Lu Liu was delighted by her words. "Since the young lady has such faith in me, if I don't agree, wouldn't I disappoint you?"
"What are you saying, boss? In business, even if the deal falls through, there's still kindness. If it doesn't work today, there's always tomorrow."
Lu Liu didn't expect to meet such a poised young lady in this small place. "Fine, I'll take this batch of goods. No need to wait until tomorrow. Let's do it today."
"I knew I had an eye for heroes." Mu Fengqie boasted, flattering Lu Liu in a roundabout way.
"The quality is excellent!" Lu Liu complimented.
Mu Fengqie was even more convinced of this man when she saw that he didn't say the goods were of poor quality just to drive down the price.
"These seven furs, how about four taels of silver in total?" Lu Liu flipped through them before offering a price.
"Ah?" Mu Fengqie was stunned. Before she left home, Jing Xunchao was afraid she'd be cheated and specifically told her that these furs could sell for at least two taels of silver.
"Too little?" Lu Liu asked when he saw her stunned expression.
"Ah, not at all! It's enough!" It seemed that Jing Xunchao had been cheated before. "Then, if I have more in the future, will you still take them?"
"If I'm not here, just send them to Lu's Fur Shop in the town."
They completed the transaction with money and goods exchanged, and after chatting for a while to strengthen their relationship, Mu Fengqie took the money and left.
She bought some rice and meat, then went home. The oxcart stopped in front of the house. The cart driver helped unload the things and then drove the oxcart away.
Mu Fengqie was wondering how to carry these things into the house when she saw Jing Xunchao coming back carrying a bag of corn. There were also many common medicinal herbs in the basket on his back.
Jing Xunchao started cooking and told her to sit aside.
She stared blankly at the bag of corn. "You brought back corn. How do you plan to cook it?"
"What's your plan, wife?"
"Let's make some snacks and sell them." Anyway, they had meat and rice now, so they weren't short of food. Given the family's situation, they couldn't do much else. Making popcorn was the only option.
"Just do as you think best, wife." He brought the food over.
After dinner, Jing Xunchao made popcorn as Mu Fengqie instructed.
She hadn't slept well the previous night. After making half a bag of popcorn, Mu Fengqie was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open.
"Stop. Let's go to sleep." Jing Xunchao scooped out the popcorn from the pot, put out the fire, and carried Mu Fengqie into the house.
Just as they closed the bedroom door, they heard a heavy thud, followed by footsteps.
Mu Fengqie suddenly pushed open the door. With a loud bang, the thief in the yard was startled and turned to run.
Jing Xunchao reacted quickly. He leaped into the air and kicked the man in the butt. "Ouch!"
Mu Fengqie took out a lantern and saw that the man lying on the ground, rubbing his butt and then his knees, was actually Mu Rendong, the original owner's elder brother.
"What? You stopped gambling and turned to thievery?"
"Who, who's stealing?" Mu Rendong glared at Mu Fengqie fiercely. "You slut have shamed the whole family!"
Just as Mu Rendong was about to get up, Jing Xunchao kicked him in the back. "Try saying that again?"
"I'm a disgrace? Then what are you doing stealing from my house? If I'm a slut, what are you? Even worse than a slut?"
Jing Xunchao's voice was so menacing that Mu Rendong was too scared to stay. He panicked and ran away.
Mu Fengqie chased after him, scolding. Jing Xunchao pulled her back. "Okay, okay. Don't be angry. Don't be angry."
Calmed down by him, Mu Fengqie finally regained her composure. Only then did she notice. "Is it raining?"
Just as they got into the house, the rain poured down.
It was pouring heavily outside, while inside, there were small drips of rain.
"It's okay. Go to sleep. I'll take care of it." He laid Mu Fengqie on the bed and found pots and pans to catch the rainwater. By the time he finished, he was completely soaked.
Mu Fengqie looked at his dripping hair and felt a flutter in her heart. If she were twenty, she'd definitely marry him!
It was a pity that she was almost fifty.
When Mu Fengqie woke up, the rain had stopped. The mountain road was difficult to walk on, so Jing Xunchao didn't go up the mountain. Instead, he went to the street with Mu Fengqie.
They found a spot with a lot of traffic and set up a stall. During the breaks between serving customers, she told Jing Xunchao about the medicinal properties of the herbs in her hand.
Jing Xunchao listened attentively. His eyes often followed Mu Fengqie's face and landed on her lips as they opened and closed. He couldn't help swallowing. Then, realizing what he had done, his face flushed bright red. "I'll go buy you something delicious!" With that, he turned and ran.
Mu Fengqie was stunned by his behavior. She was about to chase after him to ask when a customer who came to buy popcorn stopped her. After serving the customer, she looked for him, but there was no sign of him on the street.
Thinking that he was no longer a child and would come back on his own when he was done playing, she didn't worry too much.
However, after she sold all the popcorn she brought to the street and sold the herbs to the pharmacy, Jing Xunchao still hadn't returned. So, she carried the empty basket on her back and went forward to look for him.
She hadn't walked far when she heard a commotion. Mu Fengqie didn't pay much attention at first, but then she heard Jing Xunchao's voice.
She pushed through the crowd of onlookers and saw Jing Xunchao being pulled by a woman.
"Li Biquan!" It was an acquaintance from the same village.
Hearing Mu Fengqie's voice, Jing Xunchao shook off Li Biquan's hand and strode towards Mu Fengqie. He grabbed Mu Fengqie's sleeve and hid behind her. "Wife, she bullied me."
His pitiful look made Mu Fengqie's maternal instinct flare up instantly. "Li Biquan, what do you want?"
"I, I just bought too many things and wanted Brother Jing to help me carry them. Don't misunderstand."
"Can't you see that he doesn't want to?" Mu Fengqie sneered. "Moreover, the Brother Jing you're talking about is mine. How shameless of you to seduce someone else's man!"
Li Biquan was at a loss for words after being scolded. She looked at Jing Xunchao with red eyes, but to her surprise, Jing Xunchao's eyes seemed to be glued to Mu Fengqie.
"Let's go home and take a good wash!" Mu Fengqie pulled Jing Xunchao back and left Li Biquan being pointed at by others.
When they got home all the way, Mu Fengqie put the basket in the yard. Still feeling angry, she pulled Jing Xunchao's hand and sat down in the room. "I have to tell you that a good man doesn't take concubines. Do you know what it means to be with only one person for a lifetime?"
This boy mustn't go astray!
Jing Xunchao's face lit up. He turned around, pulled Mu Fengqie over, and gently kissed her on the forehead. "I don't want anyone else. I only want you, wife."
Mu Fengqie blushed. This boy was so good at flirting at such a young age! "Who wants you! Let go. I'm going to count the money!" She spread the small cloth bag with the money on the table and counted the copper coins one by one.
Looking at Mu Fengqie's back, Jing Xunchao raised his hand, stretched out his thumb, and gently stroked his lips, looking nostalgic.
"Open the door, open the door!"
"Why are you here again?" Mu Fengqie turned around and saw Mu Rendong kicking open the front door and striding in. She stood up and nervously blocked in front of the table.
Mu Rendong's eyes lit up when he saw the money on the table. "You still said you had no money. Let me tell you, I'm the eldest son of the Mu family. All the money in the family belongs to me. How dare you hide it? Do you believe I'll tell mother and let her beat you to death!" With that, he pushed Mu Fengqie aside and grabbed the small cloth bag, then turned and ran.
Jing Xunchao came out of the room when he heard the commotion. He saw Mu Fengqie stumble and almost fall to the ground. He quickly stepped forward to help her sit down. "I'll go after him. Don't worry."
With that, he ran out like the wind. He was much faster than Mu Rendong.
Hearing the howls of pain like those of a ghost and a wolf, Mu Fengqie finally felt relieved. A moment later, Jing Xunchao came back and held the small bag in front of Mu Fengqie. "Not a single coin is missing."
"Well done!" Mu Fengqie patted him on the shoulder and took the bag.
She thought it would be a peaceful day, but unexpectedly, after dinner, another trouble arose.
"Come and have a look! That slut has beaten her elder brother like this. It's immoral! What a disgrace to the family! The younger sister beats her elder brother. Rendong can't even get up. Come and see!"
The noise got closer and closer, and the crowd behind Kong Shi grew larger and larger.
"Slut, come out! How dare you beat your elder brother? I'll beat you to death!"