Chapter 12 Righteous Acquisition_1

However, to keep things in perspective, the feeling of not being able to control one's own money really isn't pleasant; it made Lin Yue feel like she was living off men like dodder grass.

Zhao Erhu had no idea why his wife wanted these scraps of cloth, nor was it anything significant. How much could a bag of scraps be worth? If his wife was happy, that was all that mattered.

"These are just scraps of cloth; they're useless and just take up space. Madam, if you want them, just take them. There's no need to pay anything!" Shopkeeper Wang, buoyed by Miss Qian's promise, was feeling generous and said this without a care.

Although Lin Yue sometimes liked to take advantage of small bargains, she didn't want to take things for free. These scraps of cloth wouldn't cost much, so why owe someone a favor over such a trivial matter? Besides, she wanted to come back and buy more scraps in the future. It wouldn't be right to take everything for free this time; even if she didn't mind, Shopkeeper Wang probably wouldn't be happy about it.

"Shopkeeper, you're a generous man, but how can I just take your things without paying? My husband and I might be simple country folk, but we understand that a gentleman should acquire things justly. Please set a price, no matter how small. Otherwise, I would feel embarrassed to come back next time," Lin Yue said firmly and respectfully. Her words made Erhu, who stood silently by her side, regard his little wife with even greater respect.

"Yes, Shopkeeper Wang, my wife is right. We can't just take your things for free; please set a price," Zhao Erhu also chimed in to support her.

Shopkeeper Wang truly hadn't intended to take any money, but seeing how reasonable Zhao Erhu and his wife were, he decided to take a token amount. "Well then, these scraps of cloth are typically sold by weight, eight coins per catty. If you want them, I'll take five coins per catty from you. No need to weigh this bag; let's call it six catties. Just give me thirty coins in total, and I'll offer you the same price in the future."

Lin Yue eyeballed the large bag of scraps, stuffed full to the brim, and could see it was clearly more than six catties. Obviously, the shopkeeper intended to give them a good deal. She wasn't one to miss the cue, and to decline now would be to disrespect Shopkeeper Wang's generosity, so she said no more, had Brother Erhu happily pay, and entrusted the items to the care of Shopkeeper Wang's cloth shop. They planned to pick them up on their way back home in the evening.

"Brother Erhu, weren't we only going to buy some household goods and food? We should have finished the shopping quickly, so why are we waiting until evening to return?" Lin Yue asked, puzzled. Fortunately, she made extra food in the morning, concerned they might return late; otherwise, the children would go hungry waiting for them to get back the evening.

"Today is market day. People from the village take their goods to sell at the market and usually can't pack up until the afternoon. Uncle Chen's ox cart will wait for everyone, and we won't be able to return to the village until evening. If we want to ride with Uncle Chen, we have to wait until then," Zhao Erhu explained with a smile. If it were just him, he would have walked back alone. He often roamed the mountains and could make the trip home in a little over an hour, but going out with his little wife was different. She was delicate and slightly built, and he couldn't bear to see her so exhausted, so they had to wait for Uncle Chen's ox cart.

"Niuniu, have you ever visited a market before?" In ancient times, going to the market was quite common, happening once every three to five days. While families typically kept a tight rein on their unmarried daughters, not freely allowing them to go out and jeopardize their femininity, they would occasionally relent and permit a market visit. After all, once a girl married and moved to her husband's family, she would have even less freedom. Zhao Erhu asked this because he knew that Lin Yue's parents didn't treat her well, and with countless tasks at home waiting for Lin Yue, they probably wouldn't allow her the leisure time to waste on frivolities.

"Me? …" Lin Yue didn't know whether the old Lin Niuniu had ever been to the market and couldn't immediately respond. Luckily, Zhao Erhu suddenly remembered that Lin Yue had forgotten her past.

"Look at me being so muddle-headed, you don't even remember the past and I'm still asking you about it," said Zhao Erhu. Worried that Lin Yue might feel upset about her amnesia, he suggested taking her to the market as many things at home needed replacing. It would be good to see if there was anything suitable. Generally, things were cheaper on the market than in the shops. They would pick from the market first and then go to the shops for anything that was missing.

"I really can't recall anything at all," said Lin Yue at the right time, her brows slightly furrowing to feign a troubled look as she desperately tried to remember.

"If you can't remember, then don't think about it anymore, it doesn't matter. You just need to know that from now on I will treat you well and make sure you have a good life. Come on, I'm taking you to the market now," said Zhao Erhu, who disliked Lin Yue dwelling on the past. His large palm enveloped her hand as he pulled her forward.

Upon hearing that Zhao Erhu was taking her to the market, Lin Yue's eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. As a child, she remembered going to the market with her grandfather to sell some food and trinkets he made. The memories were somewhat hazy, but she recalled the bustling crowd and wondered what an ancient marketplace would be like, which made her very curious.

Zhao Erhu led Lin Yue to the market, stopping suddenly at a small noodle shop along the way. Lin Yue, not knowing what had happened, looked at Zhao Erhu puzzled, "Brother Erhu, what's the matter? Why have we stopped all of a sudden?"

Zhao Erhu had stopped because he had just remembered it was nearly noon. They had left early in the morning after eating only a little and he was already feeling hungry, let alone his wife who had eaten so little, "Niuniu, are you hungry after being out for so long? We can eat something before continuing to the market; it's not too late."

Lin Yue was indeed a bit hungry by now, and naturally, she had no objection to Zhao Erhu's suggestion to eat. However, she overheard the waiter shouting that a bowl of clear soup noodles cost twelve coins, which seemed rather expensive, didn't it?

Lin Yue followed Zhao Erhu and found a place to sit down in the noodle shop, glancing at the bowl of clear soup noodles ordered by a burly man at the next table. The broth glimmered with a few spots of oil, containing nothing else inside, seemingly just boiled noodles scooped out of the water and seasoned with a bit of salt. Seeing the man eat them so crudely, Lin Yue immediately lost her appetite.

Zhao Erhu also seemed to think it was a bit pricey, so he just ordered one bowl of clear soup noodles for himself and another bowl of noodle soup for two coins. This man was increasingly heartwarming. Lin Yue didn't let Zhao Erhu buy another bowl; she had no appetite and only took a few symbolic bites before pushing the bowl towards Zhao Erhu.

"Niuniu, why did you eat so little? Don't you like it?" Zhao Erhu asked, frowning as he looked at the bowl of noodles Lin Yue had pushed towards him. No wonder she was so thin, eating so little at each meal – it would be strange if she weren't thin...