Chapter 83 Sister Chuntao, how about I go buy it for you...

The elderly couple sat for a while and then left.

As the sun began to set, Lin Chuntao called to Lin Chunxing and the others to quickly prepare dinner.

After dinner was ready, she washed some of the damaged potatoes, put them in an earthenware pot to cook, and then began to eat.

The potatoes weren't cooked by the time they finished dinner. Before, they would just throw the pig feed into the pigpen, but they couldn't do that with the cooked potatoes. If they didn't finish them, it would all go to waste. They needed a basin.

The number of earthenware basins for washing was limited and couldn't be moved, so Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying took advantage of the sunset to go to the carpenter's house in the next village and bought a wooden basin. The carpenter's skills were not as good as those in the county town; he could only make some simple items. The wooden basin was not coated with tung oil, so it was cheaper.

They were fast on their feet, and when they returned, the sun hadn't completely set yet. Lin Chunxing had already chopped the pig feed into small pieces, as instructed by Lin Chuntao. They just needed to chop it; there was no need to cook it.

They used to raise livestock in a rough manner, while some families raise livestock very meticulously, cooking pig and chicken feed. She thought that after chopping them up, they would also be cooked.

But Lin Chuntao said it wasn't necessary, so she did as she was told. After finishing, she washed the knife and put it away. She looked at the potatoes in the basin on the stove and saw that they were cooked. She then called Lin Chunhe to take them down to cool.

While it's still light, wash and let the vegetables we need for tomorrow cool, and chop the minced meat.

Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying entered the courtyard and saw the three sisters busy at work.

Seeing Lin Chuntao return empty-handed, Lin Duo'er quickly asked, "Sister, didn't you buy anything?"

“I bought it. Your brother-in-law, take it.”

As they were talking, Pei Ying came in from outside the courtyard carrying a wooden basin.

Are the potatoes cooked yet?

Lin Chunxing: "It's cooked. I've brought it down. The pig feed is chopped too."

Lin Chuntao carried a bamboo tube over and crushed the potato, which was quickly mashed into a paste. There was still water left over from boiling the potato in the basin. The mashed potato dissolved in the water. She asked Pei Ying to pour the pig feed chopped by Lin Chunxing into the wooden basin, and then she poured the mashed potato from the earthenware basin onto the pig feed, stirred it, and asked Pei Ying to take the pig feed to the pigpen.

She and Pei Ying stood at the door watching, and their younger sisters, also curious, hurried over to watch.

The pig sniffed around the wooden basin, then quickly buried its head in its food and began to eat voraciously. Not only did it finish eating, but it also licked the basin clean. After it finished eating, it looked up at Lin Chuntao and the others, then went back to lie down on the fallen leaves, completely satisfied.

Lin Chuntao took out the wooden basin and closed the circular door.

Lin Chunhe sighed, "Sure enough, it's craving potatoes, so it won't eat the pig feed. It ate more than a penny's worth of food in this meal."

Lin Chuntao said, "It's about two or three pounds. We're going to kill one for meat this year. The more it eats, the more meat it will grow. Then we won't worry about the cost when we eat it."

Lin Chunhe smiled and said, "Then let's wait for it to grow bigger!"

After feeding and cooking, the chickens that had gone out to forage returned. They wandered around the yard for a while before going into the coop on their own.

Before the minced meat was finished, Pei Ying went to mince it, while Lin Chuntao and Lin Chunxing washed the vegetables and put them in a bamboo sieve, covered them with gauze to drain.

When I finally finished everything and looked up at the sky, I realized that the sun had already set and night was slowly falling.

After tidying up the things in the yard, Lin Chuntao went to check the soy sauce vats. She had made quite a lot last time, enough to last for cooking rice noodles for a while, so she decided to make some more to store.

Even if the cooperation with the Chai family fails, she is prepared to find new sales channels; it's better to produce the goods first and keep them on hand.

At dusk, the village was still lively. Some of the children were playing "eagle catches chicks" on the threshing ground, while others were playing hide-and-seek, making quite a fuss. The adults were chatting in the courtyard, enjoying the cool breeze, or taking walks along the road, with voices everywhere.

Lin Chuntao took two burlap sacks, wandered around the village, chatted with some people, bought some soybeans and brought them back. She also mentioned that if anyone had soybeans to sell, they could pick up some pebbles and dirt and bring them to her.

Sun had previously mentioned to Aunt Guizhi that she wanted some sauce, but hadn't brought it yet. She also took the opportunity to visit the village head's house.

"Grandma, the sauce is ready. When you have time, please get a jar and bring it over to store it."

Mrs. Sun agreed and brought a stool for her to sit on.

Seeing the half-full bag of soybeans she had placed at her feet, Chen Dongniang smiled and asked, "Are you going to continue making sauce?"

"Yes, I need to make some more. I just bought some soybeans." Lin Chuntao paused before continuing, "I didn't buy many. I'll have to buy some more tomorrow."

Hearing Lin Chuntao and Chen Dongniang's conversation, Lin Jiahui, who was standing nearby, had a thought flash through his mind. The young man was not old and had no other thoughts, so he directly asked, "Sister Chuntao, are you going to buy a lot? Are you going to go to other villages to buy more?"

Lin Chuntao nodded upon hearing this.

Lin Jiahui laughed and said, "How about I go buy it for you?"

Before Lin Chuntao could speak, Chen Dongniang scolded, "You brat, do you even know how to do it before you say you're going to buy it? I think you're just trying to shirk your responsibilities again."

Lin Jiahui scratched his head. Lin Chuntao looked at him. He was a young man, not very old, but tall and thin, and quite strong to carry things.

"Can you calculate the money?" Lin Chuntao asked.

Lin Jiahui nodded. "I can calculate it."

The children in the village had never been to school, but things like counting money didn't seem like learning to write; any bright child could learn them in everyday life.

Lin Chuntao thought that she had a lot of things to do at home, and if she were to sell sauce in the future, she would need a lot of people to help with the work. Since Lin Jiahui wanted to do it, she would test him and give him the opportunity.

Lin Chuntao gave him a few simple questions, which he answered quickly. They also chatted about things like pricing strategies when buying things, and he seemed to have a very sharp mind.

Lin Chuntao nodded in satisfaction.

Lin Jiahui wasn't as outgoing as Lin Jiaye, and he hadn't said much when he brought things to Lin Chuntao. But now he looked at Lin Chuntao with anticipation: "Sister Chuntao, is what I said okay?"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay." After saying that, she turned to look at Chen Dongniang, and Lin Jiahui naturally looked at his mother as well. He knew that he needed the adults' permission to do this.

Chen Dongniang said helplessly to Lin Chuntao, "He has never done these things before. If he doesn't do them well, it will ruin your plans."

Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Jiahui and said to Chen Dongniang, "If Auntie agrees, let him give it a try. I don't need much right now, and it won't cause too much trouble."

After saying that, she said to Lin Jiahui, "I want to buy soybeans and dried chili peppers. You can buy them in the county town, but the price will be higher. We'll sell them in the villages, and the price won't be higher than in the county town. We'll try to get the same price as the grain purchase price. You can go and check out the prices at the grain shops tomorrow, and then go to other villages to see how much you can buy in a day."

“I’m not buying too much right now, so I don’t need to buy every day. If you buy one day’s worth for me, I’ll give you thirty coins.”

As soon as Lin Chuntao said this, not only Sun Shi and Chen Dongniang, but also Lin Changzong and Lin Cunzheng, who were sitting over there, looked over.

After the busy farming season, they would go to the county town to find work during their free time. Most of their jobs involved carrying things, digging ditches, carrying soil, carrying stones, etc. They did pure manual labor and earned only thirty coins a day. Sometimes the foreman would take a little extra, and they would get more than twenty coins.

This brat got a job just by making a fuss?

They stared at Lin Chuntao for a moment. They knew that the sisters had been doing much better lately, but considering that they still needed to save money to build a house, and she was being so generous, they wondered if she had enough money to save up for building the house.

Sun was pleased to hear this, but she also thought that since they often visited each other and Lin Chuntao was a polite and kind person, they couldn't really accept that much money from her.

“What are you talking about, kid? He’s just being lazy at home. Just consider it as him going out to visit villages. There’s no need to give him any money.”

Lin Chuntao said, "It's different. If I ask him to fetch something for me, that's helping me, his older sister. It's not something that happens overnight. Besides, if I'm very busy, I trust Jia Hui to help me, and my grandmother and aunt can help him."

Sun said, "Don't you still need to save money to build a house? You have to be careful with your money to save up for that silly child."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I'll save as I go. I'll probably go find a craftsman by the end of the month. Before I go, I'll have to ask my great-grandfather to help me redraw the boundaries of the house site."

Mrs. Sun was quite surprised. It was the end of the month, and there were only a few days left.

"Have you saved enough money to build a house?"

Lin Chuntao shook her head: "It's not enough yet, but it's almost September, so I'm thinking of building it first and saving money as I go."

"Are you going to hire a craftsman from the county town? The wages there aren't low."

Chen Dongniang asked, "Most families in the village hire villagers to help build their houses. It doesn't cost much, it's just a bit slow. We need to cook some food for everyone."

Sun said, "That's right, it would be cheaper to have someone from the village build it."

“Everyone in the village is busy with the autumn harvest. I went to see him a few days ago. The craftsman also has carpenters at home who can do all the work, including the doors and windows of the wooden building, all at once. He also has several bricklayers, so it should be done even faster.”

After thinking about it, Sun realized that it was true. Autumn was approaching, and there would be a lot to do after the harvest. Everyone would be busy storing the grain in the granary, and building houses would also require working all day. They really didn't have time.

Lin Chuntao had her own ideas, so they didn't say much. Madam Sun only said, "If you need any help, just let me know."

Lin Chuntao nodded and sat and chatted for a while before going back.

Sun and the others felt a bit emotional; the days seemed to pass in a daze, as if only a few months had gone by, but it felt like several years had passed.

The sisters, who had nothing just a few months ago, are now able to afford to hire workers and are about to build a new house.

Lin Jiahui was overjoyed. He just wanted to do something with Lin Chuntao and he would be happy to receive a few coins. He never expected that Lin Chuntao would give him thirty coins a day.

Thirty coins! If he works for ten days, he'll have three hundred coins!

Is he about to strike it rich?

"Mom, I'm going to make a lot of money!"

He spoke excitedly but in a low voice, and Chen Dongniang said helplessly, "Keep your mouth shut and don't go around spouting nonsense. Since your sister Chuntao said you can give it a try, then go ahead and give it a try."

Lin Jiahui nodded; he certainly wouldn't talk about this outside.

He suddenly said that he had been hearing Lin Qingqing keep mentioning that Chunxing had gone out to make money, and that she also wanted to make money, but didn't know what to do.

He really wanted to suggest that Lin Qingqing talk to Sister Chuntao, just in case they could get her involved.

But then he thought about how Lin Qingqing's mother wanted to find her a husband. If he encouraged her and Lin Chuntao actually took Lin Qingqing to do things, wouldn't his second aunt cause them trouble?

After thinking about it, I swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

After Lin Chuntao returned, she told Pei Ying and Lin Chunxing about it. Lin Chunhe was a little surprised, "Sister, can I go and buy some?"

Her surprise was tinged with a hint of heartache, probably because of the thirty coins she had lost.

Lin Chuntao gently patted her head.

“If we buy it, we’ll have to carry it back. You can’t carry it all. Besides, we might need to ask someone to help us with something in a few days, and we’ll need you to keep an eye on things then.”

Should I see it?

"Um."

"What are we going to do?" Lin Duo'er interjected.

Lin Chuntao said, "Making sauce involves cutting and pounding chili peppers, as well as grinding beans into powder. If we make a lot, we'll have to hire people. Doing it all ourselves is not only slow but also tiring."

Lin Chunhe thought of the vat of sauce Lin Chuntao made last time, and how her arms were still sore for several days afterward.

It is indeed necessary to ask someone for help.

"Also, we're going to hire someone to build a house in a few days, and we'll have to cook for them. Your second sister and I are busy, and you and Duo'er definitely won't be able to manage it, so we'll definitely have to hire someone."

Seeing her sisters looking dazed, Lin Chuntao said, "We still have a lot to do at home." She patted Lin Chunhe and said, "Learn to manage things, but you don't necessarily have to do them yourself."

Lin Chunhe nodded, and Lin Duo'er, who was next to her, looked up and asked, "Big sister, what should I do?"

"You're still young, so you should help out the older girls first."

Lin Duo'er chuckled. It was already dark, and everyone washed up and went to sleep.

The Chai family had dinner together again tonight, and afterwards they stayed to discuss Lin Chuntao's sauce recipe.

Because of He Changyu, Chai Songchuan was somewhat hesitant. The person they saw today seemed to be benefiting Lin Chuntao too much, making them feel like they were doing her a favor. However, they also felt that the relationship between He Changyu and Lin Chuntao was a bit strange. If they cooperated, they could use the relationship between Lin Chuntao and He Changyu in the future.

Guo Jixiang thought that perhaps she should go and propose marriage as soon as possible. If they became family, everything would be easier.

Chai Laosan was somewhat displeased. If they could get involved with He Changyu, the eldest son's position would be even more secure. What was the point of them bothering to do this?

It was only a relief that Chai Xingyu lost interest in the soy sauce factory, and now this incident has left him half-dead.

If Chai Xingyu succeeds in this endeavor and enters the soy sauce factory, it will be difficult to expel him later.

"Brother, I think we should think about it some more. She doesn't have a better place to go than our sauce shop. That sir can't exactly go and help her sell sauce, can he?"

After Chai Laosan finished speaking, Chai Songchuan remained silent, and Guo Jixiang also kept quiet.

Chai Jiao was somewhat unhappy today. A poor peasant girl like her actually knew the current prefect, and was even referred to as an old friend by him...

She was completely baffled.

Her husband couldn't directly pry into his boss's private affairs, which put her in a very passive position.

She was still preoccupied with her worries and had no time to think about the soy sauce factory.

It was Chai Xingyu who spoke up to echo Chai Laosan's words.

“I also think that what Third Uncle said makes sense. Since our family has rejected Madam Lin today, let’s just let it go and let this matter rest.”

When he said that, several adults looked at him.

Even Chai Jiao frowned.

Something's not right here.

She could tell that Chai Xingyu really liked what he was making, so why give up like that?