Chapter 99: Queuing Up

Chapter 99: Queuing Up

Faced with such a huge temptation, A Jie didn’t even blink. Lin Xiaopu was utterly impressed.

But in the end, A Jie proved to be right. Five *diao* was a one-time deal—once the money was taken, there would be no more. But after A Jie struck a deal with the noodle shop owner, they would have a reliable income stream from then on!

Lin Xiaopu counted on her fingers, and after calculating, she was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear.

Although the owner was shrewd and got A Jie to lower the price by five copper coins per jar, forty coins per jar was still a good sum. They had just sold seven jars, which came to two hundred and eighty coins, plus the four hundred coins for the ten jars on order, making a total of six hundred and eighty coins!

Oh my god!

Lin Xiaopu wasn’t unaware that Brother A Ye could also earn good money. After all, every time Brother A Ye went into the mountains, he would gather plenty of wild mushrooms and game to sell in town, and these were always in high demand, so they wouldn’t sell for cheap.

But going into the mountains was dangerous. Each time, though her parents never said it aloud, they were secretly worried sick deep down. She felt the same way. If Brother A Ye were to get hurt in the mountains, she’d feel awful forever.

She knew Brother A Ye ventured deep into the mountains to earn money for her medicine.

Now, with A Jie’s Termitomyces sauce, the family would have a stable income. Even if Brother A Ye still went into the deep mountains, he wouldn’t have to go as often. Besides, she might not even need medicine in the future. The money A Jie earned could all be saved!

Once they were farther from the noodle shop, Lin Shu dropped her formal act. Her eyes had been curved into smiles all along, but now she hopped on the spot. "Haha, Xiao Pu, we’ve made money, we’ve made money!"

"A Jie, am I dreaming? Will we have a big income every month from now on?" Lin Xiaopu asked excitedly.

Lin Shu said, "The owner did say he’d only continue ordering from us if the business does well, so let’s pray the owner makes money hand over fist."

Lin Xiaopu immediately clasped her hands together. "Blessings, blessings. May the gods bless Li’s Noodle Shop with booming business."

Lin Shu laughed at her. "You’re praying to the wrong deity. You should ask the God of Wealth to bless the owner’s Termitomyces noodles to sell like hotcakes."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaopu immediately changed her prayer, asking the God of Wealth for blessings.

"I originally planned to peddle the remaining jars of Termitomyces sauce in the alley, but who knew we'd get so lucky today? The owner took them all!" Lin Shu said, her smile growing wider and her joy evident.

She had thought the owner would likely make her wait a few more times before discussing business, but he was straightforward and expressed his intent to cooperate quickly. He didn’t take advantage of her youth and treated her fairly.

Now, the basket Lin Shu was carrying was empty of Termitomyces sauce but filled with hundreds of copper coins. The owner was no-nonsense—aside from paying for the seven jars, he also gave a hundred coins as a deposit for the ten jars to come.

Remembering the pickpocket she encountered at the country market last time, Lin Shu quietly clutched the basket tighter.

A few hundred coins weren’t much, but thieves aren't picky about amounts. If someone stole them, wouldn’t this trip have been in vain?

Zhou Ye was with her, which made her feel reassured. That guy was tall and sturdy. If the money were with him, no thief would dare target him.

Just as she was thinking of him, Lin Shu’s gaze inadvertently swept ahead, and she suddenly halted.

Brother A Ye?!

Zhou Ye was walking toward them with an empty basket on his back. With his long legs, he took big strides, and even a slightly faster pace was like others’ brisk walking.

"Brother A Ye?" Lin Xiaopu exclaimed in surprise. "A Jie, that’s Brother A Ye, right? Am I seeing things? We came by ox cart, but Brother A Ye was on foot. How did he get here so quickly?"

After a moment of surprise, Lin Shu curled her lips, her eyebrows lifting slightly, a smile shining in her eyes. "Did you see Zhou Ye’s two legs? If he moves them any faster, he’ll outrun an ox! Why bother with an ox cart next time? Just have Zhou Ye give us piggyback rides and save the cart fare!"

Lin Xiaopu covered her mouth, giggling. "Then A Jie can try that next time."

"Why just me? Aren’t you coming?"

Lin Xiaopu said matter-of-factly, "Because I’ve grown up! Brother A Ye’s back can only carry his future wife from now on. Don’t you think so, A Jie?"

"Think what? I think you’re asking for a spanking," Lin Shu scolded jokingly.

Among a crowd of ordinary people, Zhou Ye stood out like a crane among chickens. It wasn’t that he was exceptionally handsome, but he was tall and robust. Whenever he stood in a crowd, he was the first one people noticed.

And in Zhou Ye’s eyes, Lin Shu was the same. Her skin was snow-white, and even after playing in the mountains and rivers of the village, it hadn’t darkened much, still pale as moonlight. Coupled with her delicate features, even wearing coarse clothes didn’t diminish her beauty much. Zhou Ye’s gaze easily found her through the crowd.

When their eyes met, Lin Shu suddenly broke into a bright smile and waved at him. "Zhou Ye, we’re here!"

Zhou Ye’s legs moved even faster. In a dozen large strides, he was in front of them. "A Shu."

Lin Shu pulled him aside by the arm, glanced around, then leaned in and whispered, "Xiao Pu and I just closed a deal…"

After explaining what happened at the noodle shop, she pushed the basket into Zhou Ye’s arms. "Zhou Ye, I’m afraid I might lose this money. Hold onto it for me and give it back when we return."

Zhou Ye grunted in agreement. First, he took the basket off his shoulder, then took the bamboo basket from her and swiftly poured its contents into his own basket—so quickly that no one could see what he was transferring. After emptying it, he handed the basket back to Lin Shu. "You hold onto the basket. If you want to buy anything, it’ll come in handy so you don’t have to carry things in your hands."

Lin Shu looked at him and muttered, "You have all the money. How am I supposed to buy anything?"

Zhou Ye explained, "Aunt He has money. I’ll take her place in line in a bit. You take Aunt He and Xiao Pu to look around, and come find me when it’s about time."

Lin Shu was slightly taken aback, then slowly smiled. "Last time with Third Aunt was like this, and now again. Zhou Ye, aren’t you overly thoughtful of others?"

Always like this—even someone with a cold heart would feel touched.

Without hesitation, Zhou Ye replied, "I don’t enjoy places like markets. You go. I’ll queue up at the pharmacy."

Lin Shu had no choice but to take Lin Xiaopu’s hand and follow him as they went to find Aunt He.

"Zhou Ye, aren't you going to praise me? I closed a deal, you know. If all goes well, our family will have a steady income every month from now on."

Zhou Ye looked down at her and said earnestly, "A Shu is amazing, but to me, A Shu has always been this amazing. After hearing about this, it seemed so expected that I didn’t think to praise you specially."

Hearing this, Lin Shu couldn’t help but let her smile grow wider and wider.

Standing beside A Jie, Lin Xiaopu tried to make herself inconspicuous, but she couldn’t hold back her smirk either.

Did Brother A Ye forget she was still here listening? How could he say such things in front of an "outsider" like her? He should’ve leaned close to A Jie’s ear and whispered it to her alone!

Thankfully, she knew better than to interrupt them at a time like this. They should be grateful to have a sister like her.

When the three of them reached the pharmacy, Aunt He was holding a palm-sized long wooden tag with the number thirty on it. In the time Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu had been away, the line hadn’t shortened much—it had only moved forward by about two people.

After Zhou Ye explained the situation to Aunt He, he took the wooden tag from her and continued queuing in her place.

Aunt He tried to decline, but Zhou Ye wouldn’t hear of it, so she had no choice but to let him take over.

"Mother, just accept Zhou Ye’s kindness," Lin Shu whispered, glancing at Zhou Ye. "We can always make it up to him later in other ways."

Zhou Ye didn’t quite catch what she said but told Aunt He, "Auntie, you, A Shu, and Xiao Pu go ahead and look around. If you’re worried, you can check in here every half hour."

Lin Shu nodded with a smile. "Yes, yes. Zhou Ye is tall. Even if we go to the end of the street, we can still spot him if we look back. We won’t miss the doctor’s call. If necessary, Zhou Ye can just shout down the street, and we’ll hear him."

Zhou Ye fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "If it’s my turn and you haven’t returned yet, I’ll shout down the street. I’ll make sure you hear me."

Lin Shu had been joking, but Zhou Ye responded with such seriousness that she could hardly hold back her laughter.

"Zhou Ye, we’re off then. Thanks for holding our place in line."

Zhou Ye didn't speak, just kept his eyes on Lin Shu's face until she was gone.

Behind him in line was a woman much older than He Guixiang. To pass the time, she had chatted with He Guixiang earlier and learned that she had two daughters, and this time she was here to bring her younger daughter to the doctor.

So the one who came just now must be the older daughter?

Wow, that older daughter is really pretty! She had even seen the girls from the wealthy town families, but none could compare to this girl!

The woman had sharp eyes and immediately noticed that Zhou Ye and Lin Shu had a special connection.

"Young man, I heard you call the older daughter 'Aunt.' Are you her nephew?"

Zhou Ye was a little surprised by the sudden conversation. When he had a stern expression and stayed silent, he often appeared serious, even intimidating, so strangers rarely initiated conversations with him.

At first, the folks in Tianshui Village were like that too. But after spending more time together, people started saying he was a "decent" guy, and gradually, more people started talking to him.

After a brief moment of surprise, he turned to look back.

His instinctive frown and stern, silent expression made the woman’s smiling face stiffen.

How weird! When he was talking to that young lady earlier, he wasn’t like this at all. Why is he now frowning and looking so serious when answering a question? It’s quite frightening.

"I’m not Aunt He’s nephew," Zhou Ye replied.

"Oh, oh." The woman had intended to end the conversation after asking, but unexpectedly, this big, intimidating man went on to say, "In the future, I will call Aunt He 'Mother.' That’s the kind of relationship we have."

After saying this, Zhou Ye’s own expression softened.

He remembered A Shu telling him not to mention the marriage plans to Aunt He, but she never said he couldn’t tell outsiders about their relationship.

He also remembered A Shu saying that she had told Aunt He she was very satisfied with him.

So, he and A Shu were bound to get married.

The woman thought: Yes! That's exactly the expression he had when talking to that young lady earlier!