Chapter 28

The next day, there were customers who came to seek them out.

The business was busy since the morning market and the crowd only dispersed when it was lunchtime—leaving fewer people.

Zhou Jing took advantage of this time to buy brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.

He spent ten coins and found a book boy outside the private school to ask for a few introductory reading materials, marking them with modern characters besides the original text.

That evening, after returning home, he also took the time to teach Shen Mo and Shen Lin the multiplication table.

Once they memorize it, calculating accounts will become almost effortless for them.

—o—o—o—

After more than ten days, they could easily sell all 50 pounds of sausage. On this particular day, the elderly man who had brought his grandson to buy sausage the day before brought a few friends along, resulting in the sale of 15 pounds in one go.

By the time the lunchtime crowd dispersed, the sausages were sold out.

Since they finished early, Zhou Jing suggested putting the counter on the mule cart and storing it at the post station, allowing them to wander around.

In the past few days, although Shen Lin had been selling things in town, he had only walked the road to the market and the road to Butcher Wu’s shop, hardly exploring anywhere else.

So, when he heard Zhou Jing’s suggestion, he was really happy.

Due to the increased sales of sausages, the butcher also offered them a discount. In just over ten days, they had made a net profit of 5 or 6 silver coins.

Shen Mo was pleased to see Shen Lin gaining some experience and thus agreed.

Shen Lin had his own wages, so Zhou Jing didn’t give Shen Li any money and only gave Shen Mo 1 silver coin.

Although Shen Mo was in charge of the family’s money, Zhou Jing kept the money from selling sausages during the day, worried that in the bustling crowd, someone might pickpocket Shen Mo.

As the few of them strolled around, they mostly bought snacks. But when they passed by the clothing store, Zhou Jing stopped walking.

“We all have patches upon patches on our clothes. It wasn’t a big deal when we were working in the field, but now that we’re selling food outside, it doesn’t look very presentable. Let’s buy a few meters of fabric to make some new clothes!”

“Sounds good,” Shen Mo nodded.

The three of them entered the fabric shop, and the Shen brothers headed straight for the cheapest coarse cloth.

Since the course fabric is the cheapest kind, the quality was certainly poor. The patterns dyed onto the fabric were very unattractive and quite rustic.

In this era, dyeing techniques were not yet advanced, and combined with the low price, the bright colors were simply unappealing.

The Shen brothers wanted to choose a few yards of dark-colored fabric, but Zhou Jing disagreed.

“You’re still young; wearing dark, lifeless colors all the time will make you lose your energy. Besides, Xiao Di isn’t even married yet; it’s better to wear something bright and spirited.”

He pointed to a piece of blue fabric and a piece of light green fabric, and said: “You two would look good in these.”

The shopkeeper quickly replied, “You have a good eye. These two colors are very popular this year, and a foot of fabric costs 12 copper coins.”

“Too expensive. Just give me fabric at 7 copper coins per foot,” Shen Lin said immediately.

“Listen to me; we’re not short on this small difference in price.” Zhou Jing turned to the shopkeeper and said, “Get 20 feet of each of these two styles, enough to make a set for each of them. And over there, get me ten and a half feet of that sky-blue fabric.”

Zhou Jing also bought fine cotton fabric, which was considered a high-quality material in this era.

It was soft and delicate, suitable only for the middle-class families in town.

He plans to have at least one set for the three of them to wear for future occasions so that if there were any important events that they need to attend, they wouldn’t be caught off guard.

For daily work, rough cloth was sufficient, but the coarse fabric they purchased was the best quality available among the rough fabrics.

When it came time to pay, Shen Lin wanted to pay using his money, but his money was simply not enough; he couldn’t even cover his own share.

The cotton fabric Zhou Jing bought was of excellent quality and quite expensive!

Thus, he had no choice but to give up on his plans.

Since all three members of the Zhou family needed to manage their businesses, the two gers were busy from dawn until dusk, leaving them no time to make clothes themselves.

They could only entrust the task to someone else.

“Sure,” Shen Mo agreed, but when he delivered the fabric, he secretly kept the two pieces meant for Zhou Jing’s clothes.

Shen Lin asked curiously, “Eldest brother, why are you keeping them for yourself?”

Shen Mo replied sheepishly, “In our village, no man with a wife should wear clothes made by someone else’s wife. I want him to wear clothes that I made with my own hands.”

Shen Lin asked: “But you have to go to town to sell sausage every day. When will you have the time?”

Shen Mo replied, “I’m quick with needlework. Although the long gown takes time, the short clothes are easy to make. The two items together will only take about three days. Tomorrow, I’ll just find some excuse to stay home for a few days, and I’ll have them done.”

“Alright then,” Shen Lin said, accepting his brother’s plan.

When they arrived at Aunt Shen’s house, she was home alone; her son, Wang Dali, had gone to town to carry burlap sacks and could earn 30 copper coins in a day.

Shen Mo: “Aunt Shen, we’ve come to trouble you with making some clothes for our family,”

Although the Zhou family was surrounded by a tall wall covered in sharp nails and iron pieces, preventing the villagers from seeing exactly what they were doing inside, the early morning and late evening mule carts, along with their cargo, hinted that Zhou Jing was doing business in town.

Aunt Shen touched the fabric beneath her hands. The cotton was soft, and such fine material was only seen being worn by wealthy young ladies in the town. Even in the fabric shop, one wouldn’t dare to touch it carelessly for fear of getting it dirty or damaged.

Moreover, the coarse fabric wasn’t the cheapest type; it was a slightly more expensive material worn by a few wealthier families in the village.

It seemed that the Zhou family was making money from their business.

Aunt Shen couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions, especially knowing that they lived in one of the few brick-tiled houses in the village.

In the past, the Zhou family had been poorer than her family. Now, they were even willing to buy cotton fabric and let the villagers make clothes for them.

“These two kinds of coarse cloth, make a short outfit for me and Xiao Di each, something neat for working. I’ll pay you 20 copper coins for each clothe you make. As for the other two types of cotton fabric, make me two formal long clothes. The style is more complicated, so I’ll give you 25 copper coins each.”

The total for the four garments came to 90 copper coins, the amount her son would earn from carrying burlap for two days.

Aunt Shen had no time to savor the bitterness swelling in her heart and hurriedly agreed.

“It will only take five days to finish. By then, you can come to pick them up. Rest assured, I’ll make sure the stitching is tight.” she said.

Shen Mo then discussed the style of the long gowns, and the two of them returned to the Zhou family.

Just as they reached the entrance of their home, they saw a line of ducks marching past the Zhou Family’s doorway. In the village, almost every household raised chickens and ducks freely, and by evening, they would find their way home on their own.

It was a common sight, so Shen Mo didn’t pay much attention and walked over as usual, intending to open the gate and enter the yard. But for some reason, the lead duck suddenly seemed agitated, flapping its wings and lunging at Shen Mo to peck at him.

Shen Mo wasn’t prepared and got pecked directly, and let out a painful cry.

The cry was quite pitiful, and Zhou Jing, who was inside the house, heard it clearly.

He immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed out in a hurry.

As soon as Zhou Jing opened the door, she saw Shen Mo and Shen Lin trying to kick the duck that had pecked them.

But whether it was because the duck was unusually fierce or because Shen Mo and Shen Lin were hesitant to kick too hard, the duck seemed to get even more energetic, hopping around happily.

In fact, it even dared to peck Shen Mo a few more times right in front of Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing didn’t bother hesitating.

Without holding back, he gave the duck a solid kick, sending it flying. When it hit the ground, it lay there completely still.

“Ah, you’ve kicked it to death! It’s raised by someone in the village; it wouldn’t be good if people found out,” Shen Mo said worriedly.

“At a time like this, and you’re still worrying about that!” Zhou Jing snapped.

He then knelt on one knee while squatting with the other, lifting Shen Mo’s leg that had been pecked. He placed his foot on his bent leg and rolled up Shen Mo’s pant leg to check how bad the injury was.

This made Shen Mo panic completely, making him forget all of the pain he felt.

It was said that a man’s knees held gold, reserved for kneeling to the heavens, the earth, and his parents. How could he kneel for him?

Shen Mo struggled to pull his leg back, but Zhou Jing gripped it tightly, refusing to let go.

His brow was furrowed so tightly it seemed like it could crush a fly, and his voice grew even more serious.

“Don’t move,” he ordered.

Although the volume wasn’t loud, the anger in the voice was unmistakable.

Shen Mo didn’t dare to move.

There were a few spots on Shen Mo’s leg that had already been pecked and were bleeding.

Zhou Jing was really worried. After all, the duck spent the whole day outside foraging for food, and no one could really say what it had eaten. Would it cause an infection or other diseases?

The more Zhou Jing thought about it, the more worried he became, and the harder and more solemn his expression grew.

Seeing him so wholeheartedly concerned, Shen Mo not only didn’t feel afraid but instead felt a warm glow in his heart.

Look at this man, he was so worried about him that he didn’t even care about the pride that men usually hold so dear.

Shen Mo was feeling quite pleased with himself—he was basking in this warmth when suddenly Zhou Jing hoisted him up.

Zhou Jing carried Shen Mo straight into the courtyard in one go, drew some fresh water from the well, and began washing the wounds on Shen Mo’s legs.

After rinsing it several times, Zhou Jing carried Shen Mo back into the house.

While Zhou Jing was doing all this, Shen Lin had been following along the entire time, which made Shen Mo feel quite embarrassed.

Shen Mo: “I just got pecked a few times on the leg. When I was little and didn’t know any better, the ducks would always peck my hands when I fed them. After a few days, I got better; it’s nothing to worry about.”

Zhou Jing took a deep look at Shen Mo, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Shen Mo thought that was the end of it. After all, no matter what, she had been pecked and injured, and his husband hadn’t even asked a single question.

It left him feeling rather uneasy. However, before those feelings of discomfort could fade, Doctor Zhong had already been invited over.

Doctor Zhong took a look at the small injury on Shen Mo’s leg, and his two small mustaches almost tShamaned off in disbelief.

With a grumpy tone, he uttered just two words, “No problem!”

However, he glanced at Shen Mo’s complexion and took his pulse.

“This child Shen has been taking good care of himself lately. His body has recovered quite a bit and isn’t as weak anymore.”

In fact, the speed of his recovery had surprised Doctor Zhong. While nourishing oneself with supplements was a simple method, how many farmers could truly afford to indulge in them? What was clearly the fastest way to recover often ended up being the slowest.

However, looking at the newly built, imposing green-brick house of the Zhou family, along with the exquisitely detailed interior design—luxurious enough to rival that of the wealthy gentlemen in town—Doctor Zhong felt at ease about their food and drink habits.

Even though he heard that Shen Mo had improved a lot, Zhou Jing’s expression did not seem relaxed. Instead, he asked, “Can he now start using medicinal supplements?”

Doctor Zhong replied, “Shen Mo’s body was weak before, so I didn’t recommend medicinal supplements, but now it’s fine. I’ll write you a prescription. The herbs in it are expensive, and I don’t have them here. You’ll need to go to the pharmacy in town to get them. Twice a day, morning and evening, taking it for half a month should suffice. There’s no need to take more than that.”

Doctor Zhong wouldn’t have dared to prescribe this prescription to any other household in the village; only to Zhou Jing.

Seeing such an impressive house, with its refined furniture, Doctor Zhong didn’t believe that Zhou Jing would be short of the few dozen silvers needed for Shen Mo’s recovery.

If the Zhou family’s house hadn’t been surrounded by tall walls, allowing the villagers to freely peek and explore, someone would have long guessed the truth—that the land for the house had been bought.

Zhou Jing took the prescription and put it away, still uneasy as he asked, “Doesn’t Xiao Mo really need any medicine for his leg?”

Doctor Zhong was speechless at this point. Was such a small injury worth making such a fuss over? Whose wife hadn’t been pecked while feeding the chickens and ducks?

However, Doctor Zhong still took out some anti-inflammatory ointment and handed it to Zhou Jing. “If you’re really that worried, just apply this for him.”

Only then did Zhou Jing seem to relax. He applied the ointment to Shen Mo and asked Shen Lin to prepare a bowl of sugared water for Doctor Zhong, who had been in the house all this time and hadn’t had the time to drink yet.

As Doctor Zhong sipped the sugared water, he couldn’t help but reflect on how everyone in the village claimed that Zhou Jing was a scoundrel who never did anything serious and that marrying him meant suffering and hardship.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Jing turned out to be a man who truly cherished his wife, and as a result, their family life was becoming better and better.

If the narrow-minded villagers caught wind of this, they would likely start to stir up new thoughts.

After applying the ointment, Zhou Jing stood up to see Doctor Zhong off.

When he returned, he was holding a plump duck in his hands.