Chapter 92

Upon hearing Sun Jinhua’s words, some women started gathering their things and preparing to leave.

Seeing this, the others also got up and left.

Sun Jinhua, having failed to provoke a reaction, muttered angrily, “I know what you’re thinking. You’re just defending them because you’ve benefited from their help before.

Heh, many of your husbands are working for my brother-in-law, aren’t they? Let’s see if they come back empty-handed. That would make me laugh!”

No one responded.

Silence fell.

Sun Jinhua found this silence more unbearable than a heated argument, and suddenly, even the fried soybeans in her hand lost their flavor.

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At Shuisheng’s place, it was the busiest spot in the entire village.

After lunch, as the dishes were washed and the pots scrubbed, everyone kept stretching their necks, glancing towards the road.

“Could it be that it’s not selling well?” Hu’s mother asked worriedly.

It was the first day of selling, and many people might not know if it was worth buying.

“Maybe father and the others won’t be back until evening. Big sister, let’s get started on today’s rice wine!” Fan Jiang wasn’t too concerned; he just liked to work.

When he was working, he didn’t have to think so much.

Yan Qiu looked at her mother and asked softly, “Mother, how much rice should we prepare today? Should we reduce the amount?”

They had been steaming more rice each day, but now it was already past noon and father, uncle, and brother hadn’t returned, which suggested poor sales.

Thinking about how much rice wine was planned for tomorrow, which was even more than today, she wondered what to do.

“Let’s stick to the same amount as yesterday,” Shuisheng remained the calmest of them all.

“But—”

“Father and the others are back!”

“Who’s that next to them? Never seen him before.”

Several children and Hu’s mother went out to greet them, surrounding the four as they returned.

Seeing the unstoppable smile on Hu’s mother’s face, Shuisheng knew all the rice wine had been sold.

Hu Wenhua cheerfully announced, “Mother, sister, even before we went, we sold 90 jin (kilograms) for tomorrow!

Yan Qiu, quickly check how much we have for tomorrow. We need to prepare for the stall tomorrow too.”

He had promised many customers they would set up the stall again tomorrow and couldn’t break his word.

Yan Qiu, not knowing how to contain her joy, quickly went into the thatched house to check which barrels would be ready for tomorrow.

Hu Wenhua then took out the money jar and handed it to Shuisheng, beaming, “Sister, we sold over 50 jin, and after accounting for samples, we sold a total of 47 jin, which earned us 940 wen (copper coins)!”

Hu’s mother was overjoyed; it was almost a tael of silver!

Her son-in-law and daughter were selling it for 20 wen per jin. Later, when they sold it themselves in Niutou Town for 16 wen per jin, it would be much easier without all the traveling and raising cattle.

“Mother, I must tell you, we used up all the bamboo tubes, and they still weren’t enough!” Fan He eagerly added.

He then picked up another small jar and proudly showed it to everyone, “Twenty bamboo tubes sold for 40 wen!

People wanted to buy more, but we ran out. If we had more, we could’ve sold even more.”

Hearing that the bamboo tubes fetched 40 wen, Hu’s mother was even more surprised than by the rice wine sales.

“My goodness, even the bamboo from the mountain can be sold?”

Fan Jiang and Fan Hu’s mouths hung open in astonishment.

Thinking about tomorrow, Xing Hui quickly said, “We should hurry and prepare everything for tomorrow.”

Here is the translated text:

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The bamboo tube’s mouth needs to be polished well to prevent it from scratching people.

“Let’s go, Uncle will take you!” Hu Wenhua waved his hand, and the few little ones quickly followed him.

Everyone tacitly didn’t ask about Lingran.

Hu’s mother did the same.

The rice wine was completely sold out, the heavy stone on her heart was lifted, and with ninety catties reserved for tomorrow, her mood was indescribably joyful.

She radiated happiness from the inside out.

Her gaze fell on the dirty Lingran, and she found something to do: “I’ll boil two pots of hot water to give this child a bath.”

He was too dirty.

As for the son-in-law bringing someone home, that was a matter for her daughter and son-in-law. They, as parents, had their own plans, and she wouldn’t interfere.

Fan Jin quietly recounted everything that happened in detail to Shuiqing.

He glanced at the upright Lingran and frowned, saying, “I’ve carefully checked the travel permit. He hasn’t committed any crimes, isn’t a beggar, and is a child from a good family. It’s just that this child’s family background is quite high.”

Shuiqing raised her eyebrows, “How high?”

Fan Jin whispered something in her ear.

Shuiqing’s round eyes widened even more.

Alright, it’s not just ‘quite’ high anymore.

Fan Jin sighed deeply, “He seems to be going through a tough time right now. I thought we could help him out. He said he would leave when spring arrives next year.”

Shuiqing had no objections, and immediately thought of the extra help, “Just in time, there’s a lot of work at home. The brush business can’t be interrupted, so having one more person around is fine.”

Each batch of brushes sold for dozens of taels of silver, delivered every seven days, bringing in hundreds of taels a month. This was the main source of the household’s income and couldn’t be neglected.

Although there was enough money to build the house, with some likely left over, the more savings, the better, and the more secure they felt.

Their family’s principle was never to keep idle people. Whoever came had to work!

Work aside, Shuiqing went into the house and brought out a clean set of clothes for Lingran to change into after his bath.

These were originally made for Heizi, but he hadn’t worn them before he went home.

Ling Ran was much taller than Heizi, but the clothes were made large and barely fit.

Later, they could ask Aunt Li to make him a couple of sets of clothes that fit better.

Ling Ran, who had washed up and changed into clean clothes, truly surprised everyone.

Even Hu’s mother couldn’t stop praising, “This child is really handsome!”

The very handsome Lingran started helping in the afternoon by feeding the piglets—Hu’s father had finally found suitable piglets and bought them.

The pigsty was built quite large, and the three piglets were running around happily inside.

Butcher Hu, with his hands behind his back, inspected the house inside and out, including the rabbit and chicken coops, missing nothing.

The house’s foundation had just been laid, but Butcher Hu was still very satisfied with what he saw.

Upon hearing from his wife that their daughter and son-in-law were brewing and selling wine, he hurriedly asked how the sales were going.

Hearing that the sales were surprisingly good, he was still in shock when his wife mentioned that their own family was also planning to brew and sell wine, leaving him stammering, not knowing what to say.

Seizing the opportunity, Shuiqing said, “Mother, it’s less than two months until the New Year, and I can manage here. If you and father are free after breakfast and dinner, why don’t you go home and start making rice wine to sell?”

Hu’s mother originally wanted to stay a few more days to help, but thinking of Ling Ran, she felt it was alright if she and Wenhua weren’t there.

Moreover, honestly, hearing that rice wine was selling well, she wanted to go back and start making it as soon as possible.

Who wouldn’t want to earn money?

Especially for her, a woman who had never truly earned any money in her life.

She looked uneasily at her husband and asked, “Dear, do you agree with me making rice wine to sell?”