The eldest sister-in-law was still rather puzzled. In her understanding, anything thrown into the stove would eventually be burnt to ashes. How could the ninth younger sister claim to be making delicacies...
The sixth sister-in-law, who was usually the most taciturn, came forward and pulled the utterly confused eldest sister-in-law to the side.
"Eldest sister-in-law, you have to trust the ninth younger sister. When has she ever done anything she wasn't confident about?"
"That's true. The ninth younger sister has always been steady in her actions. I'm overthinking things." Somewhat embarrassed, the eldest sister-in-law tossed the iron hook aside and went back to washing dishes.
Mo Jiuye was also kept busy, along with Liang Hao and the others, carrying over borrowed tables and chairs to return to the village.
Mo Chuhan, on the other hand, went to the backyard to prepare the game they had hunted.
He had figured out that while the ninth younger sister at home was no doubt the one in charge, the silver spent was also from her.
Since he had not yet taken up his post at the government office, he planned to go hunting more during this farming off season and exchange the game for silver, which he would then hand over to the ninth younger sister to manage.
As the eldest brother, spending his younger sister's money made him feel awful no matter what. He was unwilling to idle around if he could help out in any way.
Seeing Mo Chuhan walking purposefully toward the empty room after having finished preparing the wild goat and pheasants in the backyard, Mo Hanyue panicked.
"Eighth brother, the little bunnies are so cute. Please don't sell them," she pleaded.
Mo Chuhan did intend to tie up the wild rabbits with rope and deliver them into town tomorrow morning along with the rest of the game to exchange for silver.
In the past, with only one younger sister in the family, he and his brothers would have simply doted on her.
But things had changed. They were no longer some aristocrat living in the capital city, and their sister was no young lady from a prominent household.
They would all have to work hard together to maintain their future livelihood.
"Hanyue, you're a young lady now. Don't make trouble."
Mo Hanyue pouted and stood blocking the door, refusing to let Mo Chuhan enter to get to the rabbits.
"Eighth brother, even if I have to beg you this one time, please don't sell these rabbits, okay?"
Seeing his sister relapse into her willful ways, Mo Chuhan could only patiently reason with her.
"Hanyue, be good. We can't possibly keep these wild rabbits."
Mo Hanyue did not understand. "But they're lively and jumping around. Why can't we keep them?"
"Rabbits have formidable teeth. Even caged, they would gnaw through and escape. We might as well sell them for some money, which would be more practical."
Mo Chuhan was not just repeating hearsay. When stationed at the border pass, he had hunted some wild rabbits himself, planning to keep them for a while and add something extra to the soldiers' meals when they triumphantly returned.
But in less than two days, the rabbits had all escaped, leaving bite marks all over the place.
Though Mo Hanyue wanted to retort, she knew deep down that her eighth brother must be speaking the truth.
At a loss for words for the moment, she instead began to sob in agitation.
Hearing Mo Hanyue's cries, Old Lady Mo rushed over with the sisters-in-law who had been busy in the kitchen.
They arrived to see Mo Chuhan flusteredly trying to comfort a bawling Mo Hanyue.
Needless to say, everyone present assumed that Mo Chuhan had made Mo Hanyue cry.
"Husband, don't bully Hanyue," the eighth sister-in-law said as she strode over to stand between the two.
Hands on her hips, she looked about ready to fight Mo Chuhan for justice on Mo Hanyue's behalf.
With someone backing her up, Mo Hanyue promptly ceased her crying. She had only been putting on a show anyway, so she stopped as quickly as she had started.
"Eighth sister-in-law, just look at what eighth brother is doing. He's so cruel to want to sell those cute little bunnies for money."
Now everyone understood what the dispute between the siblings was about.
Old Lady Mo and the sisters-in-law were formerly noble ladies who had never so much as lifted a finger, let alone knew anything about keeping wild rabbits.
So they unanimously decided Mo Chuhan was in the wrong.
The third sister-in-law even dramatically fished out five taels of silver from her sleeve and stuffed them straight into Mo Chuhan's hands.
"Eighth brother, I'm buying all these wild rabbits. Take the silver."
How dare he bully their sweetest little sister? Absolutely unacceptable.
While the other sisters-in-law were not as drastic as the third, they too demonstrated their defense of Mo Hanyue.
The only exception was He Zhiran, who did not react like the others.
She already had plans for those wild rabbits upon seeing Mo Hanyue hugging one.
To that end, after seeing Mo Hanyue holding a wild rabbit, she had purchased a hundred baby rabbits in her space and started raising them.
It was the first step in her money-making endeavor without needing to be out and about. She could do it at home.
She knew a little about the nature of rabbits. Truly wild rabbits were indeed difficult to tame, and preventing their escape attempts was virtually impossible.
But the rabbits from her space were different, having been caged since young and already accustomed to such a life that escape was likely the furthest thing from their minds.
What's more, the space-grown rabbits were less prone to illness and easy to keep alive.
She just needed to plant some cabbage and carrots occasionally, then add cornmeal after the autumn harvest. During summer, it was even more convenient with the mountain at their doorstep - she could simply uproot some grass to feed the rabbits.
Additionally, rabbits reached maturity in six months and reproduced swiftly.
Right now was the agricultural off season, so running a small-scale rabbit farm at home was a good idea.
Most importantly, in her hands, rabbits were of immense value beyond imagination.
Their fur could be used to make plush toys - something He Zhiran had planned even while on the road.
In Tang Mingrui's hands, the toy business had thrived phenomenally. If not for the supply shortage on her end, their partnership would have been making money hand over fist.
Moreover, she already had proof from her previous life that rabbit fur plush toys not only sold for higher prices than synthetic fiber plushes, but also looked more appealing.
She was certain that plush toys made from rabbit fur were guaranteed profit with no risk, without having to worry about wear over time either.
As for rabbit meat, the simplest way was to produce chilled rabbit meat for sale, easily doubling or tripling profits.
Even just directly selling the meat by weight was a steady long-term source of income.
Therefore, He Zhiran's plans were sure to generate considerable profits for the family.
Just as Mo Chuhan was at a loss over how to counter the sisters-in-law's endless stream of words, He Zhiran finally spoke.
"Sisters, Hanyue, I also feel there is no need to keep these wild rabbits."
All eyes instantly turned to her as her words fell.
"Ninth sister-in-law, you agree with eighth brother selling those cute little bunnies too?" Mo Hanyue asked in a choked voice.
He Zhiran stepped forward to gently pat Mo Hanyue's shoulder and softly said, "Hanyue, the ninth sister-in-law once read in books that wild rabbits are difficult for us to raise. It would be better to exchange them for money."
