Chapter 21 Let's raise a sheep someday too (bug fix...)
She didn't say anything after listening to the broadcast, and busied herself getting rice. The aroma made her even hungrier.
The steamed buckwheat rice had a faint, refreshing aroma. She ladled out a bowl and was about to sit down to eat when a child's voice echoed in her mind: "Host, I think your food is quite delicious today."
Lin Chuntao almost couldn't hold back. What kind of gluttonous cat is this?
She thought to herself, "You can't eat it anyway."
The system fell silent, and Lin Chuntao began to feast.
This was the best meal she had eaten here. The wild pheasant stewed in an iron pot over a wood fire was fragrant and chewy. The chicken soup was golden and clear, and the fresh wild mushrooms were so delicious that they almost made her tongue fall off after swirling in the soup. She then picked up a piece of cooked green pepper, took a bite, and the juice hidden inside the green pepper flowed in her mouth. Lin Chuntao ate to her heart's content.
Then look at Pei Ying and her three younger sisters, their bowls filled with mushrooms and chicken blood, as they ate their buckwheat rice with gusto.
Seeing Lin Chuntao's gaze, Lin Duo'er said, her words slightly slurred, "Sister, it's so delicious."
"This buckwheat rice is delicious, much better than buckwheat buns."
Lin Chunhe complained to Lin Duo'er: "Are you stupid? Buckwheat buns have a skin inside, which is bitter and scratchy on the throat. What we eat is made of flour."
Pei Ying listened to their conversation and joined in.
"This is the first time I've tried it this way, and it definitely tastes better than buckwheat pancakes."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then I'll buy more to steam rice in the future."
Lin Chuntao was so full after that meal.
I sat in the courtyard and rested for a while before getting up to go to Aunt Guizhi's house.
The younger sisters were too lazy to move and continued to sit in the yard basking in the sun.
On the way to Aunt Guizhi's house, we encountered many children returning from picking mushrooms in the mountains. Each child carried a small bamboo basket, and the baskets contained a few mushrooms.
A couple with a child were walking ahead of her, and Lin Chuntao followed behind.
The man snatched the bamboo basket from the child's hand and scolded, "You've only picked a few this morning? Not even enough to fill a tooth gap. You still want to pick mushrooms to sell? Tomorrow you'd better go to the field and pull weeds."
The woman was somewhat indignant, "If Lin Chuntao can pick them up and sell them, why can't the children?"
"Then take a look, is this even five pounds? How much do you want to sell it for? Don't waste time, the important thing is to weed the field."
After finishing his sentence, the male protagonist added, "If you're talking about me, it's probably that brat Lin Chuntao who's making things up."
"If she's swindling people, how exactly did she make money? She's only been here a few days, and she's already earned dozens of coins?"
The couple chatted as they walked, and Lin Chuntao listened intently from behind.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at Aunt Guizhi's courtyard.
Aunt Guizhi stood by the roadside waiting for Lin Chuntao. The couple in front of her greeted her, and she responded. She looked up and saw Lin Chuntao behind her, and called out with a smile, "Chuntao."
The couple in front suddenly turned around and saw Lin Chuntao standing very close to them; their faces instantly turned bright red.
They left quickly without saying a word. Aunt Guizhi asked with a smile, "What's wrong with them?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "He probably got caught talking badly about someone."
Aunt Guizhi waved her hand helplessly upon hearing this: "Don't pay attention to what they're saying."
Lin Chuntao nodded and followed Aunt Guizhi into the courtyard.
"Chuntao, sit here."
Aunt Guizhi's mother-in-law, whom Chun Tao calls Sixth Grandma, patted the chair next to her, beckoning Lin Chun Tao to come and sit down.
Lin Chuntao helped Aunt Guizhi take the basket off her back and put it next to her before sitting down.
"Want some water?" Aunt Guizhi asked her. Lin Chuntao shook her head: "No, I'll ask when I'm thirsty."
"Then I'll go get the bamboo basket."
As she spoke, she walked into the house, took out two or three bamboo baskets, and then took a chair to sit down.
Lin Chuntao looked up and met her gaze. Then, they both pursed their lips, and Lin Chuntao asked, "Aunt Guizhi, how much are you planning to sell this bamboo basket and the basket of vegetables for?"
Aunt Guizhi said in a low voice, "Twenty or twenty-five coins."
How much do you usually sell for this little basket?
"Four or five coins."
Lin Chuntao thought for a moment, grabbed a handful of green peppers and put them into the bamboo basket. Then she picked out two small cabbages and put them in sideways. She also tied a small handful of chives with straw, which was about enough to stir-fry one bowl. She picked out an eggplant and two small cucumbers and put them in at an angle. She put two tomatoes and a round melon at the mouth of the bamboo basket, and finally put in two scallions and two garlic sprouts.
The cabbage takes up space, and there are eggplants and cucumbers next to it, as well as tender melons and tomatoes in front. At first glance, the bamboo basket looks full, as if it has everything.
Aunt Guizhi looked at the things Lin Chuntao had put out and started calculating the prices. Two heads of cabbage weighed one jin and three wen, the chives looked like half a jin and two wen, the eggplant was less than one jin, the cucumber looked like a little over half a jin, the two tomatoes were a little over half a jin, and the tender melon was about the same. She estimated that this amount of vegetables would cost about thirteen or fourteen wen.
"So, can we sell it for 25 coins?" Aunt Guizhi seemed a little uneasy. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It should be no problem. We have all the ingredients included. Even the chili peppers, scallions, and garlic are provided. Look at what we've prepared. It's enough to cook six dishes. If someone buys some meat to take home and eat with it, it can last for three days without any problem."
"Twenty-five coins is enough for three days' worth of vegetables, which is less than ten coins a day on average. I think more people will buy it."
After finishing her explanation, Lin Chuntao brought up the small bamboo basket. She smiled and said, "It just feels a bit uneconomical to make this basket. This basket alone can sell for five copper coins, and it's very well woven. It's certainly good enough for the first purchase, but later, if someone doesn't want it anymore, they might start to haggle over the price when they come back to buy it. So, I suggest weaving a simple small bamboo basket, slightly smaller than this one, not so tightly woven, leaving about an inch of space in the middle so that the fruits and vegetables inside won't fall out, and people can vaguely see what's inside."
Aunt Guizhi understood what she meant, but she always felt that Lin Chuntao had a plan in mind and would do better than she thought.
"Chuntao, could you draw a design?"
“Okay.” Lin Chuntao said, picking up a twig and drawing a pattern on the ground in the yard. It was roughly a cross shape at the bottom. When weaving the bamboo upwards, you would tie it horizontally a few times, then seal the opening and weave a handle. It was very simple.
Aunt Guizhi understood her scribbles and laughed, "This little bamboo basket won't even sell for two coins."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Auntie, we're just selling vegetables. Giving away a small bamboo basket is already very kind of us."
“That’s true. Thinking about it, it’s a bit of a waste for us to use this big bamboo basket. Once I have your uncle weave this basket, I’ll fill it with some vegetables and take them to sell.”
“Sure, you can pack it up and take it out. You can tie the vegetables with straw in advance and take them with you. You can pack them up on the spot. When you tie them with straw, divide them evenly. You can also weigh them at home. The total price of the vegetables will not exceed fifteen coins.”
"I'll give it a try and come back to tell you how well it sells."
After finishing the task, Aunt Guizhi quickly went to her husband Linshan to tell him about the vegetable basket. Uncle Linshan wove a half-finished basket in less than fifteen minutes and brought it over for them to see if it was like this.
Lin Chuntao looked at the vegetable basket and nodded vigorously, "Yes, that's exactly it."
Lin Shan gestured and chattered for a while, and Aunt Guizhi replied, "This is a special container for vegetables. We can pick all the vegetables in our area now, so we need to hurry up and take them to sell."
Having received the message, Uncle Linshan took the bamboo basket and returned to the chair in the corner to continue weaving.
Lin Chuntao and Aunt Guizhi, mother and daughter-in-law, were chatting in the courtyard.
They had only been chatting for a short while when they heard the villagers greeting the matchmaker, Qian, from outside.
Aunt Guizhi sighed, "This old lady won't give up until she gets something done."
The sixth grandmother snorted coldly and said in a low voice, "I think that fairy will be driven away by her sooner or later."
Aunt Guizhi said, "Fifth Auntie cherishes her so much, it's not that easy."
The old lady scoffed dismissively, "What good is it if she cherishes it? She has five sons and several grandsons, all eyeing it covetously."
After saying that, the old lady looked up at Lin Chuntao and saw that she didn't say anything. Aunt Guizhi also looked at her in confusion. After a long time, the old lady slowly said, "When you have time, go and visit the surrounding villages and find a good family for your second sister to settle down with."
Lin Chuntao roughly understood what the old lady meant.
They meant well, so she didn't say much, just nodded.
Now she lives alone with her younger sisters, and it's impossible for such a young sister to get married!
Lin Chuntao sat idly at Aunt Guizhi's house for a while before going home.
Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe were playing in the yard. Lin Chunxing wasn't home. Pei Ying was cutting bamboo. When he saw Lin Chuntao return, he looked up and greeted her, "You're back."
Lin Chuntao agreed and walked over, looking at the bamboo poles he had cut down.
"What are you doing? Putting on airs?"
Pei Ying nodded: "Yes, make two stands to hold the earthenware pots and steamers."
"Where is Chunxing?" Lin Chuntao asked.
Before Pei Ying could speak, Lin Duo'er, who was squatting next to her, interrupted, "Second sister said she saw some lamb's quarters over there, and she went to pick some. She should be back soon."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Lin Chunxing returned, carrying a half-baked bamboo basket of lamb's quarters.
"Sister, is everything settled with Aunt Guizhi's family?"
"Hmm, where did you pick these? They're quite tender."
Lin Chunxing pointed casually, "On the grass at the foot of that mountain."
“This grows quickly, and we can pick it again in a few days.” As soon as Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Lin Chunxing waved her hand, “That patch of land belongs to Uncle Shi. If they go there to weed, they might bring their lambs to graze, and the lambs will nibble it all away.”
As soon as Lin Chunxing mentioned the lambs, Lin Duo'er immediately dropped the stone and ran over, looking up at the two of them: "Sister, let's raise a sheep in the future, and I'll go herd it."
Lin Chunxing looked at Lin Chuntao with some helplessness. Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Duo'er and smiled, "Then it's settled. Duo'er will herd sheep from now on."
Upon hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Lin Duo'er's eyes widened, and she jumped around happily in the yard.
Lin Chuntao glanced at the sky and saw that it was still early.
The system requires four more check-ins before the area can be opened. She has already decided to open the seed area to exchange for seeds and is eager to know what kind of seeds she can exchange for. It would be great if she could exchange for some corn seeds. She remembers that some new varieties can be planted in May, but they will mature a little later.
Given their current situation, it doesn't matter whether they mature early or late, as long as they have food.
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