Chapter 91 - Steamed Soybeans Combined

But Meng Yun listened to Lin Chuntao with a smile as she spoke, and then she took her notebook and went to get busy.

Lin Chuntao also had a lot to do; she soaked two hundred catties of beans in two basins.

The wooden basin is large. It was only half full when it was soaking, but now it's two full basins. The beans have doubled in size, and some bean shells are floating on the surface.

Lin Chuntao looked at the two large basins; this was a big job. She took a deep breath and prepared to get to work.

There were quite a few bean husks left after soaking. They were pounded before, so they were difficult to crush and couldn't be used in the sauce. She planned to try using a stone mill in a while. If she could grind them into bean powder, she would use them in the sauce.

She asked Lin Chunhe to bring a sieve, and scooped up all the bean shells and put them in the sieve. Some beans had broken shells but hadn't fallen off, so Lin Chuntao picked them up and rubbed them slightly to peel off the shells.

After hulling and changing the water for the beans, Lin Chuntao felt that it would probably take quite a while to prepare them. She said to Lin Chunhe next to her, "Go and get the steamer and wash it. Also, bring out the smaller earthenware pot for me. We're going to steam the beans."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chunhe quickly ran into the house and brought out the steamer and earthenware pot.

Lin Chuntao put the shelled beans directly into the small earthenware basin.

"Sister, do we need to wash the beans in the small basin again?"

Lin Chuntao said, "Okay, wash it again, and it can be steamed once it's clean."

Lin Chunhe said, "Then I'll wash it."

As she spoke, she began to scoop water and get to work. Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying to bring out the large wooden bucket, which they hadn't used yet but were temporarily used to store water, otherwise the two buckets of water they had brought back wouldn't be enough.

Lin Duo'er squatted down and watched for a while before getting bored. She stood up and said, "We're running low on pig feed. I'm going to go cut some."

Lin Chuntao instructed, "Don't go too far, and be careful when cutting pig feed."

"Understood."

As she spoke, she slung her basket over her shoulder, grabbed her sickle, and went out.

Lin Chuntao and Lin Chunhe started working with the beans. The wooden basin was rather shallow, and the bench and chaise longue were both quite high. The two sisters each held a stone and sat down to work, which was just the right height.

Lin Chuntao said, "We'll need to get a few of those low stools for use in the future."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Guizhi remembered the pile of small bamboo chairs upstairs in her house and said to Lin Chuntao, "I'll go back and get you a few later. Your Uncle Dashan made a bunch of small stools out of bamboo before."

Lin Chuntao's eyes lit up, and she smiled and said, "Uncle Dashan, do you still make bamboo chairs? I've never seen that before."

"I made these a long time ago. They're not very nice-looking, so I left them upstairs. I haven't taken them down or sold them." Aunt Guizhi said, glancing at the stone she was sitting on. She put the winnowing basket aside and then said, "I'll go get you a few now."

Lin Chuntao was thinking that she would be going back to eat soon so as not to make a trip, but Aunt Guizhi had already gotten up, so Lin Chuntao let her go.

After she left, Mrs. Sun smiled and said, "The bamboo chair at your Aunt Guizhi's house is not very pretty, but it is very sturdy. She tried to sell it before but failed, so she gave me four of them. They've been there for many years and are still in good condition."

Lin Chuntao was very curious when she heard Sun Shi say that it wasn't very pretty. Just how unattractive was it?

Aunt Guizhi left quickly and returned quickly; she came back carrying a basket on her back.

"Oh, Auntie, how many did you take?"

Aunt Guizhi replied, "I gave you eight. Use them for now, and I'll get you more if you need more."

As they were talking, Pei Ying and Sun Shi hurriedly went over and took the basket off from behind. Lin Chuntao walked to the side and saw the true appearance of the bamboo chair.

Lin Chuntao recalled that most bamboo chairs would have their four legs fixed with bamboo tubes, and the stress points would be woven with thin bamboo strips. But this one was different; it used bamboo strips directly spliced ​​together with the bamboo at the front and back.

It's not that it looks bad, but it has a somewhat clumsy feel to it.

It's not pretty enough to sell, but it's definitely sturdy enough for personal use and can last for many years.

Moreover, it's small and compact, making it very convenient to use while sitting down for washing vegetables or clothes—it's incredibly practical.

Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "Auntie, how much would you sell this for?"

Aunt Guizhi waved her hand dismissively, "Don't mention it, it makes me angry."

Sun said on her behalf, "Your aunt took them to sell, asking eight coins each. The person asking the price asked if she would sell them for two coins. Your aunt definitely said no, but that bastard said, 'Such an ugly thing, I'd take it back for two coins and it would still be an eyesore!'"

Lin Chuntao was both amused and exasperated by these words. Aunt Guizhi said, "I'm so angry, I really want to beat him up."

Lin Chuntao chuckled, "I had no idea Uncle Dashan could make these bamboo chairs. I would have bought them if I had known."

“If you need it, why buy it? Just tell me and I’ll get it for you. You don’t need to pay. This chair was also your uncle’s fault. I said it didn’t look good, and he said it was for sale, so it should be made sturdier! In the end, people thought it was ugly.”

After bringing the bamboo chair, Lin Chuntao moved the stone away. The bamboo chair was more comfortable to sit on, and it also had a backrest, which was quite comfortable to lean against.

Lin Chuntao scrubbed the bean husks, while Lin Chunhe rinsed them with clean water before scooping them into a steamer. The two sisters worked together and finished quite quickly, but there were just too many beans after they had soaked.

Since it was her first time using a steamer, Lin Chuntao didn't dare to put too much in. She only laid it about an inch thick, wanting to try it out first and see how it went. If it steamed through quickly, she would put in more next time. It wouldn't be good if it wasn't cooked through and ended up being undercooked.

Meng Yun quickly finished recording the account details for the past few days. After finishing, she tidied up her things, put away the notebook, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and then went to help Lin Chuntao.

"Is it all done?"

Lin Chuntao asked, and Meng Yun nodded, "Alright, the boss will take a look in a bit."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You don't need to call me 'Master.' Just call me by my name or 'Lady Lin.'"

After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Meng Yun smiled and said, "Okay."

After saying that, she took a bamboo chair and sat down next to Lin Chuntao, then rolled up her sleeves and prepared to get to work.

Lin Chuntao was about to say no, but before she could speak, Meng Yun said, "I'll wait for Jia Hui to come back at noon, and then I'll go back in the afternoon. My sister-in-law is thinking that it's time to plant buckwheat here, so she'll go and turn over the soil again in the next couple of days to plant some buckwheat."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao asked, "Is there still a lot of land you haven't turned over?"

Meng Yun: "That's not a lot."

Sun said, "Buckwheat ripens quickly. Plant it in a few days, and you can plant more sweet buckwheat. You can harvest it in a little over two months."

"Buckwheat comes a little later."

Meng Yun only learned about buckwheat after coming here. Buckwheat is not grown where she is from. She had only heard about it and didn't know if buckwheat could survive after winter.

Since Sun and the others were all present, Meng Yun asked directly, "Will the buckwheat still be viable after winter?"

Seeing Meng Yun's expression, Madam Sun guessed what she was thinking and then smiled and said, "The winters here aren't that cold. Buckwheat is resistant to freezing, so it won't have any effect."

Meng Yun thought that even if it wasn't cold, it was still winter.

Aunt Guizhi said, "Mrs. Meng, you'll understand after this winter. Our place is different from other places. As long as the weather is sunny in winter, it's almost never cold."

When the weather came up, Hu and the others asked about Meng Yun's hometown. It was in the same prefecture as Pei Ying's hometown, but not in the same county, so they weren't that far apart.

As they chatted, they started talking about what to eat and what to grow. Meng Yun wasn't very good at farming. After she was born, she followed her older brother and sister-in-law to that small embroidery workshop. Although the family also had land, she mainly managed the embroidery workshop and took care of Meng Yun. She had very little experience with farm work.

When they talked about their family and the embroidery workshop, Aunt Guizhi and the others were very surprised to learn that Fan Liniang could also embroider. Deng asked, "Mrs. Meng, can your sister-in-law make clothes? How well does she do it?"

Meng Yun said, "I can make them. All the clothes we wear are handmade by my sister-in-law, including the ones we're wearing now."

Deng was sitting close to Meng Yun, so she leaned closer and asked Meng Yun, "May I pull it to take a look?"

Meng Yun smiled and said, "Sure." As she spoke, she wiped her hands and showed Deng Shi the stitches on the garment. The stitches were almost invisible from the outside, and it was difficult to turn the garment inside out to see, but the sleeves were fine. Meng Yun turned the sleeves inside out to show Deng Shi the inside.

The stitching inside is very tight and meticulous. The design is also quite nice.

Madam Deng said, "It feels pretty good. There aren't many tailors around here. Madam Meng can have your sister-in-law become a tailor. If people from the surrounding villages know about it, they should come to us for tailoring."

Meng Yun's eyes lit up. With Fan Liniang's skills, the clothes she made would be very satisfactory. If she could really open this small tailor shop at home, that would be great. She just didn't know how many people in the village made clothes. Hearing Deng Shi say this, Meng Yun smiled and said, "I'll ask my sister-in-law when I get back."

Deng said, “We don’t usually make many clothes. We only cut some cloth when it’s almost New Year’s to see if it’s for the children or the elderly. But there are many girls getting married throughout the year, and they will make clothes for such important events. In the past, we would go to the county town to make them, which is not cheap. If your sister-in-law can make them, she will definitely make a little money.”

Lin Chuntao also laughed and said, "This year is almost over. After the autumn harvest and winter, everyone will be idle and waiting for the New Year. They should start making clothes and shoes, right?"

Mrs. Sun: "That's right, we haven't even made two pairs of shoe soles this year."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We didn't make any for ourselves either. We've been wearing these straw sandals all summer."

“Straw sandals are cool to wear in the summer, but they’ll make your feet cold in the winter, so we need to make two pairs of cloth shoes,” said Mrs. Hu. Lin Chuntao replied, “When are you going to make them this year? I’d like to borrow a shoe pattern then.”

Sun said, "Your aunt and the others will only start making them in winter. I'll get you the shoe patterns tomorrow if you need them."

Lin Chuntao nodded: "Last time we made clothes, we had some leftover scraps of fabric. Pei Ying glued them together and left them there, thinking we could use them when we made shoes. There wasn't much, and it didn't seem like enough for us to make."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu said, "Just tell us when you want to do it, and we'll get it for you."

"Okay, I'll call her auntie then."

The sun was getting warmer and warmer. With Meng Yun's help, Lin Chuntao and the others were able to process the beans faster. In no time, they had another basin full. Lin Chunhe took a winnowing basket and scooped the washed beans into it to drain.

Lin Chuntao went to check the steamer on the fire; it was already steaming hot. These beans had been soaked for a long time, so they would be cooked in about 15 minutes.

Lin Chuntao lifted the top lid and looked inside. The beans had changed color. She took one out and squeezed it; it was still a little hard and needed to be steamed again.

"Almost done, just steam it for a little while longer."

She returned to the bamboo chair and continued rubbing the bean husks. After the beans were steamed and brought down, Lin Chuntao poured them all into a winnowing basket, took a clean bamboo spatula to spread them out and let them cool.

In this season, it's warm outside but cool inside, so Lin Chuntao brought the winnowing basket, which needed to dissipate heat, into the house.

The first batch of steamers seemed to cook much faster than steaming in a traditional steamer. For the second batch, Lin Chuntao added more ingredients to make it even faster.

After steaming the beans for the first time, Lin Chuntao cooled them until they were no longer too hot to handle. Then she scooped up some flour to mix with the beans. After mixing the flour, Lin Chuntao divided the beans into other winnowing baskets, spreading them about an inch thick in each basket. After marking them, she covered them with gauze and placed them on a bamboo rack.

Lin Chuntao and the others were steaming beans, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime.

The sounds of adults shouting for children to come home echoed throughout the village, all calling them home for dinner.

Lin Chuntao also told everyone to take a break and prepare lunch.

Grandma and Aunt Guizhi tidied up their things, putting everything they had spread out neatly back together. Just then, Lin Jiahui returned.

They returned at the perfect time, and Meng Yun went to help receive the items, weigh them, record the quantities, and reconcile the accounts. Meng Yun and Lin Jiahui did all of this together.

Lin Jiahui left when Lin Chunhe introduced things this morning, and now Lin Chunhe smiled and said, "Brother Jiahui, from now on, Madam Meng will be our accountant. When you buy things, you'll have to tell Madam Meng how you count them."

Lin Jiahui glanced at Meng Yun, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen. He and Lin Chuntao and the others were cousins ​​he had known since childhood. Meng Yun and the others were from outside the village and were older, unlike children like Meng Yue who would visit each other in the village.

Although he knew who the person was, the two had never spoken to each other when they met outside.

After Lin Chunhe introduced them, the two felt a little awkward. Meng Yun spoke first, saying, "My name is Meng Yun. Just call me by my name."

Lin Jiahui nodded. "My name is Lin Jiahui."

Seeing the two of them acting a little awkwardly, Lin Chuntao smiled.

Lin Jiahui looked up and met Lin Chuntao's gaze, noticing the teasing look in her eyes. He blushed instantly and looked away shyly.

Sun noticed Lin Jiahui's awkwardness at a glance, and then looked at Meng Yun, who also seemed rather unnatural.

Meng Yun used to work in an embroidery workshop. The workshop was small, and all the other workers were women, so she didn't interact with men much.

Lin Jiahui is not old, but he is tall and thin, with a high nose bridge and good-looking eyes. He is a handsome young man.

The main problem is that they are strangers, but not relatives either, so this awkwardness is hard to break.

Lin Chuntao thought about it and still hoped that they could be more natural. It wouldn't be good to be awkward and hesitant when working together.

"Jiahui, are you two... on a blind date?"

Lin Chuntao's directness was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing both Meng Yun and Lin Jiahui to look at her simultaneously, their eyes widening in surprise.

A moment later, Hu and the others suddenly burst into laughter.

Sun said to Lin Chuntao, "You know what, your aunt said a few days ago that she wanted to find him a wife after the autumn harvest."

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Does this mean I can attend a wedding next year?"

Lin Jiahui clicked his tongue and said to Sun Shi, "Grandma, don't talk nonsense. It's all baseless. Why are you laughing at me along with Sister Chuntao?"

The Hu family laughed as well. Seeing that no one meant any harm and they were just joking, Meng Yun urged Lin Jiahui, "Shall we weigh it first?"

Lin Jiahui nodded and prepared to get the beans from the mule cart. The bags of beans weren't very big, and Meng Yun wanted to help, but Lin Jiahui just picked them up and carried them away.

Meng Yun could only take the opportunity to bring in the lighter dried chilies. She took a scale and weighed the dried chilies first. There were also soybeans on the mule cart, and Pei Ying also helped carry a bag.

Meng Yun weighed it and reported the number to Lin Jiahui.

Lin Jiahui said, "Yes, that's the number. Today's dried chili peppers were still bought for four coins a pound."

Meng Yun nodded before turning around to weigh the soybeans.

Lin Jiahui looked at her and said, "I'll do it. You can just look at the numbers."

The beans were a little heavy, and it was a bit difficult for Meng Yun to weigh them herself. It was easier for Lin Jiahui to weigh them, so she didn't insist and handed the scale to Lin Jiahui.

The two quickly weighed and recorded the beans, and checked the money, which was also correct. Lin Jiahui had to go again in the afternoon, and since she didn't have enough money in the morning, Lin Chuntao went into the house to get him some more.

After finishing the business, he went back with Mrs. Sun and the others.

Meng Yun was still packing her things when Sun and the others arrived at the door. They turned around and called out to her, "Madam Meng, shall we come together?"

They could walk together for a while downstairs, Meng Yun nodded, packed her things, told Lin Chuntao, and then left.

Several women walked ahead on the road, while Lin Jiahui followed behind, pulling a mule cart alone.

Lin Jialang and Fan Liniang had also returned from the county town. They had prepared lunch and were waiting for Meng Yun to return. Lin Jialang was especially happy to see Meng Yun and Sun Shi return together.

"Grandma, Auntie."

Seeing his expression, Madam Sun stepped forward and gently patted his head. Even though he was still a child, he quickly became more mature after taking on responsibilities.

"Have you eaten?" Aunt Guizhi asked.

Lin Jialang replied, "It's ready. We'll eat together when my aunt comes back."

Aunt Guizhi smiled and nodded. Meng Yun was happy to hear that she would eat together with her when she returned. She then greeted Sun Shi and the others and went into the courtyard.

As soon as he entered, Lin Jialang asked, "Auntie, how is it?"

"It's good. There's not much work. Your sister Chuntao even told me that I can come home and help after I finish my own things." Meng Yun said with a smile, "But I'm also a little embarrassed. After taking the money, I'll just stay there and do other work."

"That's right, I see that Madam Lin and the others are also very busy, so I'll lend a hand." Fan Liniang said as she washed Meng Yue's hands and called Lin Jialang and the others to serve the rice.

After Grandma and Aunt Guizhi left, Lin Chuntao and the others started cooking. The rice was leftover from last night's steaming, and it would cook quickly after being steamed again.

There's some crispy pork left over from yesterday, but not much.

Pei Ying said, "There are four pig trotters under the pigskin." He added, "I brought some pigskin back this morning."

"I'll make you spicy pig's trotters tonight."

Just then, Lin Duo'er returned, accompanied by Lin Chunxing, who was carrying pig feed for her.

Where did you two meet?

Lin Chunxing glanced at Lin Duo'er, then said to Lin Chuntao, "She's over there. If I hadn't called her, she wouldn't have come back yet."

Looking at Lin Duo'er's droopy eyelids, it seemed as if she had been scolded by Lin Chunxing.

Lin Chunxing wouldn't scold her for no reason; something must have happened. She frowned slightly and asked Lin Duo'er, "Duo'er, what did you do?"

Lin Duo'er looked at Lin Chuntao. Although her eldest and second sisters doted on her, they were also ruthless when scolding her and pulling her ears. Her second sister had already scolded her, so did her eldest sister have to scold her as well?

She pursed her lips, her eyes darting around.

Lin Chuntao asked, "Did you climb a tree or go into the water?" She noticed that Lin Duo'er's shoes were mostly wet, so she probably went to play in the water.

Lin Chunxing said angrily, "She and a few brats from the village were fishing in the lake, saying that the water was shallow near the edge and they wouldn't drown. These brainless idiots were pushing each other around. If I hadn't run into Uncle Shi's son, Jiawang, and pulled those brats out, some of them might have drowned!"

Lin Duo'er pursed her lips. Lin Jiawang was a tattletale.

Lin Chunxing looked at Lin Duo'er and her anger flared up. "What kind of expression is that? Are you blaming Jiawang in your heart? Do you know how deep the water is? If you fall in, who can pull you out?"

The original owner of this body drowned in that lake, and Lin Chuntao has never been to that lake since she came here.

There's a well here for drinking water, and a river there for washing clothes.

Hearing that it was about fishing, Lin Chuntao asked, "Duo'er, do you want to eat fish?"

Lin Duo'er bit her lip and shook her head. She didn't want to eat fish; she just joined everyone else in playing. They really just played on the sidelines.

Lin Chuntao said in a deep voice, "Playing in the river is dangerous enough, let alone by that lake. If you want to eat fish, I'll buy it for you tomorrow."

"I don't want to eat."

"If you don't want to eat, what are you doing there with them?"

Lin Duo'er glanced at Lin Chunxing, "I was wrong."

"I don't think you know you're wrong." Lin Chunxing angrily put down the basket and went to wash her hands.

The second sister was angry, but the eldest sister didn't know what it meant.

Lin Duo'er shuffled over to Lin Chuntao and whispered, "Big sister, I really know I was wrong. We'll just play on the side..."

Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, "Okay, then from today onwards, you are not allowed to play by the lake."

"I won't scold you today, but if you don't listen to me, I won't take care of you anymore. Look how young you are. You'll have lots of nice clothes to wear and lots of delicious food to eat in the future. If something happens to you and you drown, you'll lose everything."

Upon hearing that someone had drowned and lost everything, Lin Duo'er immediately pouted and looked at Lin Chuntao with teary eyes.

"Go wash your hands, rest for a while, and then get ready to eat."

Lin Duo'er then slowly walked over to scoop water to wash her hands.

Stewing pig's trotters takes a while, and it's too slow to stew them now. Lin Chunxing has already washed her hands. Lin Duo'er is squatting alone under the bamboo fence. Her back looks very thin when she squats down. She thinks that she didn't have any playmates before. Now it seems that there are people to play with. It's normal for children to forget the danger when they go out and play wildly. The same tragedy happens in this way.

If Lin Chuntao doesn't speak more harshly, the child won't learn his lesson.

But as Lin Duo'er washed her hands, she thought about what Lin Chuntao had said: her pretty clothes were gone, her delicious food was gone, and if she drowned, she would lose everything. It seemed like she was really about to die, and Lin Chuntao didn't care about her and just watched her die. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and tears fell down her face.

Lin Chuntao watched as she squatted there washing her hands for a long time, guessing that she had been crying. She walked over quietly, bent down and looked, and sure enough, Lin Duo'er had tears on her face. When Lin Chuntao looked at her like that, she awkwardly raised her hand and wiped them away.

"Why are you crying? I didn't scold you."

She pouted, looking extremely aggrieved, "You said you wouldn't care about me anymore."

Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly, "So, will you listen to me from now on?"

"listen."

"That's good then. If you listen to me, I definitely won't abandon you. Stop crying, wash your face and we'll prepare to cook dinner. What do you want to eat?"

"I want to eat fried crispy pork, and I also want to eat fried yuanbao (a type of glutinous rice cake)."

Lin Chuntao said, "Okay, I'll make it for you."