Chapter 28 - Two in One Just as he shouted "chicken mushroom," the person...
Zhang Dayong asked, "Are you bringing so much pork neck meat to treat everyone?"
Pei Ying smiled and said, "We need to hire someone to grow crops at home."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Guang stared blankly at Pei Ying, "What should we plant at this time of year?"
“Corn,” Pei Ying said.
Zhao Guang pursed his lips, hesitating to speak. Pei Ying smiled and said, "My wife said it might ripen a little later, but every little bit counts. We're living separately this year, so if we don't plant, we won't have any grain at the end of the year."
Zhang Dayong also fell silent, feeling sorry for Pei Ying's poor seed.
But Pei Ying smiled when he talked about his wife, so they didn't say anything and had to give up and start working.
Fearing that the mushrooms would be damaged by the jostling, Lin Chuntao walked very slowly along the way. By the time she arrived at the market, many people had already finished buying their things and were preparing to leave.
Thinking of the old man who bought red mushrooms last time, who said he could bring her some termite mushrooms if she had any, Lin Chuntao went to the pharmacy first, but only the young apprentice was there. The apprentice said, "The master has gone to the market. Madam, go to the market to find him."
Lin Chuntao smiled, rented a steelyard at the market entrance, and carried the matsutake mushrooms into the market.
She found her previous spot, put down her basket and bamboo basket, removed the weeds from the basket, and began to call out her wares.
As soon as she called out "chicken mushroom," people swarmed over from all directions, surrounding her completely.
Everyone exclaimed in surprise as they looked at the fresh and plump termite mushrooms.
"Oh dear, young lady, your whole bunch of matsutake mushrooms are mushrooms?"
"Where did you find it? It's in really good condition."
How much per pound?
Lin Chuntao looked at the people in front of her with a smile and estimated a number.
"Thirty or five coins a pound."
As soon as he finished speaking, the man in front said, "Oh dear, it's so expensive, give me two pounds."
The man said it was expensive, but he still wanted to buy it. Lin Chuntao thought that the price of matsutake mushrooms was probably around the same as before.
All I could hear from the sidelines was a cacophony of voices: "Give me two jin too! Give me three jin!"
Just as Lin Chuntao was about to start weighing, she looked up and saw the little old man who had just squeezed in. He looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "Girl, didn't we agree last time that if you found any matsutake mushrooms, you could bring them to my shop and I would buy them all for you?"
Before Lin Chuntao could say that she had gone, the man next to her said, "Dr. He, don't hoard all the good stuff in your pharmacy. Buy two catties of this matsutake mushroom for everyone to try!"
The woman next to her chimed in, "That's right, that's right." As she agreed, she said to Lin Chuntao, "Miss, quickly weigh out two jin for me, and I'll count the money for you."
As she spoke, she started calculating the money. Lin Chuntao had no choice but to pick up the scale, take out the matsutake mushrooms, weigh two jin (1 kg) for her, and the woman, carrying her vegetable basket, looked at the whole and fresh matsutake mushrooms inside with a big smile on her face.
The man who wanted two jin stopped arguing with the old man and told Lin Chuntao to weigh it for him quickly.
After watching Lin Chuntao pick mushrooms for the man, the old man glanced at Lin Chuntao's small basket, estimated the amount in his mind, and hurriedly said, "Miss, I want fifteen catties."
As soon as he said that, the man who had just shouted that he wanted three jin got anxious, glared at the old man, and then said to Lin Chuntao, "Miss, I said it first, three jin, you have to weigh it for me first!"
There were other people around, staring at Lin Chuntao and saying, "Girl, we all got here before this old man. You can't sell it all to him. Give each of us two jin. We haven't had any chicken mushrooms this year. Everyone should try them."
Lin Chuntao was both amused and exasperated, and first took out the scale that had previously weighed three jin.
After the man left, the people who had gathered around said to the old man, "Dr. He, could you share some with everyone to try? When she picks more, can you take them all to your shop? Just don't let us all see."
The old man watched as the group of people surrounded him, as if they wouldn't let him leave unless he made a decision.
He frowned, gritted his teeth, looked up at Lin Chuntao and said, "Okay, give them a few pounds, and keep five pounds for me."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Sir, may I weigh out five jin for you first?"
There was no other way, so I weighed out five jin for him.
The old man gave her the money and said to Lin Chuntao, "Little girl, next time you find matsutake mushrooms, bring them to my shop first, and I'll give you extra money!"
Lin Chuntao nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I will next time."
After the five jin were taken away, the basket was more than half empty. The people in front of them took one or two jin, and soon their baskets were empty.
Seeing the empty baskets and the dejected look on those who hadn't bought anything, Lin Chuntao glanced at the bamboo basket behind the basket and estimated it weighed about five or six pounds. She called out, "There are still three pounds left, who wants them?"
"Me!" A woman rushed back as she spoke, looking at Lin Chuntao somewhat awkwardly: "Sell me."
Lin Chuntao smiled, removed the grass from the bamboo basket, took out some, and weighed three jin for her.
The woman peeked out and saw the bamboo basket of matsutake mushrooms in front of Lin Chuntao. She laughed and said, "Girl, why are you hiding your matsutake mushrooms? There are more than three pounds in that basket!"
She has a loud voice, and two of the people who had just left came back!
"Where?"
Those who returned peeked out and saw the small bamboo basket Lin Chuntao had hidden behind her, and they all looked at her with heartache.
"Girl, how could you do this? I want two pounds."
"I want two jin too."
Lin Chuntao: "...I'm sorry, Auntie, I'm keeping the rest for myself, so I won't sell them."
The woman said, "Sell them to the aunties. You can pick more when you get home. We can't even find any green-headed mushrooms. Sell them to us first, and you can pick more and keep them to eat. I'll count the money for you, two pounds! Just two pounds!"
As she spoke, the woman took the money bag and began counting the copper coins. Lin Chuntao took a deep breath and weighed out two jin for her.
The other party also wanted two jin of the remaining food, but it was clearly not enough to weigh. Before Lin Chuntao could speak, she spoke first.
"Girl, one jin is fine too, just weigh one jin for me."
There was nothing else she could do, so Lin Chuntao weighed out another pound for her.
In the end, only three termite mushrooms remained in the small bamboo basket. Lin Chuntao sighed helplessly. She had picked all the termite mushrooms, hoping to have a meal with them. Now, only three were left…
But touching the heavy copper coin, he didn't seem too upset, and reached out to cover the weeds he had just taken out back up.
Three flowers are fine, three flowers are enough to make a soup and have a taste.
She passed the meat stall with her basket on her back. There were still many people buying meat, so she figured Pei Ying was still busy. She then went to the grain store by herself.
I bought two and a half bushels of millet and two bushels of buckwheat flour.
There's a piglet and two chickens at home now, and the husks from pounding rice can be given to them to eat.
After leaving the grain shop, Lin Chuntao quickly accessed the control panel and exchanged eight catties of soybean seeds, which she would plant together with the corn later.
As soon as she finished exchanging the grain, she felt a sudden weight on her back. With fifty or sixty pounds of grain, Lin Chuntao felt like her shoulders were about to break. She held on to her last breath and carried the load to find Pei Ying.
When she arrived at the butcher shop, Pei Ying was busy, just carrying meat out from the backyard.
Lin Chuntao greeted him and quickly walked to the corner and put down her basket.
He Lan recognized Lin Chuntao, turned around and smiled at her. Lin Chuntao greeted her with a smile, "Good morning, Manager He!"
Good morning, Madam Lin!
Pei Ying went to the backyard to move the meat, while He Lan was busy cutting the meat, weighing it, and collecting money. Lin Chuntao put the things down and went over to ask, "Is there anything I can help you with, shopkeeper?"
Helan readily agreed, laughing, "Then would you please help me weigh it, madam?"
"No problem." Lin Chuntao smiled and took the scale. He Lan cut the meat according to the customer's preference, Lin Chuntao weighed it, the customer paid, and He Lan collected the money.
The two worked together smoothly for two rounds. When Pei Ying brought out the meat again, she saw that Lin Chuntao was already working.
After Pei Ying finished moving the meat, he came to cut it, He Lan weighed the meat and collected the money, and only then could Lin Chuntao rest.
Helan noticed Lin Chuntao's basket and asked with a smile, "Is my wife here to buy grain? Why didn't you have Xiao Pei carry it back for you?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I went into the mountains this morning to pick some mushrooms to sell, and I also bought some grain."
Helan looked at Lin Chuntao, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"I'm busy all day long. I heard from the neighbors that a woman has been selling mushrooms for several days in a row. Could it be you?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It might be me."
"Wife, have you found any termite mushrooms? If so, please save a few pounds for me."
Hearing Helan's words, Lin Chuntao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly nodded.
Helan noticed her mood and then laughed, "Could it be that my wife found some termite mushrooms today?"
Lin Chuntao smiled awkwardly, nodded, and then said, "Don't worry, shopkeeper, if I find one next time, I'll keep it for you first."
"Then I thank you very much, my wife. Last year I saw my neighbors buying chicken mushrooms, but I couldn't buy any myself."
After Helan finished speaking, she started chatting with Lin Chuntao about everyday things.
"My wife doesn't know, but my little girl cries several times a year because she doesn't get to eat chicken mushrooms."
Lin Chuntao took a deep breath. She only had three matsutake mushrooms left. It wasn't enough for her to eat, and she felt a little embarrassed to give them away. But it would be awkward if people found out she had three more matsutake mushrooms after chatting for a while.
He chuckled and said, "If you don't mind, there are three flowers left. You can use them to please your little one."
As she spoke, she took the small bamboo basket, removed the grass covering it, and revealed three plump white termite mushrooms. Helan's eyes lit up, and she looked up at Lin Chuntao. It was obvious that Lin Chuntao had kept these for herself. She wanted them, but how could so many people love them?
Just as he was about to push it back, the little girl inside smelled the odor and rushed out of the house.
"Mom! Did you manage to buy any termite mushrooms?"
Helan wanted to say no, but Lin Chuntao spoke first: "Yes, but there are only three. Go get a basket and put them back."
The little girl hurriedly ran back into the house and brought out a small bamboo sieve. Lin Chuntao picked up the matsutake mushrooms and put them in the sieve. The little girl walked into the house very slowly, as if she were carrying some priceless treasure.
Helan was both amused and exasperated. She said to Lin Chuntao, "I'll give my wife the money."
Lin Chuntao quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, it's not much."
Seeing that she refused, Helan did not insist. After all, people value regular interaction and there is no need to rush.
It was almost the end of the 9-11 PM time, and the market was getting less crowded. The meat at the other two stalls had sold out, and Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang had also packed up and returned to their stalls. The accountant calculated their wages. Pei Ying had slaughtered four pigs that day and sold the meat from two of them, so he was paid 130 coins.
Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang used their wages to pay the difference, which was much less than yesterday's.
The three of them went out of the house together. Pei Ying ran to pay for the meat, but it cost 206 coins, which was not enough for his wages for the day.
He went to Lin Chuntao and asked for seventy-six coins, which was how he paid for the meat.
Lin Chuntao placed a lotus leaf in the bamboo basket, put the meat inside, and Pei Ying picked up the basket on her back and then the two of them turned around, said goodbye to Zhang Dayong and the others, and left.
Zhao Guang frowned slightly as he watched Pei Ying work all day without having a single copper coin left.
Zhang Dayong patted him and laughed, "Come on, let's go to my house for a drink."
"With Xiao Pei's help, my old back finally feels a bit better today."
Hearing Zhang Dayong's words, Zhao Guang laughed and said, "Let's go to my house for a drink."
Watching Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao walk away, the two of them also walked away arm in arm.
Lin Chuntao looked at the meat in the bamboo basket and asked softly, "Is this meat a little cheaper?"
Pei Ying nodded. "Manager He said the shop assistants got a discount on the meat."
Lin Chuntao did the math and found that it averaged out to be a little over 22 yuan per jin, which seemed quite cheap.
She asked Pei Ying, "Have you had breakfast?"
Pei Ying replied, "I've eaten. Are you hungry?"
"A little."
After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Pei Ying asked, "What would you like to eat? Let's go buy some."
Lin Chuntao shook her head slightly. Pei Ying was puzzled, not knowing whether she didn't want to eat it or was unwilling to spend the money.
"I want to eat a poached egg."
Pei Ying smiled upon hearing this, "Then I'll buy a few eggs to take back with me."
"Forget it, let's go back to the village to buy them. Eggs are hard to carry, and it would be a shame if they got damaged."
Pei Ying thought to herself, "That's true."
When the two returned to the outskirts of the village, they saw villagers carrying hoes and baskets on their backs hurrying home.
They've finished their work and are getting ready to go home for dinner.
Just as Lin Chuntao was wondering if Lin Chunxing and the others had gone home, she heard a clear voice ring out from the mountainside.
It was Lin Duo'er who shouted "Sister!" at the top of her lungs.
Lin Chuntao wasn't used to shouting, so she just waved at her.
When the villagers who were returning home heard Lin Duo'er's shout, they all turned around and saw Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao.
They started whispering and discussing it.
"What are they carrying? Grain?"
"Probably."
"That basket looks full; did they really make that much money picking mushrooms and selling them?"
"Everyone went into the mountains to pick mushrooms, but not many were found?"
“Didn’t you hear what Chen said? She said that Chun Tao knows about mushroom nests and can find mushrooms even in the dark of night when she goes into the mountains.”
These words were met with a chorus of snickers from the surrounding crowd.
“We don’t believe that either. Does Chun Tao have a third eye? Just take what Sister Chen says with a grain of salt. I also heard that she asked Chun Tao to take her two daughters to pick mushrooms, but Chun Tao didn’t agree. She went to intercept Chun Tao in the middle of the night, followed her into the mountains but didn’t pick any mushrooms. When she came out, she kept grumbling about Chun Tao.”
"Is that so? Who told you this? We don't know anything about it."
The woman who spoke glanced at the person who asked the question. "Who cares who you hear the story from? Just listen and that's enough. Are you going to go and ask them?"
"Just out of curiosity, let's chat."
A group of people walked and talked, exchanging glances and exchanging words, until they entered the village and went home.
Lin Chunxing and the others ran down from the fields by the mountainside and rushed to Lin Chuntao.
"Sister, what did you buy?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "After buying meat, millet, and buckwheat noodles, we can go to the village later and buy some eggs."
Lin Duo'er looked at Lin Chuntao in surprise: "Are we going to buy eggs to eat?"
Lin Chuntao smiled without saying a word, while Lin Duo'er happily skipped and jumped in front of her.
Lin Chunxing carried a basket full of pig feed on her back, while Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe, holding sickles, hopped and skipped around, looking quite dangerous.
"Walk properly, you're carrying a knife."
Lin Duo'er stopped talking after Lin Chuntao finished speaking, but she was still shaking her head and couldn't stop being happy.
She asked Lin Chunxing, "How's the harvest? Are you hungry?"
Lin Chunxing replied, "We just cleared a patch of land, so we're not hungry. We took some sweet potatoes with us this morning, gathered some firewood, and cooked them in the field. We can cut grass while waiting for the sweet potatoes to ripen."
"It's okay, we'll go cut it together after we get back and have dinner."
Back home, Pei Ying put down her things and casually took out the burlap sack from her basket.
"Why did you buy beans too?" Pei Ying asked.
"Make seeds and plant them together with corn."
Pei Ying didn't say anything. Just as he was about to pick up the basket, he heard the sound of copper coins clinking. Looking down, he saw a lot of copper coins at the bottom of the basket.
The younger sisters heard the sound and all peeked over at the same time.
They were dumbfounded to see so many copper coins. The grain had already been bought, so how come there was still so much money?
Lin Chuntao ignored their probing questions and hurriedly took out all the copper coins. She didn't know how many mushrooms she would find or how much money she would make when she left, so after taking out the money for the cattle rent, she took the remaining three hundred coins with her.
Who knew we'd find so many termite mushrooms, and even made nearly a string of cash from them? After spending money on meat and grain, we still had this much left.
She asked Pei Ying to bring her a piece of hemp rope, and while sitting on a chair, she counted and strung the rope together. After strung out a string of coins, she still had thirty-eight coins left.
Not only were the younger sisters shocked, but Pei Ying was also quite surprised.
"You made all that money selling termite mushrooms?"
Lin Chuntao looked up at him and smiled slightly: "Mm."
Lin Duo'er stared at the money, her mouth agape and her eyes blinking.
"Sis, we're rich now, aren't we?"
Lin Chuntao patted her with a smile, "You don't have to worry about not having enough to eat. We're still far from being rich. We need to save money to make new clothes and build a house. You're not allowed to tell outsiders how much money we have."
She said that last sentence very seriously, and her sisters all nodded in agreement.
"Sister, when are we going to get new clothes made? Can I have a red one? Like Auntie's?" Lin Duo'er asked Lin Chuntao, leaning on the table with anticipation.
Lin Chunhe patted her head, "Why do you want red? That's for your aunt's wedding."
"Then I want blue. What color do you want, sister?" Lin Duo'er asked again. Lin Chuntao looked at her and said softly, "I like black, gray, and white."
Hearing Lin Duo'er ask Lin Chuntao about her preferences, Pei Ying listened intently. After hearing Lin Chuntao's answer, he frowned again.
Young girls like black and white... and gray?
Just as he was thinking this, Lin Chunxing blurted out what was on her mind.
"Sister, the old ladies in our village only wear these colors."
Before Lin Chuntao could retort, Lin Chunhe spoke up from the side.
"Nonsense, the most common clothes worn by the old ladies in our village are blue with polka dots."
Lin Chunxing was speechless for a moment, while Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao burst out laughing at the same time.
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Gray is more dirt-resistant. The main thing is that we work every day, and bright colors are hard to clean once they get dirty."
"If you have money, make more outfits and wear them separately."
As Pei Ying finished speaking, Lin Chuntao smiled, and Chunxing chimed in, "That's right."
"Then when we have money, we'll go to the cloth shop to choose some fabric." She said, taking a string of copper coins and putting them away. Then she asked, "What would you like to eat for cooking? Buckwheat dumplings again?"
"It will be all right."
"Then let's light a fire, boil water, and steam buckwheat rice. After the rice is steamed, I'll go to the village to buy some eggs, and then I'll make some scrambled eggs with tomatoes for you to share."
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone sprang into action, carrying firewood and fetching water.
Lin Chuntao took an earthenware basin and scooped out some buckwheat flour. She first mixed the fine flour with water to make small dough balls the size of soybeans, then poured them into a steamer to steam. Even after steaming, the dough balls remained distinct.
She had done it several times, and Lin Chunxing already knew how to do it. After the rice was steamed, Lin Chuntao took a small bamboo basket, some money, and prepared to buy eggs. She also wanted to go to Aunt Guizhi's house to buy two bamboo baskets, which were very convenient for holding meat, rice, and vegetables.
As she was leaving, she looked at Pei Ying and said, "Could you cut me a bamboo stalk? Something I can hold in my hand, not too thick and not too thin."
Not knowing what she was going to do, Pei Ying nodded, picked up the sickle, and followed her out the door.
When she arrived, Aunt Guizhi was at home. She asked her for two bamboo baskets and two winnowing baskets, and after several refusals, Aunt Guizhi finally accepted ten coins from Lin Chuntao.
"What are you doing carrying that bamboo basket?"
"I'll ask around to see if anyone has any eggs. I'll buy a few and we'll start planting tomorrow."
"Then I'll go there earlier tomorrow."
"Thank you, Auntie, but are you going to sell vegetables?" Lin Chuntao asked.
Aunt Guizhi waved her hand: "It doesn't matter whether the vegetables are sold a couple of days earlier or later."
Lin Chuntao sneered, "How can they be the same? Vegetables will get old, their color will change, and their appearance will change." Lin Chuntao hurriedly said, "Auntie, you go about your business in the morning. Grandpa and Grandma will help me plant them. We don't have any manure, so we can just plant the seeds after the land is plowed."
"Planting?" Aunt Guizhi frowned, somewhat puzzled. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Isn't I planting corn? Once the land is plowed and furrows are dug, I can just use a stick to poke a hole and put the seeds in."
"...Will this work?"
"It can be done."
But Aunt Guizhi was a little skeptical, "How come you have so many ideas, girl?"
"Just thinking about it, I feel like this is a good way to do it. You go ahead and do your thing, and come over to help me plant the seeds when you have time when you get back."
Upon hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Alright, I'll come over this afternoon to help you. I can help you plant for a few more days."
After saying that, she added, "Grandma Si's house next door sells eggs. She has a lot of chickens. Come on, I'll ask her for you."
The two left the courtyard together, then turned and went into the next room. "Fourth Aunt, do you still have any eggs at home?"
As soon as Aunt Guizhi finished speaking, an old woman came out of the house carrying a winnowing basket. The sun was shining brightly, and the old woman squinted at them. "What, you want to buy eggs?"
Aunt Guizhi said, "It wasn't me, it was Chuntao."
"And how many do you want to buy?"
Aunt Guizhi looked at her, and Lin Chuntao quickly stepped forward and said, "Fourth Grandmother, how many do you have? Can you sell me thirty?"
"Okay, wait a moment."
As she spoke, the old lady went into the house and brought out a full bamboo basket of eggs. The eggs were quite clean and had no chicken droppings on them.
In this rural area, there are many free-range chickens. Sometimes, hens will brood and incubate eggs. You can't tell from the surface, but when you look through the sunlight or lamplight, you can see the shadows inside the eggshells.
Lin Chuntao looked at the eggs in the sun, picked out thirty, and gave the old lady thirty coins.
Aunt Guizhi felt a pang of pain when she saw the thirty coins she had taken out.
Once outside the courtyard, she said to Lin Chuntao, "If you have any spare money, go buy a few hens to raise. Hens aren't expensive, and they'll start laying eggs after a few months, saving you the trouble of buying eggs."
Lin Chuntao smiled and agreed. She had this intention, but she wanted to eat it now, and there wasn't enough time to buy a young hen.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com