Chapter 127
After returning from the county town, Lin Chuntao did not go home but went directly to her uncle's house halfway there.
When she arrived home, her aunt and uncle were drying bean sprouts. The entire yard was covered with bean sprouts, completely covered.
Lin Chuntao peeked into the courtyard from the gate and called out with a smile, "Auntie, Auntie, are you drying beans?"
The eldest aunt and the others turned around and saw Lin Chuntao at the door, their faces full of surprise.
"Chuntao, come in quickly."
Second Aunt laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, please move the bean sprouts. Chun Tao can't even step on them."
As she spoke, the eldest aunt tidied up: "The sun has been shining these past few days, so it's good to dry the bean sprouts in the yard. Your second aunt, third aunt, and I have all taken down the bean sprouts."
After clearing a path, the eldest aunt walked to the courtyard gate. She peeked behind Lin Chuntao, probably looking for Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe, but didn't see them. The eldest aunt asked, "Where are Duo'er and Chunhe? Didn't they come?"
Lin Chuntao said, "No, Duo'er and Chunhe are at home, and Chunxing is busy in the county town. I came alone."
"Why didn't you bring them with you, child?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I went to the county town and came directly from there. I'll have them come over to visit again when I'm less busy in a few days."
Seeing that she was carrying a basket on her back with several pieces of cloth on it, and that it must have been quite heavy because of what was inside, Lin Chuntao was sweating. She quickly led her into the house and took the basket off her back.
When they picked up the basket, they realized it was indeed quite heavy. The eldest aunt said, "Why didn't you let Xiao Pei carry it when he came back? You're sweating all over from carrying it yourself."
My aunt kept nagging, then put down her basket and went to the cupboard to get a bowl. She made a bowl of water with some honey and brought it over to her.
Lin Chuntao wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was indeed a little thirsty, so she took the bowl and gulped down half of it.
Her aunt handed her a stool and said softly, "Sit down and rest for a while. Are you hungry?"
Lin Chuntao waved her hand: "I'm not hungry, just a little thirsty."
"I'll make you another bowl after you finish yours."
Lin Chuntao: "Thank you, Auntie. This bowl is enough."
As she spoke, she picked up her bowl and took two more sips. Looking around the yard, she saw that her uncle and his family were not home, nor were her older cousins.
"Where did my uncle and the others go?"
"I went into the mountains to chop firewood. I had nothing to do these past few days, so I thought I'd chop some firewood to dry."
Lin Chuntao nodded, and her aunt looked at her and asked, "How's your corn? Is it ready to be harvested?"
"It's almost done. Some of the leaves have already turned yellow, while others are still very green."
The eldest aunt said, "A few days ago, your eldest uncle said that he would be done with his business at our house in a couple of days, and if you are able to pick corn, he would come over and help you pick corn."
Lin Chuntao: "I'm thinking of starting to break it in four or five days."
"There's been little rain this autumn, and I'm worried about the continuous rain in winter. If you see something you can break off, do it quickly, otherwise it will be difficult to dry if it gets wet from the rain."
"good."
After chatting for a while, Lin Chuntao asked about the chili seeds. Her second aunt laughed and said, "Chuntao, where did you buy those seeds? They not only sprout quickly, but they also seem to be growing very fast!"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then the weather must have been nice lately, so they've already transplanted them?"
Aunt: "We transplanted them a long time ago, and now they've grown quite tall."
"Have all the aunts been transplanted?"
The eldest aunt laughed and said, "No, there's too much for us to plant. All the relatives took some to plant."
Lin Chuntao nodded and said to them, "When the peppers are ripe, Auntie, call me and I'll pick them at the market price."
"Yes, I've already talked to the people who grow chili peppers about this, and told them not to waste the harvest."
That's really how it is in the countryside. It's common for vegetables and peppers to grow too much and end up spoiling and rotting if you don't sell them.
Lin Chuntao specially planted these chili peppers so she could harvest them and make sauce, which would be a lot of money.
As she spoke, Aunt Lin took Lin Chuntao for a walk around the fields at the entrance of the village. The chili seedlings were growing very well, as were the bitter greens. Although they were still small, they were planted in a large area, looking lush and green, which was very pleasing to the eye.
After walking around the field, the eldest aunt went to her own vegetable garden, picked a few cabbages and carried them back, and also picked a bundle of pea shoots.
The eldest aunt said to Lin Chuntao, "Your second aunt and I made a lot of corn cakes a while ago. Take some back with you and share them with Chunxing and the others."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We made some too, and we haven't finished eating them yet."
The eldest aunt smiled upon hearing this, "I even made a little extra, thinking I'd bring some over for you."
Lin Chuntao: "A few days ago, I saw that the corn was ripe enough to eat, so I picked some tender corn. Since we couldn't finish it all, I ground it into pancakes." After saying this, Lin Chuntao asked, "Auntie, have you dried potato slices?"
"We dried them, and we also got quite a lot of potato starch. Did you not dry any this year?"
When asked, Lin Chuntao replied, "I was originally going to cut some to dry, but I've been busy every day, and it's still so late."
"I'll decorate it for you when you get back."
Lin Chuntao didn't stand on ceremony at all, and thanked her aunt with a smile. Her aunt said, "It's just a little potato slices and potato noodles, why are you being so polite with us, child?"
Lin Chuntao said, "You're welcome. If I were being polite, I wouldn't have said anything."
Returning from the vegetable garden, Lin Chuntao took the cloth off her basket, then carried the two earthenware jars inside to the table. She also took a small bamboo sieve from the wall and picked up some milk fungus to keep.
She said to her aunt, "Aunt, I've cut two pounds of mutton for you, and there's soup too. You can cook it and eat it in a bit."
Upon hearing that it was mutton, the aunts' eyes widened. The eldest aunt lifted the lid of the earthenware pot, revealing a pot that was more than half full of mutton, with a fragrant aroma.
"So much, how much did you spend on this?"
Lin Chuntao said, "It's not much. There are many people in my family, so we just have a taste."
The second aunt also peeked out and her pupils widened in shock.
"Chuntao, you've made way too much."
Lin Chuntao said, "Not much. The mint and dipping sauce were given to me by the mutton seller. I think they taste pretty good." As she spoke, she walked over to the fabric section. Lin Chuntao bought five bolts of fabric: two dark ones, suitable for making trousers or men's clothes; three bolts in green, lotus root pink, and beige, which would also be nice for children's clothes.
Thinking that winter was coming, she also weighed out six catties of cotton and brought it back, so they could make clothes or shoes.
It would have been more convenient to have the clothes made at the shop, but she knew they wouldn't go if she asked them to come to the shop to have their measurements taken. So she thought it would be better to just buy some fabric and bring it over. There were tailors in the village or the surrounding area, and their prices were much cheaper than those in the county town.
“Aunt, I bought a few bolts of cloth. I don’t know if you will like this color, but Chunxing and Duo’er like these two colors. I thought my cousins might like them too, so I made some clothes for them.”
They were just a little surprised by the mutton. They thought the cloth was something Lin Chuntao wanted to take back to make clothes, and they never thought it was for them. Right now, they felt dizzy.
It took her a while to come to her senses after listening to Lin Chuntao's words. Her aunt said, "What are you doing, child? Buying cloth and meat. You've just finished building the house and you're not well-off. This money is hard-earned, so you have to be careful with it."
"Besides, where would my sisters get so much fabric to make clothes?"
Lin Chuntao said, “Auntie, you and Uncle can also make them. I should have made the clothes and sent them over as a sign of respect for my elders, but unfortunately, my sewing skills are not good. I’m afraid that if I sew them, they won’t fit properly and I’ll waste the fabric. So I’ll just send the fabric over for you to make. The size will be right and they’ll be comfortable to wear.”
The eldest aunt said, "No, I don't want this cloth. You take it back and make it for Chunxing and Chunhe."
Lin Chuntao: "I've made them all. I've made clothes and shoes for Chunxing, Chunhe, and Duo'er. Winter is coming soon, and I've also bought some cotton. Since we're not busy right now, Auntie, please get them ready to make them."
Upon hearing that she had also bought cotton, her aunt frowned and asked, "Did you find silver on the road?"
"Such extravagance."
Lin Chuntao was both amused and exasperated, but she knew that her aunt was worried about her spending so much money, so she could only say, "I didn't see any money. I sold that sauce for a month, and I got the money back yesterday. After deducting some expenses, I still made a little profit. Aunt, you don't need to worry about the money. If I didn't have enough money, I definitely wouldn't have been able to afford it. Now that you've bought it, feel free to use it."
Aunt patted her gently, her voice a little choked up, "I know you're good at making money, but you still have to work hard to earn it. People in the village used to tell your uncle that you made a lot of money picking mushrooms and selling them in the city. He was unhappy when he heard that, thinking that you earned your money through hard work. At your age, you still have to support your younger sisters. Nothing is easy. It's just that we're not capable enough to help you."
As her aunt spoke, her eyes reddened, and Lin Chuntao felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She turned and hugged her aunt, comforting her, "The hard times are over. Now things are finally looking up. Don't worry, you won't have to suffer anymore. There's some good news I forgot to tell you. Pei Ying, didn't he say he was an orphan? Turns out he wasn't. He had a falling out with his family and came to Yizhou. His whole family moved here. They even came to visit us a few days ago. They're quite wealthy."
Just as they were reminiscing about the hardships of the past, Lin Chuntao started talking about Pei Ying, leaving them speechless.
"Really?" The eldest aunt looked incredulous.
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Of course it's true. Would I lie to you about something like this?"
Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, her aunt pulled her to sit down and asked, "So, is your mother-in-law easy to get along with? Is Xiao Pei going back?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head: "No, he'll stay at my house."
"As for my mother-in-law, she seems to have a gentle temperament. Whether we get along or not, we'll only know after spending time together. But it's not important, since we're not going to live there."
The eldest aunt nodded, "Although his family is rich, it's better not to go back to live there. If you take Chunxing and the others with you, you won't be free if you go to your husband's family."
"Yes, that's what I think too."
Because Pei Ying's matter diverted her attention, and knowing that Lin Chuntao and the others had plenty of money, the eldest aunt finally accepted the cloth and cotton.
Lin Chuntao didn't linger. She needed to go home to check if the charcoal was ready to be used in the kiln. Ignoring her aunt and the others' attempts to persuade her to stay, she hurriedly returned home.
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