Chapter 39 - Lin Changhe, the Two-in-One, aren't you going to get your mother...?
The matchmaker, Qian, stood still, as if she hadn't heard what Tian said, and continued to say with a smile, "Sister-in-law, it's good that you have sons and grandsons, but aren't you lacking a son-in-law?" As she spoke, she took the things from Zhang Bao's hands and handed them to Qian.
Ms. Qian wanted to accept it, so she pretended to look at the old lady.
The old woman stared at her fiercely, as if she would tear her apart if she accepted the gift.
Helpless, Madam Qian pretended not to accept the gifts, but the matchmaker stuffed them directly into her hands. Madam Qian said, holding the gifts, "Aunt Qian, the marriage hasn't been arranged yet, and you're bringing these things from the Zhang brothers. It's inappropriate." As she spoke, she took the gifts and walked towards Zhang Bao, saying, "Zhang brothers, you should take these back."
Zhang Bao couldn't possibly take it back, and hurriedly refused: "Third sister-in-law, there's no reason for me to take this back after bringing it here. Even if the marriage didn't go through, it's still a token of my affection for Sister Xian'er."
Matchmaker Qian smiled and said, "Dingxiang, this is Zhang Bao's sincere gift. Just take it and put it in the house. The fabric is from the biggest cloth shop in the county. It's all good material. There are three colors. One color is suitable for Xian'er, and the other two colors are suitable for your parents. When you have time, help your parents and younger sister make the clothes."
Upon hearing this, Qian Dingxiang looked at Tian Shi and said, "Mother, since Aunt Qian says so, let's accept it." As soon as she finished speaking, Yang Shi walked over and said, "Third sister-in-law, you take care of Aunt Qian, I'll take it inside."
Qian glanced at Yang and her eyes flickered slightly before she handed over the items, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Fourth Sister-in-law."
After Yang left with her things, Qian told the children to go inside and bring out two stools, inviting Qian the matchmaker and Zhang Bao to sit down.
Lin Xian'er was so angry when she saw Zhang Bao come again that she stomped her feet in the room. When she saw Yang Shi carrying things into the room, she scolded her impatiently, "What are you bringing in? Take them and throw them out!"
Madam Yang said calmly, "What kind of wealth do we have? Could we afford to throw away meat and cloth?"
"If you don't want it, I'll just cook the meat and avoid seeing it."
Lin Xian'er said irritably, "Whatever!"
Upon receiving the message, Yang put down the cloth and pastries, picked up the meat, and went straight into the kitchen.
She quickly washed the meat, cut it into pieces, put it in an iron pot with water, lit a fire, and put it on to cook.
Smoke was billowing from the chimney, but Tian thought it was just water boiling and didn't pay any attention.
She was so angry at the persistent matchmaker that her ears were ringing.
After cooking the meat, Yang came out quickly, served melon seeds, and called Zhang and Feng to come and sit down.
In the courtyard, the matchmaker, Qian, spoke eloquently. Yang's sisters-in-law, thinking about how the old lady had always favored Miao, and how Miao and the old lady had talked about them behind their backs, felt extremely unhappy. But the old lady was, after all, their mother-in-law, and if they insulted her, everyone would say it was their fault.
And so, the one who made the old lady unhappy came to our door herself.
Yang and Feng smiled and flattered Qian, the matchmaker, with Qian occasionally chiming in. Seeing this, and then looking at Old Man Lin sitting under the eaves smoking, Qian called out, "Brother Lin, what do you think of this marriage?"
Looking at his sons, their faces bruised and swollen, and then at Tian Shi, who looked unhappy, Old Man Lin slammed his pipe on the floor and said after a long while, "It's all good!"
Tian's expression changed drastically. She opened her mouth as if to ask something, but in the end, she said nothing.
Old Man Lin said, "I see you've made many trips; you genuinely want to propose. Take your birth date and time to choose an auspicious date."
As soon as Old Man Lin finished speaking, Matchmaker Qian slapped her thigh with joy and laughed, "Brother, we are definitely sincerely asking for your hand in marriage. We guarantee that Xian'er will live a life of luxury and have a happy marriage! In that case, I will take Xian'er's birth date and time, choose an auspicious time, and then bring people back to exchange gifts."
Tian remained silent, and Lin Xian'er rushed out of the house!
"Father! I won't marry him! I won't agree!"
Seeing his daughter stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum, Old Man Lin said in a deep voice, "Marriage is a major life event, and it's not your place to disagree! Go back inside!"
Lin Xian'er went back to her room crying. Matchmaker Qian smiled and said to Tian Shi, "Then please give me Xian'er's birth date and time, so I can get this matter settled as soon as possible."
Tian remained unmoved, while Old Man Lin's face darkened.
"Give it to her!"
After obtaining the birth details, the matchmaker Qian happily led Zhang Bao away in a donkey cart.
In less than half an hour, the matchmaker Qian talked for a long time but it was no use. She just asked Old Man Lin one question and the matter was settled.
It happened so fast that it stunned Qian Shi and Yang Shi, along with their sisters-in-law.
Lin Xian'er was crying loudly inside the house. Tian looked at the old man Lin and asked, "As her own father, can you just stand by and watch her marry an old widower who is more than ten years older than her?"
Old Man Lin looked coldly at Madam Tian.
"So what if he's an old widower? So what if he's more than ten years older? Who brought this man here?" Old Man Lin raised his voice and asked. Tian Shi remained silent. He snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over his daughters-in-law before landing on Tian Shi. He cursed, "You brought this man here!"
"Back then, you and your mother were always saying that getting older is good, that older people are more caring. Why aren't you caring anymore?"
Looking at Old Man Lin, who was pointing the finger at her, Tian hysterically roared, "Is it wrong for me to worry about those little bastards? Fine, you're in charge of this family from now on, you'll be in charge of everything!"
As the old woman spoke, she threw the winnowing basket on the ground, scattering the soybeans all over the floor.
Not a single person in the courtyard stepped forward.
*
At this moment, Lin Chuntao was stir-frying minced meat, while her three younger sisters sat around the earthenware pot with joyful expressions.
Yesterday I said I wanted to eat it again, and today Lin Chuntao bought it. Not to mention I can eat what I want again, it feels like a dream.
Even though Lin Chuntao said she wanted to save money to build a house, she still often bought meat and eggs to eat.
Just as everyone was watching intently, they heard a hen clucking outside the yard. Lin Chunxing turned around abruptly, and Lin Chunhe asked, "Did it lay an egg?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Lin Duo'er had already run out.
Soon, she ran in holding an egg, shouting, "Sister, the hen laid an egg!"
Lin Chunxing hurriedly asked, "Did you see clearly which one laid the egg?"
Lin Duo'er shook her head. She only saw an egg by the fence and had no interest in seeing which chicken laid it.
Lin Chunxing said, "Since it has laid an egg, we won't let it out tomorrow, so that we don't not even know it has laid an egg outside."
Lin Chuntao looked at the white egg and thought to herself, "Finally, it laid an egg. If it hadn't laid an egg soon, I would have killed both chickens and cooked them into noodles."
She laughed and said, "Let's make a chicken coop for them. Let's gather some leaves and make a nest for them. That way, they'll get used to it and come back to lay eggs."
Pei Ying replied from the side, "I'll go cut some bamboo to make it in a bit."
An egg and a bowl of noodles brought smiles to the faces of the people in the courtyard.
The three younger sisters love to eat, and they hadn't eaten anything else to fill their stomachs today, so Lin Chuntao cooked a lot. Everyone ate to their heart's content, drinking soup and eating noodles, and they were very satisfied.
Lin Chuntao looked at her three younger sisters slumped in their chairs and said with a smile, "Our rice and flour are almost gone. Let's carry that little bit of millet back to pound it later."
Lin Chunxing asked, "Are we carrying it to Grandma's house to pound grain?"
Lin Chuntao nodded. After they had rested enough, Pei Ying carried the millet and accompanied them.
Sun laughed and said, "The stone mortar and pestle are both idle. Leave them there, and I'll have your uncle pound them for you in a bit."
Before Lin Chuntao could speak, Pei Ying said, "Grandma, I know how to pound grain, let me do it."
Sun smiled at him and said, "Alright, the tools are all there."
Lin Chuntao had seen this thing in a video and had also heard her grandmother talk about it. When she was a child, pounding rice for a whole morning was only enough for one meal.
Lin Chuntao remembered that her grandmother spoke calmly. Pei Ying was pounding rice, and Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe would occasionally go up and take turns pounding with Pei Ying.
A bright smile graced her rosy little face.
Looking at the rice that had been pounded for a long time and was still not ready, Lin Chuntao felt tired. She didn't even feel tired when she was farming.
That afternoon, she checked the control panel many times, either looking at her points balance or browsing the lifestyle section.
It's like browsing an app, finding something you like, but then not getting paid and not having the money to buy it, which makes her very frustrated.
Before I could even feel upset, someone rushed into the village head's yard.
"Uncle, Aunt, the Changhai family is fighting again!"
Lin Cunzheng jumped up from his chair. "Why now?"
The visitor said, "Today someone came to propose marriage to Xian'er, bringing a rib. Chang Hong's wife cooked it in a pot. It was almost cooked when everyone smelled the meat and realized what was happening. The old lady then beat Chang Hong's wife."
Mrs. Sun frowned and sighed deeply, "What is this whole family doing all day long!"
Lin Cunzheng shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Let's go take a look."
Sun frowned and got up from the chair. She looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "Chuntao, you two pound the rice. Your great-grandfather and I will go over and take a look."
After leaving the courtyard, Sun and her family headed straight for Old Lin's house.
When they arrived, the aroma of meat wafted through the Lin family's courtyard, and there was meat soup on the ground, with several pieces of meat lying on the ground as well. Sun and Lin were feeling a bit breathless.
Tian, Yang, Feng, Miao, and Qian, along with their daughters-in-law, were fighting on the ground. It was impossible to tell who was hitting whom. Zhang stood to the side, but her hair was disheveled, and it was unclear whether she had been in the fight or had been torn apart while trying to break it up.
Looking at the meat, Sun felt heartbroken. Then, looking at the other women, Qian was still pregnant. She raised her voice and cursed, "Are you all going to be taken away by heaven? You've dumped the meat and broth on the ground! Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning? Are you all going to die?"
"Lin Changhe, why don't you pull your wife out? She's pregnant! If you lose her baby, you'll have a lot to cry about."
As Sun spoke, she stepped forward to pull the person away, but Tian grabbed Qian's hair and wouldn't let go.
"You shameless woman, if you hadn't insisted on getting those little sluts out, how would that old widower have ended up here!"
Madam Qian was equally unforgiving. She insulted Madam Tian, saying, "If it weren't for you, you old hag, being so greedy for money, and if your Lin family line wasn't about to end, why would you have agreed to my demands? You've done all this, and you still want to blame it on me? No way!"
Upon hearing this, Tian clenched her fist in anger and struck Qian's stomach. Qian cried out a few times, and in an instant, her face turned pale, and blood slowly flowed out.
Upon seeing the bright red blood, Madam Sun shouted, "Lin Changhe, quickly pull your mother away! Your wife is bleeding!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Changhe ran over and pulled Tian Shi back. Yang Shi, Feng Shi, and the others also stopped and looked at Qian Shi.
Sun hurriedly called out, "Changhai, hurry up and go to my house to get the mule cart and take it to the county town."
Lin Chuntao watched as Lin Changhai arrived in a flurry, told Chen Dongniang, and took away the mule cart. Chen Dongniang, seeing his hurried manner, chased after him and asked, "Who's hurt?"
Lin Changhai didn't say anything. Chen Dongniang looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "Chuntao, you keep pounding, I'll go see what's going on."
Chen Dongniang returned shortly after she left, but Sun Shi and Lin Cunzheng did not.
Seeing Chen Dongniang return, Lin Chuntao couldn't help but ask, "Who was injured?"
Chen Dongniang said, "Your grandmother punched Qian's stomach and made her bleed."
Lin Chuntao: "..."
"I heard that your grandfather agreed to Zhang Bao's marriage proposal to Xian'er. Your fourth aunt cooked the meat that Zhang Bao brought. Your grandmother was unhappy and threw the pot at your fourth aunt. Then the whole family started fighting."
"I think Qian's pregnancy is unlikely to survive; she's lost too much blood."
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly, while Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe remained quiet. Chen Dongniang continued, "It's fortunate that you sisters separated and established your own households. If the child had been lost, Qian would definitely not have let it go."
Lin Chuntao thought to herself, although evil people always have their own evil people to deal with, this was the first time she had ever seen an evil person hit a pregnant woman's belly.
Who in this world would let it go after being beaten and miscarried?
But she didn't say anything more. As Chen Dongniang said, she was just glad that she and her sister had broken off ties with that family and separated.
Whether that family lived or died was none of their business.
The rice-pounding process was slow; those two and a half bushels of grain were pounded until dusk.
Lin Chuntao borrowed a winnowing basket from Chen Dongniang, but she wasn't very good at using it, so Chen Dongniang helped her sift it. She put the rice into a burlap sack and the rice bran into a small bamboo basket, intending to take it back to feed the chickens.
Just as they were about to go home, Lin Cunzheng and Sun returned.
Chen Dongniang hurriedly asked, "Father, Mother, you're back. How is Qian Shi?"
Sun sighed deeply, "She lost too much blood and the baby was gone. Qian survived."
Chen Dongniang was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this: "You came back together?"
Madam Sun shook her head slightly: "It's really a coincidence today. After we entered the city, we ran into that matchmaker Qian again. Seeing how Qian Dingxiang was, she called all of Qian's brothers over. The Qian family has already taken her back. The Qian family is shouting that they will not let them go and that they may cause trouble again in a few days."
Chen Dongniang then asked, "What did Lin Laosan say? That's his wife, why won't he bring her back to take care of her?"
Mrs. Sun looked at her daughter-in-law and chuckled.
“Mrs. Qian said she wanted a divorce and wouldn’t come back with us. She also said she was going to the government to sue the old lady.”
Sun shook her head, too lazy to say anything more. She looked at Lin Chuntao and asked, "Chuntao, is the rice pounding ready?"
"It's all pounded. My aunt just helped me sift it out. It's getting dark, Grandma, let's go home now."
Sun invited them to stay for dinner, but Lin Chuntao quickly declined and hurriedly took Lin Chunxing and the others home.
On the way back, the sisters were filled with worry. It wasn't until they were almost home that Lin Chunhe finally asked, "Sister, are we not going back?"
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly. "Go back where? To the old Lin family home?"
Lin Chunhe pursed her lips, and Lin Chuntao chuckled, "We've all done our household registrations separately, it's not like we're separate families that can be put together again."
After she finished speaking, Lin Chunxing and Lin Duo'er both breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good." Neither of them wanted to go back to that house.
Lin Chuntao said, "What happens to them has nothing to do with us. We'll just live our lives."
The younger sisters nodded obediently, and Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I have to try this rice that's been pounded all day tonight."
"How about we have lard rice for dinner?" Lin Duo'er looked at Lin Chuntao expectantly. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "But I don't want lard rice anymore. I want egg fried rice."
Upon hearing the word "egg," Lin Duo'er's eyes lit up for a moment, and she said with a grin, "Then I want to eat egg fried rice too."
Back home, Lin Chuntao quickly washed the rice and put it in an iron pot to cook.
After the rice was cooked, she fried some eggs, then poured the rice back in and stirred it. It was getting dark and she was too lazy to cook any more dishes, so Lin Chuntao simply put some cabbage into the fried rice. After the rice was cooked, they each served themselves a bowl and sat around the fire to eat.
They ate the simple bowl of fried rice with great relish.
The next day, Lin Chuntao got up a little earlier because she needed to cook rice noodles.
Pei Ying was tending a fire in the yard. She quickly chopped and minced the meat. While Pei Ying was chopping the meat, she asked Pei Ying to boil water, blanch the rice noodles, and then scoop them out and put them away.
First, Lin Chuntao took out the rice noodles, then put them in an earthenware pot to stir-fry the ingredients. After stir-frying the ingredients, she put water in and brought it to a boil. She ate a small half bowl herself, and then ladled some out and put it on the table. When Lin Chunxing and the others woke up, they would naturally know to make some to eat.
Lin Chuntao helped pack up the remaining noodles, soup, and vegetables, and Pei Ying carried them in a bamboo basket to the county town.
When he entered the butcher shop, Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang had just arrived. They glanced at the bamboo basket in his hand but didn't expect it to be food. The three of them busied themselves with getting to work.
Today, thirteen pigs were slaughtered, and by the time everything was finished, it was already broad daylight.
Zhao Guang asked, "What would you like for breakfast?"
Before Zhang Dayong could answer, Pei Ying said, "I forgot to mention, my wife made rice noodles. I thought they tasted good, so I asked her to make a pot for us. They're in a bamboo basket; we can just blanch them on the stove and eat them."
Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang's eyes lit up, and they laughed, "Oh, why didn't you say so earlier? I've been thinking about what to eat all day. Let's go, let's go get some noodles."
The three of them went over and tended to the fire in the stove. Pei Ying brought the earthenware pot up, and even after so long, it was still a little warm.
The fire in the stove was strong, and the soup in the earthenware pot quickly came to a boil. Following Lin Chuntao's steps, Pei Ying first put all the noodles in, and then added the shredded cabbage and chives after it started to cook.
After the pot boiled, he tasted it to check the saltiness.
"It tastes just right, we can eat it now."
Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang brought over a bowl, looked at the bright red soup, and laughed, "There must have been a lot of chili in this, right?"
Pei Ying smiled and said, "It's not much."
"Then this soup is a bit red."
Pei Ying smiled and said, "You'll know once you try it."
The two of them each picked up a bowl, and after slurping it up, they found it to be sour and spicy. The shredded cabbage was also crunchy, and with each bite, they could even chew on some minced meat. Zhang Dayong frowned slightly and asked, "There's meat in this?"
Pei Ying nodded. "Yes, I added pork."
Zhao Guang took another slurp, still wanting more: "Old Zhang, you know what, it's really quite delicious? It tastes better than the mutton."
Zhang Dayong laughed and said, "I feel like you could set up a stall at the market. Your skills are quite good, sister-in-law."
Pei Ying smiled upon hearing this, "Although I agree, she said it's very simple. Without a unique recipe, it's easy for others to learn. Then the whole market will be using this cooking method, and there will be no business."
"Don't you have a secret recipe yet?" Zhang Dayong asked with a smile.
Pei Ying replied, "That's what she said, I don't know either."
Zhao Guang laughed from the side, "Brother Pei, this flavor is quite unique. Go tell your sister-in-law that you can set up a stall here, and the business will definitely be booming."
Pei Ying brought three catties of rice noodles, and they each ate a large bowl. There was still some left in the earthenware pot, waiting for Ah Si and Liu Zi, who had brought the meat, to return. Pei Ying also told them to serve themselves.
After slurping down a bowl, Ah Si asked, "Which restaurant did you buy this from? It's pretty good. I'll buy another bowl at noon."
Zhang Dayong laughed upon hearing this: "You can't buy this. Your brother Pei brought it this morning. His wife made it."
Ah Si blushed slightly. He thought the shopkeeper had bought it and everyone was eating it, but it turned out that Pei Ying had brought it.
"Thank you, Brother Pei. Your cooking is really good. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought it was a newly opened restaurant in this market."
Pei Ying smiled and said, "Don't be shy, just enjoy the food."
Liu Zi, standing nearby, chuckled and said, "Brother Pei, your wife's cooking is so good, why don't you ask her to open a restaurant?"
Pei Ying smiled and said, "She has other things to do, but she might open it when she has time in the future."
Zhao Guang laughed and said, "If we really open a restaurant, then everyone will be in for a treat."
Helan hadn't arrived yet. After they finished their breakfast, they quickly divided the meat and moved it to the other two meat stalls, preparing to start selling soon.
As usual, Lin Chuntao carried the mushrooms out of the forest and headed to the market just before dawn.
Aunt Guizhi didn't come to sell vegetables today. She had almost finished picking all the vegetables in her garden, and she was also busy making clothes for her daughter after buying some cloth. So she went to make clothes first.
Lin Chuntao found mostly green-headed mushrooms today, with a small number of pine needle mushrooms and soil-backing mushrooms.
As promised, the matchmaker came to collect the mushrooms. After all, it had been arranged in advance, and Lin Chuntao had reserved about three catties of green-headed mushrooms for her.
After weighing it, Lin Chuntao said directly, "Grandma, it's exactly three catties, thirty-six coins."
The matchmaker took out her money bag and counted the money for her, asking Lin Chuntao as she did so, "Did you know that your stepmother and child were gone?"
Lin Chuntao pretended not to know, frowned slightly, and asked in return, "What's gone?"
Matchmaker Qian stared intently at Lin Chuntao, trying to find something on her face, but Lin Chuntao's expression remained unchanged, revealing nothing. She said in a deep voice, "The child in Qian's belly was forcibly aborted. Your Lin family is too cruel! How could you do such a heinous thing?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao glanced at the matchmaker and said indifferently, "Why are you telling me this, old lady? What does it have to do with me?"
Qian's expression froze. She looked up at Lin Chuntao and saw that Lin Chuntao's face darkened, her eyes dimmed, and the corners of her mouth curled up with a hint of mockery.
When she first saw Lin Chuntao at the Lin family's house, she thought Lin Chuntao was just an ordinary village girl. Later, when she bought mushrooms, Lin Chuntao was very amiable, so she thought the girl was easy to talk to and had a gentle nature.
Upon closer examination, how could someone who could bring his younger sister out of the Tian family and still live a good life be so soft?
"You're really good with words, girl. I was just saying."
Lin Chuntao chuckled lightly: "Just kidding. Why doesn't that old lady say she found us a wicked stepmother? Why doesn't she say that my wicked stepmother tried to sell me and my sisters as soon as she entered the house? Of course, I'm just kidding. After all, if I had a good father or elders, I wouldn't have been sold by someone who just entered the house. Old lady, you're well-informed, you must know that I've severed ties with them, right? Knowing this, why are you still wasting your breath in front of me?"
"Whether she miscarries or dies, it's none of my business. It's an insult to my ears!"
Seeing that Lin Chuntao's tone was unfriendly and her words were harsh, it seemed as if she wanted to stand on the street and argue with her to make things clear.
The women in the shop next door selling mutton pies and those in the shop behind them all strained their ears, eager to hear a word.
Seeing this, her expression changed slightly. She still had to act as a matchmaker in the future, and if things continued to go on, it would ruin her reputation. She angrily threw down the copper coins and left.
Lin Chuntao slowly picked up the copper coins and put them away. The old woman selling meat pies next to her asked, "Young lady, are you very familiar with this matchmaker?"
"We're not that close. She often comes to our village, so I've seen her before."
The old woman laughed and said, "Don't mess with her, she's a very unethical matchmaker."
Lin Chuntao was packing her things when she heard this, and her eyes widened. "I don't really know either."
The old woman hesitated, then said, "Just ignore her."
"Okay, thank you, ma'am."
As she spoke, Lin Chuntao slung her basket over her shoulder and walked toward the butcher shop.
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