The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

For a long time, Chu Yu had been mostly straightforward with Mu Dingxiang, at most teasing her for fun. But she had almost never spoken words like she did just now staring with such infatuation and saying she was beautiful.

Although Mu Dingxiang had no experience in matters of the heart, she had been humble and sensitive since childhood. Thus, she could subtly feel the emotional waves coming from Chu Yu. Through their days together, Chu Yu seemed to be increasingly adopting the attitude of a husband toward a wife.

This realization sent ripples through Mu Dingxiang’s heart. Her pulse hammered like a drum because of that single sentence; she felt shy and a bit at a loss.

Chu Yu soon snapped out of her daze. Seeing the young girl’s wandering gaze, her heart filled with pity. She set down her hoe, walked over, and took the girl’s hand.

Seeing her approach, Mu Dingxiang wanted to steal a glance at her, only to crash right into the other’s burning gaze. Their eyes met directly. She hurriedly lowered her head and tried to take two steps back, but Chu Yu held her hand firmly. As the woman’s arm tightened, the girl could only lower her head and rest her forehead against Chu Yu’s chest.

Chu Yu gave a soft laugh and pulled her into a full embrace.

Two people who had once been lonely and without reliance felt, for the first time, that their souls were drawn so close.

Chu Yu looked down at the fuzzy head in her arms, feeling half-joyful and half-wistful. After all her wandering, she had finally fallen for a girl ten years younger than herself.

The girl in her arms eventually looked up, her two dark eyes sparkling as she watched Chu Yu, shy and timid, the flush on her face yet to fade. Chu Yu lightly tapped her dainty nose: “It’s too hot. Let’s go home first. We’ll come back to work later when the sun is lower, okay?”

The girl naturally agreed. She broke free from Chu Yu’s hand to grab the shovel and walked two steps ahead.

After a few steps, hearing no movement behind her, she stopped and turned to look at Chu Yu.

Chu Yu finally curled her lips into a smile, shouldered her hoe, and quickly caught up.

Back at home, the cave was much cooler. A breeze blew in from the entrance. Eating a wild pear picked from the mountain, the sweet and refreshing juice traveled down her throat into her belly, bringing a sense of comfort to her whole body.

“It’s so hot now. Will the masters be able to stand building the house?” Mu Dingxiang asked with some worry.

“It’s early autumn now. The ‘Autumn Tiger’ is a bit hot, but it’s better than a while ago. The masters do this work year-round; they know to avoid the hottest hours. Besides, if we want them to build our house, it has to be this season. In winter, people are lining up to build; if we didn’t do it now, we’d have to wait until next year.”

Hearing they might have to wait until next year, Mu Dingxiang frowned: “Then we’ll just have to trouble the masters. I’ll go up the mountain later to pick some herbs and brew herbal tea for them.”

There was a family named Zhao in the village who made herbal tea year-round to sell in the county. Mu Dingxiang often helped them cut pig grass and recognized some of the medicinal herbs.

“I discussed it with Boss He yesterday. About six masters are coming to help build. We have to provide lunch; they’ll handle breakfast and dinner themselves.”

Chu Yu explained the details of her discussion with Boss He to Mu Dingxiang. “I’ll go slaughter pigs in the morning and bring back the day’s meat. We have radishes and greens in the garden so we don’t need to buy those. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the county to buy more potatoes and yams; those things store well and can be used anytime.”

“Mhm, I’ll cook with you then,” Mu Dingxiang said, raring to go. Over the past six months, she had learned some cooking skills from Chu Yu and was looking for a chance to show them off.

“Alright, I’ll be relying on you, Great Chef,” Chu Yu teased her.

Mu Dingxiang knew she was being teased again and gave her a “fierce” glare.

Chu Yu laughed at her expression and thought for a moment. “When the masters come the day after tomorrow, we’ll have them build a small grass shed under the shade of the trees down there. That way they can rest in the shed when the midday sun is strong or take shelter from the rain. I’ll tell the foreman to keep his men in check; they won’t be allowed up near our cave entrance. Don’t be afraid.”

Listening to Chu Yu’s arrangements, Mu Dingxiang was filled with emotion. In all her life, no one had ever arranged everything for her with such detail. It was a home for two people, and they were both women, yet Chu Yu handled all the worries and planning alone. Her affection for her grew once more.

Thinking of the silver and notes in the jar, she couldn’t help but ask: “Will our silver be enough to hire such good masters to build the house?”

“What are you thinking? For a small one-entry courtyard in the countryside with just a few rooms, forty or fifty taels is more than enough. Even if we want to make other furniture, that’s only a few more taels. We have over seventy taels in that jar; put your heart back in your belly.”

Only then did Mu Dingxiang smile and let her worries fade.

By the eighth, Chu Yu finished her slaughtering and bought grain and vegetables they didn’t grow, as well as salt and seasonings. She also took back a whole pig’s worth of leaf fat to render into lard.

Wang Xiaoxi had been there for two days and adapted well. Though she wasn’t as clever as Mu Dingxiang, she was quick-handed and made no mistakes. She was a cheerful girl, and standing there, she was very likable.

Seeing there was nothing to worry about, Chu Yu gave a few instructions and headed home with the supplies.

On the morning of the ninth, Liu Heng and Ji Yunniang arrived early in their carriage. They brought a cartload of goods—things Chu Yu had thought of and many she hadn’t, including incense for the ritual, a pig’s head, chickens, and so on. Chu Yu realized that as a novice, she had overlooked many things.

As the sun rose, carts of blue bricks began to be hauled into the valley. By the time Boss He arrived with a wagon full of men across the stone bridge, the auspicious hour had nearly arrived. A hired Taoist priest clanged and banged for a while, and after a string of firecrackers, the work officially began.

Though Chu Yu hadn’t been thorough with supplies, she was not stingy with money. The Taoist priest left happily with his fee and the pig’s head meat. Each master worker also received a red envelope. The amount was modest, but the good omen was genuine; everyone was beaming and worked with great energy.

Mu Dingxiang had risen early to brew a large pot of herbal tea. She added some monk fruit, making it cool with a hint of sweetness. It was refreshing and thirst-quenching, and the masters praised it endlessly.

Zhu-er hid near the cave entrance, watching the coming and going with curiosity. It was rare to see the valley so lively. She was itching to run out and play with everyone, but Chu Yu swatted her bottom and sent her back.

The resting shed was quickly built. With a tall chinaberry tree nearby providing a vast canopy of shade and a few benches added, it was a fine place to rest.

Seeing the owners were attentive and the wages fair, the workers were in high spirits. Moreover, hearing the owner was a female butcher, they assumed the lunch wouldn’t be poor. Everyone put in their best effort, and the scene was one of bustling heat.

Chu Yu and Liu Heng also lent a hand, supervising the work in a harmonious atmosphere.

Since Ji Yunniang was still there, Mu Dingxiang wasn’t in a rush to go to the fields. She chatted with her for a while, only to have Ji Yunniang shove a small booklet into her hand, telling her mysteriously to hide it and only look at it when no one was around.

Though she didn’t know what it was, Mu Dingxiang remembered the things Ji Yunniang had whispered to her two days ago. She knew what it was without thinking. Instantly, her face was covered in a rosy glow, full of shame and embarrassment.

Ji Yunniang couldn’t help but laugh at her thin skin. “You’ll be seventeen in a few days. Why are you still so shy? When I was your age, I was already pregnant with—”

At this point, Ji Yunniang stopped abruptly, but Mu Dingxiang opened her eyes wide and asked, “Auntie Ji knows my birthday?”

Ji Yunniang sighed softly before saying, “Mhm. Back then, our Niannian was born just a day apart from you, so I remember it very clearly.”

Hearing this, Mu Dingxiang thought of the exquisite girl she saw at Old Lady Ji’s birthday feast. Comparing that to her own rough and rocky past, she felt a bit listless, but she forced herself to respond: “Miss Niannian is truly lucky to have a mother like you, Auntie.”

Ji Yunniang heard the lonely note in the girl’s voice but didn’t dare turn to look at her, fearing she would burst into tears. She felt a lump in her throat and didn’t dare speak, afraid her voice would betray her.

After a soft sigh, the girl’s voice became cheerful again: “I’m not doing too badly either. I have Chu Yu now, and I feel very happy.”

Ji Yunniang exerted great effort to suppress the surge of emotion in her heart. After a pause, she said, “Mhm. I see Chu Yu is a good person; you’ll find fortune being with her.”

Hearing Chu Yu being praised made Mu Dingxiang happier than being praised herself.

The morning was busy with setting up the shed and the rituals. Soon it was nearly noon, and Chu Yu went to the stove to start cooking.

Considering the number of people, she added an extra stove. Ji Yunniang had learned beforehand that when others hire people to build a house, lunch usually consists of two dishes and a soup, as long as there’s one meat dish and the quantity is sufficient.

Since the men were doing physical labor, Chu Yu didn’t want to be stingy. After discussing with everyone, she settled on three dishes and a soup, including two meats and two vegetables.

Hearing this, the workers were overjoyed. Usually, building a house takes a month or two, and the owners only provide enough to stay full; having one meat dish was considered good. Now that Chu Yu was providing four dishes, how could they not be happy?

While work hummed below, Ji Yunniang felt her hands itch and wanted to cook along. Before Liu Heng made his fortune, she had suffered alongside him. Now that life was better, she didn’t have to worry about such things, but she couldn’t stay idle. Though they had long-term workers and servants, she still wanted to cook herself every few days for Liu Niannian and Liu Zhu. Seeing everyone so busy here, she wanted to show off her skills.

Chu Yu ended up being the assistant, helping wash and cut vegetables. Mu Dingxiang, seeing there was nothing for her to do, could only sit by and watch them work.

Just as they started cooking, a staggering figure approached from the distance. It was Auntie Ji, carrying a large bag of things.

Liu Heng saw his mother-in-law and hurried forward to help carry the bag. Chu Yu looked inside—it was several pieces of cured meat. She and Mu Dingxiang exchanged a look, and she tried to give it back to Auntie Ji to take home.

Auntie Ji grew angry, saying she couldn’t help much with Dingxiang’s house-building, but she had these pieces of cured meat at home. She brought them for the masters to eat; if they ate well, they’d have energy to work, and the house would be built sturdy and beautiful.

In the village, only wealthy families could afford meat regularly. Curing a few pieces of meat after slaughtering a pig during the New Year was something people would hide and be reluctant to eat. Because of her son-in-law Liu Heng, the Ji family wasn’t as frugal, but they were still an ordinary family. Cured meat was a precious item to them. Now that Auntie Ji had brought four or five pieces as thick as an arm, Chu Yu and Mu Dingxiang didn’t dare accept.

However, Ji Yunniang snatched the bag and accepted it for them. Knowing the story behind this, Chu Yu couldn’t refuse further and could only silently accept.

Mu Dingxiang, on the other hand, looked moved and held Auntie Ji’s arm, reluctant to let go.

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