A Good Country Wife
Chapter 479 - 473_1

Chapter 479: Chapter 473_1

"You said the stink on me rubbed off on you. I know my little wife is someone who loves cleanliness, so I must have made sure you were washed squeaky clean," Zhao Erhu said with an air of righteousness, but the wicked smile on his face made Lin Yue shiver involuntarily. Seeing Zhao Erhu put her down only to try and run, but there was no escape.

"Zhao Erhu, I was wrong to say that about you. You don’t stink at all. You smell nice. I already took a bath last night, no need to bathe again. You should wash up yourself," Lin Yue was now being pragmatic, but her display of weakness was a little too late. Moreover, Zhao Erhu had been out for a month eating ’vegetarian’ the whole time. Seeing his fragrant and soft little wife, how could he bear to hold back? He didn’t need to, and there was no reason to let her go.

With no escape, Lin Yue’s pleas were futile. Unable to hold back tears, she was quickly stripped clean by Zhao Erhu and thrown into the bathtub. What followed... it was nothing short of a tragedy!

"Hiss! Zhao Erhu, this detestable old man, has no idea how to be gentle." Lin Yue opened her eyes and sat up, feeling a wave of soreness throughout her body. It’s been a long time since she had been ’so worked up,’ and the consequences of a night of indulgence were obvious.

After last night’s fierce battle, Lin Yue had no energy left to care about anything else. She was so tired that she fell asleep right away and didn’t wake up until the next morning. By that time, Zhao Erhu had already gone to the front yard to arrange things, and the goods had to be dealt with.

Lin Yue hadn’t had the chance to ask last night. Now, having woken up, she didn’t bother going to the kitchen. She went straight outside to find Zhao Erhu. Additionally, she sent a servant to the city to inform Dalang and the brothers, telling them Zhao Erhu had returned and asking them to come home for a reunion dinner that evening.

When Lin Yue arrived, Zhao Erhu was still directing servants in moving things, sorting out the goods brought back one by one. Seeing Lin Yue approach, his stern face softened. "You worked hard yesterday. Why did you get up so early? You should have slept in a bit more."

Lin Yue gave Zhao Erhu a white look. She was curious about the goods he brought back, not about to quibble with him, and started looking around.

The items brought back filled the large storeroom in the front yard. There seemed to be a lot, but Lin Yue wasn’t impressed. She had already asked Zhao Erhu about the inventory capacity of their merchant ship, and these items didn’t even fill a third of the space. Even considering the preparations made by the Princely Heir, which were just some precious trinkets, they wouldn’t be much. She reckoned that combined, they would at most take up half the space on the ship. It felt wasteful to embark on such a sea voyage and return with half of the ship empty. Fortunately, she had the foresight to prepare plenty of items.

"Are these all the goods you brought back? Doesn’t it seem too little? Why didn’t you buy more?" Lin Yue asked directly, not hiding her thoughts from Zhao Erhu.

"The Princely Heir said that what we sell on this sea trip should be valuable in quality, not quantity. I was selective with my purchases. Although I carried tens of thousands in silver notes, which sounds like a lot, when it comes to buying goods, money runs through quickly. Even with careful planning, this was the best I could do – I even spent the 15,000 taels of silver you gave me." Zhao Erhu had put a lot of thought into the purchases, and some items, such as the embroidery, were expensive but didn’t take up much space, making them seem less.

Only after hearing Zhao Erhu’s explanation did Lin Yue understand the situation. She had given him all the silver coins she could. The rest had to be kept for emergency funds and couldn’t be touched, not knowing the uncertainties of a sea voyage. It was always wise to leave oneself an escape route.

"It must have been the Princely Heir who didn’t provide enough funds. If he had given more, it would have been better. Now, even if we find it lacking, we can’t just make another trip to the south. Not to mention anything else, we simply don’t have the time to delay," Lin Yue said, thinking that the Princely Heir, having been raised in the capital, should have some understanding of the prices, so it puzzled her that he was somewhat stingy.

"The Princely Heir had no choice. He can only use the fortune left to him by his late mother, the former Marchioness of Zhenbei. Control of the financial affairs of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate is in the hands of his stepmother, and he can’t touch a penny of it. He even has to cover his daily expenses himself, so he doesn’t have a lot of spare silver. That’s why he partnered with me to do this maritime business and why even providing several tens of thousands taels of silver was a stretch. He couldn’t give any more," Zhao Erhu explained.

"So that’s how it is. Who would have thought that a Princely Heir would be so short on silver. Now I see why he reached out to you for this venture; it turns out there was a good reason," Lin Yue mused, finding reasons for her previous suspicions and doubts, relieved.

"Thank goodness you gave me the 15,000 taels in silver notes, or else I would have managed to bring back even fewer goods. You have no idea how much variety there is in the south, especially embroidery. Whole streets are selling related wares. There are several notable shops with excellent embroidery. Although they can’t compare to yours, they would definitely fetch a high price overseas. I spent nearly 10,000 taels on embroidery alone. But the Princely Heir also mentioned that embroidery is very popular overseas, and there should be no worry about selling it for a good price."

"Indeed, many people from the barbaric countries adore embroidery, especially the nobility. As long as it’s safely transported, there’s really no concern about it selling."

Zhao Erhu then briefly told Lin Yue about the incidents that occurred on the way to the south. He mentioned the son and daughter-in-law of Old Master Qian with a smile on his face, apparently pleased with how things had turned out.

Dealing with Old Master Qian’s issue was something Zhao Erhu had promised to take care of himself. Lin Yue didn’t interfere much and wasn’t very concerned. At the time, she just thought Little Douzi would be too pitiful without parents. When Zhao Erhu suddenly mentioned her, Lin Yue was confused for a moment, suddenly remembering who Old Master Qian was.

"So, you found them? Where did you find them? Did you find out what happened, why there was no news for so long?" Lin Yue asked, a string of questions pouring out, driven largely by curiosity.

Zhao Erhu recounted the hardships endured by Old Master Qian’s son and daughter-in-law. Due to their kind hearts, they had helped and trusted a villain in the south, only to have their money stolen and to be implicated in a lawsuit. They ended up locked in prison, and for lack of money to bribe officials, the county magistrate kept delaying their release. It was Zhao Erhu who found out their whereabouts and spent a hundred taels of silver to set them free. Even though they were saved, they had already endured the hardships inflicted upon them, having been tormented by government officials beyond recognition.