"Alright, alright, how about I give you an extra pear?"
As she spoke, the lady picked a very small pear from a pile and added it to the already weighed pears.
Though it’s small, it’s still meat. Mu Shuangshuang was very pleased, so she quickly thanked her. "Thank you, ma’am!"
The woman packed the pears, and Mu Shuangshuang paid her silver, then handed the pears to Uncle Ah Fu.
"Uncle, I bought these for you. Take them home for the kids to eat."
"You, girl, you’re being stubborn. I’ve told you, I don’t need anything, you..."
Ah Fu was quite troubled. He helped the little girl simply because she had a special aura and was good-natured. He never expected any return from her.
"Uncle, please take them. You refused to let me treat you to cold noodles before. If you reject me again, I’ll seriously be angry."
"Alright then, alright, I’m afraid of you, girl."
Because of these three pounds of pears, Ah Fu decided to go all the way and escorted Mu Shuangshuang to Zhwei Xuan.
It was a newly opened restaurant in town, currently undergoing its final inspection phase, so besides a steward, there was no one else there.
Ah Fu explained Mu Shuangshuang’s purpose to the steward, who agreed to help. Thanks to the steward’s guidance, Mu Shuangshuang met the head chef of Zhwei Xuan.
With her eloquence, she managed to secure an opportunity for Lu Yuanfeng temporarily.
Lu Yuanfeng could deliver his hunted game and caught frogs to Zhwei Xuan, but the chef surnamed Song had to check the quality first. Only after confirming various standards and signing a contract could the goods be sent to Zhwei Xuan.
Mu Shuangshuang was already very satisfied with this arrangement. This trip not only earned her silver but also gave her a chance to help Lu Yuanfeng.
Thinking of that silly boy catching frogs last night, Shuangshuang estimated he was at the market today, so she left her cart at Zhwei Xuan.
At the same spot in the market, she indeed found the silly boy selling frogs, just that his drooping head clearly showed Mu Shuangshuang he hadn’t sold them.
Mu Shuangshuang suddenly jumped out, scaring Lu Yuanfeng so much he almost dropped the linen bag in his hand.
"Shuangshuang, why are you here too?" Lu Yuanfeng looked surprised. After seeing Mu Shuangshuang, he unconsciously straightened up as if trying to show something in front of her.
"I’m doing some small business here. How about you? Sold the frogs yet?"
Not mentioning it was better, but once mentioned, Lu Yuanfeng became embarrassed, scratched his head, and blushed a bit.
"No one wants them; they run away scared as soon as I take them out."
These days, Lu Yuanfeng was helping his relatives harvest, leaving him no time to go up the mountains. So he could only rely on nighttime efforts to catch a few frogs, hoping to increase his income.
Who would have thought that people in the market didn’t want frogs? As soon as he laid them out, girls and young women passing by would scream and run away, and after a few times, Lu Yuanfeng didn’t dare take the frogs out anymore.
"I just found a restaurant. They agreed for you to supply them with some game and mountain goods, but they need to check the quality. If it’s good, they’ll take your hunted game in the future."
Mu Shuangshuang didn’t hold back and directly shared this news with Lu Yuanfeng.
The silly boy’s face lit with joy, revealing exactly eight teeth.
"Thank you, Shuangshuang. I’ll hurry and tidy up." Lu Yuanfeng quickly shoved everything onto his back, ready to follow Mu Shuangshuang to the restaurant.
"No rush, I still want to buy some stuff. Lu Yuanfeng, accompany me!"
Though these were ordinary words, Lu Yuanfeng was almost unsteady on his feet. Many girls in the village wanted to invite him to town, but he refused. Yet, he felt especially excited about strolling with Shuangshuang.
Mu Shuangshuang led the way, wandered through the market a few times, and stopped at a stall selling mung beans.
Aunt Xiao Yun’s mung beans were less than half a pound, so she needed to buy more.
As said by Yu Si Niang, mung beans were indeed eight coins. She didn’t want to buy too much, so she only bought five pounds, spent thirty-nine coins, the discount of one coin earned with her eloquence.
Mu Shuangshuang also bought three pounds of flour, spent fifteen coins, then bought four teacups for eight coins.
After all of that, she had only four hundred and fifty copper coins left.
"Shuangshuang, why buy so much stuff? Did your grandma ask you to?"
Lu Yuanfeng knew Old Mrs. Mu’s temperament. Unless she asked for it, all these things would end up in her mouth.
"No, we bought them for ourselves."
"But your grandma..." Lu Yuanfeng couldn’t say more because it was, after all, a family matter.
"That’s why I need your help. I’ll leave the mung beans and flour with you, and I’ll take the cups home. Once I sort out my family matters, I’ll get them back from you."
Mu Shuangshuang planned to divide the family before delivering cold noodles next time. As for the reason, she had already thought it through, just waiting to implement it.
"Okay, leave them with me, no worries."
Fearing Mu Shuangshuang wouldn’t trust him, he explained further.
"I’m sharing a room with Yuanbao now, no one usually goes there, and no one will touch your stuff."
Mu Shuangshuang trusted Lu Yuanfeng naturally; this silly boy was so kind-hearted and often helped others, she had no reason to doubt him.
It’s just that she wasn’t familiar with Lu Yuanfeng’s family, only knew his current mother was a stepmother, who came with two kids and now had one more with Lu Yuanfeng’s dad, already three years old.
"Lu Yuanfeng, does your family not have land, relying on hunting? Is the money enough?"
Money was definitely not enough; otherwise, Lu Yuanfeng wouldn’t come to town every few days. But fortunately, he only needed to support Yuanbao now, and as long as he gave some money for food to his grandma, he could save a little when he had more game.
"It’s enough; with careful budgeting, it’s okay. Next spring, I plan to send Yuanbao to study."
"How much is the school fee? Do you know?"
Mu Shuangshuang also thought about sending Mu Xiaohan to study, just unsure how much it would cost.
"I’ve asked, three taels of silver a year, plus a few jars of good wine and five pieces of cured meat."
It was expensive indeed. As the old saying goes, ten years of study by the cold window; if truly ten years, just the school fee would need thirty taels, not to mention the money for cured meat and good wine.
If they ever had to go to the capital for exams, travel expenses would add up. So, without fifty to a hundred taels of silver, they couldn’t send a scholar to the capital.
It’s no wonder the ancient saying "Everything else is inferior; only studying is valued" existed, given how expensive school fees were.
"Silly boy, keep at it. If we work hard, we’ll save enough silver eventually."
"Shuangshuang, you..." Lu Yuanfeng looked surprised, astonished that a girl was thinking of relying on her own strength to send her brother to study.
"What’s wrong? Underestimating women? Just wait and see, we women will send out a champion scholar!"