Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

Wang Qing'er interrupted Mu Nan, saying, "Husband, I need to talk to you."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Mu Nan asked, puzzled.

"It's not that I don't like you touching me, it's just that everything should be done in moderation, and we can't do that every day."

"Hmm? What do you do every day?" Mu Nan pretended not to know what it was about, wanting to tease his wife.

"If you keep doing this, I'll really get angry," Wang Qing'er said in a threatening tone.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore, honey, you tell me!"

"Husband, you do this every day, my body can't take it. How about we make a rule, once every three days?"

"So, it's not that you don't like me touching you, but that your body can't take it?"

"When did I ever say I didn't like you touching me? You do this every day, it's exhausting, how can my body take it?"

"Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't consider your feelings and only thought about my own enjoyment. I won't do it again."

Mu Nan hadn't really thought that far ahead. He assumed his wife was happy too, and suddenly felt extremely guilty.

"So you agree to once every three days?" Wang Qing'er asked him tentatively.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say." Mu Nan nodded in agreement. What could he do if he didn't want to? He couldn't hurt his wife because of his own selfish desires.

"Then my husband should rest early." After saying that, Wang Qing'er turned around, closed her eyes, and prepared to go to sleep.

"Wife, can't I even hold you while we sleep?" Mu Nan asked pitifully.

"Hmm, it's a bit hot now, let's not hug you anymore. We can hug you to sleep in winter."

As the weather gradually got hotter, Mu Nan's body heat increased, and it was quite hot to hold her.

"Okay." Mu Nan withdrew her hand that she had originally intended to reach out to, rolled over and lay flat on her back, her hands helplessly resting behind her head, feeling empty inside and out.

The Mu family was busy every day for the next few days. The molds for making mosquito coils were ready, and the two brothers, Mu Nan and Mu Xiao, helped Wang Qing'er make mosquito coils.

The main raw materials for Wenxiang are dried mugwort leaves, elm bark, and agarwood.

Agarwood is only added in small amounts to make the mosquito coil smell better; adding too much would increase the cost and make it uneconomical.

Wang Qing'er also added some dried mint leaves or dried honeysuckle.

Mugwort and mint need to be pounded into a paste using a large mortar and pestle. Agarwood and elm bark are ground into powder. Elm bark can also be boiled and mixed with the mugwort paste and agarwood powder after it becomes gelatinous.

Then it's like kneading dough, kneading it vigorously, or slamming it onto the work surface.

Finally, it was placed into the mold. The mold for making mosquito coils was drawn by Wang Qing'er, and Mu Nan took it to the blacksmith shop to have it made.

The mold was a bit rough, but there was nothing we could do about it; it was good enough that the blacksmith could make it at all.

The two men could help with the first few steps of the production process, but they weren't so good at pouring and unmolding the molds. They were clumsy and would easily break the molds.

Wang Qing'er couldn't bear to watch, so she took matters into her own hands. However, this task was indeed not easy to do, as the incense was too fine and it was easy to break when unmolding.

Wang Qing'er spent the whole afternoon making only thirty or forty dishes, and her back was so sore she could barely straighten up.

Place the finished mosquito coils in the sun to dry, and then light them to test their effectiveness.

Soon it was time for Mu Xia to return to her parents' home. Early in the morning, her fourth aunt came to the Mu family to pick up the braised dishes that had been ordered the day before.

This time, the old man insisted on giving money, and he and Zhou argued back and forth in the yard. Zhou had no choice but to accept it.

I've made over two hundred coils of mosquito coils in the past few days. Luckily, the sun is strong enough that the first batch has dried completely.

It just so happens that there have been a lot of mosquitoes these past few days, so this is the time when Mu Yao and Zi Yuan write.

Mosquitoes often bite the two of them, so Wang Qing'er lit a mosquito coil next to them to test its effectiveness.

Mu Yao didn't want to practice martial arts, but she had been much more obedient in writing calligraphy lately, putting in serious effort every day.

Although the result was still not satisfactory, the little girl's attitude was indeed much more correct. We can only take it slowly, and perhaps it will get better when she gets older.

Also, in the yard, there are many small mosquitoes in the afternoon, a small, dark swarm that looks quite unsettling.

She also ordered a few more dishes in a corner of the yard.

"Qing'er, why are you lighting mosquito coils everywhere?" Zhou asked, puzzled, as she saw Qing'er lighting mosquito coils all over the yard.

“Grandma, there are usually a lot of mosquitoes in this courtyard. If the insects disappear after I light this mosquito coil, then the mosquito coil is effective.”

"Oh, then give me one. There are mosquitoes in my room. Yao'er and I were bitten last night."

"Okay, Grandma will go and light it for you right away." Wang Qing'er said as she took the mosquito coil to Zhou's room, lit it, and closed the door and windows.

After noon, apart from Old Man Mu and Mu Nan, everyone else sat in the courtyard peeling bamboo shoots and picking mushrooms.

Old Man Mu and Mu Nan were called away by Fourth Uncle to accompany their new son-in-law today, and they haven't returned yet.

Suddenly hearing a knock on the door, Mu Xiao hurriedly went to open it.

"Fourth Aunt, Aunt Wanqing, Sister-in-law Mingyan, Sister Muxia, come in quickly." Upon seeing the visitors, Mu Xiao hurriedly and warmly welcomed them into the door.

"Sister-in-law, you're all home." Fourth Aunt entered the house and saw the entire eldest family in the yard.

"Oh, Qiaoyun, Wanqing, Mingyan, Xia'er, come in quickly." Zhou Shi hurriedly got up to greet them.

Mingyan held a chubby little dumpling in her arms. She was the eldest grandson's wife of her fourth aunt, the eldest daughter-in-law of Ming Wanqing, and also her cousin from her maternal family. Marrying her son was like doubling the family ties.

"What, what's going on here? Why are you carrying so many things?" Zhou Shi exclaimed when she saw a maidservant leading several servants carrying in a lot of things.

"Sister-in-law, the gifts Muxia brought for her return visit are the same as those from several of her uncles' families, so don't make a fuss about it," said Fourth Aunt Hu with a smile. She was truly happy that her granddaughter's in-laws valued this marriage.

It's not entirely about these things, but the fact that they can send so many nice things shows that their granddaughter is doing well in her husband's family.

"How come we have all of these? And so many?" Zhou saw that there were several bolts of cloth brought in, as well as some things packed in brocade boxes, the contents of which she didn't know, and several pastry boxes as well.

This is way too much, and none of it looks cheap.

“Aunt, every family has one, so please accept them without worry. You all should put the things in the main hall.” Ming Wanqing said to Zhou Shi with a smile, while instructing people to put the things away properly.

The maid and several servants were unfamiliar faces, probably from the Lin family. After putting their things away, they left the courtyard and even helped close the gate.

Muqin quickly brought out tea and snacks and placed them in the pavilion.

The Mu family's pastries include some bought from town and some made by Wang Qing'er herself. Today, they have small cakes and soft cookies made by her.