Rebirth of a Farming Wife

“Sister-in-law, you’re here! Haven’t seen you for a few days,” Su Wenyue said with a laugh. “You’re looking radiant; is something good happening? Do tell.”

“Having my man come back safely is indeed a good thing. Whenever he goes out on those dangerous tasks, I’m always worried sick, especially this time. He was framed by those sinister jerks, fighting those ferocious bandits. He’s only just returned after so many days. My heart was in my throat the whole time, but now, finally, he’s come back safe and sound.”

“Isn’t that the truth! I was worried about Han Yu too while he was away, but at least he’s back now, always so busy that he’s hardly ever in sight. Men are all the same. They never consider how we worry for them back home,” Su Wenyue complained a bit, but it was more to carry on the conversation than out of any real resentment. She understood that at their age, men should be striving to advance their careers, not sitting idle at home—that would be irresponsible. They couldn’t be expected to spend all their time at home, so as wives, they just had to be understanding.

“What can we do? Once our men join the military camp, their lives are no longer their own. And with the world in such disarray, war would mean even greater danger. All we can do is offer more prayers and beseech the Bodhisattva to keep our men safe,” Madam Liu Zhao said, a worried look on her face. Everyone longed for a peaceful and prosperous era, a time when commoners could have a better life. Now there was turmoil both inside and outside the Imperial Court—it was only a matter of time until chaos erupted, and even commoners could see it.

Speaking of offering prayers to the Bodhisattva, Su Wenyue was reminded of the promise she made to Feng Susu. She had said she would pray at Lingyin Temple for the safety of Feng Susu’s husband. Now that Han Yu was back, it was time to keep her promise. After agreeing on a date with Madam Liu Zhao, she sent someone to inform Feng Susu about visiting Lingyin Temple the day after tomorrow.

Feng Susu had been thinking about this matter but didn’t feel right bringing it up with Su Wenyue. She didn’t expect Su Wenyue to be so concerned and repeatedly agreed, feeling even more grateful.

As Madam Liu Zhao and Su Wenyue talked, they also mentioned the silversmith they met earlier. This time, Liu Zhao’s family had received a fair share of spoils from the bandit suppression, and they didn’t have to live as tightly as before for a while.

“Lady Yue, I saw that master from the silver store earlier. Are you going to have some jewelry made?” It wasn’t a secret, so Madam Liu Zhao asked casually.

“Yes, I want to have a few sets made. The craftsmanship of the silversmiths in the county town is too poor, so I had no choice but to ask them to bring someone from the city. Would you like to have some made as well?”

“No, no. With the way things are, life is hard enough. You know my family’s situation—we don’t have spare money for such things. Although Liu Cong brought back a lot this time, we still need to save wherever we can. Besides, I just had a set made not too long ago and don’t need another. However, that old master you mentioned, I know of his skillful work. Many wealthy ladies and madams in Yiyang Prefecture commission their jewelry from him. He’s sure to do a great job, but it must be difficult to get someone like him, isn’t it?”

Madam Liu Zhao thought Su Wenyue was really extravagant. They, too, would visit the silver store to get jewelry made, but inviting someone to come over like this was surely costly, a luxury only the wives of wealthy families could afford.

“It’s not that difficult, really. The silver stores aren’t doing as well as before; it’s just a matter of spending some grain. With the currency reform, private minting of silver currency is prohibited, and gold and silver have lost their value. On the other hand, the price of food keeps rising every day—it has become somewhat outrageous.”

“That’s true. I’ve already exchanged all the silver at home for food, fearing that keeping money will only devalue it in-hand. Not just our local silver stores, but even those in Chang’an City are not doing well. And it’s not just silver stores, other industries are struggling too. I heard from a lady that nowadays, the prices at the tooth shops for picking servants are ridiculously cheap. An average servant can be bought for one or two silver coins, and those with some skills often don’t cost more than five. Nowadays, having one more person in the house is a burden. I originally wanted to pick up an embroiderer, but after giving it some thought, I decided against it.”

As Madam Liu Zhao said this, an idea sparked in Su Wenyue’s mind. She hadn’t thought of it before—it was the perfect opportunity to buy several skilled servants. Normally, opportunities like this were hard to find. In any case, she could afford to feed any number of servants, and she could just settle them in the Zhuangzi. If she could find some gold and silver craftsmen, that would be even better.

Daring to act on her ideas, Su Wenyue called Aunt Li in for a discussion as soon as Madam Liu Zhao left.

“Aunt Li, what do you think of my idea? We’re not short on food anyway. I’m going to send someone to the county town to speak with the tooth shop, so they send all suitable candidates over. As for the prefecture, it’s too far to handle casually, so you should go in person to pick. We’re not limited to any specific trade, but we must buy anyone with a skill and good character. However, we should buy those who’ve signed a death contract, so we hold their life and property in our hands and don’t have to fear their betrayal. Of course, if someone is exceptionally skilled, that’s different. Anyway, I’ll leave this to you. Handle it as you see fit,” she directed.

Su Wenyue couldn’t attend to this personally. She trusted Aunt Li to handle it properly, as Aunt Li was experienced and had a sharp eye. Even Madam Su often left the selection of servants to Aunt Li.

“Yes, I will get on it immediately,” Aunt Li acknowledged. She knew her mistress was no ordinary woman; everything she stirred up was beneficial. Without any delay, Aunt Li promptly took several servants and set off for the prefecture, hoping to complete the task for her mistress soon.

That evening, when Han Yu came back, he found Aunt Li missing and was a bit puzzled. Only after asking did he learn that Aunt Li had been sent by Su Wenyue on an errand to the prefecture. It looked like his daughter-in-law had some new ideas brewing.

“Aunt Li is indeed more suited to this task, which is why I sent her. Usually, such talents would have long been snatched up. I don’t want to miss this rare opportunity. Finding common talents is easy, but those like gold and silver craftsmen are hard to come by. They generally wouldn’t sell themselves,” Su Wenyue mulled over her plans.

She considered that in the upcoming period, the value of gold and silver would plummet. When it hit rock bottom, she would use grain to exchange and hoard it. When peace returned, it would become a vast fortune. She knew from her previous life that gold and silver wouldn’t always be cheap; it was because of Wang Mang’s currency reform that circumstances were as they were. Once a new emperor ascended, everything would stabilize again.