Chapter 63: Benefactor

Mu Chenze would never admit that he used to keep his distance on purpose.

Nor would he ever admit that the reason he walked back with Chu Xuan today was because he was worried she might fall asleep in the carriage again and either fall out or get taken advantage of by someone...

“I really was busy before! Why would I need to avoid suspicion? Do I need to keep my distance from you? Look at you—you’re so fat, and I have such a great figure. Do we look like a couple? Anyone can tell at a glance we’re not dating.”

Chu Xuan wasn’t the least bit offended by this. “You’re right. You never miss a chance to remind me to lose weight.”

“As long as you know I mean no harm.”

Mu Chenze fell silent.

Because the horse-drawn cart back to the village had arrived, driven by Old Qi.

There was no one else on the cart, just Mu Chenze and Chu Xuan—one sitting near the front, the other at the back.

Old Qi saw them but didn’t say a word.

He believed in speaking less and doing more—that was his way.

Sitting at the back, Mu Chenze took the initiative to ask, “Uncle Qi, can we book the whole cart?”

Normally, the cart wouldn’t leave until there were sixteen passengers, each paying one cent.

Old Qi replied in a booming voice, “Booking the whole cart is fifteen cents.”

At worst, he could just make another trip to town later to pick up more people—he’d earn the same amount in the end.

Mu Chenze immediately handed over the fare. Old Qi pocketed it and said, “Hold on tight! Giddy up!”

The horse, hearing Old Qi’s command, started off at a brisk trot, no whip needed.

This horse was smart and understood people well.

By a little after three in the afternoon, Chu Xuan and Mu Chenze had each arrived home.

Chu Xuan greeted her family, handed over the medicine and money to her little brother, and, without even washing up, collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

Mu Chenze wasn’t so lucky.

When he got home, he happened to run into his mother, Qin Mahua, who was about to go out.

“Xiao Ze, why are you back so late today? Did something go wrong?”

She’d been waiting for her son, so she postponed her trip.

Mu Chenze was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. “It was a bit rough. Let me sleep first, and I’ll tell you later.”

He walked into his bedroom, kicked off his shoes, and flopped onto the bed.

Qin Mahua was worried. “Xiao Ze, you have to tell me what happened. Otherwise, if I go to Chu Xuan’s house to help clean fish, I might cut my hand by accident! Did you lose money? Get into a fight?”

Mu Chenze wanted to slap himself—why had he said anything at all?

He quickly pulled out the money from his pocket—over 3,700 yuan. “Mom, this is today’s earnings. I forgot to deposit it at the bank. Count it at your leisure. Nothing major happened. Let me sleep, and you can ask me anything when I wake up.”

They’d already agreed last night that from now on, half of each day’s earnings would be deposited in the bank.

He’d been so busy taking Chu Xuan to the doctor and hurrying home that he’d forgotten to deposit the money.

Of course, he wasn’t about to tell his mother that.

Qin Mahua took the money and quickly counted it. “Yesterday you took 2,000 yuan from me to buy goods. At most, you should have made 3,500 today. How come there’s over 200 more?”

Mu Chenze didn’t answer—he was already fast asleep.

Qin Mahua carefully checked his hands—his palms were blistered.

She checked his arms and legs—no obvious injuries.

Usually, when her son delivered goods to the city, he’d hire help for the heavy lifting. Had he not found anyone to help today?

Her son was sleeping so soundly that Qin Mahua couldn’t bear to wake him.

She put the money away in her own room, told Fu Qing to cook and wait for Mu Qinlao and his father to come home, and then went to help clean fish at Chu Xuan’s house.

Fu Qing agreed, and only then did Qin Mahua head over to Chu Xuan’s.

When she arrived, she wanted to ask what had happened in town, but all she heard was loud snoring.

This time, everyone got to experience Chu Xuan’s thunderous snores.

Gao Meijuan even spoke up for her, “Once this child loses some weight, she won’t snore like this. Even if she doesn’t slim down, as long as she’s not so tired, she won’t snore like this either.”

Chu Feng quietly turned his head away, tears streaming down his face—he felt sorry for his sister.

He quickly composed himself and started soaking herbs for her medicine. Once they’d soaked long enough, he could brew it.

When his sister woke up, the medicine would just need a quick reheat before she could drink it.

Chu Xuan slept straight through until ten at night.

She came out of her room, washed up, and looked around—the only one home was her little brother; everyone else had gone home to rest.

Hearing his sister moving, Chu Feng immediately went to the kitchen to warm up her medicine.

This time, the medicine was best taken on an empty stomach.

“Sis, drink your medicine first, then eat. There’s food in the pot.”

Chu Xuan was deeply comforted by her little brother’s thoughtfulness. “I’m lucky to have you. Otherwise, I’d have nothing to eat or drink after sleeping so long.”

Being appreciated was the best encouragement for him.

A happy smile spread across Chu Feng’s face.

Soon, the medicine was warm.

Chu Xuan drank it, waited a bit, and then started eating.

As she ate, she asked, “Did everyone get paid today?”

“They did. I recorded it in the ledger—just need to total it up. Oh, and Sis, I studied abacus with Accountant Wen for an hour today. I can do simple sums now, but the more complicated stuff I still can’t.”

“Tomorrow I’ll go with you to Accountant Wen’s to deliver a thank-you gift. And we should also thank Grandpa Wang—without him, Accountant Wen wouldn’t have agreed to teach you.”

A lot of people in the village wanted to learn abacus from Accountant Wen, but he always refused.

Accountant Wen only agreed to do Grandpa Wang a favor—not because Grandpa Wang was the village chief, but because he’d helped the Wen family in the past.

Chu Feng was full of gratitude.

Meanwhile, Mu Chenze had woken up, eaten dinner, and was telling his family all about Chu Xuan’s heroic deeds.

“Chu Xuan heard at the market that Boss Yao was no good—he’d gotten into trouble before, and this time he was probably going to make a quick buck and skip town. She told me right away. And me? I’d just sold him goods on credit. You have no idea—when I couldn’t get my money, Chu Xuan went with me to confront him. She just grabbed Boss Yao like he was a little chick! When he refused to pay and told me to unload the goods in twenty minutes, Chu Xuan didn’t hesitate—she helped me unload, carrying two buckets at a time, a hundred jin in total! Didn’t even break a sweat! I was in awe. And you know how we made an extra 200 yuan today? Actually, it was 900 more, and that’s all thanks to Chu Xuan too…”

He went on and on, all about Chu Xuan’s contributions.

The bottom line was, if it hadn’t been for Chu Xuan today, his family would have lost a cartload of goods—2,000 yuan gone—and wouldn’t have made over 3,700 yuan. Chu Xuan was their family’s benefactor! Mu Chenze owed her a debt of gratitude.

The whole family agreed he should repay her, but they couldn’t decide how.

Marry her into the family? Chu Xuan wasn’t interested.

Give her money? She wouldn’t take it.

Help her out? She’d insist on paying him for his work.

When Mu Chenze thought the time was right, he suggested, “How about when I go to the city to deliver goods, I help Chu Xuan sell her grilled fish snacks too? We could split the profits fifty-fifty! That way, she wouldn’t have to go every day…”

Before he could finish, his family cut him off.

Qin Mahua was especially adamant—she twisted his ear. “I don’t agree!”

The others all voiced their opposition too.

Mu Chenze looked helpless. He’d just spent all that time singing Chu Xuan’s praises—why was everyone still against it?

“Mom, let go, my ear hurts—it’s about to fall off…”"