Chapter 93 - Two-in-One: Stir-fried Chicken with Mushrooms and Pork Slices
Lin Chuntao smiled helplessly, went to get some meat, washed it, and sliced it. The stir-fried chicken mushrooms were very fresh, so she didn't add any strong seasonings. Lin Chuntao just sliced some ginger and put it in to marinate and remove any fishy smell.
After they finished preparing the mushrooms, they still hadn't washed them properly, so Lin Chuntao went over to help them wash them.
Tonight I made a stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and pork. To make it quicker, I also made a stir-fried egg with tomatoes and a stir-fried bok choy.
There was so much matsutake mushroom that when it was time to stir-fry it with the meat, the bowl was already full but couldn't hold it all, so we ladled out more than half a bowl.
The aroma was enticing while it was being stir-fried. Lin Chuntao didn't even need to say anything; the sisters quickly grabbed bowls and chopsticks to serve the rice as soon as the dish was almost ready. By the time she finished serving the dish, her younger sisters had already served the rice and were standing by the table distributing chopsticks.
Ready to eat.
Lin Chunxing said, "Sister, we've never had stir-fried chicken mushrooms before! They smell so good!"
Lin Chuntao smiled as she looked at their commotion. Termitomyces mushrooms are delicious no matter how they are cooked, but she felt that stir-frying them was the most luxurious way to eat them. She would stir-fry a big bowl of them at once. If she were to press them for oil, she could make a small jar of oil. That oil would be very fragrant when used to make noodles or rice noodles, whether it was soup noodles or dry noodles.
The same applies to making chicken soup. Adding a small handful of matsutake mushrooms will make half a pot of chicken soup fragrant and delicious. If you add the same amount as when stir-frying, Lin Chuntao doesn't know how fragrant it will be.
"We've put in so much, it's bound to smell delicious. Others add a little matsutake mushroom to their stir-fried meat to enhance the flavor, but we stir-fry the matsutake mushroom directly to eat it."
Lin Chunhe stood beside her, pursing her lips, her eyes fixed on the two bowls of steaming chicken mushrooms.
"Did we cook two pounds of this for this meal?"
Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly, "More than that, I think it should be more than three pounds."
Upon hearing this, the sisters' eyes widened, and they laughed, "Then we ate a hundred coins in one meal?"
Lin Chuntao chuckled, "If that's the case, I don't dare eat the rest of the termite mushrooms, they're too expensive!"
The younger sisters burst into laughter, and even Pei Ying, who was standing next to them, started laughing.
Lin Chuntao said, "We can eat the termite mushrooms we picked ourselves, it's free, just eat them."
The stir-fried chicken with mushrooms was so delicious that the sisters couldn't even see the other two dishes. Luckily, even though there was a lot of it, they still managed to eat the meat.
Perhaps because of the termite mushrooms, Lin Chuntao felt that the meat was much more tender, and she ate quite a lot. Needless to say, her sisters and Pei Ying ate an extra bowl of rice each.
After dinner, the group, with their round bellies, sat at the table, unable to move.
Lin Chunxing looked at the mushrooms in her bowl; there was only a little left, and she really couldn't eat anymore. There was also a little bit of scrambled eggs with tomatoes left, and Lin Chuntao had finished all the vegetables.
The rice in the steamer is almost gone; I'll soak more rice and steam it again tomorrow morning.
She suddenly remembered that since the family split up, they seemed to eat rice every meal, occasionally noodles, rice flour, or flatbread, which was why they hadn't been steaming rice.
Thinking back to the days before the family split up, it felt like several years had passed even though it had only been a few months.
Sometimes she would think that Lin Changhe had always looked down on her and her sisters, despising them as a bunch of immature girls. Now that they were living a good life, it was a real pity that they hadn't seen it.
Whenever she thought about it, she felt both relieved and guilty. She could only think about it in her heart, afraid that her sisters would think she was a heartless person.
After all, Lin Changhe and the others have now been demoted to slaves, and it's unknown whether they've been sent to work for someone or are being watched by government officials to dig ditches and dig fields.
Lin Chuntao felt a bit full, but the stir-fried chicken with mushrooms was still very appetizing.
She was just about to suggest clearing the dishes when she looked up and saw Lin Chunxing lost in thought. She gently patted her and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Lin Chunxing suddenly came to her senses, and Lin Chuntao's face came into view. She slowly smiled.
"I wasn't thinking about anything, I just ate too much and felt like spacing out."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Let's clean up the dishes and go to Grandpa's house. We'll come back and fry chicken and matsutake oil when we're done."
After he finished speaking, everyone got up and started moving.
After quickly cleaning the table, washing and putting away the dishes, Lin Chuntao locked the door and then led them toward the Lin Village Chief's house.
When they passed the old courtyard, Lin Miaomiao and the others had already left, but Lin Jialang and the others hadn't gone yet. Fan Niangzi and the others were all at the courtyard gate, as if they were waiting for them to go together.
As she approached, Fan Liniang greeted her with a smile.
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, then said, "Madam Fan, are you also going to Grandpa's house?"
Fan Liniang said, "Yes, I'm going. I've never been before, and I was thinking you guys would be going too, so I'll wait for you to come together."
Lin Chuntao nodded.
When they arrived, the courtyard was full of people. The other branches of the Lin family had already arrived; they had eaten early and were located nearby, so they came quickly.
Chen Dongniang and the others scooped out some melon seeds, and everyone was cracking them open. Sun Shi and the others were also sitting in the courtyard. When they saw Lin Chuntao and the others come in, they immediately burst into laughter.
Chen Dongniang went inside to get a stool, and Lin Chuntao sat down next to Sun Shi.
She glanced at the other families. The elders had arrived, and most of the adults from the other families had also arrived. She looked at Lin Cunzheng, who took a sip of tea and then said, "I called everyone over tonight because Chun Tao is building a house and needs to cut down some fir trees. Those fir trees were planted by our ancestors. Any family can cut them down, and whoever needs them can cut them down. But Chun Tao said she wants to cut down a lot, so I wanted to let everyone know."
After he finished speaking, the courtyard fell silent; no one uttered a word.
The awkward silence was quickly broken by Li Honghua, who asked, "Uncle, how many peach trees are we going to cut down?"
Before Lin Cunzheng could speak, Lin Chuntao said, "It's uncertain, but I went to check the trees, and the larger ones might need to be cut down seven or eight times."
As soon as Lin Chuntao finished speaking, a cold hissing sound rang out. Every household only needed to cut down two trees, but Lin Chuntao alone wanted to cut down six.
Lin Miaomiao thought that since Lin Chuntao had cut down so many trees, wouldn't she have fewer trees to use in the future?
"That won't do! You chopped down so many by yourself, wouldn't that mean you've taken over someone else's property?"
A childish voice rang out in the courtyard, and everyone was stunned for a moment before turning to look.
It was Lin Miaomiao who spoke, which surprised them.
They glanced at Lin Miaomiao, then looked at Lin Chuntao, but Lin Chuntao remained calm, seemingly unpleasant, and her expression didn't change at all.
In fact, Lin Chuntao knew that these public things, though they belonged to everyone, could easily cause displeasure if one person used too much, so she was neither surprised nor did she think it was a big deal.
Lin Miaomiao, on the other hand, was the first to jump out in opposition, and after a long while no one else followed suit, she felt a little embarrassed.
These adults seemed to be doing it on purpose, leaving her alone in the cold.
Lin Chuntao said, "I think so too. Everyone usually uses one or two trees, so it's unfair for me to use so many at once. That's why I asked Grandpa to help call everyone over to discuss it."
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Honghua said, "What's there to discuss? Everyone cuts down one or two trees, so why don't you cut down one or two too?"
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly, as if she didn't understand what she was saying, and said directly, "But one or two trees aren't enough for me."
Li Honghua wanted to say that it was none of their business, but saying it so directly would seem a bit cold-hearted. She tugged at the corner of her mouth and said lightly, "Why don't you just find someone to buy a few more?"
“Auntie, what you’re saying is a bit funny. My ancestors planted trees, and I have trees that I can cut down and use. Why should I spend money to buy them?”
“When I said ‘let’s discuss,’ I didn’t mean I wanted your trees. All the trees belong to everyone now, but can’t we divide them? Give me my share, and I’ll just cut down my own! I won’t be taking anything from everyone else.”
Her words caused a slight change in the expressions of the people from these families. The trees varied in size; how should they be divided? By person? Or by several families?
Upon hearing this, Wang stared intently at Lin Chuntao. She still looked thin, seemingly no different from a few months ago, but suddenly her mind seemed to have become much sharper. "You're afraid I'll take your share? Then I'll separate them. I can cut down as many trees as I want from my share."
No wonder she was able to save enough money to build a house in such a short time.
But then she remembered that day when she wanted to introduce her nephew to Chunxing, Lin Chuntao didn't give her any face at all, and she felt annoyed.
"Chuntao, this tree was left by our ancestors. You just want to divide it up like that? What will our elders think? If they knew in the afterlife, wouldn't they scold us for being unfilial descendants?"
Upon hearing Wang's words, Lin Chuntao chuckled and then said, "I will certainly respect the elders' thoughts, otherwise I wouldn't have invited everyone here. As for the ancestor, if he knew that a granddaughter like me had built a big house on my own, he would be very proud. Second Aunt, you don't need to worry about that. Don't worry, I will do more things to make the ancestor proud in the future."
Upon hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Madam Sun smiled.
She looked at the elderly people in the second, third, and fourth households, and then asked a question on behalf of Lin Chuntao.
"Second brother, third brother, fourth brother, what do you guys think?"
The elderly people from the three families remained silent. They were all so old, and they didn't need those trees anymore. Dividing them up would just leave them there. But if everyone's trees were kept together, they might get more money in the future.
Li Honghua's mother-in-law glanced at her husband's face and then said, "Sister-in-law, I don't think it's appropriate to divide this tree."
As soon as she finished speaking, her second grandfather, who was diagonally opposite her, suddenly said, "Young people, if you want to use a few trees, just use as many as you want. It's not a big deal. Don't divide the trees. It's fine as a whole family. If you divide them up, each family will have a little. Today your tree is blocking my sun, and tomorrow my tree is poking your trunk. It will only create a lot of trouble."
Lin Chuntao glanced at the old man who was speaking. What he said was indeed true. Once the families were separated, things would not be so peaceful anymore, and people's hearts would be complicated.
But many of the people present were unhappy with her using so many trees, and she didn't want to be unfairly labeled, nor did she want anyone to cause trouble or gossip during the construction of the house.
Therefore, she had to make it clear that the tree was hers, and she used a method that no one could say was not hers.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "What Second Grandfather said makes sense, but it's unfair to everyone if I use too much. How about this, you don't divide the trees among yourselves, but count the trees and divide out my share for myself. In the future, if I need any more trees, I will cut down the ones allocated to me and not share them with you."
Grandpa thought for a moment, then nodded, "That's fine too."
Li Honghua said, "Then how should we divide it? You can't just take all the big ones, can you?"
Lin Cunzheng said, "If we really want to divide them, I will measure the thickness of the tree trunks and divide them proportionally."
Wang glanced at Lin Miaomiao and Lin Jialang, her eyes flickering slightly, and then said, "Uncle, the size of the trees can be measured, but how do we divide the quantity? By the number of people?"
Lin Chuntao had maintained a calm expression throughout her previous remarks, but at this moment, she glanced at Wang Shi with a cold look in her eyes.
There are over a hundred trees. There are twenty or thirty people in their family. If the trees are divided according to the number of people, will she be able to get four trees?
That's interesting!
"Second Aunt, what's the basis for this distribution? Is it based on people? I remember there are over a hundred trees in our grove, and all our families combined have over a hundred trees. Is each person going to get one? Is everyone going to put their name on their own tree?"
Wang said, "If we divide the family members together, we won't need to hang them up anymore."
Lin Chuntao sneered, "Just now, my eldest aunt was saying, how should we divide them? I can't possibly take the big ones. Now the problem is, second aunt, the trees are of different sizes, and if everyone wants one big one, how should we divide them?"
Wang's expression changed slightly. Lin Cunzheng said, "The distribution will definitely be based on households, not on the number of people. The government looks at the household registration records."
After Lin Cunzheng finished speaking, Wang Shi also shut her mouth.
Lin Cunzheng said, "Now tell me, is it to separate Chun Tao's family's share, or to divide it among all families?"
After chatting for a long time, they finally decided that Lin Chuntao's share would be distributed, while the other families' shares would remain. But then another problem arose.
Dividing by household is possible, but originally there were only five families. Now Lin Chuntao, Lin Miaomiao, and Lin Jialang have all separated their households, making it seven households instead of five. It seems like theirs has become less.
Wang glanced at Lin Miaomiao, recalling the words she had blurted out earlier, and suddenly had an idea. She smiled and said, "Uncle, if we're dividing it by household, shouldn't Miaomiao, Jialang, and Chuntao be considered as one household?"
Lin Chuntao frowned. She hadn't realized before that Wang was such a petty and narrow-minded person.
Just because she didn't agree to Chunxing's marriage proposal? She can't stand her that much?
Lin Miaomiao doesn't get along with them. If they were really separated into one household, Lin Miaomiao wouldn't agree to the separation, which would be troublesome for her. Even if they were separated, Lin Miaomiao wouldn't agree to her cutting down so many trees. It's true that if one plan doesn't work, she comes up with another.
But her idea only lasted for a second.
After she finished speaking, Lin Cunzheng said calmly, "They have separated into different households, each with their own household registration sticker. There are seven copies in total, and Chun Tao and the others will each have one copy."
Wang was furious. She looked at Lin Cunzheng and Sun Shi, then at Chen Dongniang, and the whole family was protecting Lin Chuntao and the others.
"Uncle, does that mean if we separate our households, we'll get a share too?"
Lin Cunzheng said, "Yes, if you split up your households, then you'll also have a share?" After saying that, Lin Cunzheng looked at the third son's family and asked, "Third son, is your family going to split up?"
The old man from the third branch glared at Wang, feeling that his daughter-in-law was acting like she was on fire today, and asked in a deep voice, "Second son's wife, do you want to separate the family?"
Looking at her father-in-law's cold gaze, Wang glanced at Lin Changhua and saw that he was also looking at her with a complicated expression. She immediately deflated.
"Father, I was just saying that."
The old man said, "If it's nonsense, then shut up."
After Wang shut up, Li Honghua didn't say anything more. Lin Cunzheng asked Lin Jialang and Lin Miaomiao. Lin Miaomiao certainly didn't want to be associated with Lin Chuntao and the others. Seeing that she was also considered a household, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy to see Lin Chuntao and the others separated.
As for Lam Ka-long, he didn't say anything.
And so, the decision was made: Lin Chuntao and her group would be separated, while the others would remain together.
Lin Cunzheng said, "Tomorrow morning, one person from each family will come with me to count the trees, see how many there are in total, measure the large ones, divide the larger ones equally, and keep the smaller ones roughly the same."
No one had any objections, and Lin Cunzheng directly named Lin Changsen from the second branch of the family, Lin Changhua from the third branch, and Lin Changsong from the fourth branch to go together.
After the matter was settled, everyone did not disperse immediately.
Not only were there adults present, but there were also many children. Lin Qingqing and Lin Jiaye were kept behind the adults.
Lin Chunxing sat down next to Lin Chuntao again. She used to think that Lin Qingqing's mother was a good person, and she didn't understand why she had made things difficult for Lin Chuntao several times today.
Adults are adults, and children are children, but sometimes people's hearts tend to lean towards the ones they love more. How can you tell the difference so clearly?
Lin Qingqing and Lin Chunxing had a good relationship. Just now, when Lin Chuntao and the others came in, she was about to run to find Lin Chunxing, but Wang Shi stopped her.
At this moment, after several rounds of back-and-forth between her own mother and Lin Chuntao, she no longer had the courage to even look at Lin Chunxing.
She secretly glanced at Lin Chunxing twice, and Lin Chunxing happened to look over as well. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Lin Chunxing's eyes had become much colder, and she was definitely unhappy.
Everyone wanted to sit and chat, but Lin Chuntao and the others still had a lot to do. She said goodbye to Sun Shi and Chen Dongniang and then prepared to go back.
"Grandpa, I'll go with you tomorrow when you're counting the trees and help you count them."
"good."
Once the matter was settled, Lin Chuntao led them away. Chen Dongniang and Sun Shi saw them off at the door, and Fan Liniang and the others followed along.
Lin Miaomiao and the others, on the other hand, were still sitting there playing.
Once home, Lin Chunxing asked, "Sister, why is Qingqing's mother like this?"
Lin Chuntao smiled, recalling what Wang had said that day, and asked, "Have you met Qingqing's cousin from her maternal uncle's family?"
Lin Chunxing nodded. "I've seen her before. I visited Qingqing's house before. She was chubby and a little mentally challenged."
"Idiot?" Lin Chuntao asked rhetorically. Lin Chunxing pursed her lips and frowned. She said, "Calling him idiot doesn't seem quite right. He's a bit dull. When Lin Qingqing took him to the mountain to collect firewood, he quickly said he had collected enough and wanted to go home. We looked at him and saw that he had just stuffed a branch into the basket, which filled the entire basket. Qingqing told him to break off a branch and put it in, but it still wasn't full. He couldn't do it."
After listening, Lin Chuntao took a deep breath, and a nameless anger rose in her heart.
She doesn't discriminate against disabled people, but Wang looks down on the sisters too much and bullies them too much.
Lin Chuntao said in a deep voice, "Don't go to their house again, and don't play with their family."
Judging from Lin Chuntao's tone, she seemed furious.
Pei Ying said from the side, "Your second aunt wanted to introduce you to her nephew, but your sister refused. She kept pestering you to get engaged first, and she got angry after your sister refused."
Lin Chunxing remembered what Lin Qingqing had told her, that her cousin was not good enough for her, but she didn't say which cousin it was, and Lin Chunxing didn't take it seriously.
Hearing Lin Chuntao mention it now, she realized she had seen that person again. That person was no different from a simpleton. Wang Shi usually smiled at her and she thought she was kind. But in Wang Shi's eyes, she was only worthy of her simpleton nephew. Now, thinking of Wang Shi's smile and that face, she felt disgusted.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until his face turned pale with anger.
Lin Chuntao patted her and said, "Don't be angry. Stay away from her house in the future."
"I'm never going to her house again, even if she invites me in a sedan chair. It's disgusting!"
Lin Chunxing stayed inside the house angry for a while before coming out. Lin Chuntao and the others were washing matsutake mushrooms, so she brought a small bamboo chair over and sat down to wash them with them.
After washing the matsutake mushrooms and vegetables, they also needed to press oil. Lin Chuntao washed the pig skin that she had brought back in the morning as well, planning to cut it up and fry it. She would add some to the soup later, and it would taste quite good.
At Lin Cunzheng's house, everyone sat and chatted for a while before dispersing.
Lin Qingqing thought that Lin Chunxing hadn't said goodbye when she left, and assumed that Lin Chunxing must be angry. She felt a lot of anger in her heart. As soon as she returned to her own courtyard, she raised her voice and questioned Wang Shi: "Mother, what were you doing just now? Why were you targeting Sister Chuntao and the others?"
Wang never imagined that Lin Qingqing would question her, especially in front of the whole family, while her sisters-in-law watched as if it were a joke.
Wang felt her face burning, and she glared angrily at Lin Qingqing.
"What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean I'm targeting them?"
“You weren’t targeting them. You were talking about whether the ancestors were happy or not, or about each person getting a tree. It’s a happy occasion for them to renovate their houses, so why are you acting like this?”
Lin Qingqing didn't understand; she really couldn't figure out why this was happening.
She always felt that Lin Chuntao and Lin Chunxing had lost their mother, and their father didn't care about them. The sisters were kicked out and had nothing. They had such a hard life. They finally saved up money to build a house, but their own mother would nag them for cutting down a few trees.
So many trees belong to the Lin family, what's wrong with cutting down a few more?
Does that mean other people will never build a new house again in their entire lives?
And with her mother doing this, how could she possibly face Lin Chunxing? How could she possibly face Lin Chuntao in the future?
"What do I mean? It's a happy occasion for her to build a house, what does it have to do with me? Will she give you a room in her new house?"
Looking at Wang's angry face, Lin Qingqing suddenly understood why.
It must be because of her maternal uncle's son. After a long silence, Lin Qingqing asked, "Mother, did you go to Sister Chuntao to ask for a marriage proposal for my cousin? Did Sister Chuntao not agree?"
As if she had been caught red-handed, Lin Qingqing noticed the change in Wang's expression, took a deep breath and said, "Mother, if you like my stupid cousin so much, why don't you adopt him as your son? You don't need to find him a wife, you can take care of him for the rest of your life!"
Enraged, Wang raised her hand and slapped Lin Qingqing across the face.
"You ungrateful wretch! You don't even know who's good to you, you're always siding with outsiders! You like Lin Chuntao so much, why don't you go to her house and see if she'll take you in?"
Lin Qingqing's face was half red from the slap, burning with pain. She looked at Wang Shi in disbelief and roared, "This is my home! Why should I go to someone else's house? Are you trying to kick me out and bring that idiot here? I won't! You want that idiot to marry Chunxing? He's not worthy! He's not even worthy to carry Chunxing's shoes!"
Wang was furious and almost went mad. She raised her hand to hit him again, but Lin Changhua stopped her and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing? Are you really going to kick your daughter out and bring your nephew here?"
Wang glanced at Lin Changhua. Her daughter was arguing with her and saying such nasty things. Her sister-in-law and brother-in-law were watching the spectacle from the sidelines. Her parents-in-law remained silent as if they were dead. Her husband finally spoke, but his words were biased towards Lin Qingqing.
She looked at the crowd in the yard and yelled, "Who am I doing all this for? Does that tree belong to me alone?"
Lin Changhua said, "That tree doesn't belong to you alone, nor does it belong entirely to our family. Uncle Wu's family has a share in that tree, and Lin Chuntao has a share too! You used to say that those sisters were pitiful, but everyone can see that they are pitiful."
"Whether you're upset because Chun Tao refused to introduce your nephew, or because of these trees, you know the answer in your heart!"
Hearing Lin Changhua's words, Wang said angrily, "Yes, yes, yes! You're right. I was unhappy because Lin Chuntao refused to introduce my nephew to me. Those few wretched girls without fathers or mothers, I want to see what kind of high-ranking officials they can marry in the future!"
"And you, Lin Changhua, now that you're so tough, you look down on my stupid aunt. You can write a letter of divorce and send me back to the Wang family. I'll wait for you to divorce me!"
After saying that, she turned to go inside, but when she reached the door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and glared fiercely at Lin Qingqing.
"You worthless wretch! I raised you all these years, went to great lengths to find you a good family, and this is how you treat me? That idiot isn't worthy to carry Lin Chunxing's shoes; he's more than good enough for you! Why should I bother finding you a family? You should just marry him!"
Hearing Wang's words, Lin Qingqing stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Seeing the panic in Lin Qingqing's eyes, Wang Shi curled her lips into a sneer, slammed the door, and went inside!
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