Chapter 145: Seeds
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling gritted her teeth. “Why are you so stingy when the grass seeds aren’t even expensive? Don’t you know that my family is poor?”
“Since it’s not expensive, you can definitely afford it.” Fan Zijin glanced at her and said, “Don’t forget that raising the rabbits is your responsibility. Haoran and I are already taking good care of you by helping you pay for two portions. This is only for the first year and you won’t get such treatment the next year. Also, Haoran will get all the profits from the wild rabbits in the mountains this time. No one is allowed to touch them.”
Mu Yangling had no objections to this, but she just didn’t want to pay for the grass seeds. As Bowen had already finished his medicine, she had to enter the city today to buy another prescription for him today. Soon after, she would also send Bowen to study in the academy when the new term started. This would all cost money. There wasn’t much money left from the deer sale last time, so Mu Yangling decided to fight Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran to the end on this issue.
Fan Zijin adamantly disagreed. Other than Qi Haoran, who else could take advantage of him? If Mu Yangling got her way this time, she might do the same thing in the future. Even if it wasn’t much money, it wouldn’t be good.
Seeing that Fan Zijin could not be persuaded, Mu Yangling gritted her teeth and said, “At most, I’ll borrow the money from you first. I’ll return it to you when I earn money.”
Fan Zijin shook his head. “I don’t care to lend such a small amount of money.”
When Qi Haoran returned with his whip, he saw the two of them confronting each other. His eyes darted around before he pulled Mu Yangling out and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Did you quarrel with Zijin again?”
Mu Yangling snorted and said, “Who would quarrel with him? I’m just trying to reason with him. Nobody knows how this business will turn out in the future. Yet, I have to be the only one to invest money in it from the beginning. I don’t mind providing the labor, but I really can’t fork out the money.”
Qi Haoran rubbed his head and said, “It requires an investment of money?” Qi Haoran thought about his wallet and realized that he didn’t seem to have any money left. Recently, he even had to borrow money from Zijin when he went to the county restaurant to eat.
“It’s the money for the grass seeds. If we want to raise rabbits, we have to plant some grass. Fan Zijin wants us to split it evenly.”
Qi Haoran felt vexed. “Is it very expensive?”
Mu Yangling glared at him. “Don’t tell me you can’t even take out two taels of silver.”
“Two taels per person? That’s not expensive.” Qi Haoran patted his chest and said, “I have it.”
Mu Yangling sat cross-legged on the grass and said sadly, “Two taels is indeed not expensive. In the past, I could afford it, but I can’t now.”
Qi Haoran sat beside her and said, “Then I’ll lend it to you.”
Mu Yangling looked at him and asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me why I don’t have money? It’s not like you don’t know that I just sold a deer for 35 taels of silver when winter came.”
Qi Haoran’s eyes widened. “You’ve been using that 35 taels of silver until now?” Qi Haoran looked at her with admiration. “50 taels of silver isn’t even enough to last me a month!”
Qi Haoran did not have a salary, but he had to socialize. Qi Xiuyuan only gave him 50 taels of silver a month, which was not enough for Qi Haoran to spend. As such, he had to borrow money from Fan Zijin every month.
However, Mu Yangling felt that he was sponging off his brother too much. She asked, “What do you do with the 50 taels of silver?”
Qi Haoran was confused. “It’s just gone without me doing anything.”
Mu Yangling: “…”
Qi Haoran scratched his head and said, “If it’s only two taels of silver, I can afford it. Why don’t I help you fork out this sum of silver? Even when including Zijin’s share, it’s only six taels of silver.”
Qi Haoran felt that this money was really too little compared to his expenses. He didn’t understand why Zijin wanted to fight Mu Yangling over this. Didn’t Zijin have more money than him?
Mu Yangling patted his shoulder and said like they were close brothers, “I’ll definitely return it to you later.”
Qi Haoran waved his hand and said nonchalantly, “It’s only two taels of silver. There’s no need to return it.”
“How can I do that?” Mu Yangling lowered her head shyly, before raising her head again and punching Qi Haoran’s shoulder. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony with you.”
Qi Haoran nodded happily. “That’s right. You don’t have to stand on ceremony with me.” It was only two taels of silver, not 200 taels.
Although Mu Yangling said that, she remembered this favor in her heart and felt even closer to Qi Haoran.
Meanwhile, Fan Zijin, who had secretly run over to eavesdrop, could not help but grind his teeth. Mu Yangling was really cunning to have taken advantage of his absence to cheat Haoran of his money.
Fan Zijin snorted and turned to leave.
Mu Yangling and Qi Haoran were still chatting happily.
In the end, it was Qi Haoran who paid for the grass seeds. He handed the money to Fan Zijin and asked him to find someone to buy the grass seeds.
In fact, the reason why they could buy good grass seeds so easily was because of the Hus’ grazing.
The place occupied by the Hu people outside Xingcheng Pass was originally a good farmland. However, after the Hu people occupied it, because they did not know how to farm and had no desire to farm, they scattered grass seeds in the fields and turned the farmland into a grassland for grazing.
Because they planted grass every year, it wasn’t difficult to buy grass seeds. The difficult part was buying seeds from the other side when the two armies were fighting. If the Jin soldiers discovered them, they would most likely be captured.
However, the bold Fan Zijin found a soldier who had been a scout and simply went over.
Mu Yangling only knew that he went over to buy seeds, but she did not know that he was carrying other missions on his shoulders. Not to mention Qi Haoran, even Fan Zijin was unwilling to let the scout go over there just to buy those few bags of seeds.
“Sister, what are we going to buy?” Little Bowen held Mu Yangling’s hand tightly and looked curiously at the lively crowd on the street.
After a winter of recuperation, the county gradually regained its former liveliness. This was the first time Little Bowen had seen such a lively scene. In the past, when they came to buy New Year’s goods, it had not been so lively.
“Let’s find a bookstore and buy you some school supplies. We’ll go to the pharmacy later to buy you medicine.”
Xiulan said with a bitter expression, “Cousin, you’re so pitiful to have to take medicine every day.”
However, Bowen was already used to it. “Why is taking medicine pitiful?”
Mu Yangling quickly interrupted Xiulan and said to Bowen, “Your cousin Xiulan just thinks that the medicine is very bitter, but actually, it’s not pitiful to take medicine at all. It’s pitiful to need medicine but not have the means to take it.”
Bowen nodded. “I know. Just like Grandma Hu. She’s sick yet she can’t afford medicine. She had to endure her sickness without medicine. She’s so pitiful.”
Some time ago, Grandma Hu had a high fever. Since the Hu family did not have money to buy medicine, they only used cold water to cool her down and she had to endure the sickness for two days. Although she could walk now, she had clearly lost weight. Bowen, Xiulan, and the other children were shocked to see her in her current state.
Although it was bad to speak about others behind their backs, Mu Yangling still taught them, “So in the future, when you’re sick, you have to take medicine, especially when it’s such a serious illness. Don’t feel bad about the money. Even if you have to sell everything, you have to get through the illness first. You have to know that people are the most important thing in this world. If you lose your wealth and things, you can always earn them again. If someone loses their life, they’re gone forever.”
Mu Yangling was someone who had been reborn. When she thought about how her father had sacrificed himself in a foreign country and how she had also died in the forest, she still couldn’t understand. Did everyone reincarnate after death, or was she the only exception? Did she forget to drink Old Lady Meng’s soup1 when crossing the Bridge of Helplessness2?
However, it remained unchanged that a death was a death. As an independent individual, even if he could reincarnate or be reborn, this person would no longer be the same person.
The Mu Yangling in the modern world was already dead. Even if Mu Yangling had the memories of her previous life, she was a different person now.
Because here, she had parents and relatives that she cared about and did things that she would never have done in her previous life.