Tears welled up in the handsome husband’s eyes, threatening to spill over; he looked so overwhelmed with gratitude that words failed him.

Ye Li gazed at him, moved by his beauty yet filled with pity.

Ye Li instinctively reached for his chest, intending to pull out a handkerchief to wipe away his tears.

But he wasn’t his original self; he hadn’t yet developed the habit of carrying a handkerchief with him.

When he reached, his hand met only emptiness.

He quickly turned his head to look around the kitchen.

The dishcloth used for wiping hands was hanging by the door.

There was indeed a cloth on the stove, but it was for wiping the stove—greasy and blackened.

He simply rolled up his own sleeve and held it up to Jiang Ji’s handsome face: “Here, wipe your tears. If Xiao Liu sees you like this later, she’ll probably think I’m picking on you.”

Seeing him look around and ultimately offer only his own sleeve, Jiang Ji’s moment of emotion instantly turned into a mix of laughter and exasperation.

Ye Li really didn’t seem like a young ger these days.

“No need. And thank you.”

Ye Li also felt that his coarse linen sleeve wasn’t quite suitable for wiping away tears, so he pulled it back, saying with a hint of reproach, “Look at you being polite again. This is what I should be doing.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ji replied, “Then just buy some joss paper, incense, and candles—a pound of peaches and a pound of pastries will suffice.”

“Mother loves sweets and fruits; if you prepare these two things, she’ll surely be pleased.”

“Hmm… that seems a bit meager. It’s my first time paying them a visit; I’ll prepare a few more offerings.”

“It’s my first time meeting my mother-in-law; I can’t be too stingy.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ji smiled. “Mother will definitely like you.”

Ye Li nodded in agreement upon hearing this. “After all, I’m such a virtuous husband.”

Although he was a wandering spirit, he was utterly devoted to Jiang Ji; there was no reason for Mother Jiang not to like him.

He was so confident, but Jiang Ji just found him adorable and couldn’t help but stare at him and laugh.

When a look of confusion crossed his face, Jiang Ji said, “It’s fine if you prepare it. Also, since we’re going to pay our respects at Father’s grave, prepare some yellow wine as well. Father loved his drink; back when our family was still doing well, he used to enjoy a little sip with dinner.”

Besides, these offerings would eventually end up in the stomachs of the living anyway.

In poor families, offerings brought to the graves are always taken back home; they can’t afford the pomp and ceremony of wealthy households.

“Alright.” Ye Li agreed.

The two discussed a few more details, and just as they finished, there was a commotion coming from the main hall.

Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya had woken up.

When Jiang Ya woke up and didn’t see his older brother or Ye Li, his little face immediately scrunched up in displeasure.

However, every time he woke up, he always saw Jiang Mai; he had hardly ever seen Jiang Ji or Ye Li.

So his slight displeasure quickly faded.

Besides, he’d been super happy last night!

He skipped into the kitchen, washed his face and brushed his teeth, then rolled up his sleeves, revealing his chubby arms, and began straining the bean pulp.

A new day—time to earn some wages!

Jiang Ji finished breakfast, grabbed his small backpack, and hurried off to the county seat.

The two little ones also slung their backpacks over their shoulders and headed out to cut grass.

Ye Li pressed the tofu and turned to go to the west room.

Not to mention the handkerchief—he hadn’t even thought of it yet—but in two months, Jiang Ji would be setting off for the Prefectural Capital.

It had been two years since Jiang Ji last went to the Prefectural Capital to take the imperial exams. Back then, his dear husband was sixteen; now he was eighteen, and he’d shot up a bit, so his clothes from two years ago no longer fit.

When his original self married Jiang Ji, someone had given them fabric as a wedding gift. He dug it out, intending to ask Liang Erxiang to tailor a new set of clothes for him.

He wouldn’t make them himself—first, because he didn’t have the time, and second, because his craftsmanship would only embarrass Jiang Ji.

More importantly, he had no patience!

Even if you love someone, some things simply can’t be forced.

However, even though Liang Erxiang was his aunt by marriage, he couldn’t very well have an elder work for free. So, when Ye Liang came over at noon, he asked him at the dinner table to buy two pounds of pork for him the next day.

As soon as Ye Liang heard this, his eyes widened in surprise: “Why buy more meat? Didn’t we buy over seven pounds just yesterday?”

“This is for Second Aunt,” Ye Li explained calmly.

Ye Liang replied, “Why don’t we ask Father to make it?”

Ye Wen’s Fulang was quite hardworking; as soon as he married into the family, he took over all the household chores, so now his father had much more free time than before.

“No need. Second Uncle would be upset. Before, all of Jiang Ji’s clothes were made by Second Aunt.”

Ye Li shook his head.

If he didn’t ask Liang Erxiang to help this time, Jiang Dahu would surely get the wrong idea.

At the mention of Jiang Dahu, Ye Liang fell silent: “Alright, I’ll buy the meat tomorrow.”

However, when Ye Li brought the meat over the following evening, Jiang Dahu looked a bit displeased: “We’re all family—why did you buy meat? That’s too formal.”

Ye Li explained with a smile: “Second Uncle, this is a gift for you and Second Aunt. Is it wrong for me to be filial?”

“Filial piety”—those two words struck a chord with Jiang Dahu, and his mood brightened again.

That’s exactly right!

His nephew-in-law is filial; that means he holds his Second Uncle in high regard.

He said with a smile, “Don’t worry. By the time Xiao Ji comes back next time, your Second Aunt will definitely have the clothes ready.”

After all, Jiang Ji’s wedding robes had been made by Liang Erxiang.

It had only been a few months, so there was no need to take new measurements.

“There’s no rush. As long as they’re ready before he leaves for the Prefectural Capital, that’s fine. Auntie is busy with her daily chores anyway; she can work on them when she has a spare moment.”

Ye Li said.

Jiang Dahu waved his hand dismissively: “She doesn’t have anything major to do. The farm work isn’t too heavy right now.”

Just the usual weeding and watering.

To Ye Li, this work seemed extremely arduous, but in the eyes of farmers, it wasn’t particularly busy before the autumn harvest.

Take the Jiang Dachuan household, for instance. They had a large family but not much land, so Jiang Tong could often stay home and tinker with carpentry.

Ye Li thought of the travel expenses Jiang Ji would need in two months, as well as his debts—he’d casually learned from Jiang Dahu a few days ago that Jiang Ji actually owed money to others.

The creditors were Jiang Dahu and Jiang Fuzheng.

In the two years following Father Jiang’s passing, Jiang Ji was still young; odd jobs were hard to come by, and he couldn’t carry heavy sacks, so he earned very little. Whenever expenses arose, he had no choice but to borrow money.

Later, whenever he found himself short on cash, he borrowed a little more.

To date, the total amount borrowed amounts to just over eight taels.

Ye Li considered this debt of over eight taels to be a joint obligation between husband and wife; since Jiang Ji was busy with his studies, it fell to him to find a way to repay it.

So, after leaving Jiang Dahu’s house, he went straight to Jiang Dachuan’s home to find Jiang Tong.

In fact, he had already fashioned the wind chime out of a wooden stick, but recently Jiang Tong had been busy making sawdust and stools—sawdust was needed for making preserved eggs, and as a carpenter, Jiang Tong naturally didn’t want to spend money buying it.

So he first used a plane to shave the wood into shavings as thin as paper, then used an axe to chop the shavings into as fine a powder as possible. After further processes like rolling and kneading by hand, the curled shavings became sawdust.

This sawdust wasn’t as fine as the shavings that fall when sawing wood, but it would do for now.

Currently, Ye Li, Jiang Liu, and Jiang Yu only need to buy quicklime to make the eggs; they no longer need to buy sawdust.

Sawdust isn’t actually expensive; rather than wasting time on such small change, it’s better to make wind chimes and earn more money.

Of course, relying on Jiang Tong alone, wind chimes won’t bring in a fortune.

But for Ye Li, every little bit adds up—it’s better than nothing.

At the very least, it can cover Jiang Ji’s egg expenses and the heat subsidy.

For Jiang Tong, that would certainly be more than the small amount saved by making sawdust.

Therefore, this business was still quite necessary.

When Ye Li arrived at Jiang Tong’s house, the three men—Jiang Dachuan, Jiang Da, and Jiang Shun—had not yet returned from working in the fields.

Jiang Tong was holding a plane and planing wood.

Jiang Dachuan’s Fulang, Gao Jun, was sitting by the well, sorting vegetables.

Gao Jun was in poor health and rarely worked in the fields.

When Jiang Tong and Gao Jun saw him come in, they both stopped what they were doing and greeted him with a smile: “Brother Li, what brings you here at this hour? Come, sit down.”

“Would you like some water?”

Ye Li hurriedly replied, “Uncle, I’m not thirsty. Don’t bother with that—you sit down and rest. I’m here because I have something to discuss with Brother Jiang Tong.”

“What is it?” Jiang Tong asked.

Gao Jun also looked at him curiously.

“Well, I’ve recently made a wind chime out of a wooden stick, and I’d like to ask Brother Datong to make a bigger, nicer one for me.”

“A wind chime?” Jiang Tong was a bit surprised.

As a carpenter, he knew what a wind chime was.

But wind chimes were usually made of metal, very delicate, and only used by wealthy families—no one in the countryside used them.

How could you make a wind chime out of wood?

“Brother Datong, why don’t you come home with me and take a look at the prototype?” Ye Li said, seeing that he couldn’t figure it out.

“Sure.” Jiang Tong brushed the sawdust off his hands. “I’ll go to your house and see what kind of wind chime it is.”

So he followed Ye Li home.

As the two entered the house, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were chopping pig fodder. The two little ones spotted him and greeted him loudly.

Ye Li went into the house and brought out the wind chime samples he had made.

There were three samples.

One consisted of several long wooden sticks bound together in a staggered pattern, creating an aesthetically pleasing undulating effect.

Another was a crescent-shaped piece of wood with a small bell attached below.

The third was made of four round wooden discs. According to Ye Li’s idea, these four discs represented four characters with excellent symbolic meanings, with a bell attached below.

Since his current persona was that of an “illiterate man,” he temporarily used the wooden discs to represent the characters.

Of the three wind chimes, two had bells attached, while one was made entirely of wood.

He had made it offhandedly from sticks, so the overall finish was extremely rough.

The bells were also ones he had bought on a whim in the county town; they were made of iron, about the size of a baby’s fist, and inexpensive.

But as a carpenter, Jiang Tong’s mind automatically envisioned these three crude wind chimes as if they were his own finished creations.

From Jiang Tong’s perspective, each of the three wind chimes was attractive. Though they couldn’t compare to the exquisite ones found in wealthy households, they would be quite suitable hanging in a rural farmhouse—not at all out of place.

You’d catch a glimpse of them every time you walked in or out.

They’re attractive, and they carry a nice meaning.

If the wind blows, they’ll make a little sound, adding a touch of liveliness.

He even wanted to hang one himself!

“I’ll take these three back for now. Once they’re finished, I’ll bring them over to you,” he said with a smile.

“Brother Datong, there’s no rush. Do you think if we took these three wind chimes out to sell, anyone would buy them?”

He asked the question, but Ye Li already had the answer in his heart.

Jiang Tong was clearly very interested.

But Jiang Tong was quite surprised: “Sell?”

“Right. I don’t see anyone selling these kinds of wind chimes in town. If we make them and take them out to sell, as long as the price is reasonable, we should be able to make some money, right?”

Ye Li explained.

Jiang Tong froze, then looked down at the wind chimes in his hands.

After examining it over and over, he said with little confidence, “Why don’t we make a few to test the waters? Li’er, don’t get your hopes up too high.”

He wasn’t confident in his own craftsmanship.

He had also planned to make some stools to sell in the county seat or town, but stools were necessities; as long as they were cheap, people would definitely buy them.

Even if they didn’t sell, it didn’t matter; he could keep them for his own use.

After all, he was covering his own costs, so he felt no pressure.

But these wind chimes were made by Ye Li. Thinking of how Bao Beiyuan and Ye Li had partnered to sell drinks, he suddenly felt the weight of it all.

He hadn’t learned any real skills, and he was afraid of letting Ye Li down!

Seeing Jiang Tong’s obvious anxiety, Ye Li smiled and said, “Datong, just go ahead and do it. It’s no big deal if it doesn’t work out. With the pickled eggs, we can still make a few hundred wen a month—we’re not short on ways to make money.”

“If this wind chime sells, that’s a nice bonus; if it doesn’t, it won’t affect us.”

As soon as he said this, Jiang Tong immediately felt the weight on his shoulders lift a little.

As long as Ye Li wasn’t insisting on doing this business, he wouldn’t be so nervous.

He took another look at the wind chime in his hand and said, “I’ll do my best.”

“There’s no rush, Brother Datong. Take your time,” Ye Li urged.

Jiang Tong nodded; he understood.

In his line of work, one simply couldn’t rush things.

Just then, the two little ones finished chopping the pig feed. Instead of hurrying to carry it to the backyard, they ran over to Jiang Tong and curiously examined the wind chimes in his hands.

Ye Li had put the samples away in the cabinet earlier, so the two hadn’t seen them yet.

“Xiao Mai, Ya-ger, do you two like these three wind chimes?” Ye Li asked with a smile.

The two little ones exchanged a glance and nodded hesitantly: “We like them.”

They’d never seen wind chimes before, but they didn’t have any other toys either.

These three wind chimes in front of them might look ugly, but they were certainly novel.

The two of them were happy to hold them and play with them.

Ye Li was amused by the little ones’ hesitation. he reached out to ruffle their little heads and said, “Once Brother Datong brings over the finished products, you’ll see just how beautiful they are.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, Jiang Tong felt the pressure mounting again.

He hurriedly grabbed the three wooden wind chimes and left; someone like him, with no real craftsmanship, couldn’t bear to hear such praise.

Ye Li’s days continued as usual.

Running his business and raising the two little ones—it was monotonous and dreadfully repetitive.

Jiang Tong didn’t keep him waiting long; just two days later, he arrived carrying the three finished wind chimes.

When it came to business, Jiang Tong was very serious; every part was polished until it was smooth and free of burrs.

The craftsmanship was exquisite; the crescent moon truly resembled the one in the sky.

Slender and beautiful.

As for the four round wooden discs, they had been transformed into the phrase “Abundance Year After Year.”

Jiang Tong had learned a few characters from Master Wang the Carpenter, and since he happened to know how to write those four characters, he used them.

All three wind chimes had a natural wood finish, unvarnished. Ye Li was used to the look of untreated wood and didn’t find it unattractive.

Besides, if they were painted, the cost would go up.

His target market was households like his.

“Brother Datong, your craftsmanship is excellent,” Ye Li said, looking over the three wind chimes with a touch of surprise.

These three wind chimes were simple, elegant, and beautiful—truly something to be proud of.

Seeing that he genuinely liked them, Jiang Tong breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“Do you think this will work?”

“Yes, absolutely! Tomorrow I’ll go into town to buy some small bells. You make three of each design first, and I’ll have my older brother take them to town to sell. How about we split the profits 90-10?”

After all, he’d only come up with the idea; everything else depended on Jiang Tong.

But as soon as Jiang Tong heard this, he shook his head immediately: “No, no, no. You came up with the idea, so let’s split it three-to-seven.”

Hearing that ratio, Ye Li was delighted.

Three to seven again.

He said, “Big Brother Tong, you’re the one putting in the effort and using your craftsmanship. Splitting it this way is too much of a loss for you.”

“If it weren’t for your idea, I wouldn’t have earned a single wen.”

Jiang Tong said earnestly.

He understood that logic perfectly well.

And setting aside the forty taels of silver, let’s just talk about the preserved eggs.

It was Ye Li who had taken the initiative to teach him how to make them.

This little business was simply too good—it was practically a dream come true.

First, the investment was small.

Second, it wasn’t labor-intensive. He just had to run to the county seat to buy eggs and quicklime, spend an afternoon working on them, and then in half a month, he could start counting his money.

Third, it was stable.

He could reliably earn several hundred wen a month.

Lately, he’d even been planning to make more, aiming to increase his monthly earnings from several hundred wen to one tael.

Eggs don’t keep well in the summer, and with many people selling them, the price is slightly lower than in other seasons.

Moreover, once winter sets in, heavy snow in the north blocks the roads, and the canals in the south occasionally freeze over. By then, there will be fewer merchants passing through Beiyang County.

Therefore, this small business is best done during this season—it’s a real money-maker!

Ye Li had given him such a great business opportunity without asking for a single wen. Compared to that carpenter Wang, he was truly grateful and didn’t know how to repay her.

Now, Ye Li wanted to go into business with him as partners.

He couldn’t possibly ask for a larger share!

Jiang Tong genuinely wanted a 30-70 split. Ye Li tried to persuade him a few more times, but he stood his ground and wouldn’t budge, so Ye Li agreed.

The two discussed a few more details.

Since Ye Li had already designed the patterns and had the capital on hand, Jiang Tong took over the task of purchasing the bells. From then on, Ye Li wouldn’t have to worry about a thing—he just had to wait for Jiang Tong to finish the products and deliver them.

Jiang Tong put his heart into it, so Ye Li didn’t have to worry.

However, life in the countryside was truly devoid of joy; he felt like a robot programmed with a set routine, repeating the same process day after day.

Such days, such a life—it was truly predictable from start to finish.

His only hope was waiting for Jiang Ji to return home.

Waiting for Jiang Tong to deliver the nine finished wind chimes.

And for Ye Li to sell all nine finished wind chimes.

The long eleven days finally passed, and Jiang Ji was coming home.

The day before Jiang Ji returned, Ye Li went to the county seat to buy the sacrificial offerings.

He also bought two young roosters.

On the day Jiang Ji returned, one was stewed, and the other was braised.

The family ate the stewed one for dinner.

The braised one was saved for the grave visit the next day.

Moreover, Jiang Ji brought back his share of the drink sales.

Bao Beiyuan knew what day tomorrow was, so in the evening he sent the account books from the past twenty-odd days, along with the copper coins Ye Li was owed, to the private school, asking Jiang Ji to bring them back.

Bao Beiyuan himself didn’t have time to come over.

Moreover, in his mind, Ye Li was illiterate and couldn’t read the account books.

So he turned to Jiang Ji.