At noon, the supervisor called everyone to eat.
Zhu Mingyue became busy again. The workers were divided into five groups, and he was responsible for serving food to one group.
He used a ladle to scoop porridge into each person’s bowl. Everyone received about the same amount. Nobody was allowed to ask for more.
One worker complained that he had been given too little and demanded an extra serving. The manager immediately whipped him several times. After seeing that, everyone stayed quiet.
Zhu Mingyue opened his eyes wide and carefully served each bowl, afraid that he might accidentally give someone too little and start an argument.
After all the workers had eaten, Zhu Mingyue finally had time to rest. He and the other five kitchen workers shared the leftovers from the pot. Each person got half a bowl and ate lunch in the shed.
The millet porridge tasted bad. It had not been ground finely and still contained a lot of husks. There were also very few sweet potatoes. To be honest, it was not much different from pig feed from the pig farms he had seen in his previous life.
Still, millet had one advantage—it made people feel full. After eating half a bowl, Zhu Mingyue’s stomach was satisfied.
Nearby, several women were chatting.
“Did you hear? Old Zhang from Gouhe Village bought another two acres of farmland.”
“I heard about it days ago. He bought the Xie family’s land. They even argued over the price and almost brought it to the village chief.”
Zhu Mingyue was licking the millet paste from the edge of his bowl when he became interested in their conversation.
So farmland could be bought and sold here.
Maybe one day, after earning enough money, he could buy a few acres of land and live as a farmer.
The sticky millet paste on his finger brought him back to reality. He quickly ate it and continued listening.
“Why does Old Zhang need so much land? Didn’t he buy one acre from the Xie family last year too?”
“He has many children and grandchildren. No matter how much land he buys, they can farm it.”
Then the woman changed the subject.
“But I really don’t understand Xie Da. Their family only has five acres in total. They sold one acre last year and two more this year. I don’t believe those two brothers can survive like that.”
“Who knows? I heard each acre sold for only seven taels of silver. If he sells the rest, I’d like to buy one acre too.”
The conversation slowly shifted to village gossip.
Zhu Mingyue had already learned the important part: one acre of land cost seven taels of silver.
His daily wage was twenty copper coins.
Even if he worked every day of the year without spending a single coin on food or necessities, it would take almost a year to save seven taels.
After doing the math, he immediately gave up the idea of buying land anytime soon.
After lunch, he cleaned the pots and bowls and followed the other women to collect the day’s wages.
When he received twenty copper coins, he weighed them in his hand.
They were surprisingly heavy.
This was the first time he had earned money through his own work, and he felt a small sense of accomplishment.
He put the coins into his clothes and hurried toward the county town before it got dark.
Originally, he had planned to save the money for better clothes, return Cui Jian’s borrowed clothes, and buy a simple dagger for self-defense.
But Cui Jian had suddenly decided to continue traveling north.
That completely ruined his original plans.
So all day he had been thinking about how to spend these twenty coins.
He wandered slowly through the town streets.
The marketplace was lively. Besides the shops on both sides of the road, many people had set up stalls.
Most sellers simply spread cloth on the ground and displayed their goods.
Some sold women’s items such as makeup, handkerchiefs, and hair ties.
Others sold bamboo products like baskets and containers.
None of these interested him.
Instead, a book stall caught his attention.
He crouched beside it and looked through the books.
As expected, he could not read a single word.
The stall owner warmly greeted him.
“I have many kinds of books. Take your time and look around. If you like one, tell me and I’ll wrap it for you.”
Although Zhu Mingyue only had twenty coins in total, he tried not to show it and calmly nodded.
After a while, he picked up a book.
“How much is this one?”
“Six hundred coins,” the seller replied quickly. “That’s not expensive. You can ask around town. Nobody sells books cheaper than I do.”
Zhu Mingyue was shocked.
Even hearing four hundred coins would have stunned him, but six hundred was even worse.
That was more than half a month’s wages.
He carefully put the book down, afraid of damaging it and being asked to pay compensation.
“Are you buying it?” the seller asked.
Zhu Mingyue coughed awkwardly.
“I’ll look around somewhere else.”
The seller thought he was leaving because the price was too high.
“Three hundred eighty coins! That’s my lowest price!”
As if reducing the price by twenty coins would suddenly make him able to afford it.
If the seller knew Zhu Mingyue only had twenty coins, he would probably think he was joking.
Without looking back, Zhu Mingyue quickly escaped.
Only after turning onto another street did he finally relax.
Then he remembered the crescent-shaped jade pendant Cui Jian had given him.
His mood became heavy again.
He could not afford a book, but he still wanted to buy a return gift.
The value did not matter. It was the thought that counted.
As evening approached, he grew anxious.
After walking around for a long time, he stopped at a hairpin stall.
One wooden hairpin immediately caught his eye.
It sat alone in the most noticeable spot.
Compared to the others, it was clearly made with more care. The carvings were more detailed, and the surface was smoother.
He remembered the rough wooden hairpin in Cui Jian’s hair.
It looked as if Cui Jian had simply picked up a branch and carved it himself.
Compared to that one, this hairpin was much nicer.
Zhu Mingyue immediately decided he had to buy it.
The stall owner was an elderly man.
Seeing that Zhu Mingyue was serious about buying it, he said directly, “Forty coins is the lowest price.”
Zhu Mingyue knew it was fair. The wood itself was cheap, but carving it took time.
After hesitating, he finally said,
“I only brought twenty coins. Could you…”
“No. I absolutely won’t sell it for twenty. You’re quite clever, aren’t you?” the old man said, clearly unhappy.
Embarrassed, Zhu Mingyue hurriedly explained.
“That’s not what I mean. I really want it. I just don’t have enough money today. Can I pay twenty now, take the hairpin, and bring the rest tomorrow?”
“No.”
The old man shook his head and clearly wanted to end the conversation.
Then he looked up and suddenly froze.
“Hey! It’s only a hairpin! Why are you crying? I’ll reserve it for you until tomorrow!”
Zhu Mingyue’s eyes were already full of tears.
They flowed down his face like large pearls.
His expression perfectly mixed sadness, stubbornness, and vulnerability.
“You know… I lost my parents when I was young.”
The old man had never encountered such a situation before and was caught completely off guard.
“Well… I didn’t know that.”
Zhu Mingyue ignored the response and continued dramatically.
“I became an orphan when I was little. No parents, no one to care for me…”
He almost started singing a sad song before quickly returning to the point.
“Today is my birthday. I just want to treat myself for once. I fell in love with this hairpin the moment I saw it. If I buy it tomorrow, it won’t mean the same thing.”
The old man’s heart softened immediately.
“Oh, you poor child. If that’s the case, take it now. Pay me the rest tomorrow. I’ll consider it a good deed.”
He practically pushed the hairpin into Zhu Mingyue’s hands.
“Take it and stop crying before people think I’m bullying you.”
“But what if I run away and never pay you back?” Zhu Mingyue asked while tightly holding the hairpin.
The old man was confused.
When he refused to sell it, the boy cried.
Now that he agreed, the boy was acting hesitant.
What kind of person was this?
“You won’t get away with it unless you never come to town again,” the old man grumbled. “Give me the money and leave.”
Zhu Mingyue immediately handed over the twenty coins.
“You’re just like my great-grandfather. You look tough, but you’re actually kind-hearted. Good people are always rewarded.”
The old man smiled proudly.
“Oh? How old was your great-grandfather?”
Zhu Mingyue thought for a moment.
“Eighty-nine.”
The old man became even happier.
“That’s a long life indeed. Looks like good people really are rewarded.”
Zhu Mingyue carefully polished the hairpin with his sleeve. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he felt.
“Oh, I forgot to mention something.”
He smiled brightly.
“My great-grandfather passed away more than forty years ago.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he waved and ran away as fast as he could.
The old man stood there in shock.
A moment later, he realized what had happened and became furious.
The boy had compared him to someone who had died before reaching old age!
Still, anyone who knew Zhu Mingyue’s family history would know he had not actually lied.
In a certain sense, his great-grandfather really had received a good reward in life.