Chapter 9

Shock

In the end, it was Shu Wanniang who cooked. She was no longer the delicate young lady from 10 years ago. Though her husband doted on her, she could not make things difficult for him while she lived in her own world all the time.

Mu Shi took out all the money in the house and counted it. There were more than seven taels of silver in total. He put the copper coins that totaled less than 100 copper coins to the side and sat cross-legged on the brick bed, staring at the seven taels of silver and 500 copper coins in a daze.

Shu Wanniang came in with her hand on her stomach and asked, “Isn’t the tax only six taels? We already have enough, what are you worried about?”

Mu Shi frowned. “The price of grains in the grain store in town has increased. I’m afraid that the situation at the border will be unstable again.” Looking at Shu Wanniang’s big belly, Mu Shi felt vexed. He said irritably, “Why don’t we hide in the south?”

“How can we?” Shu Wanniang was shocked. “Honey, it’s difficult to come back after leaving our homeland. Besides, we’ll incur much expenses should we leave. What can we do with just a tael of silver?”

How could Mu Shi not know? His wife was heavily pregnant, and his son wasn’t in good health. If they fled south, they would have to have a donkey cart, right? Alas, their family had nothing except a cart.

When outside, even if they could use their own grains, what about other food? There was also accommodation, as well as the cost of entering the city. All of these required money. His wife was already seven months pregnant and needed to be careful…

However, Mu Shi could not help but feel flustered. This was a kind of vigilance that only appeared when facing danger. He had never made a mistake.

Feeling thirsty, Mu Shi drank a bowl of water, before touching his wife’s sharp stomach. He gritted his teeth and said, “Then let’s stock up on more food. If something really happens, we’ll escape into the mountains.”

Shu Wanniang lowered her eyes. “But there are also ferocious beasts in the mountains. Besides, we only have a tael of silver left after paying taxes. How much food can we buy?”

Mu Shi was a little discouraged. He needed to prepare a sum of money for his wife to give birth. Recalling that it had been a precarious situation the last time she gave birth to their son, he could not spend all the money they had on hand.

With a smile, Shu Wanniang patted his hand. She said gently, “Pay the taxes first. There will be a way out when the time comes. At most, we’ll just follow the villagers.”

“But your health…”

“My health isn’t as bad as you think.” Shu Wanniang smiled and said, “I think it’s not bad. When the time comes, with you protecting us, we’ll be better off than others.” Shu Wanniang wasn’t very worried. There would be a way out for sure, no matter what challenges life brought.

Ten years ago, she would never have thought that she would cook, make needlework to sell, or even plant vegetables in the fields and wash clothes by the river. At that time, she felt that she would be better off dead than have to live like this.

However, when the time came, she felt that there was nothing bad about this life. Yes, it was a little physically tiring, but it was also mentally satisfying. When she got used to it later, she did not even feel tired anymore.

Running away might sound very torturous for now, but when the time came, it should not be difficult to accept it. Shu Wanniang had always been open-minded.

On the other hand, Mu Shi had always been very nervous about matters concerning his wife. Not quite as optimistic as her, he decided he would go to the county tomorrow to sell all the leather goods at home and leave more money at home for emergencies.

Mu Bowen was reading the ‘Three Character Classic’ under a tree while Mu Yangling sat in front of the door and listened to her parents’ conversation in a daze.

What’s the quickest way to make money?

Mu Yangling pondered while making use of her knowledge and experience from two lifetimes. She came to the conclusion that the fastest way to make a fortune was through robbery!

The corners of Mu Yangling’s mouth twitched. She threw this thought away and sighed. It was better to let her father worry about this profound problem.

Counting on her fingers, she realized that other than fighting, there was nothing else she was good at. As for the various knowledge about mechanical stuff and war that she had learned in university, it was not related to earning money. Not only was it not related, it could be said that the things she had learned were not very useful in this era.

Machinery manufacturing was based on steel forging and various sophisticated machines. As for war, she studied modern and contemporary modes of information warfare. If she was given a radio, she might be able to modify the monitoring and communication functions. But what use was that now?

She might be able to make guns and ammunition if she was given time to explore, but making hot weapons in the era of cold weapons was undoubtedly a blow to the people of this world. She was not so crazy.

Therefore, in summary, other than fighting and hunting, she was useless. Even when it came to cooking, she only knew how to whip up stir-fried vegetables and scrambled eggs, the kind that only had oil and salt added.

Mu Yangling was ashamed, feeling like she had lived her previous life in vain, for she felt that she could not do anything for her family.

Just as Mu Yangling was feeling ashamed, Mu Bowen obediently called out “Uncle”.

Mu Yangling snapped out of her thoughts and saw Liu Daqian standing at the door, hesitating.

Meeting Mu Yangling’s eyes, Liu Daqian smiled awkwardly. “Ah Ling, where are your parents?”

Mu Yangling quickly welcomed him in. “Great-uncle, my parents are in the house. Come in quickly.”

In the room, Mu Shi and Shu Wanniang hurriedly put away the money when they heard the sound. Mu Shi handed the things to Shu Wanniang and said, “I’ll go out and welcome him.”

Shu Wanniang nodded.

Liu Daqian was Mu Shi’s uncle, so Mu Shi respectfully invited him into the house. Shu Wanniang poured him a bowl of tea.

Liu Daqian would never visit without a reason. He took a look at the furnishings in the Mu family’s house and saw that it was still the same as when his younger sister was still alive, and even the number of tables and chairs remained the same. He sighed slightly. He also knew that his nephew had a tough life. Although he earned a lot, he also spent a lot.

He had married a pampered young lady. His eldest daughter was not bad, but his son was sickly and had to take medicine and see a doctor every other day. Nevertheless, no matter how bad their situation was, they were still much better off than his family.

Liu Daqian clenched his fists and opened his mouth, unable to speak.

Mu Shi said, “Eldest Uncle, if there’s anything you need, just say it. I’ll definitely help you if I can.” Liu Daqian didn’t come to their house often. If there was anything, he would call his grandson over to call Mu Shi over to the Liu family to talk. During the new year and festivals, he only asked his children to come over to give gifts and return gifts. The last time he came was because Bowen was born, to congratulate Mu Shi for finally having a successor.

Liu Daqian heaved a sigh of relief and slumped his shoulders. “Shi Tou, have you prepared your tax money?”

“Yes, a wild boar fell into the trap this morning. That’s how we managed to raise the money.”

Liu Daqian took a puff of his pipe. His face was slightly red, but he still said, “Your cousins’ taxes haven’t been settled yet. I know it’s difficult for you, but I still need to come over to ask. If you have any money, do help them…”

Liu Daqian had never begged this nephew of his, so it was exceptionally difficult for him to ask this favor.

Mu Shi was a little surprised. “Uncle, doesn’t your family contribute grains instead? Why do you have to pay tax money?”

With a sigh, Liu Daqian said sadly, “This is not considered tax money, but payment to a porter. In the past, one could also contribute grains as payment to a porter, but this year, not only did the price of grains drop by 10%, but the payment to a porter also needs to be paid in silver. Early this morning, your cousin found out from the Minister Counselor’s family that the price of grains is only 420.8 copper coins per stone. It’s almost 100 copper coins less than last year. We can’t bear to sell it at such a low price.”

Mu Shi jumped up in shock. “How can it be so little? I went to town to buy rice today, and even the medium-grade rice costs 1 tael of silver and 300 copper coins…”