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As the rooster’s crow echoed, Shen Zi’an woke up. Before opening his eyes, he felt the warmth in his arms and the soft, smooth skin beneath his hands, making him reluctant to let go. Opening his eyes, he looked at the woman beside him through the crack in the curtain. In his eyes was a love he never knew existed. He gently planted a kiss on Su Zhi’s forehead and then held her as they drifted back to sleep. Today, he intended to spend some extra time sleeping with her.
When he woke up again, Shen Zi’an noticed that it was already bright outside. Quietly dressing himself, he looked at his still-sleeping wife, realizing how tired she must have been from last night.
As soon as Shen Zi’an thought about last night, his face flushed with heat. He dared not look at Su Zhi again, afraid of losing control. He didn’t want to disturb his wife’s sleep.
Gently pulling back the curtain, Shen Zi’an stepped off the kang and pulled the curtain back, leaving only a small slit. The red candles had burned out, so he set them aside and tidied up the food on the table, carefully carrying it to the kitchen.
Worried that Su Zhi might feel cold when she woke up, Shen Zi’an lit some charcoal. While he was tending to the charcoal, he heard movement on the kang. Hurrying over, he saw Su Zhi opening her eyes.
Su Zhi looked at Shen Zi’an, momentarily unable to react. But as she looked into the crimson curtains, she felt a rush of memories flooding back, and her body reacted with a sudden warmth. Blushing under Shen Zi’an’s gaze, she lowered her eyelashes, hiding her shyness.
“Wife, are you awake?” Shen Zi’an felt a bit embarrassed too, but he gently pulled the blanket over Su Zhi’s exposed shoulder. “I’ll go heat some water. Would you like to take a bath?”
Su Zhi nodded. She thought of adding some lotus flower powder to the hot water to make herself more comfortable. With just a slight movement, she already felt uncomfortable.
Shen Zi’an went to heat the water. There was a small room next to the kitchen where they kept the bath tub. They could take a bath there, and there was also charcoal nearby. With the room warmed by the fire, it was cozy inside.
Su Zhi enjoyed a comforting bath, dressed herself, and sat on the kang, looking at the still red room with a smile of happiness on her face.
Shen Zi’an cooked some rice porridge, boiled some eggs, sliced some pickled vegetables—radishes and ginger—and also prepared two steamed buns. He served them to Su Zhi, and they ate together at the kang table.
Though Su Zhi was shy, she wasn’t a typical ancient woman, and having been with Shen Zi’an for a long time, she quickly regained her natural demeanor after finishing the meal. Shen Zi’an felt the same way. However, they felt a bit closer to each other than before. This must be the feeling of truly becoming one in marriage!
After finishing their meal, Su Zhi went to play with the two little wolves, while Shen Zi’an had already fed them. Now, the big white wolf and the large black dog were basking in the sun on the playing with the two wolf cubs. A smile adorned his face as he thought that this was the life he had always wanted—having his own home and someone to accompany him. Happiness was indeed that simple.
The pleasant days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, December was coming to an end.
The people of Riverside Village gradually stopped fearing the sacred beast of Shen Zi’an’s family. They witnessed Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi walking together with the big white wolf, and on several occasions, the wolf had come close to them. However, it simply glanced at them before turning away, as if it didn’t care at all. This reaction from the big white wolf actually reassured them. Sometimes, being looked down upon was more comforting than being respected.
Later on, Su Zhi began taking the big black dog and the two wolf cubs out together, with the big white wolf following behind them slowly, like a guardian.
One time, a few children were playing on the outskirts of the village when Su Zhi happened to be out for a walk with the whole group of sacred beasts. When the little black wolf saw the children running around, it joined in the fun. At that moment, the big white wolf and the large black dog were lagging behind, hidden from view. The children only saw the little black wolf, and one of the boys found it cute and started playing with it. However, when they saw the big white wolf, they were startled. Some of the children ran away, while two timid ones couldn’t move and started crying in fear.
Su Zhi went over to comfort them, telling them not to be afraid and reassuring them that the sacred beasts wouldn’t harm good children.
As the children saw the big white wolf approaching and noticed that it didn’t bite them, and with someone like Su Zhi by their side, petting the big white wolf’s neck, they stopped being afraid.
With this news spreading, everyone came to know that the sacred beasts, though wolves, were capable of understanding human nature and wouldn’t harm people indiscriminately.
Li Shi had been away for a few days and upon his return, he heard about the sacred beasts residing in Shen Zi’an’s house. Being bold and believing that animals capable of understanding human nature wouldn’t harm people, and having helped the cubs of the sacred beasts himself, he was certain everything would be fine. Immediately, he went to Shen Zi’an’s house and was amazed to see the sacred beasts there.
After Li Shi visited Shen Zi’an’s house and came out unscathed, the villagers of Riverside Village became less fearful of the sacred beasts once again.
Gradually, the people of Riverside Village became accustomed to the presence of the sacred beasts. Although they no longer ran away at the sight of the big white wolf, they still kept a safe distance of about two meters. This was already a significant improvement.
Su Zhi was content with this situation. She didn’t want others to fear the sacred beasts too much, but neither did she want them to disregard the beasts entirely. Maintaining a certain level of intimidation was ideal.
Deep winter had arrived, and the Lunar New Year was just a month away. Su Zhi had already tidied up the house very nicely, and the issue with the sacred beasts had been resolved. She and Shen Zi’an had also truly become husband and wife, and life had returned to its normal course. With everything settled, Su Zhi began thinking about making money.
After doing some calculations, Su Zhi realized that they had spent 260 taels on buying land, constructing the house, and building walls. This included expenses for materials and labor, as well as various other miscellaneous costs totaling over 100 taels. Additionally, Shen Zi’an had spent a considerable amount on procuring these items for her, further depleting their funds. With 800 taels initially available, half of it had already been spent.
Now, with a little over 400 taels left, this amount might seem substantial to the average rural household, possibly an amount that could take a lifetime to earn. However, for Su Zhi, it wasn’t much, and she didn’t intend to live off their savings.
Su Zhi thought about how next year they would need to tidy up the garden properly. They would have to spend money on repairing roads, digging ponds, and building pavilions. Additionally, if they wanted to start a business in the future and expand it, they might need to hire laborers, which would also incur expenses.
To Su Zhi, the 400 taels of silver seemed like a pile of snow that would diminish with every gust of wind, gradually disappearing.
Making money was a must.
Su Zhi closed the small box, locked it securely, and then opened the cabinet beside the kang. With a pull in a certain spot, a hidden wooden panel inside the cabinet opened. She placed the small box inside and closed the wooden panel, making it look like an empty cabinet from the outside. She also placed some other items inside so that no one would suspect there was a hidden box there.
Shen Zi’an watched his wife hiding the money and chuckled to himself before lowering his head to continue writing his characters. Over these days, he had learned that Su Zhi could write, so he let her teach him. He already knew quite a few characters, but now he was learning some of the more difficult ones. He was picking it up quickly, and by the end of this winter, Su Zhi would probably have nothing left to teach him.
“Zi’an, we only have four hundred taels of silver left in the house. We need to make more money,” Su Zhi said, moving to the kang table and watching Shen Zi’an write.
Shen Zi’an sat cross-legged, his posture straight, and his brush moved slowly under his hand. With some of Su Zhi’s Spiritual Spring water and a bit of lotus flower pollen, Shen Zi’an’s skin had improved, becoming smoother and gaining a lighter complexion, though still retaining its wheatish hue. His hair, now darker and shinier, matched the blue shirt Su Zhi had made for him. Sitting there writing, he might not have looked like a delicate scholar, but he exuded an air of sophistication.
Su Zhi looked at Shen Zi’an and thought that if he had been nurtured like Shen Ziju, he might have been a talented individual too.
But she liked Shen Zi’an just the way he was now.
After Shen Zi’an finished writing a character and set the brush aside, he asked, “Wife, how do you want to make money?”
Su Zhi immediately smiled, her lips pressed together. She liked Shen Zi’an’s approach. If it were any other man, he would probably say, “Leave the money-making to me, and you, as a woman, don’t need to worry about it.” That’s how her husband in her past life was, which led her to give up a promising career to become a housewife and eventually lose herself.
Shen Zi’an nodded, intrigued by Su Zhi’s ideas. “We do have a lot of chestnuts and hawthorns, don’t we? Do you think the hawthorn candy I made last time was delicious. We could sell hawthorn candy, candied haws, and roasted chestnuts. With the Lunar New Year approaching, people will buy snacks like melon seeds and peanuts. What we offer is unique, so I believe they’ll sell well.”
As for the candied haws, he could imagine it, but he wasn’t sure about the specifics. So, he asked, “Candied haws? What are they exactly?”
Su Zhi smiled and explained, “Candied haws are made by removing the seeds from hawthorn fruits, skewering them on bamboo sticks, coating them with a layer of syrup, and then letting them cool. They’re popular among children because of their sweet and sour taste.”
“Have you tried them before?”
Su Zhi smiled at Shen Zi’an’s agreement. “Yes, let’s do it. I’ll prepare everything tomorrow. And it’s been a while since I last went to the market. I have some woven ropes ready to sell. It’ll be a good opportunity to make some extra money.”
Shen Zi’an nodded in agreement. “Great, let’s go to the market tomorrow. We can buy the sugar we need and sell the ropes. It’ll be a productive day.”
With their plans set, they looked forward to the market day ahead.