Chapter 27 Termitomyces! Termitomyces! Twelve miles away, the termite mushrooms are ripe...
Lin Chuntao quickly calculated the current rice price. Even if she bought rice now and stored it, it would still cost her 468 wen for her 12 mu of land. Moreover, what if the price of grain increased later? Wouldn't it be even more expensive?
After calculating the amount, Lin Chuntao decisively decided to pay in cash.
"Sir, I'll pay in cash. We plan to plant only corn this year, not rice, so we won't have any rice."
Upon hearing this, the old man who rented the ox laughed, seemingly mocking her for being so stubborn.
"Alright, are you going to take the cow away tonight, or will you take it when you need it?"
Lin Cunzheng replied, "We'll bring her when we need her. This child will be planted the day after tomorrow, and we'll bring her to get her the morning after tomorrow."
"Then pay a one-day deposit first, and I'll reserve the cattle for you."
Lin Chuntao handed over forty-eight copper coins, and the old man even wrote her a receipt.
Once the matter was settled, Lin Cunzheng led them back to the village.
When they returned, the moonlight was serene. The village chief was still holding the torch, unused. Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying, "Do you know how to till the land?"
Lin Chuntao's question was a bit inappropriate, Pei Ying thought to himself that he wasn't a cow, but he also knew what Lin Chuntao meant.
He shook his head. "I can't."
Sun laughed out loud when she heard their conversation, and Lin Chuntao felt a little embarrassed after realizing what was happening.
Sun said, "Your great-grandfather knows how to use oxen, so we'll go and plant them for you."
Lin Chuntao quickly thanked her, and Madam Sun smiled and said, "You're getting more and more polite, child."
"Chuntao said from the bottom of her heart, if it weren't for you and Grandpa, we wouldn't know where to live. We've always troubled you with one thing after another. Now it's the busy farming season, will it delay you?"
Lin Cunzheng said, "No need to delay. Your uncle and the others will take care of the work in the fields. We'll help you plant the crops first. The weather is getting hotter every day, and it will be even worse if we wait any longer."
"Okay, then let's hurry up tomorrow and clear the weeds from the remaining plots of land, and then burn the wood ash."
Lin Cunzheng and Sun Shi listened to her well-organized arrangements and nodded approvingly. With an orderly and planned life, things will gradually get better.
Lin Chuntao pursed her lips. Sun Shi and the village elders had helped them a lot, and the fact that Pei Ying had found a job was good news. Just like when she found a job herself, she would tell her elders. She also said to Sun Shi, "By the way, Grandma, Pei Ying found a job as a pig butcher in the city."
As soon as she finished speaking, both Muramasa and Madam Sun turned around to look at Pei Ying with surprise.
"When are you going to work?" Sun asked.
Pei Ying said, "I'll go tomorrow morning."
Muramasa asked, "If we're slaughtering a pig, do we have to go very early?"
"We'll probably have to leave around 3 AM."
“Be careful when you walk at night, and bring a torch,” Sun instructed. Pei Ying nodded and said, “If you need to buy meat later, Madam, just let me know and I’ll bring it back for you.”
Mrs. Sun smiled and said, "Okay, I'll let you know when I need to buy it."
They chatted as they walked, and before they knew it, they were back in the village. Sun invited Lin Chuntao to come over to their house, but Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I won't come over tomorrow morning. I'll wait until I'm done with these next few days."
"Alright, then you should go back and rest early."
After entering the village and parting ways, Pei Yingcai said, "The rent for cattle is really expensive. It's one dou of rice per mu, and that's not even millet."
"That's right. I just did the math, and even if we go buy rice now, it will cost several tens of coins more."
Pei Ying said, "When we make money in the future, we'll buy a calf and raise it."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's not impossible. We can buy some chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep and pigs to raise. It will be convenient to eat them and use them."
When the two returned home, Lin Chunxing and the others had already gone inside and lay down. The door was bolted shut, and Lin Chunxing only got up and opened it when she heard Lin Chuntao call for her to open the door.
She had barely entered the house, and before she had even put her things down, Lin Chunxing eagerly asked, "How did it go? Did you manage to rent it?"
Lin Chuntao emptied the corn seeds from the small bamboo basket back into the burlap sack and then said, "We've rented it. Tomorrow we'll finish clearing away the weeds, and the day after tomorrow morning we'll go get the oxen to plow the fields."
"How much?"
"Rent for eight days, forty-eight coins per day."
After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er, who were listening nearby, exclaimed in surprise: "So expensive! Do we even have the money?"
She glanced at her two younger sisters, placed the small bamboo basket on top of the grain cabinet, and said softly, "We have enough money for the cow rent, but after paying the cow rent, don't we still need to hire people to help us plant? Grandpa and Grandma agreed to help us tonight, and Aunt Guizhi also said she could help us plant for two days. Hiring people to plant will require buying food. Our buckwheat flour is almost gone, and the little bit of rice we have left isn't enough to eat. We also have little oil and no meat. We'll have to buy everything, and I estimate it will cost us every last penny."
As she spoke, she carefully put away the remaining money, while her younger sisters drooped their heads like wilted eggplants.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "What's there to worry about? At least we'll have meat and rice to eat for the next few days. Let's just say it's all eaten up. We've also planted the crops, and when we harvest the corn in the fall, we'll have plenty to eat. If we can't finish it all, we can sell it."
Lin Chunxing chuckled at her words, and Lin Chunhe said from the side, "Sister, you're dreaming. Grandpa's family has so much land, they don't have much surplus grain to sell."
Lin Chuntao shrugged indifferently.
"I have high hopes, can't I even be a little more imaginative? I think I'll have more money than I can spend in the future."
Her tone was playful, and her younger sisters burst into laughter.
Hearing her sisters laughing from outside, Pei Ying naturally joined in the laughter.
Lin Chuntao hadn't washed up yet and came out to boil water when Lin Chunxing said, "Let me start the fire for you."
Lin Chuntao waved her hand, "You've had a long day, go to sleep. I'll take care of myself. I'll come to sleep after I've washed up."
After she said that, Lin Chunxing went to get into bed.
Seeing Lin Chuntao come out, Pei Ying went back into the house and took out the little silver she had saved.
Pei Ying came out just as the water was being boiled.
He moved a rock and sat down next to her.
Lin Chuntao asked, "What time are you leaving tomorrow morning?"
"Depart around the hour of Yin (3-5 AM)."
Lin Chuntao nodded: "I'm not sure if I can get up. If I can't, you can go by yourself."
Upon hearing this, Pei Ying's lips curved into a smile.
Lin Chuntao looked at him, raising an eyebrow slightly, "What's so happy about?"
Pei Ying met her gaze and shook her head slightly, "It's nothing."
Lin Chuntao didn't press for details, but said, "But I also need to go to the city tomorrow to buy some grain and meat. If it's convenient, could you please save some lard and some meat for me?"
What cut of meat do you want to buy?
"If everyone needs to work, let's have pork belly."
Pei Ying looked at her and said, "You'll need to eat a lot of meat in seven or eight days, with pork belly being the most expensive."
"Which part is the most cost-effective?"
"The neck meat and the piece attached to the tail, although it is fatty, has a soft texture and doesn't render as much oil as the lean meat from pork belly or pork leg. People don't really like to buy it; they usually only buy it if they want to cook it."
"Okay, if possible, please reserve some for me. Approximately how many kilograms?"
"The pork neck meat is estimated to weigh seven or eight pounds, and the pork tail meat is about four or five pounds."
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly. Four or five catties would be enough, but the pig's tail had bones, which would take up weight. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Keep the neck meat, and please keep two catties of pork fat for me."
Pei Ying nodded in agreement. He held a burlap money bag in his hand, glanced at Lin Chuntao several times, and still couldn't figure out how to hand over the money or what to say to Lin Chuntao.
Lin Chuntao looked at the fire and noticed Pei Ying's frequent glances. She asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Pei Ying shook her head. "It's nothing."
He gritted his teeth and handed over what he was holding. "Here, take this."
Lin Chuntao saw that it was a small sachet made of linen. She took it and felt that the inside was hard, like small stones.
She pulled the drawstring and poured out the contents. In the moonlight, the silver ingots and broken silver pieces gleamed coldly, and her eyes widened.
"silver?"
"You saved it up?"
Pei Ying nodded slightly: "Mm."
Lin Chuntao looked at the silver ingot, which should be twenty taels, and the loose silver pieces also had some weight. She looked at Pei Ying and smiled, "You're quite rich."
Pei Ying felt a little embarrassed. He saw Lin Chuntao put all the silver ingots and loose silver back in, and then hand the money bag back to him.
"Keep it yourself, you don't need to give it to me."
Pei Ying stared at the money pouch in Lin Chuntao's hand, her upturned smile freezing in place.
He didn't answer, only saying, "I should contribute money since we live together."
Lin Chuntao said with a smile, "That's alright, I'll just ask you for more if I run out."
Her eyes were clear and her expression was natural, but Pei Ying felt that the days ahead would never be as difficult as they were now. In the past few days, Lin Chuntao had not asked him if he had any money, so it was even less likely that she would ask him in the future.
He pursed his lips and forced a smile, saying, "This money is what I saved up for my wedding. I need money for the betrothal gift and the banquet, but we signed the marriage certificate directly. I didn't give you the betrothal gift, we didn't hold a banquet, and we didn't make the wedding clothes."
Lin Chuntao listened to his detailed account, pursed her lips, and remained silent for a moment before saying, "The banquet can wait until closer to the New Year, when we slaughter the pig. We can also arrange the wedding attire later. We don't need to give any betrothal money, right?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Ying asked in return, "Why?"
Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow and stared at him for a long while.
"In your family, do you still give wedding clothes and betrothal money when a man marries into the family?"
Pei Ying's cheeks flushed, and he said in a deep voice, "No, my wife manages the money at home."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then you should keep it first; it's inconvenient for me to put it down."
"Besides, we're currently living in the village head's house, so we can't stay here for years to come. We need to plan how much it will cost to build a house soon, and you can give me the money after we move into our own home."
After she finished speaking, she stuffed the money bag back into Pei Ying's hand.
Pei Ying opened the money pouch, took out a piece of silver and handed it to her: "Take this, aren't you going to buy grain and meat tomorrow?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and took it. "Okay."
The water on the fire was hot, so Lin Chuntao added some water and took it back into the house to wipe herself down. Pei Ying went out of the courtyard to bathe in the river.
When Lin Chuntao came out of the house after washing up, Pei Ying was also returning. Under the quiet moonlight, he was shirtless. He thought Lin Chuntao was asleep, but she was slow and had just finished her work when they suddenly bumped into each other and both of them stood there.
Lin Chuntao, holding the basin, looked at Pei Ying's well-proportioned muscles, broad shoulders, thin back, and the faintly visible V-line of his physique, and swallowed hard.
I always thought this person was tall and burly, but I never expected him to look like this when he took his clothes off.
"You're still awake?" Pei Ying asked first.
Lin Chuntao nodded. "Okay, I'm going to sleep now."
Pei Ying said, "Then I'll go back to my room first."
Lin Chuntao watched as Pei Ying strode into the house and quickly closed the door.
Pei Ying leaned against the door, his heart pounding.
He left his hometown and crossed mountains and seas to come to Yizhou, a strange place with strange people.
Everyone has a sense of caution, and he was no exception. He had saved up money for many years and wouldn't just give it to anyone.
After spending the past few days with Lin Chuntao, he felt that Lin Chuntao was a good person, so he decided to give her the money he had saved.
She didn't accept it.
He had his own thoughts, and so did Lin Chuntao.
Only tonight did he realize that Lin Chuntao's heart was set on keeping clear accounts with him.
That way, even if they can't make it work, they can go their separate ways and have no further connection.
He felt a little heavy-hearted, so he went to the river to take a cold bath.
He thought Lin Chuntao would be asleep by the time he got back, but to his surprise, she was also dawdling and still awake. When their eyes met, she stared intently at his body.
Thinking of Lin Chuntao's strange look, the gloom in his heart dissipated considerably.
They are husband and wife. If it weren't for the special circumstances and having nowhere to stay, they might have already spent their wedding night together. Why would they be left alone like this?
Thinking it over, Pei Ying agreed with Lin Chuntao; the important thing was to save money and build a new house as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, he turned over and fell into a deep sleep.
Pei Ying was asleep, and so were her younger sisters. Listening to their steady breathing, Lin Chuntao closed her eyes and all she could see in her mind were Pei Ying's chest and abdominal muscles...
She's exhausted; she can only think about anything when she's well-fed and clothed. She still has work to do in the fields tomorrow, and she doesn't have any money yet!
He quickly patted his forehead to banish those evil thoughts and went to sleep.
The next day, Lin Chuntao was startled awake by the system's excited cheers.
"Termitomyces! Termitomyces! Termitomyces! The termitomyces have sprouted from the ground twelve miles away!!!"
She sat up abruptly, the system still repeating "chicken mushroom chicken mushroom chicken mushroom" over and over!
If the system had an image, it would be a goose, hopping around in place while screeching.
"Host! Host! Quick! Chicken mushrooms!"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You love termite mushrooms the most?"
The system replied with two words, "hehe," and Lin Chuntao quickly got out of bed.
She woke Lin Chunxing and whispered, "I'm going to pick mushrooms and buy some grain while I'm at it. After dawn, take your sisters, lock the door, and go to the field behind the mountain to cut some weeds. I've left the key in the grain cabinet for you, so remember to take it with you."
After Lin Chunxing nodded in agreement, Lin Chuntao quickly picked up her basket and small bamboo basket, took the money, and went out.
The moonlight was still bright when she pushed open the door. She didn't know what time it was. She glanced at Pei Ying's door and went over to knock.
After a long pause, a deep voice came from inside the room: "They're here."
The door was soon opened, and Lin Chuntao asked him, "I'm going into the mountains to pick mushrooms, are you coming? Let's go together."
Pei Ying went outside and looked at the high-hanging moon, then heard the crowing of roosters in the village.
It was time, and he replied softly, "Let's go." He then went back into the house to get his things, and the two of them went out of the courtyard together.
They parted ways after walking for most of the way. Pei Ying headed towards the county town, while Lin Chuntao turned a corner and entered the mountains.
After entering the mountains, the system kept chattering incessantly.
"Host, host, we're almost there! Termitomyces, Termitomyces, pure white Termitomyces!"
Lin Chuntao was both amused and exasperated. This system was really like a child, getting so excited. Did it have a lot of matsutake mushrooms?
Hearing the system's jubilant mood, Lin Chuntao quickened her pace.
After crossing a mountain peak, we entered a valley. The valley was a meadow with many stones and low, sparse shrubs, not even up to our knees, making it easy to see the path.
The distance displayed on the arrow is getting shorter and shorter, and the system cheers: "We've arrived! We've arrived!"
In just a moment, Lin Chuntao saw dense clusters of termite mushrooms on the meadow surrounding the small shrubs. The caps had not yet opened; they were all buds with white stems like jade and topped with gray-black crowns. She was so excited that her heart was about to jump out of her chest!
She hurriedly ran over and started picking. Before picking, she grabbed some weeds and put them at the bottom of her basket. She carefully put the mushrooms she picked in, being extremely careful, because she would be heartbroken if she broke even one.
For some roots that were a little deeper, she used a stick to gently pry them up.
The amount was about the same as those miscellaneous mushrooms, but Lin Chuntao spent a lot more time picking them. By the time she finished picking all the termite mushrooms in the area, it was already dawn, and she didn't even know when the moon had disappeared.
She carried a flat basket of matsutake mushrooms on her back, and then another bamboo basket was full. She didn't count them carefully, but there were at least a hundred or so.
This was the most termite mushrooms she had ever found. She would remember this mushroom patch and come back for a visit every time she went into the mountains.
As she prepared to leave, she covered her basket and bamboo basket with some grass. She was really afraid of being robbed; so many matsutake mushrooms made her more nervous than carrying silver.
At this moment, in the pig slaughterhouse in the backyard of the butcher shop, Pei Ying had already brought out the third pig, and the meat from each part had been divided. Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang were just about to divide the pork when they heard voices coming from the doorway.
"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhao, is the meat ready?"
Zhang Dayong replied with a smile, "Alright, let's get your back fixed."
The two brothers came in, nodded slightly to Pei Ying, and then walked towards Zhang Dayong. Before they even got close, Zhang Dayong said, "Get it from your brother Pei first. Your brother Zhao and I are still busy."
The person put down their basket, and Pei Ying walked over and asked, "Which parts do you want to send? Should we weigh them first?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Guang turned to Pei Ying and said, "It needs to be weighed, but we haven't had time to take it out yet. It's on that cabinet in the room. Xiao Pei, could you get it for me?"
Pei Ying went inside and brought out a scale. What part of the meat was Ah Si and the others going to deliver? How many kilograms was each slice? Pei Ying weighed and noted down the weight and which supplier they were delivering to.
The two brothers could only carry six slices of meat at a time, one slice for each household. After they left, Pei Yingcai asked, "Brother Zhang, will they have to come back?"
Zhang Dayong chuckled and said, "Yes, but it's not just once. Ever since the shopkeeper's wife passed away, your brother Zhao and I each have to take care of five or six pigs. We can't finish, and it delays their delivery time, so the shopkeeper hired people to help."
"I see."
Zhang Dayong looked at him and smiled, "Keep going."
As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Ying took a hemp rope, went to the makeshift pigpen, tied another pig over, tied it to a pillar, killed it, and bled it out.
He was very strong and his movements were quick and efficient when he slaughtered pigs. He looked young, but he was like an old pig butcher who had been slaughtering pigs for many years.
Eleven pigs were slaughtered today. Pei Ying handled four of them, and Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang cleaned up the last one together.
When they had almost finished cleaning up, Helan arrived, and the first thing she did was to check if they had gotten the meat out.
After the pig was slaughtered and all the meat was distributed, Ah Si and Liu Zi had already made a trip to deliver it. He Lan said, "Old Zhao, take Xiao Pei to deliver it and familiarize him with the route."
"Okay!" Zhao Guang said, quickly grabbing a basket. Pei Ying helped him weigh the meat, registered which family it was to be delivered to, and carried it out the door.
Pei Ying was unfamiliar with the county town, so Zhao Guang led the way.
Zhao Guang was a man of few words, and Pei Ying walked beside him. He thought that since they would be working together in the future, it would be better if they could get along well.
He then chatted with Zhao Guang about everyday matters, asking him where Zhao Guang's family was from.
After Zhao Guang finished speaking, he also asked Pei Ying a question in return. Pei Ying talked about his background and how he was unfamiliar with Yizhou when he first arrived.
Zhao Guang was somewhat moved when he saw that the man was a few years older than his son.
"You'll get to know each other gradually. The weather in Yizhou is great; it's warm all year round. You'll like it here after living here for a while."
The two of them became much closer after delivering a batch of meat together.
Zhang Dayong was pleased to see that Zhao Guang and Pei Ying were getting along better.
Ah Si and Liu Zi had already delivered another batch of meat, and he and Chun Zi had also pushed the meat they were going to sell at the other two stalls over in a cart.
Everything was ready. It was already quite bright, and the horizon was beginning to turn red; the sun was about to rise.
Zhang Dayong laughed and said, "What do you two want for breakfast? It's on me."
Pei Yinggang was about to say that he was coming when He Lan took over the conversation.
"I've already told the shopkeeper who sells mutton rice noodles that he'll send us a pot over in a bit, and we'll eat it here at the shop."
Zhang Dayong looked at He Lan and smiled, "Thank you, shopkeeper."
Zhao Guang said, "Shopkeeper, could you ask Old Yang to give us a few more slices of mutton? His rice noodles taste good, but he's stingy. The mutton slices are so thin, they're not even enough to fill my teeth. It's a wonder he has such good knife skills that he can slice them so thinly!"
Zhang Dayong listened to Zhao Guang's rant and burst into laughter.
He agreed, saying the noodles were delicious, but there wasn't much meat in them.
Helan shook his head helplessly, "I paid extra for him to cut half a pound of mutton to put in, that should be enough for you jackals to have a treat, right?"
Zhao Guang's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "That's enough, that's enough! The shopkeeper is so generous!"
"Really? How could I have mistreated you?"
"How could that be?"
Just then, a voice came from outside: "Manager He, the rice noodles are here!"
Helan called out, "Please bring it in."
A young man arrived with a pot of mutton soup. He hadn't put the rice noodles in yet. After placing everything on the table, he smiled and said, "The shopkeeper said he was worried that not all of you would be eating, and the rice noodles would break if soaked for too long, so he packed them separately. You can blanch them yourselves."
Helan replied, "Okay."
After seeing the waiter off, Helan asked Zhang Dayong to bring hot soup to the stove.
The rice noodles are boiled until soft. After the mutton soup boils, each person puts some noodles in a bowl, adds some scallions, garlic and cilantro, and then pours in a spoonful of mutton soup. It's so delicious that it makes people smack their lips.
After taking a couple of sips of soup, Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang ran to the cupboard, took out a ceramic jar, and scooped out bright red chili oil from it.
They put two large spoonfuls into a bowl, and after they finished, they both looked up at Pei Ying.
"Does Xiao Pei eat spicy food? It's super spicy! It'll be wonderful after you finish eating it!"
Pei Ying looked at the red oil floating in their bowls, wanting to try it but worried about ruining the bowl of rice noodles. Just as she was hesitating, He Lan smiled and said, "Little Pei, don't listen to their nonsense. That chili is very spicy, you probably can't handle it. If you want to try it, you can put in a couple of drops to taste it."
Upon hearing this, Pei Ying smiled at Zhao Guang and Zhang Dayong in front of her and said, "Then let's listen to the shopkeeper and give us two drops."
Upon hearing Pei Ying's words, the two of them simultaneously began to despise him.
He muttered to himself, "What flavor can you possibly taste from just two drops?"
Despite their grumbling, they still gave Pei Ying two drops.
Zhang Dayong laughed and said, "Xiao Pei, by this time next year, you'll definitely be just like us, needing two spoonfuls instead of one."
Pei Ying smiled, and Lin Chuntao's face flashed through his mind. He thought of the day they ate pheasant. She washed almost a bowl of green peppers, broke them into pieces, and put them in to cook. He watched as Lin Chuntao ate the peppers like vegetables. She must also like spicy food. Maybe in less than a year, he would get used to it too.
After breakfast, the market began to bustle with activity. The vendors were already in place, and soon people who came to the early market would flock in.
Thinking about what Lin Chuntao had told him, Pei Ying said to He Lan, "Manager, I'll keep a piece of pork neck and two catties of lard."
Helan nodded and told him to take it and put it aside.
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