The noodles at this restaurant were freshly hand-pulled by the chef in the kitchen rather than being made from dried noodles. The chef’s skill was excellent, and the noodles had a wonderfully chewy and springy texture.
Paired with the rich, fragrant chicken broth and the fresh green vegetables, the bowl was a feast for the eyes, the aroma, and the taste. A larger noodle shop like this likely had its own special recipe for the broth.
This noodle soup was completely different from the chicken-and-egg noodle soup they made at home. Clearly, it was much more delicious.
Huang Shi took two bites in a row and could not help giving it a thumbs-up.
“It’s really good! No wonder it costs a little more, yet there are still so many customers. Who wouldn’t like noodles this delicious?”
Liu Muli actually liked it very much too.
“Mother, if we need to come out of the county to buy things in the future, we can come to Yong’an County. It’s a little farther away, but with Ergou around, we don’t have to worry about getting home.”
Huang Shi hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“That works too. But speaking of Ergou, I wonder if he’s gone to get something to eat.”
Liu Muli took a bite of her noodles.
“Mother, Ergou is already seventeen. He comes to the county town often, so if he gets hungry, he’ll know to find something to eat. Don’t worry.”
Besides, people like Ergou who drove ox carts to transport passengers would usually bring some dry food with them. They could simply eat it when they got hungry.
Otherwise, eating outside would cost at least several copper coins. Since they did not earn many copper coins in the first place, they certainly would not be willing to spend them on food outside.
Huang Shi was still somewhat worried, and she also felt a little guilty.
“Ah, I know, but making him wait alone at the city gate for so long doesn’t feel right.”
Liu Muli curled her lips into a smile.
“When we go back later, I’ll buy him something to eat and give him a few extra copper coins as a reward.”
“That works too. Ergou has worked hard.”
The worry between Huang Shi’s brows finally eased, and she was able to eat her noodles at ease.
Ah, Mother is still as kindhearted and softhearted as ever.
Liu Muli sighed inwardly. With a smile in her eyes, she lowered her head and continued eating, thoroughly satisfied.
…
After finishing their noodles, Liu Muli and Huang Shi went to look for Ergou.
Ergou had found a tree that provided shade from the sun and was currently lying on the ox cart with his eyes closed, fast asleep.
Seeing this, Liu Muli could not help laughing.
“Mother, see? I told you Ergou would take good care of himself.”
Huang Shi smiled as well.
“This child.”
Liu Muli called out to Ergou, and he immediately woke up. When he saw the two of them, his face lit up with delight.
“Big Auntie, Sister Muli, are you done looking around the market?”
As he spoke, Ergou hurriedly jumped down from the ox cart.
“Mm, we’re done. Eat this flatbread first. After that, we’ll go buy some rice and noodles together.”
As she spoke, Liu Muli handed him the sesame flatbread she had bought and had not eaten.
Ergou waved his hand and said he did not want it, but Huang Shi directly stuffed the flatbread into his hands.
“I bought this especially for you. Hurry up and eat it. Stop being so fussy.”
Embarrassed, Ergou nevertheless took big bites of the flatbread. Then he picked up his bamboo water flask and took a drink. Grinning, he said,
“Big Auntie, Sister Muli, I’m done eating.”
Liu Muli and Huang Shi climbed onto the ox cart one after another. Ergou sat at the front and drove the cart into the streets to look for a grain shop.
They asked at two grain shops, but both were more expensive than the grain shops in Yongning County. After checking two more, they finally found one with roughly the same prices.
They bought fifty pounds of rice and twenty pounds of dried noodles before heading back the way they had come.
Halfway home, Huang Shi suddenly remembered something. She slapped her thigh and said,
“Muli, didn’t you say you planned to come here and find out whether there were a lot of Chinese olives around here? We never mentioned that while we were walking around, did we?”
Hearing this, Liu Muli slapped her forehead and deliberately put on an exasperated expression.
“Oh, look at my memory! I actually forgot all about it!”
In reality, she had not forgotten. She had deliberately left the matter unmentioned so that she would have an excuse to come here alone in a few days.
She also wanted to sell the clothes and jewelry she had bought while shopping with Wei Linye, exchanging them for silver, as well as the jewelry and clothes Wei Linye had given her in the past.
Huang Shi frowned.
“What should we do now? Should we go back to the market?”
Ergou, sitting at the front of the ox cart, also pulled on the reins and brought the ox to a stop before turning around to look at them.
Liu Muli smiled brightly.
“It’s fine. I’ll find another time to come over and ask around in a couple of days.”
Huang Shi frowned even more deeply, concern appearing on her face.
“You’re going to come here by yourself?”
Liu Muli nodded.
“Mm, it’s fine. Ergou will be accompanying me on the way.”
Ergou immediately chimed in.
“That’s right! Big Auntie, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to protect Sister Muli properly. I won’t let anyone bully her!”
Liu Muli smiled.
“Mother, I’ve grown up. I know how to protect myself, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Thinking about it, Huang Shi realized that her younger daughter-in-law had indeed grown up and could make some decisions for herself now. She sighed.
“All right. We’ll see when the time comes.”
…
Three peaceful days passed.
That morning, just as dawn was breaking, Huang Shi went out to work in the fields. Liu Muli took the clothes and jewelry she had prepared long ago and placed them into her back basket.
Some of them were things she had bought when she went shopping with Wei Linye last time, while others had been bought and given to her by Wei Linye in the past. She had been reluctant to wear them and had never even tried them on, only holding them up against herself a few times.
Now, she was glad she had never worn them. Otherwise, their value would have dropped significantly.
As for the pieces she had already worn, she did not take them out to sell. If she sold almost all the clothes in the cabinet, Huang Shi would certainly notice that something was wrong.
She wrapped the clothes and jewelry separately in two layers of old, coarse cloth, then covered them with sweet potato vines and leaves. Under normal circumstances, no one would suspect that her back basket contained those valuable items.
Unless she had exceptionally bad luck and happened to run into bandits or thieves on the road.
Over the past three years, Liu Muli had saved some private money of her own, totaling roughly fifteen or sixteen taels of silver.
Wei Linye had always studied while earning money on the side. Whenever he returned home, he would give her some money. Sometimes it was more, sometimes less. He would also set aside a portion for Huang Shi as his contribution toward the household expenses.
And every time Liu Muli went into town, Huang Shi would give her some spending money as well, never asking for whatever remained afterward.
Otherwise, how could she possibly have saved so much silver?
Huang Shi truly was a wonderful mother-in-law. Liu Muli was very reluctant to leave her, but there was nothing she could do. She had to go.
The sun gradually rose, and the sunlight grew increasingly scorching. At last, they arrived at Yong’an County.
After saying a few words to Ergou, Liu Muli carried her back basket and, following the memories from her previous life, found the ready-made clothing shop she had once visited—Linglong Embroidery.
She had a particularly deep impression of this shop.
Not only were the clothes beautiful, but there were also many different styles. The shopkeeper was not one of those people who looked down on customers based on their appearance. He treated every young woman who entered the shop to buy clothes with the same warmth and courtesy. The shop assistants were the same.
With her back basket on her shoulders, Liu Muli simply walked into Linglong Embroidery.
Even though she was dressed in coarse cloth and had only a plain wooden hairpin with no decoration whatsoever in her hair, making it obvious at a glance that she was a poor young woman, the shop assistant still welcomed her with a smile.
“What kind of clothes are you looking for, miss? I can show you around.”
The shop assistant was a young man.
Liu Muli smiled.
“I’m not here to buy clothes. I’d like to speak with your shopkeeper about a business proposition.”
As soon as the shop assistant heard this, he said,
“I understand. I’ll go get our shopkeeper right away. But may I ask your surname, miss?”
“Liu. My name is Liu Muli. I’ll trouble you.”
“You’re too polite, miss. It’s my duty.”
The shop assistant turned and went into the back room.
Before long, he came back out and politely said to Liu Muli,
“Miss, my shopkeeper says he would like to speak with you in the back room. This way, please—”
As he spoke, the shop assistant gestured for her to follow.
Liu Muli thanked him and walked toward the back room.