Chapter 15: Pushing the Cart

Life was busy.

Qin Jin’s refusal of Zhu Erhong’s suggestion wasn’t just an excuse.

It hadn’t rained for several days in a row, and the crops in the fields really needed watering. It was tough work, all dependent on manually drawing water from ditches, ponds, and wells.

His family’s fields were a bit far from the well, and they didn’t even have a cart at home. Watering relied entirely on carrying buckets on his shoulders. After several days of this, his shoulders were so sore he could barely lift his arms to take off his clothes.

Whether it was the original body or himself, neither had ever done such heavy labor before. But now, aside from gritting his teeth and pushing through, the only other option was to earn more money.

He had Zhang Qi and his wife make three hundred and sixty catties of tofu curd every day.

After sending some of the tofu curd once to the old courtyard and to Qin Wen and Qin Li, they refused to accept it again. Things bought with money—how could they eat them every day?

Qin Jin still had debts to pay.

Ye Miao and Zhao Feng also made excuses, saying they didn’t like tofu curd without sauce, so all of the tofu curd was made into dried tofu sheets, about seventy-eight catties in total.

Dried tofu sheets weighed several times more than pea cakes, but they were always the first to sell out every day. For rural farmers, snacks weren’t necessities, but since they were already at the market, spending a few coins to add a new dish to the family table was something they were happy to do.

Two to three catties were usually used for samples, and the rest was turned into cash, with a daily profit of about 130 wen.

Add the 100 wen from pea cakes, and the daily profit from these two small businesses came to at least 220 wen.

In just a few short days, their small money box was nearly full.

With this much cash coming in every day, Ye Miao became more generous.

Eggs were a must-buy. At first, to avoid gossip, he had intended to buy from his own relatives. But before he could say anything, Shen Yucheng took the initiative to ask if he needed eggs.

The Zhang family raised a lot of chickens, producing several eggs daily.

Ordinary households would save them up and take them to the market, but not Shen Yucheng. He didn’t count on eggs as a source of income—those eggs were meant to feed their own family.

Now, thanks to the tofu sheet business, his family didn’t need to set up a stall anymore. Their daily income matched what most households made during the New Year’s preparation season, so how could he not pay attention to Qin Jin and Ye Miao?

Knowing that Ye Miao’s young hens were still far from laying eggs, he offered his at a lower price.

So Ye Miao bought dozens of eggs from Shen Yucheng.

When the oil jar at home was completely empty, he bought ten catties of pork fat in one go. His brother Jin and dad were doing heavy work lately—meals needed to be rich enough, or else their bodies wouldn’t be able to take it.

Especially his dad. While Qin Jin was at the stall, his dad carried buckets of water to irrigate the fields. Qin Jin was already exhausted after just half a day, but his dad had to haul water all day long.

Every evening, he would carefully massage his dad’s shoulders. After that, once they were in bed, he would continue to massage Qin Jin.

At first, Qin Jin wasn’t used to it, but his shoulders were indeed sore. After a few presses, he just lay down flat and let Ye Miao continue.

It was the same that night—once in bed, he lay down on his stomach right away.

Ye Miao had been tidying the clothes chest at the foot of the bed. Seeing that, he climbed into bed too.

He sat directly on Qin Jin’s waist and started to carefully knead the tense, aching muscles in his shoulders.

His strength was just right—his soft hands kneaded and pressed comfortably across Qin Jin’s shoulders, making him close his eyes and feel sleepy.

Just then, the little husband behind him called softly, “Brother Jin.”

“Hmm?” He opened his eyes and twisted his head back slightly.

“That double-bucket cart you drew last time—I’ve been thinking, and the more I think, the more useful it sounds. Why don’t you go see the carpenter tomorrow? We’ve earned quite a bit these past few days—we should be able to afford it,” Ye Miao said.

That cart could carry two buckets at once, and the small wheels could move easily between the field ridges. If they had that cart, his dad and Qin Jin could save a lot of effort.

After all, whether by hand or shoulder, they could only carry two buckets at a time—and so could the cart.

Plus, the cart wasn’t much slower than walking.

No matter how he looked at it, it was time to get one made.

Qin Jin was a bit surprised. After a few seconds of considering their current situation, he gave a quiet “mm”: “I’ll go to the county town after lunch tomorrow.”

“Take Dad with you—he knows the county well,” Ye Miao added.

“Alright,” Qin Jin agreed. Thinking of how hard Zhao Feng had been working lately, he said, “Starting tomorrow, give Dad an extra egg with every meal.”

“Huh?” Ye Miao was surprised, but before he could say anything else, Qin Jin continued, “Forget it—we’ll all get one.”

One egg per meal was already an upgrade from when they first got married, but it still wasn’t enough.

They had to raise the bar again.

“I don’t need one,” Ye Miao shook his head, smiling now.

“You do a lot of work too.”

“My work is light,” Ye Miao’s smile grew brighter.

“Our family’s earning more silver.”

“There’s also more to spend—just that double-bucket cart might look simple, but it’ll cost at least a hundred or two hundred wen.”

And they’d need at least two—one for Dad and one for Qin Jin.

“…”

Qin Jin reached back and grabbed Ye Miao’s hand, pulling him down onto the bed.

He held him in his arms and looked into those black and white eyes. With a helpless tone, he said, “As if we’d go broke just because of your meals. With your appetite, you won’t eat us into poverty.”

Ye Miao laughed at that. His eyes reflected the warm glow of the oil lamp, bright and beautiful like marbles.

Seeing this, Qin Jin reached out and gently brushed aside the messy fringe on Ye Miao’s forehead so that his lovely eyes were fully visible.

It was an intimate gesture, one he’d never done before. Ye Miao was stunned, eyes staring directly at him.

Qin Jin felt his heart soften and couldn’t help leaning in to kiss the tip of Ye Miao’s nose.

That kiss snapped Ye Miao out of his daze. The surprise only lasted a moment before he began to blush, his hands gripping the fabric on Qin Jin’s chest, not daring to look at him again.

But inside, he was bubbling with joy.

Qin Jin had kissed him on their wedding night—but just that once. Now, he hadn’t done anything, yet Qin Jin had kissed him voluntarily. Did that mean Qin Jin was starting to like him, just a little?

And… should he kiss him back?

Just as he thought that and was about to lift his eyes to look at Qin Jin, Qin Jin said, “My shoulders feel better. Time to sleep.”

“…”

There it was again!

Every time he wanted to do something, his Brother Jin would tell him to go to sleep!

No way he was sleeping—not after that kiss. How could he possibly fall asleep now?

He didn’t reply, just watched Qin Jin get up to blow out the oil lamp and lie back down to hold him. Ye Miao also reached out, feeling for Qin Jin’s face, and as he pressed down the thudding of his heart, he leaned in and kissed him.

In the pitch-black darkness, nothing could be seen clearly, but the kiss still landed somewhere on his face.

Soft lips brushed against the corner of his mouth. Qin Jin was a little surprised, but before he could say anything, the one who kissed him slipped down like an ostrich and nestled into his arms without moving.

Qin Jin couldn’t help but chuckle and tightened his embrace.

He didn’t take it any further—feelings, after all, couldn’t be rushed.

The next day, after lunch, Qin Jin and Zhao Feng went to the county town to find a carpenter to make the little cart.

The best carpenter in town was surnamed He. He was over fifty, his hands covered in rough calluses. His family had been carpenters for generations and had a great reputation. Qin Jin took out the crude model he had made and asked if he could replicate it into a real product.

Carpenter He studied the model carefully for a good while, then nodded. “I’ll give it a try.”

He didn’t make any promises.

But those who knew him well understood that if he accepted a job, it meant he was confident.

Qin Jin then said, “Uncle He, this cart is suitable for women, gers, and the elderly who don’t have much strength. It’s really convenient for carrying water or groceries. If you can make a real one, I’m sure people will want to buy it.”

“I don’t ask for much—if more than thirty people come to you to buy this cart, then just make me six more carts for free. How about it?”

If the cart could actually be built, and as long as Carpenter He didn’t price it too high, other people would likely want to buy it too.

While rural farmers might be reluctant to spend the money, families in the county town would probably be willing to purchase one.

The roads in town were flatter than in the countryside, so the cart would be even more useful.

Qin Jin had considered profit-sharing with the He family, but he had no way to monitor how many were actually sold. He would have to rely on whatever number they told him.

Besides, there was no patent protection. Other carpenters, once they saw it, would almost certainly copy the design.

Considering all that, he made just this one request.

After all, the little cart wasn’t a necessity—it merely saved people some effort. Even if it sold well, the overall sales likely wouldn’t be that high.

Carpenter He hadn’t expected Qin Jin to make such a proposal. He turned the model over and over in his hands again, studying it for quite a while before looking at Qin Jin and asking, “Young man, are you sure people will buy it?”

“Yes,” Qin Jin nodded, with both confidence and certainty in his voice and expression.

“Alright then, we’ll do as you say,” Carpenter He agreed.

The small cart required almost no iron, just wood.

And the whole thing was very compact—just a few wooden sticks and two wheels. It didn’t cost much at all, though the initial design took time and effort.

If many people ended up buying, Carpenter He didn’t mind making a few free carts for Qin Jin.

Once the deal was settled, Qin Jin and Zhao Feng left the He household. After walking a good distance, Zhao Feng couldn’t help but praise Qin Jin for being clever. He hadn’t even thought of that—this way, they could get several carts for free.

Qin Jin smiled modestly.

In his heart, he prayed that Carpenter He would manage to build a cart that satisfied him.

Several more days passed. Qin Jin continued his daily routine of selling at the stall and working in the fields. Still, there was no rain.

With summer temperatures, by the time they finished watering the last acre of land, the first acre had already dried out again.

There was really no other choice but to keep watering.

Still, the daily income helped ease the fatigue. He had already paid back the money he owed Wang Xiuqin, and their tofu sheets were gradually gaining a reputation. Every day when he set down his basket, people gathered without him even needing to shout.

Aside from tofu sheets, his fermented tofu was finally ready.

Red square fermented tofu, with a slight wine aroma, had a special rich and intense flavor. It was excellent with porridge or steamed buns.

Of course, not everyone liked the taste—like Ye Miao.

He disliked that boozy smell.

But the older Qin men, including Grandpa Qin and Qin Bing, really liked it. The Qin family was poor. These men only tasted a bit of the cheapest wine during the New Year. Now, with even a faint wine flavor in the fermented tofu, they were delighted.

Having his own family’s approval gave Qin Jin a huge confidence boost.

He bought thirty jin of tofu from Zhang Qi. With their current financial standing, he could now afford the risk—if it didn’t sell, his own family could eat it.

That day, after selling out all the tofu sheets, he was just about to take out his water pouch for a drink and a short break when someone called out to him from nearby: “Qin Jin!”

The voice was unfamiliar. He looked in that direction and saw a man pushing a two-bucket cart toward him.

The strange-looking cart caught a lot of attention.

He immediately smiled—the man wasn’t a stranger, but the eldest son of Carpenter He.

It seemed the double-bucket cart had turned out well and that the He family was pleased with it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken the initiative to deliver it.