Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 30

Before long, the crops in Zhao’s fields were harvested, and Zhao Beichuan began helping at the Lu family’s farm.

 

The Lu family had over twenty acres of land, growing corn, beans, wheat, and sorghum.

 

In the past, when Lu’s eldest brother was still alive, there wasn’t much work to do in the fields; the three of them could finish harvesting in ten to fifteen days.

 

After Lu Hai passed away, and with Lu Lin’s poor health, all the heavy burdens fell on Lu Guangsheng’s shoulders. As he aged, his physical strength diminished, and after returning from the fields each day, he was often sore and exhausted.

 

Now that Zhao Beichuan was helping, Lu Guangsheng felt much more relaxed, smiling every day and praising his son-in-law’s hard work to anyone who would listen.

 

“Beichuan, come eat!” At the edge of the field, Lu’s mother brought over some food, and the Lu children came too.

 

Lu Miao and Lu Yun were a bit intimidated by this brother-in-law, who was tall and strong and looked quite scary when he frowned, so they didn’t dare approach him.

 

However, Lu Lin was not afraid; he was very grateful for Zhao Beichuan’s help. Otherwise, the two of them would have taken a month to finish all the work in the fields.

 

After lunch, Lu’s mother handed each of them a boiled egg.

 

“No need, Mother, you all eat.”

 

“Silly boy, you’re doing heavy work; don’t wear yourself out. Eat this to replenish your energy.”

 

Lu Lin nudged him with his elbow. “Just eat it; if you get too thin, Lu Yao will definitely be unhappy.”

 

Zhao Beichuan blushed as he stuffed the egg into his pocket, took a sip of water, and picked up the sickle to continue working.

 

A nearby farmer approached and asked, “Guangsheng, where did you find this helper? How much do you pay him a day?”

 

Lu Guangsheng grinned widely. “You wouldn’t be able to afford him; he’s my son-in-law!”

 

Today, the tofu sold out early. Lu Yao took a moment to check the stock and realized that they had too many beans at home; they were starting to attract mice.

 

All the beans exchanged recently were stored in the west room, piled high on the floor and the kang (a traditional heated bed). Some of the burlap sacks had been gnawed open by mice, spilling beans everywhere.

 

There were at least twenty sheng of beans, worth about eight or nine guan. Before hiring Lin Daman, he could sell only seven or eight sheng in a month at most.

 

The day after tomorrow was the fifth of the month, and there would be a market in town. Lu Yao planned to take the beans to the market to sell and buy a mule to make transporting tofu easier.

 

During dinner, he discussed with Zhao Beichuan, “After finishing work tomorrow, tell my father you won’t go back the day after tomorrow.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Come with me to town; we’ll sell the beans.”

 

Zhao Beichuan nodded. “Alright, I’ll give Brother Qin a heads-up and borrow his cart.”

 

“Make sure to borrow a mule too; we have too many beans, and I don’t want you to overexert yourself.”

 

Zhao Beichuan agreed. After the two children finished eating, he quietly took out a boiled egg from his pocket and handed it to Lu Yao.

 

“Where did this come from?”

 

“Your mother boiled it; I don’t like eating them.” After saying this, he quickly finished his meal and left the kitchen with a red face.

 

Lu Yao looked at the egg in his hand and couldn’t help but smile; this kid really knew how to be considerate.

 

That night, when the lights were off, Xiaonian and Xiaodou snuggled up to Lu Yao, begging him to tell a story. “Sister-in-law, you left off where the monkey defeated the old demon, but we didn’t hear what happened after that!”

 

Zhao Beichuan frowned. “Your sister-in-law is tired; stop bothering her and go to sleep!”

 

The two children crawled under the blankets, and soon they were fast asleep.

 

Lu Yao wasn’t very sleepy tonight; most of the tofu had been ground by Lin Daman in the afternoon, and he had only helped a little, propping his chin up as he watched Zhao Beichuan sharpen his sickle.

 

Zhao Beichuan glanced at him, tried the blade, then put the sharpened sickle away. He went out to wash his hands and feet, then climbed into bed in the dark.

 

Lu Yao immediately moved closer. “Zhao Beichuan, I’m a bit cold.”

 

“…What do you want?”

 

“Can we share a blanket?”

 

“No.”

 

Lu Yao didn’t care about that and slipped under the blanket, his icy feet pressing against Zhao Beichuan’s calf.

 

Zhao Beichuan’s breath hitched, but he didn’t push him away; instead, he trapped Lu Yao’s errant feet between his legs to warm them, gently patting Lu Yao’s back with his large hand.

 

“Go to sleep; don’t wake the kids.”

 

Lu Yao happily wrapped his arms around Zhao Beichuan’s waist and sighed contentedly, “Why don’t you want to consummate our marriage?”

 

“I don’t not want to.”

 

“Then why won’t you let me touch you?”

 

“Haven’t you touched enough?”

 

Lu Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey, do you remember the first time I touched you?”

 

“…”

 

“Tell me, tell me.”

 

Zhao Beichuan closed his eyes, his face burning. “I remember.”

 

Lu Yao raised his head in surprise. “Then why didn’t you stop me?”

 

“I didn’t know what you were going to do.”

 

“Hehe, so you were enjoying it, huh? You clearly have feelings for me but won’t admit it~” As he spoke, his hands began to roam again, sliding down his pants, unable to resist squeezing his firm backside.

 

Zhao Beichuan’s breath quickened, “Lu Yao, if you don’t want to sleep, I’ll wake the kids and have them sleep in the main room.”

 

“Ah~ Let’s sleep, don’t get angry~”

 

On the fifth day of the eighth month, there was a big market in town. Lu Yao gave the tofu shop a day off, as he was going to town to sell beans.

 

Early in the morning, Zhao Beichuan borrowed a mule cart from the Qin family and moved all the beans from the west room onto the cart.

 

The mule cart was spacious, so he decided to take Xiaonian and Xiaodou along to stroll around the market.

 

He initially planned to invite Lin Daman’s family, but Lin Daman said he needed to go to Song’s family for grain. When he divorced, Song Changshun promised to give him half of the harvest from his fields after autumn, and now that most of the village’s grain had been harvested, it was time for him to claim his share.

 

The Zhao family happily climbed onto the mule cart and headed towards the town.

 

This was Xiaonian and Xiaodou’s first time in town for the market, and they were excitedly chatting the whole way. “Sister-in-law, is Qiushui Town big?”

 

“Not too big, but bigger than our village.”

 

“Have you been to bigger towns?”

 

Lu Yao choked for a moment; in his last life, he had been to cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, but it seemed he had only been to this town in this life.

 

“I haven’t, but I’ve heard that Pingyang County is several times larger than Qiushui Town. Further up, there are Pingzhou Prefecture City and the capital city of Shangjing. If we have the chance in the future, we should visit them all.” He casually mentioned what Xu Xiu had boasted about before.

 

Xiaonian listened with longing, “It would be great if we could really go and see.”

 

“Sister-in-law, what do they sell at the market?” Xiaodou asked, sucking on his finger.

 

“Selling cloth, selling grain, selling food, and all kinds of things; later, I’ll buy you two big meat buns.”

 

“You’re the best, Sister-in-law!” The two kids excitedly lunged toward him.

 

“Stop messing around; you might fall off.”

 

Zhao Beichuan smiled with his eyes curved, cracking the whip, “Giddy up!”

 

Once they arrived in town, they first went to the grain shop. The young clerk recognized Lu Yao and came over with a smile to greet him. “Young man, back to sell grain again?”

 

“Yeah, could you weigh the beans on the cart and exchange them for money?”

 

The clerk looked up in surprise, “Are all these beans on the cart?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Since he couldn’t make decisions on such a large amount, he said, “Please wait a moment; I’ll go call our manager.”

 

Before long, a middle-aged man in a long gown with a beard walked out, first greeting Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan, then instructing the clerk to check the beans in each bag with an iron probe.

 

After seeing there were no rotten beans or stones mixed in, he clapped his hands and said, “The beans are good. I’ll buy them for five hundred wen a stone.”

 

Lu Yao’s eyes lit up; he hadn’t expected the price to rise by fifty wen since last time!

 

A few clerks got on the cart to move the beans and weighed a total of twenty-one stones from twenty-three bags, which amounted to ten guan and five qian!

 

This amount of money was significant. A copper coin weighed two zhu and four si, which translates to four grams in modern measurement; one thousand wen weighed four kilograms. Ten guan of money weighed eighty jin!

 

The manager, noticing the weight, asked, “Do you two need it exchanged for silver?”

 

Lu Yao remembered that taking copper coins to the money shop to exchange for silver would incur a loss, as it took one thousand one hundred wen to exchange for one tael of silver.

 

He quickly waved his hand, “Thank you, manager, but I won’t exchange for silver.” He had a feeling he’d spend this money soon anyway.

 

Before long, two clerks brought over a basket of copper coins for Lu Yao to count. The money was strung together by guan. Lu Yao quickly counted and confirmed it was correct, then had Zhao Beichuan lift it onto the cart.

 

After leaving the grain shop, Lu Yao excitedly shook Zhao Beichuan’s shoulder, “We’ve struck it rich! Over ten guan of money!”

 

Zhao Beichuan laughed, “Stop shaking; didn’t you say you wanted to buy a cart? Let’s go buy it now.”

 

“Okay!” Lu Yao touched the iron lump in the bamboo basket, unable to stop smiling. What could be more joyful than the smell of copper?

 

Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou had no concept of money; their eyes were glued to the stalls by the roadside.

 

“Sister-in-law, what’s being sold there?”

 

“That’s sugar figurines. Let’s go buy some!”

 

“What about this one?”

 

“That’s candied hawthorn; buy two skewers!”

 

“Sister-in-law, I want to eat meat buns.”

 

“Buy some!”

 

“Sister-in-law…” Zhao Beichuan coughed, and the two kids quieted down.

 

Lu Yao bought snacks from the street stalls, spending only sixty-five wen. Thinking back to a month ago when he was worried about a few wen for meat sauce noodles or plain noodles, he couldn’t help but sigh. No matter the era, having money is good!

 

After buying the snacks, Zhao Beichuan drove the donkey cart to Xiaosanli; the main purpose of today’s trip was to buy a donkey.

 

Since the autumn harvest had ended and the villagers were free, a lot of people came to the market today, making it hard for the donkey cart to move behind the crowd.

 

Finally squeezing into the livestock area, Lu Yao jumped off the cart to inquire.

 

The livestock market mainly sold pigs and sheep, with cows being a rarity and only a few available at a high price. There were more donkeys and mules, but Lu Yao only saw an aging horse.

 

Mules are hybrids of donkeys and horses; since mules cannot reproduce, they are generally cheaper than the other two types.

 

After wandering around, Lu Yao spotted a black female mule that was tall and resembled a horse. Unable to resist, he asked about the price, “Boss, how old is this mule, and how much is it?”

 

The man selling the mule was a straightforward fellow and quickly replied, “She’s three years old, just the right age to work. Do you want to buy her?”

 

“I’m considering it, but I’m not sure if the price is right.”

 

“Seven guan. This mule has a good temperament and strong power; she won’t cause trouble after working all day.”

 

Lu Yao thought it was a bit pricey; the mule Qin’s family bought only cost six guan. “Can you lower the price a bit?”

 

The man scratched his face, “I can lower it by two qian at most; any more won’t do.”

 

Lu Yao still felt it was expensive. “How about six guan?”

 

“No way, if I sell her for six guan, my dad will kill me.”

 

Lu Yao felt a bit disappointed. He patted the mule’s mane and looked at a few nearby mules. Most were priced between six and seven guan but none looked as good as the first one he saw.

 

Returning to the cart, he discussed it with Zhao Beichuan. “He says at least six guan and eight qian; I think we could negotiate a bit, but it won’t go below six guan and five qian.”

 

Zhao Beichuan also liked that mule. “It looks a lot taller than the one from Qin’s family, with a bigger build; it should be a good mule. The price is high, but it’s reasonable.”

 

Upon hearing this, Lu Yao made up his mind. “Okay, then let’s buy this one!”

 

He went back and said, “Boss, I sincerely want to buy this mule. I’ll give you six guan and five qian at minimum; if you won’t sell, I’ll just leave.”

 

The man pondered for a moment and finally nodded. “Alright, I live in Willow Tree Village outside of town, and my surname is Wang. My family has raised mules for generations; if you go ask around, you’ll find out. If there are any problems with Dahua in the future, bring her over, and I’ll help you check.”

 

Dahua was the name of this mule because she had a white mark on her face.

 

Lu Yao felt even more satisfied with the deal upon hearing the after-sale service. These old livestock keepers are more skilled than veterinarians, so he wouldn’t have to worry about raising her poorly.

 

After settling the payment, Wang also shared many tips on mule care. “You’ll need to build a shed for her when you get home; if there’s no shed, she could easily catch a cold. If you push her hard during the autumn harvest, give her more beans; otherwise, if she gets thin, she’ll get sick too.”

 

Lu Yao smiled and agreed, and before leaving, Wang affectionately patted Dahua’s head. “Good girl, listen to your owner and work hard; don’t be lazy. In your next life, don’t be born as a mule again.”

 

Lu Yao felt a pang of sadness. This young man was indeed sentimental.

 

After buying the mule, he also needed to buy a cart. The carpenter’s shop in town specialized in making flatbed carts, costing two guan each. There was no room for negotiation because regular carpenters couldn’t make these.

 

Lu Yao忍ed the pain and pulled out two guan, and the carpenter’s shop gave them a wooden plaque. The cart would take ten days to finish, so they would have to return during the next market to pick it up.

 

On the way back, Lu Yao looked at the two guan left in the basket and couldn’t help but lament, “Zhao Beichuan, we’ve become poor again!”

 

Xiaonian and Xiaodou couldn’t help but laugh, while Zhao Beichuan sighed helplessly, “No villager can afford to buy a donkey cart.”

 

“That’s true.” Soon, Lu Yao felt better; he would earn more money selling tofu in the future and would make sure not to spend recklessly. He wanted to save up and be a miser!

 

The family chatted and laughed as they arrived home. Zhao Beichuan tied their mule in the yard and returned the cart to Qin’s family.

 

As soon as he left, Sister-in-law Tian from next door rushed over anxiously, “Lu Yao, Lu Yao, something’s wrong! Lin Daman is going to be beaten to death!”

 

Lu Yao was moving things into the house and was startled, “Sister-in-law, what did you say?”

 

Sister-in-law Tian panted heavily, “I just saw Lin Daman fighting with the Song family, and he was bleeding all over his head…”

 

Lu Yao took a deep breath, “Xiaonian, quickly go call your brother back; I’ll go see what’s going on!”

 

Summary of Monetary Values

 

10 guan and 5 qian: This total of 10,500 wen represents a significant amount, roughly translating to a substantial weight of copper coins (around 42 kilograms).

 

Buying Prices:

 

The female mule costs “seven guan,” which is about 7,000 wen. After negotiation, the price was settled at “six guan and five qian” (6,500 wen).

 

The flatbed cart costs “two guan” (2,000 wen).