Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

After buying the clothes, the group went directly to the pier to buy seafood.

The dock was bustling with activity, and the dockworkers were cheering each other on.

"Sister-in-law, the seafood stall is at the entrance of that alley, let's go over there," Zitong said, pointing to a small alley.

"it is good."

"Wow, it's already this late, and there's still so much seafood." Wang Qing'er exclaimed as she looked at the various kinds of seafood in the seafood shop, some dead and some alive.

The dead fish included large yellow croakers, ribbonfish, squid, and prawns, while the live ones were various shellfish and crabs, though she didn't know what species they were.

What surprised Wang Qing'er even more was that there were ice blocks here, and the dead seafood was laid out on the ice blocks.

Seeing that customers had come in, the shop owner smiled and asked, "What kind of seafood would you like to buy?"

Wang Qing'er selected a large yellow croaker, five squid, twenty large shrimp, five large crabs, and some clams for the shopkeeper to weigh.

"Miss, that's five hundred and sixty coins in total," the shopkeeper said after weighing the bill.

"Okay, could you please get me some ice?" After paying, Wang Qing'er asked the owner for some more ice. She was worried that the seafood would spoil if left out too long, as she was not going to cook it until the evening.

"Okay, I'll pack it for you."

The owner put the clams and crabs into an oilcloth bag, and the yellow croakers into another bag, and added some ice.

"Young lady, this oilcloth bag is supposed to cost five coins each, but since you're buying a lot, I'll give you two for free. You can use them next time you buy seafood."

"Okay, thank you, boss!" Wang Qing'er quickly thanked him, then thought for a moment and asked, "Do you make this ice yourself or buy it?"

Wang Qing'er noticed large, square blocks of ice, some the size of a fist, in the seafood shop, and felt they were mass-produced.

"I bought it. I can't make it this good myself. There's an ice-making workshop in the west of the city. They deliver to your door if you buy a lot. You can go there to buy it if you need it," the seafood shop owner said warmly to Wang Qing'er.

"Okay, thank you, boss. I'll come back to buy seafood tomorrow. Also, boss, do you have eel here?"

"Yes, but we've sold out for today. If you want one, we'll save one for you tomorrow."

"Okay, then save me the big one, I'll come to buy it first thing tomorrow morning."

"Good good."

After buying the seafood, Wang Qing'er planned to buy seasonings. Since she had nothing at home, she went to the grain and oil shop and bought soybean oil, soy sauce, rice, flour, and salt.

After leaving the grain and oil shop, I bought some green vegetables, garlic sprouts, garlic cloves, and meat.

On the way back, I saw a pharmacy and bought some ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and black pepper.

If you want to cook seafood well, ginger and garlic are essential.

When they returned to the courtyard, everyone except Mu Yao was carrying something in their hands.

"I'm exhausted." Wang Qing'er put her things on the stone table in the courtyard and shook her sore hands.

"Sister-in-law, how about we leave you a maid to help with the cooking?"

"No need, Muqin Zitong can help."

"Sister-in-law, I've been out for most of the day, it's time to go back."

"Aren't you going back after dinner? I'll cook early and you can eat before you go back."

"No, I'll bring Lin Yu and Jingyi for lunch tomorrow."

"Alright then, I'll make you a seafood feast tomorrow." Wang Qing'er thought that Mu Xia was now married and from a wealthy family, so there must be many rules. Therefore, she didn't keep her any longer, and the seafood could be made again tomorrow.

Wang Qing'er went into the room and took out two bolts of cloth and several blueprints, which she handed to Mu Xia. Then she followed Mu Xia to the shop in front, where the four girls were already inside.

Cui Xia and Cui Chun had just seen off a group of guests when they saw the two men enter. They hurried over to greet them, saying, "Greetings, esteemed hosts."

"I see you've made another deal, not bad." Mu Xia had just noticed that the two women who walked out were both carrying scented soap.

"Yes, they said they heard from others that our scented soap is good, so they each bought one," Cuixia said.

Mu Xia smiled and said, "Yes, I'll definitely be busy during this period. Thank you for your hard work."

Mu Xia gave them some more instructions, and seeing that the Lin family's carriage had already stopped in front of the shop, she said goodbye to Wang Qing'er and got into the carriage.

When Mu Xia returned to the Lin family, Lin Shen had also returned from the academy and was sitting in the flower hall talking with his parents.

Mu Xia walked over and bowed to Lin's father and mother: "Father, Mother."

"You've been busy all day, come sit down and rest." Madam Lin gestured for Muxia to sit down.

Although Madam Lin was already thirty-seven or thirty-eight, she was very well-maintained and looked like she was twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Her figure was still slender and curvaceous.

Mr. Lin has become somewhat overweight and is not very tall.

They looked more like father and daughter than husband and wife.

In fact, Madam Lin was indeed more than ten years younger than Mr. Lin, and Lin Shen could be considered Mr. Lin's late-life son.

He was forty years old when he finally had a son. Although his concubines later gave birth to several sons, they were all illegitimate children.

Besides her son Lin Shen, Mrs. Lin also had a daughter named Lin Jia.

There was no concept of heredity in this era, but Lin Shen's height was indeed inherited from his father; the father and son were about the same height.

They looked exactly alike, except that Master Lin's face was much rounder.

"Thank you, Mother." Mu Xia respectfully thanked her mother-in-law before sitting down next to her husband.

"Xia'er, how's the shop going? If there's anything you're missing, just tell your mother and have her get it." Master Lin said, stroking his mustache.

Mu Xia said respectfully, "Father, the shop has everything it needs. Mother has already prepared everything that needs to be prepared, and people have already come to buy scented soap in the past few days."

Although Mu Xia had purchased everything in the shop herself, it was always right to speak well of her mother-in-law in front of her father-in-law.

This way, her mother-in-law will be happy and won't be so strict with her, making it easier for her to go out.

During the day, it's just her and her mother-in-law at home; her father-in-law and husband aren't there. She definitely needs to maintain a good relationship with her mother-in-law. Only if her mother-in-law doesn't cause her trouble can she live a comfortable life.

"That's good. Now that we've started, we should manage it well."

"Xia'er, when did your elder brother and sister-in-law arrive?" Madam Lin asked.

"Mother arrived before noon and is staying in the small courtyard behind the shop."

"Okay, once they're settled, that's fine. Let them rest tomorrow, and invite your older brother and sister-in-law over for a simple meal the day after tomorrow."

Madam Lin had long wanted to meet Wang Qing'er. She wanted to know what kind of girl could make such delicious braised meat and these fragrant soaps.

“Mother, I will talk to them tomorrow.” Mu Xia paused and then said, “Mother, there is something else I want to discuss with you and Father.”

"If you have something to say, just say it. Your father and Shen'er are here, so they can listen too."

"Mother, take a look at this." Mu Xia took the drawings that Wang Qing'er had given her from the maid and handed them to Madam Lin.