“This is no problem. I can go to the clan chief for help and ask him to help borrow some tables and chairs from the villagers,” Mo Jiuye said confidently.
Mo Jiuye was not speaking nonsense based purely on imagination. When he was leading troops in battle, he also had a lot of contact with the common people. Those country folk living in poverty would often make charcoal themselves and then sell it to wealthy city households to make a living.
Moreover, when following the two clan chiefs to look at houses yesterday, Mo Jiuye noticed that several villagers had simple charcoal kilns in their yards. This was proof that there must be charcoal here.
Upon hearing his words, the worried frown on He Zhiran's pretty face immediately relaxed.
"Mo Jiuye, you're so smart. How could I not have thought of that?"
Seeing her smile, Mo Jiuye indulgently patted her on the head.
"Alright, be good and wait at home. I'll take care of this."
After speaking, Mo Jiuye went out of the yard.
With the problem resolved, He Zhiran returned to the kitchen to continue working.
This time, she was making garlic steamed lobster and spicy pepper shrimp herself.
The sisters-in-law were seeing these ingredients for the first time. At first, they were somewhat afraid when they saw the big lobster.
Unexpectedly, the young sister-in-law cleaved it in half with one stroke of the knife...
He Zhiran completely ignored the surprised expressions of her sisters-in-law and busied herself with head lowered.
The garlic paste was prepared by He Zhiran when the sisters-in-law were busy, as was the sauce for the pepper shrimp.
She skillfully spread the garlic paste evenly over the lobster before putting it into the pot.
Right after, He Zhiran went to another stove in front of everyone and started stir-frying the pepper shrimp.
In no time, the rich, spicy aroma spread out, even drifting through the door cracks farther away.
Eighth Sister-in-Law took a deep sniff.
"Although I don't know what dishes Little Sister-in-Law is making, the smell alone has already whetted my appetite."
Second Sister-in-Law joked, "Look, Eighth Sister-in-Law's gluttonous tendencies are acting up again."
Immediately, everyone burst into loud laughter...
Just as the two seafood dishes had just come out of the pots, the sound of footsteps came from the gate.
He Zhiran went out with the sisters-in-law to take a look.
They saw Mo Jiuye walking in front, working with a villager. The two were carrying a large round table.
Behind them were several other villagers, each holding two chairs.
Walking last was Zhou Clan Chief.
Old Zhou Clan Chief held a bag of charcoal in his hands instead of carrying tables and chairs.
Before they even entered the yard, Zhou Clan Chief couldn't help but ask, "Old Nine, what delicious food is being cooked in your home? It smells even better than restaurant dishes in the city!"
Mo Jiuye also knew a little.
"Hehe...it should be dishes my wife made with spiny lobster and mantis shrimp."
"Spiny lobster? Mantis shrimp?" Zhou Clan Chief was clearly very surprised.
As someone who had lived most of his life in Yun City, how could he possibly not know about seafood?
It was just that these two kinds of seafood held no appeal for them.
If it wasn't because their family really had nothing to eat, no one would go eat things like spiny lobster and mantis shrimp.
Although that was the case, he had eaten them several times during the years of famine when he was young.
Not only were those things hard-shelled, they were prickly to eat. Most importantly, they tasted extremely fishy.
"That can't be. I've eaten spiny lobster and mantis shrimp before, but they didn't smell like this at all."
Mo Jiuye also didn't know how to explain and could only smile it off.
The Zhou Clan members set the table and chairs down in the yard and went to get another set.
Mo Jiuye pulled Zhou Clan Chief along to He Zhiran.
The tables and chairs were borrowed but the charcoal needed to be paid for. He wanted to get money from He Zhiran.
"Ranran, give twenty coins to Zhou Clan Chief."
Although He Zhiran still didn't completely understand commodity prices in this era, she knew in her heart that twenty coins for such a large bag of charcoal was truly very cheap.
The wood used to make charcoal had to be chopped in the mountains, and afterwards was artificially carbonized.
This made He Zhiran think of the poem about the old charcoal man, allowing her to sympathize with their hardships.
Therefore, she directly gave Zhou Clan Chief fifty coins.
When Zhou Clan Chief took the copper coins, his first thought was that his new daughter-in-law understood the ways of the world.
For such a large bag of charcoal, it was exactly fifty coins if sold in the city.
Zhou Clan Chief directly counted out twenty copper coins to pocket, giving the rest back to He Zhiran.
"Young daughter-in-law, we're all villagers here. I only charge cost price for charcoal."
He Zhiran felt distressed about the hardships of the peasants and didn't want him to work for nothing.
"Zhou Clan Chief, you've put in effort and it's only natural to earn some money. Just keep it!"
When Zhou Clan Chief saw her trying to give money, he retreated several steps back.
"Us crop farmers value sincerity. Over so many years, the villagers have always bought charcoal at this price."
He hadn't expected the old man to be so stubborn.
Since that was the case, He Zhiran did not insist.
She looked towards Mo Jiuye, "Husband, since we've come to Xi Ling Village, the two chiefs have helped us a lot. Why don't we invite them over for dinner tonight?"
Mo Jiuye had also been thinking this. After all, they were going to live here long term in the future so it was very important to get along well with their neighbors.
"Alright, I'll go invite Zhao Clan Chief over later."
Zhou Clan Chief had intended to decline. During such impoverished times, which family had excess to spare? If their own family members had enough to eat, it was already considered very good. If he stayed to eat here, this family would have less to eat.
However, the scents from Mo Family kitchen were too tempting. Also, taking this chance to become better acquainted with the new neighbors wasn't a bad idea either.
Therefore, Zhou Clan Chief did not decline.
"Since this is the case, this old man will stop being courteous."
As his words fell, he took out the twenty copper coins he had just pocketed and gave them all to Mo Jiuye.
"I can stay and eat dinner here, but I can't accept money for the charcoal."
What Zhou Clan Chief was thinking was that Mo Family could use the money to buy some grains. He would be eating one meal here so they surely couldn't suffer losses because of him.
When Mo Jiuye saw Zhou Clan Chief's actions, he found it somewhat funny but also distressing.
He pushed the copper coins back, "Zhou Clan Chief, does it make sense to charge for dinner? Could it be you look down on Old Mo here?"
"No, no, no, I didn't mean that. I only..."
"If that's not what you meant, then keep the money," Mo Jiuye directly cut him off from explaining and brought Zhou Clan Chief into the main room.
This was the largest room in the entire yard, suitable for putting tables and chairs. They would also choose to eat dinner here.
Old Lady Mo called for the women to carry tables and chairs into the room.
While everyone busied themselves, the previously missing Mo Chuhan had at some unknown point returned with Liang Hao and the others in tow.
The several men all carried game in hand. It was clear from their travel-worn appearances that Liang Hao and the others must have been up in the mountains hunting all day.
