Grandpa Zhang sighed, "Late Autumn, it's not that I don't want to sell to you, it's just that I don't have many soybeans left at home, and I need to save them for next year's seeds. If you only want a small amount, I can give you some, but I don't have any more."
Lin Wanqiu felt a little disappointed upon hearing this, but still smiled and said, "Uncle Zhang, please give me as much as you can. I'll try it out first. If I do well, I'll ask you for more next year."
Seeing her sincerity, Grandpa Zhang couldn't bear to refuse. He turned around, went inside, and scooped out a ladle of soybeans: "This ladle of soybeans weighs about five pounds. If you don't mind, you can take it. You don't need to pay. It's not easy for you, a woman raising a child alone. I can't help you much, so just take these soybeans."
Lin Wanqiu quickly declined, "Uncle Zhang, this won't do! You worked so hard to grow these soybeans, how can I take them for free? I must pay you." As she spoke, she took out five mao (0.5 yuan) from her cloth bag and handed it to Uncle Zhang—the market price for soybeans was one mao per jin (0.5 kg), so five jin would cost exactly five mao.
Grandpa Zhang couldn't refuse, so he had to accept the money. He then scooped out another half bowl of soybeans and put them into the ladle: "Wanqiu, you're such a kind child. Take this half bowl of soybeans too, to make it a round number."
Lin Wanqiu accepted the soybeans, her heart filled with gratitude: "Uncle Zhang, thank you! I'll definitely bring you some tofu to try once I've made it."
After leaving Grandpa Zhang's house, Lin Wanqiu visited several other families who grew soybeans, but most of them either didn't have many soybeans or were unwilling to sell. After running around all morning, she had only collected less than twenty catties of soybeans. Looking at the soybeans in the cloth bag, she felt a little anxious—this amount of soybeans wouldn't make many batches of tofu. If she wanted to continue this business long-term, she had to find a stable source of soybeans.
Just as she was worrying, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her: "Lin Wanqiu, what are you doing collecting soybeans? Are you planning to make tofu and sell it?"
Lin Wanqiu turned around and saw Sister-in-law Shen, Zhang Lan, standing not far away with a basket on her shoulder, her eyes full of jealousy and disdain. Ever since Lin Wanqiu had rebuked her last time, Zhang Lan had been holding a grudge, and seeing Lin Wanqiu harvesting soybeans today had made her feel resentful again.
Lin Wanqiu was too lazy to argue with her and nodded lightly: "Yes, I want to make tofu to sell and earn some tuition fees for Nian'an."
Zhang Lan sneered: "Making tofu? You think making tofu is that easy? Without a millstone and a wooden bucket, what are you going to use? Even if you had those things, do you know how to coagulate the brine? Don't end up wasting soybeans instead of making tofu."
Lin Wanqiu knew Zhang Lan was deliberately picking a fight, but he wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, I've already borrowed the millstone and the wooden bucket, and I know how to add the brine. But sister-in-law, aren't you going to work today? If the team leader sees you, he'll deduct your work points again."
Upon hearing "deduct work points," Zhang Lan panicked—she had already lost half a work point yesterday for slacking off, and if she was caught again today, she wouldn't have enough work points for the month. She glared at Lin Wanqiu, grabbed her basket, and hurried away, leaving with the words, "Just you wait and see, you definitely won't be able to make tofu!"
Lin Wanqiu watched her retreating figure and shook her head helplessly—Zhang Lan was just like that, unable to bear seeing others do well, always looking for ways to upset them. But she didn't care; as long as she made the tofu and let the facts speak for themselves, Zhang Lan would have nothing to say.
In the afternoon, Lin Wanqiu went to the old well by the river again to check the water quality. The water in the old well was very clear and tasted sweet and refreshing, perfect for making tofu. She also found a flat stone by the well, planning to wash and soak soybeans there in the future.
Back home, Lin Wanqiu poured the harvested soybeans into a wooden bucket and soaked them in water. The soybeans swelled slowly, looking much plumper. She then found strips of cloth and tung oil and began repairing the bucket. She first tore the cloth into thin strips, dipped them in tung oil, and wrapped them around the cracks in the bucket. Then she smoothed the cloth strips with tung oil, thus sealing the cracks and preventing leaks.
When Shen Nian'an came home from school, he saw his mother repairing a wooden bucket and quickly ran over to help: "Mom, let me help you pass the cloth strips!" He held the cloth strips in his little hands and carefully handed them to Lin Wanqiu, his face full of seriousness.
Looking at her son's sensible appearance, Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart: "Nian'an is such a good boy. When Mom makes the tofu, I'll make you your favorite tofu pudding."
"Great!" Shen Nian'an jumped up excitedly. "Mom, I want to eat fried tofu puffs too!"
"Okay, I'll make them all for you," Lin Wanqiu said with a smile.
Working together, mother and son quickly repaired the two wooden buckets. Lin Wanqiu then cleaned the stone mill, brushing off the dust from the millstone and rinsing it with clean water. After cleaning, the stone mill revealed its dark brown wood grain and looked much better than before.
Just as Lin Wanqiu was about to rest for a while, there was a knock on the courtyard gate, along with Old Lady Shen's voice: "Lin Wanqiu, open the door! I have something to tell you!"
Lin Wanqiu's heart skipped a beat—why was Old Lady Shen here again? Did she want to cause trouble again? She told Nian'an to go inside and wait, while she walked to the courtyard gate and opened it.
Old Mrs. Shen stood outside the courtyard gate, her face gloomy, followed by her husband, Shen Tingjun, and her sister-in-law, Zhang Lan. Shen Tingjun kept his head down, not daring to look at Lin Wanqiu, while Zhang Lan looked up, her eyes full of schadenfreude.
"Mother, Uncle, Sister-in-law, is there something you need from me?" Lin Wanqiu asked calmly.
Old Mrs. Shen, hands on her hips, pointed at the stone mill in the corner of the yard and said angrily, "Lin Wanqiu! How dare you! You dare to borrow the stone mill to make tofu and sell it without even consulting me? Do you have any respect for me as your mother-in-law? Do you have any respect for the rules of the Shen family?"
Lin Wanqiu sneered inwardly—Old Mrs. Shen must have heard from Zhang Lan and wanted to get a share of the profits. She deliberately feigned a puzzled look: "Mother, making tofu is my own business, why should I discuss it with you? I didn't spend any of the Shen family's money, nor did I take any of their land."
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