Chapter 14 Chuntao, sell me that basket of mushrooms you have...
Aunt Guizhi's husband, Linshan, was mute, but fortunately he had a skill: weaving baskets, winnowing trays, and other similar items at home, which Aunt Guizhi would then take to the market to sell.
People from the village often came to her house to buy these supplies. She was a little surprised to see Lin Chuntao and the others, because she had just heard that the sisters had been kicked out.
"Auntie, we've come to look around and want to buy a bamboo basket."
Aunt Guizhi greeted us with a smile, "Come in and see. We haven't been to the market these past few days; we've been staying inside."
Lin Chuntao followed her into the house. All the woven baskets were in one room, big and small, very complete.
There were also some winnowing baskets and small bamboo baskets, all very well woven, with no thorns to be felt when picked up, and polished very finely.
She picked out one that fit them and asked about the price.
Aunt Guizhi said, "This basket sells for eighteen coins in the county town, but fifteen coins is fine for villagers."
"Okay, I'll take this." After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Aunt Guizhi asked with a smile, "I heard from the villagers that you sisters have moved out and are living separately?"
Lin Chuntao nodded. "Mm."
Aunt Guizhi asked again, "Is one enough for you? If not, pick two more." Lin Chuntao smiled at her, "Not today, we don't have enough money on hand, we'll come back in a few days."
Aunt Guizhi said, "If it's not enough, you can owe me for now. You can give it to me when you have more. Do you want the winnowing basket? And this little bamboo basket is very useful for picking mushrooms."
Lin Chuntao looked at the bamboo basket that could be carried and asked about the price. Aunt Guizhi handed it over directly, saying, "If you need it, this is for you."
She didn't have the habit of taking things from people for free, so she hesitated to reach out and take it. Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Take it. This won't sell for much. Consider it a bonus when you buy the basket. If you need a bigger basket later, come back."
Lin Chuntao smiled and accepted it, "Then I thank you very much, Auntie. We have nothing right now and are lacking a lot of supplies. Let me see what I need and then come back to you."
"Okay, you can tell me what kind of bamboo weaving you need."
After paying and taking the baskets, the sisters left Aunt Guizhi's house with their small bamboo baskets, overjoyed.
"Sister, Aunt Guizhi gave us a bamboo basket. We can take it with us when we go mushroom picking."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, we'll go into the mountains to pick mushrooms in a bit."
The sisters happily carried their baskets home. The yard had been swept clean, and a bamboo broom stood in the corner, clearly made by Pei Ying.
Lin Chuntao was in a good mood and called out, "We're back!"
Pei Ying came out of the house and saw them carrying baskets on their backs and small bamboo baskets. He casually asked, "Did you buy a small bamboo basket too?"
Lin Duo'er interrupted, "No, Aunt Guizhi gave us a small bamboo basket, but we bought a carrying basket instead."
Pei Ying smiled slightly and looked at Lin Chuntao, "Do you two have anything else to do later? I want to go set a trap for that slut."
Lin Chuntao replied, "It's nothing, we can go together."
"We'll also go into the mountains to look for mushrooms, which we can stir-fry for dinner."
Hearing about catching pheasants, the third and fourth brothers immediately thought of eating chicken, and their faces were full of anticipation. Lin Duo'er stood in front of Pei Ying, looked up and asked, "Brother-in-law, are pheasants easy to catch?"
Pei Ying said, "It's alright, not difficult."
"Can we eat the chicken meat if we catch a pheasant?" Lin Duo'er asked.
Pei Ying didn't answer, but instead looked at Lin Chuntao. Lin Duo'er immediately understood, "Sister, can we kill and eat the pheasant we caught?"
Lin Chuntao looked at this glutton with some helplessness: "When I get back tonight, I'll render some lard. Do you want some lard rice?"
"Eat!" Lin Duo'er answered, jumping up and down. Lin Chuntao picked up the basket and called to Lin Duo'er, "Take your little bamboo basket and let's go?"
Before setting off, Pei Ying went back into the house to get his pig-slaughtering knife and took out a bamboo tube from his bundle. Inside the tube was a handful of wheat, which he used specifically to catch pheasants.
After locking the door, the group headed into the mountains with great interest.
Once inside the mountains, Pei Ying went to look for pheasants, agreeing that if they didn't encounter them in the mountains, they should wait at the entrance at the foot of the mountain.
While teaching her younger sisters how to do it, Lin Chuntao crouched down and crawled through the woods.
Every now and then, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er could be heard exclaiming in surprise that they had found the mushrooms.
In less than an hour, they had filled a bamboo basket to the brim.
However, there are a few of each kind of mushroom, so it's quite mixed and suitable for keeping for personal consumption.
Looking at the abundance of fresh, juicy mushrooms, Lin Duo'er pursed her lips, her mouth watering: "I wonder if my brother-in-law caught any pheasants."
Lin Chuntao looked at the sky; the sun was already setting. She called to her sisters to go down the mountain and wait for Pei Ying.
Down the mountain, in Old Lin's field.
He went back at noon, which attracted the attention of the matchmaker, Qian.
Left with no other choice, Madam Tian had to bring Lin Xian'er, who never usually went to the fields, to the fields as well.
The matchmaker, like a stubborn plaster, followed us directly to the field.
Standing on the ridge, they praised Zhang Bao's family to Lin Xian'er, saying how wonderful Zhang Bao was, how caring he was, and how she would enjoy endless blessings after marrying into the family.
It was the busy farming season, and everyone was in the fields, listening to the matchmaker's rambling all day long.
Someone couldn't stand it anymore and laughed, "Auntie, that man is so good, why don't you marry your daughter off to him and enjoy a life of luxury?"
Matchmaker Qian laughed and said, "This old woman doesn't have that kind of luck. I have no daughters, only a few sons. You don't believe me when I say this man is good?"
"If it's not good, could Sister Tian have asked me to bring it to her eldest granddaughter as a betrothal gift?"
Tian's face turned red, but this wasn't just about Tian herself; it was about her entire family. The whole family was blushing with embarrassment and felt like they had nowhere to hide.
The matchmaker wasn't going to let them off the hook. She continued, "Sister Tian is just reluctant to let her daughter get married. Please help me persuade her. Seventeen is not young. It's the perfect age to find a husband. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never have another one."
"We can't help with that, we don't have a matchmaker's tongue."
They chatted intermittently.
That afternoon, Matchmaker Qian talked non-stop on the edge of the field, and the villagers enjoyed the show all day, while the Lin family suffered in silence all day.
Just as everyone was getting ready to pack up and go home, they turned around and saw Lin Chuntao and her sisters emerging from the woods.
With a basket of firewood on his back and a bamboo basket full of mushrooms in his hand, everyone was stunned.
"Chuntao, did you find these mushrooms in the mountains up there?"
Lin Chuntao recognized her as someone from the village and replied with a smile, "Yes, Auntie."
The man stared at their small bamboo baskets and said enviously, "Wow, you've picked so many! What kinds of mushrooms did you find?"
"They all have some, including green-headed mushrooms, pine needle mushrooms, and soil-backing mushrooms; it's quite a mixed bag."
"Your cousins went up there several times but didn't see any mushrooms. You guys are really good at picking them."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, Lin Chuntao looked up and saw that the children of the Lin family were also staring straight at her. She raised her voice and replied, "We sisters had nothing to do, so we were just wandering around in the mountains. We only found this much after searching for half a day."
As Lin Chuntao and her companions walked and talked, the matchmaker Qian hurriedly called out, "Chuntao, wait a moment."
Seeing the matchmaker running up while shouting, Lin Chuntao stopped. She saw the old woman looking at the mushrooms in Lin Chuntao's bamboo basket with shining eyes. "Little Tao, you have so many mushrooms, you can't eat them all. Sell half to this old woman."
This bamboo basket of mushrooms isn't much, maybe only about four pounds. After washing and stir-frying them, it might only be enough for the five of them. Lin Chuntao didn't really want to sell it.
But the old woman seemed to really want it, and she wasn't short of money, so she casually asked, "How much will you pay for half?"
Matchmaker Qian smiled and said, "How about five coins?"
"Not good at all. I'll save this money for food," Lin Chuntao said indifferently.
Seeing that Lin Chuntao was unmoved by her five coins, the matchmaker increased the amount to eight coins.
Seeing that she really wanted to buy it, Lin Chuntao pursed her lips and said, "Half of it is at least two jin, twelve coins, I'll give you half."
Everyone hissed in dismay at the price, and the matchmaker fell silent for a long while before finally saying, "Alright! Twelve coins it is."
After saying that, the matchmaker took out a cloth bag from her sleeve. Lin Chuntao squatted down and picked out half of the mushrooms from the small bamboo basket for her. Since she had already received money, and the wild mushrooms weren't very tasty, Lin Chuntao didn't pick any more for her. The old lady looked at the fresh mushrooms in the cloth bag and readily counted out twelve copper coins for Lin Chuntao.
"If you find any mushrooms in the future, save some for me, and I can still sell them to you at this price."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "This price is for mixed mushrooms, but it wouldn't be this price if it were all the same type."
The matchmaker looked up at her and said quietly, "I know, I know, it's just that this old woman is too old to go into the mountains."
Having obtained the mushrooms, he abandoned the matchmaking proposal and turned to Tian, saying, "Sister-in-law Tian, I have to go home and cook the mushrooms. I'll come back in a few days."
As she spoke, she picked up her cloth bag and walked away briskly. Lin Chuntao frowned. Was this because she was getting old and it was inconvenient for her to go into the mountains? Was she perhaps going into the mountains to pick mushrooms, which would delay her matchmaking and earning money?
That half-baked basket of mushrooms sold for twelve coins, making everyone present envious. They had never thought of picking mushrooms to sell; every year during mushroom season, they would just pick them, wash them, and eat them directly.
If these miscellaneous mushrooms can fetch this much money, what do they eat?
I secretly decided that I would send the child into the mountains to pick mushrooms tomorrow.
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