A Good Country Wife
Chapter 521 - 515_1

Chapter 521: Chapter 515_1

Zhao Erhu handed the silver note to Lin Yue and kept two million taels for himself, not because he didn’t trust Lin Yue, but because business dealings usually require spending some silver coin, and purchasing goods also needed money. He couldn’t always ask for money from his wife’s hand whenever he needed to buy something.

"Wife, I’ll leave all the household finances to you, and I’ll just keep these two hundred thousand taels," Zhao Erhu said, wary that his young wife might overthink it, he even made a point to explain what he would use the silver for, "This year’s journey overseas went quite smoothly, and I’m definitely going back next year. I will use it to buy goods on regular days."

Seeing Zhao Erhu’s behavior, Lin Yue felt that she had trained this man quite well. She nodded in satisfaction, put away the silver note and reassured him, "Don’t worry, I understand. Not to mention buying goods, it’s not right for a grown man like you to be without some silver on him; I won’t overthink it."

"Wife, I also brought back a lot of things. Just wait, I’ll have someone bring them into the room," Zhao Erhu said as he went out to give a few orders. Soon, a servant carried in several big chests. The chests were so large and undoubtedly heavy, moving them around was quite a hassle. But since it was snowing outside, and the weather was so cold, Zhao Erhu didn’t want Lin Yue to step outside, preferring to bring the contents into the house, a diversion for her. Otherwise, his little wife might become bored and surely pester him to go out.

In this way, the little wife had something to occupy herself with. Just rummaging through the contents of these big chests could keep her busy for days, and by then, New Year’s Eve was almost upon them. The issue of his wife wanting to go out would be resolved, and she wouldn’t have to cling to him, which would keep him from relenting to her demands due to a lack of willpower. Zhao Erhu thought to himself, feeling quite satisfied that he had managed to distract his little wife.

Right then, Lin Yue was indeed drawn to the large chests that Zhao Erhu had someone bring in. "Zhao Erhu, didn’t you have Brother Xinglin bring things back? Why are there still so many items? Did you bring them from the foreign tribe?"

"There are still several large chests in the storeroom. These are the ones that I thought you might like, specially picked out. The ones Brother Xinglin brought back were only a part of them. Some goods were not sorted properly at the time, and some were mixed with goods from Capital City, so only those were brought back. Moreover, I also brought you a gift. Take a look and see if you like it," Zhao Erhu said as he placed a white lacquered European-style exquisite box in front of Lin Yue.

Lin Yue looked at the three-tiered box and opened one layer. Inside were two sets of extremely delicate jewelry, different from the gold and silver styles of the Great Zhou Dynasty, crafted by combining gold, silver, and gemstones in intricate designs. Even someone like Lin Yue, who usually didn’t fuss over jewelry, was captivated by these pieces and liked them very much.

"These are truly beautiful. I’m afraid even the entire Great Zhou Dynasty could not find craftsmen with such exquisite skills," Lin Yue said. This wasn’t a casual remark. When she went to the Capital City, she had trouble finding a jeweler to make a few designs she had created because her designs were too complicated. In the end, even Princess Yongle had the Imperial Household Department’s craftsmen take a look at her designs, but the resulting pieces failed to satisfy her. The expertise of setting gemstones, as seen in one of her designs, was exactly the skill she sought.

Zhao Erhu, seeing how much Lin Yue liked the gifts he had chosen, was naturally very pleased. "Not just in our Dazhou, Master Smith’s craftsmanship is also among the finest in his country. I made a special point to find out about his good craftsmanship before buying from his shop. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, I could only pick from pieces that Master Smith had already made. If we had more time, I would have gotten them custom-made," he said.

"These two sets already look lovely. However, it would be nice if Master Smith were from our Great Zhou Dynasty. With such fine craftsmanship, I would order several more sets. Last time, the many gemstones you had Brother Xinglin bring back would be perfect for making jewelry. It’s a pity that Master Smith is separated from us by a vast sea, making it impossible for us to commission jewelry from him," Lin Yue said with a hint of regret.

However, Zhao Erhu’s expression became somewhat enigmatic after hearing Lin Yue’s words, "That’s uncertain, who knows what the future holds? Maybe Master Smith isn’t doing well in his country and wishes to come to our Great Zhou Dynasty. Your hope might come true."

Zhao Erhu’s words were filled with meaning. Lin Yue suddenly looked up at Zhao Erhu, "Zhao Erhu, what exactly are you implying? Do you know something? Will Master Smith be willing to follow you to our Great Zhou?!"

"I never said that. It’s just that the future is unpredictable, but there’s always hope." Zhao Erhu deliberately played coy, not telling Lin Yue the truth because he wanted to surprise her when the time came. He also feared disappointing her if things didn’t work out.

Seeing Zhao Erhu acting this way, Lin Yue knew she wouldn’t get anything more out of him. She opened the bottom two layers of the box; in one layer, there were several mirrors of different sizes, shapes, and patterns. They weren’t the copper mirrors of the time, which produced only dim and vague reflections—they were glass mirrors!

Heaven knows Lin Yue was uncomfortable using copper mirrors and had long hoped for glass ones. She hadn’t expected Zhao Erhu to bring her one so soon. Had he heard her complaining while she was dressing up before and thus sought them out for her?

It must be said that Lin Yue was onto something. Zhao Erhu had heard his wife complain about copper mirrors not providing a clear reflection and wishing for glass mirrors while he was helping her dress up in the past. At the time, he didn’t know what glass mirrors were, but seeing them in the Foreign Tribe, he purchased some. They were quite expensive though; a single mirror could cost up to a hundred taels of silver. These few mirrors had cost him a total of five hundred taels of silver. It really did hurt to spend that much, but seeing as his wife liked them, he would’ve spent even five thousand taels if necessary. Zhao Erhu never considered where his wife had first learned about the existence of glass mirrors.

The very bottom layer contained several delicate and beautiful pocket watches—a gold one, a silver one, and several others set with various gems. These pocket watches were obviously more refined and luxurious than the boxful Zhao Xinglin had brought back. Zhao Erhu explained that these were crafted by artisans from the palace of the Foreign Tribe and couldn’t be bought with silver alone. He had gone to great lengths, trading some of the best tea leaves Lin Yue had given him, to obtain them from the hands of several Foreign Tribe nobles.

"No wonder I found these pocket watches to be much more exquisite than the ones Brother Xinglin brought back before. They were obtained from the palace of the Foreign Tribe. Such fine items should be kept for ourselves, not given away." Lin Yue played with the pocket watches as if they were treasures and glanced at the mirrors on the table, when a thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Zhao Erhu, you mean to say that these glass mirrors also sell for a high price in the Foreign Tribe?"

"Indeed, these glass mirrors are considered luxury items in the Foreign Tribe as well. There’s only one shop that sells them, and that shop is said to be connected to the royal palace. Just these few small mirrors cost me more than five hundred taels of silver."

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