The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 37

Chapter 37: Counting the Small Change

According to Old Man Liu, the busiest time on the official road was in autumn, in October, when there were many merchants traveling between the northwestern provinces and Jizhou, and there were also many pedestrians on the road. His tea shed’s business was best at that time.

The closer it got to the new year, the fewer people there were.

As the weather grew colder, there were signs of snow.

On the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month, the two of them worked until almost evening, when the ox-cart came, and then they packed up.

She had told Old Hu the Third in the morning to come and pick them up at this time in the evening. Because this time, after they went back, they wouldn’t be back until next autumn, so they had to move the table and stove back with them.

When Old Hu the Third arrived, there were still a few flatbreads left. Lin Shuang didn’t bother to wait any longer and packed them all up for him to take home for his children.

He refused at first, but in the end, he took them with a grin.

By the time they got home and moved their things inside, it was already dark.

Old Madam Jiang had lit the oil lamp in advance and had added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove. The kang was also warm, and the whole house was cozy.

A large pot was boiling on the stove connected to the heated kang, steaming.

Seeing the two of them return, the old woman got off the kang to get them some hot water to wash their hands.

As soon as Lin Shuang entered the house, she smiled. “This room is a world apart from the outside. The wind is howling outside, like a knife cutting your face.”

“Are you going tomorrow?”

“No. It looks like it’s going to snow soon, and there aren’t many people on the road. These last few days, we’ve had to work late every day to sell everything. We won’t be greedy for these few days.”

Old Madam Jiang brought up the matter of stopping the medicine again.

Lin Shuang said, “The medicine only costs a few coins a day. Whether you should stop it or not is up to the doctor. In a couple of days, when we go to the city to buy new year’s goods, we’ll go and see Doctor Xue again. If you’re better, we can have a peaceful new year.”

The old woman grumbled about not wanting to waste the consultation fee, but she couldn’t win against the two of them and had to give up.

After washing her hands, Jiang Huaizhen had already washed the rice and started a fire to cook. She turned and asked Lin Shuang what to cook for dinner.

Lin Shuang said, “Let’s have some cabbage. A stir-fried cabbage and an egg drop soup will be fine.”

For the past half a month, the two of them had been busy selling their wares on the official road. They had missed the butchers and peddlers who passed through the village during the day. Sometimes, when they came back late at night, they didn’t go to the city, so they hadn’t bought any meat for several days.

But they always had rice, flour, oil, and salt at home, and there were still a few vegetables in the garden. It was no problem for the skillful Lin Shuang.

The two of them were physically active every day, so a stir-fried dish with a little more oil would replenish their energy. The other, a vegetable soup, was light and refreshing, suitable for the old woman.

Even though it was a simple meal, it was better than Jiang Huaizhen’s one-pot stew. The old woman had no complaints. The only thing she found hard to bear was that the two of them were out in the cold, doing business, while she was at home with a warm meal and a heated kang, unable to help. She was anxious.

Hearing that they were not going to set up their stall tomorrow, she also felt relieved, and she ate her dinner with more relish than usual.

The oily and hot stir-fried cabbage was poured over the rice. It was well-seasoned with salt and oil, and two small cloves of garlic were stir-fried with it. It was fragrant and, mixed with the rice, the two girls ate so much they couldn’t even talk.

Old Madam Jiang said with a heartache, “Eat slowly, eat slowly. No one is going to snatch it from you.”

After finishing a bowl of rice, Lin Shuang seemed to have come back to life. Only then did she slow down and say, “We’ll rest for a day tomorrow. The day after, we’ll tidy up the house and do a big cleaning before the new year.”

In the past, when Jiang Gui was still alive, it was Old Madam Jiang who arranged these things. Life was neither good nor bad. She was always worried about her son’s job and her granddaughter’s future. Every year, she felt uneasy, and the new year was no different from any other day.

In the two years after Jiang Gui’s death, let alone the new year, she had been sick all the time. On top of that, with Jiang Huaizhen’s cooking, the food was tasteless. She really didn’t want to live.

But now, things were different.

Although her granddaughter still had that lousy job, they had some silver saved up for emergencies, and the two of them had a way to make a living with the flatbreads. It was much more promising than before.

There was a talkative person in the house. Although her granddaughter was still as quiet as a clam, she was clearly not as gloomy as before.

On top of that, with a warm kang, her old bones no longer creaked like they used to in the winter, and she slept soundly.

With this little girl’s good cooking skills, she could imagine how much delicious food there would be for the new year.

It was only the middle of the twelfth lunar month, and she was already looking forward to the new year.

Seeing Lin Shuang arranging the family’s affairs, the old woman did not feel any displeasure at being “usurped.” She asked, “When are we going to buy new year’s goods?”

“After we clean the house tomorrow, we’ll go the day after. If we delay any longer, it might rain in a few days, and it will be too cold to go out.”

After finishing her second bowl of rice, she finally felt full. She then ladled half a bowl more, poured two scoops of egg soup over it, and ate with great satisfaction.

Jiang Huaizhen looked at her cat-like expression, her gaze lingering for a moment, then lowered her head and continued to eat.

After dinner, she cleared the dishes and washed them, then got water to help the old woman wash up and soak her feet.

Lin Shuang took two large buckets of hot water and went to take a bath.

She didn’t have to go out to set up her stall tomorrow, so she also became lazy. She had to take a long bath and sleep in.

After her bath, she went directly to the old woman’s room and got on the kang to wait for her hair to dry.

Old Madam Jiang had just finished soaking her feet and was sitting on the kang, feeling refreshed. “It’s getting cold now. Why don’t you come and sleep in my room?”

Lin Shuang looked up at Jiang Huaizhen. The other had also tried to persuade her like this before.

“It’s not that cold at night with a quilt. We’ll see when it snows.”

When she had first arrived, Old Madam Jiang had been sick, and Jiang Huaizhen had insisted on sleeping in a separate room, afraid that the baleful aura on her would affect the old woman. Although she had been making flatbreads for nearly a month, it didn’t change the fact that she was still an executioner.

The old woman was old and couldn’t afford any accidents.

She was unwilling to disturb the old woman, and Lin Shuang couldn’t bear for her to be cold in a separate quilt.

Hearing her say this, Jiang Huaizhen said nothing, cleared the old woman’s foot basin, and went to take a bath herself.

When she came out, she saw that the frame the old woman used to eat on had been placed on the kang at some point. The old and the young were sitting on either side, counting money with their heads down. A large pile of copper coins was being strung together, one hundred at a time. In the basket next to them, there were already several strings.

She rarely said, “These copper coins are so dirty. Is Grandma willing to count them on the kang?”

Old Madam Jiang glared at her. “Is this the same? Who would mind if money is dirty? Besides, isn’t there a table on it?”

Lin Shuang looked up and smiled at her. “Come on, let’s count together.”

Jiang Huaizhen wrung out her hair again, then let it fall over her shoulders, got on the kang, and sat down next to her.

Seeing that there wasn’t much left to count, she didn’t participate and just sat to one side and watched.

The steam from the kang evaporated the moisture from her body, and her hair became soft and smooth, and even the sharp aura on her body slowly softened.

Lin Shuang had originally wanted to turn and talk to her, but her gaze was drawn by her picturesque temperament. It took her a long time to look away and ask, “Guess how much money we’ve earned in the past half a month?”

Jiang Huaizhen said, “Over seventeen taels.”

When they made the dough in the morning, they would weigh the flour and knead it. They had a fixed number of flatbreads every day, at forty copper coins each. With a little calculation, they could figure it out.

Lin Shuang smiled and took out her notebook, recording it. “This seventeen taels is the total. There was also an expense of over four taels for flour and sauce. So we earned thirteen taels.”

Old Madam Jiang had already had a rough idea when she was counting the money, but she was still a little surprised to hear her say it.

When her son was still alive, there had been a year with a particularly large number of condemned prisoners, but it was only eleven or twelve. In other years, it was usually four or five, or seven or eight. Calculated by the number of heads a year, it was only a few taels of reward silver.

But now, these two little girls, selling flatbreads for less than a month, had earned over a dozen taels of silver.

She had been trapped in this valley all her life and had never seen so much money. How could she not be surprised?

So, the way she looked at Lin Shuang couldn’t help but become a little more eager.

Lin Shuang said, “Plus the over six taels we had already earned before we went to the official road to set up our stall, that’s a total of nineteen taels.”

With that, she got off the kang, went to the bed next door, and took out the money they had saved before, piling it on the table. “As we agreed, we’ll divide it into three parts. Half is for medical expenses, which is twelve taels and six hundred copper coins.”

“Two-tenths is for living expenses, which is now five taels…”

“Three-tenths is for continuing the business, which is… two taels and two hundred copper coins.”

Old Madam Jiang pointed to the third part and asked, “Why is this one so small?”

Having watched them sell flatbreads for over half a month, she probably knew that as long as the business was good, money could make money. The more you invested, the more you earned.

Lin Shuang patiently explained, “Because right now, our biggest expense is saving money for medical treatment. This is the main part, so the other two parts are smaller. There are profits and losses in business. If it’s always profitable, that’s good. But who knows if there will be an accident one day? If we invest all our money, we won’t even have money for medical treatment and food. How can we live?”

Hearing her say this, Old Madam Jiang showed a rare expression of approval.

“It sounds like you’re being steady and careful. If you do business like this, it will be hard to fail.”

Lin Shuang smiled. “If we fail, we just won’t do it. Anyway, the limit is this much money. If we don’t do it, we’ll at most lose this much, but it won’t affect our daily lives.”

Old Madam Jiang was completely convinced by her, but she was still a little uneasy.

Before this little girl came, their family had no income. Now that she was here, money was also coming in. In the end, this money was this little girl’s. Her own granddaughter was at most a helper.

Was she really willing to spend this money together?

But she couldn’t bring herself to ask. What if she asked, and the other really didn’t let her spend it? But if she didn’t ask, she felt uneasy.

Unexpectedly, she saw Lin Shuang count out twelve taels of silver and push it in front of her. “Now that we’re earning more money, and Sister Jiang’s part is also with us, it’s not good to always mix it together. In my opinion, this part for medical expenses should be kept by Grandma. The rest for living expenses and business can be with me and Sister Jiang, so it’s convenient for us to spend it at any time.”

Not only Old Madam Jiang was surprised, but even Jiang Huaizhen looked at her with astonishment.

Lin Shuang smiled. “What, is there anything wrong with this? But there’s no limit to the money a family keeps for medical expenses. Sister Jiang and I are still young, so we don’t have many expenses in this area, and Grandma’s health is also getting better. When we earn more in the future, we can decide again how much to keep for this part. But for now, since our business is not expanding, and we don’t have any special expenses, I think we should just go with this for now.”

This time, the old woman was completely at ease.

After all, once the money was in her pocket, it wouldn’t be easy to take it out.

She wanted to refuse, but facing so much money, she couldn’t say anything against her heart. Finally, she said, “Then I’ll hold it for you for now. If you need money for medical treatment, it will come from me.”

Jiang Huaizhen looked at the old woman’s happy face, then looked up at Lin Shuang, just in time to meet her gaze. She said nothing.

Lin Shuang put the rest of the money away. “Just keep the accounts. The remaining two parts can be put together. There’s no need to separate them so clearly. We have five taels for living expenses now. Let’s have a rich new year this year.”

Old Madam Jiang had just received some money and was very happy. How could she bother with her for spending money recklessly? She said generously, “What should be spent should be spent. What other families have, our family can’t be without.”

Lin Shuang had never experienced the joy of the new year in her two lifetimes. Now, with money in her pocket, the thought of being able to buy a pile of food to keep at home made her so happy she couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t help but lean over and ask Jiang Huaizhen what new year’s goods to buy.

But as she leaned back, her ear suddenly burned.

Jiang Huaizhen had just finished her bath and had not bound her chest as she usually did when she went out. On top of that, the room was very warm from the heated kang, so she was only wearing a thin single layer of clothing.

But when Lin Shuang lightly touched that spot, and with the weather, as the rough cloth brushed against the surface, the tip of it changed.

Her usually expressionless face stiffened.

Afraid that the old woman would see, she sat there without moving, letting the other’s back press against her.

After a long time, she subtly shifted to the side, avoiding the other’s body.

Lin Shuang randomly replied to the old woman’s words, her head lowered, fiddling with the copper coins in her hand. “Does Sister Jiang have any new year’s goods she wants to buy…”

Jiang Huaizhen’s voice did not change. “You can just buy whatever you see fit.”