After Liu Fenfang retreated into the house, she had no idea the huge “surprise” her daughter had prepared for her!
By the time she realized that most of the chickens and ducks in the house had been taken away, she was furious and stomped over in anger.
These chickens and ducks had been carefully tended for months, fat and meaty, each one ready to fetch a few taels of silver if sold in town. And the hens could still lay eggs!
Shen Ziying, on the other hand, felt that once the stinky chickens and ducks were gone, the air in the house felt much fresher. That was better for her beauty and skincare routine.
“Mother, your daughter has plenty of ways to earn money, don’t worry so much,” Shen Ziying comforted her.
Recently, being able to eat meat at every meal was thanks to her daughter somehow obtaining medicinal herbs and selling them at a good price, leaving some extra money at home.
But no one ever thought there could be “too much silver.” Every coin spent felt like cutting into Liu Fenfang’s own flesh. Raising livestock took months of effort, feeding them grain and grass, and now most of them had been given away to others, just thinking about it made her feel like she might spit blood.
A flower blooms in two, each showing its branch.
Shen Dashan’s household was extremely lively, now with thirty more chickens and ducks and two sheep, filling the courtyard with chirps and bleats.
Shen Ruo set aside a hen and a rooster for Aunt Zhou, to thank her for the help of her son, Zhou Lang.
Aunt Zhou had also been among the crowd earlier that afternoon, but Shen Ruo clearly remembered she hadn’t spoken ill of her own child, only mentioned that it was her son who had carried Shen Ruo home.
“Ah, how can I accept this?” Aunt Zhou said, her household also had two chickens, but both were hens.
“Aunt Zhou, just take it. If it weren’t for your son helping me, I might have died out in the fields,” Shen Ruo said, handing them over for her to take.
Aunt Zhou let out a light sigh. “Shen Ruo, you’re a good ge’er. If I ever said anything bad about you before, I apologize.”
“No need, it’s all in the past. I don’t mind what people say about me,” Shen Ruo replied.
“Two is too many. Auntie will just take this rooster. I happen to have two hens at home that can pair with it, and later when they hatch chicks, I’ll give you a few!” Aunt Zhou said.
Shen Ruo nodded with a smile. Aunt Zhou was straightforward and easy to get along with; it would be good to keep in touch in the future.
“Alright, then thanks in advance, Auntie.”
Some of the other women lingering nearby glanced enviously at the large rooster Aunt Zhou had taken, but they didn’t dare say anything.
It was her chicken to give as she pleased, but naturally, they couldn’t help feeling a bit bitter inside.
Shen Ruo wiped the sweat off his forehead with a smile. “You all must be tired. Come, have some water and rest your feet. I still have a little favor to ask of everyone.”
“Shen Ruo, just say it. What is it?” After today’s events, everyone had realized that this Shen Ruo had changed, he was no longer the soft target who took whatever insults came his way.
Perhaps it was the firmness of a father, now he truly stood tall.
“Aunties, if you have cotton cloth or clean scraps, you can bring them to trade for chickens, ducks, or eggs. Later, when my ewes give birth and start producing milk, you can even trade for sheep’s milk,” Shen Ruo said.
“I have a lot of cloth scraps at home, mostly for patching holes. Can I trade those for chickens too?”
Shen Ruo replied, “Yes. As long as the cloth is new, no matter the size, two jin of cloth can be traded for one jin of meat. Once you have enough to match the weight of a chicken, you can take it.”
“What about old cloth?” someone asked.
“Old cloth works too, but only for eggs. You’ll need to have it cleaned, boiled, and dried before bringing it over,” Shen Ruo explained.
“Why are you collecting so much cloth?” one aunt asked, puzzled.
“I plan to start a small business and will need cloth. If it works out, I’ll hire any of you skilled in embroidery or patching to help, and I’ll pay wages,” Shen Ruo answered calmly.
At this, the aunties nodded, though in their hearts they didn’t believe a few scraps of cloth could make any real profit.
They just thought, perhaps this Shen Ruo had gone a little crazy after the wind hit his head.
“Shen Ruo, you’d make more selling chickens and ducks than collecting cloth,” Aunt Zhou said, frowning as she tugged lightly on his sleeve, whispering a warning.
“I’m not sure if it will make money, but we won’t know unless we try,” Shen Ruo said with a smile.
Aunt Zhou didn’t try to persuade her further. Li Shantao, hearing the commotion outside, called Liu Shan to watch over Xiao Yuntun before stepping out herself.
As soon as Shen Feng returned, he told her what had happened earlier. It was so satisfying! The Shen Hong family were truly no good, and this time they had been humiliated. Li Shantao couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
The tightness in her chest seemed to ease a bit.
Shen Dashan had gone to bed early and wasn’t disturbed by the noise outside.
Li Shantao and Shen Feng were already used to it.
As soon as she stepped out, Aunt Zhou came forward and whispered to her, “Shen family’s daughter, Shen Ruo said you can trade cloth for chickens and ducks. Are you really going to agree to that? You should advise him, don’t let him be taken advantage of.”
“If Shen Ruo has decided, then that’s enough,” Li Shantao said.
Seeing she couldn’t persuade her, Aunt Zhou gave up. She had no idea if a business with scraps of cloth could make money, they couldn’t make clothes or sew shoes with it.
Shen Ruo continued after calculating the days, “Over the next two days, I’ll need the aunties to see if there are any scraps of cloth or larger pieces of cotton at home. The weather will be clear, so you can wash and dry them before bringing them over. We’ll start the exchange in three days, with just part of it first.”
He clarified, “Old cloth is fine, but cloth that’s torn or has been washed so thin it’s about to break doesn’t count.”
He needed to make it clear to prevent anyone from passing off layered, patched-up scraps as usable material.
“All right! I have plenty of cloth scraps at home—I’ll go wash them in the creek tomorrow!”
“I’m coming too! Shen Ruo, you’d better save me the fattest chicken!”
“My family only has scraps, but trading them for eggs isn’t bad either!”
Shen Ruo’s gaze swept over everyone present, quickly memorizing their faces. “I don’t plan to take too much at once, so today only the aunties here can trade with me. Others in the village will have to wait for next time. People from other villages cannot trade today.”
If word got out that scraps of cloth could be exchanged for chickens and meat, Shen Ruo felt his few dozen chickens and ducks wouldn’t be nearly enough.
Most families weren’t wealthy, meat was usually only eaten during holidays. Once people knew they could trade cloth for meat here, they’d dig up every scrap in their homes!
Shen Ruo continued, “For ducks and roosters, two pounds of cloth can be exchanged for one pound of meat. Hens are more expensive, so four pounds of cloth per pound of meat. If anyone has questions, now’s the time to ask.”
These small details needed to be clear. Otherwise, if everyone brought scraps only for hens, there wouldn’t be enough eggs to go around. After all, he had promised that old cloth could be traded for eggs.
Just then someone asked, “What if I only have old cloth, how do I trade it for eggs?”
“One pound of old cloth can be exchanged for one egg, with a maximum of five eggs,” Shen Ruo said. Then he added, “Meat is limited to one animal per person, so don’t bring too much cloth.”
After all, he mainly wanted the leftover new cloth for sewing. Too much old cloth could only be used for sandbags, shoe soles, or similar items.
“If anyone has unwanted full pieces of cloth, you can trade them too, at the town’s price for meat,” Shen Ruo added.
“Shen Ruo, are you done explaining? Okay then, I’ll stop chatting and hurry home to find some cloth!” One impatient auntie said, then left.
The aunties around followed along. Since Shen Ruo had said he would accept the cloth, it was clear they would. Those scraps at home were mostly good for patching holes in clothes, usually just stacked at the bottom of a chest. Now they could trade them for eggs or meat, just thinking about it made everyone’s hearts swell with joy.
If Shen Ruo hadn’t said he would only take theirs, and that each person was limited to five eggs and one chicken or duck, they’d have gone around notifying friends and relatives to bring their scraps too so they could trade together!
“People really stand out in comparison. Shen Ruo just got compensated and hasn’t even kept it for himself yet, but he’s thinking of helping everyone else. Look at the Shen Hong family, they make people take things to the town to sell and still skim half off. Tch!”
“Yeah, but it’s a shame Shen Ruo only takes our cloth. If he could take my family’s too…”
“Don’t take Shen Ruo’s words the wrong way! Be greedy all you want, but don’t try any funny business, he said there’ll be a next time!” Aunt Zhou, overhearing them, couldn’t help but remind them.
“Oh, your family is lucky. Could it be that Shen Ruo has his eye on your Zhou Lang? Such a huge rooster, probably close to ten jin!”
Not everyone could stay indifferent. Some eyes were practically red with envy. If my husband saw Shen Ruo carry someone home after they fell, wouldn’t such a big rooster automatically belong to our family?
“This is Shen Ruo showing gratitude to my family. Who told you to just stand by and watch without helping back then?” Aunt Zhou snorted coldly. “And now you’re jealous just because we got a gift? Who said earlier that Zhou Lang brought bad luck when he got near him?”
A gossiping auntie tried to comment again but was quickly silenced by a friend beside her.
“Alright, alright, everyone just say less,” a peacemaker intervened.
Zhou Lan, all fired up, grabbed the big rooster and headed home.
Zhou Lang was already back, leaning against the door, and asked, “Who made mother so angry?”
“Who else could it be? That matchmaker Sister Qiu! Getting mad at her is just hurting myself,” Zhou Lan said, setting the big rooster down and taking a deep breath to calm herself.
“Don’t take her too seriously,” Zhou Lang stepped forward and poured her a cup of water, though he wondered where Mother got the chicken from.
“Ah, it’s all because of Mother and Sister Qiu fighting all these years. That lady Qiu has never been good to our family, and now you’re twenty-three and still unmarried, it’s all Mother’s fault,” Zhou Lan said, her mood sinking.
In the village, arranging matches relied on the matchmaker. Everyone knew the families well, but girls from good families were either already betrothed early or had high standards and wouldn’t look at a poor family like theirs.
It wasn’t that no one from other villages was interested in Zhou Lang, but when they came to Shenjia Village, they always asked Qiu the matchmaker.
And once they asked her, things got complicated.
Zhou Lan had no choice. With her mouth, she could only speak as others dictated.
It was a pity, her husband was tall and strong, a man who should’ve been in demand, but he had been stuck in this situation until now.
“It’s okay, Mother. I’ll find someone myself, eventually I’ll find the right one,” Zhou Lang said.
“This is a gift from Shen Ruo, a thank-you for bringing him back today,” Zhou Lan said after calming down.
Zhou Lang recalled that at the time he hadn’t thought much, but when he lifted the fallen Shen Ruo from the field, he realized just how light he was, so light it seemed like one hand could hold him.
His hands rubbed together unconsciously, still remembering the warmth and softness that had passed through Shen Ruo’s coarse clothes.
“If only he weren’t pregnant…” Zhou Lang muttered.
Author’s note:
Quick reminder for the front row: the pairing is Shen Ruo x Gu Yun.
Cuties, don’t root for the wrong one!