Song Shi’an silently lowered his head and ate the shredded radish pancake, not lifting his head even once.
Even though Jiang Chun acted like nothing had happened and didn’t mention a word, he still felt a bit embarrassed.
Luckily, Jiang He soon brought up the matter of buying a mule cart, saying happily: “Your Uncle Jiang Wan truly is the all-knowing one of our village! If you ask him, you’ll never go wrong! He said, your third grand-uncle’s nephew-in-law’s brother-in-law’s family, just so happens to have a fine mule to sell! Tomorrow, you’ll still go to the town to sell meat. I’ll have your Uncle Jiang Wan use his family’s mule cart to take me to Xiaoli Village to check it out.”
“You found news of a mule that fast?”
Jiang Chun raised her brows in surprise, then gave a big thumbs-up:
“As expected of my Uncle Jiang Wan!”
In the countryside, people didn’t pay attention to things like “don’t speak while eating, don’t talk while sleeping”.
The father and daughter chatted about the “big matter” of buying a mule while eating, the atmosphere relaxed and at ease, which instead reduced quite a bit of Song Shi’an’s awkwardness.
After finishing the meal, his mood was also more or less adjusted.
At night before bed, when Jiang Chun rushed to pour his foot-washing water, he actually took the initiative to speak to her: “My body is somewhat better now. Chores like pouring foot-washing water, I can handle myself. No need for you to help anymore.”
Jiang Chun put down the wooden basin and smiled: “Alright, then you do it yourself.”
And even followed up by climbing the pole: “Since husband has the strength to pour foot-washing water now, then after I wash my feet, you can pour mine too.”
Song Shi’an was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly: “Alright.”
Before, his body had been weak—he couldn’t even carry the basin, so she had always poured his foot-washing water for him.
Now that he had regained some strength, reciprocating in kind by pouring hers was only proper.
Jiang Chun looked at him with a half-smiling, half-teasing gaze: “Husband is especially… gentle and easy to bully today.”
Song Shi’an ignored her, and with effort picked up the wooden basin, staggering as he walked into the courtyard to pour the water into the drainage ditch.
After Jiang Chun washed her feet, before she could even say anything, he kept his word and indeed poured her foot-washing water too.
Lying on the kang, Jiang Chun felt completely elated in her heart.
The future Grand Secretariat who would hold power over the court, the new emperor’s brother-in-law, a noble member of the imperial family— not only helped her wash her undergarments, but also poured her foot-washing water.
Although she was feeling guilty about what happened today, to the point she didn’t even dare tease him, it wasn’t without gain.
This could also count as checking the goods [colloquially used to mean confirming someone’s ‘performance’ in intimate terms], and she now knew his hardware functions were normal— not just a silver-plated spearhead [ mocking something flashy but useless, often used to imply impotence].
And the size was rather excellent…
She held her face in her hands and rolled around in the bed, “Aiyaya, I really am too blessed.”
Song Shi’an saw she wasn’t lying down properly, not knowing what she was doing under the covers.
He couldn’t help but lightly cough and say: “Why are you kicking around the quilt for no reason? If you catch a chill, you’ll suffer for it.”
Jiang Chun flipped over toward the head of the kang, smiling: “Aiya, husband caring so much about me—this really is unexpected pampering.”
Song Shi’an said coolly: “I’m afraid if you fall ill, there’ll be no one to cook, stew bird’s nest, or boil medicine for me.”
Jiang Chun stretched her long leg out from under the quilt, reached his side, and lightly kicked his leg through the blanket.
She grinned smugly: “Husband, don’t try to deny it. I know you’re just concerned about me.”
Song Shi’an didn’t expect her leg to reach over, and coldly said: “Keep your legs to yourself—stop stretching around!”
If he didn’t reprimand her seriously, right now it was just her legs—who knows what she’d stretch over next. Maybe even her whole body would come crawling over.
Jiang Chun had already gone too far today, so now she didn’t dare act out again.
Upon hearing this, she obediently retracted her leg back under the quilt and muttered: “Fine, I won’t stretch. Who even wants to?”
Song Shi’an curled his lips: Who wants to? I think you quite wanted to.
—
The next morning, after the father and daughter finished slaughtering the pig and just loaded the pork onto the wheelbarrow, they heard knocking at the door.
Jiang Chun opened the door and saw it was her cousin Jiang Liu. She was surprised: “How come you ran over so early in the morning? Did Grandma send you to cut meat?”
It was still dark. At this hour, only villagers in a hurry to get pork would show up at one’s door.
Jiang Liu shook her head and said: “I heard something happened to Cousin Yin. I wanted to go check on her, but I was afraid her grandma, that dead old hag, would mumble and grumble. So I wanted to ask, Sister, are you free to come with me?”
Jiang Chun had originally planned to go to the Wang family anyway, and she smiled: “Sure. But you’ll have to wait till I finish selling the meat.”
“Of course I’ll wait,” Jiang Liu nodded, then grinned and said, “I’ll sell pork with you, Sister.”
“Alright, then you help me collect the money.” Jiang Chun didn’t stand on ceremony and directly assigned her a task.
Then she pushed the wheelbarrow, and the two cousin sisters chatted and laughed as they headed toward town.
When they arrived at Granny Liu’s house, Granny Liu was quite happy to see Jiang Liu and grabbed her hand to ask all sorts of things, far more enthusiastic than toward Jiang Chun.
Although Granny Liu didn’t like her cousin Li-shi, she was quite fond of Jiang Liu, this smart and clever grandniece who was also skilled in embroidery.
After hearing that she had almost been sold off by Li-shi, Granny Liu was so angry she gnashed her teeth and cursed furiously: “That damned old woman Li-shi has fallen into the eyes of money, she’s even willing to sell off her own granddaughter! That ignorant fool! Does she think working as a servant in a wealthy household is some great opportunity? That Wang Yin’er—what a sharp and clever little lady—there’s no one more capable in this entire town, and what happened to her? Didn’t she still get crippled just because the master said so?”
After pausing for a moment, she let out a cold laugh: “Since that Li-shi thinks big households are so good, why doesn’t she sell herself to go scoop chamber pots for them?”
Jiang Chun continued hanging meat onto the iron hooks while pricking up her ears to listen to their conversation.
By the end, she nearly burst out laughing.
Granny Liu, this great-aunt, had actually thought the same thing as Song Shi’an.
Back then, he too had suggested that Li-shi go sell herself to work as a chamber pot-scooper for a wealthy household.
Too bad Li-shi didn’t appreciate the gesture and wasted his whole piece of “goodwill.”
Jiang Liu chimed in: “Exactly. I already knew it wasn’t easy to serve in those big households, so I refused to obediently be sold. When I heard what happened to Cousin Yin yesterday, I broke out in cold sweat—I was terrified. Luckily, I went to Sister for help, and she took me to find the clan elder to speak on my behalf. That forced Grandma and the others to give up on the idea, or else who knows what would’ve happened to me.”
The two of them got more and more worked up as they spoke and teamed up to scold Li-shi until the sky turned dark.
An hour later, when Jiang Chun finished selling the meat, Granny Liu—who was used to cursing whoever offended her and undefeated across the entire Hongye Town when it came to scolding matches—felt just fine.
But Jiang Liu, a newcomer to the world of scolding, had completely lost her voice. She now sounded like a crow—hoarse and unpleasant.
Jiang Chun was half amused, half exasperated. She laughed and scolded: “You said you came to help me collect money, but in the end, you didn’t collect a single wen, and even lost your voice. Tell me, what use are you?”
Jiang Liu stuck out her tongue sheepishly and rasped out: “I got too caught up chatting with Granny and forgot the main task. Don’t be mad, Sister—I’ll come help collect money again tomorrow.”
Jiang Chun bluntly refused: “Forget it. It’d be good enough if you don’t come mess things up. Go home and sleep your big ol’ nap.”
She returned the tables and chairs to Granny Liu’s house, left the wheelbarrow with Granny Liu to look after, and then brought Jiang Liu along to the Wang family.
On the way, when they passed the general store, she went in and bought a packet of brown sugar and two handfuls of eggs.
She handed the eggs to Jiang Liu and said: “You carry this.”
It was a habit Jiang Chun had picked up in modern times—when visiting the sick, one must bring a gift.
Going empty-handed just felt inappropriate.
Jiang Liu was a little maiden; no need for her to carry anything heavy—two handfuls of eggs were enough.
“Sister, I can’t accept this.” Jiang Liu wasn’t stupid. Her sister had strength enough to lift a whole pig, so how could she not carry a few eggs and need help?
Clearly, these were bought as a gift on her behalf.
She handed the eggs back to Jiang Chun and pulled out ten copper coins from the embroidered pouch at her waist, saying: “I brought ten wen, but I didn’t know what to buy for Cousin Yin, so I figured I’d just give her the money directly—at least it’s something.”
These were her New Year’s money she’d saved up for ten years.
Her grandma was an old miser, giving her only one coin each year during the Spring Festival. She had never spent a single one, saving them all.
Jiang Chun gave her a sidelong glance and said: “Keep that bit of money for yourself. If you ever run into something urgent, at least you won’t be scrambling.”
Jiang Liu refused: “No, that won’t do. Sister, you’re already being so kind to accompany me—I can’t spend your money.”
“Stop dawdling. Worst case, when you marry in the future, just squeeze more money out of your in-laws to support your sister.”
Jiang Chun forcefully stuffed the eggs into her hands and gave a cold snort: “If you keep dawdling, I won’t go with you anymore.”
Jiang Liu held the eggs, stood where she was, biting her lip.
Only when Jiang Chun had walked a fair distance ahead did she hurriedly run to catch up, saying as she ran: “Sister, don’t worry. In the future, I’ll definitely squeeze money out of my in-laws to support you.”
“Alright, Sister will wait for you to support me.”
Jiang Chun couldn’t help but laugh and casually responded, raising her hand to rub Jiang Liu’s twin buns.
Whether she’d keep her promise in the future or not didn’t matter—at least, what she said at this moment was sincere.
And besides, Jiang Chun didn’t need her to support her at all.
The two of them chatted and laughed all the way to the Wang household.
But upon seeing the carriage parked at the Wang family’s entrance, along with the servants standing guard outside, Jiang Chun’s expression immediately darkened.
Not even a single maidservant was in sight—this was clearly not the proper setup for a young lady from a prestigious household going out.