After finishing breakfast, Lu Ziming set off for town to find craftsmen who could build a heated brick bed, and Yun Zhu brought Yiyi along as well.
At noon, when Lu Ziming arrived at the entrance of the town to meet the mother and daughter, he found her standing beside a mule cart.
Meanwhile, Yiyi was sitting outside the cart’s carriage holding a wicker basket, happily playing with the little chicks and ducklings inside.
“Second Aunt, this mule cart is…?” Lu Ziming vaguely guessed what was going on.
Yun Zhu patted the mule. “I bought it!”
Seeing Lu Ziming remain silent, Yun Zhu asked again, “Do you know how to drive it?”
She didn’t know how to drive a mule cart; the shop owner had helped drive it here for her just now.
“I do.” Lu Ziming didn’t ask further questions and brought up his own situation. “I found two master craftsmen who know how to build heated brick beds, but they can only come in two days.”
“All right.” Yun Zhu also knew that in a place like theirs, finding two craftsmen capable of building heated brick beds was already rare.
“Eldest Brother,” Yiyi fished out an oil-paper bundle from inside the carriage. “Here’s a meat bun for you.”
Yun Zhu was just about to remind the little girl that she hadn’t washed her hands after playing with the chicks and ducklings, but the moment she opened her mouth, her daughter had already pulled a meat bun out of the oil-paper and stuffed it straight into Lu Ziming’s mouth.
Yun Zhu: “…”
Yet Lu Ziming didn’t mind it at all, taking a bite with a smile. “You eat too, Yiyi.”
“Mother and I already ate earlier.” The little girl giggled and patted her tummy. “We ate until we were super full!”
Lu Ziming chuckled, took the bun, and wolfed it down in a few bites before grabbing the whip used to drive the mule. “Sit tight, we’re heading home!”
Inside the carriage, Yiyi picked up the basket containing the little chicks and ducklings again, continuing to play with them as if they were prized treasures.
“Mother, can I be the one to feed the chicks and ducklings from now on?” The little girl looked up, staring at her mother expectantly.
“Of course you can!”
Looking at her daughter, who had regained her past vitality, a smile blossomed on Yun Zhu’s lips as well.
Her spatial storage could not keep living creatures. She had previously bought some fertilized chicken, duck, and goose eggs and placed them inside, not expecting them to actually hatch into chicks, ducklings, and goslings.
These chicks and ducklings were newly hatched livestock from her spatial storage, so their vitality should be quite strong.
The news of Yun Zhu buying a mule cart quickly spread through the village. Many villagers came over to watch, and even the Village Chief’s wife showed up.
“Yiyi’s Mother, this mule cart wasn’t cheap, was it?” The Village Chief’s wife pulled Yun Zhu aside and asked in a low voice.
Yun Zhu glanced at Lady He, who was hiding behind the Village Chief’s wife to eavesdrop, and raised her voice slightly, “Including this carriage, it cost 18 taels in total.”
When the family was split, the fact that she received tens of taels of silver from Lu Ping could not be hidden. Letting everyone know she had spent the silver could also save her from some trouble.
“What?!” Lady He let out a sharp screech. “So expensive?!”
Startled by the voice behind her, the Village Chief’s wife turned around to see Lady He, her face darkening immediately. “Lady He, what are you sneaking around for?!”
“Didn’t I hear that Lady Yun bought a mule cart and came to take a look?” Lady He replied with a slight lack of confidence. The next second, however, she curled her lip at Yun Zhu and snorted coldly. “Lady Yun, your mother-in-law is injured and bedridden, yet you aren’t even willing to offer her a bowl of porridge out of filial piety, but you’re willing to buy a mule cart?”
Leave aside Yun Zhu, even the Village Chief’s wife was angered to the point of laughing upon hearing this. “Lady He, are you just that idle? Don’t you know Yiyi’s Mother has severed ties with Lu Ping and Lady Zhao? Given what Lady Zhao did, Yiyi’s Mother was already being generous by not making her rot in jail!”
“Exactly, exactly!” Another woman chimed in. “That Lady Zhao is a vicious woman!”
After Lady Zhao was brought back to the village, she had instructed Lady He to spread rumors that Yun Zhu had harmed her mother-in-law. Unable to stomach the injustice, Lady Yang had recounted everything to the villagers in full detail—how Lady Zhao had brought her maternal family to the county seat to forcefully abduct Yiyi to trade for Lu Jinglan, how they assaulted people, and how they were subsequently arrested and imprisoned.
The villagers held nothing but utter contempt for Lady Zhao’s actions.
“Lady He, just what benefits did Lady Zhao give you for you to keep speaking up for her like this?” Someone mocked Lady He.
“If you ask me, they’re two peas in a pod!”
“…”
“…”
With everyone tossing remarks back and forth, Lady He’s face flushed blue and red until she finally scurried away in disgrace.
After the villagers departed, Yun Zhu finally turned to Lu Jinghai, who had hesitated to speak multiple times, and said, “Eldest Brother, I know you hate to see silver spent, but I bought this mule cart to prepare for fleeing the famine next year. When you have free time, you and Zibin should also learn how to drive the cart.”
With a large family, she even planned to buy another mule cart before they set out to flee the famine.
“Second Sister-in-law, ignore him!” Lady Yang glared at Lu Jinghai. “The road during a famine escape is difficult to travel. Without a mule cart, were you planning to make Yiyi walk on her own feet? Or let her get soaked in the rain on rainy days?”
Regarding Yun Zhu buying the mule cart, Lady Yang actually approved in her heart.
With the supplies sent by the Duchess, they no longer had to worry about food and clothing.
Her Second Sister-in-law had ample funds; what was wrong with letting her own daughter live a bit better?
Rebuked by his own wife, Lu Jinghai instantly shrank back like a quailing bird, not daring to speak another word.
Suppressing a smile, Yun Zhu said, “Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, rest assured that buying a mule cart or two won’t break my bank.”
Everyone turned to look at her simultaneously.
A mule cart or two?
Does that mean she plans to buy another one?
“If possible, I would actually still like to buy a horse carriage,” Yun Zhu added. “Exposure to the wind and sun on the escape route is secondary. If we run into danger, a horse carriage can run faster as well.”
Originally, Lu Jinghai and Lady Yang felt that fleeing a famine was still a distant matter; after all, a natural disaster might not necessarily occur. But hearing Yun Zhu put it this way, they suddenly felt a wave of tension.
They had heard elderly people who had survived past famines say that on the road of a famine escape, human lives were like ants, and very few managed to survive.
“Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, I just want you to be mentally prepared.” Yun Zhu really didn’t want them to feel a pang of heartache every time she purchased something, yet she didn’t want them to lose sleep over it either. “However, as long as we make complete preparations, we can avoid danger.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Lu Jinghai nodded repeatedly. “Regardless of whether a natural disaster comes or not, making proper preparations can’t go wrong.”
Lady Yang glared at him. “So now you don’t object to Second Sister-in-law buying mule carts and horse carriages?”
Lu Jinghai smiled awkwardly. “Compared to the lives of the whole family, what does silver count for?”
“Uncle, Aunt!” Yiyi ran over holding the basket, saying happily, “Quick, look at the little chicks and ducklings Mother bought me!”
Lady Yang had actually seen them long ago, but she still said cheerfully, “Oh my, when you little ones grow up, you must lay plenty of eggs for our Yiyi to eat!”
Just then, Lu Zibin walked over. “Second Brother will build a coop for you in a bit.”
The little girl nodded excitedly. “Okay!”
Mother had said that if she could raise these few chicks and ducklings successfully, she would ask the gods for a few more later on so she could start some kind of livestock farm.
With the entire first branch heading out to the fields to prepare for planting winter wheat, Yun Zhu saw her daughter playing with the chicks and ducklings in the courtyard. She closed the courtyard gate securely and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Just as she finished cooking the white rice and was slicing meat, Yiyi’s crying voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard. Clutching her kitchen knife, Yun Zhu rushed out immediately.
The moment she dashed out of the kitchen doorway, Yun Zhu saw a little boy wrestling with her daughter over the basket of chicks and ducklings.