After finishing the lychees, taking care of the little ones, and dealing with the matters of the homestead, the young couple felt much more relaxed.
"We should take this tiger skin to the town tomorrow to sell it."
In the evening, when they returned to the house and saw the tiger skin that had been prepared and placed in the room, Luo Ge said.
"Okay."
Gu Jinchen nodded and put his arm around her waist, ready to rest, but suddenly he paused and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Wife, I feel like you've gained a bit of weight."
Luo Ge was surprised by his words and lifted her jacket to take a look.
"It seems... I have put on a little weight?" Her tone was uncertain, as she didn't seem to notice any change.
Gu Jinchen gazed at her, his smile deepening.
"You have gained weight." But he wasn't referring to her belly.
"...Alright then." If he said she had gained weight, then she must have.
She looked down at her belly again and felt it with her hand.
Hmm... She still didn't feel any difference, it just felt like she had eaten a full meal.
It had only been a little over a month, and she didn't know how he had noticed the change when she felt no different.
"Pfft."
Hearing her obediently nod in agreement despite her own uncertainty, Gu Jinchen couldn't help but laugh.
He pulled her into his embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Silly wife, I wasn't talking about your belly," he said in a deep voice, still tinged with laughter.
With this position, his breath tickled her neck, causing her to instinctively shrink back.
Following the direction of his long finger, her pretty face turned red, and she pushed his head away.
"Behave yourself," she chided, but then she unconsciously glanced down at her small chest. Hmm... It did seem a bit larger.
Hearing her chide, Gu Jinchen's smile deepened even further, and he ruffled her hair.
"It's getting late, let's sleep."
"Okay."
The next day.
Early in the morning, Li Shopkeeper sent someone to collect the dried lychees, and they also brought over 500 pounds of fresh peaches.
"This batch of peaches should be the last one. The shopkeeper is still looking for new seasonal fruits, and they will send more to Lady Gu when they find them."
As the delivery boy unloaded the goods, he relayed Li Shopkeeper's message.
"Good, we understand. Go at your own pace, young man."
"Alright."
Processing peaches was much simpler and faster than lychees. With the whole family pitching in, they finished handling the 500 pounds of peaches in just one morning.
After a simple lunch, they prepared to go to the town in the afternoon.
...First, they went to the usual place and sold the tiger skin, and Gu Jinchen immediately handed the 100 taels of silver to his wife.
He had previously given Luo Ge the 300 taels of silver he had saved earlier to keep.
His previous savings, the silver earned from the tiger hunt, and the money they made from selling dried fruits.
All together, they now had over 1,000 taels of family wealth.
At this time, having such a fortune was considered quite substantial, and they could be counted among the wealthier households in the town.
But...
Looking at the clothes of her family, Luo Ge fell into an unusual silence. Apart from the set of clothes they were currently wearing, none of them had any other decent clothes, let alone those without patches.
"Let's go buy a few sets of clothes," she said after some thought.
"Agreed."
The three men in the family didn't really care about such things, but since the lady of the house (the young sister-in-law) had spoken, they had no objections.
"My lady, we have a wide selection of fabrics in our shop: coarse cloth, linen, fine linen, and even silk and satin."
For an ordinary town, having these fabrics was considered well-stocked.
Brocade, gauze, and high-end silks were rarely sold, as those were mostly for the noble and wealthy households in the capital city.
In this small town, they were not in high demand.
"Do you have ready-made clothes?" Gu Jinchen asked the shopkeeper.
Making clothes was time-consuming and laborious, so it was better to buy ready-made ones.
"Yes, please come this way."
This fabric shop also sold ready-made clothes, but since few people bought them at this time, the ready-made clothes they had were not very good.
They were not very well-fitted, and still needed to be altered after purchase.
"Let's buy the fabric instead," Luo Ge said after some consideration.
If they had to alter it anyway, it was better to buy the fabric and have it tailored to their liking.
Moreover, the color choices for the ready-made clothes were too limited. There were too many bridal red dresses, and the everyday clothes were either plain earth tones or dark colors for men.
"Makes sense. We'll ask Wang Sister-In-Law to help make them later."
Luo Ge was pregnant, so it wasn't suitable for her to do such work.
And he... didn't know how.
"...Okay."
After the couple made their decision, they bought five bolts of fabric, enough for autumn and winter clothes.
The remaining fabric would be used for spring outfits.
They bought fine linen, not too flashy, but comfort was still a must.
Though not as smooth as silk or satin, this fine linen was much more comfortable than coarse cloth or regular linen, being softer and lighter on the skin.
"Do you have shoes? Let us take a look at the shoes as well," Gu Jinchen said.
"Yes, yes."
Buying so much fabric made them a big customer, so the shopkeeper happily picked out four pairs of shoes and put them in Gu Jinchen's basket.
"Consider it a little extra. Remember to come back next time."
Compared to the fabric, these shoes costing a few or a dozen coins each were hardly worth mentioning.
As a savvy businesswoman, she simply gave them the shoes as an added bonus.
"Of course, we'll come to you again if we need anything," Luo Ge replied with a smile, appreciating the shopkeeper's gesture.
After buying the fabric, they went to purchase paper, brushes, and other writing supplies for the little ones.
Perhaps because it was a holiday, there were quite a few scholars in the bookshop, each engrossed in their own books, which Luo Ge found rather unfamiliar.
"Please help me get two sets of brushes, ink, paper, and ink stones for the children."
"Certainly, my lady. Please wait a moment." The shopkeeper looked at the two little ones and nodded.
After explaining her request to the shopkeeper, Luo Ge waited outside, not wanting to disturb the scholars' literary pursuits.
One set of brushes, ink, paper, and ink stone for each child cost a total of four taels of silver.
Hmm... At this time, the materials needed for studying were indeed quite expensive.
After making their purchases, the two little ones fell silent.
The family then went to the market area and bought some meat and vegetables to take home.
Fortunately, they arrived just in time to find some pork ribs left, which Luo Ge loved to use for making rib soup, so they bought some.
"When we get home, sister-in-law will make you some sweet and sour pork ribs, and rib soup as well. I guarantee you'll be stuffed tonight," Luo Ge said with a laugh, ruffling the little ones' hair.
