Chen Xiaomi held the pottery jar and counted the silver inside. She found that the amount of silver in the jar had unknowingly risen to 180 taels and 762 coins.
Chen Xiaomi used to love counting money, but lately she's become a bit numb to it and has been doing it much less often.
Seeing Lu Lin come in, Chen Xiaomi held up the pottery jar and handed it to him, saying, "Here you go."
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomi, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Give me everything?"
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "You should put it away. There are too many; I'm worried about it."
Chen Xiaomi has been looking for a place to hide her silver lately. There's only so much space in her house, and she doesn't feel comfortable hiding the silver anywhere else.
Lu Lin slightly curled the corners of his mouth. Chen Xiaomi was actually quite wary. Since she was willing to entrust him with the money, she must trust him.
A hundred taels of silver is a huge sum of money in the countryside. Chen Xiaomi and his family sometimes go to the town, and Xiaocai and Xiaomai are still small. If someone sneaks in and takes the silver, the loss would be quite significant.
Lu Lin stretched out his hand, and with a thought, the earthenware jar containing the silver disappeared.
Chen Xiaomi had seen it many times before, but seeing it again still felt somewhat magical.
"This jam is really profitable!" Chen Xiaomi said.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "I guess so."
For him, who owns a small shop, it's quite profitable; however, it's hard to say for others.
Sugar is expensive here, and wild berries don't keep well. Sugar is also a type of preservative. Although wild berry jam can be preserved for a while because of the added sugar, the preservation methods here are limited. If too much is made and it can't be sold, it will rot in our hands.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaocai and said, "The wild berries in the woods are almost gone!"
Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "Yes! I estimate that after picking them one more time, they should be ready."
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Alright, then next time after we finish picking them, I'll invite everyone over for a meal."
Chen Xiaocai frowned and said, "No need, they might not be willing! Besides, we already gave them money." If they gave him money, why would he need to treat them to a meal? And if he were to treat them, he didn't know if the villagers would have any objections.
Lu Lin blinked and said, "A meal won't cost much."
"Next time we pick wild berries, let them stay a little longer. Don't force them to come if they don't want to," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaocai looked at Lu Lin with some difficulty, and after a long while, nodded and said, "Okay."
...
Chen Xiaomi came out and asked, "What are you going to make for those kids to eat?"
"sweet dumpling."
Hearing Lu Lin's words, Chen Xiaomi couldn't help but swallow hard. "Tangyuan! Those have to be made with glutinous rice."
Chen Xiaomi scratched her head. Glutinous rice is more than twice as expensive as coarse rice, and it's quite time-consuming to make.
Lu Lin nodded and said, "We can make more. If we can't finish them, we can store them at the convenience store."
"Why give it to those little devils?!" Good stuff is better kept for ourselves.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "They've helped me for so long." He wanted to give the villagers the impression that if they were on good terms with him, they would make money and eat good food. People who eat his food are bound to be grateful, and if they took advantage of him, they would have to think twice before speaking ill of him later.
“They paid me.” Chen Xiaomi’s thoughts were similar to Chen Xiaocai’s.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Isn't this little guy getting married? We need to help him build up his reputation."
Chen Xiaomi glared at Lu Lin. The child was still young; Lu Lin's foresight was a bit premature. "Isn't it because we have money?" If we have money, we can just buy one.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "It doesn't take much effort."
Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "If you're not afraid of the hassle, then go ahead."
...
Zhang Dahu followed Chen Xiaocai, his eyes shining, and said, "Xiaocai, are you going to treat us to something to eat?"
Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "Yes!"
Recently, many people have been hanging out with him, but Chen Xiaocai can still sense the distance between them. Chen Xiaocai originally thought that if he said he would treat these kids to food, they would refuse, but to his surprise, everyone was very interested.
However, a few companions were still a little worried, perhaps because their families had told them something. They said they could go back and eat after receiving the money, and Chen Xiaocai didn't insist.
Zhang Dahu was very interested in Chen Xiaocai's invitation to dinner. When the children brought wild berries to Lu Lin, they could often smell the aroma of food. The children had long admired the Chen family's food, but were too shy to ask. This invitation from Chen Xiaocai was exactly what they wanted.
Several people arrived at the Chen family's house with baskets. Lu Lin came out, smiled, and said, "Thank you all for your hard work."
As the children entered the room, they saw several large bowls on the table, each covered with a lid.
Lu Lin lifted the lid, and all the children saw the plump, white glutinous rice balls in the bowl.
Lu Lin soon heard a series of swallowing sounds. Several children who were about to leave stopped in their tracks when they saw the glutinous rice balls.
"I've prepared some food. If you like it, you can have some."
Zhang Dahu took the lead, rushed over, grabbed a bowl, and used a large spoon to scoop out a few glutinous rice balls to eat.
Several children were immediately spurred on and rushed towards the table, afraid they would miss out if they were too late.
Chen Xiaocai rolled her eyes as she watched her companions pounce on their prey like hungry tigers, thinking to herself: They said they wouldn't eat them, but none of them escaped.
These little brats are going to eat their fathers out of house and home. Lu Lin had prepared a lot of glutinous rice balls, but they were all eaten up by the kids. In the end, the kids almost got into a fight.
Zhang Dahu and the others were very satisfied with the meal and became much closer to Chen Xiaocai and Chen Xiaomai.
Chen Xiaomi came out of the house, looked at the empty basin, rolled her eyes, and said, "A bunch of good-for-nothings."
When the children came over, Chen Xiaomi was at home, but she knew her reputation and didn't show herself.
Lu Lin tilted his head and said, "He can eat quite a lot."
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