Bonus chapter thanks to Green Kitea and Elaine on Kofi. Enjoy!

The two of them bought some salt and other things in town, then went to the cloth shop and purchased three bolts of fabric. They hadn’t made new clothes all last year, so they decided to make a set for each of the three of them.

The bamboo basket was packed full of goods, and Lin Yu couldn’t stop smiling the whole way back.

Having dealt with the two mule carts’ worth of game, what was left at home didn’t need to be rushed to sell, and feeding time when cutting grass was now much easier.

After returning home, Lin Yu put the silver away, then counted what else in the house could be sold. To his surprise, there was still half a sack of goji berries and a basket of silk handkerchiefs they’d forgotten to sell—worth at least a few taels of silver.

After discussing it with Wei Qingshan, they gave Zhao Yueniang five taels of silver. She had contributed to getting those things, and though they didn’t give too much, Lin Yu planned to add to her dowry when she married in the future.

When Zhao Yueniang saw so much silver, she quickly waved her hands. “Brother, what are you doing?!”

“Keep it for yourself to spend. You’ve helped a lot with the game at home—just take it.” Lin Yu stuffed it into her hands. The young girl had never seen so much silver before and stood there dazed.

With the game sold, the three of them had much less work at home. Over the next few days, Wei Qingshan drove the mule cart into town to look for a shop. Once he had a good idea of the choices, he would take Lin Yu to pick one.

Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang, on the other hand, strapped on their bamboo baskets and went to the fields to cut wild grass. They no longer went to the back mountain. After the bandits were wiped out there, Lin Yu still felt uneasy about that place—though thankfully it was far from their home, otherwise he would really have been afraid.

So the two of them simply avoided the back mountain and went to the edges of their own fields to cut grass. This spring, after they planted the crops, there had been a rainfall, and the seedlings had sprouted—thin and tender, swaying back and forth in the spring breeze.

The two of them cut grass at the field edges, and when they got tired, they sat down to enjoy the wind. Looking at the crops in his own fields, Lin Yu felt happy. “When we plant the second crop, let’s plant some cotton. This winter, we can each make a set of cotton-padded clothes and also make a few quilts.”

Hearing that, Zhao Yueniang felt warm inside. “Mm! Brother, I’ll help you make them.”

The family’s days were getting better and better, and Lin Yu was pleased. Now their household could be considered well-off. If only they had a baby, it would be perfect.

The two of them cut two baskets of fresh, tender grass and headed home. To get to their own field edge, they had to pass through the village. Just as Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang entered the village, someone hurried over. “Yu-ger, Yu-ger, Wei Laotai is back, and she’s making a scene. You’d better avoid her later.”

Lin Yu nodded. “Thank you.”

He wasn’t afraid—there were still two hunting dogs at home. Why would he fear Wei Laotai causing trouble? He and Zhao Yueniang took another route home.

The old Wei family courtyard had been sold by Wei Qingshan not long ago, and the new occupants had already moved in—a goods peddler’s family from town. Since they had no land in town, they simply moved to the countryside.

After Wei Laotai and Xia Hehua were thrown out of the village, Xia Hehua was so frightened, no one knew where she went, and Wei Laotai didn’t get anything when she went to beg for food. These days, every household’s grain was tight, so who would have extra food to give to outsiders?

Wei Laotai could only gnaw on some wild vegetables from the ground. When she couldn’t bear it anymore, she thought of secretly sneaking back into the village, but when she returned, she saw that her family’s courtyard had actually been taken over by others.

The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she was driven out. She made a scene wanting to go in, shouting, “Who are you! What right do you have to be in my house? Get out of here, get out!”

The peddler’s entire family was living there, even with children in the house. Wei Laotai, with her hair disheveled and her body filthy, frightened their children into crying.

She was chased out by the peddler, wielding a broom. When they bought this courtyard along with the house, it had only cost ten taels of silver in total — truly a dirt-cheap price. They weren’t afraid of an old shrew like her.

Driven out, Wei Laotai sat at the door crying and wailing, “That damned Wei Qingshan, that unfilial son, may he be hacked to death a thousand times! How dare he sell off my family’s property!”

The neighbors stuck their heads out, but not one person paid her any attention. Her family had nearly brought disaster to the whole village before. The village children, upon seeing her, picked up clumps of dirt and threw them at her. Wei Laotai tried to stay in the village but was driven out by the children’s pelting.

As soon as Wei Laotai entered the village, she was chased and pelted by the children. Her head was even broken open from the blows, and she didn’t dare to come back into the village again. Only then did she remember Wei Qingshan’s good points. Back when the family hadn’t split, all the farm work at home was done by Wei Qingshan. The game he hunted was freely eaten, and most of the silver he earned from selling it went to her.

Now she regretted it deeply. Why had she been unwilling to give those few taels of silver for Wei Qingshan to get medicine back then? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up in this situation today.

Wei Qingshan spent the day in town looking at shops. To buy one would cost several hundred taels of silver, but they only had four hundred taels in total. They could afford some, but the locations weren’t very good.

Wei Qingshan simply decided to rent a shop in a good location instead. This year, renting a shop was much easier and cheaper — much cheaper than when he had asked last year. After that big natural disaster, quite a few shops had become vacant.

He found several he liked and was only waiting until tomorrow to bring Lin Yu to look over the ones he favored so they could make a final choice.

Before Wei Qingshan had even entered the village, an unkempt old woman came up to him, “Qingshan, Qingshan, ah, mother was wrong, mother was wrong. Let mother come home.”

Wei Qingshan ignored her, urging the mule forward and running into the village. Seeing how hard-hearted Wei Qingshan was, Wei Laotai started cursing, “Wei Qingshan, you unfilial son! May you be struck dead by lightning!”

When Wei Qingshan returned, Lin Yu told him that Wei Laotai had come to the village that day. Wei Qingshan jumped down from the mule cart. “It’s fine, don’t bother with her. I’ve just about finished looking at the shops today. Tomorrow we’ll go together to take another look.”

“Alright.”

The next morning, the three of them had breakfast and went to town. The property agent warmly led Lin Yu to see the shops Wei Qingshan had thought were good yesterday, taking them one by one to look.

“This shop here has the best location. The frontage is large, and there’s a courtyard in the back where people can live. Right now, it’s only fifty taels of silver a year. Before, this shop cost seventy taels.”

Lin Yu followed along to see several shops. The others, he felt, had fronts that were a bit small. The ones slightly bigger than this were cheaper by over ten taels. This shop was a bit more expensive, but it was large and in a good location.

He followed the property agent to the back to look at the courtyard — three rooms with blue brick and tile roofs. Though a bit old, they were kept quite clean. Behind them was a door that opened into an alley, very convenient for anything. The alley was fairly wide, and their mule cart could be driven right up to the back door.

After discussing it with Wei Qingshan, Lin Yu still felt this one was the best. Although the rent was a bit high, the shopfront was big enough to be divided into two rooms — Wei Qingshan could sell pork, and he could sell some food.

Wei Qingshan also thought it was good. The property agent smiled so hard his eyes couldn’t be seen. “Boss Wei is a straightforward man.”

The agent called over the landlord. The two sides wrote up the rental agreement, and Wei Qingshan paid two years’ rent — just like that, one hundred taels of silver were gone.

After renting the shop, Lin Yu was very happy. He went around again, inside and out. “Great, the two of us will live in the main room, and Yueniang will live in the west room — that one’s bright too.”

Zhao Yueniang was also happy. Living in town would definitely be much better than in the countryside. It was lively here, and buying anything would be much more convenient.

On the way back, Lin Yu sat at the front of the cart, swinging his feet. The wild grass by the roadside was already a sea of green, interspersed with various wildflowers. Poplar and willow trees had already stretched out their tender green branches and leaves.

Looking toward the roadside, the crops that had been planted were already an inch high. This year’s favorable weather would surely bring a bountiful harvest. On top of that, the court had exempted three years of taxes. Once they harvested the first crop of rice this year, everyone’s life would improve.

Lin Yu secretly slipped a piece of dried fruit into Wei Qingshan’s hand, watching his handsome face twist slightly before quickly swallowing it. Lin Yu’s eyes curved in a smile — he discovered Wei Qingshan couldn’t handle food that was too sour.

Lin Yu popped a dried apricot into his own mouth, slowly savoring the taste. Delicious.

“In the next couple of days, if we tidy up, can we move to town?”

“Mm. There’s nothing much to do in the fields right now. When I collect the pigs, I’ll come by often to check. No need to worry.”

“Alright, by May, we can harvest our first crop.”

Sitting in the back, Zhao Yueniang was also very happy. Her skirt hem hung down over the side of the cart, and as the warm, gentle wind blew, she closed her eyes.

The three of them drove the mule cart toward the village. Just as they were about to reach the village entrance, a figure stumbled out from the grass, rushing at them. Sitting in the back, Zhao Yueniang nearly fell forward onto her, startling her into a scream.

Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan quickly turned to look behind them. Lin Yu didn’t see clearly who it was, only thought it was some beggar in trouble, but this beggar was truly rude, almost pouncing onto Yueniang. He hurriedly said, “Yueniang, quickly come to the front!”

Zhao Yueniang stepped back a little and quickly pulled her calf back into the cart. Wei Qingshan also jumped down from the mule cart, but that beggar—whose face couldn’t be made out—was grabbing the cart frame, unwilling to leave.

“Qingshan, Qingshan, I’m your mother, you can’t not support me.”

Zhao Yueniang, a little scared, tugged on the corner of Lin Yu’s clothes. Hearing those words, Lin Yu finally recognized who it was—turns out it was Wei Laotai. He had thought that after being driven out of the village, she had gone far away, but unexpectedly, she had been lingering at the village entrance, unwilling to leave.

Wei Qingshan raised his whip and lashed at the back of her hand. Wei Laotai yelped from the pain and finally let go. Lin Yu quickly patted the mule, letting it walk forward a few steps.

Lin Yu comforted Zhao Yueniang, “It’s fine now, it’s fine, don’t be afraid.”

Zhao Yueniang shook her head. “I just got startled when she lunged at me just now. I’m fine now, brother.”

Wei Qingshan ignored Wei Laotai and led the mule toward the village.

Wei Laotai was still chasing from behind, but she was old—how could she catch up with the mule cart? Enraged, she shouted from behind, “Wei Qingshan, you jinx, you unfilial son! You even killed your own younger brother! Serves you right to be cut off from descendants! Hahaha, you’ve been married for almost three years and still haven’t had a child—retribution! Retribution! Hahaha!”

Hearing Wei Laotai’s curses, Lin Yu frowned. Pitiful people must have hateful sides.

Seeing Lin Yu’s face change, Wei Qingshan picked up a clod of dirt from the ground and hurled it at Wei Laotai’s calf. She cried out in pain and rolled to the ground, finally stopping her cursing.

Because they had rented a shop today, Lin Yu had been in a good mood, but this unexpected run-in with Wei Laotai on the road dampened his spirits somewhat. Life at home had been getting better now, but he still hadn’t gotten pregnant. He really liked children and wanted to give Wei Qingshan a child.

After returning home, Lin Yu became a bit quiet, sitting in the courtyard silently picking through wild vegetables. Wei Qingshan also came to sit beside him and help pick. “Feeling unhappy? Don’t listen to that vile woman’s nonsense.”

Lin Yu made a sound of acknowledgment. Even though he and Wei Qingshan had long talked things through, being jabbed like that by Wei Laotai still left him feeling low. But then he thought about how they had rented a shop today—a great, happy event—so why let her ruin everyone’s good mood?

Lin Yu lowered his head and rubbed against Wei Qingshan’s arm. “It’s fine now. We have a happy event today because we rented a shop. Let’s make buns to eat tonight!”

“Mm.”

Seeing his little husband cheer up again, the corners of Wei Qingshan’s mouth also lifted. His little husband rarely acted spoiled toward him, and this rubbing made his heart go numb.

In a few more days, once they had everything tidied up, they could move to town. Wei Laotai wouldn’t be able to find them then, and judging by her state, it was doubtful she could even make it to town.

Once Lin Yu thought it through, his mood lifted again. He had been home these days, busy taking apart and washing the winter quilts and padded jackets. Now that the weather was warm, once washed and put away, they could be used right away, come winter.

His courtyard was very lively. He had spread a bamboo mat in the yard to work on. He Dongdong also came over with two children. The two little ones were running around on the mat. He Dongdong, afraid they’d crawl onto the ground and then back onto Lin Yu’s clean quilt covers, kept tugging one here, pulling another there, until he was sweating heavily.

Nearly six-year-old Qing-ger also came today, bringing a little stool to sit quietly on the side and embroider. He had been learning embroidery from Lin Yu for two years now and had grasped about seventy to eighty percent of the technique, but since he was still young, he needed to practice for a few more years.

Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang were sewing quilt covers, one on each end, making good progress. He had washed these quilt covers a couple of days ago, and once sewn up today, they could be stored away.

In past years, Lin Yu always washed these things in summer, but this year they had rented a shop, and he worried that once they got busy later, there wouldn’t be time to wash them.

The courtyard was filled with He Dongdong’s scolding of the two little ones. “Yun-ger, you’re crawling on the ground again! Get back here! Stinky brat, don’t touch your A-Ma’s sewing basket, or Lao Tzu will whip you!”

Hearing He Dongdong’s voice, Lin Yu laughed. Seeing He Dongdong sweating from managing the two little ones, he simply pulled both of them to his side, holding one in each hand.

“These two brats are wearing Lao Tzu out. I used to be all soft and gentle-spoken, but now this little brat has made my voice a lot louder.”

Hearing this, Lin Yu snorted with laughter and cast a doubtful look at him. He Dongdong exclaimed, “Well, I used to be gentler than now, at least.”

Yun-ger was still running, reaching out his little hands toward Lin Yu. “A-Ma, A-Ma~ hug~”

He Dongdong pulled the little one back. “Shi Xiao Yun, you sit still. Your A-Ma is busy right now.”

While watching the children, He Dongdong chatted with Lin Yu. “When are you moving over there? Once you move to town, I won’t even be able to come find you.”

“Once everything’s packed up, we’ll move in a couple of days. When we’re not busy, we’ll still come back often—there are still a few acres of crops at home to tend.”

He Dongdong felt a bit reluctant to part with Lin Yu. “Then tell me when you’re leaving, I’ll come see you off.”

“Mm, there are still a few more days.”

Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang together took apart and washed all the quilts and padded jackets in the house. Wei Qingshan first took the rabbits, pheasants, and other things from home to town. Now that they had a shop, they didn’t need to set up a street stall—they could just sell them directly in front of their own shop.

Lin Yu had also finished packing his things. On the mule cart were sacks of grain, pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and clothes. He Dongdong, Sang Niang, and Chun ger had all come to see him off.

Lin Yu played with the two little ones for a while. “A-Ma is leaving. Next time when I come home, I will come over to see you again.”

Yun-ger stretched out his little hands, wanting to find Lin Yu. “Hug~ hug~ ah~”

“All right, when your A-Ma comes back, he will hug you.” He Dongdong really could not bear to see Lin Yu leave.

Lin Yu waved his hand toward everyone. “Go back, all of you.”

He Dongdong wiped away his tears. Really now, what was there to cry about? It wasn’t like Yu-ger was not coming back.

Wei Qingshan was leading the mule cart in front, while Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang followed behind. Along the way, people from the village kept greeting them.

“Are you moving over today?”

“Yeah.”