TTLJDFL Chapter 7

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"Wasn't it just six households coming to wash clothes today? How did another one join in?"

"Oh, I didn’t even notice until you mentioned it. Is that person a man or a ger?"

"Are you dumb? That’s obviously Li Jin!"

"He’s carrying a basin and a wooden bat. Is he really here to wash clothes?"

"Who knows? Isn't his husband recovering from childbirth? I never thought Li Jin was the type to care about people."

Li Jin followed behind at a respectful distance. He had long legs and took big strides, but he didn’t want to get too close and make the women uncomfortable.

The village had a river where the water level only reached an adult man's knees.

The riverbed had small stones and crabs, and the water was crystal clear. It was where the village women and ger typically washed their clothes.

However, there was an unspoken rule: only six households washed clothes at a time.

Since it was a flowing river with upper and lower reaches, those upstream had a slight advantage.

To keep things fair, each household took turns using one of the six designated stone platforms at the riverbank.

By the time Li Jin arrived, the others had already settled into place.

Seeing that he had indeed come to wash clothes, the wife who had taken the last spot picked up her basin and moved to share a stone platform with another woman.

"Li Jin, you’re really here to wash clothes? I’ll give you my spot!"

Then, she turned to the woman beside her and said, "Sister, I don’t have many clothes to wash today. Let’s squeeze in together, and I’ll be done quickly."

"Alright."

Li Jin wasn’t aware of this village custom, but seeing this, he could only scratch his nose and thank her.

The wives and young women continued their laundry, occasionally sneaking glances at Li Jin.

In fact, Qin Muwen also had a designated laundry day, but it wasn’t today.

With so many households, everyone had to follow a set schedule.

But Li Jin couldn’t stand letting his dirty clothes sit for too long, so he hadn’t asked Qin Muwen before coming.

Since he had never used a wooden bat to wash clothes before, and the soapberries were different from modern soap, his movements were a bit clumsy at first.

The unmarried girls were too shy to talk to him, only sneaking peeks now and then.

The married women greeted him but refrained from chatting too much—after all, strict gender segregation was the norm in this era.

This river was on the way back to the village, and the burly man who had brought Li Jin home in the ox cart earlier happened to be passing by.

From a distance, he thought someone at the riverbank looked familiar.

As he got closer, the figure became even more recognizable.

It really looked like Li Jin.

But he couldn’t believe it. Would Li Jin actually come out to wash clothes? The sun must be rising in the west today.

The ox cart had already passed the river when, after half a minute, the man turned it around and came back.

He shouted loudly, "Li Jin, is that really you?!"

Fortunately, Li Jin wasn’t bad at recognizing faces. He quickly identified the man as the one who had brought him back that morning.

This must be one of the village's good-natured folks, Li Jin noted mentally.

"Yeah," Li Jin replied.

The man tied his ox to a roadside stone and walked over, peering at him closely.

Li Jin was really washing clothes.

And he seemed to be doing it quite well.

Li Jin kept his expression neutral. Washing clothes wasn’t difficult—it was just that ancient fabrics were thick and cumbersome to scrub by hand.

With soapberries and a bat, it became much easier.

Besides, he had watched historical dramas before. He just had to learn as he went.

The burly man grinned. "Ha! You’re actually washing clothes. If only there were a painter here to capture this moment and frame it as a gift for your husband.

If you ever bully him again, he could use that painting to threaten you."

Li Jin: "…"

Listen to this guy—was that really something someone should say?

The burly man looked about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, in his prime. Given the ancient custom of early marriage and childbearing, his children were probably old enough to run errands by now.

Earlier, Li Jin had taken a glimpse of his own reflection in the water. His appearance was almost identical to his past life, yet different from his former mature and steady twenty-nine-year-old self...

Like Qin Muwen, he carried the youthful energy of a teenager. Li Jin estimated that his current body was probably only seventeen or eighteen years old.

The burly man saw that Li Jin was still washing clothes and chuckled, intending to watch for a while longer. His foot was still sprained, and he didn’t feel like walking anyway.

"Did your husband give birth? Was it a boy? Is that why you're so happy you're out here doing laundry yourself?"

Li Jin frowned slightly and replied, "As long as they are both safe, that’s all that matters."

That little baby was so adorable—boy or ger, it didn’t matter. Either way, the child belonged to him and the youth.

The burly man laughed even more. "Well, Li Jin, you finally have an heir now! From today on, you're a father, the pillar of your household.

"I was heading to town early this morning to sell firewood, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to you.

"Before your mother passed away, she arranged for her relative's daughter to marry my younger brother. Now they’re married, and my whole family remembers this kindness."

Li Jin subtly nodded. So, this burly man wasn’t just being a good Samaritan. His family had ties with Li Jin’s late mother, which explained why he was willing to help.

"Before your mother died, her biggest worry was you. She asked me to look out for you.

"But I can't follow you around all the time. Honestly, I was planning to give you a scolding today. I heard that while your husband was giving birth, you were out drinking! That's just too much.

"But now I see you've become more responsible after becoming a father."

By this time, Li Jin had finished washing the clothes. He wrung out the water and put them back in the basin.

"Thank you for looking out for me before. I won’t act recklessly anymore."

As they walked back together, the girl who had given up her washing spot for Li Jin had also finished her laundry. After saying goodbye to her friends, she carried her basin and walked quickly ahead.

The burly man walked with uneven steps, occasionally wincing.

Li Jin paused, realizing that he still didn’t know the man’s name.

Then, out of nowhere, a name surfaced in his mind—"Li Zhuzi."

Wow, the Li family really had a knack for giving names.

First "Li Daniu" (Big Bull), now "Li Zhuzi" (Pillar)...

Li Jin figured that there was probably a "Li Tiezhu" (Iron Pillar) somewhere in the village too.

"Brother Zhuzi, your foot is sprained," Li Jin pointed out.

Li Zhuzi said, "It's nothing. I'll just bind it with a wooden board and sleep it off."

Villagers often had simple but effective remedies.

But Li Jin insisted, "Find a rock to sit on. I'll realign your bone for you."

At first, Li Zhuzi refused. But then he accidentally stepped into a hole, and the pain made him suck in a sharp breath.

If he didn’t get it fixed now, his leg might end up permanently damaged.

Li Jin grasped his ankle.

Li Zhuzi, watching from the side, glanced at Li Jin’s hands and thought, Damn, those are some fine-looking hands.

They weren’t delicate like a woman's, but there was an elegance to them. They looked like hands meant for holding a brush and writing poetry.

Li Zhuzi thought to himself, When my family has money, I must send my son to study.

Just look at Li Jin—he may not be highly educated, but his whole demeanor is different from us simple farmers.

Li Jin, however, had no time to admire his own hands.

To be fair, his hands were probably the one thing about this body that he was most satisfied with.

His fingers were long and jade-like, his nails smooth like seashells, and his palms were free of calluses—a pair of hands that had clearly been well cared for.

Of course, they had not been used for much writing.

Without any warning, Li Jin found the right position and pressed down firmly.

Li Zhuzi, unprepared, let out a loud "Aow!"

The cry startled the nearby women washing clothes, and they all turned to look.

"What are you guys doing? Don’t start a fight! Fighting is forbidden in our village!"

Li Zhuzi almost teared up from the pain but still rasped out, "We're not fighting! Li Jin is setting my bone straight."

Li Jin helped him up. "Try stepping on it now."

Li Zhuzi had braced himself for another wave of intense pain.

But surprisingly, after Li Jin’s adjustment, the pain had completely disappeared!

Li Jin could tell from his expression that it had worked.

He went back to the river to wash his hands before picking up his laundry basin again.

Li Zhuzi's ox cart was parked nearby. He told Li Jin to put the basin on it while they walked alongside.

"Kid, you’ve got some skills! Even the doctors in town aren’t this good at fixing bones."

Li Jin didn’t respond. Bone-setting wasn’t even his best skill—his true expertise lay in surgery.

Having spent half a year rotating through the orthopedics department, it seemed that his knowledge hadn’t gone to waste.

Feeling grateful, Li Zhuzi became more talkative. "Are you planning to take the scholar exam this year?

"If you don’t pass, you could always become an apprentice at the medical clinic. At least you’d be able to support your family.

"Your husband is so frail—he won’t be able to earn much from sewing all day.

"But I’ve heard the medical clinic offers great pay. If you work there as a doctor, you’ll get three taels of silver a month! Plus, you get to eat at the clinic every day."

Li Jin pondered. He really needed to figure out a way to make money.

If what Li Zhuzi said was true, then doctors in this era could earn three taels of silver a month—that was 3,000 wen.

It seemed this dynasty was similar to the Qing Dynasty.

One copper coin equaled one penny.

A string of 1,000 pennies made one tael of silver.

Li Jin asked, "Can a chicken be sold for 40 pennies?"

Li Zhuzi replied, "Yeah, that’s the price in town. But if you want to buy chickens to raise, you should get them from the village.

"Go to Li Daniu—he’ll give you a discount, maybe 35 pennies per chicken."

Li Jin nodded, having now gained a rough understanding of this era’s purchasing power.

Thinking about the mere seven or eight pennies left at home, he figured that was barely enough to buy ten steamed buns.

He was truly on the verge of not being able to afford food.

The river wasn’t far from the village, and Li Zhuzi chattered on about ways to save money as they walked.

He figured that since Li Jin had finally come to his senses and knew to care for his husband now, this was a good thing.

He had to make sure Li Jin wouldn’t waste money on alcohol anymore.

If they made more money, the priority should be fixing the house first.

Otherwise, in the summer, the rain would leak in, and in winter, the wind would seep through—how was a child supposed to survive that?

Right, infant mortality rates in ancient times were incredibly high. Every household had lost children.

Setting aside deadly diseases like smallpox and chickenpox, just having enough to eat and wear was already a huge problem.

Li Jin thought about it—fixing the house was indeed urgent. Otherwise, when the rainy season arrived, everything in the house would go moldy, which wouldn’t be good for the child.

Seeing that Li Jin was seriously listening, Li Zhuzi felt relieved.

Right now, it was mealtime in the village after a long day of farm work. Some people had just returned from the market and had heard that Li Zhuzi had twisted his ankle. Seeing him now walking briskly as if nothing had happened, they were stunned.

“Li Zhuzi, did you make a fortune today? Did you go to the medical clinic?”

Li Zhuzi laughed heartily and said, “We’ve got a divine doctor right here!”

Everyone: “???”

Tl Notes:

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