Chapter 26 - The Two-in-One Little Girl, Short on Money...
The man's voice was very loud. When he looked over, everyone in the entire field heard him. The grass cutters stopped what they were doing, the hoeers put down their hoes, and even the people resting on the edge of the field hurriedly got up to look over.
Lin Chunxing blushed instantly when she saw so many eyes staring at her. She pretended to be busy working, but her sickle failed to cut the weeds for a long time.
She was also afraid that, if what others said was true, they might plant nothing and end up with nothing to eat, and become the laughingstock of the village.
Seeing her movements and worried that she might accidentally cut her hand, Lin Chuntao said in a low voice, "Sit down and rest for a while, what are you afraid of? Even if we don't harvest anything, are we going to starve to death? I can pick mushrooms to sell, and your brother-in-law has a job slaughtering pigs; besides, if we really don't harvest anything, why would I bother with all this effort?"
Lin Chuntao's voice was calm, but Lin Chunxing could detect her displeasure.
She pursed her lips and looked up at Lin Chuntao, "How can you guarantee that, sister?"
Lin Chuntao smiled at her, a hint of mystery in her eyes.
"Then tell me, why do I manage to find so many mushrooms every day when I go into the mountains in the dark?" Lin Chuntao's question stumped Lin Chunxing. They had picked mushrooms before, but they had never found so many.
Seeing Lin Chunxing's silence, Lin Chuntao said helplessly, "You're my sister, listen to me and not others, okay? My dear sister?"
Lin Chuntao bent over and stretched her neck, speaking in a coquettish tone. Lin Chunxing was stunned and nodded vigorously.
"I've got it, sister, I've got it."
The man who had asked the question noticed that the two sisters were whispering to each other without responding, and continued to ask loudly, "Chuntao, what are you planning to plant?"
"Plant corn," Lin Chuntao said.
As soon as she finished speaking, a chorus of "ouch" erupted from all around.
"If you plant corn at this time, will you sisters eat corn husks in the winter?"
"Exactly, it's too late and the buds won't form, what a waste."
Lin Chuntao looked down at the vast expanse of lush green crops, including corn stalks that were almost knee-high and potato seedlings that were already growing very vigorously.
Looking at the villagers groaning in pain, she smiled and said, "Oh dear, we have no other choice. Let's plant them and see if they grow. Even if they don't, look at all of you aunts and uncles, your crops are growing so well. The harvest will definitely be good in the fall. I'll go door to door to borrow some. If each of you lends me a bushel or two, my sisters and I won't starve!"
After she finished speaking, the whole area fell silent.
The figures standing in the field didn't seem to be living people, but rather scarecrows, with only the rustling of the wind through the grass and trees all around.
It was the woman who had greeted her at the beginning who broke the awkward silence with a smile.
"You silly child, if you really have no harvest, come here. If your aunt has any, she'll lend it to you!"
Lin Chuntao said with a smile, "I hope God will be kind enough to provide us with food so we don't have to borrow grain."
As she spoke, she noticed the man who had spoken earlier was still carrying a sickle. She called out, "Second Uncle, take the sickle and help us cut some weeds! It's already May, we're so anxious, but we can't seem to finish cutting all these weeds!"
Lin Changhua, who was called out by her, froze on the spot, unsure whether to cut it or not. He then pointed to a few teenagers.
“You guys, come up here and help your sister Chuntao cut the weeds. I need to turn the soil.”
The boys who were pointed at all ran up. Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Oh, that's great. Thank you, Second Uncle. Brothers and sisters, feel free to cut whatever you want. Just throw it on the ground. If there's any that can be used as pig feed, you can pile it up and carry it back."
Four children came up, two girls and two boys.
Lin Changhua's biological father was the second oldest in the clan. He was the brother of Lin Cunzheng and the old man of the Lin family. These four teenagers were from their branch of the family and were cousins of Lin Chuntao and the others.
Because the relationship was a little distant, there were actually no conflicts between the children.
There were crops in the fields, but most of the time when they went to the fields, they would pull weeds instead of hoeing the soil. The adults were afraid that the children would accidentally uproot the seedlings.
When asked to cut weeds, they came running up excitedly as if it were a game.
"Sister, do you need to cut the weeds in both of your plots?"
Lin Chuntao nodded: "Yes, they all need to be cut."
"This is too much!" Lin Jiaye exclaimed.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "That's not all. There are two more by the river and four more behind the mountain."
Lin Qingqing hissed coldly, looking at Lin Chuntao with concern, and said, "How are you all going to finish this? Are you going to have to dig the ground?"
"If you're going to dig, there's no need to cut the grass. Just dig it up and bury it."
“We can’t dig out all this land. We’re going to rent oxen to plow it. We need to cut down these tall weeds, otherwise…”
"What? You want to rent an ox? When? Sister, why don't you rent a yellow ox to plow the fields?"
Before Lin Chuntao could finish speaking, Lin Jiaye exclaimed and interrupted her.
"Have you invited enough people? I'll plant the seeds for you."
Before Lin Chuntao could speak, Lin Chunxing saw through his little scheme, "Jiaye, you scatter seeds everywhere... do you really know how to scatter seeds? If you want to come and see the cows, just say so."
Lin Jiaye scratched his head sheepishly, "Then I can help pick up grass roots too."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It should be within the next few days. After clearing away these weeds, we'll go rent cattle. If you want to see the cattle, come and see them whenever you have time. It's nothing."
The group worked while talking, and with four helpers, they had cut down most of the land in no time.
Pei Ying climbed the tree and cut down the branches that were used to shade the roof. Although it was only a few branches, the cedar tree had many branches and dense leaves, so even a single branch had some weight.
Lin Duo'er struggled to drag even a single branch.
Seeing how hard she was dragging that cedar branch, Pei Ying said, "You guys stay home and watch the house, I'll drag it to the field."
Lin Duo'er breathed a sigh of relief and thanked her sweetly. Lin Chunhe pursed her lips. "Sister, you've already assigned us the tasks. Isn't this a bit much?"
But as soon as Pei Ying finished speaking, she had already piled up all the cut branches, preparing to haul them away in one go. She swallowed back the words she was about to say and stayed in the yard with Lin Duo'er to guard the house.
When Pei Ying dragged the cedar branches to the ground, she was somewhat surprised to see four more people working there.
Lin Chuntao saw Pei Ying arrive, but Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe were nowhere to be seen.
Where are the two of them?
Pei Ying said, "At home, this is a bit heavy and they can't move it, so I brought it over. Where do you plan to burn it?"
"Place it a bit in the middle." She pointed to a spot, and Pei Ying dragged the branch over and put it down. She picked up a sickle and said, "I'm going to the mountains to cut some pine branches."
"Okay, go back and lock the door. Let the two of them go and get some firewood or fallen leaves too."
Pei Ying responded and left.
Several of her younger cousins followed along and cut the weeds until evening. The weeds in the two plots were almost completely cleared. Lin Chuntao said, "Come to my house for dinner tonight."
Lin Qingqing and the others repeatedly refused and went home with the adults.
Pei Ying and Lin Chunhe brought one last batch of branches, dry grass, and fallen leaves, which Lin Chuntao divided into two piles and started burning.
As the sun began to set, the firelight from the ground illuminated the evening glow on the horizon, and two wisps of smoke rose from the ground.
Seeing that the fire was raging, Lin Chuntao and her sisters gathered all the weeds they had cut that day and threw them into the fire on both sides. In no time, they were burned to ashes.
When Lin Cunzheng and his family returned from the back mountain, they saw Lin Chuntao and the others still in the field, with the fire still burning. The old couple gave their farm tools to their son and daughter-in-law and then went to Lin Chuntao and the others.
Upon entering the field, we found that the weeds in both plots had been cut down, and two large piles of weed branches and leaves were burning.
Sun said, "Oh my, you sisters are so efficient! You've already cut all the weeds off both plots of land?"
Lin Cun nodded approvingly from the side. He had originally thought that the girls would be too slow to finish farming, but he didn't expect them to do so well.
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Grandpa, Grandma, it was Qingqing and Jiaye who helped us cut them."
Mrs. Sun asked with a smile, "Did you go to invite someone?"
"No, these plots of land below belong to Uncle Changhua's family. They were working in the fields and saw that Chunxing and I couldn't manage, so they called Jiaye and the others to help me."
Sun raised an eyebrow slightly. Would Lin Changhua be so kind? That's rare indeed.
"Are you getting ready to go home?" Mrs. Sun asked.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Wait for the firewood to burn out."
As she spoke, the elderly couple walked around in the field and then said, "After you finish your work, come home, have dinner, and then we'll go to the village head's house."
After Lin Chuntao agreed, the elderly couple left.
She wanted to watch the fire in the field, so she told Lin Chunxing and the others to go back and start a fire to cook.
Lin Chunxing, however, had no idea what to cook. She looked at Lin Chuntao and asked, "Sister, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
There are vegetables, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, but nothing is meat. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "How about cooking some rice and making lard rice? And stir-frying some melon too?"
Upon hearing about the pork lard rice, Lin Duo'er jumped for joy, and Lin Chunhe's lips curled into a smile.
Everyone is hungry after a busy day and really wants to eat something meaty.
Even without meat, rice mixed with lard is quite satisfying.
"Then you go back and start a fire to boil water. I'll watch the fire burn out."
"Oh, right, take those pig feeds from the edge of the field back for the piglets to eat."
After giving her instructions, Lin Chunxing took her sisters back, leaving Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao in the field.
Pei Ying noticed that there were quite a lot of weeds on the ridge, and he picked up a sickle to cut them, but Lin Chuntao quickly stopped him.
"Don't cut it, don't cut it, there are bubbles on the ridge."
As she spoke, she bent down and started searching. The white bubbles looked like small strawberries, but one was round and the other was pointed.
So many children go to the fields during the day, often looking for bubbles on the field ridges; these ridges must have been searched by them many times.
Lin Chuntao looked around and found about ten, giving a few to Pei Ying.
Pei Ying took it and examined it carefully. He had seen Lin Chuntao pick a lot of these last time, and she seemed to really like eating them.
"Where do we pick these to eat on a regular basis?" Pei Ying asked.
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "On the ridge, on the meadow, but people graze their livestock on the meadow, so it will be eaten by cattle and sheep and not easy to find."
Pei Ying nodded and fed the bubble into her mouth. It was soft and sweet, with little sourness.
He then joined the search for bubbles, and the two of them searched for bubbles on the edge of the field while waiting for the two piles of firewood to burn out.
The two fires didn't burn out until the sun had set and it was getting dark.
Lin Chuntao went over and stirred it with a stick. At least fifty catties of wood ash are needed for one mu of land. She looked at it and said to Pei Ying, "Do these two piles of wood ash weigh one shi?"
"More than that."
"That's enough. Tomorrow, go to the back mountain to cut weeds and burn some more. Cut more of those weeds closer to the mountain and carry them to the two plots of land by the river."
As she spoke, Pei Ying nodded. He was going to the city to slaughter a pig the next day and might be back late. He said to Lin Chuntao, "You guys go cut grass first, and I'll chop some to burn when I get back."
"Um."
"Are you going to pick mushrooms again tomorrow morning?" Pei Ying asked again.
Lin Chuntao smiled. It depends on whether the system announces it. If it does, she will definitely go. If not, she's been busy preparing to plant corn these past two days. She's not made of iron, so she'll take a break.
"I'm exhausted after a long day. Let's see if I can get up tomorrow."
Pei Ying smiled slightly upon hearing this.
After the wood ash was burned, Pei Ying took a hoe, dug some out, and covered it with the ashes. The two then picked up their farm tools and headed home.
At home at this time.
Lin Duo'er peered out the door watching the piglets eat their feed, Lin Chunxing had just returned from fetching half a bucket of water, and Lin Chunhe was watching the fire as she cooked rice.
As soon as Lin Chuntao entered the house, she smelled the aroma of rice.
Although it's brown rice, it has an extremely rich aroma and tastes very sweet. The only downside is that it's cooked in an iron pot, which is very slow and easy to burn, so someone has to keep an eye on it.
Lin Chunxing saw them come back and scooped water for them to wash their hands.
After washing her hands and resting for a while, the food was finally cooked. Lin Chuntao brought over the lard jar and salt jar and started stirring directly in the pot.
While the rice is still hot, the lard melts quickly, making the dish more flavorful.
After mixing, each person ladles out a bowl, and the rest is put into a large bowl.
Lin Chuntao quickly ran to get the tender melon, washed it, cut it into strips, and put it into the pot to stir-fry.
This melon is an early-maturing variety. It can be cooked with green beans, or simply stir-fried. It's very sweet and delicious with just a little salt and no other seasonings.
Moreover, stir-frying these shredded gourds easily produces broth, which Lin Chuntao loved to use to soak rice when she was a child.
Stir-fried shredded melon is quick and easy, it'll be ready in no time.
Several people held their rice mixed with lard and gathered around a bowl of stir-fried shredded melon, enjoying their meal immensely.
As Lin Chunxing ate her meal, she thought of how Lin Chuntao had craned her neck to call her dear sister earlier that day, and she pursed her lips, unable to hide her smile.
"Second sister, what are you laughing at?" Lin Duo'er asked.
Lin Chunxing quickly wiped the corners of her mouth from her lips and replied nonchalantly, "I wasn't laughing, you must have seen wrong."
Lin Duo'er pouted, "Is your bowl tastier? Let me have a bite."
Lin Chunxing glared at her speechlessly, then hurriedly got up and ran away when she saw the chopsticks being offered to her.
"My sister mixed everything in the same pot, so they're all the same. Don't stick your chopsticks into my bowl."
Lin Duo'er wouldn't have it, and chased after Lin Chunxing in the yard with her bowl in hand.
"No, I want to eat it! I want to eat yours!"
After chasing for a long time, Lin Chunxing got annoyed and was forced to stop.
"Come on, let me share with you."
As Lin Chunxing spoke, she scooped some food from her bowl and gave it to Lin Duo'er, saying as she did so, "You must have been a puppy in your past life, because you loved to eat the bottom of other people's bowls."
"What? Is it because the one in my bowl smells better?" Lin Chunxing asked.
Lin Duo'er wasn't angry and nodded with a smile.
Lin Chunxing said helplessly, "When are you going to get rid of this habit of staring at other people's food?"
"I think it's your older sister who spoils you."
Lin Duo'er turned around and looked at Lin Chuntao. She playfully stuck out her tongue, while Lin Chuntao smiled and looked at them without saying a word.
In the original owner's memories, Xu Xiu fell ill after Lin Duo'er was born and had no milk to feed her, which caused her to be very thin and small. A few years later, Xu Xiu passed away, and Lin Changhe did not care about them at all. Not long after Xu Xiu's death, Lin Duo'er fell ill and almost died.
After she recovered, Lin Chuntao became especially fond of her younger sister.
To be honest, Lin Duo'er was raised by her and Lin Chunxing, and Lin Chunxing loved her just as much. How could she really think she was dirty?
"Duo'er, how about you do the dishes tonight?" Lin Chuntao asked with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Lin Duo'er had just shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth, nodded vigorously with the rice still in her mouth, and after a moment said indistinctly, "Okay."
Lin Chunhe muttered to herself, "If she doesn't wash it clean, we'll have to do it all over again."
Lin Chuntao pursed her lips and said softly, "Then you wash with her."
Lin Chunhe: "..."
Seeing Lin Chunhe's expression, Lin Chuntao smiled broadly.
After dinner, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er washed the dishes, and she and Pei Ying prepared to go find the village head to inquire about renting cattle.
Lin Chuntao went back to her house to get the money. She counted it and found that she only had a little over 600 coins, including the money she made selling mushrooms today. She didn't have a single coin, and she didn't know if it would be enough. She decided to take everything with her and see what she had left.
With the money in hand, Lin Chuntao remembered what Lin Cunzheng and the others had talked about seeds during the day, so she decided to bring some seeds with her as well.
Before leaving, she told Lin Chunxing, "Take good care of your sister and the house."
Lin Chunxing nodded.
When she and Pei Ying arrived at the Lin family's house, the elderly couple had changed their clothes and were already waiting for them.
Lin Chuntao said proactively, "Grandpa, look, these are the corn seeds I bought today."
Lin Cunzheng grabbed a handful from the bamboo basket, brought it close to his eyes to examine it carefully, and frowned after looking at it for a while.
"The seeds you bought seem different from the ones we grow?"
Lin Chuntao's heart skipped a beat. She heard Lin Cunzheng say, "These corn kernels seem to be bigger than the ones we grow, and they are also yellower and have darker buds."
"Grandpa, is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
Lin Cunzheng sensed the worry in her tone and smiled, "These seeds are very plump, which is good."
"It's getting dark, let's go, or everyone will be asleep."
Lin Chuntao responded, and Lin Cunzheng and Sun Shi led them off.
Night had fallen, enveloping the entire village.
The half-moon was struggling to climb up the horizon. Lin Cun was holding a torch, but since he could still see, he didn't light it.
When they arrived at Dongping Village, many families were still sitting in their courtyards enjoying the cool air. Inside the courtyards, voices could be heard, and children were running around, playing and frolicking.
The village head's house was brightly lit; it was the brightest house in the entire village. Not only were there lights inside, but two lanterns were also hanging under the eaves for illumination.
His yard was full of people, and it looked like some were even visiting each other after dinner.
Lin Cunzheng stood at the gate and knocked on the door. The village head looked up, recognized him, and smiled, "Old Lin, what brings you here at this hour? Come in and sit down."
“Chuntao wants to plant crops on the land she was allocated a few days ago. I brought her to see if it would be convenient to rent cattle.” As Lin Cunzheng was speaking, the village head looked over at her. He remembered Lin Chuntao and said with a smile, “It’s you. Sit here.”
"Isn't it a bit late to plant crops now? It's a waste of seeds."
Lin Chuntao replied with a smile, "I bought the seeds in the county town this morning. The person there said that this variety matures late when planted, so it won't have much of an impact."
Those sitting in the courtyard were all taken aback upon hearing this. "There's such a variety? Where did you buy it?"
Lin Chuntao was a little embarrassed, "It's not in the shop, it's right by the roadside..."
After she finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Lin Cunzheng tried to ease the tension by saying, "I just took a look at that seed. The bud is quite deep and plump, so it's a good seed, but it's a bit more yellow than the ones we're planting now."
Everyone smiled upon hearing Lin Cunzheng's words.
The village head looked at Lin Chuntao and asked, "Do you want to plant all twelve mu of land?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, "Pretty much. I'll keep a small plot for vegetables, and the rest for crops."
"Then renting for eight days should be enough."
Lin Cunzheng chimed in, "Yeah, pretty much."
Lin Chuntao wasn't entirely sure how many acres of land an ox could plow in a day, but Lin Cunzheng said it was about right, so she just listened to them.
After all, they've been farming for decades, so this estimate is definitely not a problem for them.
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, and the village head looked at her and asked, "When do we need to use the ox?"
"Oxen will be used the day after tomorrow."
Upon hearing Lin Chuntao's words, the village head handed the water cup in his hand to a child, then stood up and said to them, "Then I will take you to see the cow deeds."
Lin Chuntao responded and got up. After leaving the courtyard, Sun asked, "Village head, what's the rent for cattle now?"
The village head looked at Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying, sighed and said, "The spring plowing season is over now, so I can give you a discount, but the ox belongs to Boss Zheng, so you'll have to ask him for the exact price."
Sun smiled and patted Lin Chuntao, saying, "Aren't you going to thank the village head? Our village head is such a good person, he cares about us villagers."
Lin Chuntao nodded and thanked him. The village head looked at Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying, and then said modestly, "We're all from the same village, so let's not be so formal."
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Zheng family's house that the village head had mentioned, right next to his house.
As soon as the village head entered the courtyard, a woman came out of the house and greeted him warmly. The village head looked at her and asked, "Sister-in-law, where is my elder brother?"
The woman said, "It's at home. Come in and sit down."
The village head led them into the house, and before they even sat down, he said, "Brother, the village head of Lin Village has brought a girl to rent a cow. Can you give us a discount?"
"If the village headman speaks up, it'll definitely be cheaper." The old man said, getting up to greet Village Head Lin, before turning to Lin Chuntao, "Is it for you, girl?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and replied, "It's me, thank you for your help."
The old man asked, "How many days do you need to rent it for?"
“Eight days,” Lin Chuntao replied.
The old man added, "The rent can be paid with grain in the fall, or it can be paid in cash now."
Lin Chuntao thought for a moment. The price of grain in the fall was uncertain, and besides, since the person renting cattle was in the business, they couldn't possibly lend her money interest-free, could they? After pondering for a moment, Lin Chuntao asked, "Sir, how much is cash per day?"
Hearing her ask this, the old man turned to look at her with some surprise. "The rent is forty-eight coins a day. If the village head is the guarantor, I won't take your collateral."
Forty-eight coins, that's three hundred and eighty-four coins for eight days. She breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was expensive, luckily she had enough money to pay the rent.
“Little girl, if you don’t have the money on hand, you can wait until the autumn harvest to pay. If you’re paying for the grain, it will be calculated per mu (unit of land area), one dou (unit of dry measure) of rice per mu of land.”
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