Chapter 30

Chapter 30

In no time, the crops in the Zhao family’s fields were harvested, and Zhao Beichuan began helping out at the Lu family’s fields.

The Lu family had over twenty mu of land, where they grew millet, beans, wheat, and sorghum.

Back when the eldest brother of the Lu family was still alive, the work on these fields wasn’t considered much; the three of them could finish the harvest in ten to fifteen days.

After Lu Hai passed away and Lu Lin’s legs became weak, all the heavy burdens fell on Lu Guangsheng alone. As he aged, his strength declined, and every day after returning from the fields, he would suffer from back and leg pain.

With Zhao Beichuan’s help now, Lu Guangsheng felt much more relaxed, always smiling and praising his son-in-law whenever he met someone.

"Da Chuan, come eat." At the edge of the field, Lu’s mother brought food, and the children of the Lu family also came over.

Lu Miao and Lu Yun were a bit intimidated by this brother-in-law, who was tall and strong, and looked quite frightening when he frowned, so they didn’t dare to approach him.

Lu Lin, however, wasn’t afraid of him and was very grateful for Zhao Beichuan’s help; otherwise, it would take the two of them a month to finish the harvest.

After eating, Lu’s mother gave both him and Lu Lin an egg each.

"No need, Mother, you should eat them."

"Silly boy, you’re doing hard labor. Don’t hurt your body; eat this to replenish your strength."

Lu Lin nudged him with his elbow, "Eat it. If you get too skinny, Lu Yao will be upset."

Blushing, Zhao Beichuan put the egg in his pocket, drank some water, and picked up the sickle to continue working.

People from nearby fields approached to inquire, "Guangsheng, where did you find that helper? How much do you pay him per day?"

Lu Guangsheng smiled widely, "No matter how much you pay, you won’t find anyone like him. He’s my son-in-law!"

*

Today, the tofu sold early, so Lu Yao took the opportunity to check the inventory. There were simply too many beans at home, attracting rats.

All the beans traded recently were stored in the western room, piled high on the ground and on the bed. Some sacks had been gnawed through by rats, spilling beans everywhere.

These beans amounted to at least twenty dan, worth eight or nine strings of cash. Before hiring Lin Daman, he could only sell seven or eight dan a month.

The fifth day of the next month was a big market day in town, so Lu Yao planned to sell all the beans there and buy a mule to make future tofu-selling trips easier.

At dinner, he discussed it with Zhao Beichuan, "Tell my father tomorrow that we won’t be going the day after."

"Why?"

"I’m going to the town to sell the beans."

Zhao Beichuan nodded, "Okay, I’ll let Brother Qin know in advance and borrow his cart."

"Borrow the mule too; we have too many beans, and I don’t want you to tire yourself out."

Zhao Beichuan hummed in agreement. After the children finished eating, he quietly pulled out a boiled egg from his pocket and slipped it into Lu Yao’s hand.

"Where did you get this?"

"Mother boiled it. I don’t like it." Finishing his meal quickly, he left the kitchen with a red face.

Lu Yao looked at the egg in his hand and couldn’t help but smile. This guy really cared about him.

That night, after the lights were out, Xiaonian and Xiaodou begged Lu Yao to tell them a story. "Sister-in-law, you didn’t finish the part where the monkey killed the old demon and was misunderstood by his master."

Zhao Beichuan frowned, "Your sister-in-law is tired. Go to sleep!"

The two children obediently climbed into their beds and soon fell asleep.

Lu Yao wasn’t very sleepy tonight. In the afternoon, most of the tofu was ground by Lin Daman, so he just helped out. Propping his chin, he watched Zhao Beichuan sharpening the sickle.

Zhao Beichuan glanced at him, tested the blade, and put away the sharpened sickle. He washed his hands and feet in a basin of water, then climbed onto the bed in the dark.

Lu Yao immediately moved closer, "Zhao Beichuan, I’m a bit cold."

"...What do you want?"

"Can we sleep in the same quilt?"

"No."

Lu Yao ignored him, lifted the quilt, and slipped in, pressing his cold feet against Zhao Beichuan’s legs.

Zhao Beichuan’s breath hitched but didn’t push him away, instead, he held Lu Yao’s feet between his own to warm them, gently patting his back.

"Go to sleep; don’t wake the kids."

Content, Lu Yao wrapped his arms around Zhao Beichuan’s waist and sighed comfortably, "Why don’t you want to share a bed with me?"

"I don’t mind."

"But you never let me touch you."

"Have I ever stopped you?"

Lu Yao chuckled, "Hey, do you remember the first time I touched you?"

"..."

"Tell me, tell me."

Zhao Beichuan closed his eyes, his face burning hot, "I knew."

Lu Yao raised his head in surprise, "Then why didn’t you stop me?"

"I... didn’t know what you were going to do."

"Hehe, so you enjoyed it, right? You clearly feel something for me but won’t admit it." Saying this, his hand started wandering again, squeezing Zhao Beichuan’s firm buttocks.

Zhao Beichuan’s breathing quickened, "Lu Yao, if you don’t want to sleep, I’ll wake the kids and go to the front room."

"Ah~ Let’s sleep, don’t get angry~"

*

On the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, which was a big market day in town, Lu Yao gave the tofu shop a day off. Today, he was going to sell the beans in town.

Early in the morning, Zhao Beichuan borrowed a mule and cart from the Qin family and loaded all the beans from the western room onto the cart.

Since the cart was spacious, he decided to take Xiaonian and Xiaodou along for a trip to town.

Initially, he planned to invite Lin Daman’s family as well, but Lin Daman said he needed to go to the Song family to collect his share of the harvest. When he separated from the Song family, Song Changshun had promised him half of the crop yield after autumn, and now that the village’s harvest was almost complete, it was time to claim his portion.

The Zhao family happily boarded the mule cart and headed towards the town.

Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou were entering the town for the first time, their excitement bubbling over as they chattered nonstop along the way. "Sister-in-law, is Qiushui Town big?"

"Not really, but it's bigger than our village."

"Have you been to any bigger towns?"

Lu Yao choked for a moment, remembering his past life where he had visited bustling cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. In this life, though, he seemed to have only been to the town.

"I haven't, but I've heard that Pingyang County is several times larger than Qiushui Town. Above that, there's Ping Prefecture and even the capital city of Shang Jing. Maybe someday we can visit them all." These were things Scholar Xu had mentioned to him, and Lu Yao casually repeated them.

Zhao Xiaonian listened with great longing. "It would be wonderful if we could really go see them."

"Sister-in-law, what do they sell in the town?" Zhao Xiaodou asked, sucking on her finger.

"Cloth, grain, food—everything. Later, I'll buy you two big meat buns."

"Sister-in-law, you're so nice!" The two children excitedly threw themselves at him.

"Stop it, or you'll fall off."

Zhao Beichuan smiled, his eyes crinkling, and flicked the whip. "Gee up!"

Upon arriving in the town, they first went to the grain shop. The young clerk who sold grain recognized Lu Yao and greeted him with a smile. "Young sir, come to sell more grain again?"

"Yes, please weigh the beans on the cart and exchange them for money."

The clerk looked up and was surprised. "Are these all beans on the cart?"

"Yes."

He couldn't make such a large transaction alone. "Please wait a moment; I'll call our manager."

Soon, a middle-aged man dressed in a long robe and sporting a beard came out. He greeted Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan, then had the clerk check the beans with an iron probe.

Seeing no moldy beans or stones mixed in, he clapped his hands. "Good beans! We'll pay five hundred coins per dan."

Lu Yao's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected the price to rise by fifty coins!

Several clerks climbed onto the cart to weigh the beans. There were twenty-three bags totaling twenty-one dan, which amounted to ten thousand five hundred coins!

Ten thousand coins weighed quite a bit; one coin was about four grams, making ten thousand coins eighty pounds!

The manager was considerate and asked, "Would you like to exchange the coins for silver?"

Lu Yao remembered that exchanging coins for silver at a money house incurred a loss; eleven hundred coins were needed for one tael of silver.

He waved his hand. "Thank you, Manager, but I don't need to exchange it for silver." This money might be spent soon anyway.

Soon, two clerks carried a basket of coins for Lu Yao to count. The coins were strung together, and after a quick count, Lu Yao confirmed everything was correct and had Zhao Beichuan lift the basket onto the mule cart.

Leaving the grain shop, Lu Yao excitedly shook Zhao Beichuan's shoulder. "We've struck it rich! Over ten thousand coins!"

Zhao Beichuan laughed. "Stop shaking me. Didn't you say you wanted to buy a mule? Let's go get one now."

"Alright!" Lu Yao touched the iron lump in the bamboo basket and couldn't help grinning. What could be more delightful than the smell of money?

Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou still didn't grasp the concept of money; their eyes darted around, captivated by the stalls along the street.

"Sister-in-law, what do they sell there?"

"Those are sugar figures. Let's go buy some!"

"What about this?"

"These are sugar haws; let's get two skewers!"

"Sister-in-law, I want a meat bun."

"Sure!"

"Sister-in-law..." Zhao Beichuan cleared his throat, and the children quieted down.

Lu Yao bought all the snacks along the street, spending only sixty-five coins. Recalling how he used to worry about a few coins for a bowl of noodles, he couldn't help but feel grateful. Money was good, no matter the era!

After buying the snacks, Zhao Beichuan drove the mule cart to Xiasanli. Their main purpose today was to buy a mule.

With the autumn harvest finished, many people had free time, making the market exceptionally crowded. The mule cart barely moved among the throngs of pedestrians.

Finally reaching the livestock market, Lu Yao jumped off the cart to inquire.

Most of the market sold pigs and sheep; cows were rare and expensive. Donkeys and mules were more common, and Lu Yao saw only one old horse.

Mules were the offspring of donkeys and horses and couldn't reproduce, making them cheaper than other livestock.

After a round of looking, Lu Yao found a black female mule that stood tall and resembled a horse. He approached the seller. "Boss, how old is this mule? How much does it cost?"

The seller, a simple farmer, stood up. "It's three years old, just the right age to work hard. Young sir, are you interested?"

"I am, but I'm not sure about the price."

"Seven thousand coins. This mule has a good temper and strong build; it won't kick even after a day's work."

Lu Yao thought it was a bit expensive; the Qin family's mule had cost only six thousand coins. "Can you lower the price?"

The man scratched his face. "I can give you a discount of two hundred coins, but no more."

Lu Yao still felt it was too high. "Six thousand coins?"

"No, no. If I sell it for six thousand, my father will kill me."

Lu Yao felt disappointed, stroking the mule's mane and glancing at the others, which were mostly priced between six and seven thousand coins but weren't as good as this one.

Returning to the cart, he discussed with Zhao Beichuan. "He said the minimum is six thousand eight hundred coins. I think we can negotiate further, but probably not below six thousand five hundred."

Zhao Beichuan also liked the mule. "It looks taller and stronger than the Qin family's. It should be a good mule, worth the higher price."

Hearing this, Lu Yao made up his mind. "Alright, let's buy this one!"

He returned to the seller. "Boss, I really want this mule. Six thousand five hundred coins is my final offer. If you don't agree, I'll leave."

The man hesitated for a while before nodding. "Alright. Our family lives in Willow Village outside the town. We've raised mules for generations. You can ask around if you have any problems with Dahuahua."

Dahuahua was the mule's name because of a white mark on its face.

Hearing about the after-sales service, Lu Yao felt the deal was even better. These experienced farmers were better than veterinarians, ensuring no worries about raising the mule well.

After settling the payment, the young man continued to give them advice on raising the mule. "When you get home, build a shelter for it. Without a shelter, it can catch a cold. If you use it heavily during the autumn harvest, feed it more beans to prevent it from getting sick."

Lu Yao smiled and agreed to everything. Before leaving, the young man named Wang patted Dahua's head affectionately, "Good boy, listen to your master and work hard. Don't be lazy. Don't come back as a mule in your next life."

Lu Yao felt a pang of sadness. This young man was also someone with feelings.

After buying the mule, they needed to buy a cart. The town's carpentry shop specialized in custom-made flatbed carts, which cost two guans each. There was no room for bargaining since ordinary carpenters couldn't make them.

Lu Yao, gritting his teeth, took out another two guans. The carpentry shop gave them a wooden token, and they were told the cart would take ten days to be ready. They would have to pick it up on their next trip to the market.

On the way back, Lu Yao looked at the basket containing only two guans left and couldn't help but wail, "Zhao Beichuan, we're poor again!"

Xiaonian and Xiaodou couldn't help but burst into laughter. Zhao Beichuan sighed helplessly, "There isn't a single poor person in the village who can afford a mule and cart."

"You're right." Lu Yao quickly cheered up, thinking that they could earn more money selling tofu. Next time, he wouldn't spend recklessly; he would save like a miser!

The family chatted and laughed all the way home. Zhao Beichuan tied their mule in the yard and returned the cart to the Qin family.

As soon as he left, Tian Ersao from next door rushed over, "Lu Yao, Lu Yao, it's bad! Daman is about to be beaten to death!"

Lu Yao, who was carrying things into the house, was startled by the sudden news, "Ersao, what did you say?"

Tian Ersao, panting heavily, said, "I, I just saw Lin Daman fighting with the Song family. He's bleeding badly from his head..."

Lu Yao drew a sharp breath, "Xiaonian, go quickly and get your brother back. I'll go check it out!"