Free Web NovelChapter 26: Chapter 26
Chapter 26
The children were excited by the aroma, and they searched around until they came to a sudden stop; the delightful scent was emanating from Brother Heng’s house.
They exchanged glances. How could it be?
Soon, the answer revealed itself.
"Have you returned? Come inside. Even though it’s sunny, it’s still quite cold. Come into the warm house," Yueqian, who had been waiting for her husband in front of the house after warming up the food, called out when she saw her husband standing with the children.
Mu Heng looked at the four children and sighed slightly before telling them.
"Do you want to come inside? Have you had lunch yet?" Mu Heng asked.
Even though he thought that to suddenly invite the children inside could trouble his wife, he saw their kind-heartedness, and knowing they didn’t have much themselves yet had gathered wild vegetables for his younger siblings.
He was aware that during tough times when there was little to eat, these children had secretly brought food from their homes to help them survive. Now that there was food, he couldn’t just send the children away; he wasn’t that immoral.
Later, he would make sure to repay his wife for the food. He would not let her be at a disadvantage.
"That... Is that food smell from your house?" Mu Feng did not enter the house. He asked out of surprised.
"Or is it food brought from the previous home of Brother Heng’s wife?"
"Yeah, I heard yesterday she brought a lot of steamed buns to sell. Did Sister-in-law keep some for you to eat at home?"
"Our parents say that Sister-in-law is greedy for money; she wouldn’t share her food. She’d want to keep the money instead. But now that we smell the food, it seems she isn’t like that after all."
"That’s right. How could Brother Heng’s wife be a bad person?"
The children conversed happily. Even though they smelled the food aroma, they hadn’t come here to take someone else’s food. They were here to check on their cousin’s well-being after he had married.
This was because everyone said that Brother Heng’s wife was a despicable person before, disliked and expelled by the capital’s people, so she wasn’t a good person. Some even said that by now, Xiao Long and Huan’er might have had their skin sliced off and turned into food, suggesting that people from the capital eat a lot, and this evil woman from the capital might eat human flesh.
While some rumors could be believed, others clearly couldn’t. The children didn’t believe everything because they trusted that Brother Heng would not let anyone harm his younger siblings. Still, they feared that things might turn bad when Brother Heng was away.
"Let’s not just stand here talking; let’s go inside," Mu Heng told the children.
He gently pushed Mu Feng forward first because once the group leader entered, the others would follow.
Once inside, they realized that the source of the enticing new scent was from the sister-in-law’s cooking pot. Yueqian was slightly surprised but didn’t say anything. A husband had brought guests home, even if she was displeased, she must talk to him only after sending off guests. It was proper etiquette to respect a husband in front of the guests he brought.
"Uh, where are Xiao Long and Huan’er?"
Mu Feng didn’t want to look at the food like the other children, who were already goggling at it without self-awareness. Despite the enticing aroma, Mu Feng, being older, if he did not look, he wouldn’t lose his composure.
"Exactly, Qian’er, where are the kids? Why aren’t they helping you start the fire?" Mu Heng frowned.
Normally, the kids knew their duties well, and he had specifically instructed them to take good care of his wife. Why then were they playing around and not helping with the chores?
"The children are in the house, practicing their calligraphy," Yueqian prevented him from making any further speculation.
In this era, in rural areas like this, homes were generally just places to rest or lounge because all their work, whether in the fields, foraging in the forest, or collecting firewood, was done outside. Therefore, it was unusual for Mu Heng to think of the children as secluded inside the house.
He had indeed asked the children to stay today to help his little wife, but seeing her starting the fire and lifting heavy pots on her own like this, what else he could possibly think?
In his mind, he pictured the children lounging comfortably, leaving the newcomer to do all the work alone.
But hearing from Yueqian that the children were not shirking their duties but were instead practicing calligraphy... made Mu Heng see Yueqian in a new light.
Her face showed no trace of jest or deception, but what she said still seemed unbelievable. Mu Heng’s brows furrowed, thinking of the wealth his wife had, wondering if she had secretly gone out yesterday to buy expensive items for the kids.
"Qian’er, why spend so lavishly? Did you secretly buy stationery yesterday?" Mu Heng asked sternly.
He had saved up 100 taels from marrying a wife, planning to send his younger siblings to school once they were ready. When that time came, he would buy them stationery and paper. The 100 silver taels he had set aside were meant to cover tuition and those inks, brushes, and paper.
Who would have thought that he, who had swallowed his pride, letting people stomp on his dignity for his siblings’ future, would find that his wife, who he dishonored her, had done that before him.
And now..., what was the use of holding onto the 100 silver taels meant to belittle his wife?!!
"Don’t be angry, I have my reasons," Yueqian, who had lived in conservative world for long, knew what he was thinking.
She did not argue vehemently but simply explained it to him, which was a good of her. Few men listened to women’s thoughts, and fortunately, her husband was one of those rare men.
"Your reasons?"
"Yes. I have my reasons for doing this. Actually, I wanted to ask for your help too, but wasn’t sure if you’d be available," Yueqian touched her beautiful chin, looking at Mu Heng as if seeking his opinion.
"Let me hear it first," he said, his thick brows still furrowed.
Yueqian believed that if her reasons weren’t good enough, he would surely hand the money back to her. But... could the straightforward reason of a man like him really compete with the reason of a villainess like her?
"In fact, I’ve taken on quite a lot of transcription work since my time in the capital. I’ve been running this business discreetly all along. When I went to deliver letters in the city, I was actually delivering to my employers who had me transcribe texts for them."
"But after getting married, I was worried I wouldn’t have time for such heavy work as before. Back then, I had many helping hands, but once married into the husband’s house, I had to be the manager of household affairs. So, I thought about passing the business on to someone else."
"It would be a pity to just cancel the contracts since they bring in several taels a month. Hence, I invested in people within the family, and now, my family are just you and the children. In the meantime, I can continue my work and plan to train the children in calligraphy too."
"I intend to reduce my workload in a year and let the children take over. What do you think? Of course, once they start earning, we can discuss repaying the costs for ink and paper," Yueqian elaborated at length.
Her melodious voice made Mu Heng very happy to hear such a lengthy sentences. frёewebnoѵēl.com
He was enchanted, almost forgot what he was concerned about.
"Um, even so... but this money..."
"As I said, wait until they start earning money, then they can repay me. Also, the next deadline for the work is approaching. I want the children to start working soon. If their handwriting isn’t perfect yet, they can start with general tasks first, no need to transcribe scholar’s texts just yet," Yueqian seemed to be talking to herself but also to Mu Heng.
The other party already went silent, reflecting on some part of her words. Was she implying that she had been transcribing for scholars to study? ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Ah, but considering the poetry she had recited to the scholars, she seemed more knowledgeable than them. So, everything she said must be true! No wonder she had so much wealth...
Mu Heng thought to himself. The way he looked at her filled with increasing admiration. Remembering what she said earlier that morning, everything she said turned out to be true.
Originally, Mu Heng had thought that even if she was struggling, as a Lady Qin she wouldn’t have had too hard a time considering the dowry she brought, which was considerable.
But thinking about what she was doing, perhaps that money was all that she had earned herself. A few silver taels a month, thus many gold taels a year.
"So, for all the expenses in the meantime, keep a record. After the children can truly earn money, I will have them repay you," Mu Heng said earnestly.
Though Yueqian said the children would help with the work, he was half-doubtful, believed it was her good intentions.
He stored this kindness in his heart, and no matter what the future difficulties, he resolved not to let her be sad or bring her any trouble.
"Um, let’s go inside then. But these children..."
Yueqian looked at the children who had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Sometimes they looked shocked, sometimes excited, sometimes exchanging glances as if they couldn’t believe it, but since these children were brought by her husband and seemed more like allies than foes, Yueqian didn’t think to hide her plans of teaching them calligraphy.
This way, there would be no future misunderstandings about how the children came to have such knowledge.
"This is my cousin, this one is Xiao Feng, this is Xiao Fu, next are Lan’er and Lin’er," Mu Heng introduced them to Yueqian.
"Hello, sister-in-law," the children greeted her together. It was their first time seeing their sister-in-law, and her beauty astonished them immensely. Everything the adults had said was true; their sister-in-law was incomparably beautiful.
