Chapter 47: Reason
Editor: Atlas Studios
This was the reason why the Mu family had never been able to accumulate money—Mu Shi was too sentimental, and the others were too lacking in fighting spirit.
The patriarch of the Liu family, Liu He, once felt that it was a pity that Mu Shi was too reluctant to leave his family. Otherwise, he would definitely be able to achieve a great career. This was because he did not lack ability, EQ, or IQ, but he was unwilling to leave his wife and children to venture outside for prolonged periods.
Mu Shi’s father had once accumulated a lot of money for him. Although a lot of it had been lost in the Hus’ rebellion more than ten years ago, Mu Shi had lived a life of not having to worry about his family for four to five years. In addition, considering he often worked outside, according to Liu He’s private calculations, Mu Shi could save at least a hundred taels of silver a year.
In the end, after marrying a wife, not only did his life not get better, but it instead got worse.
At this point, one had to mention Shu Wanniang’s identity. She was the second daughter of the Shu family, and the Shu family was considered a small aristocratic family in Jingzhao Prefecture that was established for two to three hundred years. They had never been powerful, but they had always been firmly rooted in the land of the Jingzhao Prefecture. In fact, they had a history that was decades older than the current dynasty.
Shu Wanniang’s father’s family was considered a collateral branch, but their family background was not bad, not inferior to the main branch. Unfortunately, their foundation was a little weaker, so when the imperial court fled south back then, they were abandoned and suffered during the chaos.
After all, Jingzhao Prefecture was the hometown of the Shu family. If the Hus1 were more polite to them, they might just be grateful to the Imperial Court in their hearts and live their lives as they should. However, in less than ten years, half of the family business of the Shu family that had been left behind had been destroyed by the Hus.
Father Shu immediately contacted the Yuan family army guarding the border at that time and was willing to give up half of his family business in exchange for protection and aid in escaping south.
Of course, the upright and brave Yuan Family Army did not accept the Shu Family’s money and was willing to escort them into the borders of Great Zhou for free.
It was when Shu Wanniang fled south to Chef Mountain that they encountered bandits. In the chaos, she was pushed out of the carriage and abducted by the bandits.
At that time, the lone and gutsy Mu Shi had lived in the mountains for a long time. Once, when he was hunting, his prey was frightened away by the bandits who rushed in. Upon a closer look, he realized that Shu Wanniang, who was being dragged along by the bandits, had a pale face.
Back then, Shu Wanniang had just turned 15 and was still a young girl. It was already very lucky that she did not faint. The moment she got the chance, she wanted to commit suicide, but she was stopped by the bandits and was about to be tortured on the spot. An upright and kind young man, Mu Shi could not stand by and do nothing, so he saved the damsel in distress.
Mu Shi saved Shu Wanniang and only stayed at the foot of the mountain for a night before bringing her to look for her family. However, as the conservative Shu family strictly adhered to the rules of etiquette, it was naturally impossible for them to take back a daughter who had been abducted by bandits. In a fit of anger, Mu Shi took Shu Wanniang away.
Shu Wanniang was heartbroken for a year and almost died on the sickbed. That year, she almost exhausted Mu Shi’s savings.
Mu Yangling had heard Shu Wanniang apologize more than once. The latter often lamented that if she hadn’t fallen sick back then, she wouldn’t be so delicate and wouldn’t make her children’s lives so difficult now.
Of course, every time this happened, Mu Shi would hold her hand and say gently, “These are all worth it.”
Then, Mu Yangling carried her brother back to their room, leaving space for the couple.
Shu Wanniang was the daughter of a wealthy family, so her family’s standard of living had always far exceeded that of the villagers. They wouldn’t eat chaff or coarse grains that would cause one’s throat to hurt. However, it was also because of such a standard of living that their family’s expenses had always been very high. Their family had never been able to save much money, not to mention that Shu Wanniang had to take medicine for three to four months a year.
In the past, Mu Shi, who was very good at earning money, could not bear to leave his wife and children for too long. Ever since he married and had children, the furthest Mu Shi went was Mingshui County. This caused his savings to decrease rapidly, and diminished his ability to save more money.
Mu Yangling had transmigrated into a fetus in this world. Since she was six months old, she had consciously kicked or rolled around in her mother’s stomach. Coupled with her intelligent performance since she was born, she had always held a lot of weight in the family. If she was willing to persuade her father to go out and earn more money to support the family, her parents might even consider her opinion. However, she was also a person who desired to live a peaceful life.
She felt that since her family already had meat, food, clothes, and shelter, there was nothing more important than staying alive in this chaotic world.
Hence, she did not feel that her father should take the risk. Should anything happen, the family could nest together and not go anywhere. Mu Shi was, of course, happy to stay by his wife and children’s side to keep them safe.
It was the same now. When Mu Yangling heard that there was a newfound danger in the forest, she refused to let her father go deeper into the mountains. She planned to bring her four uncles around outside to sound out the situation with her father. Anyway, with the abundance of rabbits this year, she didn’t have to worry about not being able to catch prey.
If it were someone ambitious, they might plot to kill the black bear or female tiger. Should they succeed, they would not have to worry for the next three years.
It had to be known that these two things were valuable from head to toe, from skin to blood.
Seeing that Mu Shi had agreed, Shu Wanniang and Mu Yangling heaved a sigh of relief. Mu Yangling waved her hand and said, “Father, don’t worry. I’ll buy more millet when we go to town today, and buy some new rice from the villagers later. That’ll be enough for us to eat until next summer. This way, we won’t have to worry even more. If the price of grains increases, so be it. That won’t affect us anymore. We have a vegetable garden at home, and we can easily get meat. Coupled with some extra nourishment for Mother, that’ll be all we need.”
“Alright.” Mu Shi helped his wife into the house and comforted her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself. Just focus on taking care of the fetus. I’ll go into the mountains tomorrow to take a look. If I catch fewer prey, I won’t go to the county and will just take care of the business in town.”
Mu Shi reassured his wife before pulling out the cart and placing the wild boar on it. He then placed the cage containing the little fox and white rabbit on the cart and tied it up. He said to his daughter, “Put your things on it too. I’ll bring them down for you when we reach town.”
Happy and relaxed to not have to carry the things herself, Mu Yangling quickly put the things away.
Mu Shi pushed the cart in front while Mu Yangling followed behind her father.
Mu Yangling counted the money they had earned recently and asked, “Father, can we save 50 taels of silver after this trip?”
After doing some calculations in his heart, Mu Shi shook his head. “Probably not. The price of wild boars and rabbits is certain, but I wonder how much this fiery red fox can be sold for.” Mu Shi felt that it was a pity. “I’ve seen people sell this thing in Xingzhou Prefecture before. Someone bought it for ten taels of silver specially for the Young Masters and Misses to play with. However, Mingshui County is too small.”
“There’s a prefect in Xingzhou Prefecture. Of course it’s big.” Mu Yangling said as she counted on her fingers, “Even if you can’t sell it for ten taels of silver, it should at least fetch five taels, right?”
Mu Shi glanced at his daughter and shattered her fantasy. “Impossible. Four taels of silver is the highest it can go.”
Mu Yangling pouted. “Xingzhou Prefecture isn’t far from the county—only a day’s walk. If you ride a horse, you’ll arrive in a flash.”
Mu Shi laughed out loud. “But how many people in this world can afford to ride a horse? Alright, don’t be unhappy. I don’t think there’s anything bad about this. Surely all the good things in life can’t be happening to just us, right? There’s got to be something for others too.”
Mu Yangling was depressed for a moment before she cheered up again. She asked, “Father, do you blame us for dragging you down? If Eldest Uncle and the others knew that they could earn an additional six taels of silver just by walking for an extra day, they’d definitely be willing.”
An annual income of four taels of silver a year in the countryside was already considered very decent, let alone six taels.
The magnanimous Mu Shi said to his daughter with a smile, “Silly child, I’m just glad that you don’t despise your father for being useless. I think our family is doing just fine. Why envy those who have more? Money can always be earned.” In the end, he just didn’t want to be too far away from his wife and children, knowing he would worry about them.