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Chapter 30: Gifting Rabbit Fur

Qin Ying heard the commotion and quickly got out of bed to put on her shoes. She warmed some water so they could wash their hands and faces, then went to the stove to bring out the food.

Now that it was cold, they no longer used the outdoor kitchen and instead cooked in the main room.

The stove there had one large and one small pot, and its chimney was connected to Zhao Hu’s room. So, whenever they cooked, it also heated up his bed.

Aunt Zhao recounted what she had seen on the mountain to Qin Ying, then added, “Watching the spring on the mountain is a tough job. Those two men aren’t having it easy either.”

Wang Ergou and Wang Tiezhu weren’t good with needlework. When their clothes tore, they simply tied them into knots. Their padded jackets and pants were all wrinkled—especially their pants, which had so many knots that they were now short, exposing their dark, grimy ankles. It looked both funny and pitiful.

Zhao Hu said innocently, “Mom, let’s help them. I’ll go get their spare clothes, and you and Sis can help wash and mend them.”

“Silly boy!” Aunt Zhao smacked the back of his head. “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Zhao Hu pouted high. He thought what he said made perfect sense!

Aunt Zhao sighed deeply. “Your mother, me, is a widow, and those two are bachelors. It’s fine if it’s just for a short time, but if this drags on, people will start talking.

“They can say whatever they want about me—your mother has thick skin. But we still have your sister at home! She’s still so young. We can’t let anyone throw dirty water on her!”

Zhao Hu fell silent.

Qin Ying thought for a moment and said, “Mom, I do have an idea. Granny Wang might be old, but her eyesight and hearing are still good. Uncle Tiezhu and Uncle Ergou don’t have many clothes, so she should be able to handle it.

“Even if she can’t, asking any of the other aunts or ladies for help probably wouldn’t raise suspicion.”

Aunt Zhao’s eyes lit up. “You’re right! After we eat, I’ll go visit Granny Wang’s house!”

“Wait,” Qin Ying quickly stopped her. “Better to speak to Uncle Chen Jiu first. It’d be better if he acted as the mediator.

“Granny Wang and Uncle Tiezhu are related, right? They don’t have any other family.

“If Uncle Chen Jiu can make the decision and let them support each other, it could be a good arrangement.

“But ultimately, it depends on what they want. We just have the idea. Whether it works or not is up to them.”

Aunt Zhao slapped her thigh. “You really are my daughter! You think of everything!”

After the meal, Aunt Zhao did go to find Uncle Chen Jiu.

When she brought it up tactfully, Uncle Chen Jiu took it seriously. “Granny Wang and Tiezhu’s father were cousins within five degrees of kinship.

“If your Aunt Wang hadn’t stepped in back then, those two scumbags might never have left the village.

“Tiezhu has long said that when your Aunt Wang gets old, he’ll carry the mourning banner and break the ritual basin for her.

“She’s never had to carry water or grind flour—all the laborious tasks, he’s done them.

“If they could formally recognize each other as mother and son, it would all be proper and aboveboard. Adding in Ergou wouldn’t matter—your Aunt Wang would’ve gained two grown sons for free!”

Uncle Chen Jiu was always decisive. Once he made up his mind, he went straight to find Granny Wang.

Aunt Zhao had done all she could, and with the weight off her chest, she headed home.

Just as she reached the doorway, she bumped into Zhou Yu coming over from next door.

Zhou Yu greeted her politely and even asked, “Why didn’t you bring An’an with you?”

“It’s too cold,” Aunt Zhao replied with a restrained smile. “The child’s still small—it’d be too hard on her.”

She stepped aside, ready to let Zhou Yu enter first.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yu stopped her. “Aunt Zhao, I just got two pieces of fur. Take them and make some clothes for An’an.

“I heard it gets especially cold in the mountains during winter. A child that young shouldn’t suffer.”

An’an was the youngest child in Tongshu Village.

Aunt Zhao had intended to decline, but before she could speak, Xu Xia had already brought out a bundle at Zhou Yu’s signal and stuffed it into her arms with a grin. “We’re all just a bunch of men—none of us can sew. Keeping it would be useless.”

Before Aunt Zhao could say anything else, Zhou Yu had already gone inside.

Xu Xia walked her out and said, “Aunt Zhao, Aunt Zhong isn’t good at sewing either. If you feel bad accepting it, help us out in the future when we need some stitching done.

“Don’t say no—we’ve long noticed that your family’s needlework is the finest in all of Tongshu Village!”

Aunt Zhao blinked—this was true. Yingzi was incredibly skilled with her hands. Even the simplest stitches were perfect, and her embroidery was vivid and lifelike. Under her guidance, Aunt Zhao’s own sewing had also greatly improved.

So she readily agreed. “Alright then. If you ever need something mended, just come find me!”

She looked at Xu Xia like he was one of the neighbor kids—there wasn’t much sense of distance.

As for Zhou Yu, ever since she learned he had ordered the bandits wiped out, she truly realized how powerful he was. No matter how gently he smiled, she still felt intimidated.

When she got home and opened the bundle, she found not only three pieces of rabbit fur—one white, two gray—but also three jin of snowy white cotton.

Aunt Zhao and Qin Ying stared at each other in surprise.

Qin Ying repacked the bundle and frowned. “Mom, can we really accept this?”

“Sigh…” Aunt Zhao smacked her gums and said, “If we return it, they probably won’t take it back!

“Yingzi, how about this—we keep one jin of cotton, you cut the rabbit fur as you see fit and make a set of clothes for An’an. As for the rest, you make a set of clothes for Master Zhou. What do you think?”

Qin Ying thought it over and nodded. “Alright. Then we’ll do it that way. Later, once our mushrooms and vegetables grow, we’ll send them more.”

Rejecting too much could easily offend people.

Besides, in her heart, she also wanted An’an to have a warm winter.

The cotton-padded jackets they received earlier didn’t need to be returned, as Zhou Yu had stated. They had already taken them apart.

They still had old clothes from previous years that could be worn. These two new sets would be remade into bedding for An’an.

Their old quilts no longer kept them warm and were heavy.

Still, they needed to wash the fabric and fluff the cotton before it could be used at all.

Since the Zhao family didn’t have many quilts, they couldn’t wash them all at once—otherwise, they wouldn’t have anything to use at night if they didn’t dry in time. So they had to take turns.

They stayed busy like this for several days.

When Aunt Zhao showed up at Uncle Chen Jiu’s house carrying An’an and a bundle, both Zhou Yu and Xu Xia were surprised.

Zhou Yu even shot Xu Xia a few extra glances, full of blame.

Xu Xia looked aggrieved—he hadn’t known Aunt Zhao would actually return the gift after several days!

“Hey, wait a second!” Xu Xia quickly said, “Young Master, look at what An’an’s wearing!”

An’an was dressed in a gray rabbit fur jacket with white trim, and she wore a matching hat on her head.

The white fur made her little face look rosy and plump, her features even more lively.

As soon as she saw Zhou Yu, she reached out her little hands, asking to be picked up.

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but smile and took the child from Aunt Zhao’s arms.

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