Chapter 178: Lending Money

Chapter 178: Lending Money

Lin Zhaodi snapped out of her daze, pondered for a moment, then said, "A Shu, I want to find someone to help me out."

Like today, she simply couldn't manage everything by herself.

If A Ye and Old Brother Liao hadn't lent a hand, who knows what a mess it would have been.

But A Ye only happened to have business in town, and Old Brother Liao was getting on in years; asking him to stand and collect money all day would be exhausting. Doing that every day was certainly out of the question.

Lin Zhaodi already felt bad about how much she had tired the two of them today. She had planned to give them both a share of her earnings, but since A Shu had taken care of A Ye's portion, she would personally handle Old Brother Liao's.

Hearing her desire for a helper, Lin Shu asked with some curiosity, "Does Aunt Lin have someone in mind?"

Lin Zhaodi nodded, pressing her lips together. "I have a distant cousin on my mother's side. Years ago, she was cast off by her husband and now lives with her daughter at her parents' home. She's nimble-fingered and hardworking. If I ask her to help me, she'll definitely agree."

It was precisely because of this distant cousin's predicament that her own parents were so terrified she might also be divorced by the Zhao family, ending up as disgraced as her cousin and bringing shame upon her parents as well.

Lin Shu frowned slightly and asked, "Why was your cousin divorced?"

In those days, it was a blessing for a man to even find a wife; few would casually cast one aside, especially one who had borne a daughter.

Lin Zhaodi's mouth tightened as she explained, "Her husband was prone to violence. Later, he got drunk, stumbled, and fell into a field, where he died. Her in-laws called her a jinx and disliked the daughter she had given birth to, so they drove both mother and daughter out. My cousin now lives with her daughter at her parents' home, and her life is actually more comfortable than before. Her parents treat her well; aside from some village gossip, there's nothing truly bad about her situation."

When it came to business, Lin Zhaodi felt it was inappropriate to hire someone too close. With this distant cousin, their relationship was neither too intimate nor too distant. When money was involved, they could keep it strictly business. If any disagreements arose, they could simply keep their distance afterward, with no real loss to her.

Thinking of something, Lin Zhaodi quickly added, "The money for hiring help will come from my share—no need for you to pay extra, A Shu."

Even if she only paid twenty *wen* a day, her cousin would be delighted, but Lin Zhaodi wouldn't be so stingy. She would pay half the market rate, forty *wen* a day, since her business only lasted half a day. Of course, this was just the base pay. If her cousin did well, Lin Zhaodi would follow A Shu's example and give her a generous red envelope at the end of the month.

As a reminder, Lin Shu asked, "Can your cousin handle money calculations?"

Lin Zhaodi smiled and replied, "Of course she can! After we women marry, we have to manage the household—oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea—everything costs money. How could she not know how to count? Of course, she might not be as fast as you and Xiao Pu, but customers who buy ice jelly rarely pay with loose change. They usually count out twelve *wen* themselves and hand it over. My cousin would just need to double-check the amount."

If it weren’t for that, she wouldn’t have thought of this distant cousin. It’s just that she was suitable in every aspect.

"Alright, Auntie, you make the decision."

"A Shu, do you have any other advice for me?" Lin Zhaodi asked.

Lin Shu smiled slightly, indeed having something to add. "Aunt Lin, our ice jelly sells so well it doesn't matter what time it is. Tomorrow, go ahead and rent a fixed stall. That way, you won't have to get up so early, and I can sleep in a bit later too. We'll prepare enough quantity all at once, so we won't have to scramble around like today."

When Aunt Lin came today, it was just daybreak, around five o’clock. In Lin Shu’s opinion, having breakfast at seven, then taking the ox-cart to town would get them there a little after eight—just the right time. If it weren’t for worrying about Old Man Liao getting too hot on the road, arriving at nine or ten would be even better. Why bother coming at five or six?

If Aunt Lin came to pick up the goods at five every day, A Ye would have to go pick grass jelly plant for her before dawn every day, and her mother and sister would have to get up early too, lighting oil lamps to help squeeze the pulp. If this went on for long, they might wear themselves out.

She was making money to live well and enjoy life—not to exhaust herself.

Lin Zhaodi had no objections and agreed immediately. Thinking about today’s bustling scene, where many people who didn’t get to buy urged her to bring more tomorrow, she realized that ice jelly really wasn’t dependent on timing. In fact, going later might even be better, as it sold better around noon.

If only the ice could last a whole day, she would have loved to sell all day.

Suddenly, Lin Zhaodi had an idea.

Even if the ice in the sugar water and ice jelly melted completely, the water would stay cold for a long time. If they made more ice jelly and poured the still-cool sugar water over it, selling it for the originally planned ten *wen* a bowl, surely someone would buy it.

She quickly told Lin Shu her idea.

Lin Shu nodded, her gaze appreciative. "That works. Then I’ll make more tomorrow than today."

"Auntie, you must be going back soon to make dinner, right? I won’t keep you any longer."

Reminded by this, Lin Zhaodi realized she was already starving.

She had gotten up early to make some pancakes and ate before leaving, but that was very early. After working hard for most of the day, she only had a bowl of ice jelly to tide her over. After finishing up, she thought about going over the accounts with A Shu and didn’t spend a single copper coin.

And there was her San Lang—although she had left food for his breakfast, it was probably cold by the time he ate it. She needed to hurry back and make something warm so he could have a good dinner.

After saying goodbye, Lin Zhaodi picked up the much lighter money jar and left in a hurry.

As soon as she was gone, Lin Xiaopu immediately clutched her small string of coins to her chest. "Hehe, I’m going to hide my money. Don’t you dare peek!"

With that, she mysteriously went off to hide her money.

Lin Shu was more casual. She directly pulled out a broken clay pot from under the bed, took out two hundred and sixty-four coins to reward A Ye, and poured the rest in without even stringing them.

After the family had dinner, Lin Shu quietly pulled Zhou Ye aside and handed him the prepared string of coins.

Zhou Ye was surprised. "A Shu, what’s this?"

Lin Shu said with a smile, "Your share of the money. Today, we made a total of one thousand three hundred and twenty *wen* from selling ice jelly. Aunt Lin took three tenths, I took three tenths, Mother and Xiao Pu each took one tenth, and the remaining two tenths are yours."

Zhou Ye laughed. "Thank you, Lady A Shu, for sharing the money with me."

The address "Lady A Shu" made Lin Shu’s eyes crinkle with laughter.

This A Ye was really pushing his luck, taking all sorts of liberties with her.

But since they were getting married at the end of the month, she let him have his way. Wait until their wedding night—she’d get him back.

Zhou Ye carefully put away the money Lin Shu gave him and casually mentioned, "A Shu, the cooling mat has been washed. I just laid it out for you."

"I really like the cooling mat. Thank you, Brother A Ye~" Lin Shu looked at him, her tone soft and coaxing, her gaze lightly sweeping over his face.

Zhou Ye felt a slight itch in his heart but kept a straight face. "Hmm, as long as you like it."

Lin Shu stifled a laugh, thinking to herself, what a fool.

The happiest about the new cooling mat on the bed was Lin Xiaopu, who rolled around on it several times and couldn’t help teasing, "I’m only getting to sleep on a new cooling mat thanks to my sister. Life is getting better and better."

"Once A Ye and I get married, I’m taking this cooling mat with me. If you want one, use your own private money to buy it."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaopu straightened up proudly. "With the way Aunt Lin sold ice jelly today, I’ll save up three strings of cash in less than a month! Then I can buy whatever I want."

In all of Sweetwater Village, who else could boast of having their own private savings at just nine years old?

And it wasn’t just two or three coins—it was this much!

Her sister was too good to her!

"Oh, right, Sister, Wang Yingen told me he’s coming to listen to the lesson with me tomorrow."

Lin Shu was surprised. "How did Aunt Li convince him?"

Lin Xiaopu lifted her chin and snorted lightly. "By provoking him with me. Now that Wang Yingen’s status as the boss is threatened, Aunt Li teased him, saying he’s worse than me at slingshots and studies too. She told him to just obediently call me boss and stop struggling. When Wang Yingen heard that, he was furious. He said he’s smart and that Ping Er just doesn’t study—if he studied with me, he’d definitely learn faster."

Lin Shu burst out laughing. Children were so easy to trick. Aunt Li must have spent a long time privately working on this reverse psychology to get her son to study.

"If he comes, then he comes. If he can settle down to study, you'll have a companion in your studies from now on."

As Lin Shu had specifically instructed, Lin Zhaodi indeed arrived much later the next day. Yesterday she came at the beginning of *mao* hour (5-7 a.m.), but today it was the beginning of *chen* hour (7-9 a.m.). *Chen* hour is also known as the "meal time," which, as the name suggests, is the time for breakfast. However, in Lin Shu's household, they usually ate breakfast from the middle to the end of *chen* hour, that is, from 8 to 9 a.m.

They ate two meals a day. If they ate too early, the men working in the fields would get hungry quickly and wouldn't last until the evening meal. Of course, they couldn't eat too late either, since from dawn until before breakfast, the laborers in the fields were working on an empty stomach.

Today, just like yesterday, He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu had already prepared the pulp juice before Lin Shu got up, while Zhou Ye was responsible for picking and making ice.

Lin Shu slept in without any guilt—she wasn’t making her mother and younger sister work for nothing; she was giving them a share of the profits. If she tried to take over the work herself, Xiao Pu would actually get upset with her.

"Aunt Lin, where’s your cousin?" Lin Shu asked, noticing that Lin Zhaodi had come alone.

"As for her, she went straight from my maiden village to town. I told her to go ahead and rent a stall from the officers. The spot at the end of the street from yesterday was quite good, right next to the wonton stall. The older sister selling wontons is also easy to get along with. From now on, we’ll set up our stall there. Even on market days, that spot isn’t bad!"

The town authorities managed street vendors strictly. On market days, they designated stalls and allowed vendors to sell along the street, but on ordinary days, vendors could still set up stalls at places like street corners, alley ends, and near the city gates.

Near the city gates, no stall tax was collected, but at street corners and alley ends, taxes had to be paid—either daily or monthly. Paying monthly allowed vendors to secure a fixed stall, while daily payments were on a first-come, first-served basis. For example, the wonton stall at the end of the street was most likely paying a monthly stall tax, which was why it was fixed in that spot every day.

Lin Zhaodi had her eye on the spot next to that wonton stall.

"It’ll be hard work for you today, Aunt Lin," Lin Shu said.

Lin Zhaodi laughed at her. "Why the polite talk? The more I sell, the more I earn. Hard work is only right. A Shu, this aunt will head off now."

"Alright."

It was only after Lin Zhaodi had been gone for a while that the family began their meal.

It was unclear what Mother had said to Father last night, but Father looked pleased, though not as boastful as he had been those two days when A Ye sold the black bear.

Lin Shu guessed that Mother had told only half the story—not lying, but not revealing everything either. Father only knew that her ice jelly was selling well, but he didn’t know just how well.

Halfway through the meal, Lin Dashan cleared his throat lightly.

When no one responded, he cleared his throat again, more loudly.

"What’s wrong? Is your throat bothering you?" He Guixiang asked. Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu also looked over at him.

Only then did Lin Dashan speak. "Yesterday, when I was heading to the fields, I ran into Brother Miao’s Da Lang. Ah, that boy looked much more haggard than the last time I saw him."

He Guixiang, hearing this, already had a bad feeling. "And then?"

Lin Dashan continued, "His in-laws are not honorable—they actually took advantage of the situation to make things worse."

Lin Xiaopu’s mouth twitched. "Father, it’s 'taking advantage of someone’s misfortune' and 'kicking someone when they’re down.'"

"Right, hehe, that’s it. I mixed it up. Brother Miao broke his leg. To treat it, not only did they spend all their money, but he also can’t work in the fields anymore. When his in-laws found out, they wanted to call off the marriage. Brother Miao’s family sent gifts like cloth, meat, and sugar to the other family, promising that the bride wouldn’t suffer, and only then managed to save the marriage. But Brother Miao’s family is now completely broke. With the wedding just a few days away, they can’t even afford to host more than a few tables for the banquet. I felt so anxious for them that I offered to lend him two strings of cash to use for now."

At these words, everyone turned to look at him—even Zhou Ye, who had been focused on his meal, glanced his way.

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Author's Note: [Cheers][Cheers] Updated much earlier today, keeping up the effort, fist bump!