Chapter 31: Small Business 1/3

When Jin Xiaoshu returned home with food to share with Jin Xiaoye, his uncle’s wife and cousin were sitting at the doorstep with their children, enjoying the cool breeze.

A low bamboo bed was placed on the flat drying ground in front of the Jin family’s house. His cousin’s child was climbing up and down on it, while others sat on either large or small bamboo chairs, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans.

Upon seeing Jin Xiaoshu, they all inquired about Jin Xiaoye’s boat.

Jin Xiaoye mentioned that someone had already informed them about the boat they had rented.

“It’s my sister who rented the boat from someone, paying forty cents a day,” Jin Xiaoshu explained briefly.

Anyway, even if they didn’t mention it, others would eventually find out about his sister renting the old boatman’s boat.

“Isn’t it inconvenient for a woman like Xiaoye to row the boat alone? Why not let your elder brother help?” Jin Xiaoshu’s uncle’s wife suggested, “Your elder brother will surely take good care of Xiaoye.”

The elder brother mentioned by Jin’s uncle’s wife was Jin Xiaoshu’s eldest cousin. He was the first child in the family and he was a boy. He had been spoiled since childhood and was a bit lazy, not fond of doing farm work.

“My sister asked me to help. There’s no need for my elder cousin,” Jin Xiaoshu replied.

Hearing this, Jin Xiaoshu’s uncle’s wife sneered, “With your small body, can you even help?”

“Uncle’s wife, during the rice harvest earlier, I harvested even more than my elder brother,” Jin Xiaoshu said.

His uncle’s wife’s expression turned cold at his words, and she didn’t bother to respond to Jin Xiaoshu.

Jin Xiaoshu was relieved at her lack of response and hurriedly went inside.

Jin Xiaoshu lived in the same room as his parents, but the room was divided into two halves, one for his parents and the other for him.

Before Jin Xiaoye got married, she also lived here.

Having spent a long time on the boat today, Jin Xiaoshu felt like his whole body was still swaying even as he lay on the bed.

But he was excited. After rolling around a few times on the wooden bed, he carefully took out the food Jin Xiaoye had brought for him to take back.

Just as he took the items out, his parents returned.

After entering, Jin’s father asked, “Xiaoshu, are you going with Xiaoye to row the boat?”

“Yes!” Jin Xiaoshu replied.

Jin’s father paused and said, “Your grandmother said that you have to give half of the money you earn to the family.”

Jin Xiaoshu’s mood instantly dampened. “I understand,” he said.

However, he quickly smiled again and offered the food to his parents to taste.

“How did you manage to bring back so many delicious things?” Jin’s father was pleasantly surprised and said, “I’ll take some to your grandmother to taste.”

“Dad, this was given to me by my sister behind her husband’s back. We can’t let anyone know!” Jin Xiaoshu immediately interjected. His grandmother never gave them anything tasty, and as for his uncle… his uncle was a cook who always brought back leftovers from the military camp, which their family secretly enjoyed.

He brought back such a tiny amount of things, why should he have to share?

Jin’s father was taken aback. He hadn’t thought of giving them to his own mother and simply said, “Tell your sister not to do this in the future. If her husband finds out, he’ll be angry…”

Jin’s mother added, “Why does she always think of renting a boat? What if she doesn’t earn any money? If her husband earns money and finds out she squandered it, he’ll definitely be upset…”

Jin Xiaoshu casually responded, his attitude indifferent.

He hadn’t seen his brother-in-law upset; in fact, he seemed quite happy.

The fact that his daughter was sneaking them tasty treats behind her husband’s back… Jin’s father and mother were touched but also very worried. However, the treats were indeed delicious.

Jin’s father had already lost all his teeth and could only chew with his gums, savoring each bite slowly. He didn’t want to eat too much, just a bite, and then he stopped. Jin’s mother was the same. In the end, they pushed the food back in front of Jin Xiaoshu.

“I’ve eaten, and I’m going to sleep,” Jin Xiaoshu said, lying down on his bed and falling asleep.

The Jin family’s conditions were decent, but Jin’s grandmother was particularly careful with money and didn’t allow the family to overspend. As a result, they only ate two meals a day.

If Jin Xiaoshu waited for the family to finish their meal before going to find Jin Xiaoye, it would be too late. He left the house just as dawn was breaking.

By the time he reached the Li family’s house, Jin Xiaoye and Li Qingzhi had already prepared breakfast.

They didn’t cook much; they simply cooked rice and watched the fire. It wasn’t troublesome, and Li Qingzhi taught Jin Xiaoye how to write.

He would write once, and then Jin Xiaoye would practice beside him.

“You’re really smart, Xiaoye!” Li Qingzhi exclaimed.

Jin Xiaoye didn’t think she was smart. To remember the words she learned, she had to practice them several times.

After finishing writing once, Jin Xiaoye flattened the ash and continued writing on top of it.

At first, they wrote on the muddy ground, but later they found it inconvenient, so they dug a square pit, put some ash in it, and wrote on top of the ash.

Jin Xiaoye’s serious expression while writing was really pleasing to the eye… But Li Qingzhi noticed that she made a stroke wrong and immediately said, “Xiaoye, you made a mistake. Let me hold your hand and teach you.”

After saying that, Li Qingzhi held Jin Xiaoye’s hand and taught her how to write on the ash.

After finishing, he held Jin Xiaoye’s hand again and wrote the words he had taught her earlier.

Jin Xiaoye’s hand was really warm… This was how writing should be taught! He had wasted their precious time by writing beside her earlier and letting Jin Xiaoye copy.

So when Jin Xiaoshu arrived, he saw his sister and brother-in-law sitting together, looking intimate.

Should he go in or not?

“Breakfast is ready,” Jin Xiaoye coughed lightly and stood up.

She gave some rice to Li Laogen to cook in the evening, then divided the rice in the pot into three portions: one for herself, one for Jin Xiaoshu, and one for Li Laogen.

Then, Jin Xiaoye took her and Jin Xiaoshu’s portion of rice and called to Li Qingzhi, “Let’s go, we’re going to the county town!”

This time was almost half an hour earlier than when Mr. Yao left to the county town; after all, Yao Zhenfu had always been reluctant to go to school early.

“You’re not in a hurry to go to the Zhu family early, are you?” Jin Xiaoye asked Li Qingzhi.

“No, I still have time to read a bit,” Li Qingzhi smiled.

Since Li Qingzhi said so… Jin Xiaoye began to row the boat.

As a result, when Li Qingzhi arrived at the Zhu family’s house, it was very rare that everyone was still having breakfast.

The cook greeted Li Qingzhi with a smile and gave him an extra fried dough stick. “Mr. Li, the master said you’re too thin and asked you to eat more.”

“Why does he still have fried dough sticks?” one steward asked curiously.

“The master said Mr. Li is too thin and asked him to eat more,” the cook said.

The chubby steward thought to himself, “…” This Mr. Li is really too thin!

But since it was ordered by Zhu Qian, he couldn’t say anything.

Fried dough sticks weren’t considered rare in modern times; generally, it’s advised to eat fewer fried foods.

But this was ancient times!

Li Qingzhi divided the fried dough stick into two halves, then split one half into two again and gave them to two children. “Damao, Ermao, have you ever had an fried dough stick?”

“No,” both Damao and Ermao replied together.

“Then try it,” Li Qingzhi took a bite of his own fried dough stick.

“It’s really, really delicious!”

At this moment, the cook brought over a small dish of soy sauce. “Dipping the fried dough stick in soy sauce and eating it with porridge is the best!”