet, and one even dared to fly up and peck at the sugar cake in his hand.
This is a sweet cake that his sister bought for him!
Lin Zihan quickly shooed the birds away, stuffed the sugar cake into his mouth, and then sighed heavily.
Everyone in the family had something to do; his two older brothers and younger brother each had their own mentors to teach them skills, but he had nothing.
Lin Zihan pondered for a long time and thought that if he could also ask his sister for a ghost master, wouldn't he be just like his brothers?
Lin Zihan immediately stopped paying attention to the birds, happily got up, dusted himself off, and ran to the street to find Lin Wanyue.
Lin Wanyue was telling fortunes for the customers who were queuing up.
Lin Zihan sat down next to her and watched his little sister talk non-stop about the fates of those people, finding it quite fascinating.
"Little sister." After all the guests had left, Lin Zihan asked Lin Wanyue, "Could you find me a ghost master too? I'm so bored at home every day! My eldest brother, second brother, and fourth brother don't play with me. I want a master too, so I'll have someone to play with, and then I won't bother with them anymore!"
"Oh?" Lin Wanyue bought two coins' worth of bayberries and, while eating with Lin Zihan, asked, "So, what kind of duck do you want to learn?"
Lin Zihan scratched his head: "This... I don't know either."
"Then why don't you learn at home first? Anyway, Master Cui will teach you every day, so you can't stop even if you don't want to learn."
"Grandpa... he'll definitely be willing to teach you, you're his grandson after all. As for Master Hu, if he's unwilling, I'll go and talk to him on his behalf!" Lin Wanyue advised Lin Zihan.
"..." Lin Zihan's brows furrowed tightly: "So, I can only learn from those three?"
Lin Wanyue thought for a moment. The only children left in the family were Laifu and Xiaofendie. Laifu was good at nothing but spreading bad luck, and Xiaofendie, being a woman and coming from a brothel, had no other special skills. She was not as good as Master Cui and Master Hu.
"Yes!" She could only tell this sad news to her third brother. "It seems that's true for now. After all, finding one's master also depends on fate."
Lin Zihan's head drooped again: "But I don't like any of these three."
He can't compare to his elder brother in studying to become a scholar. With his elder brother's outstanding achievements as a precedent, he'd better not try to scam someone.
As for martial arts training... seeing his second brother's tanned skin from training, Lin Zihan shook his head faster than a rattle drum.
So, how about studying medicine?
Lin Zihan hesitated for a moment, then looked in the direction of the pharmacy and saw that the fourth brother, Lin Ziqiu, had also been tanned to the point of looking like a little black coal ball.
Goodbye, he still wants to learn something else!
He wasn't interested in any of that; he'd rather wait.
Xuefu was embroidering under the eaves when she looked up and realized that her third son was missing. However, she was soon told by a ghost that Lin Zihan had gone to the shop, so she was no longer worried.
She still makes clothes at a leisurely pace. With so many people in her family, she has no free time every day just making clothes and shoes.
She no longer has to take care of several children, which makes things much easier for her than before.
Xuefu changed to a pale yellow silk thread and embroidered a small flower on Lin Wanyue's skirt. She then looked up at the second brother who was practicing martial arts under the sun.
Lin Zheyun has grown much taller and stronger these days, and he looks even taller than his older brother Lin Zhongyuan, except that his face is tanned dark.
He's not only grown taller now, but he also eats a lot.
As the old saying goes, a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home.
However, not many children can eat from a basin every day like Lin Zheyun. Even when all the other children are together, they can't compare to the amount that the second child eats alone.
Fortunately, we don't have any debts at home, and the shop's profits are booming again, especially after we started selling fruit salad. We can bring home nearly two taels of silver every day.
Even though prices in the city have risen a bit, this much money is still enough to support a family of eight.
Xuefu embroidered the small flowers on the waistband into the shape of winter plum blossoms, and added some flower branches on top, making it look even more vivid and interesting.
Because her third brother was chatting with Lin Wanyue at the shop entrance, she stopped putting up her fortune-telling sign. The two little heads huddled together, chattering away.
"Sigh, if only our family could earn more money," Lin Wanyue said.
Lin Zihan asked, "Our family isn't short of money right now, so why do we need so much silver?"
“Father wants to buy a horse, and I want to earn more money so that he can buy it.” Lin Wanyue still remembered that Lin Weiming wanted to buy a horse.
My mother and grandmother both disagreed because we didn't have enough money at home.
They complained about the high price of the horses and worried that they would be difficult to raise after buying them.
Raising horses is not like raising cattle, where you can just let them graze in the wild. Horses need fodder and salted beans.
It should be noted that for many poor families, salted beans were the only side dish they had.
All of these cost money.
"That's right!" Lin Zihan nodded in agreement. "So what should we do?"
He knew his sister would definitely have a way!
His younger sister is the most resourceful person in the family. Although she is a tiny little girl shorter than him, he doesn't know how she comes up with so many good ideas in her little head.
Lin Wanyue pinched her chin, pondering, "Should I get some more fresh ingredients for the shop?"
However, because of her ability to see ghosts in her past life, she didn't really like going out, and the snacks she had eaten were quite limited.
Are you suggesting we sell roasted and fried chicken?
No, the county town is too poor; too few people can afford it.
That fried rice cake?
Rice cakes are quite cheap...
As she was pondering this, she noticed a sudden commotion among the people queuing at the shop.
"Hey, Brother Zhang, what brings you here? What wind blew you here? Come, come, come to me." A customer in line made way for him with a fawning smile.
"???" The other people in line quickly looked over, wondering who was so shameless!
But upon seeing the uniforms worn by the patrolling constables and yamen runners, everyone's expression immediately changed. Some dared not approach and simply ate the steamed buns next to them, while others, reluctant to part with their usual roasted sweet potato noodles, gave up their seats.
The constable, known as Brother Zhang, showed no courtesy whatsoever and, with his brothers, prepared to walk directly to the front.
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