The storefront of Wantong Pawnshop was small, with its tall counter enclosed by iron bars, exuding an icy air that seemed to keep people at arm’s length.
As soon as Lu Yuan and Lin Erniu entered, the pawnbroker behind the counter, who was busy working his abacus, did not even raise his head.
“Old clothes and rags aren’t accepted. Rusty farming tools aren’t accepted either. If you want to pawn something, go to the junk market in the back street!”
His tone was extremely impatient. In this freezing winter weather, the last thing he wanted was for poor beggars to come in and waste his time.
Lu Yuan did not back away.
He stepped forward and slapped two large strings of copper coins onto the counter.
“I’m not here to pawn anything. I’m here to buy some information.”
His voice was calm but carried enough weight to command attention.
Hearing the sound of the copper coins, the pawnbroker finally raised his eyes.
A full two hundred wen! It wasn’t a huge sum for a pawnshop, but it wasn’t insignificant either.
The pawnbroker sized Lu Yuan up.
“What information do you want?”
“Please check whether, approximately ten years ago, a woman named Zhao Chunhua pawned a pair of gold hairpins and a jade bracelet at your shop.”
Lu Yuan’s eyes were sharp.
“I only need a copy of the original pawn ticket, with your shop’s private seal stamped on it.”
The pawnbroker frowned.
According to the rules of the pawnshop, they were not supposed to reveal customers’ pawn records.
But the items Zhao Chunhua had pawned had been dead-pawned ten years ago. They had long since been sold, so there was no real risk.
Then he glanced at the two hundred wen on the counter.
Who would be foolish enough to refuse two hundred wen just for copying a few lines?
“Wait!”
The pawnbroker’s eyes shifted. He swept the two hundred wen into the drawer and turned toward the back storeroom.
Not long afterward, he returned with a yellowed sheet of Chengxin paper.
There were only a few lines copied from the old dead-pawn record, and at the bottom was the heavy red seal of Wantong Pawnshop.
Lu Yuan carefully checked it from beginning to end. After confirming that everything was correct, he folded it carefully and tucked it close to his chest.
“Let’s go, Second Brother.”
After leaving the pawnshop, Lin Erniu was still completely confused.
“Brother-in-law, we finally managed to earn some money. Why did you spend two hundred wen on a worthless piece of paper?”
“This isn’t a worthless piece of paper.”
Lu Yuan gave a cold smile.
“You’ll understand later.”
Lin Erniu scratched his head, half understanding and half confused, but he didn’t ask any further.
After all, the money had been earned by his brother-in-law’s own ability. If Lu Yuan said it was useful, then it must be useful!
“Second Brother, we still have three whole taels of silver. Let’s go buy some New Year goods!”
Now that they had money, the two men felt much more confident.
They first went to the grain shop and bought ten jin of the finest white flour. They also bought five jin of pork belly and, for the first time in their lives, two plump hens that had already been plucked and cleaned.
They bought oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, coarse cloth for winter clothes, and bundles of cotton.
Soon, two large bamboo baskets were filled to the brim.
After this grand shopping spree, they had spent less than five hundred wen.
There were still two and a half taels of silver in their possession.
Just as they were about to leave town and return home, Lu Yuan suddenly stopped in front of a jewelry shop called Baoyue Pavilion.
“Second Brother, wait.”
Lu Yuan put down the basket and pointed toward the glittering display counter.
“Let’s go inside and have a look.”
Lin Erniu immediately shook his head.
“Brother-in-law! That’s a place that sells gold and silver jewelry! What are we going in there for? Let’s hurry home!”
“There are three women in our family. They’ve suffered alongside us for so long. Now that we’ve earned some money, we should at least buy them something.”
Lu Yuan pulled Lin Erniu inside.
The shop assistant was just about to approach them when Lu Yuan spoke directly.
“Shopkeeper, bring me three of your most delicate and inexpensive solid-silver hairpins.”
Seeing their clothing, the shopkeeper did not dare bring out anything too expensive. He took three extremely plain silver hairpins from a corner of the display case.
“These hairpins have no carvings, but they’re made of genuine silver. Half a tael of silver each.”
Three hairpins would cost one and a half taels of silver!
Lin Erniu sucked in a breath, his face twisting with pain.
“Brother-in-law… that’s too expensive! One and a half taels of silver is enough to feed our family for half a year!”
“Second Brother.”
Lu Yuan turned and looked directly into Lin Erniu’s eyes. His voice was unusually serious.
“Mother has worked hard all her life and has never owned a piece of jewelry.”
“Second Sister-in-law is pregnant, yet she still washes and mends clothes every day for this entire family.”
“And Qingyue nearly lost her life giving birth.”
Lu Yuan patted Erniu’s shoulder.
“A woman should have a little silver on her head. It gives her dignity when she walks through the village. This money is worth spending.”
Hearing those words, Lin Erniu’s eyes inexplicably reddened.
He thought of his wife’s hands, covered in chilblains from years of soaking them in cold water.
He gritted his teeth and nodded firmly.
“Buy them! Brother-in-law, you’re right. They deserve it!”
Lu Yuan paid one and a half taels of silver without hesitation and tucked the three wrapped hairpins into his clothes.
Touching the last one tael of silver remaining on him, the two men walked home beneath the winter sunset, their steps light and cheerful.
By evening, at the Lin family’s courtyard in Qingshui Village, the rich aroma of meat drifted from the chimney.
The smell was so strong that even the neighbor’s yellow dog began barking hungrily.
Inside the kitchen, two plump hens were simmering in an iron pot. Beside them was a circle of flatbread made from fine white flour.
When the lid was lifted, a cloud of steam mixed with the rich fragrance of chicken instantly filled the room.
“Dinner’s ready!”
Lin Sanniu was as excited as a monkey, carrying a large bowl around the main room.
On the kang inside the bedroom, Lin Qingyue leaned against a pillow and stared at the large plate of chicken covered in a layer of glistening oil.
It felt almost like a dream.
The entire family sat around the table, but no one touched their chopsticks.
They all looked expectantly at Lu Yuan.
“What are you all waiting for? Eat!”
Lu Yuan smiled and picked up his chopsticks.
The first thing he did was take the two fattest chicken legs.
He put one into his mother-in-law Wang’s bowl and, reaching across everyone else, placed the other firmly into his sister-in-law Li’s bowl.
“Mother, you’ve worked hard taking care of the entire family. Second Sister-in-law is carrying a child. She needs to nourish herself.”
Li stared at the oily chicken leg in her bowl.
Tears instantly streamed down her face.
She was so choked up that she couldn’t even speak.
Then Lu Yuan picked several pieces of chicken and brought them to Lin Qingyue on the kang.
“Eat. You need plenty of meat to make enough milk.”
Only then did the entire family begin eating heartily.
It was the fullest, richest meal the Lin family could remember ever having.
Lin Dashan drank the cheap liquor Lu Yuan had deliberately bought for him that day.
After two cups, his old face was flushed.
“Good! Good!”
Lin Dashan slapped his thigh, tears filling his cloudy eyes.
“I, Lin Dashan, have lived a useless life for most of it. I never imagined that in my old age, I’d actually get to enjoy such blessings because of my son-in-law!”
“Father, the good days are only beginning.”
Lu Yuan put down his chopsticks and took three red paper packets from inside his clothes.
He first walked to the kang and placed one packet into Lin Qingyue’s hands.
Then he handed the other two to Wang and Li.
“What is this?” Li asked curiously as she opened the packet.
Clang!
When she saw the solid silver hairpin wrapped inside the red paper, the chopsticks in her hand fell directly to the floor.
Wang was stunned as well.
Her hands trembled as she held the silver hairpin.
“This… this is real silver! Brother-in-law, where did you get the money to buy this?”
“I bought them with the money we earned from selling the scented soap today.”
Lu Yuan looked at the three women’s shocked yet delighted expressions and smiled.
“This is only a little celebration gift. Once our business grows, I’ll have a full set of gold jewelry made for Mother, Sister-in-law, and Qingyue.”
Li excitedly covered her mouth.
She touched the silver hairpin in her hair and felt that marrying into the Lin family had truly been worth it.
After everyone had calmed down a little, Lu Yuan’s expression became serious.
He took a complete one-tael piece of silver from his sleeve and gently placed it on the table in front of Wang.
“Mother, this is the one tael of silver left after today’s purchases. Every single wen is here.”
Lu Yuan looked at Wang with sincere respect.
“You’re the elder of the family. You handle all the food, clothing, and household matters for the Lin family. This money should naturally be entrusted to you to manage the household.”
Wang stared at the shining piece of silver.
Her eyes nearly popped out.
One whole tael of silver!
“No… no, this won’t do! You earned this money yourself. You and Qingyue should save it!”
“Mother, we’re family. Why distinguish between us?”
Lu Yuan firmly placed the silver into her hands.
“Without you and Father taking us in, Qingyue and I would have frozen to death in the snow long ago.”
“From now on, we’ll only earn more and more money. You’ll have to help us shoulder the responsibility of managing the household.”
His words were sincere and impeccable, warming everyone’s heart.
The entire family sat together in happiness, their laughter echoing through the earthen house on that winter night and driving away the cold.
Yet while one family rejoiced, another suffered.
At the same time, twenty li away, in Lu Family Village—
“Mother… I… it hurts so much…”
On the kang, Lu Qiang’s face was flushed with fever.
His broken hand caused him excruciating pain whenever he moved even slightly.
Zhao Shi anxiously paced back and forth beside the bed.