So, You’re the Henpecked One? 26

Chapter 26

The next morning, Lin Zhao opened her eyes and saw that Chu Xihuan was still sound asleep. She carefully withdrew her arm from around her and slowly got out of bed.

However, no matter how careful she was, the old bed still creaked.

At the annoying sound, Chu Xihuan’s beautiful brow furrowed slightly, and she gradually woke up.

“Why are you up so early?” Her voice was still thick with sleep as she turned her head and squinted at Lin Zhao, who was already getting dressed.

She was back in her beggar’s outfit.

Lin Zhao quickly looked back at her. Seeing that she still looked very sleepy, her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m going to work. You can keep sleeping. I’ll leave breakfast for you in the pot. Remember to eat when you get up.”

Chu Xihuan slowly became more awake. She propped herself up and frowned. “Do you have to get up so early?”

“Mm, we need to load the goods onto the boat as soon as possible so it can set off,” Lin Zhao explained. “It’s still early. You can keep sleeping. I’m going to make breakfast.”

With that, she hurried out, feeling that time was already tight.

Watching Lin Zhao leave and close the door, Chu Xihuan’s brow furrowed tightly. She fell back onto the bed, her previous sleepiness gone due to her annoyance.

Lin Zhao was still young. This was not a long-term solution. But if she let Lin Zhao find a job on her own, she wouldn’t be able to find a decent one.

She couldn’t help but sigh softly. An idea was gradually forming in her mind. After she had negotiated and arranged everything, she would discuss it with Lin Zhao.

*

Outside, Lin Zhao made breakfast, left Chu Xihuan’s portion in the pot, and quickly ate her own before rushing out, afraid that she would be late and they wouldn’t want her.

When she arrived, the sky was still dim. The foreman was a little surprised to see her.

“You’re quite early,” the foreman said.

Lin Zhao smiled, her lips pressed together, a little unsure of how to respond.

“Since you’re here, get to work. You can move the things to the gangplank first. When the boat comes, you can move them on,” the foreman said without much ado, directing Lin Zhao to start working.

Lin Zhao had even less to say. She did whatever she was told, thinking only of moving as much as possible as quickly as possible to earn a few more wen.

The foreman watched Lin Zhao work diligently, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He hadn’t known Lin Zhao’s identity on the first day, but he had heard some things over the past two days and now knew who she was.

Looking at her, it was really hard to imagine that she used to be a street loafer who was shunned by everyone.

And… wasn’t she married to the daughter of the Chu family? Why did she still have to come out and do such heavy manual labor? It seemed that even if you married into a prominent family, life wasn’t necessarily that good.

Lin Zhao had no idea what the foreman was thinking. By the time she had moved some things to the gangplank, many other people had also arrived. When the boat was about to dock, there were even more workers. Some even tried to take advantage of the situation and sneakily move the cargo closest to Lin Zhao.

“Put it down! That’s mine!” Lin Zhao looked at the burly man who was trying to carry the cargo she had moved, her eyes flashing with anger. Even though she was half a head shorter than him, she stepped forward without any fear and pulled her cargo from his shoulder.

“You son of a bitch, you say it’s yours, so it’s yours? Is your name written on it?” The man looked at Lin Zhao’s thin and weak appearance with disdain. Since he had been discovered, he might as well just brazenly hoist a sack of cargo onto his shoulder in front of her.

Lin Zhao knew very well that if she let him bully her like this, she would never be able to protect her cargo in the future. Everyone would want to come and bully her.

“Even if I wrote my name on it, would a person like you be able to read?” Lin Zhao grabbed her cargo and looked at the man with a dark expression.

The man was also angered by Lin Zhao’s words. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her fiercely. “Are you looking for death?”

“I don’t know if I’m looking for death, but you’re quite a bastard. Didn’t your parents teach you not to touch other people’s things?” Lin Zhao stomped hard on the man’s foot. As he dropped the cargo and bent over in pain, she stared into his eyes and said, word for word, “I said, this is my thing. If you still pretend not to hear, I don’t mind making you never hear again.”

At this moment, Lin Zhao was filled with a fierce aura. The man’s pupils constricted when he saw her like this, and he was actually intimidated by her fierce appearance.

He had a feeling that if he dared to do anything else, this person in front of him would make him pay a heavy price, even if it cost her her life.

This person was so thin and weak, completely incomparable to his physique, but the moment her eyes locked onto him, he felt as if he were being stared at by a fierce wolf, just waiting to pounce and tear him apart.

Seeing that he was scared and didn’t say anything, Lin Zhao pulled back her cargo and gave him a cold look.

Just then, the foreman, who had probably noticed the commotion, walked over and shouted with a frown, “What’s going on! Why are you all gathered here? Are you not working?”

At the foreman’s angry shout, the onlookers seemed to snap back to their senses and quickly went back to work. However, no one dared to touch Lin Zhao’s pile of cargo again.

Lin Zhao didn’t say anything either, silently moving her cargo onto the boat.

The foreman looked at Lin Zhao, then at the man who was still sitting on the ground. He didn’t need to think much to know what had happened. Such things had happened before.

“If I find out about this a second time, you don’t have to come back in the future,” the foreman said, staring at the man. He hated troublemakers. Troublemakers meant trouble, which meant he would have to deal with it.

The man’s face was a little ugly, but he was no longer as arrogant as before in front of the foreman.

Lin Zhao didn’t pay attention to what happened afterward. After the cargo had filled the ship’s hold, her morning’s work was considered over. When she went to collect her wages, she learned that another boat would be docking in the afternoon and they would need more hands, so she quickly signed up.

After getting her money, she thought of Chu Xihuan at home and quickly ran home, still able to make it back in time to cook lunch for her.

However, when she arrived home, the house was quiet. She searched every corner of the house but couldn’t find Chu Xihuan. Lin Zhao’s spirits drooped, and she sat on the small stool by the well, looking down at the meat she had hung in the well last night.

Where did Xihuan go~

Lin Zhao had lost her usual cheerfulness. She felt a little resentful, resentful that if Xihuan was going out today, why hadn’t she told her beforehand where she was going.

She didn’t know anything. It was really worrying to come back and not find her at home!

Fortunately, not much time had passed. When Lin Zhao heard a noise at the gate, she immediately got up and ran to open it. Then, she saw Chu Xihuan, holding a pile of things in her arms.

“Xihuan!” Lin Zhao’s voice rose. She took the things from Chu Xihuan’s arms. “You went out~”

The person who had been moping just a moment ago had completely forgotten her previous grievances after seeing her. She just wanted to stick to Chu Xihuan’s side, to look at her, to hear her speak.

Chu Xihuan looked at her. She still found the patched clothes on her to be an eyesore. “Are you tired?”

Actually, it was a pointless question. How could carrying goods at the docks not be tiring?

However, Lin Zhao quickly shook her head. “Not tired! I went early today and moved a lot, so I earned more than one hundred and thirty wen!”

With this kind of income, it was enough to support a family for an ordinary household.

Chu Xihuan paused for a moment, then reached out and ruffled her head. “Mm, very impressive,” she said warmly.

After working so hard all morning, she could still be so energetic in front of her.

Lin Zhao’s eyes lit up as she looked at her. “What did Xihuan do when she went out today~” she couldn’t help but ask softly.

She wanted to know all of Xihuan’s movements, to know what Xihuan had done during the time she wasn’t with her.

“I went out to buy paper and a brush for you, and also to see if there was any suitable work for me.”

The two of them naturally walked to the study together. Chu Xihuan took the things from Lin Zhao’s arms one by one. “These are the ink, brush, and paper I bought specially for you.”

She was still a beginner, so there was no need to use such good paper and ink. Ordinary ones would do.

“Mm-hm.” Lin Zhao looked at the pile of things and nodded repeatedly, feeling a sense of relief. At least now she wouldn’t feel so bad about practicing her writing.

“Then did Xihuan find any suitable work for you?” Lin Zhao asked again, very curious.

“I guess so.” Chu Xihuan took out a stack of things carefully wrapped in oiled paper. “Copying books for the bookstore.”

These were the papers the bookstore had given her to take back.

Lin Zhao’s eyes widened at the sight of the pile of things, a clear confusion in them. “You can earn money by copying books?”

Chu Xihuan chuckled and gently tapped Lin Zhao’s head with the papers. “Naturally, you have to have good handwriting.”

The bookstore would have different prices for each person’s handwriting. For the same book, if the handwriting was good, you could earn more money than others.

Lin Zhao didn’t feel wronged. Instead, her eyes lit up, and she looked at Chu Xihuan with an expectant gaze. “Then if I can practice my handwriting to be good, can I also earn money by copying books?”

“Naturally.” Chu Xihuan raised an eyebrow. “If you can develop your own style of handwriting, your handwritten copies might even sell for a high price.”

At least, as far as Chu Xihuan knew, the handwritten copies of those calligraphy masters could be sold for a sky-high price.

This time, Lin Zhao’s eyes were completely lit up. At this moment, in her mind, writing had gone from the initial purpose of being able to read and write to the point where good handwriting could earn money!

“I’ll definitely work hard to practice my handwriting!” Lin Zhao said firmly. Even if she didn’t know that many characters, as long as she practiced her handwriting well, couldn’t she just copy the characters?

Seeing her like this, the smile in Chu Xihuan’s eyes deepened. “Then I’m looking forward to it.”

As she spoke, Chu Xihuan picked up another book and waved it in front of Lin Zhao.

“Guess what this is?”

Lin Zhao curiously stared at the cover of the book, but there were only characters on it, and she had only learned a few so far, so she couldn’t recognize what it was. She could only honestly shake her head.

“I don’t know.”

Chu Xihuan found it a little amusing that she couldn’t even make a wild guess, but she was in a good mood now and didn’t mind telling Lin Zhao directly.

“This is a cookbook,” Chu Xihuan said. This was something she had made a mental note to buy before she went out this time.

Lin Zhao looked at the so-called cookbook, then at the smiling Xihuan. She pressed her lips together, and her brow suddenly furrowed.

“Xihuan, is my cooking not good?”

Chu Xihuan was speechless. Oops.

**

Author’s Note:

Luan Luan: Oh no, you’re so smug. You should have just secretly bought it while she couldn’t read, but you had to tell her.

Xixi: …

Zhaozhao: It’s not good. Xihuan thinks it’s not good. (Teary-eyed)