Chapter 30 - Two-in-One: Does Your Back Ache? Come in and sit down...

"Second Brother, what are you looking at?" Lin Changhe asked, leaning on Lin Changhua in front of him.

Lin Changhua stepped aside slightly to let Lin Changhe squeeze in. Turning around, he saw a group of men, women, and children from the fifth branch of the Lin family. He looked at Tian Shi with a smile and asked, "Fifth Aunt, you've come to see Chun Tao and the others plant corn too?"

Upon hearing the name Chun Tao, Tian's smile vanished instantly. Zhang's sisters-in-law also frowned slightly. Lin Changhe, who had already squeezed to the front, watched as the village chief drove the oxen to plow the field. Sun and Lin Chun Tao were bent over, seemingly doing something. Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe followed behind the village chief with hoes, tapping the ground left and right.

"Are they growing corn?" Lin Changhe asked, frowning.

Lin Changhua nodded. "It's corn. Chun Tao and Auntie are planting it. Look how fast they are. It's much faster than having someone run alongside the ox."

"I just heard from my aunt that this was Chun Tao's idea, and everyone says we can try it next year."

Lin Changhe scoffed, "Wouldn't we have to rent oxen? We can plow the land ourselves and plant as we go, why bother with all that extra work?"

"That brat, she's planting corn and renting out cattle now. Will she even be able to pay the rent by the end of the year with this harvest?"

Lin Changhua shook his head slightly. Lin Changhe was stubborn and insisted that Lin Chuntao and the others were planting the same way as planting rice. Everything was ready, and even teenagers could do it together. Even if people were plowing the land, they could bring more plows. Wouldn't it be faster to plant the spring crops if two or three people were plowing the land?

He waited to see if Lin Chuntao's cuttings would sprout. If they sprouted a lot, he would get another plow in a few days and try this method next spring.

He thought this to himself, but he didn't argue with Lin Changhe. Whatever Lin Changhe thought was none of his business.

Lin Changhe muttered to himself for a while and got a little bored when no one responded. After looking around for a while, he realized that Pei Ying was not there.

He asked Lin Changhua, "Where's that deadbeat husband of Lin Chuntao's? Didn't he come to work?"

Lin Changhua then realized that Lin Chuntao had gotten married. "Huh, I don't think I saw her this morning."

People around were curious. Zhang Qiuniang saw Zhang Qiuzhen and the others not far away, then smiled and called out, "Chuntao, where's your husband? Why didn't he come to plant the corn?"

Lin Chuntao smiled when she heard the question: "He went to the county town and won't be back until this afternoon."

"You're all so busy, what's he doing in the county town? Is he just sleeping in at home and you're covering for him?"

Lin Chuntao was busy planting seeds. When she heard this, she slowly looked up and saw that it was Zhang Qiuniang. She was too lazy to talk to her anymore.

People standing on the roadside whispered among themselves. Sun looked at Lin Chuntao and laughed, "Don't pay any attention to them, they're just bored all day long."

Lin Chuntao smiled and nodded, then continued working.

Seeing that the sun was shining brightly and that they had their own work to do, the onlookers dispersed.

Lin Chuntao and the others were efficient, but planting was hard on their backs. Feeling their backs aching, Lin Chuntao called Chunxing and Chunhe over and taught them how to plant. She and Sun went to prepare the soil. The old lady smiled and said there was no need to switch. Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Take turns, otherwise your back will not be able to take it."

Lin Cunzheng plowed the land quickly, but Lin Chuntao noticed that the planting couldn't keep up. She called out to Lin Cunzheng to take a break, but he didn't. He just slowed down a little.

Around noon, Sun's son and daughter-in-law returned from the fields and came over to take a look. They were shocked to find that the family had almost finished planting a plot of land.

Chen Dongniang said with a smile, "Oh, Mother, you two have to hurry! Can you finish planting these two plots of land today?"

Sun looked at the sun and smiled, "It should be about right."

After watching for a while, Chen Dongniang said, "Then I'll go back and cook first, and I'll have Jiayin come and call you later."

Hearing this, Lin Chuntao quickly said, "Auntie, Grandpa and Grandma are eating at my house. How can they work with me and then have to go home to eat? I've prepared all the dishes and soaked the rice. We can steam the rice and eat it when we get back."

As she spoke, she said to Chunxing, "Chunxing, you go back first to start the fire and steam the rice. Duo'er, you go back with your second sister to check the firewood."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun said, "Your great-grandfather and I will go home to eat."

Lin Chuntao stared at her intently. "Grandma, you can't do this. If you didn't know better, you'd feel sorry for us sisters. But if you didn't, you'd say we're being inconsiderate. I've prepared everything." As she spoke, she said to Chen Dongniang, "Auntie, you're busy. Grandpa and Grandma will eat at my house later. If you keep doing this, I'll be too embarrassed to ask you for help in the future."

She started chattering away, and Madam Sun smiled helplessly, saying to Chen Dongniang, "You two go ahead with your work, we'll go back with this girl in a bit."

After receiving the message, Chen Dongniang left quickly, as the families working in the fields were also about to go home for lunch.

Lin Chuntao estimated the time and felt that the rice was almost ready. She called out to Lin Cunzheng, "Grandpa, let's rest and get ready to go home for dinner."

As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Sun sat down on the embankment next to her and looked up to see Pei Ying walking towards her not far away.

"Chuntao, is that Xiao Pei back?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao looked over and saw that Pei Ying was indeed back, carrying some things in her hands.

It seems like it's not time yet, why is he back so early today?

As Pei Yingchao approached them, Lin Chuntao called out, "Why are you back so early today?"

"I told the landlady that I was busy with spring planting these days, so she let me come back first."

The villagers looked at Pei Ying, who was carrying something in both hands, and it seemed that one of her hands was carrying meat.

Listening to his words again, "Master? Is he going to the county town to find work?"

He wondered to himself, but since he wasn't familiar with Pei Ying, he was too embarrassed to ask. He just thought he'd ask around another day to find out what kind of work Pei Ying was doing in the county town and whether they needed more people. After these few busy days, everyone would be idle for a while, waiting for the autumn harvest. If there was work to do, earning a few coins would be good.

When Pei Ying walked up to her, Lin Chuntao saw the earthenware jar and bowl in his hand, as well as a piece of pig liver.

"You bought pig liver?"

Pei Ying nodded slightly. The pig liver was given to everyone by He Lan, one pound per person, who said to eat more of it as it was good for their eyes.

But neither Zhang Dayong nor Zhao Guang liked it, saying that their wives would find it fishy and smelly if they took it back home, so they gave it all to him. Actually, he didn't like to eat it either, but he thought that Lin Chuntao was a very good cook, and that maybe it would taste good if he made it, so he took it back.

He didn't explain to others that he got it for free.

"This is the chili pepper you wanted. It's not available for sale. This was made at my brother Zhang's house. I paid some money to buy a jar."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's fine as long as it's there. Dipping sauce doesn't taste good without chili."

Seeing the young couple chatting and laughing, and Pei Ying no longer appearing as cold and intimidating as when they first met, Mrs. Sun felt somewhat relieved.

When they returned home, Lin Cunzheng immediately took care of the cow, bringing it water and feeding it hay.

The rice was almost cooked; steam rose from the steamer, and the courtyard was filled with the rich aroma of cooked rice.

While scooping water for Sun to wash her hands, Lin Chuntao instructed Pei Ying to bring out the table. The room was a bit cramped, and it was inconvenient to cook, sit down to eat, and keep an eye on the cows in the yard.

Lin Chuntao and the others were using stones to build fires both inside and outside the house. Sun said, "After we finish these few days of work, I'll ask your uncle to build a stove for you, so it will be more convenient to use."

Lin Chuntao smiled and thanked her. She lifted the lid of the steamer, scooped up some rice to taste, and found it was already very soft. Pei Ying nodded at her, then took the steamer off the fire and placed it on a bamboo rack.

Lin Chuntao had already decided on the dishes last night: stir-fried shredded melon, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings, stir-fried potato slices, and then some meat would be enough to eat.

As the steamer was taken down, Madam Sun asked, "What does Chun Tao want to make? I'll make it for you."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Grandma, you can rest now. I'm almost done. It'll be ready soon."

As she spoke, she brought out the bamboo basket she had prepared the night before, which contained chopped cabbage and shredded melon, washed tomatoes, and a bowl of peeled potatoes soaking in water.

Madam Sun was somewhat surprised, "Did you prepare this last night?"

Lin Chuntao nodded, "Yes, I was afraid that it would be too slow to finish when I got back from my busy schedule, so I decided to do it ahead of time."

As she spoke, she carried the iron pot back into the house to ladle out meat broth and heat up the meat chunks. She thought that while the meat was heating up, she could chop some tomatoes and potatoes, and once the meat was heated up, she could quickly stir-fry the vegetables. She was already hungry, and the old couple must be very hungry too.

When she brought out the pot, Mrs. Sun's eyes widened.

"Chuntao, why...did you cook meat?"

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "How can we not eat meat during spring plowing? It's exhausting working all day long."

Sun thought that even if you eat meat, just add a little to the vegetables, use more oil when stir-frying, and don't just boil vegetables.

She looked at the meat pouch and thought that only people dared to eat it like this when slaughtering a pig for the New Year.

"You don't need to spend so much money, child."

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "We live for this food, and once it's in our stomachs, it won't cost us anything."

Lin Chuntao had finished slicing the potatoes and was about to cut the tomatoes when she asked Lin Chunxing to bring out the eggs to beat. Sun Shi quickly stopped Lin Chunxing, saying, "No need to bring them, these vegetables are enough!" Then she looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "You don't need to cook so many dishes. Just stir-fry these shredded cucumbers and cabbage, and stir-fry the potatoes. That's enough!"

The old lady stopped me, so I forgot to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Once the meat and soup were heated up, Lin Chuntao quickly stir-fried the vegetables, including shredded melon and cabbage with pork cracklings, and finally potato slices. While she was cooking, she quickly prepared a dipping sauce with ginger and garlic.

She asked Lin Chunxing to go to Aunt Guizhi's house to see if she had returned and to invite her over for dinner.

Lin Chunxing left quickly and returned quickly, while Aunt Guizhi hadn't returned from the county town yet, so they ate first.

The bright red, oily dipping sauce looks so appetizing that it makes your mouth water.

Perhaps it was the dipping sauce that made the cooked meat taste surprisingly delicious.

Pei Ying wasn't very good at eating spicy food, but he found it addictive. The meat that had been dipped in that sauce was completely different from the meat he had cooked before.

After a morning of work, the elderly couple were in a great mood as they enjoyed their meal.

After the meal, Pei Ying cleared the table and washed the dishes. Lin Chuntao and Sun Shi sat in the courtyard to rest. Pei Ying turned to Lin Chuntao and said, "If you want vegetables in the future, you can pick them from my field. I have cabbage, tomatoes and peppers. You won't have to spend any more money."

Lin Chuntao understood her good intentions and said with a smile, "I saw Aunt Guizhi selling vegetables in the county town. She has a lot of vegetables, so I made an appointment with her to go pick some every few days."

"Although it's only one vegetable per meal, it's not easy to eat it every day. I'll plant some when I'm busy these next few days."

Mrs. Sun smiled and said, "It's more convenient to eat what we grow ourselves."

After Pei Ying finished tidying up, and the oxen had eaten and drunk their fill, everyone returned to the fields to continue working.

Just as they were working, Aunt Guizhi arrived and joined them in planting seeds. Pei Ying was assigned by Lin Chuntao to break up clods of earth, which made things much faster.

The sun hadn't even set by the time these two plots were finished being planted.

Lin Cunzheng said, "Let's plant some more on the back mountain."

A large group of people went to the back mountain and planted most of the land before they finished. The old man and the old woman went home to wash up, Lin Chuntao went back to cook, and Pei Ying went to cut grass for the cows.

As dusk approached, after preparing dinner, Lin Chuntao personally went to call Lin Cunzheng and the others to come and eat.

That day, they planted nearly three acres of land.

It was only the first day, and everyone was full of energy. But later on, everyone got tired, and it was considered good if they could plant about two acres a day.

After dinner, it was already dark. Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao lit torches to send the old couple and Aunt Guizhi back home.

When they returned, Lin Chunxing and the others had already washed up and gone to bed. Lin Duo'er was massaging Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe's backs and shoulders. When she saw Lin Chuntao return, Lin Duo'er called out, "Sister, come quickly, let me massage you."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You massage your second and third sisters first, I'll go tie up the cow."

Lin Chuntao locked the cow in the room where the piglets lived, but she was worried, so she stretched out the rope and tied it to the door frame of Pei Ying's room so that Pei Ying would know if there was any movement.

Pei Ying said, "It's okay, I'm a light sleeper."

Lin Chuntao nodded and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

Pei Ying gave an irrelevant answer, looking at her hand rubbing her lower back, and asked in a low voice, "Does your lower back hurt?"

Lin Chuntao nodded, then rubbed her shoulders, "My back and shoulders are sore too."

Pei Ying pushed open the door, turned around and said to her, "Come in and sit down, I'll give you a massage."

Lin Chuntao was stunned, her thoughts drifting. Pei Ying reached out and pulled her wrist, leading her into the house. He then brought over a stool for her to sit down.

He reached out and brushed her hair to one side, then began massaging her shoulders, neck, and back. Pei Ying's movements were gentle, yet the massage left her feeling much more relaxed. After finishing her shoulders and neck, he casually massaged her arms as well. Seeing the familiar finger techniques, Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "Did you often give massages before?"

“My master gets headaches, so I follow the traditional Chinese medicine teachings and often have to massage his head.”

Lin Chuntao nodded and said softly, "It's quite comfortable."

"Go lie face down on the bed, I'll massage your back."

Thinking of her almost broken back, she didn't hesitate at all and went over to lie down.

Pei Ying's broad palm landed on her lower back, almost covering her entire waist with one hand. Pei Ying frowned slightly, thinking that Lin Chuntao was too thin and needed to eat more to nourish herself.

Through the thin fabric of her clothes, Lin Chuntao felt the warmth of Pei Ying's palm. He applied a little pressure, and Lin Chuntao let out a muffled groan.

"Did you press too hard? If it hurts, tell me and I'll be gentler."

Lin Chuntao shook her head, "It's not painful, it's just too sore."

Pei Ying said, "You did too much today. I'll come back earlier tomorrow and I'll plant the seeds."

"It's alright. You just started working. If you leave too early, the shopkeeper and Old Zhang might not be happy."

Pei Ying smiled and said, "Then make less in the morning and I'll finish it when I get back."

As the two chatted, Lin Chuntao felt her back and waist relax considerably, and she was so sleepy that she wanted to fall asleep right away.

Pei Ying gently called her name and asked, "Asleep?"

Hearing the man's voice, Lin Chuntao suddenly woke up, turned over, and met Pei Ying's gaze.

Pei Ying was staring intently at her. She pressed her temples and sat up, pretending nothing was wrong.

"I'm too tired, I'm going back to sleep first, you should go to sleep early too."

As she spoke, she got up and walked outside. Pei Ying hummed in agreement and told her to watch her step.

After returning to her room and lying down, Lin Chuntao's heart was still pounding.

Lin Duo'er got up and called to her, "Sister, let me come and give you a back massage."

Lin Chuntao waved her hand, "No need to press anymore, go to sleep, I'm sleepy."

As soon as they finished speaking, they all fell asleep.

The system announced the arrival of today's points twice before midnight, but Lin Chuntao was not woken up.

She slept until dawn, and when she woke up, Pei Ying had already left.

The system kept broadcasting that there were green-headed mushrooms four miles away. Lin Chuntao thought it wasn't too far, so she told Lin Chunxing and went there with a basket on her back and a bamboo basket in her hand. She picked up a small basketful of green-headed mushrooms. After going down the mountain, she met Aunt Guizhi, who was driving a mule cart into town to sell vegetables. After thinking for a while, she entrusted the green-headed mushrooms to her.

Aunt Guizhi smiled and let her pick the mushrooms in the bamboo basket. She was surprised to see that they were all green-headed mushrooms.

"These mushrooms are so pure, they must be expensive, right? How much did you sell them for per pound before?"

"The green-headed mushrooms are selling for twelve coins a pound, thank you for your trouble, Auntie!"

Aunt Guizhi laughed and said, "Don't mention it, it was just a favor."

Lin Chuntao didn't pick them all up, leaving enough for two meals. She smiled and said, "If Auntie comes back early, come to our house for some mushrooms."

"Okay, I'll try to get back as soon as possible. I haven't had any mushrooms this year."

Lin Chuntao likes to deal with straightforward people, and Aunt Guizhi is one of them.

"I'll save it for my aunt."

Aunt Guizhi smiled broadly and drove off with her mule.

At the market, Aunt Guizhi set up her stall as usual, ready to hawk her baskets of vegetables, but then she thought of Lin Chuntao's green-headed mushrooms.

Instead, they started hawking the mushrooms.

As soon as the name "Green-headed Mushroom" was announced, many people looked over. After a warm greeting, those who wanted to buy or just take a look moved over to the stall.

"Hey girl, I just picked some green-headed mushrooms today, twelve coins a pound, wanna buy a pound?"

The woman watching noticed that the mushrooms were indeed fresh, and another young woman, holding her hand, said softly, "Sister-in-law, these mushrooms are really good. I just wonder if the girl who often comes to sell mushrooms has found any more termite mushrooms."

Aunt Guizhi frowned slightly, then tentatively asked, "Are you talking about a tall, thin girl with a plum blossom birthmark on the back of her hand?"

Upon hearing about the plum blossom birthmark, the woman laughed and said, "Yes, yes, it's her. You know her?"

Aunt Guizhi recognized the name immediately and smiled, "I know her, she's my niece. She's been busy with farm work these past few days and can't come. These mushrooms are the ones she picked, and I'm helping her sell them."

"So you're relatives after all. Okay, give me two pounds of mushrooms."

Having received the message, Aunt Guizhi methodically weighed the mushrooms for the woman. After weighing them, she casually asked, "Sister, do you want to buy vegetables? Twenty-five coins for a bamboo basket, it has all kinds of vegetables in it. My niece helped me put together this basket of vegetables. She said that if people buy too many kinds of vegetables, they won't be able to finish them all. But if they don't buy any but still want to eat, she put together this basket of vegetables to ensure that everyone can eat what they want. It can even take care of what family members want to eat, so there's no waste and it's convenient!"

The woman peered over and took a closer look. It was indeed a dish with tomatoes, eggplants, cabbage, chives, and gourds, along with scallions and garlic. Almost all the vegetables were cooked in one meal, with nothing wasted. She thought the dish was cleverly prepared, but felt that twenty-five coins was a bit expensive. She smiled and lowered the price: "Could you make it cheaper? Twenty-five coins is a bit too expensive."

Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Little sister, this basket of vegetables will last you at least two days, and if there are fewer people in your family, it might even last three days. It's a good deal."

The young girl stared at it for a moment and then smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, let's buy a basket. Dad said he wanted to eat stir-fried eggs with chives, and my brother wanted to eat eggplant. You like to eat melon, so this is perfect."

Hearing her sister-in-law's words, the woman took out her money and said with a smile, "Then I'll take a basket."

Aunt Guizhi took the money and handed over the shopping basket, which the young woman quickly took, saying, "I'll carry it!"

As soon as the two sisters-in-law left, the people waiting behind started urging them to weigh the mushrooms. Many people bought a basket of vegetables along with the mushrooms. Because of these mushrooms, Aunt Guizhi's entire mule cart of vegetables was sold out before Chenshi (7-9 AM).

She happily packed her things and went home, thinking about chatting with Lin Chuntao and starting a small business together.

*

There was no need to delay by leading the ox today; just as dawn broke, the Lin family, the old couple, came over together.

Lin Chuntao had just returned and started a fire, preparing to make a few more buckwheat pancakes.

"Grandma, you're here so early?"

Upon seeing the person enter, Lin Chuntao quickly got up and went to greet them.

The old lady looked at the buckwheat dough she was holding and the pot on the fire and laughed, "It's not hot when you're working in the fields early, are you going to make pancakes?"

Lin Chuntao nodded, "Yeah, let's make some pancakes to tide us over, otherwise we won't be able to keep going at work."

“You can’t work without eating, but you still have sweet potatoes and potatoes, right? Boil a pot of them tonight and roast them in the morning. I see your buckwheat is ground very finely; you must have bought it from a grain store, right?”

"Yes, I bought it a few days ago," Lin Chuntao said.

The old lady sighed softly and muttered, "These noodles aren't cheap, how can you be so careless? Farming is hard work, but you can eat a couple of potatoes or sweet potatoes in the morning and still be full."

Lin Chuntao listened, understanding the old lady's good intentions. She knew a bushel of flour wouldn't last long, but not only had they lent them a plow, but the old couple had also helped them with the farming. How could they not eat well?

Lin Cunzheng went to check on the cow. Lin Chuntao had given it the fodder earlier, and now that it had eaten enough, she led it to drink water.

After the buckwheat pancakes were made and the cows had eaten and drunk their fill, everyone sat in the yard, quickly ate their pancakes, locked the gate, and took their things to the fields.

When Aunt Guizhi returned, Lin Chuntao and the others were still busy in the fields.

She slung her basket over her shoulder, picked a few more radishes, took a sickle, and headed straight for the back of the mountain.

Seeing that Lin Chuntao and her group had already planted almost half of their second plot of land, Chuntao was somewhat surprised to see her.

"Auntie, you're back so early today?"

Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Thanks to you, there are more people buying mushrooms, which has helped my vegetables sell much faster."

After saying that, Aunt Guizhi greeted Lin Cunzheng and Sun Shi. Sun Shi asked her with a smile, "Have you almost sold out of your vegetables?"

"Aunt, it's still early."

As they were talking, Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Are you thirsty? I brought some radishes."

"I was just thirsty, and you've come, Auntie." Lin Chuntao said, inviting Lin Cunzheng and Sun Shi to rest for a while, peel some radishes to eat, and then plant more.