Chapter 2 TGBW

FlamingoBees

Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)

The General's Buddhist Wife

Chapter 2

Unloading Goods ⋅ Ways to Make Money

Madam Zhao watched her daughter-in-law seriously setting up the fire, standing on the side, feeling a bit nervous and at a loss. At the same time, a slight unease surged in her heart. On ordinary days, not to mention working, her daughter-in-law never gave them a good expression, never treating them kindly.

She wondered why there was such a change today.

"What's that smell?" Luo Jian Jia sniffed and asked.

Madam Zhao was stunned for a moment. When she heard her daughter-in-law's words and came to her senses, it was already too late. She quickly lifted the lid of the pot and looked inside.

The vegetables were burnt.

In the moment Madam Zhao opened the lid, Luo Jian Jia also understood. Although she had helped with the fire at home when she was little due to poverty, it had been many years since she did it. Obviously, her skills had become rusty.

Too much firewood, and the fire was too strong.

She could even burn the vegetables, which was quite embarrassing.

Luo Jian Jia was about to apologize when Madam Zhao preemptively said, "It's okay, it's okay. I didn't add enough water."

Hearing this, Luo Jian Jia felt even more embarrassed. She quickly put down the firewood in her hand, took out some from the bottom of the pot, and buried it in the ashes of the next layer.

Madam Zhao originally thought of asking her daughter-in-law to go out, but seeing that she knew how to remedy the situation, she didn't say anything and turned to pour some cold water into the pot.

"It's been a long time since I cooked, and I'm not used to it. I won't make the same mistake next time." Luo Jian Jia apologized.

Madam Zhao comforted her with a few words, not blaming her.

© translations belonging to flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

Soon, the meal was ready.

Today's meal was more abundant than the previous days. In addition to the coarse bread, rice soup, and a plate of pickles that had been visible for the past few days, there was also a plate of burnt vegetables.

Old Master Chu wasn't talkative. When he ate the burnt vegetables, he just slightly frowned and didn't say much.

Seeing his reaction, Madam Zhao explained, "I didn't control the heat well, and it got burnt."

Old Master Chu nodded and continued eating.

These vegetables were grown at home, didn't cost any money, and burning them didn't hurt their hearts.

Although Luo Jian Jia was familiar with the plot and knew that these two were easy to get along with, the feeling became even more profound after actually interacting with them.

In the book, the original owner used the trust of Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao to deceive them and steal all the silver in their hands. After the male protagonist became successful, the original owner also started her con from Madam Zhao, acting pitiful and evading the previous matter, shaping herself into a victim.

If Madam Zhao didn't pity the original owner, she might not have the chance to live in the male protagonist's house again and ruin the relationship between the male and female protagonists.

These two people were indeed very kind.

After the meal, Luo Jian Jia volunteered to wash the dishes again, but unfortunately, she used too much force and crushed the bowl in the process of competing with Madam Zhao.

Seeing Madam Zhao worried about whether she had cut her hand and distressed about the bowl, Luo Jian Jia didn't dare to continue arguing with her.

After Madam Zhao finished tidying up the things in the house, she went to work in the fields with Old Master Chu. There wasn't much work in the fields now, so the two went just to pull weeds.

After these two left, only Luo Jian Jia was left at home. This time, she didn't go back to her room like before but started cleaning the house. She first cleaned up the main hall, then went to clean the kitchen and courtyard. With her suddenly acquired super strength, doing chores didn't tire her at all. It felt like she didn't even exert any effort, and the work was done. The only thing she needed to be careful about during the whole process was not to crush things in the house.

After finishing the work, Luo Jian Jia sat on the steps in front of the main hall, staring blankly at the courtyard.

As she watched, her stomach rumbled.

She had just finished eating not long ago, and it was now past the hour of the Snake[1]. Moreover, due to the family's poverty, the Chu family only ate two meals a day. The second meal was at the hour of the Monkey[2], which meant there were still three time periods and six hours until the next meal.

Touching her empty stomach, Luo Jian Jia felt a bit heavy-hearted.

With Chu Wei Leng leaving the Prince's residence where he had worked as a guard for so many years, and with the family having no major expenses, he had naturally saved quite a bit of silver. Unfortunately, Old Master Chu had a serious illness before, which cost a large sum. Later, when Chu Wei Leng married Luo Jian Jia, the Luo family took quite a bit of silver, leaving the Chu family with not much left.

After Chu Wei Leng left, Old Master Chu's illness recurred a bit, spending a few more taels of silver. Moreover, with Old Master Chu's health not good, he couldn't go outside to find work. He could only go to the fields to plant crops. Madam Zhao also didn't have any means of making a living. For three years, Chu Wei Leng didn't return home and didn't give them a single copper coin. The family's money only went out, and there was less and less saved. Now, there were only two taels of silver left.

In theory, two taels of silver should be enough for the three of them to live comfortably for a year.

However, with their son's life hanging in the balance and Old Master Chu needing money for his health, the elderly couple, unable to see any hope, naturally dared not touch the remaining two taels of silver.

Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao became more and more frugal, but they never skimped on food and drink as much as the original owner did. However, now with a different person, Luo Jian Jia, not the original owner, she felt awkward eating too much when she saw the elderly couple hesitating to eat. This led to her feeling hungry again half an hour after finishing her meal.

Considering that it would be two to three months before Chu Wei Leng returned, she could endure for three or two days, but enduring for two to three months would be challenging.

She could try persuading Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao to use the money since Chu Wei Leng would bring money when he came back. However, thinking about it from their perspective, it seemed too cruel. For two people who couldn't see hope in their future, the remaining silver was their lifeline.

Moreover, if she wanted to establish herself and live independently in the future, she needed means of livelihood and money.

But how could she make money?

Thinking about it, her mouth became dry.

The morning vegetables were burnt, so she ate a few more pickles. However, the pickles were too salty, making her thirsty. She had already drunk three bowls of water in the morning.

After finishing the remaining boiled water, Luo Jian Jia went to boil more. After boiling, aside from drinking some herself, she left the rest in the pot.

Having done these tasks and thinking that she had nothing else to do at home, unable to come up with a way to make money, Luo Jian Jia locked the door and went out.

People in the countryside weren't that particular, and whether she knew that because it was described in the book or in the original owner's memory, she went out quite casually. Moreover, the original owner was beautiful, and there was no one more beautiful in the surrounding villages. She was willing to go out with such a face, enjoying the attention of the people.

Just a few steps after leaving home, Luo Jian Jia encountered Madam Wang, who lived next door.

This village was called Chujia Village, and almost every man in the village had the surname Chu. Madam Wang's husband was called Chu Er Niu, from the same generation as Old Master Chu. Although the two were not blood brothers, according to blood relations, they were not far apart; they were cousins separated by a few branches.

"Oh, isn't this the wife of Wei Leng? What, back to your mother's house again?" Madam Wang had a smile on her face, but her words carried a strange tone.

Madam Wang lived next door to Chu Wei Leng's house, naturally knowing how Luo Jian Jia usually got along with Old Master Chu and Madam Zhao. She couldn't stand Luo Jian Jia's appearance of being served by her in-laws.

A daughter-in-law should be like a daughter-in-law, not letting her in-laws serve her.

According to the description in the book, Luo Jian Jia's personality was very unpleasant. According to the original owner's memory, the two of them had quarreled a few times.

At this moment, Luo Jian Jia also heard from Madam Wang's tone that she didn't like her. Therefore, she responded calmly, "No, just strolling around the village."

"Indeed, you should stroll around the village. You've been married here for several years, and I'm afraid you haven't strolled around the village more than you've visited your mother's house. I guess some of the elders in the village don't even know you, right?" Madam Wang continued with sarcasm.

Luo Jian Jia heard the dislike in the other's tone, but she also knew that Madam Wang was targeting the original owner, not her. Besides, she wouldn't stay here for long, so she didn't respond much, just saying, "Auntie is right."

After that, she nodded politely and walked away.

Seeing Luo Jian Jia not as proud as usual, Madam Wang was a bit surprised. She felt that her words just now were a bit too much and muttered, "What kind of trick is this again?" After that, she went back home.

Luo Jian Jia wandered around the village, receiving many strange looks. Although she didn't care much about these things, it still made her a bit uncomfortable. Therefore, after a quick look around, she headed towards the village entrance.

~ Part 2 ~

Luo Jian Jia wandered around the village, attracting many curious glances. Although she didn't particularly care about such things, she felt a bit uneasy. Therefore, after a quick look around, she headed towards the village entrance.

She knew that once she passed the village entrance and walked east for about ten miles, passing through three or four villages, she would reach Luo Family Village, her maternal home, a route she was very familiar with. After looking east for a while, Luo Jian Jia headed in the opposite direction.

She didn't want to encounter anyone from the Luo family, and she was too familiar with that area to think of any money-making ideas.

After passing through a village, she came across a wide and long river. Although Jiangnan is known for its numerous small rivers and streams, it's rare to see one as broad as this; most are small, meandering streams.

Standing by the riverbank, she looked around and saw numerous boats on the river. Not far away, there seemed to be a wharf where many people were gathered. There were merchants disembarking from boats, laborers unloading cargo, and peddlers selling goods.

Luo Jian Jia glanced at the men unloading cargo, then looked at her own tender yet capable hands, pondering. She wondered how much money the cargo workers earned in a day. If she were to go to the wharf to help with unloading and delivering goods, could she also make a decent amount of money?

Even if it's not a lot of money, it should at least be enough to put food on the table, right?

Just the thought of fragrant, steaming rice made her stomach rumble at the most inconvenient time.

Feeling her empty stomach, Luo Jianjia walked resolutely towards the direction of the wharf.

•••

[1] 09:00 - 11:00 / Si Shi: called the hour of the snake because the sun warms the earth and snakes start to slither out of their holes.

[2] 15:00 - 17:00 / Shen Shi: called the hour of the monkey because monkeys become active in their howling at this time.

https://ko-fi.com/flamingobeestranslations

Prev : TOC : Next

Search This Blog

FlamingoBeesTranslations

Chapter 2 TGBW

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Novel List + Chapter Updates

Rebirth of the Charming Girl in Space, Chapter One

Rebirth of the Charming Girl in Space, Chapter Two