Chapter 10: Testing Her Golden Finger

The cave was a typical case of being narrow at the entrance and wide inside.

Although it was very close to most of the houses in the village, Song Hexiu had the strong men build a sturdy wooden door at the entrance for safety.

The cave was massive, with the wooden cabin situated at the very edge. With the addition of the wooden door, moving around inside the cave felt as if they were active in an open courtyard.

If he wasn't here during the day, the wild beasts wouldn't be able to enter the cave easily.

Song Chuman went inside to take a look. Although it was simple, the wooden beds, chests, tables, and chairs from their original house could all fit inside.

Song Hexiu looked at his wife and children with a face full of guilt. "It is my fault for being useless; I cannot provide you with a better life."

Song Chuman comforted him, "Father, you are very capable. You used to support more than ten people. We are just facing temporary difficulties; our lives will get better."

Sheng Shuwan also added, "A-Man's father, please rest assured. I know how to embroider, and I can sell embroidery for money. We will work hard together to make our lives better."

Song Chuhuai said, "Father, you are the best. Don't be discouraged."

Seeing his family encouraging him, Song Hexiu's mood lightened considerably.

He took out the copper coins he had prepared in advance and walked toward Yang Qingrui. "This is all the money I can manage at the moment. I am truly grateful to you all today. It's twenty copper coins per person. If it's not enough, consider it a debt, and I will make it up to you later."

The remaining money had to sustain them until the family had a steady income, so he truly could not give too much.

Seeing Song Hexiu trying to pay, Yang Qingrui said unhappily, "Brother Song, you're being too formal by offering money. You helped us so much before and didn't take any payment. There was one time, if you hadn't been literate and told us not to sign, my family would certainly be burdened with massive debt."

Yang Qingli added, "Exactly! We didn't do much; it was just carpentry work. We're used to it, so it wasn't tiring at all."

The others said similar things.

Worried that Song Hexiu would insist on paying, Yang Qingrui ran off along with the others.

Seeing this, Song Hexiu looked at his two children with a sigh. "You've seen who is good to our family. In the future, help them whenever you can, do you understand?"

Song Chuman and Song Chuhuai nodded simultaneously.

Sheng Shuwan said, "A-Man, A-Huai, you've been busy all morning and must be tired. Rest on the side; we will clean up the rest."

Song Chuman rubbed her stomach; it was already past noon.

She had almost forgotten that the common folk here only ate two meals a day; only the wealthy nobles ate three.

Having lived in China for over twenty years, she had long since developed the habit of eating lunch.

Asking her to skip lunch was practically asking for her life.

Glancing at the meat Song Hexiu had brought back, Song Chuman sighed, ultimately not saying that she wanted to eat right now.

For the sake of her stomach and for the sake of making money, Song Chuman glanced at the distant sea and clung to Sheng Shuwan's arm coquettishly. "Mother, I want to go to the seaside to see if I can find any seafood."

If the family had money in the future, her parents would likely be able to afford that midday meal.

Song Chuhuai also said eagerly, "I want to go too."

Song Hexiu said, "It's better not to go at this time. The seaside is dangerous, and we are busy. If we really can't ease our minds, we'll let just the two of you go. Besides, it's probably too late for foraging now; the other villagers have likely found everything. It would be more appropriate to go tomorrow morning when the tide goes out."

(End of Chapter)