The Princess of Northern Land

"Cousin, how did you manage to upset a girl? Wait till we get home, we’ll tell our aunt and have her set you straight." A girl teased Lin Zige, raising her eyebrows with a smirk.

"Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. Zige, you see?" Ma Zhicai gave a bitter smile, looking at Lin Zige.

"Let’s drop the matter." Lin Zige said coldly. "I don’t mind, could you please clear the path?"

Although the two so-called cousins of the Ma Family were seemingly defending her, Lin Zige felt something was amiss. She barely knew those two girls, yet they were acting as if they were familiar with her, what was their angle?

"Good, so sorry for the trouble." Ma Zhicai appeared especially pleased, and without further ado, made way for her.

Lin Zige didn’t want to look at those three across her anymore. She hurriedly passed by them, not even sparing them an extra glance.

"Is that Lin Zige, cousin?" After Lin Zige left, the girl dressed in peach red, looked at Zige’s retreating figure enviously and asked Ma Zhicai.

"Exactly, treat her with more respect when you see her in the future." Ma Zhicai reprimanded with a stone face. "And avoid messing things up due to impatience."

"Is Lin Family as well-off as our aunt describes?" The girl in jujube red asked longingly.

"Did you see the biggest blue-brick courtyard in the village?" Ma Zhicai asked.

The two girls nodded in response.

"That belongs to the Lin Family." Ma Zhicai commented coldly.

The two looked at each other, both seeing surprise in the other’s eyes.

"Don’t let your eagerness show and arouse the Lin Family’s suspicion. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, I will arrange for you to meet Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou. As for the opportunities, it’s up to you to seize them." On seeing their elated expressions, Ma Zhicai poured cold water over them. "The most difficult to deal with in the Lin Family isn’t them, but the second lady. If you encounter her, be very careful."

"Cousin, we got it." The girl in the jujube red dress responded with a suppressed laugh.

"Let’s go home. My mother will start spreading some words around for the next few days. You both need to be careful, know what to say when you meet someone, okay?" Ma Zhicai instructed anxiously.

"Got it."

...

After finally shedding the vexatious Ma Zhicai, Lin Zige reached Lou Zheng’s home first.

"You need help, sure. You go ahead and find others, my daughter-in-law and I will be right there." Mrs. Zhang said cheerily. The fields were almost entirely harvested, and very few people were left to wasteland reclamation, everyone had gone home to be busy.

Always hustling for money, suddenly being idle at home felt odd to both Mrs. Zhang and her daughter-in-law.

"Husband, guard the house, we’re going to help at Ziyin’s." Mrs. Zhang announced loudly towards Lou Zheng, who was tidying up the yard behind the house.

"Got it, go ahead." Lou Zheng responded likewise.

"Mother, I’m ready." Her daughter-in-law appeared in clean clothes.

"Let’s go, don’t make them impatient." Mrs. Zhang hustled her along.

The daughter-in-law nodded, quickening her pace to catch up with her mother-in-law.

Upon reaching the Lin Family, they found that the mother and daughter-in-law of the Bai Family were already there, busy in the kitchen.

"Ziyin, what do you need us to do?" Mrs. Zhang asked as she entered.

"Making pastries." Lin Ziyin, dressed in a homemade apron, replied. Seeing both families arrived, she removed the face mask on her mouth. "It is thirty silver coins a day if it sells well, with bonus on top; working overtime is extra." Lin Ziyin said. "You might not be able to return home to cook dinner. Everyone from your home will have to stay here for the evening meal."

On hearing that there was more silver to be earned, and that food and drink were provided as well, everyone in Mrs. Zhang’s family beamed with joy.

"That sounds great, but what kind of pastries? Can we make them?" Mrs. Bai voiced her concerns.

"Mooncakes." Lin Ziyin answered.

"That’s simple, we have made those before." Mrs. Bai said with a laugh.

"Mrs. Bai, the pastries I make are not the same as the ones you’re used to. You just need to prepare the filling outside, pour it into the mould and press the design." Lin Ziyin explained with a smile.

"Prepare the filling and press the design?" Mrs. Bai was dumbfounded.

"Elder sister, don’t worry. Ziyin has many ideas, and the pastries she makes are not just simple mooncakes. Let’s listen to her." Mrs. Zhang teased.

"Alright alright, let’s listen to Ziyin." Mrs. Bai agreed while nodding her head incessantly.

"Are there any more trustworthy, hardworking, and clean women in the village?" Lin Ziyin asked, observing only five women had arrived, she became a bit anxious.

More people are needed? Even fifteen-year-old Bai Yunxian from the Bai Family was present.

"Yes, find two more." Lin Ziyin said. "The project time is short, we need to expedite."

"If you’re okay with it, maybe get Fang Cao and that woman from Shuanzhu’s family." Mrs. Zhang suggested after a moment’s hesitation.

On hearing this, Lin Ziyin responded with a faint smile. "Our family doesn’t have many requirements, a person just needs to be capable."

"Perfect, both of them are careful and silent workers. They will work quietly, and they won’t be too nosy upon returning." Mrs. Zhang was pleased. Life had not been easy for the orphaned child and widowed mother of Shuanzhu’s family.

Guo Huiniang went out to fetch them, and before long, she returned with two shy individuals, a young married woman and a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl. Although they were attired in worn-out clothes, both looked tidy. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Lin Ziyin asked the two to hold out their hands for inspection, and then accepted them.

Upon hearing that they were included, the woman from Shuanzhu’s family and Fang Cao secretly heaved a sigh of relief.