"You'll find out soon enough." Tang Zhuyun smiled slyly, bought Linlin a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts, and found a large bluestone by the roadside to sit on while she peeled them for him.
"Auntie, do we have the silver to buy a horse?" Linlin finally asked.
"No. I don't need silver to buy a horse. Believe it or not?" Tang Zhuyun blinked at him, teasing him on purpose.
"Then, then isn't that stealing?" Linlin asked in surprise.
Tang Zhuyun said, "...I earned it with my own skills. That's not stealing! Eat your chestnuts. You'll understand in a bit."
After they finished the chestnuts, Tang Zhuyun took Linlin back to find the horse trader.
The trader beamed as soon as he saw her. "Miss, you really are my god of wealth."
Earlier, Tang Zhuyun had secretly told him that she would goad Ruan Anruo into bidding, and they would split any amount over three hundred taels of silver fifty-fifty.
"Just pick me a horse worth one hundred and fifty taels," Tang Zhuyun said.
The trader was even happier. He took it upon himself to pick a horse he had originally priced at two hundred taels, and threw in a bridle, saddle, and saddle blanket.
Looking at the dumbstruck Linlin, Tang Zhuyun smiled and said, "Come on, let's go home."
"Auntie, d-do we really not have to pay any silver?" Linlin was stunned.
Tang Zhuyun laughed, leading the horse with one hand and holding his hand with the other as she slowly explained what had happened.
Linlin was clever, but the other two men in the family were far too upright to teach him these "crooked ways."
"This is how you deal with an enemy: if you can beat them, fight; if you can't, find a way to beat them; if you still can't beat them, run; if you can't run, kneel. A gentleman can wait ten years to take his revenge, right?" Tang Zhuyun patiently guided him. "And you mustn't be too rigid. Sometimes, dealing with disgusting people calls for special tricks."
White cat or black cat, a cat that caught mice was a good cat. There was no need to be bound by appearances.
Linlin looked thoughtful.
But his reflection was short-lived, for he was beside himself with excitement. He couldn't believe their family actually had a horse.
"Auntie, Auntie, can we give the horse a name?"
"You name him. I've never even been to school." Tang Zhuyun encouraged Linlin, deliberately putting herself down.
"All right!" Linlin agreed at once. "Then let's call him Gale."
When Tang Zhuyun went to put their purchases on the horse's back, Linlin couldn't bear it.
Tang Zhuyun was at a loss. If they weren't going to ride the horse or use him to carry things, were they supposed to do it the other way around and carry the horse?
"Auntie, let's go to the river first," Linlin pleaded. "I want to brush the horse by the river and let him graze there. The grass by the river is the most tender."
Tang Zhuyun said, "..."
She felt as though she hadn't bought a horse, but an ancestor to wait on.
She bought two brushes and two large baskets, put everything they had bought in the baskets, and led the horse to the river.
Women were washing clothes by the river, and children were playing.
Quite a few children gathered around to look at the tall, magnificent horse, though they didn't dare approach.
Under the envious gazes of the children, Linlin let Gale graze while he stood on tiptoe to scrub him.
Tang Zhuyun tried to help, only for Linlin to complain that she was too rough. So she could only warn him not to go into deep water, then sit idly nearby, watching the rippling stream and letting her thoughts wander.
The river was a tributary of the Lu River, yet it was still thirty or forty feet wide. The deeper parts were probably several meters deep, but fortunately the current wasn't swift, so it looked all right.
Tang Zhuyun thought that now they had a horse, they still needed to buy a carriage. She wondered how much silver it would cost.
Once they had a carriage, they would also need a driver, which would be another expense.
But they couldn't do without either, because Tang Mingfan had a hard enough time going to court before dawn and returning under the stars, especially in winter, when it was even more grueling.
The family's income was limited, but unlike her predecessor, she didn't spend money recklessly, so they should be able to afford a carriage.
And it would be wonderful if she could sell that cold-dish recipe and ease the pressure they were under... A single coin could stump a hero. Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea-all of them cost money.
Suddenly, her foot felt itchy, and she couldn't help looking down.
Wow, what a treasure she had found!
Beaming, Tang Zhuyun picked up a crayfish and watched it wave its claws at her in vain.
How had she forgotten? It was just the season for eating crayfish.
Numbing and spicy, garlicky, thirteen-spice-crayfish was delicious no matter how it was cooked!
She vaguely recalled that when her predecessor had lived in the countryside, there had been plenty of crayfish by the river too, but hardly anyone was willing to eat them.
Unless they were dirt poor, no one bothered catching them. Only children occasionally caught some to take home and boil, and even most of them disliked the muddy smell.
As excited as if she had discovered the New World of America, Tang Zhuyun rolled up her sleeves and set to work catching crayfish by the river.
A few children stopped watching Gale and gathered to watch her instead-probably because they had never seen a grown-up catch these things.
Tang Zhuyun's eyes turned. "Help me catch crayfish. You can trade ten for one copper coin. How about it?"
The children could hardly believe their ears.
They could easily catch dozens of crayfish by the river. That was several copper coins!
To them, it was no different from a fortune.
After Tang Zhuyun assured them she meant it, the children grew more excited than ever and all went off to catch crayfish.
Tang Zhuyun emptied a basket, then pulled up some grass and wove a hideous-looking lid for it. She waited for the children to bring their crayfish and trade them for money.
By the time Linlin finished brushing the horse and was ready to go home, she had spent twenty-three copper coins and collected two hundred and thirty crayfish, returning with a full haul.
As soon as Linlin got home, he eagerly showed off his Gale to Old Madam He and Xiu'er. Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads, and then they were genuinely delighted.
But when Xiu'er heard that Tang Zhuyun had actually paid money for crayfish, she cried out over the waste.
"No one would take these things even if they were free. Only you would pay for them. Really, five copper coins' worth of candy to share among the children would have been enough!" Xiu'er muttered.
Tang Zhuyun laughed. "Enough nonsense. You'll enjoy eating them more than anyone later. Come and help wash the crayfish."
It was quite a laborious task.
Tang Baixin was the first to return that evening. By then, the whole courtyard was filled with the pungent, savory aroma of numbing, spicy crayfish.
But the first thing he saw was Gale, leisurely gnawing on tree bark in the courtyard.
"Father, Father!" Linlin's eyes were full of stars. "Come look at the big horse! Auntie bought him for me! His name is Gale!"
Tang Baixin was astonished. After he heard Tang Zhuyun out, he laughed too. "How did you come up with such a wicked trick? Won't Ruan Anruo go mad with anger when she finds out?"
"I can't wait!" Tang Zhuyun said. "She came right to my door asking to be fleeced. If I hadn't drawn my knife, she'd really think I was afraid of her!"
Linlin stayed in the courtyard with Gale and refused to come inside. He asked Xiu'er for a carrot to feed the horse.
From inside the house, Tang Zhuyun shouted through the reed curtain, "Linlin, if I see you and Gale taking turns eating that carrot again, I'll have your father spank you!"
Hearing this, Tang Baixin couldn't help smiling.