Chapter 42: Buy pretty clothes with chive dumplings!
Looking at the delicate fabric in Lin Yao's hands, Liu Xu couldn't help but think of his own mother, who had toiled her whole life but had never worn clothes made of silk. He felt a pang of envy.
Lin Yao held the dress up in front of the mirror, looking at it from side to side. It fit her perfectly; the moon-white fabric softened her complexion, and the plum blossom pattern added a touch of liveliness. This dress perfectly matched Lin Yao's dream of ancient costume; this was exactly what she imagined an ancient girl should wear. Lin Yao immediately decided to buy it. After all, wasn't the point of earning money to live comfortably? What was the point of earning money if she couldn't even afford a dress? However, Lin Yao also knew the importance of moderate spending, so she only chose this one dress that looked high-end.
Then she walked to the clothes made of coarse cloth. Silk clothes were beautiful, but they would be a waste to wear while working. From a row of dark blue coarse cloth clothes, Lin Yao chose a simple straight-collared, front-opening short-sleeved shirt. Although it lacked exquisite embroidery, its thick fabric was its advantage. She held it up in front of the mirror; the shirt was a bit large, just right for a growing girl like herself.
After choosing two outfits for herself, Lin Yao began selecting suitable clothes for Lin Cheng and Lin Song. After some selection, she bought two thick outfits for each of them, one set made of fine fabric and the other of coarse cloth, according to her own style of matching.
At that moment, Lin Yao's gaze was drawn to a deep crimson brocade jacket in the corner. Made of thick brocade, it was embroidered with intricate lotus scroll patterns, and the collar and cuffs were trimmed with soft rabbit fur, making it both warm and luxurious. Lin Yao stepped forward, gently stroking the fabric, her eyes filled with delight, and asked, "Shopkeeper, how much is this jacket?"
The shopkeeper hurried over and enthusiastically introduced, "Madam, this padded jacket is one of our finest pieces. The brocade is top-quality material imported from Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the embroidery is exquisitely crafted. Naturally, the price is a bit higher—one tael of silver." Upon hearing this, Lin Yao quickly withdrew her hand. She couldn't afford to touch it; her hands were calloused, and if she damaged them, it would cost her one tael of silver. She then chose two simple yet very thick quilts, so she wouldn't have to worry about warmth in autumn and winter. When it came time to pay, Lin Yao felt a pang of pain. The two quilts and six sets of clothing cost her one tael and three hundred coins.
Liu Xu watched as Lin Yao spent over an ounce of money in just one morning without batting an eye—more than he and his mother couldn't earn in a year... When the servant placed the bedding in Liu Xu's hands, he was still in shock and was startled.
Lin Yao, carrying a bag of clothes, asked him, "Brother Xu, are you tired?" Lin Yao felt that she hadn't been shopping for very long, since she had bought all the clothes she needed in one store.
Liu Xu quickly banished the thoughts from his mind, shook his head, and said, "No, no, what else do we need to buy later?"
Lin Yao looked at the donkey cart full of spoils and clapped her hands with satisfaction: "I've bought everything, let's go back to the village."
~
Liu Dazhuang's home.
When Lin Cheng saw his younger sister carrying several large bags, jingling and clanging as she walked in, he was momentarily speechless. Lin Song rushed ahead of him, running to Lin Yao and asking, "What did you buy, Second Sister? Did you buy any sugar figurines?"
Lin Yao handed the bags to Lin Cheng, shook her aching hand, and tapped Lin Song's nose, saying, "There are no candy figurines." The little guy immediately wilted upon hearing this. "But Second Sister bought Song'er new clothes!" As she spoke, Lin Yao took out two sets of clothes from the package.
Upon hearing about the new clothes, Lin Song's eyes lit up, just like the little kitten she had seen outside the orphanage before, with its round, watery eyes. Excitedly, Lin Song jumped up and took the clothes from Lin Yao's hands, eagerly trying them on: "Second Sister, these clothes are so beautiful!" He held up the jacket embroidered with a little tiger pattern, twirling around several times, his eyes narrowing into slits with laughter.
Seeing his appearance, Lin Yao couldn't help but laugh out loud: "As long as Song'er likes it, that's good. Quickly put it on and let your second sister see if it fits." Lin Song quickly changed into the new clothes, which fit perfectly. The little tiger pattern was right on his belly, bulging out because of Lin Song's round little belly, making him look even more chubby and cute. Indeed, after two months of Lin Yao's feeding, Lin Song was starting to develop in a chubby direction, and now he looked like a doll in a New Year's painting, very endearing.
"Brother, you have one too." Lin Yao took two sets of clothes out of her bundle and handed them to Lin Cheng. Lin Cheng took the clothes but didn't try them on immediately: "Yao, what about yours?"
Lin Yao repacked the bundle and said, "I already tried mine on at the clothing store. You should try them on quickly, and if they don't fit, you can take them back to exchange them."
Lin Cheng then slowly unfolded the clothes in his hands: a gray coarse cloth robe and a dark blue straight-cut jacket. Although the fabrics were not expensive, they were thick, finely crafted, and the stitches were dense and even. He put them on, looked at himself in the mirror, and saw that the size was just right. Wearing them, he looked energetic and capable.
Lin Yao watched from the side, her eyes full of smiles, "Brother, you look really good in this. The color makes you look even more composed."
Liu Xu nodded in agreement, praising, "Acheng looks so much more energetic in these clothes, like a scholar from town!"
Lin Cheng was a little embarrassed and scratched his head. "It's because A-Yao has good taste."
After seeing Liu Xu off, Lin Yao began rendering lard. Two large pieces of pork fat yielded two large jars of lard and a large basin of pork cracklings. Lin Yao picked up a piece of crackling, blew on it, and popped it into her mouth. The freshly rendered cracklings had a rich, oily aroma and were crunchy to the bite. She picked up another piece, blew on it, and put it in Lin Song's mouth. The boy had been watching her intently ever since she started rendering the lard: "Eat slowly, you glutton."
After the rendered lard cooled, Lin Yao began preparing to make chive boxes. She took out the chives she had picked from Liu Dazhuang's backyard from her basket and carefully washed them. Then, she poured the rendered lard cracklings onto the cutting board and finely chopped them with a knife. The chopped cracklings emitted a rich, oily aroma, making Lin Song swallow hard, his little eyes fixed on the cutting board, unwilling to look away for a moment. Lin Yao, seeing this, was both amused and annoyed, and ordered him, "Song'er, go and call your brother, let's make chive boxes together." Lin Song responded and went to find Lin Cheng, turning back every few steps.
Lin Yao placed the chopped pork cracklings into a bowl, then added the drained chives cut into small pieces. Next, she added a pinch of salt, a small spoonful of five-spice powder, and a little sesame oil to the bowl, and began to stir the filling with chopsticks. As the chopsticks stirred, the chives and pork cracklings were thoroughly mixed, and the aroma became increasingly rich, making it tempting even before it was cooked.
Lin Yao took out the flour, poured in warm water, and began kneading the dough. Her hands skillfully stirred the flour and water, and in no time, the loose flour turned into a smooth dough. She placed the dough on the work surface, covered it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for a while. While the dough was resting, Lin Yao chopped the chicken she would need for tomorrow into pieces, filling a large bowl with the meat from three chickens.
When Lin Cheng followed Lin Song into the kitchen, the dough had already risen. Lin Yao rolled it into a long, thin strip and then cut it into small, even-sized pieces. She picked up a small piece and rolled it out with a rolling pin into a round wrapper that was thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges. Lin Song, watching from the side, was itching to help and exclaimed, "Second Sister, I want to help too!" Lin Yao pinched off a small piece and placed it in front of Lin Song, saying, "Go play somewhere else."
After rolling out the dough, Lin Yao picked up a piece, placed a spoonful of filling on it, folded the dough in half, and pinched the edges with her fingers to create pretty decorative edges, thus completing a chive dumpling. Lin Cheng tried to imitate her and made a few, but at first his attempts were strange, either leaking filling or failing to seal properly. After making several, he finally got the hang of it.
In the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, the two of them had filled a cutting board with chive dumplings. Lin Yao poured lard into a pan, and once the oil was hot, she placed the chive dumplings one by one into the pan. The chive dumplings slowly turned golden brown in the pan, then she flipped them over and fried them for a while longer until both sides were golden brown and crispy. Lin Yao then scooped out the fried chive dumplings and piled them up like a small mountain.
After making the chive pancakes, Lin Yao fried rice with pork cracklings and eggs. The golden rice, coated in egg, was constantly stirred in the pan by Lin Yao, gradually becoming distinct grains. Lin Yao poured the remaining pork cracklings into the pan, allowing each grain of rice to fully absorb the aroma of the cracklings. Egg fried rice is the simplest fried rice, but with the addition of pork cracklings, the texture and flavor were elevated to another level.
When Liu Dazhuang and Liang returned from the fields, they were greeted by the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen as soon as they opened the door. Already ravenous from a day's work, the smell only intensified their hunger. Liang, untying her headscarf, smiled as she entered the kitchen: "Ayao, what delicious food have you made? I smelled it as soon as I walked in!"
Lin Yao turned around upon hearing the voice, "Sister-in-law and Brother Dazhuang came back at just the right time. I made chive pancakes and fried rice with pork lard and eggs."
Liu Dazhuang put down his basket, placed the sleeping Liu Dabao on the bed, and then went into the kitchen. "We were so hungry for it! Just the smell made our stomachs rumble." As he spoke, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and washed the mud off his hands in the basin.
Lin Yao placed the chive pancakes and fried rice on the table. The golden, crispy chive pancakes were piled high on the plate, and the fried rice with pork lard and eggs was fluffy and glistening with oil, steaming hot and emitting an enticing aroma. As soon as Liu Dazhuang and his wife started eating, Lin Song immediately picked up a chive pancake and put it in his bowl. He couldn't wait any longer. He picked up a chive pancake with his little hand and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out, mumbling indistinctly, "So delicious!"
Seeing Lin Song's greedy expression, Madam Liang couldn't help but laugh and said, "Song'er, eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you." With that, she picked up a chive pancake, took a bite, and the fresh aroma of chives and the rich flavor of pork lard instantly filled her mouth: "Ayao, your cooking skills are truly amazing! These chive pancakes are probably even better than those from the restaurants in town." Liu Dazhuang shoveled his mouth full of fried rice, then squeezed in a mouthful: "This fried rice is delicious too!"
Seeing that Liu Dazhuang and his wife were pleased, Lin Yao felt much more at ease. Although the original owner of this body was familiar with Liu Dazhuang's family, as an outsider soul, she always felt that staying in someone else's home was a burden, so she could only repay them by cooking some meals.
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