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Everyone watched in stunned silence as Lu Qiniang effortlessly hoisted a crate that normally required four men to lift with difficulty. She walked briskly, her breathing steady, even chatting and joking with them as she worked.
“Put it here? Got it!”
“Stacked it up!”
“Only a few crates per cart? I can load all of them by myself in no time.”
“Don’t block the way—I’ll do the carrying. You all just stay on the cart and handle the organizing and securing.”
By the time the man who had gone out to look for help returned—having finally managed to round up a dozen or so able-bodied laborers—the carts were already parked outside Zhuangyuan Tower, fully loaded and ready to depart.
“This, this—” The man stared in disbelief at the tightly packed carts.
“Sir, I’ve finished loading them,” Lu Qiniang announced proudly.
Everyone who had witnessed her strength firsthand sang her praises, marveling that they had truly seen something extraordinary that day.
Lu Qiniang offered a few modest words: “It’s nothing, really—just a bit more strength than most.”
But in her heart, she was beaming with pride.
With the strength she had, once the canal reopened in the spring, she could easily earn a living for a family of several by hauling sacks at the docks—one of her was worth four or five others.
So what if she didn’t have Xiao Yan anymore?
“Let’s go, quickly, let’s get moving!” the man shouted excitedly.
But the men he had brought along weren’t having it. They all cursed and grumbled.
Merchants on the road usually relied on harmony to make money, and since the problem had been solved and they could still make it out of the city before the gates closed, the man ended up compensating each of them with fifty copper coins.
As for Lu Qiniang, she received a full tael of silver.
Silver—not copper coins!
A plump, glimmering silver ingot worth one whole tael!
The carts rolled away until even their backs were out of sight, but Lu Qiniang remained standing where she was, holding that silver ingot, too overjoyed to know what to do.
That single tael of silver had come far too easily.
Today, she had truly been blessed with an incredible stroke of luck!
She couldn’t bear to spend the silver, but she had brought over a hundred copper coins with her when she went out today.
She decided to treat herself—splurge a little.
But it seemed her good luck wasn’t done yet.
Before she could even step outside, someone stopped her.
“Young lady, may we ask you something?” Two youths dressed like scholarly attendants blocked her path.
Lu Qiniang heard their accents and realized they weren’t locals from the Capital. Assuming they were lost and needed directions, she responded warmly, “Go ahead and ask.”
She knew the streets of the Capital like the back of her hand!
“How much do you weigh?”
Lu Qiniang thought she had misheard.
“What do you mean, how much do I weigh?”
“We’re asking about your weight,” one of the attendants said, covering his mouth as he laughed. “Just tell us—are you two hundred jin or not?”
“What do you want to know that for?” Lu Qiniang asked warily, glaring at them with obvious displeasure.
She was more than ready to give them a demonstration—one that involved flinging human-sized sacks of meat.
—As in, grabbing them and tossing them two li away.
The other attendant explained, “It’s nothing serious. Our master happened to see you working so energetically downstairs, so he made a bet—wondering whether you weigh two hundred jin.”
“How big is the bet?”
“A banquet table worth two taels of silver.”
“Then give me two hundred copper coins, and I’ll tell you,” Lu Qiniang said.
As part of the wager, she was just taking a ten percent cut—not unreasonable at all.
The two looked at each other, then muttered complaints about her outrageous demand.
“Take it or leave it,” Lu Qiniang snorted. “If you’re not betting, I’m leaving!”
Anyone who could throw around two taels of silver on a silly bet clearly wasn’t hurting for money.
“Fine then, wait here, don’t leave. I’ll go ask him,” one of the attendants said.
A short while later, Lu Qiniang received another two strings of coins.
“Exactly two hundred jin,” she said with a hearty laugh.
Things hadn’t gone quite the way she planned, but unexpected blessings just kept coming!
Time to spend some money!
Red hair ribbons cost two coins each—so for her three daughters, she bought two for each of them.
With her newfound wealth, she acted with flair—snapping up six red ribbons in one go!
The general store was one of the few still open. Seeing her buy the ribbons, the shopkeeper figured she had children at home and recommended some spun sugar candy. Just a tiny bundle, but it cost a whole fifty coins.
Lu Qiniang shook her head.
No way. That was too expensive.
Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—everything cost money.
Things were no longer like they had been in the Zhou household—she had to save wherever she could.
But her three little girls hadn’t had candy in a long time.
Lu Qiniang steeled herself and spent twenty coins on a bit of malt sugar.
It was all sweet anyway. This cheaper one still had the taste—they could enjoy a nibble and feel like the New Year had truly arrived.
After buying some household essentials, she also asked for incense and joss paper.
Normally, twenty coins’ worth would suffice, but she bought thirty coins’ worth.
She didn’t know if the dead could actually receive these offerings—
But in her heart, her parents-in-law and her husband deserved the best.
“Do you have paper and ink?” Lu Qiniang asked next. “The cheapest kind will do—if it’s too expensive, I’ll skip it.”
Xiao Yan had asked her for it once.
Though Lu Qiniang had felt that the request was a bit tone-deaf, she figured he had grown up pampered, unaccustomed to hardship—that was understandable.
A benefactor was a benefactor—Lu Qiniang was willing to let him make requests.
Whether or not she fulfilled them, though, depended on her means.
“We’ve got them. As for the brush, the cheapest one’s twenty coins. A pack of paper is eighty.”
She’d mentally prepared herself—she knew these things weren’t cheap—but still, hearing the actual price made her cry out inwardly: “Good grief.”
A whole jin of lamb only cost twenty coins, and a stack of paper cost enough to buy five jin?
And a stack only had twenty-four sheets!
She did some quick math. So how much was one sheet?
After much fumbling, she figured each sheet came out to around three or four coins apiece.
She haggled with the shopkeeper’s wife—after all, she’d bought so much already.
In the end, though not entirely pleased, the shopkeeper relented and let her buy one brush, and three sheets of paper for ten coins.
Lu Qiniang carefully folded those precious sheets and tucked them safely into her front pocket.
Would you like to continue with the next scene?
Whoa, now that’s some precious stuff.
If only she knew how to make paper—she’d be rolling in riches!
As she made her way home, the scent of food wafted through the air. Lu Qiniang hadn’t eaten since a bit of something that morning, and now her stomach was growling, the hunger practically curling inside her.
Still, she comforted herself with the thought of that full tael of silver. After all, it wasn’t every day you celebrated the New Year.
And tomorrow—there’d be a cow to slaughter and beef to divide!
Carrying her goods, she picked up the pace toward home.
Just as she reached her door, a rich aroma of simmering meat hit her square in the face.
Tsk, which neighbor’s stewing meat now? Smelled so good—she had to savor it a little longer.
“Mom, you’re back!” San Ya had come out who knows how many times to look for her. Now that she finally spotted her, she whooped with joy. “Big Sis! Ma’s back! We can eat the meat now!”
Lu Qiniang laughed and scolded gently, “What meat are you talking about? I didn’t buy any today. But—”
She was glad she’d splurged on some syrup candy after all. Otherwise, the kids would’ve been disappointed.
“Mom, there is meat in the pot!” Sanya drooled as she spoke. “Big Sis said we couldn’t eat until you got back.”
There’s meat at home?
Lu Qiniang’s eyes lit up. “What, did someone come to redeem Xiao Yan?”