Perhaps it was because they had more intimate contact, but that night when Gu Jinchen hugged his wife to sleep, his actions were much more natural than before.
Having a delicate wife in his arms gave him a great sense of stability, and he felt that this was gradually becoming a habit for him.
...The next day.
"Sister-in-law Wang? You're looking for me?" Luo Ge was quite surprised to see Sister-in-law Wang coming to find her so early in the morning.
"Yeah, I want to go into town later, do you want to come along? It'd be nice for us to have each other's company."
Go into town? Luo Ge did want to go, but yesterday the two of them had agreed to go buy seeds together.
Thinking of this, Luo Ge turned to look at Gu Jinchen, who had brought back some wood these past few days and was now preparing to make new wooden tubs for the two little ones.
The previous one had already been used by Luo Ge, so he didn't want the two little ones to use it anymore.
"You can go if you want, there's nothing much to do at home anyway," said Gu Jinchen with a smile when he noticed his little wife's gaze. He was very happy to see her socializing more and making some friends, otherwise she'd be all alone with no one to talk to on ordinary days, which was too pitiful.
Sister-in-law Wang was a decent woman, so he could rest assured with her going along.
Of course, he was sensible enough not to invite himself along on a women's outing.
Hearing this, Luo Ge turned back to Sister-in-law Wang and nodded lightly, "Let's go. What time are we leaving? I'll go back and change clothes."
"We'll be leaving soon, the earlier we go the earlier we can come back. Go change, I'll wait for you here. Just call me when you're done."
"Alright."
Sister-in-law Wang was easygoing. After speaking with Luo Ge, she turned and went back next door to get her things.
After Sister-in-law Wang left, Luo Ge went back inside to change into a set of clothes - the ready-made clothes Gu Jinchen had bought for her. They were a simple, plain color that she usually wore when going out.
She now had only a few sets of clothes total: the set she wore when she came back with him, the ready-made clothes he had bought, and her bridal clothes he had bought.
He had bought fabric but she hadn't sewn anything yet, mainly because she wasn't very good at making clothes. She could sew, but sewing and making clothes were two different things.
At home she usually just wore her old, patched-up gray clothes which were convenient for doing chores. She only changed into the other clothes when going out.
After changing, she took a small basket on her back and prepared to head out.
But Gu Jinchen helplessly stopped her, lightly knocking on her head and stuffing a patched money pouch into her arms.
"You can't go into town without some money. Take this, buy whatever you want."
His tone was a bit ostentatious, haha.
Luo Ge looked down as he directed, peeking into the pouch, and then froze.
Wow, it was full of copper coins and a few broken silver pieces. At first glance there were at least two taels of silver.
"I don't need this much, I'm just going to casually look around. A few tens of coins is enough for me to spend."
Two taels, that was enough to cover their household expenses for a year or two.
This guy was really willing to give, he didn't even worry that she would take the money and run.
"No need to be polite, take it. I'll give you the rest when you get back, from now on you can manage the household."
He had done some business with his brothers before coming back, and earned some silver.
When he first came back, he had brought over 200 taels of silver to handle his parents' affairs. Over the past year or so some had been spent on living expenses.
But there were still about 200 taels left, and in the meantime he often went hunting in the mountains. He and Li Xiang were both daring and had gone deep into the mountains before.
When they got lucky they managed to get some valuable things like tigers and deer a couple times. Plus there was the usual wild chickens, rabbits, boars, etc.
Even a little mosquito is meat. Bit by bit it added up, and now just from saving they had over 400 taels put away, more than enough to support a wife.
But hearing his words, Luo Ge was a bit dumbfounded. There was more? She couldn't have married a secretly rich man, right?
"Go on, the sooner you leave the sooner you'll be back. Don't keep Sister-in-law Wang waiting too long." Just then Sister-in-law Wang happened to come over, so before Luo Ge could say more Gu Jinchen urged her to go.
"Luo Ge~" Sister-in-law Wang called from outside too.
Seeing this, Luo Ge had to let it go for now. "Then let me know if you guys want me to buy anything and bring it back."
Gu Jinchen shook his head first, followed by the two little ones.
"Alright, I'm going now then." Seeing the big and little ones shake their heads in unison, Luo Ge gave up and headed out carrying her basket, towards Sister-in-law Wang outside.
...The village wasn't far from town, so they didn't wait for an oxcart.
Passing through the city gate, Luo Ge noticed the few refugees who had lingered for the past couple days were now nowhere to be seen.
"You're looking for those northerners who came right? The word from above came down a few days ago that they've all settled down in town now. I heard they were given land by the officials."
"Just west of town. And not a small number either, sounds like three to five whole villages worth of people."
Noticing her gaze, Sister-in-law Wang took the initiative to share what she knew.
The northwest had been drought-stricken for years, so there were refugees going south and east. Those who came to their Yiyang Town were just a small portion.
The south had always been stable with good climate and ample land and water. As long as they weren't lazy, Luo Ge believed they could soon live well again.
"I see, so that's why I didn't see anyone when I came to town the other day." Hearing Sister-in-law Wang's explanation, Luo Ge understood.
"Our current Emperor is a rare good official. Of course things are handled quickly. I heard he even gave those refugees quite a bit of grain stipends."
That was how things were done here. Luo Ge guessed the refugees in other places were also arranged similarly.
The "officials" mentioned here naturally referred to the current Sage Emperor.
Seeing Sister-in-law Wang's smiling expression when speaking of the officials, Luo Ge knew he must be a very popular ruler among the common people.
"That makes sense."
After chatting for a bit at the city gate, the two women entered the town.
"I want to go to West Street first to sell eggs. Do you want to come with me? Or you can go wander on your own first, up to you."
The Wang family raised chickens and usually could save some eggs to sell in town for money to subsidize household expenses.
Sister-in-law Wang's main purpose today was to sell these eggs, then buy some household necessities to take home.
"I'll go with you. Anyway I haven't decided what to buy yet, so might as well take a look around first."
She knew where West Street was. Gu Jinchen had taken her there before, explaining how the streets of Yiyang Town were clearly divided into districts.
West side sold rice, produce, dried goods, snacks, etc. East side sold clothing and jewelry. South side had taverns, pharmacies, etc.
North side was where the government offices were, and where some wealthy people lived. There was also an Academy there.
"West Street" here referred to the western streets in general, not just one street.
"Ok." Hearing Luo Ge's response, Sister-in-law Wang naturally had no objections.
She then led Luo Ge to the street where she usually set up her stall.
This was where the street vendors sold produce on ordinary days. Townspeople would also come sell odds and ends from home.
Gu Jinchen had brought her here before. Walking down this street and turning at the back alley led to the street that sold seeds.
Sister-in-law Wang skillfully found a rock to sit on by the roadside, placing her small egg basket from her carry basket in front of her.
"Have a seat Luo Ge. Our eggs sell themselves, let's rest a bit."
Hearing this, Luo Ge didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the rock next to her.
Eggs were a coveted commodity nowadays that could be used for eating, postpartum care, gifts, etc, so they had no trouble selling.
Two copper coins per egg, they could easily sell 30 or more eggs very quickly.
They had barely sat down when half the eggs were already sold.
Luo Ge observed for a while before focusing her gaze on the two young people collecting produce at the end of the street.
In just this short time she saw many villagers immediately bring their goods to them as soon as they arrived - they seemed to be middlemen.
Wang Sister-In-Law had quite a few things in her stall, and she might not always be around, so finding an intermediary was the best choice.
Judging from her innate sense, those two people looked fairly reliable and not evil, but she still needed to take another look.
"Luo Ge, let's go, let's go shopping." After selling the last egg, Wang Sister-In-Law tidied up her things with a smile on her face.
Thirty-five eggs sold for seventy wen, a good profit.
Her husband usually did odd jobs in town for others, earning only ten or twenty wen a day.
Their family had three hens, each laying two or three eggs a day. Gathering them for about ten days allowed her to sell another batch, earning around one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty wen a month, which could cover the family's expenses for quite a while.
"Okay." Hearing this, Luo Ge went along with Wang Sister-In-Law, planning to come back when there was a chance later.
