Chapter 62 Thief: "Someone stole our seasonings!"

Having received Lin Yao's instructions, Liu Xu rushed back to Linjia Village early in the morning.

He first went to the village head's house and explained everything Lin Yao had told him, then returned to the old house of the second branch of the Lin family. Pushing open the door, he saw Liu Dazhuang carrying his son on his back, cleaning up the clutter in the yard.

When Liu Dazhuang saw Liu Xu, who should have been working in the shop, suddenly appear in the village, his heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "Is something wrong with A-Yao?"

Liu Xu quickly waved his hand: "It's nothing, nothing! Today, Ayao set up a pot outside the shop to sell fried mushrooms, and business was booming. We didn't have enough mushrooms left in the shop. She asked me to come back and tell Grandpa Village Head to organize the villagers to pick mushrooms, and we'll buy them at five copper coins per pound. Da Zhuang and I will check and weigh the picked ground mushrooms. Grandpa Village Head should be at the threshing ground talking to everyone about this right now. But I'm afraid I won't be able to explain the characteristics of these ground mushrooms clearly and might mislead everyone. Maybe Da Zhuang could go and explain it to the villagers?"

“Okay, I’ve almost finished tidying up the yard. You can sweep the rest of the area.” Liu Dazhuang handed the broom to Liu Xu, picked out two mushrooms, one large and one small, from the drying ground mushrooms, and headed towards the threshing ground.

On the threshing ground, Liu Dazhuang stood in the center of the crowd, explaining in detail the characteristics and growth habits of the ground mushroom. At the end, he emphasized: "When you pick them, be sure to choose the fresh ones. Don't put the rotten or bad ones in the basket. Liu Xu and I will check them before we pay you."

Grandpa Zhang had been itching to get his hands on mushrooms since he heard they could be sold for money; after all, things growing everywhere on the mountain could be sold now. His eldest grandson was getting married soon, and with so many men in the family, picking a lot of mushrooms would make for a more generous dowry. He quickly asked, "Will you buy as many as you pick?"

Liu Dazhuang nodded: "We'll take whatever you ask for, but please don't go deep into the mountains. There are lots of tigers and black bears there. Don't risk your life instead of making money."

“That makes sense,” Grandpa Zhang quickly replied. Most of the villagers had lived here for most of their lives and knew the dangers deep in the mountains. Although they were all short of money, no one would risk their life.

Hearing that Lin Yao was going to buy mushrooms, Hu mingled with the crowd and followed. There were only so many people in the village; some had already seen her and scoffed at her behavior. Back when the second branch of the Lin family was down on their luck, she ran away faster than anyone else; now that they were doing well, she'd come sniffing around again.

Madam Hu was certainly aware of everyone's disdain, but she didn't care at all, her heart filled with jealousy: Lin Yao, that jinx, was now so extravagant, even willing to spend money on these worthless mushrooms. She sneered, "That little brat Lin Yao, thinks she can fool you all?"

Upon hearing this, the crowd, who had been discussing when to go up the mountain, immediately fell silent.

Grandpa Zhang was the first to react: "Don't talk nonsense here! Ayao is a grateful girl. She's recovered and doesn't forget to help the villagers. If you're so capable, why don't you stop picking mushrooms in the mountains!" Grandpa Zhang knew that it didn't matter who did the work. Lin Yao genuinely wanted to take care of the villagers, and although Hu Shi spoke harshly, she definitely couldn't bear to give up this opportunity to make money.

Madam Hu no longer cared about such a small amount of money. Her son and husband had found a better way to make money. Just as she was about to retort, Liu Dazhuang spoke up: "Ayao said that we will not accept the mushrooms from the Lin family."

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd. Hu's face turned a deep purplish-red, and her voice suddenly rose as she shouted, "Why shouldn't we accept it? We're from Linjia Village too!"

Before she could finish speaking, Aunt Liu pushed her way out of the crowd. She couldn't stand Hu's wicked schemes and spat, "Pah! Have you no shame! When Aya was sick, your eldest son's family didn't even send her half a ladle of rice porridge, and you even drove the second son's family to the old house. Now that you hear you can exchange it for money, you suddenly remember you're surnamed Lin?"

"That's right, that's right!" Grandpa Zhang echoed. The villagers watching chimed in, making Hu feel ashamed and unable to lift her head.

"I... I don't care!" Hu grabbed the grass basket on the ground and tried to throw it at Aunt Liu, but she used too much force and knocked over Widow Wang's bamboo basket next to her, scattering wild fruits all over the ground.

She staggered back half a step, looked at the crowd glaring at her angrily, and fled in panic.

If Lin Yao were here, she would definitely applaud and cheer; this is exactly the effect she wanted.

Everyone in the village had witnessed the impoverished state of the second branch of the Lin family in the past. Now that they have suddenly become wealthy, it's hard to guarantee that no one will be envious, so Lin Yao needs to take precautions.

Human nature is like this: when everyone is in the mud, all is well, but if someone climbs out, how can the others remain calm?

They would rather see everyone wallowing in the mud than see anyone standing on the shore in clean shoes and socks.

When that time comes, they can forget about having a peaceful life when they return to Linjia Village.

Therefore, it is necessary to share the profits.

This way, everyone will remember the good deeds of the second branch of the Lin family. This will not only build good relationships with the villagers, but also ensure that they won't be left isolated and helpless in the future.

After sweeping the floor and locking the door of the Lin family's old house, Liu Xu was about to go home when he saw Li Shi returning from the dock. He quickly waved and ran over, calling out, "Mother!"

When Li saw her son rushing over, she quickly wiped the sweat from his face. "Why are you back so early today? Is something wrong at the shop?"

“What could possibly happen at the shop? Ayao told me to come back and inform Grandpa Village Head to organize the villagers to go up the mountain to pick mushrooms. Dazhuang and I will be in charge of checking and weighing them.” Liu Xu said, shaking the mutton in his hand. “Mom, we’re having mutton today!”

Upon seeing the mutton, Li gently patted him: "You brat, you spend your money recklessly! How many coins does this cost? Don't you know to save it for your wedding?" As she scolded him, her eyes couldn't help but dart towards the meat. Apart from the time they ate mutton at Lin Yao's house, they had only eaten it a few times when Liu Xu's father hunted a large catch.

Liu Xu grinned and dodged away, then leaned closer and whispered, "Something good is happening today."

Upon hearing this, Madam Li's brows relaxed a little, but she still couldn't help but mutter, "We should be more frugal. Such a big piece of mutton is enough to buy several pounds of pork."

Seeing this, Liu Xu knew she was actually happy, so he deliberately said, "Mother, if you don't want to eat it, I'll take it to Aunt Wang next door. Her son, Xiao Huzi, was craving meat the other day..."

"Go away!" Li immediately grabbed the meat and glared at him. "Who said I wasn't going to eat? We don't even have enough for ourselves!" Then she asked, "You just said there was something good happening. What's so good that you need to buy mutton to celebrate?"

Liu Xu looked around. It was sunset, and villagers were returning one after another. People passed by him from time to time. It wasn't the place to talk: "Let's talk when we get home."

~

After the restaurant closed, Lin Yao and her two siblings returned to Linjia Village. They had run out of wild mushrooms, so Lin Yao needed to take some back with her.

Back home, Lin Yao tidied up the mushrooms and remembered that when she made fried mushrooms yesterday, she had made some new five-spice powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder. She had to take these back to the shop, since almost all the meat dishes there used five-spice powder, which made the meat taste even better—it was their family's secret recipe.

Lin Yao opened the jar of five-spice powder and was immediately stunned.

She turned the jar around and confirmed that it said "Five-Spice Powder." Looking at the shallow pits on the surface of the powder, she drifted into memory: after making the five-spice powder yesterday, she had only used a little. While Lin Cheng was cooking longevity noodles, she was bored and used a spoon to draw a smiley face on the powder. Aunt Liang even asked her what she had drawn, saying it looked quite interesting.

But now, the smiley face is gone, replaced by several shallow pits marked with rules.

Someone stole their seasonings.

The person who stole the seasonings was very careful and didn't take too much; it was impossible to detect from the weight alone. If she hadn't impulsively drawn a smiley face last night, this might never have been discovered.

Lin Yao closed the spice jar and knocked on the door of Lin Cheng and his brother's room.

Inside the room, Lin Song was fussing and asking Lin Cheng to act out a scene of a great general subduing bandits. Hearing a knock on the door, Lin Cheng picked up the still-fussy Lin Song and opened the door: "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Lin Yao handed the spice jar she was holding to Lin Cheng: "Brother, someone stole our spices."

Upon hearing this, Lin Cheng put Lin Song back on the bed. The little guy sensed that something was wrong and obediently stopped making a fuss.

With a grave expression, Lin Yao lifted the earthenware jar, revealing several shallow pits on the surface of the five-spice powder. She then told Lin Cheng about drawing on the five-spice powder last night: "When we moved last time, I noticed that a lot of the seasonings were missing. I was busy with the new store at the time and didn't think much of it. Now it seems that this person has stolen quite a few times."

Lin Cheng was furious. This was a secret recipe that his younger sister had painstakingly figured out, and he couldn't let someone steal it: "This is outrageous! I'll report it to the authorities tomorrow!"

Lin Yao thought for a moment: "Don't report it to the authorities yet. Leave the seasoning in the village. This guy is being so careful; he'll definitely come back to steal it again once he runs out. Talk to Brother Dazhuang about this tomorrow and tell him to keep an eye out. Besides, he won't just leave the stolen seasoning unused; even if he doesn't use it himself, he'll sell it to someone else. He doesn't steal much each time, and since it's his first time using the seasoning, he'll probably cook it the way we do to avoid waste. We just need to keep an eye out for any restaurants that imitate our dishes in the next few days and suddenly have more customers. Then we can buy their dishes and try them out; we'll know the answer soon enough."

Lin Cheng nodded: "You're right, let's do it your way."

Lin Song leaned on the table and poked at the edge of the pottery jar: "Sister, who stole our treasure?"

Lin Yao shook her head: "Sister doesn't know either." She ruffled Lin Song's hair. After more than half a year of feeding him, the little guy's hair was no longer as sparse as before. It felt fluffy and smooth like the fur of a small animal. "Go to sleep early. You have to get up early tomorrow."

Lin Song nodded vigorously, his cheeks twitching slightly. He climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and even pretended to snore.

His interruption improved Lin Yao's mood considerably.