Chapter 64 - A Two-in-One Visit to Relatives
Lin Chunxing cooked two bowls and brought them over. The two people at the table slurped up the two bowls of noodles in front of them. The servant looked to be a year or two older than her. As for Chai Xingyu, it was hard to tell his age, but judging from his voice, he should be about the same age as the servant.
The way they looked was just like when their older sister made something delicious at home, and they were watching her, drooling with envy.
Lin Chunxing smiled and continued cooking. Five bowls of noodles were cooked; Sanbao ate two bowls, and Chai Xingyu ate three.
Before they had finished eating, the waiter from the sauce shop, who had made two trips yesterday, arrived. He was startled to see Chai Xingyu there, feeling as if he hadn't done his job properly and had gone out to play only to run into his employer.
He paused, suddenly realizing that it was still dark and he hadn't started work yet. He then greeted Chai Xingyu and Sanbao.
Hearing the voice, Chai Xingyu turned around and looked over. "Ding Cha, you're here for soup noodles too?"
Ding Cha looked at Chai Xingyu's face, which was somewhat frightening, but he spoke in a relatively gentle manner, making him less intimidating.
"It's young master."
Seeing that he was still standing after he finished speaking, Chai Xingyu said, "Go and ask the shopkeeper to cook it for you."
"Yes." Ding Cha nodded and bowed before walking to the stall. "Boss, a bowl of braised pork soup noodles, please."
After saying that, he handed over the money. Lin Chunxing accepted the money and said with a smile, "Young man, please sit down and wait a moment. It will be ready soon."
Seeing that Lin Chunxing was the only one at the stall, Ding Cha thought of Lin Chuntao, who had spoken to him yesterday, and asked, "Are you alone today?"
Lin Chunxing replied, "My sister went into the mountains to pick mushrooms, she'll be here in a bit."
Ding Cha was somewhat surprised, "You're picking mushrooms to sell?"
Lin Chunxing smiled and nodded, "Yes, but we don't find many each day; they're all sold out in no time."
Ding Cha could imagine that many people would pick mushrooms to sell every year, but unfortunately there weren't many mushrooms available, and the county town was full of people, so they would scramble for those few mushrooms every time.
Chai Xingyu has excellent hearing. The word "mushrooms" immediately popped into his mind. He had been depressed this year due to his injury and hadn't eaten any mushrooms yet! Such a big thing, he had completely forgotten!
He turned to Lin Chunxing and asked, "Shopkeeper, can we order mushrooms in advance?"
Lin Chunxing exclaimed "Ah!" and then said, "I don't know what kind of mushrooms we found. We'll only know when you get here, sister."
Chai Xingyu said, "Anything is fine. I'll give you the money now, and you can keep five jin for me. If the money isn't enough, I'll make up the difference later."
Lin Chunxing figured that since the person had already paid, there was no reason for her not to sell, so she could only say, "I'm not sure if I'll find it today."
Chai Xingyu said, "That's fine. Just save some for me whenever you can. I was injured recently and haven't eaten any mushrooms yet."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Chunxing looked at his face and immediately agreed.
“We usually sell out and go home by noon, so you’ll have to come earlier to pick up the mushrooms.”
Chai Xingyu agreed and continued slurping his noodles.
Ding Cha stood in front of the stall, watching the broth bubbling in the pot. Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "Young man, if you need mushrooms in the future, you can tell me and I'll save some for you."
Ding Cha laughed upon hearing this. He worked for the Chai family and ate with the other workers. His parents would also go to the mountains to pick mushrooms. He was afraid he would be scolded if he paid for mushrooms for them. But since Lin Chunxing had said so, he could only smile and agree.
Not long after, Chai Xingyu and his group finished eating. He ate three bowls of noodles, leaving only a little soup in one bowl, while finishing the other two.
That's quite an appetite.
After they finished eating, before dawn, Chai Xingyu asked Lin Chunxing, "When will Brother Pei be finished with his work?"
Lin Chunxing glanced back and saw that Ah Si and the others were carrying meat out to deliver it. Lin Chunxing said, "It should take another half an hour."
Chai Xingyu looked up at the sky. It would definitely be bright by then, and there would be many people in the market. He might scare people or even make children cry if he looked like that. He should go home first.
He said to Lin Chunxing, "It's going to take a while, so I won't wait for Brother Pei anymore. Please tell him that I'm treating him to lunch, so please make sure he waits for me."
Lin Chunxing nodded. "I will talk to him, but I don't know if I will wait."
Chai Xingyu smiled and said, "Just pass on the message. Thank you, shopkeeper."
As he spoke, he had Sanbao take out one hundred coins and handed them to Lin Chunxing, saying, "This is for the mushrooms. If it's not enough, I'll give the shopkeeper the difference when I come to get the mushrooms."
Lin Chunxing nodded and accepted the money.
After Chai Xingyu and the others left, Ding Cha quickly finished eating and left as well.
Lin Chunxing collected the bowls and chopsticks from the table, washed them, and put them away. Not long after, Pei Ying and the others came out after finishing their work. Lin Chunxing then conveyed Chai Xingyu's message to Pei Ying.
Pei Ying nodded, neither saying he would go nor that he wouldn't. He looked at Lin Chunxing and asked, "What happened just now?"
Lin Chunxing felt somewhat embarrassed when she thought about how she had fallen flat on her back.
"I didn't notice they were coming. They said they wanted to eat noodles. When I looked up, I saw that face and I was so scared that I fell down."
Pei Ying nodded slightly, relieved to know that she wasn't being bullied.
At this moment, Chai Xingyu returned home with Sanbao. Before he even got back to his courtyard, he ran into Guo Jixiang.
Seeing the two of them tiptoeing around, Guo Jixiang felt as if she were seeing Chai Xingyu before the incident. She instinctively called out, "You two, stop right there!"
Chai Xingyu and Sanbao were startled by the familiar voice and quickly turned around to look.
"mother!"
Guo Jixiang asked, "Where did you two go?"
Chai Xingyu burped, and Sanbao quickly replied, "Madam, the young master took me to eat soup noodles."
Guo Jixiang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He liked the soup noodles so much that he was happy to go out and eat them himself.
"Mother, please make me a straw hat. I need to go out again at noon."
Guo Jixiang nodded. "Where are you going?"
Chai Xingyu: "Let's eat."
Guo Jixiang: "..." Bai Duoyu asked this question, thinking to himself that he had been half-dead for so many days, and they had the cook prepare delicacies for him every day to beg him to have a bite, but they never thought of buying something from the street stalls outside for him to eat.
Lin Chuntao found a new type of mushroom today, the egg mushroom. The plump mushrooms are the color of egg yolks, with smooth, thin caps and slightly curved edges. The stems are quite thin. These mushrooms are fragile, and Lin Chuntao dropped and broke two of them because she didn't hold them properly.
When she arrived, Lin Chunxing was cooking rice noodles for someone. The person eating the noodles saw so many bright yellow mushrooms and hurriedly asked, "Madam, are these chanterelle mushrooms?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "This is egg mushroom, it's also very delicious."
"How much is it per pound? Give me two pounds."
As Lin Chuntao put down the basket, she smiled and said, "Auntie, please wait a moment."
Lin Chunxing put down her things to help Lin Chuntao, and said, "Sister, set aside five catties. Someone came to eat noodles earlier and gave me 100 coins. I asked him to set aside five catties for me. If he doesn't have enough money, he can make up the difference when he comes to get more."
Lin Chuntao looked at her with some delight. Was she soliciting customers while chatting with people? That's progress!
Lin Chunxing felt a little embarrassed by the stares and stuck out her tongue. "I'm going to look at the noodles first."
Lin Chuntao nodded, put the basket down, and took the scale to weigh two jin for the person from before. The egg mushroom looked very good in the sunlight and had a good appearance. The price was the same as the green-headed mushroom, twelve wen per jin.
After weighing those two jin, she took an empty bamboo basket, weighed out five jin, and placed it aside.
This spot attracts regular customers who often buy mushrooms, as well as those who eat rice noodles or buy meat. They can all take a look and buy a pound or two without hesitation, so the mushrooms often sell out very quickly.
After selling the mushrooms, Lin Chuntao washed her hands before coming over to help at the stall. She looked at the noodles and the remaining vegetables.
"Is it still 30 jin of noodles today?"
Lin Chunxing nodded.
Lin Chuntao's requirements are not high. If she can sell 25 to 30 catties of rice noodles every day, she can save some money after deducting the cost of vegetables. As long as the stall can continue, that's enough.
After the two peak periods passed, Lin Chuntao asked He Lan to cut off a piece of rib meat, and then went to buy a few pounds of rice noodles and two cans of wine. She hadn't been to her uncle's house for so long, and she planned to take her sisters there.
Lin Chunxing only saw the things Lin Chuntao had bought after she finished her work.
"Sis, are you buying some new wine?"
Lin Chuntao said, "No, let's go to my uncle's house this afternoon."
Lin Chunxing was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. They hadn't been to her uncle's house in a long time.
Lin Chuntao said, "My uncle and his family didn't stay for a meal when they came last time. I think we can keep running this little stall. Let's go to my uncle's house and tell him about our recent situation." Lin Chuntao was also thinking that she hadn't seen Xu Tianzhu and his wife recently. If the villagers saw them at the market and went back to ask, her uncle and his family wouldn't know, which wouldn't be appropriate.
Upon hearing this, Lin Chunxing recalled what had happened this morning. There were too many guests earlier, so she couldn't say anything. Now that there were fewer people, she was able to talk to Lin Chuntao about it.
"When that person left, he told me to tell my brother-in-law that I should come over and invite him to lunch."
Thinking back to the danger of that day, Lin Chuntao asked Lin Chunxing, "How is that person?"
Lin Chunxing hissed and shivered. "The scar on his face has fallen off, but it still looks terrifying. I was so scared by him this morning that I tripped and fell."
Upon hearing that she had fallen, Lin Chuntao's expression changed slightly. "Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"
Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "No, I was sitting on this little stool when I suddenly looked up and saw that face. I was so scared that I fell backward. It's so low, I didn't hit my head."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Chuntao turned around and saw a person wearing a bamboo hat and a black veil walking towards her.
Judging from his clothes, he is a man.
Lin Chuntao had seen beauties in movies and TV dramas with veils, but she had never seen a man like this before.
Lin Chunxing followed Lin Chuntao's gaze and immediately recognized Sanbao. She said, "Sister, it's him."
Lin Chuntao: "..."
As Chai Xingyu approached, Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "Brother, I've saved some mushrooms for you. The ones I found today are egg mushrooms, twelve coins a pound."
"Take it now or wait a bit?"
Chai Xingyu said, "Wait a bit, let's go eat together later, and then we can get it."
Lin Chunxing was at a loss and looked at Lin Chuntao next to her. Pei Ying was right there. He looked at Chai Xingyu and said, "Brother, don't worry about it. It was just a small favor. We have some things to do this afternoon to visit relatives, so we won't be able to have lunch with you."
He had refused in the morning, but came again at noon. Chai Xingyu thought it was normal. He was grateful to others, but they saw him as a stranger. Who would want to eat with a stranger?
Moreover, Pei Ying had already given his reasons, so he couldn't insist. He could only say, "Then let's do it another day. I must thank Brother Pei, otherwise I'll feel bad."
Pei Ying smiled and said, "It's good that you're alright. It's nothing."
With no one at the stall and the fire smoldering, Chai Xingyu laughed and said, "If you're not coming to eat with me, then I'm going to have rice noodles."
Lin Chunxing took over the conversation and said with a smile, "How many bowls do you want? I'll cook them for you."
Chai Xingyu said, "Five bowls still."
Lin Chuntao glanced at the noodles and said, "That should be enough for four bowls." Then she looked at the meat sauce and vegetables. There was still enough. She took some noodles from the ones she had bought to take home and cooked enough for five bowls.
After finishing the noodles, Lin Chuntao gave them the mushrooms and returned the extra forty coins. Sanbao took the mushrooms and was about to collect the money when Chai Xingyu said, "Thank you, shopkeeper. Don't return the money yet. If there are any other mushrooms tomorrow, please save five catties for me." As he spoke, he also asked Sanbao to take sixty coins and hand them over, making up the difference of one hundred coins.
Hearing this, Lin Chuntao accepted it without further arguing. Since they hadn't brought any tools, they borrowed Lin Chuntao's small bamboo basket.
After the two left, the noodle soup was sold out. The two sisters quickly cleaned up and moved their things into the house. After Pei Ying and the others finished their work, they went home together.
Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er were at home. The two sisters cut pig feed, cooked rice, and washed the vegetables, waiting for Lin Chuntao and the others to come back so they could cook them.
While washing the vegetables, Lin Duo'er muttered to herself, "What should I do? I still really want to eat the pancakes my sister made last night!"
Lin Chunhe glanced at her and said, "Then go and tell your sister."
Lin Duo'er turned to look at Lin Chunhe, "Why didn't you say you didn't want to eat?"
Lin Chunhe smiled at her and said, "I can do it, no need to say anything."
Lin Duo'er: "..."
Seeing Lin Duo'er's anger, Lin Chunhe laughed: "I'll tell my sister when we make it tonight."
Hearing this, she hummed a little tune she'd picked up from who-knows-where and happily continued washing the vegetables.
Lin Chuntao and the others did not delay and returned at about the same time as usual.
When Lin Duo'er got home, she saw the meat and wine they had bought and asked the same question as Lin Chunxing. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We won't cook today. After dinner, I'll take you to your uncle's house."
"Today?" Lin Duo'er asked.
Lin Chuntao smiled and nodded.
Because we were going to visit relatives, we ate lunch quickly, and the sisters cleaned up together afterward.
Lin Chuntao took two bowls of sauce and went with them. She also took one bowl to give to Xu Tianzhu, as well as meat, wine, and noodles for her uncle's family. Lin Chuntao put all of these into a basket and had Pei Ying carry it. She put the jar of wine and the bowl of sauce for Xu Tianzhu into a bamboo basket and carried it herself.
After packing her things, Lin Chuntao locked the door and led her sisters toward Xujia Village.
After lunch, the Xu family, including Sun, packed their clothes. The sisters-in-law wanted to take advantage of the good sunshine to wash clothes by the river. Before they even left the house, Lin Chuntao and the others arrived.
Sun was quite surprised to see Lin Chuntao and the others suddenly appear. She quickly invited them in and said, "I told your uncle yesterday that I would visit you in a couple of days, and here you are."
"Have you had lunch yet? We just finished eating a little while ago. Let me heat it up for you."
Sun spoke quickly and directly, and Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Auntie, don't bother, we've already eaten."
"You've really eaten?"
Lin Chuntao nodded: "I really have eaten."
Hearing the voices, everyone inside came out. Seeing her uncles, Lin Chuntao greeted them warmly. Her second and third aunts, who were upstairs doing something, opened the window and peeked out: "Chuntao."
Lin Chuntao looked up and called out "Second Aunt," then "Third Aunt."
"It's hot outside, come inside and sit down, we'll come down right away."
As they were talking, the eldest uncle and aunt invited them into the house.
After entering the house, Pei Ying put down her things. Sun Shi noticed that there was meat and a wine jar in the basket on her back. She looked at Lin Chuntao with some surprise and said, "You came all this way, why did you bring so much stuff?"
The eldest uncle peeked over and hissed coldly. He knew that Lin Chuntao and the others often picked mushrooms to sell in the county town and could earn some money, but the sisters lacked many things. He said earnestly, "It's not easy for you to save money by picking mushrooms. You're not going anywhere else when you come to your uncle's house, so why should you bring anything?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Uncle, don't worry about us. Pei Ying found a job slaughtering pigs in the county town, and Chunxing also set up a small stall selling soup noodles. We're not having such a hard time anymore."
The second and third aunts were still walking on the stairs when they heard Lin Chuntao's words and their mouths dropped open.
In fact, everyone in the room was surprised. Madam Sun looked at Pei Ying and then at Chunxing. Only after taking a closer look did she realize that the sisters were all wearing new clothes today, no longer the faded linen clothes they wore the last time she saw them.
Looking at the sisters, they had gained some weight and their complexions were much rosier. It was hard to believe, but in fact, the sisters seemed to be doing really well.
The eldest uncle was also surprised, but still said, "We still have to save up and buy some grain in a few days. We have to buy grain all year round, and it costs a lot."
Lin Chuntao nodded: "We did think of that. We planted some corn a few days ago, and the seedlings are already this tall." She gestured as she spoke, "They might ripen a little later, but we should be able to eat them for a while after harvesting."
The eldest uncle asked, "How many did you plant?"
Lin Chuntao said, "I kept a small plot of the twelve mu of land to grow vegetables, and planted the rest."
Hearing her words, Madam Sun said, "With so much land, why didn't you just say so we could come and help you plant it?"
“The old man and his wife in our village, and an aunt, said they would help us, so we didn’t bother my uncle and aunt.”
Looking at them, Sun saw that the sisters were just like Xu Xiu, never saying anything about what was going on. They would get through it if they could, and if they couldn't, they would just grit their teeth and bear it.
Xu Xiu was gone, and Sun Shi was afraid of upsetting them, so she just thought about it but didn't say it out loud.
She got up and warmed some water, making a bowl of honey water for each of the sisters. "Your eldest uncle and his family encountered a swarm of wild bees a few days ago and got some honey."
The other cousins also clamored for a drink, so Mrs. Sun poured two ladles of water. Each of the children drank a little, and everyone looked at Lin Chunxing and the others with delight.
We used to play together a lot when we were kids. We hadn't seen each other for a few years, so we were a little estranged, but we quickly became familiar with each other again after a short time.
After drinking the honey water, Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe went to play in the yard.
Only Lin Chuntao, Pei Ying, and a few uncles and aunts remained in the house.
Her aunt looked at her and smiled, "Chuntao, you've gained some weight since a few days ago."
Lin Chuntao smiled and nodded, "I was sick a while ago and had a fever. The doctor gave me acupuncture and prescribed some medicine to regulate my body. It worked quite well."
Everyone sat together, chatting about this and that. When they mentioned that Lin Chunxing was selling soup noodles at a small stall in the county town, Lin Chuntao took the sauce out of the bamboo basket. She said to Sun Shi, "Auntie, find a jar to put this in. I made this sauce myself, and I think it tastes pretty good. I made a little too little before, so I only took one bowl. I'll bring you some more next time."
Looking at the dark red sauce, which had a strong spicy aroma and a delicate texture, Mrs. Sun stared at Lin Chuntao in disbelief, feeling that the child had changed too much.
"You silly child, when did you become so skillful with your hands!"
"I was just experimenting randomly, and it was purely by accident that it tasted good."
After she finished speaking, Sun laughed. Isn't that how ordinary people live their lives? If you think about it carefully, things might get better someday.
Sun put the sauce in a small jar, and Lin Chuntao asked, "I don't know if my fourth uncle is home, so I brought him a bowl too. He helped us last time, but we didn't ask him to eat, and I felt a little embarrassed."
Sun smiled, thinking that if Xu Tianzhu hadn't spoken up last time, they would have had no idea that the Lin family had bullied them so much.
Sun said, "It should be at home right now. You can take it there."
Lin Chuntao nodded, and then Madam Sun asked, "Do you remember where his home is?"
"I still remember it a little."
Mr. Sun said, "Go down this small road and walk all the way to the end. The second house on the right is his house."
Lin Chuntao picked up her small bamboo basket, told Sun Shi, and went there. When she arrived, Xu Tianzhu was not at home; only Zhou Shi was washing things in the yard. She didn't even notice Lin Chuntao entering the yard.
Lin Chuntao called out loudly, "Fourth Aunt."
Hearing the voice, Zhou turned around and looked over. Seeing that it was her, she was full of surprise: "Chuntao, when did you arrive?"
"I just arrived a little while ago. Where's my fourth uncle? Isn't he home?"
Zhou said, "I just went up the mountain." As she spoke, Zhou beckoned her to go inside. Lin Chuntao followed her into the house carrying a bamboo basket and then said, "Aunt, I made some soy sauce a few days ago and brought some for you to try."
Zhou looked at the basket in her hand and said, "Just come and have fun, why bring things? We don't need those fancy things."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's just a little bit of sauce, it's not worth much. It's just a small token of my appreciation, please don't mind, Aunt."
Hearing this, Zhou smiled and said, "You silly child, how could we dislike you? We should thank you for remembering us." As she spoke, Lin Chuntao handed over the bamboo basket. "I don't have any jars or bowls to put things in, so Auntie will have to find something to hold them."
Because she was filling the sauce, Lin Chuntao put the lid on the small bamboo basket. Zhou went to find a jar to put it in. When she opened it, she saw that there was also a small jar of wine inside. The sauce was homemade, but the wine looked like it had been bought in the county town. She hurriedly said, "Why did you buy wine? That's too much money. Take it back and return it. There's no need to waste this money."
Lin Chuntao said, "To show respect to you and my fourth uncle, you should keep a distance from each other. Otherwise, I would have come to invite you and my fourth uncle to our house for dinner long ago. I haven't properly thanked you for what happened last time."
Zhou looked at her and said, "We are your elders, there's no need for thanks."
Lin Chuntao said, "We should be even more filial to our elders."
Zhou accepted the gifts with a smile, and then asked about Lin Chuntao and the others' recent situation. Lin Chuntao told her a few things before asking in return, "Why haven't I seen my fourth uncle buying mushrooms lately?"
Zhou said, "He sprained his ankle and has been resting at home recently."
"How did you sprain it? Is it serious?" Lin Chuntao asked with concern. Zhou smiled and said, "It's not too serious. I just slipped and sprained it when I was going down the mountain. The village doctor set it, but it's a broken bone, so I'll have to rest for a while. Otherwise, it will hurt when it's windy or rainy."
"Look, he couldn't rest any longer. He just started feeling a little better today and has already gone into the mountains."
Lin Chuntao said, "Then you need to rest. Nothing is more important than your health."
Zhou nodded with a smile. She had picked half a basket of broad beans that morning, and now that Lin Chuntao was here, she quickly grabbed a pot, washed some, and started cooking.
Lin Chuntao had intended to leave after putting down her things, but Zhou wouldn't let her. She insisted on eating some broad beans at Zhou's house before going back, and Zhou even filled Lin Chuntao's empty bamboo basket with broad beans.
Lin Chuntao refused, but she wouldn't listen either.
“You didn’t plant any this year, take some back and cook them, or you can stir-fry them as a dish.”
Lin Chuntao had no choice but to accept it with a smile.
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