Chapter 91: CH 91

Mo Yan wanted to pull the reins of the horse like Lu Junming did, but not only did his horse continue trotting forward, it also whinnied. She was so scared she gripped the reins tightly and kept begging, “You’re the most obedient horse in the world, please stop, please stop!”

The white horse didn’t listen to her and continued trotting forward. It only stopped and turned back when it heard Lu Junming whistle from behind.

He tugged on the reins, and it halted. Mo Yan saw the horse whip next to her and swung it at him, who dodged, “You’re really hitting me for this!”

“I want to hit you, so what?”

Hearing something off with her voice, Lu Junming raised his head and saw that Mo Yan’s face had turned white.

He quickly got onto the horse and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to scare you. I’ll teach you how to ride a horse in the future, so you won’t be scared anymore.”

Mo Yan continued being angry throughout the journey home. As he didn’t know how to coax her, and was afraid of provoking her, the two didn’t speak during the journey home.

When they arrived in the village, Mo Yan insisted on getting off the horse, so he could only acquiesce and let her off. He watched her as she went back home.

After walking a few steps, she turned around and said, “I want to learn how to ride a horse, and also want to buy a horse.”

“Ok, I’ll help you find a horse, while learning how to ride a horse should be done as soon as possible. Let’s change our morning runs to horse-riding lessons!”

These past few days, due to consistently eating Mr. Cao’s medicine, Mrs. Liang’s cough had steadily improved. She only had a few occasional coughs. She was also aware not to overwork herself, as she wanted to welcome her husband home in the best condition possible.

Their current family condition was much better than before. She guessed that when Mo Zhenian came back for the New Year, he’d praise her for being capable and raising the children well.

“Ling’er, I’ll follow you to the market. I want to find the old tailor, so he can make me a new set of clothes.”

Mo Yan replied, “Then I’ll grab two rolls of fabric from Ms. Zhao’s.”

“It doesn’t need to be expensive, I just want something clean.”

“We have enough money, so you should wear the best clothing possible. At the very least, it should be the best in Chenzhong Village, so you can hold your head high during the New Year.”

“That would cost so much money!”

“You don’t need to worry about the money, you have us after all.”

The next morning, Mo Yan went to the pond, where Lu Junming was waiting for her with his horse. Although she had wanted horse-riding lessons, she got cold feet when she saw how much taller the horse was than her.

“I can’t even get on and off the horse by myself, how can I learn how to ride a horse?”

Lu Junming demonstrated himself. His left foot was on the stirrup, his right foot was on the ground, and he nimbly got on, using his hand on the saddle as leverage. His actions were swift and he made it seem very easy.

“Here, you give it a try.”

With yesterday’s experience, Mo Yan knew she couldn’t get on by herself. As she didn’t want to embarrass herself, she shook her head, “I can’t get on.”

He didn’t force her, and went for a lap around the pond on horseback. When he went back to Mo Yan, he said, “Are you just going to leave it at that? Do you want to never be able to ride a horse and travel long distances on your own?”

Mo Yan secretly had a dream, to travel every mountain and cross every sea, to sell every good in the world, and be an unfettered merchant.

Travelling long distances by carriage is slow, and most importantly, she wouldn’t be able to see the scenery. Lu Junming saying that she’d be unable to travel long distances really affected her.

“I want to learn!”

Mo Yan put her foot on her stirrup, Lu Junming boosted her with hands on her waist, and she successfully got on the horse. He led the horse around the pond while teaching her the tricks to horse-riding. Grip tight with your thighs, hold the reins, relax your body, and move with the horse. If you want to stop, hold onto both reins with equal strength, your actions need to be quick, you can’t relax the reins…

Lu Junming tried letting go of the horse reins and allowing Mo Yan to ride on her own while he ran alongside her. After slowly trotting around the pond for half a lap, her confidence increased. She gently kicked the sides of the horse, and it broke into a light canter.

When she lapped Lu Junming, she tugged on the reins decisively and the horse stopped. She took a deep breath, “I’ve learnt it!”

“You still have a long way to go!” He smacked the horse on the rump, and it broke into a gallop. This time, he didn’t follow and just stood there watching.

After a lap around the pond, Mo Yan was so nervous she started sweating. Lu Junming stopped the horse and helped her down, “Looking at how nervous you are, you still have a long way to go! You still need to practise consistently.”

Mo Yan wiped the sweat off her brow, “This is more exhausting than running.”

Mo Ling called her from the house, and Mo Yan ran over.

When they arrived at the storefront, Zhong Cheng was there with his carriage waiting for them. It was filled with goods all packed in large sacks, so they didn’t know what was inside.

Mo Yan went over to greet him, “Brother Cheng, you’re going somewhere far away?”

He nodded, “I’m going to the Upper Valley. This is the cotton that the Pengxiang Textile Factory wanted.”

“Are you the only one going there?”

“No, there are a few others! They’ve already gone.”

It seemed like he intentionally went to say goodbye to Mo Ling. Mo Yan went to start the fire in the storefront, leaving the two of them alone on the side of the road.

Zhong Cheng smiled, “Ling’er, it’s almost the New Year, is there anything you want to buy? I’ll buy it for you.”

Mo Ling waved her hand, “Don’t spend your money on me. Earning money isn’t easy.”

“Then, I’ll leave first.”

“Wait a second!” She went to the storefront and grabbed two pieces of flatbread, a few salted eggs, and some vegetables. “The fire hasn’t been started yet, and the meat hasn’t been delivered. We only have these right now, take it for the road.”

Zhong Cheng took it and left. Mo Ling said from behind, “Eat when you’re hungry and rest when it’s late. Don’t treat yourself poorly.” He nodded, and faded into the distance.

At noon, Ms. Zhao ran over to the storefront worriedly. Mo Yan asked what happened, but couldn’t help but laugh when she heard about it.

It turned out a lot of people arrived at Jiaolan Courtyard this morning, and all of them were unmarried young women who lived here. Ms. Zhao thought they were here to learn embroidery, but they all wanted to see ‘the gentleman who lived in Jiaolan Courtyard’. They said that they’d buy a roll of fabric as long as they could see him.

She didn’t know what to do, and told them she was going to find Lu Junming when she ran to Mo Yan to help. This was the first time Mo Ling had ever seen Ms. Zhao. She had only heard Mo Yan called her beautiful before, and now, she knew that was truly the case.

Mo Yan put down her work and smoothed out her clothing. Then, she grabbed a basket filled with dried fruits and followed Ms. Zhao to Jiaolan Courtyard. As soon as they stepped in, they were surrounded by a gaggle of young women, who asked, “Where’s the gentleman?”

“Everyone, please be patient. Unfortunately, the young gentleman has left and won’t be coming back for another two days.” She lifted the basket in her hand, “Since everyone’s here, how about we go inside. We can eat while chatting and waiting for him to return. If you’d like, you can also learn embroidery from Ms. Zhao.”

Post-translation notes: Way to make a random encounter a marketing opportunity Mo Yan! And as always, thank you for reading.