Chapter 114 They came to our door.

Seeing Lin Chuntao squatting beside the earthenware basin rubbing her hands, Pei Ying said, "This can't be rubbed off anymore. I'll sew you a handkerchief tonight, and you can wear it tomorrow to pull it off. If it doesn't stick to your hands anymore, the color will fade in a few days."

"Gloves? The kind you put on your hands, right?" Lin Chuntao asked.

Pei Ying nodded slightly, and Lin Chuntao then smiled and said, "I'll go find the cloth."

There was some leftover fabric from when we made the quilt cover last time. Some of it was still in pieces and could be kept for making clothes and pants later. Some of it was scraps, which wouldn't be needed much for making gloves. Lin Chuntao found two relatively intact scraps and took them out. Pei Ying went into the room to get a needle and thread.

Lin Chuntao asked him what style he wanted to make and learned that, apart from the thumb, the other four fingers were not separated, which made it inconvenient to work. Lin Chuntao felt that at least the index finger should be separated, so that it would be easier to grasp things.

Pei Ying frowned slightly, then asked, "If that's the case, wouldn't it be more convenient to just refer to the whole thing directly?"

Lin Chuntao nodded. "It will definitely be more convenient, but it'll be troublesome to sew, right?"

Pei Ying said, "It's not too much trouble, it's just that the fabric needs to be recut."

To make them with the fingers separated, Pei Ying went to find more fabric and cut it to the size of Lin Chuntao's hand. Since the cotton fabric was too thin, Pei Ying sewed a double layer, with cotton fabric inside and linen fabric on the outside. He didn't finish sewing until the moon was high in the sky. He trimmed the threads and cleaned the edges of the inner fabric. Lin Chuntao tried them on. They weren't as comfortable as modern gloves, but they were still pretty good. The size of her fingers was just right. He left an opening at the wrist so she could unbutton them if they were too tight or button them up if they were too loose.

The three sisters had been watching Pei Ying sew gloves all night, and now that they saw Lin Chuntao wearing them, three words came to mind: "I want them."

Lin Chunhe was a little embarrassed to ask Pei Ying directly, and asked timidly, "Brother-in-law, is this easy to sew?"

Pei Ying was taken aback by his words, while Lin Chuntao burst out laughing. Pei Ying asked, "You all want them?"

The three sisters looked at each other, and finally nodded in unison.

Looking at the three of them, Pei Ying said, "It's too late today, I'll sew it for you tomorrow or the day after."

Lin Chunhe quickly smiled and said, "Thank you, brother-in-law."

Lin Duo'er took Lin Chuntao's gloves, examined them carefully, and said with a smile, "Brother-in-law, you have such skillful hands! I want to learn how to make clothes too."

Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly, then asked, "Really?"

Lin Duo'er was stunned. She suddenly felt that it was amazing that they could make everything. She had no idea whether they could learn to make clothes.

Lin Duo'er was young, so Lin Chuntao didn't arrange anything for her. Lin Chunxing ran a noodle soup business, and Chunhe helped manage the household affairs. Lin Chuntao also intended to teach her how to make sauce, so that the two sisters could have a skill to make a living in the future. She originally thought that she would teach Lin Duo'er something in a couple of years, but unexpectedly, she said that she wanted to be a tailor.

"If you really want to learn, I'll find you a master. After you've learned it, you can open a tailor shop."

Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Lin Duo'er was caught in a dilemma. Both of her older sisters were cooking, so should she become a seamstress? She couldn't make up her mind for a moment.

"I need to think about it some more."

Lin Chuntao nodded slightly and smiled, "Then think it over, and tell me when you've made up your mind."

It was late at night. The three sisters had washed up and finished making their gloves, so they all went back to their rooms to sleep.

Pei Ying couldn't sleep tonight; he had a feeling that his family would be waiting for him at the meat stall tomorrow morning.

Lin Chuntao will be picking beans tomorrow, so she won't be going to the county town.

"Tell me, what should I do if they come to the stall tomorrow morning?"

Pei Ying asked with concern, and Lin Chuntao pursed her lips before saying, "Don't you want to go back with them?"

"Are you afraid of a stalemate?"

Pei Ying took a deep breath and hummed in agreement.

Lin Chuntao said, "If that's the case, then you should take the initiative and bring them to your home."

Pei Ying was taken aback for a moment, only to hear Lin Chuntao continue, "If it were just you alone, it would be fine, but you still have me, don't you? You've married me, so it's no big deal to bring them along."

Pei Ying always felt that this was a troublesome matter for him, and he didn't want to bother Lin Chuntao with it.

He pondered Lin Chuntao's words and nodded.

Lin Chuntao: "Go to sleep. We can talk about tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

"I'll bring back two sets of pig intestines tomorrow, braise them and eat them tonight. I'll also bring a pig stomach, and if I can buy a chicken, I'll buy one too."

Pei Ying asked, "Hen or rooster?"

"Anything is fine, just buy the slightly larger ones."

Pei Ying agreed.

When Lin Chuntao woke up the next day, the morning light was just beginning to break, and the village was quiet except for the sound of roosters crowing.

Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er hadn't gotten up yet, so Lin Chuntao lit the stove, washed some chives and cabbage, and washed a few tomatoes. She diced the tomatoes, cut the chives into sections, and shredded the cabbage, and put them all away for later use.

Lin Jiaye and the others hadn't arrived yet, so she prepared the soup and kept it warm on the stove. She mixed some bran and fed it to the chickens. While the chickens were eating, she lit the fire in the stove next to them and gave the pigs the potatoes they wanted to eat.

When the piglet first came to our home, it was estimated to weigh only 30 or 40 pounds. Now it has grown quite a bit. Lin Chuntao estimated its gross weight and felt it was at least 180 or 190 pounds. There are still three months until the Chinese New Year. She hopes it can grow to 300 pounds before the New Year so that she can get more meat when she slaughters it.

Previously, she asked Aunt Guizhi to help her find out if anyone was selling piglets, but she couldn't find any suitable ones. Since she would only be slaughtering this one pig, and the temperature was much lower in the winter months, Lin Chuntao wanted to cure more pork to store so that she wouldn't have to buy meat as often next year.

The main reason is that cured pork is quite fragrant and has no fishy smell even when boiled in plain water without any seasoning, but fresh meat is different. Fresh meat doesn't taste as good without seasoning or dipping sauce. It's better to cure more pork and only buy fresh meat occasionally for a taste.

After boiling the potatoes and the chicks had finished eating the bran, Lin Chuntao opened the side door and let all the chickens out.

When they finished their work and came over, Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe got up.

"Sis, did you let the chickens out?"

"Yes, the potatoes are cooking too."

Lin Chunhe smiled and asked, "Do you have any thicker firewood?"

"Let it go."

Lin Chunhe said, "Then I'll go wash up."

The two sisters then took their handkerchiefs and left. Just as they left, Lin Jiaye and Lin Jiayang arrived.

Lin Chuntao quickly went to cook the rice noodles. The soup had already been prepared. Lin Chuntao added some firewood to the stove, brought the soup in the pot to a boil, added the rice noodles and vegetables, and added salt. It would be ready to eat soon.

Lin Jiaye and his family knew about Suofen (a type of rice noodle), but they might not eat it even once a year. As for noodles, they were fine white noodles, and they would often buy some to keep at home. Although they didn't eat them often, they would make pancakes or noodles during festivals, so they could eat them at least a little.

It's different with rice noodles. I heard from adults that it costs six or seven coins per pound. One pound of rice noodles can buy two pounds of rice. Everyone would definitely just buy rice directly. It's a rare treat.

Looking at the full bowl of soup noodles, the group pursed their lips.

Lin Chuntao said, "Soup noodles are easy to get hungry. There's more in the pot after you finish eating, so please help yourself."

That being said, the bowl that Lin Chuntao bought was bigger than the ones they usually ate in, so after eating a bowl of soup noodles, they were all quite full. They couldn't eat anymore after one bowl and had to put down their bowls and chopsticks.

Everyone ate the rice noodles quickly. When they came out of the house, most of the villagers were still up, and smoke was just rising from the chimneys of a few houses. Lin Chunhe was at home, and Lin Chuntao went to get a basket and took Lin Duo'er and Lin Jiaye to the fields.

Yesterday they pulled up the two plots of land at the village entrance, and today they went to the two sandy plots on the back mountain.

Pei Ying waited all morning, but no one from the Pei family came to her door.

After finishing his work and packing up the things Lin Chuntao had asked for, he went to the market while Lin Chunxing was still having guests eating. He bought two large roosters.

Lin Chuntao originally only asked to buy one, but an old lady brought two. Their fur was very beautiful, and their bellies were quite plump. The old lady persuaded him to take both with him, and Pei Ying took the opportunity to ask if he could get a discount. The old lady gave him a discount, so he bought both.

By the time he returned with the chicken, Lin Chunxing had also finished her work.

He tied the chicken up and covered it with a basket, then went to tidy up the shelves and other things with Lin Chunxing.

At this time, Pei's mother originally planned to go to the meat stall to find Pei Ying this morning.

Qin Suyun advised her that Pei Ying was busy working over there, and if she went over there, it would be inconvenient to even talk to her, so how could they maintain their relationship?

She knew where her home was, so she asked Pei's mother and the others to bring their things and come directly to her house.

Qin Suyun said to Pei's mother, "Mother, you weren't there for my eldest brother's wedding, but now that you know, shouldn't you prepare something for Chun Tao?"

Madam Pei was only focused on seeing Pei Ying and hadn't thought about this at all. Now, hearing Qin Suyun say this, she quickly went to buy some cloth and clothes, and also took a jewelry box to put a set of headdresses and a set of jade ornaments. She didn't know what Lin Chuntao liked, but knowing that Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao were close, she tentatively asked, "Do you know what Madam Lin likes?"

Qin Suyun thought that if she sent a box full of silver, Lin Chuntao would definitely like it.

But she couldn't say that. She simply said, "The gifts given on our first meeting are just formalities. Even if they aren't things she likes, I believe my sister-in-law won't be unhappy. We already have the headdress and jade ornaments. When I married into the family, my mother gave me a red envelope. You should prepare one for Chun Tao as well."

Following Qin Suyun's words, Pei's mother went to wrap up the silver.

After everything was prepared and they were about to set off, Mother Pei was still a little uneasy. She pulled Qin Suyun aside and asked, "Ayun, won't your older brother think we're not actually going to see him with all this stuff we've prepared?"

Qin Suyun smiled and said, "He and Chuntao are very close. Chuntao's happiness is more effective than ten words from us. What do you think?"

Madam Pei nodded, then took Qin Suyun's arm and got into the carriage. The family drove the carriage, carrying their belongings, toward Twin Village.

When they arrived in the village, Lin Chuntao and the others had just finished eating. Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao were washing pig intestines and pig stomach in the backyard, preparing to braise them later and eat them when they came back in the evening.

While the two of them were washing, Lin Jiaye and the others, feeling they had nothing to do, hung upstairs to dry the food they had brought back that morning with Lin Chunxing.

The courtyard gate was half open, and Qin Suyun stood at the door and knocked.

Lin Chunxing ran over when she heard the knocking, and smiled when she saw Qin Suyun: "Sister Yun, it's you, come in quickly."

Qin Suyun saw that it was Lin Chunxing and said with a smile, "Sister, please open this door too. We'll bring some things into the yard."

Lin Chunxing didn't think about what Qin Suyun had brought. While getting the latch for another door, she turned back to Lin Duo'er and said, "Duo'er, go to the back and call your sister, tell her that Sister Yun is here."

Lin Duo'er responded and ran towards the backyard.

Upon hearing that Qin Suyun had arrived, Lin Chuntao quickly grabbed a handful of wood ash to wash her hands and said to Pei Ying, "They must be here. Let's put this aside for now and wash our hands before we go."

Pei Ying took a deep breath, washed her hands, and went to the front with Lin Chuntao.

When they arrived, Qin Suyun, Pei Jing, and Pei's parents had already brought in a carriage. They had just unloaded the carriage, pulled the horses aside, and were preparing to take their things down.

Pei Ying walked behind, and Lin Chuntao went to greet her first. She looked at Qin Suyun and smiled, "What brings you here?"

Qin Suyun smiled and said, "My parents want to come and see my older brother."

Pei Ying stood a little distance behind Lin Chuntao, while Pei's father and mother stood a little distance behind Qin Suyun.

Upon hearing Qin Suyun's words, Lin Chuntao's gaze fell upon the two elders. She smiled politely and greeted them gently, "Uncle and Aunt, please come in."

The elderly couple from the Pei family looked around the courtyard, then at Lin Chuntao. Pei's mother had seen Lin Chuntao once before, but she hadn't looked at her closely that time. This time, she could finally see clearly that this tall, slender, and amiable girl was Pei Ying's wife.

Lin Chuntao led everyone into the house and poured water for everyone.

Pei's father, Pei's mother, and Pei Ying all remained silent.

They sat and drank some water without saying a word. Lin Chuntao and Qin Suyun exchanged a glance, then stood up in tacit agreement.

"Ah Jing, let me take you to see my brother's house."

Qin Suyun called Pei Jing away so that the elderly couple could talk to Pei Ying. Lin Chuntao also felt that it was a bit awkward to have other people present when breaking the ice, so she smiled and said, "I'll take you there."

She looked at Pei Ying as she spoke, indicating that she would stay if Pei Ying needed her to. However, Pei Ying did not say anything, and Lin Chuntao went out of the house with her.

Pei Jing followed him out of the house, looked around the courtyard, then at Lin Chuntao, and greeted her, "Sister-in-law."

Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at Qin Suyun, and then said, "Let's still address each other according to our relationship. Just call me by my name."