Chapter 30: You’re Happy, That’s All

Lu Yufang’s face held a glimmer of hope: “Then I’ll take your word for it, sister-in-law.”

Chu Yue shook her arm: “Oh, you’re older than me, stop calling me sister-in-law, it sounds awkward. How about we just call each other by our names?”

Lu Yufang was taken aback, lowering her voice she said: “Then should I call you Yueyue like my mother?”

Chu Yue quickly nodded: “Yueyue, Er Ya, Chu Yue, you can call me any of these three.”

Lu Yufang smiled, revealing her pearly white teeth: “Then I’ll switch it up. Today I’ll call you Yueyue, tomorrow Er Ya, the day after Chu Yue, every day can be different.”

“Pfft!” Chu Yue couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “Don’t be so ridiculous.”

Lu Yufang also laughed along: “I’ve decided, that’s how I’m going to call you.”

“No, you can only choose one.”

“My mouth is on my face, I won’t choose any of them, I’ll call you whichever I want.”

After Lu Yufang finished speaking, she ran off to the side. Seeing this, Chu Yue took the opportunity to tickle her…

The sound of their laughter and playful banter reached Lu Xinghe’s ears, causing an involuntary smile to curve his lips.

Chu Yue usually seemed serious, but she was still a young girl after all. She should spend more time with people her age.

Yufang was simple-minded, making her a perfect match.

The three of them soon arrived home. Yun Cuihe, worried, had moved a chair under the eaves after sunset to sew Chu Yue’s clothes. She kept glancing outside, looking to see if the two had returned.

Seeing Lu Xinghe and Chu Yue walking from afar, she finally felt relieved.

“Xingping, hurry and open the door, and take the cart back to your aunt’s house for your brother.” She then turned towards the kitchen, “Xing’an, we’ve borrowed your aunt’s cart twice in a row. Take three eggs and go with Xingping. I’m not comfortable with that little rascal taking eggs.”

Lu Xingping muttered a couple of words under his breath before running to open the courtyard gate.

Lu Xing’an, hearing Yun Cuihe’s words, hurriedly grabbed three eggs from the kitchen.

The two hens had been at their home for three days, laying a total of four eggs. Lu Xing’an was responsible for collecting the eggs, and he had counted these four eggs over and over again. Now three were gone, and he felt a bit heartbroken.

Lu Xinghe parked the cart at the entrance, taking down the bucket and backpack from it. Lu Xingping then pushed the cart away.

Lu Yufang was the first to enter, stuffing two eggs into Yun Cuihe’s hand.

“Third Aunt, I came to get my family’s basket. These eggs were brought by my mother.”

Yun Cuihe quickly said, “Just take the basket, why bring eggs? Your parents have to raise the four of you, it’s not easy.”

But Lu Yufang insisted, “We have to thank Xinghe brother and Yueyue for selling our medicinal herbs. These two eggs are a small token of appreciation from my mother, Third Aunt, please take them.”

After saying that, she took the basket that Chu Yue handed her and returned to the old house.

Yun Cuihe, seeing her son and daughter-in-law back, felt her worries lessen considerably. She quickly put down her needlework and went inside, taking the two eggs to the kitchen.

“Xinghe, Yueyue, rest for a while, I’ll go make dinner.”

Chu Yue took the silver from the backpack and placed it in the basket, also going to the kitchen.

“Mother, this is for you.”

Yun Cuihe, who was cracking eggs, saw the pile of silver coins and ingots in the basket and her eyes widened in surprise.

“How come there’s so much? Is ginseng that valuable?”

Chu Yue explained to Yun Cuihe what they had sold today.

“We sold the ginseng for fifty taels today. The herbs, excluding Fourth Aunt’s, sold for a little over two taels and one hundred wen. The turtle sold for eight hundred wen, totaling fifty-two taels and nine hundred wen. However, I spent five taels on books and paper for my husband.”

Yun Cuihe nodded, pointing to the four largest silver ingots, her face full of curiosity.

Chu Yue, avoiding the main point, said lightly, “It just so happened that the wife of Magistrate Huang in town had a difficult childbirth, and I went to help with Doctor Zhu from Chen’s Pharmacy.  These two hundred taels were a reward from Magistrate Huang.” ^[1]Note that it was 4 silver ingots that’s why it equals to 200 Taels

Yun Cuihe gasped.

Just for helping with a childbirth, Magistrate Huang gave two hundred taels of silver!

What a generous reward!

It has to be said, Yueyue’s luck is truly exceptional.

She took the four largest silver ingots from the basket and placed them in Chu Yue’s hand.

“I’ll keep the money from selling the goods, Mother will keep it for the family’s use.  Since the two hundred taels are a reward given to you by Magistrate Huang, you should keep it. You bought books for Xinghe, and I imagine you’re planning to let him continue his studies. There will be many more expenses in the future.”

Chu Yue bit her lip, feeling a surge of emotion, and whispered, “I thought Mother would blame me for spending so much money on books for my husband.”

Yun Cuihe smiled and patted her head.

“My dear child, the first thing you thought of after earning money wasn’t to buy things for yourself, but to buy books for Xinghe. Mother is grateful, how could I blame you? Besides, if Xinghe weren’t burdened by us three women, he wouldn’t still be a mere tongsheng (a student who hasn’t passed the first level of the imperial examination) at this age. Mother feels guilty about that. Quickly put the money away, be careful someone sees it.”

Chu Yue responded with an “ai,” and returned to her and Lu Xinghe’s room.

Entering the room, she saw Lu Xinghe engrossed in reading “Records of the Various States” by the window.

She carefully wrapped the silver in old cloth strips, stuffed them into four small bamboo tubes, and hid them in four different places in the room.

Although Lu Xinghe didn’t look towards Chu Yue, he noticed her flitting about behind him and couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“If we have mice, those things you’ve hidden might not be safe.”

Looking at the seemingly fragile earthen wall in front of her, Chu Yue felt helpless. “What should I do then?”

Lu Xinghe closed the book in his hand, a hint of indulgence flashing across his face.

“Let’s leave it like this for now. When we renovate the house later, I’ll definitely make several more convenient places for you to hide your money.”

Chu Yue quickly laughed, “If I don’t earn more money, wouldn’t that be a waste of the thoughtfulness you’ve put into this?”

Lu Xinghe shook his head, a look of longing in his eyes.

“No need for that, just be happy.”

*Just be happy.*

Those weren’t exactly sweet nothings, but they made her heart feel as sweet as honey.

Lu Xingping and Lu Xing’an, having delivered the cart and eggs to Aunt Lin’s house, had already returned, and Yun Cuihe’s dishes were ready.

Tonight’s dinner included wild vegetables and an egg drop soup made with two eggs.

The whole family sat together, drinking rice porridge and eating vegetables, their faces full of contentment.

Because their food had improved considerably in recent days, everyone in the family looked much healthier than before.

Yun Cuihe looked at Lu Xingping and his brother.

“You took the cart to Aunt Lin’s house, did she say anything?”

“No!” Lu Xingping answered quickly, “Aunt Lin saw the eggs Xing’an took, and she couldn’t stop smiling. She said if we need the cart again, we should just take it from her house.”

Yun Cuihe nodded. “That’s good.”