Chapter 19

Grinding his teeth, Zhou Jinian thought, It was time to make Ninglang understand who the man of this household was-a man who could hold up heaven and earth, and thrust into his husband!

Zhou's Sixth Daughter-in-Law saw her five-year-old son come through the door covered in mud, and her temper flared. She raised her palm-leaf fan to smack his bottom, but, afraid of dirtying it, she could only swallow her anger and haul him off to change.

"Just keep making trouble! Whose child behaves like you? Your father is a scholar, at least. How come you can't recite even a single line of the Three Character Classic?"

"If you dare run out to play in the mud with Heidan'er again tomorrow and get yourself covered in it, don't come back inside. Your mother won't want you anymore, either."

"You're supposed to start school next year. Let's see which private school will take you..."

Zhou's Sixth Daughter-in-Law scrubbed the mud off her son as she nagged. Once she had finished tending to the little one, she went to her husband's study and started nagging him. "Your son came home covered in mud again today. He starts school next year, and you still haven't begun teaching him. What are we going to do if the teacher refuses to take him?"

Zhou Liufeng held his book without so much as glancing at his wife.

His wife was used to it. She came closer and continued, "He's already five, and he doesn't recognize a single character. All day long, he follows Heidan'er from the far end of the village around. That Heidan'er will never be anything but a poor farmer, and he takes your son all over the fields to play in the mud..."

Zhou Liufeng turned a page and continued reading closely.

Zhou's Sixth Daughter-in-Law sighed. "Watching him grow day by day makes me so anxious, but I'm just a woman who can't read a single word. And look at you, burying yourself in these books every day..."

Zhou Liufeng remained unmoved.

After nagging and venting for a while, his wife finally gave up wasting her breath. "Then get on with your reading. You can start teaching our son after you pass next year. If he has a xiucai for a father by then, he'll already be ahead of plenty of children."

Author's note: The little husband wants to fly into the heavens? Zhou Jinian will make sure he can't get out of bed.

Thank you to the little angels who sent me gifts or watered me with nutrient solution between 2020-09-23 22:02:25 and 2020-09-24 21:42:00~

Thank you to the little angels who sent landmines: amireux, ying, 1 each;

Thank you to the little angels who watered me with nutrient solution: Fanqing, 40 bottles; Great Magician, 20 bottles; Such Heavy Rain, 10 bottles; Hong, 8 bottles; Baby's Breath, 6 bottles; ⊙..⊙溕

Chapter 19

On the twelfth, before dawn had broken, Zhou Sifeng also rose early and went to his third brother's courtyard to collect a whole basket of vegetarian jerky wrapped in oiled paper. Zhou Jinian and his father each carried a basket on their backs as well, while Xie Ning carried the lightweight books and provisions on his back and led his dad, Lin Jin, out of the Zhou family courtyard by the hand.

As usual, they rented Grandpa's ox cart. Zhou Jinian drove while Xie Ning leaned against him, his head tilted up and resting on his shoulder as he dozed.

They swayed their way into town. Having slept the whole journey, Xie Ning was full of energy when he got off the cart and headed for the market along the familiar route.

Zhou Jinian carried one basket on his back and another in his arms. He was glad he trained his arm strength every day and accompanied Ninglang up and down the mountain to soak in the pool. His body was sturdy, and his strength had grown.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, there were twice as many people in town as last time. Stalls packed the entire market street, almost as though last night's night market had never closed.

The family had no choice but to settle in a corner beside a woven-basket seller. Almost no one nearby sold food, let alone fish or meat.

Zhou Jinian took a packet from the basket and opened it, displaying the dried eggplant to attract passersby. Unfortunately, tucked away deep down the street, they attracted no interest. Nearly two hours passed without them selling a single packet.

Xie Ning squatted nearby, his hands wrapped in his sleeves as he cupped his face, fretting helplessly. Tilting his head to look at Zhou Jinian, he found him still standing perfectly straight with his hands behind his back. How did his husband look anything like a street vendor?

Xie Ning stood up, moved beside Zhou Jinian, and asked softly, "What do we do if nobody buys any?"

"No hurry. Let's wait a little longer." Zhou Jinian offered reassurance, but he was uncertain himself. Making money through trade was actually harder than being an official.

Xie Ning squatted down again and picked up a twig to write names on the ground, anxiety churning inside him. He had turned all the eggplants in the Zhou family's cellar and growing in their fields into steamed dried eggplant. There was still plenty drying at home, waiting to be carried to Praying for Grace Temple to sell during the Mid-Autumn Festival. If it didn't sell, how could he face Father and Dad?

Lin Jin also kept watching the center of the market, hoping passersby would come all the way to the end. But wave after wave of people saw that the stalls at the end only sold ordinary little household items, nothing novel, and were unwilling to walk those few extra steps.

With the blazing sun high overhead and noon upon them, someone finally headed toward the end of the street. All the vendors there, including those at the other stalls, fixed their eyes on the newcomer.

It was an old man carrying steamed buns on a shoulder pole, calling as he walked, "Steamed buns for sale! Every one will fill your belly! Would you like a steamed bun, good sir?"

He turned out to be a vendor too. Knowing the market was bustling and the stallholders would be hungry and need to eat at noon, he had come to sell food along the street.

The money-making part of Xie Ning's mind sprang to life. He went over and tugged Zhou Jinian's sleeve. "Jinian, I'm going to sell along the street too!"

He took the books and provisions out of his little bamboo basket and handed them to Lin Jin. "Dad, I'm going to sell along the street. Help Jinian look after his books."

Xie Ning filled his little back basket with dried eggplant, opened a packet and held it in his hands, calling as he walked, "Vegetarian jerky! Fragrant, spicy vegetarian jerky! Would you like some vegetarian jerky, good sir?"

Zhou Jinian also shouldered a large bamboo basket and told his father, "Father, Dad, I'm going to look after Ninglang."

By the time he caught up with Xie Ning, someone was already handing him copper coins. Xie Ning fumbled as he tried to take off his basket to fetch the goods, and his husband's low voice came from behind him. "I'll do it."

Zhou Jinian handed a packet to the passerby who had paid. When his little husband turned to him with a radiant smile, he reached out and rubbed his head.

"Vegetarian jerky! Fragrant, spicy vegetarian jerky..." Xie Ning simply took a piece of steamed dried eggplant for himself and ate as he called out his wares.

Vegetarian jerky? The passersby looked at him curiously. It was their first time hearing of vegetarian jerky, and the food the young man was chewing did indeed look like air-dried cured pork.

"How much is this, young sir?"

"Twenty-five wen a packet. Children can have it as a snack, or you can steam it for a dish. Would you like a packet?"

The man frowned at the price. "That's almost as much as a jin of meat."