Lu Tong stole a glance at Chen Xiao Mi and lowered her head, 'what the villagers said is true, this Chen Xiao Mi is indeed a ferocious Bio!'
Lu Tong then cast a glimpse at Lu Lin, she went furious on seeing how meek Lu Lin was, 'look at you, acting like a sheep in front of this Bio!'
Chen Xiao Mi flashed the stick in hand at Lu Tong, "Get out of my house, or I will make you get out of my house."
Color flared in Lu Tong's cheeks, this was the first time that anyone talked to her like this. The villagers had been treating her politely for her brother Lu Cheng Yu was one of the few literate persons in the village.
"Cousin Lin, what do you say about this?" Lu Tong pulled a long face and asked Lu Lin.
A faint sneer crossed Lu Lin's face. This was the first time that Lu Tong called him 'Cousin Lin', she usually ordered the host about by gesture. Their entire family was just so used to take the host as a slave.
"I'm afraid I can't be much of a help this time, I need to dig for wild vegetables otherwise we will starve tonight… …"
Chen Xiao Mi chimed in, he turned up his volume and said, "I will give you a good beating if you dare help others secretly while living on me!"
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi exchanged a look subtly, he nodded and said, "I won't."
Chen Xiao Mi was glad that Lu Lin played along, he was worried that this Lu Lin was blinded by filial piety and would deny his bloodsucking family nothing.
Lu Tong was filled with indignation on hearing how arrogant Chen Xiao Mi was, and she was furious about Lu Lin's attitude towards Chen Xiao Mi.
Granted, Lu Lin married into Chen Xiao Mi's family, but Chen Xiao Mi was a Bio, a Bio should listen to his partner, not the other way around.
With that Lu Tong left Chen Xiao Mi's house.
Lu Lin smiled at Chen Xiao Mi, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Thanks to you, I don't have to be their slave anymore." Lu Lin blinked. He was indeed relieved that he didn't have to toil for those leeches, and he preferred going into the mountains to toiling in the field.
Chen Xiao Mi blushed a little, "Don't mention it, it's just no need to let them slave you away all the time. And I know one thing for sure, they won't pay you a penny."
Lu Lin smiled, "That's true."
"How old is this Lu Tong?" Chen Xiao Mi asked.
"She is sixteen, not that young anymore." Replied Lu Lin, sixteen was indeed not that young in that time and space.
Lu Tong had been counting on marrying rich after her brother Lu Cheng Yu passed the imperial examination at the county level, but she didn't have much time left, she would have to pay the three-tael-tax in two years on turning eighteen.
Chapter End Notes
A Desperate Attempt from the Grandma
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Lu Tong felt so grieved by Chen Xiao Mi's harsh remark, she came back home crying out loud.
"Mom, how come you have married Lu Lin into such an uncouth family, that Chen Xiao Mi is a barbarian!"
Lu Tong's mother, Tang, was so indignant after hearing that. She would make a scene if it were Lu Lin who dared confront Lu Tong, but she could only hold back her anger when hear daughter said it was Chen Xiao Mi who had made impertinent remarks.
That Chen Xiao Mi was a notorious boor in Big Stone Village, and he would seek revenge for the smallest grievance, even the hooligans in the village chose to stay at a respectful distance from him.
Tang had to suppress the indignation despite herself.
'Hmm, it looks like we cannot count on Lu Lin any more.'
Tang wasn't doing so great herself, she was used to slacking off and ordering Lu Lin's mother around when that poor woman was alive. And naturally she tended to order Lu Lin around after his other had passed away.
But Tang had to take up the farm work and house chores after Lu Lin was married.
Tang's husband almost beat her up due to her bad cooking if not for her son.
Lu Lin's grandfather, however, had seen this coming. He didn't look particularly bothered by that.
Lu Lin's grandmother, Wang, didn't take it well because she was used to boss the poor boy around, she burst into loud sobs and accused Lu Lin of being unfilial. Lu Lin's grandfather found that annoying and urged her to stop.
Wang feared her husband, but she really missed the days when Lu Lin was at her mercy, so she decided to make a scene in public, she wailed miserably in the field.
"My poor grandson is bullied by Chen Xiao Mi, that Chen Xiao Mi doesn't even allow my grandson to come back home and help with the Autumn Harvest… …"
But no one dared to ask Wang for more details since Chen Xiao Mi was involved. Plus it was known to all that the Lus had sold Lu Lin to Chen Xiao Mi by 10 taels of silver!
A lot of villagers were intrigued by the money Chen Xiao Mi offered back then, but no one wanted to betroth Chen Xiao Mi. To their surprise, the Lus, a wealthy family in the village, was willing to marry Lu Lin into Chen Xiao Mi's family. So a lot of villagers had been talking about the Lus behind their back, 'that family is so greedy', 'they are willing to do anything for money', 'the length they will go just for money'… …
Some married women would go back to their maiden family to help out, but no one could say anything if they couldn't make it.
The Lus had married Lu Lin into Chen Xiao Mi's family, so technically, it was fair and reasonable that Chen Xiao Mi didn't allow Lu Lin to go back.
No one showed any sympathy for Wang, the village head had even scolded her.
Lu Lin was digging Chinese yam when a villager called his name gently.
"Lin."
The villager stared at Lu Lin with his eyes full of sympathy, and Lu Lin found that rather odd.
The villager was Zhang Jin, the village head's son. Lu Lin searched the host's memory, this Zhang Jin was a nice young man who was happy to render help to others.
Lu Lin shook his head resignedly, 'No wonder he is looking at me like this, I must be a tragedy in people's eyes.'
"Lin, are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Lu Lin smiled.
Zhang Jin had interpreted that smile as a forced smile.
The villagers had heard Lu Lin had been venturing into the mountains with Chen Xiao Mi, and they had something to say.
"Poor Lu Lin, he needs to set aside his worries and have a good rest but look at what that Chen Xiao Mi has done to him! He forced Lu Lin to venture into the mountains, tut tut tut, how dangerous is that! Hopefully he won't be attacked by those animala!"
"Chen Xiao Mi asks you to eat these muddy sticks?" Zhang Jin's voice dripped sympathy.
Zhang Jin had eaten these sticks in lean years before, he deemed them rather unpalatable.
Lu Lin noticed Zhang Jin's expression, but he didn't explain anything.
"These sticks are very filling, they are really nice."
Zhang Jin was sure that Lu Lin was abused by Chen Xiao Mi, he said, "You can always come to me for help, you know."
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, please excuse me now, I need to collet some firewood."
Zhang Jin nodded.
Lu Lin had heard the farce Wang had made in the field on the way back home, but he wasn't bothered by that at all.
People in that time and space valued reputation more than anything, but Lu Lin wasn't like that, reputation was the least of his concern, he just wanted to improve the quality of life through hard work.
Maybe the host Lu Lin would be sad that his entire family wanted to take advantage of him, but this Lu Lin wasn't bothered by them for he only saw them as strangers.
Chapter End Notes
Glass Marbles
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
This day was Chen Xiao Mi's lucky day, he had captured a boar after days of coming home empty-handed.
A lot of villagers had seen it, but no one dared approach Chen Xiao Mi or have a conversation with him due to his ill repute. They all looked at him with envy.
Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai went into raptures on seeing that.
Chen Xiao Mi was in such a great mood as well, he butchered the boar into parts, he planned to keep the bones to himself and sell the other parts for a good price.
Lu Lin cooked a stir-fry tofu with garlics, bone broth porridge for dinner.
Chinese yam porridge was yummy, and the Chen Brothers seemed to really enjoy it, but Lu Lin was constantly looking for a diverse diet.
Lu Lin was so happy when Chen Xiao Mi butchered the boar. The bones were rich in calcium and collagen, but people in that time and space didn't realize that and they didn't make good use of the bones.
Lu Lin stewed the broth for over two hours until the ingredients all went golden.
Pork tripe made great ingredient as well, it was so pricy in modern society, but it was a shame that Chen Xiao Mi didn't know how to cook pork tripe, he used to throw the pork tripe out like garbage.
Chen Xiao Mi enjoyed the broth porridge with obvious relish, he was so glad that he decided to let Lu Lin take over cooking, he couldn't believe those bones could make such great ingredients. He couldn't help but beat himself up for throwing a lot of great ingredients out.
Lu Lin was so glad to see the way the Chen Brothers enjoyed dinner.
Chen Xiao Mi had a question though, he wondered how Lu Lin had cut the bones into small parts. 'He must have used a very sharp knife.'
Chen Xiao Mi was into hunting, he was interested in knives, but he didn't ask Lu Lin in the end.
Big Brother, are you going to town?" Chen Xiao Cai asked.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "I need to sell the pork, so we can have money to buy stuff."
Chen Xiao Mi planned to go to town days ago, but he kept rescheduling it because the rice, eggs, salt and all the other ingredients kept regenerating… …
Lu Lin was glad to hear that.
"Are you going to town on ox-cart?" Lu Lin searched the host's memory and found out that the villagers usually borrowed the village head's oxcart when they went to town.
Chen Xiao Mi's face darkened, he looked displeased and said, "I'm going on foot."
It suddenly occurred to Lu Lin that Chen Xiao Mi would have a hard time borrowing the village head's ox-cart due to his reputation, plus it was usually a few people organized a time and borrowed the oxcart together.
And it made sense now why Chen Xiao Mi had butchered the boar, it was easier to carry the parts instead of the whole boar.
"Can I go with you?"
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Okay, but you need to walk too."
Lu Lin nodded, he was interested to see the downtown area.
Lu Lin hesitated a bit and asked, "I have something that I want to sell when we are in town, do you know anyone that might be interested?"
"What do you have?" Chen Xiao Mi was curious.
Lu Lin produced a glass marble from his pocket, Chen Xiao Mi'e eyes were glued to that sparkly little thing immediately.
There were quite a few kids toys in the convenience store, but a lot of them were too novelty for that time and space.
Lu Lin had found some glass marbles in his store a few days ago, he loved to play glass marbles when he was a kid, but they were replaced by fancy toys as time went by.
Lu Lin knew there were glasswork in that time and space, but they were exotic and were usually hoarded as a rare commodity.
A glass marble was a small spherical object that was colorful inside. People in modern times wouldn't lift their eyelids on seeing one, but it was no different than a treasure in this time and space.
"This is so beautiful, how did you get it?" asked Chen Xiao Mi.
Lu Lin had prepared a story in advance, he said he saw two merchants when he was a kid, and this marble fell out from their bag.
Chen Xiao Mi frowned on hearing this belonged to someone else, but soon he came to.
That happened years ago, surely no one would pursue this matter.
"I will look for a buyer for you, but it all depends on luck how much you can sell it for."
Lu Lin smiled, "That's okay, we can use the money to buy stuff for winter."
Chen Xiao Mi was satisfied to hear that answer, yeah, they needed a lot of stuff for winter.
Chapter End Notes
Savory Egg Pancakes
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Lu Lin went to the kitchen after he talked to Chen Xiao Mi.
Chen Xiao Cai walked to Chen Xiao Mi and asked curiously, "What were you guys talking about just now?"
Chen Xiao Mi hesitated for a while and decided to not tell his little brother about the glass marble, it belonged to someone else after all, he didn't want his little brother to get worried.
"We just talked about going to town tomorrow."
Chen Xiao Cai somehow didn't buy it, he was sure they were talking about something else.
'My brother has changed due to Lu Lin, he isn't close to me any more." Chen Xiao Cai sighed in his heart.
But he didn't dislike Lu Lin now, Lu Lin was nice and on top of that, he was such a great cook.
"That's all?" Chen Xiao Cai murmured.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yeah, nothing else."
This wasn't the first time that Chen Xiao Mi went to town, he made preparations in good order.
"Would you like me to carry some pork for you?" Lu Lin asked.
Chen Xiao Mi cast a glimpse at Lu Lin and frowned slightly, "I've got this, I don't think you can make it to town if you carry something this heavy."
'Oh my, I need to establish my authority in this family, he is a Bio, and he underestimates me, his husband, like this! But it takes about two hours to walk to town, hmm, no wonder the villagers don't walk to town so often and they would organize a group to borrow the ox-cart together.' Thought Lu Lin.
'How can I establish my authority though? I want to win his respect… …'
Lu Lin woke up early that morning to make breakfast, he snuck back into his store to get some flour.
Lu Lin was so generous when he made the batter, he put eggs, chopped green onions and salt into the batter. Lu Lin tasted the first one, and he was happy about the outcome. It was pan-fried which gave it crisp edges yet also a chewy texture.
He continued cooking until he counted the pancakes, there were seven in the plates already. And he had used seven eggs in total, Lu Lin snickered on seeing the eggshells, the villagers would be dumbfounded if they saw so many egg shells.
Seven eggs for a meal, so luxurious!
Lu Lin hid three pancakes on the counter in the store so he could sneak into the store and fill the stomach if he got hungry on the way to town.
Chen Xiao Mi gorged himself with the pancake, "It's so tasty, what's it made of?"
"It's an egg pancake." Replied Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Mi licked his fingers and smacked his lips, "Eggs again?"
Chen Xiao Mi was surprised by Lu Lin's lifestyle, he knew the Lus were quite well-off, but he was still blown away by how generous Lu Lin was when he cooked.
Lu Lin smiled, "I can always find more eggs in the mountains, don't worry."
Chen Xiao Mi pursed his lips and said with a funny tone, "You are so lucky, but I'm afraid there won't be many eggs left in the mountains."
That had reminded Lu Lin, 'Hmm, I have been very generous lately, I'm afraid soon we will finish the two baskets of eggs if I carry on like this.'
Lu Lin did some math in his mind, then he was relieved, there were still plenty of eggs left in the baskets.
Lu Lin had cooked some porridge as well, the two set out after a hearty breakfast.
The way to town was rough and stony. Lu Lin's feet started to hurt not long after, but Chen Xiao Mi was walking with much bounce even though he was carrying a heavy basket.
Walking on the rugged mountain track, Lu Lin got so nostalgic, he missed his small car so bad, it was a cheap second-handed car, but it served him well.
Lu Lin started panting after walking for an hour nonstop.
"Break time?" Chen Xiao Mi asked.
Lu Lin's lips twitched when he saw Chen Xiao Mi, Chen Xiao Mi's breaths were as regulated as they were walking upon a level road. He knew Chen Xiao Mi was just being considerate when he suggested a break.
Lu Lin forced a smile and said, "I think we should hurry on with our journey."
Chen Xiao Mi gave Lu Lin a meaningful look and said, "All right then."
Chen Xiao Mi led the way and Lu Lin tried so hard to keep up with him, but Lu Lin felt like Chen Xiao Mi started to slow down after he noticed he was struggling.
Lu Lin was touched, 'People all say this Chen Xiao Mi is ferocious and scary, but he has a warm heart.'
Lu Lin snuck to the store and got two pancakes, "Chen Xiao Mi, would you like a pancake?"
Chen Xiao Mi turned around in a huff, "All you can think it eating!"
With that being said, Chen Xiao Mi still took the pancake and ate it with relish.
Lu Lin snickered, he had noticed Chen Xiao Mi had been starving himself on purpose to support the family and feed his brothers.
"It's still warm, how come?"
"I kept them in my sleeves." Replied Lu Lin promptly.
Chen Xiao Mi cast a glimpse at Lu Lin after hearing that.
Lu Lin wasn't sure whether Chen Xiao Mi was convinced or not.
Chapter End Notes
KaChing! Seven Taels!
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Chen Xiao Cai woke up after Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi left, he went to the kitchen in great delight, he was even more delighted after he took a bite of the egg pancake.
He immediately knew it was Lu Lin who cooked breakfast because the pancakes Chen Xiao Mi cooked tended to be dry and tasteless.
'Lu Lin is such a great cook!' Chen Xiao Cai sighed with emotion.
Chen Xiao Mai stared at the pancake on Chen Xiao Cai's plate, drooling. He tugged at Chen Xiao Cai's sleeve to get his attention.
Chen Xiao Cai looked at his little brother and cut his pancake in half.
Chen Xiao Mai gobbled it down with a few seconds, then he continued to stare at Chen Xiao Cai's plate.
Chen Xiao Cai sighed, he cut the rest f his pancake in half and shared it with Chen Xiao Mai.
Chen Xiao Cai stroked Chen Xiao Mai's face, it wasn't until then did he realize his little brother's complexion looked so much healthier than before.
'We've been eating so well thanks to that Lu Lin. There must be eggs in the pancakes.' Thought Chen Xiao Cai.
As a matter of fact, Chen Xiao Cai had been worried about the way Lu Lin cooked, he was so afraid that one day Lu Lin would make them bankrupt. But the reality was the opposite, and Chen Xiao Cai couldn't find fault with Lu Lin.
To return to Lu Lin, how he wished he could have his car back! He had been gasping for breath and admiring Chen Xiao Mi's stamina the whole way.
And finally, they have arrived when Lu Lin thought he was about to collapse.
Chen Xiao Mi took Lu Lin to a wealthy family, but he knocked on the back door instead of the big front gate.
A young page opened the door for them, and he knew who Chen Xiao Mi was. The page then went inside to report to the steward.
This is Councilor Yang's house, his steward always buys steward from me." Chen Xiao Mi told Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Mi used to sell the game in a stall, but he needed to pay five cents to rent the stall and people haggled a lot.
But one day he met Councilor Yang's steward who was organizing a banquet for Councilor Yang, the steward bought everything Chen Xiao Mi had in the stall and he told Chen Xiao Mi that he could go directly to him whenever he hunted new game and he promised Chen Xiao Mi a reasonable price.
Chen Xiao Mi appreciated it so much, not only could he save the rental fee but also the time to haggle with people.
The steward beamed with smiles on seeing the fresh game, he didn't even haggle a single bit.
Chen Xiao Mi asked for a tael for the game, a hundred cents for two pheasants.
"Xiao Mi, you are such a great hunter, look at the pheasants, still so lively."
Chen Xiao Mi smiled humbly, "That's just luck, sir, can I ask you a favor? Can you take me to meet the Young Master? I have something that he must be interested in."
The steward was a bit surprised, he looked at Chen Xiao Mi with disbelief and said, "Is that so?"
The steward knew Chen Xiao Mi was just a poor villager, he didn't think Chen Xiao Mi would have anything valuable or interesting.
The steward's expression didn't escape Chen Xiao Mi, Chen Xiao Mi pulled the steward aside and showed him the glass marble.
The steward's eyes glowed on seeing the marble, "I'm reporting this to the Young Master right now!"
Poor villagers filled up their lives with farm work and house chores all day long, but the wealthy family in town took pleasure in collecting curios and winning beautiful women's hearts.
Glass marble was definitely something the rich kids would vie with each other for.
The Young Master laughed cheerfully on seeing the glass marbles. Chen Xiao Mi said he found them when he was hunting, the Young Master was even happier on hearing that, he thought they might be some auspicious treasure, he bought the two marbles with three taels of silver each, he told Chen Xiao Mi that he was interested in continuous buying if he could find more.
Chen Xiao Mi walked out of the backdoor with seven taels in hand, he felt like he was dreaming.
Lu Lin walked towards Chen Xiao Mi and asked with concern, "How did it go?"
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "It went great, seven taels in total! One tael from the game, six taels from the two glass marbles! The Young Master said he was interested in buying more!"
Chen Xiao Mi's cheeks were so rosy due to excitement.
'Gee! Rich kids yo! One glass marble is worth three boars! And you can buy a box of glass marbles with two Yuans!'
Chen Xiao Mi also sighed with emotion, 'The glass marbles are worthless in us villagers' eyes, they can't feed you, they can't keep you warm. But the Young Masters are willing to pay a good price for something exotic like that, it's a shame we can't walk to even bigger towns, probably we can sell one for ten taels there!"
Lu Lin admired his partner even more, 'He is so smart for someone who hasn't travelled much, so much more visionary than his fellow villagers.'
Lu Lin had more glass marbles in the store, but he didn't want to sell them all at the same time, it might arouse suspicion, plus a thing was only valued if it was rare.
Chen Xiao Mi took a look at Lu Lin and said, "We have money now, shall we go get some essentials?"
Chen Xiao Mi thought they could buy some fabric, Lu Lin didn't have anything to wear except the ragged old thing he was wearing, and his little brothers had been wearing his old clothes with patches.
Lu Lin had also been wearing Chen Xiao Mi's clothes, but the thing was Lu Lin was taller than Chen Xiao Mi, Lu Lin had a hard time squeezing himself into the smaller clothes.
"Sounds great!" replied Lu Lin with a smile.
Chapter End Notes
New Clothes
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Chen Xiao Mi was a bit more openhanded with seven taels of silver in his pocket, he took Lu Lin to the store and he spent on tale on a piece of cotton cloth. Then he spent fifty cents on some needles and threads.
There were ready-made garments in the store, but Chen Xiao Mi did some math in his mind, and he decided to do it in a cost-efficient way.
Then Chen Xiao Mi went to a pawn shop to look for bargains, he bought two old quilts with cotton wadding. Quilts with cotton wadding were very versatile, they could be used to defend against the cold at night, and the wadding could be used to pad winter jackets.
Lu Lin had been using two pieces of door planks as his bed since he married Chen Xiao Mi, Chen Xiao Mi thought it was time to treat Lu Lin better.
It was getting colder day by day, Chen Xiao Mi thought Lu Lin could really use some warm quits at night and he was willing to share all of his clothes with Lu Lin to keep him warm.
Lu Lin appreciated Chen Xiao Mi's kindness, he knew Chen Xiao Mi bought the quilts for him, but Lu Lin had a different plan for winter, he wanted to build a kang at home (T/N: Kang, a heatable brick bed.)
"Lu Lin, would you like to find yourself an aunt to make you some winter clothes?" Chen Xiao Mi asked.
Lu Lin nodded, "Sure."
'The villagers won't be busy after the Autumn Harvest, I'm sure those women are more than happy to do some sewing for some pennies, even a few pennies is a good income for them. My reputation is better than Chen Xiao Mi's, probably that's why he asked me to do it by myself.' Thought Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Mi had also bought some salt, rice, flour, and bowls. He had bought his little brothers sugarcoated haws on a stick.
The two went back home with a full basket.
"Big Brother, we've got so much stuff!" Chen Xiao Cai exclaimed on seeing them.
Chen Xiao Mi was a bit guilty, he indeed had spent a lot of money this day, almost two taels of silver! But he saw nothing wrong in this, all the stuff he bought were essentials except the snack he bought for the kids. He thought he could always make more money with full belly and warm clothes.
Chen Xiao Mi thought for a while about who was qualified for making clothes for Lu Lin, he recommended Granny Shen.
Granny Shen had suffered many mishaps in her life, her son died in the military three years ago, her daughter-in-law had eloped with a merchant one year ago. And since then Granny Shen had been sticking together with her grandson Shen Chi who was also a Bio.
Granny Shen had some fields under her name, but they were struggling due to the lack of labor.
Lu Lin took Chen Xiao Mi's advice, but he didn't send of the fabric to Granny Shen, he decided to send a quarter of the fabric to test water.
Lu Lin saw Shen Chi when he was about to leave Granny Shen's house.
Emotion welled up inside Lu Lin when he saw a young boy who was about Chen Xiao Cai's age carrying a big basket full of firewood, 'this little boy is already helping out in the family, he is so young!'
Lu Lin took his leave after he said hi to Shen Chi.
Shen Chi ran to the room and asked his grandma why Lu Lin would visit her.
Granny Shen beamed, "Chen Xiao Mi is a great hunter, but he doesn't do needlework, neither does Lu Lin. So Lu Lin was here to ask me to make some clothes for him and the Chen Brothers."
Shen Chi nodded.
Granny Shen continued, "He offered me a good price, thirty cents for adults' clothes and twenty cents for kids clothes."
"How come Lu Lin thinks of you for the job?"
"I have no idea either, men usually ask their aunties or sisters for help when it comes to needlework, but you know Lu Lin's bloodsucking family, who knows who is going to wear these new clothes if Lu Lin really sends the fabric back to his family."
Shen Chi nodded, then he said, "I feel like Lin Ge is a changed person now." (T/N: Ge, a way to address older man in a respectful way.)
"How so?"
"He looks he is in high spirit. He used to lower his head and avoid eye contact with people, and he never talked to anyone. But I just saw him now, he said hi to me and his complexion looked so healthy, he just looked so energetic."
Granny Shen smiled, "It looks like he is happy with his marriage. Others all speak ill of Chen Xiao Mi, but Chen Xiao Mi is a kind person. We both have seen the way Chen Xiao Mi takes care of his two little brothers."
Granny Shen's house was next to the old hunter's, she had seen Chen Xiao Mi sending food and clothes to the helpless old hunter, she knew Chen Xiao Mi was nothing like what the villagers had said. So she had accepted Lu Lin's offer with alacrity.
Shen Chi nodded, "I also think Xiao Mi Ge is a grateful person."
Granny Shen squinted her eyes and said, "Poor boy has a merciless grandmother."
Shen Chi touched the fabric and exclaimed, "Grandma, this is fine cloth!"
Granny Shen nodded, "Yes, it must be comfortable to wear."
Granny Shen exclaimed in her heart that Lu Lin was a lucky guy, not only his family had got ten taels of silver as betrothal present, but now Lu Lin got to wear new clothes.
Chapter End Notes
Building Kang
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Chen Xiao Cai's eyes sparkled on seeing the sugarcoated haws on a stick, "Big Brother, have you made a fortune or what?"
With that Chen Xiao Cai took a bit of the haw, he closed his eyes to savor the sweetness.
Sugarcoated haws on a stick were a bit luxurious for a family like them, Chen Xiao Mi would only buy it for his brothers on special occasions, the last time he bought it was when he hunted a tiger.
Chen Xiao Mi smiled and said, "You are not wrong."
Chen Xiao Cai's eyes widened as he heard that, "Has the steward paid you a higher price for the game?"
Chen Xiao Mi squinted his eyes and said, "Yeah, something like that."
Chen Xiao Mi had already done some math in his mind, he spent ten taels on marrying Lu Lin, but he had saved three taels on tax, now he had six tales in hand from Lu Lin's glass marbles, three plus six was nine, he had only lost one tael.
But on top of that, Lu Lin was such a great cook, he had been bustling around in the house to help out. So technically, Chen Xiao Mi thought he had not suffer any loss from this marriage.
Chen Xiao Mi beamed with smiles on thinking of that.
Chen Xiao Cai also showed a broad smile on seeing his brother's smile.
Chen Xiao Mi had rarely smiled after his father passed away, Chen Xiao Cai cherished this moment so much! Sometimes he just wanted to defend his brother in front of those gossipy villagers, he knew his brother wasn't ferocious or merciless, his brother had a soft heart!
Lu Lin was happy to see Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai enjoy the sugarcoated haws on a stick so much. 'Poor kids don't have any snacks, I still have some candied dates and sweets in my store, I need to figure out a way to feed them some snacks… …'
Chen Xiao Mi decided to take a break from hunting, he bought some tiles and bricks to renovate the roof in case it got leaky in winter.
"Xiao Mi, what's your opinion on building a kang?"
Chen Xiao Mi cast a glimpse at Lu Lin, "What is kang?"
Lu Lin thought for a while and explained, "Kang is a heatable brick bed, we even build a stove in it for cooking and retaining heat, it can help us defend against the cold at night, so we won't get sick."
Chen Xiao Mi was intrigued when he heard 'we won't get sick'. Chen Xiao Mai, his youngest brother, was very feeble and he tended to get sick easily in winter, Chen Xiao Mi didn't have the heart to see his little brother suffer every winter. Plus Chen Xiao Mi was sure this coming winter was going to be even colder than usual.
"How do you know about kang?" Chen Xiao Mi asked.
"I read it from my cousin Lu Cheng Yu's book." Lu Lin lied.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "that makes sense."
Knowledge was highly esteemed in that time and space for it wasn't accessible. Lu Cheng Yu was revered in Big Stone Village even though he hadn't passed the imperial examination at the county level. People who held banquets would feel honored if Lu Cheng Yu took their invitations.
"But the Lus don't have a kang, right?" Chen Xiao Mi asked with confusion.
Lu Lin smiled, "My cousin's mind is completely occupied by the imperial examination at the county level, he isn't interested in anything else."
"I don't know how to build a kang, but I'm willing to be your assistant."
Lu Lin was glad Chen Xiao Mi listened to him. Lu Lin had grown quite fond of Chen Xiao Mi over the past few days, he had been thinking about getting intimate with Chen Xiao Mi, but the bed Chen Xiao Mi slept on was so small and shabby that Lu Lin had to sleep on the door planks.
Lu Lin planned to build a big kang so he could sleep on it too, and he could hang a curtain to separate them from the kids when the time was right.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi acted without delay while the Lus were in a chaotic state.
Wang, Lu Lin's grandmother, was still busy slandering Lu Lin, calling him ungrateful and she kept saying Lu Lin would have bad karma soon.
Well, Lu Lin didn't have any bad karma so far, and he had been busy renovating the house and building kang with great fanfare.
The villagers had seen it when Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin came back from town with a basket full of stuff, they talked about that with envy, they wish they were great hunters as well. Chen Xiao Mi had made a fortune by hunting.
Tang, Lu Lin's First Aunt, started to regret for not charging more money from Chen Xiao Mi.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi spent two days on building the kang, it looked not as pretty as Lu Lin thought because neither of them had experience before, but the kang was so comfortable.
Chen Xiao Mi put some firewood into the stove, soon the whole ang became warm, Chen Xiao Mi found it too good to be true, he wished he knew about kang earlier.
Chen Xiao Mi started to look at Lu Lin differently.
'How come the greedy Lus were willing to marry such a smart guy into my family!' Chen Xiao Mi lay in kang, contemplating.
But on a second thought, Chen Xiao Mi realized Lu Lin wasn't this smart until he was saved from committing suicide! Chen Xiao Mi couldn't figure it out.
Chen Xiao Mi had six taels of silver in hand after he had purchased the essentials and built the kand.
'Sis taels is enough for essentials in winter, but it's a stretch if we want to live comfortably, I think I need to make more money in case someone gets sick, doctors can be expensive.' Thought Chen Xiao Mi.
Chapter End Notes
Pickled Vegetables
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Granny Shen had finished the first batches of clothes, Lu Lin was so glad that Chen Xiao Mi recommended Granny Shen for Granny Shen's work was impeccable, and she was really smart in saving fabric. She made two outfits for Lu Lin, and one outfit for Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai each, and she had only used the minimum amount of fabric.
Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai were elated on seeing the new clothes. Most of their clothes were adjusted by Chen Xiao Mi as hand-me-downs. And the truth was Chen Xiao Mi's sewing was a bit unpresentable.
Chen Xiao Cai cherished his new clothes so much that he became overcautious when he was doing house chore.
Lu Lin was excited about the new clothes as well, Chen Xiao Mi's old clothes were too small for him, finally he had clothes that was his size.
Granny Shen had won Lu Lin's trust completely.
Lu Lin sent more fabric and a quilt to Granny Shen, asking her to make some cotton-padded clothes and winter jackets using the wadding in the quilt.
Chen Xiao Mi had hunted a lot of rabbits and foxes, he would sell the furs when they were in good condition and save the damaged one thus he could sew them together for winter. But now he could afford real clothes and quilts, so those damaged furs and animal skins were no longer useful.
Lu Lin selected a few pieces pf the skin and asked Granny Shen to sew them in the collar and the sleeve area.
Granny Shen was surprised to see all the fabrics and the furs, the thought that Chen Xiao Mi could afford so much fine cloth! A lot of villagers couldn't afford to make one outfit throughout the year. But Lu Lin had sent a second batch of fabric within just a few days and there were some furs, damaged they were, but furs!
Winter jackets were more time-consuming, so Lu Lin raised Granny Shen's pay.
Things went on smoothly. Lu Lin got eight pieces of cotton-padded clothes from Granny Shen in the following two weeks. Four for adults and four for the kids.
"These clothes are so great!" Chen Xiao Mi stroked the clothes and exclaimed.
"They are superior in quality." Lu Lin echoed. Once again, Lu Lin was glad that Chen Xiao Mi had recommended Granny Shen.
"I can't believe Granny Shen has made so many pieces with the fabric we give her." Chen Xiao Mi was full of praise.
"Granny Shen is a great tailor, she is so smart in saving fabric." Lu Lin was very satisfied as well.
Lu Lin was very low-key when he visited Granny Shen, but word travelled fast in Big Stone Village, plus the new outfits had really made them conspicuous, so people knew Lu Lin had been asking Granny Shen to make clothes for him and the Chen Brothers.
Lu Tong turned green with envy when she saw Lu Lin and his new outfits.
Lu Tong had borne a grudge against Lu Lin when he turned her down about helping out in the Autumn Harvest, she had been cursing Lu Lin secretly and hoped Chen Xiao Mi would abuse him. But to her surprise, Chen Xiao Mi was so nice to Lu Lin, and he even had bought fabrics for Lu Lin.
In Granny Shen's house.
Granny Shen counted the coins Lu Lin had paid her, it was three hundred and fifty cents in total, Granny Shen was so gratified.
"Grandma, Lu Lin ge is so generous." Shen Chi said.
Granny Shen nodded, "We can buy some rice and flour with this money. The money had come so timely, otherwise we will starve in winter."
Shen Chi hesitated a little while before he opened his mouth again, "Grandma, I heard Chen Xiao Mi ge has found some ginseng in the mountain and he managed to get a good price for it, that's why he has been so generous."
There were a lot of villagers who were curious about why Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin had been so ungrudging, but they didn't like Chen Xiao Cai's personality, but Chen Xiao Mai was a bit special, so many villagers had been bothering Lu Lin, prying into more information.
Of course Lu Lin wouldn't say a word about the glass marbles, so he came up with the story that Chen Xiao Mi had found some ginseng to silence those villagers.
Word indeed travelled fast in Big Stone Village, soon half of the villagers had heard the story.
"Don't you guys find it strange, the Lus have been talking about how Lu Lin is ill-starred and he will only bring bad luck to his family, but that's completely not true, look at the Chen Brothers, they are doing so well since Lu Lin married into their family. I think Lu Lin's grandmother is full of foolish talk, I think Lu Lin is bringing good luck into his new family."