A Good Country Wife
Chapter 361 - 355_1

Chapter 361: Chapter 355_1

The Emperor truly understood Jiang Ziqi quite well. He was genuinely curious about what Jiang Ziqi had encountered over the past year to undergo such a significant transformation.

Ever since the Embroidered Picture was presented at the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, many people had inquired about its origin from Jiang Ziqi. Remembering Lin Yue’s instructions, Jiang Ziqi kept his lips sealed when asked about it, even deliberately erasing any trace that might lead people to Lin Yue, to prevent those with ulterior motives from coveting her unique skills.

By the time the last batch of goods from the Jiang Residence was ready, several days ahead of the scheduled time, they notified manager Liu to send it to the Capital City. Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue finally heaved a sigh of relief. They had been so busy that they had no time to rest, and were truly exhausted. The orders from the Government Office and Su Residence were prepared except for those to be made on the spot. Now, they could finally breathe easy, rest well for some time, and the workers had been paid off and happily went back to their homes.

"Dongjia is truly benevolent. Although he said we’d get extra for rush work, I never expected to get this much. After all, the starting wage was already generous. Now with this silver coin, we’re going to have a good year."

"You’re not wrong. When I take this silver coin back, my wife will be over the moon. She’s been wanting to buy some fabric to make a skirt but couldn’t bring herself to spend the money. Tomorrow, I’m taking her to the city to buy it."

Once the workers left, Zhao Erhu, along with Zhao Dahu and others, gave the workshop a thorough clean and locked up. Lin Yue had prepared their wages as well. Zhao Dahu, Wu Qiang, and a few others took care of their family affairs. Naturally, their wages were different from the workers. Lin Yue paid them eight taels of silver each, the same went for Li Xiaomei and Liu Aniu. The others, who had been working at Zhao Erhu’s for a long time, knew that Zhao Erhu and his wife were generous and would not shortchange them on their wages, so they gratefully accepted their pay. Only Xiaomei, who was overjoyed to receive so much at one time.

If Lin Yue had given her that much alone, she might have felt uneasy, but with everyone getting five taels, she accepted it with a clear conscience. This year was their first after the family division, and for their household of four, with these taels of silver, she could celebrate the new year properly and visit her family with pride. She also planned to go to the city to buy some cloth and sew new clothes for Zhao Cheng and the children.

"Erhu, sister-in-law, thank you. Without you, Zhao Cheng and I wouldn’t have the good life we have now. We might have ended up like Zhao Xing, not even knowing where our New Year’s grain would come from. We could have been worse off than Zhao Xing. That old shrew from the Wei Family is so biased; she dotes on her youngest son but wouldn’t care about our Cheng, let alone help us."

Although much time had passed, Xiaomei seldom interacted with the Wei Family but still harbored resentment. So, when the Wei Family came to Zhao Cheng over Zhao Xing’s situation, they did so behind Xiaomei’s back, coaxing their second son while she was away, hoping he could lend a hand to their youngest son. The little silver she had saved wouldn’t last forever, and she couldn’t give it all away; she had to keep some for self-defense.

The Wei Family no longer had hope for their eldest son and naturally had to plan more for themselves. Even for the sake of their youngest son, they couldn’t empty their coffers. People are selfish by nature. Who could say if their youngest son wouldn’t turn out like their eldest? So, the Wei Family sought out Zhao Cheng, hoping he would look after Zhao Xing more. This, to them, seemed like the best of both worlds.

But Zhao Cheng’s heart had already been chilled by the Wei Family, and now he just wanted to live well with his wife and children, not getting involved with Zhao Xing’s affairs. Moreover, the situation Zhao Xing was in was his own doing. His wife already had issues with the Wei Family and his two brothers. Learning he had helped Zhao Xing would certainly lead to a quarrel. It wasn’t worth upsetting his wife, who had been devoted to him, over a brother who lacked any sense of duty. He firmly refused the Wei Family’s request, which infuriated them, sparking a tirade of curses. Zhao Cheng, already accustomed to being berated by the Wei Family, pretended not to hear. He wasn’t like Zhao Dahu, foolishly submissive and neglecting his own wife and children, ultimately gaining nothing.

"No need to thank us, why should you compare yourself to Zhao Xing? Zhao Xing is lazy and gluttonous, that’s why his life turned out this way. You and your husband work so hard, there’s no need to worry about not having a good life. Hurry back now, Zhao Cheng is waiting for you to join him. If there’s any work at home in the future, I’ll look for you."

Li Xiaomei’s face lit up with joy upon receiving Lin Yue’s promise, "Then it’s settled, sister-in-law, I’ll head back now."

With everyone gone, the courtyard quieted down considerably. Lin Yue had been settling the workers’ wages all day and tidying up the courtyard. She was so tired that her back and neck were sore, and she wished she could just lie down in bed and sleep. However, the dust and sweat on her body were unbearable, so she forced herself to take a bath before lying down in bed.

Zhao Erhu felt sorry seeing his wife so tired. He was really too busy to handle everything, so accounting and paying the workers fell to his wife. After taking a bath with the water his wife had used, Zhao Erhu went over and started massaging her.

"Wife, does your back hurt? Let me give you a massage. It will feel much better. Come, lie down here." Zhao Erhu patted the spot in front of him, signaling his wife to come over.

Lin Yue felt much more relaxed after the bath, but since Zhao Erhu was showing such concern, she was happy to enjoy her husband’s care. She slowly moved over and lay on the soft pillow, moaning comfortably from Zhao Erhu’s massage. If it weren’t for the fact that she was utterly exhausted today, Zhao Erhu would have had trouble restraining himself.

"Zhao Erhu, the day after tomorrow is the Laba Festival. Let’s go to the city tomorrow, I want to buy some ingredients to make Laba porridge, and I also have to send some things to my brother." Lin Yue thought that it had been a while since her last visit to Lin Qing’s place. Now that she had some free time, it was a good opportunity to send some things to her brother. However, she felt a bit too blatant in supporting her natal family like this, and although she believed Zhao Erhu wasn’t the petty type, she still felt it was necessary to ask.

"Zhao Erhu, won’t you be unhappy with me supporting my natal family like this?" Lin Yue turned over, poked Zhao Erhu’s chest, and stared intently at his expression. Seeing that Zhao Erhu truly didn’t mind, she felt relieved.

The next day, the couple had breakfast and hurried into the city with their carriage. Lin Yue had heard that a new pastry shop had opened in the city, and the shop’s owner had previously been an Imperial Chef in the Imperial Palace, specializing in making desserts for the Emperor and his consorts, so the pastries sold in the shop were said to be especially delicious.

Imperial Chef, huh! I wonder how tasty the pastries he makes are, Lin Yue was particularly curious. She made plans to buy some pastries to try with Zhao Erhu, but who would have thought that on their way, a Cheng Yaojin would appear out of nowhere, a beautiful stranger they had never seen before, and Zhao Erhu’s attitude was also very strange.