Chapter 94 - Two-in-One Braised Pig Trotters
Lin Qingqing cried in the stationmaster's courtyard. From childhood to adulthood, Wang Shi had always said that Wang Quan was honest and obedient, and that they should treat him well.
Every time she visited her uncle's house, Wang would make a special trip to the city to buy a bag of pastries. If she said she wanted some, her mother might not buy them, but if her cousin wanted some, he could eat them in no time.
Also, during the Lunar New Year, when they bought cloth to make clothes, her mother would save some money, and she would use that money to buy a piece of cloth and send it to her uncle's house.
Whenever there's something good, her mother is reminded of her mentally challenged cousin.
The original intention was to introduce Lin Chunxing to the family because Lin Chunxing was able to set up a stall to sell soup noodles and make money. Before the incident with the fifth branch of the family, why didn't she mention introducing Lin Chunxing and Lin Chuntao to the family?
At that time, Lin Chuntao was already nineteen years old, and no one was interested in getting married.
It's just that once you've proven your ability to make money, you become a target.
If Lin Chuntao doesn't agree now, she'll be the backup option.
She didn't understand whether she or Wang Quan was the biological mother.
Lin Changhua patted Lin Qingqing on the shoulder and comforted her, "Don't take your mother's words to heart."
Aunt Lin also said, "That's right, Qingqing, your mother loves you and will definitely find you a good family."
Lin Qingqing wouldn't listen to a single word of comfort. She took a stool and sat down in the yard, looked up at the sky. It was already very dark, with many stars hanging in the sky, but the moon had only just begun to peek out and was not yet bright enough to see.
She thought that if her mother really married her off to Wang Quan, she would shed blood on her wedding day!
Lin Chuntao and the others were unaware of what had happened to Lin Qingqing and the others. They fried a jar of chicken oil and half a basket of pig skins. It was already quite late.
As bedtime approached, Lin Duo'er said she wanted to eat this chicken noodle soup. Lin Chuntao smiled, took a small dough ball, quickly kneaded it, stretched it into thin noodles, and cooked it in a pot.
Lin Chuntao asked with a smile, "Dry noodles or soup noodles?"
"How about we just mix it with noodles?"
The younger sisters didn't have any objections; they thought whatever Lin Chuntao made would taste good.
There were some leftover tomatoes and eggs from dinner, and since we were having noodles, Lin Chuntao heated them up. They didn't want them, so Lin Chuntao mixed them into the noodles herself.
Chicken mushroom oil, made by frying chicken mushrooms, with a small amount of scallions and cilantro, salt and chili powder, and then stirring it into a bright red bowl.
It was so fragrant and spicy that Lin Duo'er practically licked the bowl clean.
"Sis, I want to eat some more."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's time to sleep. Eat less; it's not good to sleep if you eat too much."
Lin Duo'er smacked her lips, while Lin Chunhe and Lin Chunxing were also regretting it. They should have said they were very hungry. They had just said they weren't very hungry, so Lin Chuntao only cooked a little bit.
This small bowl feels like nothing after finishing it, but I could easily eat a whole big bowl of it.
"Then let's eat it again tomorrow," Lin Chunhe asked.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Sure, sure, such a big jar of chicken oil, we can make it whenever we want."
After finishing her sentence, Lin Chuntao said, "Wash the pots and pans, then wash up and go to bed. We'll cook something to eat when you wake up."
The system did not report any mushrooms the next day, and Lin Chuntao went to the county town again. This morning they were going to count the trees and sort them so that Lin Chuntao could discuss it with Yu Meixi and the others.
As dawn broke, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er woke up and discovered that Lin Chuntao hadn't gone to the county town. Their eyes lit up instantly, and they said in unison, "Sister, we want to eat noodles."
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "You two don't think about food even when you're sleeping, do you?"
Lin Duo'er said, "I just had a dream that you made a big pot of it."
"You woke up before you even got to eat?"
Lin Duo'er chuckled, and Lin Chuntao said, "Start a fire to boil water, I'll go knead the dough."
Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, the two sisters were so happy they felt like they could fly, and they skipped and jumped to gather firewood to start a fire in the stove.
Lin Chuntao took an earthenware basin and scooped in the flour. Pei Ying kneaded the dough, which required more strength and speed. It took her quite a while to pull the dough out.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Eating so early in the morning, should we have clear soup or the noodles we had last night?"
"Mixed noodles!"
The two answered together. Lin Chuntao shook her head helplessly. She was thinking of having something light for breakfast, but since they wanted noodles, she would have noodles too.
Lin Chuntao cooked a lot today, and it made a big bowl. Last night, Lin Chuntao tore the fried chicken mushrooms by hand. Since they are long strips, they turn into golden strands after being squeezed dry. They are chewy and fragrant. Especially when you wrap two strands in a bite of noodles, it is so delicious that it warms your heart.
By the time they finished breakfast, it was already broad daylight, the sky was flushed red, and the sun had not yet risen.
After clearing away the dishes, Lin Chuntao cooked potatoes for the piglets, mixed some bran for the chickens, fed them, and then released them into the yard.
After finishing their work, smoke slowly rose from the chimneys of many houses in the village.
Lin Chuntao went to check on the soybeans that had been soaked yesterday. They had soaked long enough and she could prepare them to start steaming.
It was still early, and Lin Cunzheng and the others hadn't gone to count the cedar trees yet. They didn't have anything else to do either, so Lin Chunhe asked, "Sister, should we make some steamed beans now?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Go ahead and do it. First, take them out and drain them. If we have enough potatoes and they're not cooked by the time they're done, we can start a fire and steam them in the yard."
"good!"
Having just eaten their fill, and having finally enjoyed the chicken and mushroom noodles they'd been craving all night, the two sisters are now full of energy and enthusiasm.
Lin Chuntao brought over the steamer, and then brought over the earthenware pot and winnowing basket, and the three sisters began their day's work.
Time flies, and before long the sun slowly rose.
As the sun rose, Lin Jiahui and the others ate breakfast and went out of the courtyard together. Lin Cunzheng and Lin Changzong were preparing to count the trees, while Sun and Hu, the two sisters-in-law, were preparing to go to Lin Chuntao's place to do some work.
Lin Cunzheng and Lin Changzong were about to call Lin Changhua and the others, but Sun and Hu didn't go with them to count the trees, so they left first without waiting for Lin Changzong and the others.
On their way to Lin Chuntao's place, they would pass by Meng Yun's house. Meng Yun waited for them for a while before they all went over together.
When they arrived, they saw that Lin Chuntao and her two sisters had already started working.
"Chuntao, you didn't go to the county town today?"
As soon as Sun entered the room and saw her, she asked, "I was going to count trees today, so I didn't go to the county town. Grandma, have you had breakfast yet?" Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I was going to count trees today, so I didn't go to the county town. Grandma, have you had breakfast yet?"
Madam Sun smiled and said, "We've already eaten. Have you all eaten?"
Lin Duo'er replied with a grin, "We've already eaten, hehe."
Sun and the others usually didn't eat breakfast, and mainly ate two meals a day. When they went to work in the fields, they would go home when they were hungry, which was quite free. But now that they were helping Lin Chuntao and had received money, they couldn't just run away when they were hungry, so they decided to get up early to make something to eat and fill their stomachs.
Lin Chuntao thought that since Sun Shi and the others had arrived, then Lin Cunzheng and the others must have gotten up as well.
"Grandma, when are Grandpa and the others planning to go to the cedar forest?"
After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Madam Sun said, "I was just about to tell you that your great-grandfather and the others went out with us, but they went to call your second uncle Changhua and the others. They should be here in a little while."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, and Madam Hu smiled and said, "They will also be taking this road to get there in a little while. Your aunt is going too. She said she'll come and call you later."
Lin Chuntao laughed upon hearing this, "Then I'll wait for my aunt and the others to arrive."
As they were talking, Lin Chunhe got up to get money for Lin Jiahui, Meng Yun made a note of the accounts, and then ran over to help Lin Chuntao and the others with making beans, which made Lin Chuntao feel a little guilty.
She laughed and said, "Madam Meng, I've paid you one penny to do two jobs."
Meng Yun replied with a smile, "I'm just reserving this position first, and I'll get a raise when the employer gets more work later."
Everyone laughed after she said that, and Lin Chuntao replied, "Of course!"
At this time, everyone in Lin Changhua's house was up. Wang Shi still had a long face, and Lin Qingqing's eyes were swollen from crying. She had barely slept all night.
The atmosphere in the courtyard was somber. Lin Cunzheng and the others called out to Lin Changsen and Lin Changhua from outside. The people inside responded and quickly came out. Many adults and children from the family came out as well. Since they had nothing else to do, they all went to join in the fun.
After Lin Changhua left, Lin's third aunt, Lin's eldest aunt, and Wang said, "Second sister-in-law, are you going?"
Wang replied coldly, "I'm not going, you all go."
Third Grandma glanced at Wang Shi, then at Lin Qingqing, whose eyes were swollen like walnuts. She took a deep breath and said, "Let's go, I'll go with you. It's been so long since I've been there."
After saying that, the old lady got up, passed by Lin Qingqing, patted Lin Qingqing on the shoulder, and said softly, "Qingqing, let's go together."
Lin Qingqing originally wanted to say she didn't want to go, but after glancing at Wang Shi next to her, she nodded.
It's just that she has trouble explaining what's wrong with her eyes when people ask her what's wrong.
But actually, when they argued last night, it was quite a commotion. The people from the second and fourth households on both sides heard most of it. Lin Qingqing is usually sweet-talking and obedient, and doesn't offend people much. When they saw that her eyes were red from crying, they still had some sense of boundaries and didn't stare at her and ask what was wrong.
She stayed huddled next to the old lady. Chen Dongniang went to call Lin Chuntao to come out and go together. After walking for quite a while, Lin Chuntao finally noticed Lin Qingqing and saw her red eyes.
Chen Dongniang noticed Lin Chuntao's probing gaze and whispered, "It seems she had a fight with her mother last night."
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly. There are only a few reasons why a girl would quarrel with her own mother. Considering that Wang Shi had been targeting her all night, it wasn't hard to guess.
Lin Chuntao didn't press for details. With so many people around, they would start discussing it as soon as they started talking.
Even if Lin Chuntao didn't ask, not everyone has a sense of boundaries. For example, Li Honghua was very curious last night when she heard Wang Shi say that Lin Qingqing should marry her cousin. She really wanted to know if it was true or false.
Instead of asking Lin Qingqing what was wrong, she went to ask the old lady, "Third Aunt, is it true that Qingqing's mother said she was betrothed to her cousin?"
Upon hearing this, the old lady slowly raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Honghua. "Who told you that? Qingqing hasn't even started looking at people yet, how can she be betrothed?"
Li Honghua thought to herself, "Didn't they say so? It was Qingqing's mother who said it. Why is the old lady still pretending not to hear?"
"Did I mishear? I think I heard her mother say that last night."
Aunt Lin said, "Sister-in-law, you're still so young, how come your hearing is already failing?"
Seeing Lin San's sarcasm directed at her, Li Honghua didn't back down. She said with a forced smile, "Oh, it seems my ears aren't working properly. I think I heard something last night about Wang Shi wanting to introduce Chunxing to her fat nephew. I remember that child seems a bit slow-witted. How could Chuntao possibly agree to that?"
The old lady's face slowly darkened. Wang Shi was obsessed, not much different from Li Honghua. She took a deep breath and scolded, "Since your ears aren't working well, then listen more and talk less. If you talk too much nonsense, you might lose your tongue one day and become mute!"
Li Honghua chuckled, completely unconcerned: "Isn't a mouth meant for speaking? You're allowed to do it, but you're not allowed to say it?"
As she spoke, she called out to Lin Chuntao in front of her.
"Chuntao, I heard that your second aunt is going to introduce Chunxing to her nephew. Is that true?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao's eyes gradually darkened. "Aunt, who told you this? My Chunxing is still young and not in a hurry to get married. Who is this gossip spreading rumors behind my back?"
Li Honghua gave an awkward grin and mumbled, "I've only heard about it. Is that true?"
Lin Chuntao said, "I already said that Chunxing's marriage is not in a hurry, how could there be such a thing? Aunt, who told you that?"
Li Honghua was stared at and questioned by Lin Chuntao. Wang Shi was in a bad mood. If she said that Wang Shi said it herself, wouldn't Wang Shi come over and tear her apart?
Thinking to herself, Li Honghua said, "I just overheard it by accident."
Lin Chuntao scoffed, her face immediately darkening.
"Aunt, is there really no one else but you who likes to gossip? Do you think your tongue will rot if you don't talk nonsense behind people's backs? If you really can't stand it, ask Fourth Grandmother to sew your mouth shut with a long needle used for sewing shoes! You are an elder, and I don't want to say anything too harsh. My three younger sisters' marriages are none of anyone's business. When they reach the right age, I will find them husbands myself. You should worry about your own family matters!"
Lin Chuntao didn't want to say anything harsh at the end, but what she just said was very hurtful. She directly cursed Li Honghua and even said something about sewing up someone else's mouth with a shoe sole needle. Wasn't that cursing Li Honghua's mouth as someone else's shoe sole?
Along the way, there were men and women, many of whom were elders. Everyone was quiet and focused on walking forward.
Chen Dongniang and the others would definitely side with Lin Chuntao. The second branch of the family wouldn't step forward, and they didn't have any conflicts with Lin Chuntao. The third branch had just been stabbed by Li Honghua, so they definitely wouldn't help Li Honghua now. As for the fourth branch, Lin Changsong was too ashamed to argue with his niece. The old lady usually didn't talk much, and she always went along with Li Honghua's opinions. Seeing Lin Chuntao's expression and hearing her say that no one needed to worry about it, she didn't even have a chance to laugh it off, so she simply kept quiet.
Li Honghua looked around and saw that no one was speaking or chiming in. She gritted her teeth and vowed in her heart to make Lin Chuntao wait.
They walked all the way to the cedar forest, as if nothing had happened along the way.
The cedar trees were planted fairly neatly at the time, and the horizontal rows were easy to count. It didn't take long to count them all. There were a total of 176 trees. If there were seven families on average, each family would get 25 trees and one tree left over.
This one is easy to talk about, mainly because of its size. This tree is very old, and many of them are very thick trees. You can't see the top of the tree even if you stand next to it and look up. You have to step back a little to see it.
Lin Cunzheng decided to measure the thickness of all the coarse pieces according to the location of the person, and then divide them.
He brought a bamboo pole, and the two of them worked together, one measuring and the other recording.
Lin Chuntao helped them carry bamboo poles, and after an hour and a half of work, she was still not finished. Many of the onlookers had already left because they had lost patience.
Lin Qingqing followed the old lady and the others, and they slowly returned after most people had left.
Thinking about what Wang had said last night, Lin Qingqing felt upset.
She always felt that what her mother said was true, that she really wanted to marry her off to Wang Quan.
Once no one else was around, Lin Qingqing said to the old lady, "Grandma, I don't want to marry Wang Quan!"
The old lady glanced at her. "Who said you were going to marry Wang Quan?"
Lin Qingqing pouted, feeling extremely wronged. The old lady said, "Didn't your father tell you last night that your mother was talking nonsense? Don't take it to heart."
Lin Qingqing remained silent. The old lady said, "Silly girl, your mother was just bluffing you. You even have swollen eyes from crying."
"No, she's not bluffing me this time."
The old lady frowned slightly and said only, "Well, you are our family's daughter, and your marriage is not something she can decide alone. Don't worry, we won't let you marry that man who was given to your cousin."
After hearing the old lady's words, Lin Qingqing nodded.
“I know you and Chunxing are close, but you shouldn’t have been so quick to contradict your mother about this.” The old lady said this, and Lin Qingqing slowly looked over. “Does Grandma also think that what my mother did to Sister Chuntao and the others last night was right?”
The old lady pursed her lips and didn't speak. People are all selfish. Lin Chuntao wanted to cut down so many trees, which was taking advantage of other people's families. Fortunately, she was too smart and knew to bring up the matter before cutting them down. Otherwise, if she cut down the trees after building the house halfway, how could these families have divided the trees so easily?
They'll definitely make a scene and prevent her from building the house.
Even if the house is eventually built and she pays for the trees herself, it's still a joyous occasion like building a new house. If someone makes trouble in the middle of it, it's like they're bringing bad luck to her. It's like someone maliciously hopes that she will always be unhappy.
Many people think, "I can do without it, but you can't have it either," which is just how malicious they are.
She thought about how many trees Lin Chuntao would have to cut down, and how big the house would be. They hadn't even used up the two trees they used to build the house they were living in now. How big would Lin Chuntao's house be?
Her own grandchildren were all just as good as Lin Chuntao and her family. The entire fifth branch of the family had passed away, but Lin Chuntao and her family had emerged and made a name for themselves. Sometimes, it was hard not to feel envious.
Only Lin Qingqing foolishly followed Lin Chunxing around, not even realizing that Lin Chuntao went to earn money every morning and only occasionally asked her to cut pig feed in the afternoon. Everyone else was busy with their own things.
She doesn't even bother to make a comparison.
Thinking that Lin Qingqing had just had a fight with Wang Shi, the old lady didn't say anything more to her, but just thought about it to herself.
“Your mother just thought a little off. She felt that Chun Tao didn’t give her face and was a little unhappy. But I don’t think your mother was wrong about the trees. The trees belong to everyone, and it’s definitely not right for anyone to cut down as many as they want. Chun Tao’s words were very clear, and it’s good that she shared her own.”
Lin Qingqing remained silent and did not respond.
It seemed that she only realized at this moment that when everyone was saying that Chun Tao and Chun Xing were pitiful, it wasn't because they really felt sorry for them, but rather it was just idle talk after dinner. They were just bored and could casually chat about the sisters.
When they actually need help, these people all hope they suffer.
I hope they never have a good life and that they stay this miserable forever.
Perhaps only the eldest grandmother and others truly felt sorry for Chunxing and the others, so they gave them that old house to live in, to shelter them from the wind and rain, or perhaps Aunt Guizhi could ask them to pick some vegetables to eat.
Adults' thoughts are truly complex.
When Lin Chuntao and the others finished taking all the measurements, it was almost lunchtime. Lin Chuntao called out to Lin Cunzheng and Lin Changhua, "Grandpa, Uncle, Second Uncle, come to my house for lunch. Thank you for your help; you've been busy all morning."
Lin Cunzheng shook his head, "No, no, measuring a tree is a small matter."
Last night, Wang stabbed Lin Chuntao several times, which made Lin Changhua feel somewhat uncomfortable. However, when she called him, she did so with the same smile and politeness as when she called Lin Changzong and the others, which gradually eased his embarrassment.
He said, "We'll eat together after your new house is built."
Lin Chuntao laughed too, "Once my new house is finished, I'll treat you uncles to drinks."
As the group returned from the cedar forest and were about to part ways, Lin Cunzheng said, "Chuntao, let's go back and get it sorted out. After lunch, we'll see which trees to divide and then go back to divide them. We can also plant the stone stakes while we're at it."
Lin Chuntao nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, Grandpa."
Lin Cunzheng said, "These are all minor matters."
When Lin Chuntao returned, Lin Chunhe and the others had already steamed quite a few beans.
Before leaving, Lin Chuntao briefly told Lin Chunhe how much to let the steamed beans cool down, how much flour to add, and how thick to spread the mixture after mixing the flour.
She glanced at the ones Lin Chuntao had covered with gauze; they were all done very well, and she had even marked them on the winnowing baskets just like she had done yesterday.
Lin Chuntao felt quite delighted.
When Lin Chunhe saw Lin Chuntao enter the room, she followed her in and saw Lin Chuntao checking what she had just done. She felt a little nervous.
"Sister, is it okay?"
Seeing the expectant look in her eyes, Lin Chuntao patted her head. "Very good! You did a great job!"
"Then I'm relieved. I was so nervous just now, afraid I'd ruin the beans."
Lin Chuntao said, "If you look at it more and do it a few more times, you won't be nervous anymore. It's not that easy to break."
"Okay, I'll go back to work on it."
He then ran out of the house.
It was almost lunchtime, so Lin Chuntao went to check on the meat. Pei Ying had brought back a few pig trotters yesterday, but they hadn't been used to cook anything else. They weren't home yet, so Lin Chuntao decided to wash them, chop them up, and stew them to make a braised pig trotters dish.
Lin Chunhe had already soaked the rice. Lin Chuntao saw that the rice was ready to be scooped out and steamed, so she simply scooped the rice into the steamer and put the pot on the stove to steam it.
After preparing the meal, she took a clay pot to scoop water and wash the pig's trotters.
Pei Ying and the others had cleaned the pig's trotters quite well, with hardly any stray hairs. Lin Chuntao peeled off some of the shell under the trotters, scraped it clean with a knife, and then chopped it into small pieces.
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