Chapter 31 - Two-in-one is impossible! They ate...

The group sat down on the edge of the field, and Aunt Guizhi peeled a radish for each of them. The spring radishes had lush leaves and were small in size, not very juicy, but quite sweet.

I ate one and wanted more, but you can't eat too many raw radishes. They promote digestion and make you hungry again very quickly, not to mention they can cause burping.

After eating the radishes, Aunt Guizhi joined in the farming. They worked until around noon, when Lin Chuntao called it a day.

Everyone returned home together, and Aunt Guizhi helped with the cooking, while Lin Chuntao squatted in the yard washing mushrooms.

The old lady looked at the basket of green-headed mushrooms and then at Lin Chuntao with a surprised expression: "You went mushroom picking this morning?"

Lin Chuntao nodded, "I went to pick them up. I ran into Aunt Guizhi on my way down the mountain, so I asked her to help me sell them."

Thinking about how they had all worked hard all day yesterday, and how tired they were, let alone the young girls like Lin Chuntao, she was surprised that she was still able to get up early to pick mushrooms.

As long as you work hard, your life will always get better day by day.

She said with a smile, "You two, aunt and nephew, can work together."

Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "I was just thinking about that. I think Chun Tao and I can set up a stall together in the future. If she's too busy to go, I can help her sell mushrooms."

Lin Chuntao understood the implication in his words and laughed, "As long as we can find mushrooms, that's no problem at all. My aunt and I can find a spot and call out to them together."

Pei Ying returned before the mushrooms were even washed.

For lunch today, Lin Chuntao cooked a mushroom in meat broth, added some shredded radish, and cooked it together. It was refreshing and not greasy, and very delicious.

She also stir-fried a pig liver with chili peppers. She soaked the pig liver in dried ginger to remove the blood, then stir-fried it with scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. The pig liver was perfectly sliced, tender and delicious, and the fishy smell was absorbed by the seasonings. Aunt Guizhi, who loves pig liver, praised it highly. Lin Cunzheng and Pei Ying, who almost never eat pig liver, were eager to try it. After taking a bite, they discovered a whole new world. They realized that liver could be made to taste like this.

After eating the shredded radish and mushrooms cooked in the meat broth, Aunt Guizhi laughed and said, "I just realized that Chuntao is such a good cook! Radish can be cooked like this, it tastes much better than boiled radish chunks."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I just throw whatever's in the pot and stir-fry it together. I'll make a tomato and eggplant stir-fry for the aunties tonight."

When everyone thought of the sour tomatoes and the dark eggplants, Aunt Guizhi and Madam Sun both waved their hands and refused in unison.

The two men mentioned that a family in the village had served this dish at a banquet before. Large chunks of tomatoes and eggplants were stir-fried together. Forget about whether it tasted good or not, the appearance of the dish looked like pig swill, making it unappetizing.

Lin Chuntao said, "Of course I will do it."

In the afternoon, Aunt Guizhi and Pei Ying went to the fields together. There were many people farming, and since they went early in the morning, they finished work early in the evening.

Lin Cunzheng liked the cow very much. After the ceremony, he led it to graze by the mountainside, while Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe followed, looking for berries and wild fruits on the ridge.

Sun and Aunt Guizhi went home to feed the chickens and pigs, while Pei Ying was assigned by Lin Chuntao to cut pig feed. The two sisters stayed home to cook.

As promised, Lin Chuntao washed both vegetables, and Lin Chunxing was stunned.

"Sis, are you really going to do this?"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Of course."

Lin Chunxing looked at her pleadingly, "Forget it, can we just make scrambled eggs with tomatoes instead?"

"I can make scrambled eggs with tomatoes if you want, but we'll steam buckwheat rice tonight. Trust me, my scrambled eggs with tomatoes is delicious."

Lin Chunxing wanted to believe Lin Chuntao, but everyone had eaten both of these things before, and they knew what it tasted like when stir-fried together. Even though Lin Chunxing was a great cook, she was still hesitant to believe her.

But there was nothing she could do; her sister wanted to do it, so she had to help.

"Go boil some water and blanch these two tomatoes."

After giving the instructions, Lin Chuntao took a knife and cut off a piece of meat, four parts fat and six parts lean, quickly washed it clean and chopped it into minced meat.

Lin Chunxing, who was standing nearby, had also finished blanching the tomatoes. She looked at Lin Chuntao and asked, "Sister, they're done blanching. Do you want me to cut them?"

"Don't cut it yet, peel off the skin first."

As Lin Chuntao spoke, she scooped out flour, preparing to start steaming buckwheat rice.

Lin Chunxing tried peeling the tomato skin and found that large pieces came off easily with a gentle pull, incredibly smooth. After peeling the two tomatoes, she put them in a bowl. Lin Chuntao brought over an eggplant, which was still very tender and didn't need to be peeled. She cut it into small cubes.

The green-headed mushrooms weren't finished yet. Everyone loved the way it was cooked this morning, especially the elderly couple, who liked to soak their rice in the broth from the braised mushrooms. Lin Chuntao made a similar dish for dinner.

Because she had chili oil, Lin Chuntao casually made a cucumber salad and marinated it in advance.

After the rice was cooked, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er returned with the village head and the cattle. Lin Chuntao asked Chunxing to call Aunt Guizhi and Grandma to come eat, while she asked Chunhe to fetch water for Lin Chunzheng to wash his hands.

After she took the steamer off the stove, she started cooking.

The sizzling sound of oil and the aroma of meat and vegetables wafted through the yard.

When Chunxing called Sunshi and Aunt Guizhi back, they happened to meet Qianshi and Lin Changhe at the intersection as they returned from the fields.

Qian and the others greeted Aunt Guizhi and Sun, "Aunt and sister-in-law, where are you going?"

Sun pointed in the direction of Lin Chuntao's house and said with a smile, "Let's go to Chuntao's house for dinner."

Madam Qian curled her lips into a smile, her gaze falling on Lin Chunxing. Lin Chunxing pretended not to see her and walked past.

With Madam Sun present, they didn't say a word, nor did they call out to Lin Chunxing.

After the three left, Qian glared at Lin Changhe and said, "Why don't you ask that brat what her brother-in-law does in the county town? I heard from the villagers that he was carrying meat when he came back yesterday."

Lin Changhe was very disdainful.

"If she doesn't call me 'Laozi,' why should I call her 'Laozi'?"

Ms. Qian rolled her eyes, thinking that he was hopeless.

They said it casually, but the children remembered it: Lin Chuntao and the others would have meat to eat.

Back home, everyone had something to do: feeding the pigs, feeding the chickens, cooking, fetching water, and resting in the yard after washing up. The children also ran around inside and outside the yard.

After a busy day, adults usually don't restrain them anymore and let them play as they please.

Lin Jiacai from the fourth branch of the family, and Lin Jialang and Lin Jiarong from the fifth branch, secretly sneaked outside Lin Chuntao's courtyard.

Lin Chuntao and the others had already served the dishes and were inviting everyone to sit down and start eating.

Sun and Aunt Guizhi saw the tomato and eggplant stir-fry that Lin Chuntao had made. It was different from what they had expected. There was minced meat in it, and the eggplant pieces were coated in a rich broth, which looked quite appetizing.

Mrs. Sun smiled and said, "I have to try Chun Tao's tomato and eggplant stir-fry first. It looks quite different."

Lin Chunxing had already tasted it, and she never expected that it could taste like this again.

Previously, it was said that scrambled eggs with tomatoes are suitable for mixing with noodles, and she felt that this dish is even more suitable for mixing with noodles.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Grandma, please try it. I think it's quite delicious."

As she spoke, she took a pair of chopsticks and started serving everyone meat. They could eat the other dishes slowly, but the meat had to be served first.

Outside the courtyard, Lin Jialang and his companions were not as tall as the bamboo fence, so they came up with a plan: one of them would carry the other on their backs to look into the courtyard.

Lin Jiacai was the eldest of the three little kids, and he had Lin Jialang carry him on his back, instantly making him taller than the bamboo fence.

Lin Chuntao and the others were eating in the courtyard. It was still quite bright when the Lin family noticed the four or five dishes on the table, with the bowl of meat dumplings being particularly eye-catching!

His eyes widened, and he kept swallowing hard.

Lin Jiacai remained silent for a while. Lin Jialang, thinking he hadn't seen it, asked, "Brother, did you see them? Are they eating meat?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao and the others turned around to look. Lin Jiacai, caught red-handed, was so frightened that she forgot she was still riding on Lin Jialang's shoulders. Without holding onto anything, she fell backward and tumbled down, taking Lin Jialang with her.

Lin Jiacai fell and hurt his leg, howling in pain.

Madam Sun frowned and asked, "Was that Jia Cai just now?"

"It looks like her," Aunt Guizhi said.

Lin Chuntao put down her chopsticks and said, "I'll go take a look."

Sun and Aunt Guizhi also put down their bowls and chopsticks and came out. Aunt Guizhi asked first, "Jiacai, how are you?"

Lin Jiacai cried out, "Auntie, I think my leg is broken!"

Madam Sun frowned and looked at Lin Jialang and Lin Jiarong, "Where are you two? Are you alright?"

Lin Jialang and Lin Jiarong only bruised their butts, got up, dusted themselves off, and were fine. They shook their heads and said, "It's nothing."

Sun said, "If there's nothing else, Jiarong, you stay here and keep Jiacai company. Jialang, go back and call your fourth uncle and aunt."

Upon hearing the news, Lin Jialang took off running. Without explaining why, he only told Lin Changhong and Yang Cuizhi, "Fourth Uncle, Fourth Aunt, Brother Jiacai's leg is broken!"

Upon hearing this, Yang angrily retorted, "You heartless brat, you've quarreled with your brother again and are cursing him?"

Lin Jialang was bent over, holding his knees and panting heavily.

"His leg really is broken, right outside Chun Tao's house."

Upon hearing that it was related to Lin Chuntao, Lin Changhong asked directly, "Was it that brat Lin Chuntao who beat you up?"

Lin Jialang shook his head: "No, it was Jiacai who told us to go see if Chuntao's family was eating meat, and he accidentally fell."

Yang's brow twitched, and she took off running towards Lin Chuntao's house.

Lin Changhong and the rest of the Lin family followed closely behind.

Lin Chuntao thought that Lin Jiacai had probably dislocated his shoulder, but she didn't go to check on him. She hadn't hurt him, and if she went to check, the blame would fall on her.

She kept as far away from everyone in the Lin family as possible.

Lin Chuntao didn't step forward, nor did Sun Shi and Aunt Guizhi. They could lend a hand if Yang Shi were here, but not now. They were at Lin Chuntao's house, and with Yang Shi's shrewish nature, they were afraid that if she was unhappy, she would accuse them of protecting Lin Chuntao.

It's better to stay away from each other.

When Yang arrived, Lin Chunxing and Aunt Sun Guizhi were standing at the door, only a little over ten feet away from the Lin family. They watched helplessly as Lin Jiacai rolled on the ground in pain, and Yang was immediately furious.

"Jia Cai, what happened to you? How did you fall?"

When Yang's voice came, the Lin family cried out, feeling extremely wronged.

"Mom! My legs hurt so much!"

Yang rushed over and, looking at her son with his legs curled up, asked, "Where does it hurt? Point it out to your mother."

"I can't move here!"

"Mother, look at me, my son! Who did this?"

Lin Jiacai dared not admit that he had fallen because he was peeking on Lin Jialang's shoulders. Instead, he downplayed the incident and said, "Lin Chuntao scared me! That's why I fell!"

Hearing this and looking at the mother and son, Lin Chuntao twitched the corners of her mouth, crossed her arms, and looked as if she had expected this. She was not in a hurry and watched as the Lin family members hurriedly arrived from not far away.

Yang looked at Lin Changhe rushing over and cursed, "Lin Laosan, look at the good daughter you've raised!"

Lin Changhe muttered defiantly, "I only have one son, who's still in his wife's belly. You can't blame me for anything you do!"

Madam Qian asked with a hint of schadenfreude, "Who beat up Jia Cai?"

Seeing his son's state, Lin Changhong, in great pain, pointed at Lin Chuntao and scolded, "Lin Chuntao, why did you scare him?"

Looking at the group of people in front of her, Lin Chuntao said in a deep voice, "You say I scared him? You need to provide evidence. I was busy all day and was eating when the three of them were sneaking around outside doing something suspicious. They fell down and now they want to blame it on me?"

"Even if I didn't have witnesses, we could still sue the government! We must be responsible for our words!"

Lin Jialang was quite clever; he hid behind the adults without saying a word.

Lin Jiarong looked at his angry fourth uncle and aunt and said in a low voice, "Fourth Uncle, it was Jia Cai who fell down by himself. He was riding on Jia Lang's shoulders, trying to see if Chun Tao's family had eaten meat, when he suddenly fell down. I was also knocked down and fell on my butt."

Everyone in the Lin family looked at Lin Jiarong with mixed feelings, and Miao pulled him over.

"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Lin Jiarong looked up at Miao Shi with an innocent and naive expression.

“Mom, I’m not lying. We overheard my third aunt and uncle saying on the way here that my brother-in-law brought back some meat yesterday. Jia Cai wanted to know if it was true, so he brought us to see. The bamboo fence was too high for us to see, so Jia Cai asked my brother to carry him up to see.”

Lin Chuntao and the others heard these words clearly. The Lin family knew that this was true, but Lin Chuntao did not. At this moment, Qian Shi and Lin Changhe's faces were burning hot.

Upon hearing this, Yang felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow it. She called Lin Jialang over and asked, "Lin Jialang, tell me, is what my brother said true?"

Lin Jialang glanced at Miao Shi, pursed his lips and remained silent. Miao Shi said in a deep voice, "Fourth Sister-in-law, your eldest brother and sister-in-law are both here. They must know the truth. Why don't we ask them?"

Sun looked at Miao Feng, then at Yang Cuizhi, and said in a deep voice, "We were eating in the courtyard when we suddenly heard a child outside asking, 'Did you see? Are they eating meat?' We turned around and saw someone fall down. When we came out to look, we found out it was the three brothers."

"Fourth brother's family, before you came, no one here had ever met your family's talent."

Hearing the old lady's words, Yang said sarcastically, "Yes, you haven't met my Jia Cai, Auntie. You can stand by and watch the child writhe in pain on the ground!"

Sun was no pushover either; she chuckled.

"It's all because he has a mother like you. I can't stand by and watch. If it were someone else's child, I would probably have already taken him home in a mule cart and asked if we wanted to take him to the county town for a checkup. Your child is too precious for us to touch!"

After being rebuked by the old lady, Madam Yang glared fiercely at Lin Chuntao and then made veiled insults towards Lin Changhong.

Sun snorted coldly, not taking it seriously, and said to Lin Chuntao and the others, "Let's go back and eat. It's a waste of time to look at them any longer."

Lin Cun looked at the Lin family members and sighed helplessly. He said to Lin Changhai, "Take the child back to see them first. If you want to go to the county town, go find your older brother to pull the mule cart."

Lin Changhai nodded. "Thank you, Uncle."

As Lin Chuntao and the others closed their courtyard gate, Lin Changhai said in a deep voice, "Fourth brother, carry the family back first."

Not long after, there was silence outside the courtyard.

They rested for a while, and the food got a little cold. Lin Chuntao reheated the meat, steamed the pork liver and mushrooms, and then continued eating.

After carrying his son home, Lin Changhong invited an old man in the village who knew how to feel bones to take a look. The old man said it was dislocated and that it would be fine once it was put back in place.

Upon learning that the break hadn't occurred, Madam Yang breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Unlike her brothers and sisters-in-law, Lin Xian'er didn't have so many complicated schemes. She understood immediately that her nephews had fallen because they were peeping at other people to see if they were eating meat.

Ignoring the somber atmosphere at home, she asked Lin Jiacai directly.

"Jia Cai, do you see the meat?"

Lin Jiacai suddenly remembered the bowl full of meat on the table and his mouth watered.

"If you see it, you see it; if you don't see it, there's nothing to see. What are you doing not saying anything?"

Lin Jiacai looked up at Yang Shi, pouting and saying aggrievedly, "Mother, my feet hurt, I want to eat meat! I want boiled meat chunks!"

Lin Xian'er frowned slightly when she saw his expression.

"So, Lin Chuntao and the others are eating boiled meat dumplings?"

"Impossible! They're so poor they can't even afford food, how could they possibly cook meat?"

Hearing his aunt's indignant and disbelieving expression, Lin Jiacai said, "It's just meat dumplings, a whole big bowl full! There are three or four other dishes on the table! It smells so good!"

The Lin family members were speechless for a moment.

Lin Xian'er felt a little uncomfortable. Those brats who used to drool over her eating meat pies were now eating meat chunks.

Seeing how greedy Lin Jiacai looked, she felt that her whole family had been outshone by Lin Chuntao.

"It's just a meatball, right? Let's cook it and eat it!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Lin family turned to look at her.

"What are you looking at? Can't we afford it?"

Qian and Zhang twitched their lips. If you can afford it, then why don't you ask the old lady to take out her money to buy it?

Seeing the provocative looks in her sisters-in-law's eyes, Lin Xian'er turned to look at Tian Shi and said loudly, "Mother, I also want to eat meat dumplings."

Hearing her words, Madam Tian glared fiercely at her daughters-in-law, but couldn't bear to say a word against her foolish daughter.

Yang was furious. Seeing that her mother-in-law was ignoring her sister-in-law's words, she said sarcastically, "Xian'er, it seems that your mother doesn't love you as much as she used to. She didn't even suggest going to buy it. But it doesn't matter. You're not married yet. When you marry into a rich family, what's so great about a fat man? Wearing gold and silver is a million times better than some beggars."

Tian was still holding a winnowing basket, which contained the bran she was going to use to feed the chickens. When she heard Yang stirring things up, she grabbed a handful of bran and threw it at Yang's face.

"Since you're so eager to wear gold and silver, why don't you ask my son to divorce you and you go marry someone else?"

Yang was hit in the mouth with chaff, and she spat and spat back at Tian.

"Die! Make Lin Changhong write a letter of divorce right now. I'll take my son and remarry. It's much better than being a slave every day, having to ask for money even to buy a thread, and having to be subservient to others!"

When Tian heard Yang talking back, she rushed over with a winnowing basket in her hand.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Old Man Lin said in a deep voice, "What are you all doing gathered here? What time is it and the food is still not ready?"

"If you don't want to live here anymore, if you don't want to eat anymore, then get out!"

Everyone in the room fell silent. Zhang pulled the old lady away, and the others gradually dispersed. Lin Jia then looked at Yang and whispered, "Mother, I want to eat meat dumplings."

Looking at her son, Yang made a firm decision and spoke her mind.

"Don't worry, Mom will make sure you get to eat."

Yang Shi stopped causing trouble regarding Lin Jiacai's matter, and Lin Chuntao also stopped paying attention.

They were busy planting corn every day, and her method of cultivation improved efficiency considerably. They finished planting all the corn by the afternoon of the sixth day.

Lin Cunzheng and Sun Shi took her to return the ox, and Old Man Zheng was still a little unhappy.

"Twelve acres of land, and you finished planting it in six days? Did you make my ox work day and night?"

Lin Cunzheng laughed and said, "Brother Zheng, you're overthinking it. We finish work every day in the evening, so we definitely don't tire the oxen out. Chun Tao and the others plant corn, and we just plow the field once, which is why it's faster."

Old Zheng looked at Lin Chuntao with drooping eyebrows and eyes: "Isn't that wasteland? Will it survive if you cultivate it once and plant something?"

Looking at the old man, Lin Chuntao suddenly realized that the old man probably hoped they would stay a little longer so he could collect more money.

Otherwise, if they had returned the cattle earlier, why was he unhappy?

Lin Chuntao pretended to know nothing and said with a smile, "It should survive. The ox is fattening up right now, so we don't dare to overwork it. We plowed it once, and we broke up the clods of earth with a hoe. Don't worry, Grandpa Zheng, we cherish this ox very much."

Old Zheng gave a forced smile and went to inspect the cow.

Seeing that the cow was intact, with its shoulder hair still smooth and shiny and without any signs of wear and tear, the village head smiled and smoothed things over.

“I can see that you cherish this cow. Okay, then let’s do it this way.”

At this point, without mentioning the return of the two days' rent for the cattle, Lin Chuntao glanced at the village head and Sun Shi, who gave an awkward smile as if they were used to it. Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly; this situation seemed so familiar.

Paying the money is easy, but getting it back? Impossible!

She pondered for a moment, then smiled and asked Old Man Zheng, "By the way, Grandpa Zheng, I paid eight days' rent for the ox. Can the two unused days be extended until the autumn harvest?"

The four men in front of her, all over fifty years old, froze the moment they heard her words.

Old Zheng looked at the village head, who then looked at the village head and his wife. The old couple looked embarrassed.

The village head chuckled softly and then looked at Lin Chuntao.

"You little rascal, you're quite clever. I'll keep the ox for you. If you need it again after the autumn harvest, you can come and lead it."

"Alright, thank you, sir. Thank you, Grandpa Zheng."

On the way back, Sun and the village head exchanged glances several times, but said nothing.

Looking at their expressions, Lin Chuntao had a guess in her mind, and then asked.

"Grandma, is it true that the rent can only be paid and not refunded?"

Sun looked at her and said, "This ox, on the surface, is owned by Old Zheng, but in reality, it belongs to the village head. If someone in the area wants to rent an ox, they usually have to pay grain after the autumn harvest. You said you rented it for five days, but you only used it for three days, so you still have to pay five days' worth of grain. Besides, you paid in advance, so it's impossible to get the money back."

Mrs. Sun said, "It's my fault, I didn't tell you beforehand."

Lin Chuntao looked at the old lady and smiled, "I guessed it, that's why I said that on purpose."

Hayashi Muramasa: "..."

Sun sensed it, but thought that Lin Chuntao was usually very prudent and wouldn't be so reckless. But she didn't expect that Lin Chuntao was actually doing it on purpose.

“In our area, only the village head and his family have cattle. It’s not good to offend them.”

Sun only said it was bad, without going into details, but Lin Chuntao could probably guess what was going on.

She smiled and said, "That's why I didn't ask him to give me a refund directly." Lin Chuntao understood the mentality of people like this: they were happy when they got the money, but unhappy when it was returned.

Right after they left, Old Zheng complained to the village head with a displeased look on his face: "That little girl has no sense of propriety, she's still thinking about getting her money back! Why did you agree to give her two more days of cattle after the autumn harvest?"

The village head turned to look at Old Zheng. "What's wrong with giving her two more days? Now that she mentioned it, I've come up with a good idea."

Upon hearing the good idea, Old Zheng's eyes lit up, and he looked at the village head with anticipation.

"What's a good idea?"

The village head looked at him and smiled, "What do you think? Could we go to each village and hamlet during the autumn harvest to notify them to pay their grain and cattle rent in advance, so that it will be cheaper to use cattle for planting next spring?"

As soon as the village head finished speaking, Old Zheng perked up. He patted the village head on the shoulder and said, "Third brother, you're the sharpest one. Shall we give it a try this year?"

"Yes, before the autumn harvest, find a few people to go to the villages and beat drums and gongs."