Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Lu Yuan led Huang Lan into the small courtyard.

At this hour, Hu Qiniang had not yet arrived.

Huang Lan surveyed the courtyard and asked, “So, you and Qi Cheng lived here after moving to the city?”

Lu Yuan replied, “We stayed for a while, but after the old lady and the children came, we found another place.”

Then she asked, “When are you heading back, sister-in-law? Why not stay overnight in the city? My husband can escort you back tomorrow. How does that sound?”

Huang Lan said, “We came with Dashan. You know, he went to the city last year to work with some villagers. He just returned a few days ago, and since the mushrooms were sun-dried and ready, we decided to come along.”

“The children have never been to the city. They heard their father talk about how lively it is, so I wanted to bring them to see it for themselves. We plan to stay a few days.”

Lu Yuan asked, “Have you found a place to stay?”

Huang Lan said, “If we can earn a bit more from these mushrooms, we’ll find a small inn. I asked Liu Sanlang, and he said the inn you stayed at before isn’t too expensive—just fifteen coppers a day. We’ll only be here for two days.”

Lu Yuan said, “We only have two rooms at home; otherwise, you could have stayed with us.”

Huang Lan replied, “No, no need. The city isn’t as spacious as the countryside. It wouldn’t be comfortable with so many of us crammed together.”

Lu Yuan said, “Even if you can’t stay over, you’ll definitely stay for a meal. In a little while, after I finish my tasks, I’ll take you to sell your mushrooms, then bring you to my place. When my husband gets off work, he can take you to check out the night market.”

Huang Lan said, “Thank you so much, Sister Lu. We’re strangers here and don’t know our way around. It’s such a relief to have someone to guide us.”

After drinking some water and resting for a bit, Hu Qiniang arrived.

Lu Yuan said to Huang Lan, “Sister-in-law, you can wait here or go out for a stroll. I’ll take you to sell the mushrooms in about half an hour.”

Huang Lan said, “You go ahead with your work. When I arrived earlier, I saw a market not far from here. The children and I will go check it out and come back later.”

After seeing Huang Lan off and showing them the shortcut to the East Market, Lu Yuan returned to prepare for tonight's stall.

Lu Yuan worked for about half an hour, and by then, the preparations were almost done. After waiting a short while, Huang Lan returned.

Lu Yuan led them to the shop that purchased mushrooms.

Before entering, Huang Lan grabbed Lu Yuan’s hand and asked nervously, “Sister, are you sure this shop will buy our mushrooms?”

Lu Yuan said, “Of course they will. Where else would the mushrooms in their shop come from?”

Huang Lan said, “Shouldn’t they have their own suppliers?”

Lu Yuan laughed, “Suppliers are one thing, but buying from foragers is another. Besides, if the mushrooms are of good quality, why wouldn’t they buy them?”

Huang Lan asked uncertainly, “Is my quality considered good?”

Lu Yuan said, “Let the shopkeeper take a look first. If some aren’t suitable for selling here, we can always set up a stall at the market.”

Once inside the shop, Lu Yuan did all the talking. Huang Lan, who was usually talkative and outgoing, stayed quiet this time.

When Huang Lan heard the purchase price, her eyes widened.

She thought selling for twenty coppers per catty was already expensive, but the shop was offering several coppers per tael!

The shopkeeper and his assistant sorted through the mushrooms, picking out the high-quality ones and leaving behind a smaller portion of average quality.

During this season, mushrooms were plentiful, and they weren’t interested in average-quality ones.

In the end, Huang Lan earned over a string of cash.

Outside the shop, Huang Lan held the heavy string of cash, beaming. “Even if I sold all my mushrooms back in the village, I’d only make half of what I just earned. I never thought mushrooms could fetch such a high price in the city!”

Lu Yuan said, “You can still keep gathering mushrooms through May. When you’ve collected more, you can bring them to sell. And after autumn, the mountains will be full of mushrooms again. You can sell them then too.”

Huang Lan calculated that this year, she could save up one or two strings of cash just from selling mushrooms. That way, she could start preparing Qing Ya’s dowry early.

After selling the mushrooms, Lu Yuan went to the East Market to buy chicken and fish. When she stopped at the mutton stall, Huang Lan quickly stopped her. “Sister, that’s enough, that’s enough. Mutton is so expensive. What we have is plenty. Don’t waste your money.”

Lu Yuan said, “No way. It’s rare for you to visit. I can’t just serve you any ordinary meal.”

She asked the vendor for three pounds of mutton and a pound or so of offal.

When they returned home, the old lady saw her daughter-in-law and asked, “Why are you back? Did you forget something?”

Lu Yuan smiled and said, “Not at all. We have guests.”

She then brought Huang Lan and the two children inside.

Chun Hua was delighted to see them and exclaimed, “Sister Qing Ya! Brother Hu Zi!”

The old lady was surprised to see Huang Lan and said, “Chen family’s third daughter-in-law, what brings you to the city?”

Huang Lan said, “I came with Dashan to sell mushrooms in the city.”

Lu Yuan took the ingredients to the kitchen and started cleaning up, planning to stew the mutton soup first.

Huang Lan also went into the kitchen to help.

Lu Yuan said, “If you’d like to help, sister-in-law, you can start by slaughtering the chicken for me.”

Huang Lan rolled up her sleeves and said, “Sure, I’ll go kill the chicken right now.”

Huang Lan was handy with chores and quickly slaughtered the chicken and plucked its feathers.

Lu Yuan started stewing the mutton soup. Seeing that there was still time, she didn't rush to go to the night market street.

“Sister-in-law, I don’t have to set up the stall tomorrow. I’ll show you around Guangkang City properly.”

Huang Lan said happily, “That’d be great! But I hope it won’t interfere with your business?”

Lu Yuan waved it off and said, “It won’t, it won’t. The night market in the city only operates on even-numbered days, not on odd-numbered days. On odd-numbered days, I usually stay home to mind the children.”

Huang Lan said, “Then it’s settled.”

As they chatted in the main room, the old lady grew tired and went to her room to rest. The two children went to play in Chun Hua and Qiu Hua’s room.

Only Lu Yuan and Huang Lan remained in the main room.

Huang Lan leaned in closer and asked, “Sister, you and Qi Cheng have been in the city for almost half a year now. You must have consummated your marriage by now. So, how is it? Is your man as good in bed as he is to look at?”

Lu Yuan: …

Still the same Chen third sister-in-law she remembered.

"I don’t dare tell you, sis, because if I say anything, once you go back to the village, the whole village will know."

Huang Lan teased with a sly look: "The fact that you're so quick to jump to his defense means your man really is capable. Thankfully, the injury didn’t damage the important parts."

Lu Yuan: "Oh, Sister-in-law, don’t say such things. You’re making me blush."

"Embarrassed? You’re already a mother of two, what’s there to be embarrassed about?"

"But let me tell you, the city is a flashy place with lots of distractions. You’d better keep a close eye on Qi Cheng and make sure he doesn’t get lured away by other women."

Lu Yuan replied: "How could I possibly keep tabs on him every second? If he really could be tempted away by someone else, that just means he’s not a good man. No amount of watching would help."

Huang Lan thought for a moment and said: "Given Qi Cheng’s character, he wouldn’t do something like that."

Lu Yuan: "Exactly."

Huang Lan: "But then again…" She touched Lu Yuan’s lower abdomen and asked: "It’s been almost half a year, why no baby yet?"

Lu Yuan: …

Sure enough, the baby questions have arrived.

"The stall has just gotten off the ground. If I have a baby now, I won’t be able to earn money. What would we use to live in the city then?"

Huang Lan asked: "What, doesn’t Qi Cheng work?"

"He does, he does. He’s working outside now and helps out at the stall every other night." She was worried sick that the next time she returned to Weishan Village, she’d hear gossip saying that Qi Cheng wasn’t working and was relying on his wife to support him.

"Not having a child right now isn’t just because the business isn’t stable yet. Also, I suffered a lot during the famine, and the doctor advised me to get my strength back for a year before considering having a child."

Mentioning the famine, Huang Lan nodded: "That’s true. Giving birth is like going through hell. You should focus on recovering your health first, otherwise you’ll have a hard time after the baby is born."

"But what about the two children in your family—are they going to change their surnames?"

Lu Yuan said: "Yes, both Chun Hua and Qiu Hua are willing to take the Qi surname. It’s just that their proper names haven’t been decided yet."

Huang Lan said: "Changing their names is a good thing. In the city, almost no one knows about your family’s situation. This way, the children won’t be bullied or called deadweight."

"But do they really need proper names? Aren’t Chun Hua and Qiu Hua perfectly fine?"

Lu Yuan explained: "The old lady is thinking of giving them nice proper names to show that the family values them. It’ll also help when they get married, so they aren’t looked down upon."

Huang Lan nodded: "That makes sense."

After they’d talked enough, Lu Yuan called the old lady to keep an eye on the fire while she got ready to go to the night market.

As night fell, Qi Cheng brought over Huang Lan and the children. The old lady, who turns in early, didn’t join them.

The bustling night market amazed the mother and kids.

They wandered around for half an hour before returning.

Lu Yuan served each of them a bowl of sweet dessert soup.

Huang Lan remarked: "The city really has everything. I even saw people dancing earlier—you’d never see that in Anping Town."

After tasting the sweet dessert soup, Huang Lan exclaimed in surprise: "Wow, sister, why is your sweet dessert soup so delicious?"

Lu Yuan said: "Finish your soup first, then I’ll make some snacks for you."

Chun Hua proudly told Hu Zi and Qing Ya: "My mom’s cooking is really delicious, and it sells really well here too."

Lu Yuan prepared two portions of fried dough sticks, tofu, and spicy tofu skin.

Huang Lan praised repeatedly: "I always knew you were skilled, sister, but I had no idea you were this amazing."

After eating their fill, Huang Lan asked: "How much do these cost?"

Lu Yuan said: "It’s free—it’s on me."

Huang Lan insisted: "But this is your business—how can you not charge?"

Lu Yuan, busy at the moment, replied: "Really, it’s fine. Even if you paid me, I wouldn’t take it."

Huang Lan then asked Hu Qiniang and He Rou, but they also refused payment.

Seeing this, Huang Lan had the two older children mind the little ones while she quickly helped clean up the tables and even stepped in front of the stall to drum up business.

Lu Yuan could only smile and let her help.

Late into the night, Lu Yuan had Qi Cheng take them to their inn to rest.

Back at home, Qi Cheng rubbed Lu Yuan’s shoulders.

Lu Yuan said: "Today, Sister-in-law Huang Lan asked me if you’re both easy on the eyes and handy."

Qi Cheng paused and asked: "How did you respond?"

Lu Yuan said: "I didn’t dare answer. With Sister-in-law Huang Lan’s loose lips, if I said you were handy, by the time she returns to the village, everyone would know that Qi Cheng doesn’t sleep at night and only wears his wife out."

Qi Cheng thought seriously for a moment and replied: "If you give me a chance, I could be."

Lu Yuan raised her hand and swatted his hand: "Shut up."

Qi Cheng had no choice but to ask what else: "What happened after that?"

"After that, I could only hint that you are—what else could I do?"

After a moment, she added: "You probably don’t know this, but while you were unconscious, when Chen Dashan came to take care of you, he told your business to your wife. Then the whole village found out—I even caught wind of it while doing laundry."

Qi Cheng looked puzzled: "What did he say?"

Lu Yuan grinned slowly and said: "That grandson of Old Lady He, even while unconscious, is very well-endowed."

Qi Cheng: "…"

He knew she’d say something shameless—why did he have to ask for details?