Chapter 81: Chapter 81 The Marriage is Off (1)_1 Chapter 81: Chapter 81 The Marriage is Off (1)_1 Having settled the sesame bread matter with Sister Guizhi, Lin Yuan was eager to check on her oven as the business was slow at the moment.
Guizhi accompanied her, and upon seeing Lin Yuan, Old Iron Head, who was busy forging, immediately knew why she had come.
He pointed toward a large iron box at the corner of the table and loudly said, “Girl, your oven is ready and has cooled off after a whole day.
But it’s so huge, how are you going to take it away?”
Indeed, the oven was so large!
Lin Yuan stared at the enormous iron box as if it were a strange creature.
Although it didn’t quite resemble a modern oven, the craftsmanship was clearly very airtight and insulating, and with the big iron plate at the bottom to help distribute the heat, the temperature inside should be even.
As she was worrying, Sister Guizhi, who had come in with her, laughed heartily, “Don’t fret, tonight Brother Ershuan will come to help me close up shop, and he can carry it back for you, right?”
That was a good idea, but it was too much trouble for Brother Ershuan.
When Sister Guizhi heard her response, she immediately scowled and scolded, “Are you still being formal with your sister?
If you say that, aren’t you just forcing me to pay you?”
The “pay” she mentioned referred to the agreement they had made earlier, where Sister Guizhi would give Lin Yuan one wen money for every bowl of cold noodles sold.
Knowing Sister Guizhi’s intentions, Lin Yuan no longer made a fuss and happily agreed.
After saying farewell to Sister Guizhi and Old Iron Head, Lin Yuan and her companions saw that it was nearly noon, so they headed towards the city gate and also stopped by the grain shop to buy some glutinous rice and other necessities.
At the city gate, Lin Fugui’s ox cart was already filled with women returning to the village.
Lan Hua hurriedly looked around, but her heart sank when she realized that they were mostly the same taciturn women from the trip into town.
It seemed her plans to gather some gossip on the ride back were doomed.
Feeling disheartened, she suddenly heard Loudmouth yelling from a distance, “Hey, wait a moment!
Looking toward the voice, they saw a fashionably dressed woman with a small bundle hurriedly walking towards them.
As soon as she boarded the ox cart, she started greeting the other women she knew, “Yo, Auntie He, you also came to the market?
Oh, me, I’ve stayed with my niece for a couple of days.
I’m in a rush to return home today.”
Lin Yuan could tell at a glance that this woman loved to talk, and she was likely one to spread rumors; there probably wasn’t anything she didn’t know about.
She subtly pulled at Lan Hua’s hand and gave her a meaningful look.
As the ox cart began to move, the woman’s chatter seemed to never cease.
From matters in her own village to what she’d heard in town, as long as you could ask about it, there wasn’t a thing she didn’t know.
“You have no idea, that Master Magistrate’s son is really something else.
Anytime he sees a pretty girl, no matter if she’s out of the house or at home, he makes sure to harass her a bit,” she claimed.
While ordinary folks usually dared not gossip about the affairs of Officials, this woman was clearly unafraid, and since they had already left the city gates, which of the women on the cart had any connections with Master Magistrate?
She certainly didn’t hesitate to tell tales about the Magistrate’s son.
Lan Hua, who had originally wanted to get close to the woman to inquire about matters, followed up on the topic, “Master Magistrate’s son?
Isn’t he just seven or eight years old?
The woman was evidently pleased that someone caught on to her story, but still managed to exhibit an air of “you’re so out of the loop,” “You’re talking about that one, the son born to his current Madam, the Second Young Master.
I’m speaking of the First Young Master, the one from his first wife; he’s already in his twenties this year.”
Lan Hua cooperated well by expressing surprise and continued to listen to her talk.