A Good Country Wife

"You fool, what do you know? All these are precious things that can be turned into silver, just wait and see," Lin Yue, lying on Zhao Erhu’s back, knocked on his head and said proudly. She was an expert in this field – after all, she remembered the many yangmei dishes she used to make, yangmei pudding, yangmei water, yangmei jam, yangmei cake, yangmei wine, and so on. Peaches could be turned into many delicious dishes too.

"You’re saying that Yangmei Mountain is full of them? Why didn’t I see any when I’ve been to the mountain?" Lin Yue was more concerned about this and wanted to get the details from Zhao Erhu.

"You’ve never been to that place; it’s beyond another mountain peak, deep into the woods where there’s a yangmei grove. When I go hunting, I also see many other fruit trees. Now is the season for fruit, and there are peach trees that you can eat from. We won’t go today, but I will pick some peaches for you later. I know a place with a few big peach trees, the peaches there are large and delicious, much better than those sold in the market. Oh, and there are also plums to eat at this time of the year," said Zhao Erhu, listing the items like treasured possessions. No one knew the mountains better than him, and as he patiently answered each of Lin Yue’s questions, one after another, his enthusiasm was evident.

"Great, great, when the time comes, take me with you. We’ll pick all the fruit from the mountains, sell them at the market for money, and turn them into food – we’ll make a good sum," Lin Yue said, her interest piqued at anything that could earn money. They needed to buy a house in the city and build a manor on those several dozen acres of wasteland. Silver was needed everywhere; they had to work hard to earn more.

On their way back, Lin Yue imagined the ground covered with silver and her mind bubbled with silver and gold. The silver ones were silver coins, and the golden ones were gold.

It was already evening, and Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue had not yet returned home, causing Zhao Dahuo and his wife and children to worry. They intermittently stood at the entrance of the yard, looking in the direction of the mountain. Seeing Zhao Erhu carrying Lin Yue back to the entrance of the yard, the adults and children all gathered around.

"Erhu, sister-in-law, you’ve finally come back. If you didn’t return, I would have sent Dahu into the mountains to look for you. You’ve been gone so long and haven’t come back; we were really worried. Sister-in-law, you mustn’t be so impulsive in the future. Don’t run off without a word; look how scared Erhu was. He barely found out where you were before he rushed into the mountains, he didn’t even take the time to eat lunch," Mrs. Liu was genuinely caring and honest, but she tended to ramble – something you’d only realize after getting to know her well, realizing she definitely had the potential to become a chatterbox.

"Sister-in-law, we’re fine, don’t worry." Lin Yue was not feeling well already and, after being tossed around all day, she didn’t have much energy to deal with Mrs. Liu, so she responded dryly.

"Alright, enough with the fuss. It’s good they’re back! They haven’t eaten anything all day; go to the kitchen and prepare some food. It’s time for dinner anyway," Zhao Dahuo saw that Lin Yue seemed a bit impatient with the answers, so he stopped Mrs. Liu from going on with her nagging. His wife really lacked the knack for reading people’s moods.