Chapter 43 Chapter 43 - Two-in-one June 6th, eating mutton...
When Lin Chuntao returned home, the meat was no longer hot. She quickly cut the mutton into slices and put them into a colander.
Smelling the rich aroma of meat, Lin Chuntao no longer had any extra thoughts in her mind.
There was a lot of original mutton soup in the pot, and it could not be finished in one meal. Lin Chuntao took a clay pot and poured the extra soup into the pot to store it, so that she could pour it out and cook the pot for the next meal.
The vegetables were already prepared. She added the chopped meat and half of the goat's blood and offal to the pot, then sliced half a radish into strips and sprinkled in a small amount of pepper. She then prepared the dipping sauce and, while waiting for the mutton soup to boil, scooped out a spoonful of boiling broth to scald the dipping sauce. The aroma of meat and chili peppers mingled in the yard, and Lin Chuntao felt her cravings piqued. She looked at the bubbling soup and asked, "Does anyone want some soup first?"
They replied in unison: "No."
Lin Chuntao smiled, took a large bowl, filled it with food, and placed it beside her. She then grabbed a handful of mint from the basket and put it in the bowl. She said, "Bring out the bowls and chopsticks. It's time to eat."
This was the first time Pei Ying had eaten mutton this way, and it was also the first time she had eaten mutton with skin. The taste was different from what she had eaten at home.
Lin Chuntao had added a handful of mint leaves to the pot. Many people back home liked to drink it as tea, but he disliked the taste. Having spent so much time with her, he'd known Lin Chuntao often had unusual ideas, but he had never imagined she could actually cook it in the pot.
Lin Chuntao stirred the pot and pressed the mint leaves into the soup. Then she stood up to serve the rice, but saw Pei Ying staring at the pot with a frown.
She also frowned slightly, thinking to herself that it was not good. She forgot to ask Pei Ying if he didn't eat mint anymore.
"Sorry I forgot to ask you, do you not eat mint?"
Pei Ying came back to his senses and looked at her, shaking his head slightly: "I don't like it very much, but I'm not unwilling to eat it either."
Lin Chuntao said, "Then I'll take it out after it's cooked through. You can try the meat and see if it affects the taste. If so, I'll make it again for you."
"Don't bother, eat first."
After he finished speaking, Lin Chunxing and the others came out with their bowls and chopsticks, and everyone started to serve themselves and eat.
Pei Ying first picked up a piece of meat and dipped it in water. This was the first time he had eaten mutton with skin. He was a little confused about how to describe the taste, but it was surprisingly delicious.
He felt that mint tea was smelly, but it blended well with the mutton's strong smell, like a broken pot with a broken lid.
He tried picking up some mint leaves and putting them in his mouth. They seemed to be normal vegetables and there was no bad smell.
Lin Chuntao stared at him intently. After he swallowed it, she asked, "How's it? Are you used to it?"
Pei Ying nodded, "It's delicious."
After he finished speaking, Lin Chuntao smiled slowly, "That's good. I think mint and mutton are a perfect match. If mint is added to the mutton noodles, it will taste even better."
Pei Ying said, "Then we can buy some noodles tomorrow and try it. But I think the meat noodles you cooked are still the best."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "They can all be cooked. They're not difficult."
Lin Chunxing looked at the pot of meat. There were only five of them, and they could eat as much as they wanted. Such days seemed unreal, but they had been together for many days. She kept hearing Lin Chuntao thanking people, but she couldn't say it out loud. But thinking about the past, she looked up at Lin Chuntao and said, "Thank you, sister."
Hearing this, Lin Chuntao looked up at the blushing Lin Chunxing and smiled, "Why are you suddenly so polite? We don't need to say thank you between sisters."
Lin Chunxing looked at her with a gentle voice.
"I just suddenly wanted to say it."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Pei Ying beside her. She seldom spoke to Pei Ying, and Pei Ying wasn't talkative either. But after Pei Ying came, he was diligent and even made clothes for them. Although her sister bought the cloth, the clothes were made by Pei Ying. She took a deep breath and said to Pei Ying, "Thank you, brother-in-law too."
Like Lin Chunxing and the others, Pei Ying was not used to saying thank you, nor was he used to others saying it. But since his sister thanked him sincerely, Pei Ying still acted like a brother-in-law.
"As you should, you are Chuntao's biological sister, which means you are my sister. You are welcome."
Lin Chunhe looked at them, perhaps wanting to say something but unable to. Lin Chuntao glanced at her and took out chopsticks to pick up meat for them.
"Hurry up and eat. Take a day off today. We may have to go to the fields to plant corn tomorrow."
After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, everyone started to eat the meat. Several people gathered around the iron pot and ate heartily.
The people in the village did not work today. After lunch, everyone walked around the village with a bag of melon seeds in their pockets. When they met people, they would stand together and chat.
Lin Qingqing, Lin Jiaye and others came to play at home. They made an appointment to go into the mountains to pick flowers. It was a rare day of rest. Lin Chuntao was too lazy to move, so Pei Ying stayed with her at home.
They both sat in the yard basking in the sun. The afternoon sun was a bit strong. Pei Ying said, "Come inside and sit down. You'll get a headache if you stay in the sun for too long."
Lin Chuntao nodded, but when she was about to stand up, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
She and Pei Ying lived in separate rooms, firstly because of limited conditions and secondly because her younger sisters were there. But now her younger sisters were not there, and when Pei Ying called her back to her room, he couldn't be asking her to go back to her own room, right?
She was just struggling with her thoughts when Pei Ying came to the door carrying a chair and turned to look at her: "What are you thinking about? Come in, I have something to show you."
Lin Chuntao stood up, picked up the chair and followed him into the house.
As soon as she sat down, Pei Ying went to the bedside and took something out and handed it to her.
"I made a purse for you, so it will be more convenient to carry money when you go out."
Lin Chuntao took it and unfolded it. It was a small crossbody bag as big as her hands put together. The bag was made of folded strips of cloth. When you crossed it across the bag, you could also tighten the opening and tie it. Lin Chuntao opened the tightened opening. Pei Ying had made this small bag in two layers. The inner layer was made of scraps of cotton cloth left over from making clothes, and the outer layer was made of green cloth. He made pictures with the scraps of cloth and sewed them on the bag. It looked like flowers embroidered on it, and it looked pretty good.
"Thank you. I like it very much."
Pei Ying's lips twitched slightly when he heard this, "As long as you like it."
Seeing Lin Chuntao lowering her eyes to look at the bag, Pei Ying drank some water, went out to clean the yard, and sharpened his butcher knife and put it away.
When he finished his work and returned to the house, Lin Chuntao was still thinking about the package of needles and thread. He took a chair and sat down next to her.
"Still watching. If you like it, I'll do it for you in a few days."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, put the bag on her knees and gently spread it out, then tilted her head to look at Pei Ying beside her, only to see Pei Ying looking at her with loving eyes.
He has deep eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and distinct lip lines. In fact, Pei Ying's appearance is the type she likes, otherwise she would not have spotted him at first sight among so many people.
Lin Chuntao's mind was in turmoil.
Pei Ying's heart beat faster as he was being stared at, especially when Lin Chuntao turned around and caught his eye. She didn't shrink back or get shy, but instead stared at his eyebrows and examined him carefully. He thought of the situation in the yard that night and felt a little nervous.
He swallowed unconsciously, feeling his mouth dry, and it took him a long time to speak.
"Madam, you've been looking at me for so long, aren't you satisfied?"
As soon as he said this, his voice became hoarse, and Lin Chuntao turned around gently.
She tilted her head slightly, stretched out her index finger and gently slid it across his lips. At that moment, it seemed as if something exploded in his heart, making him tense up and unable to move.
"Your lip shape is pretty good." Lin Chuntao said softly.
The moment she finished speaking, Pei Ying's Adam's apple moved, and the finger that had just slid over slid back gently from the corner of his mouth, which made Pei Ying feel itchy. He grabbed her hand and was about to lean over when he heard the voices of Lin Qingqing and Lin Chunxing outside the yard.
The ambiguous atmosphere was interrupted, and the eyes of the two suddenly became clear. Pei Ying let go of Lin Chuntao's hand, and Lin Chuntao quickly got up and went out, turned and went into the next room.
"Sister, we're back!"
A crisp voice was heard, and Lin Chuntao put down her bag and walked out of the house. She saw Lin Chunxing and Lin Qingqing each holding a bundle of flowers and entering the yard.
Looking at the alpine rhododendrons in their arms, Lin Chuntao widened her eyes.
"Where did you pick these flowers? Why did you pick so many?"
Lin Qingqing smiled and said, "Sister Chuntao, we each only picked a handful, and as we walked, all of them ended up in Chunxing and I's hands."
After Lin Qingqing finished speaking, Lin Dongxue and Lin Chunhe, who were walking behind her, also came in. Their faces were flushed, perhaps because of the sun or because they were tired.
As soon as Lin Chunhe came in, she walked towards the water bucket, scooped a bucket of water into the bamboo tube, and drank it madly while holding the bamboo tube.
Fortunately, the water they drank was mountain spring water, which was not polluted and had a hint of sweetness.
Lin Qingqing and Lin Chunxing put all the flowers on the table. Lin Chuntao took a look and found that some were still buds, but some were already in full bloom.
Most of the flowers they picked today were alpine rhododendrons, with only a few camellias in between.
The alpine rhododendron has large flower clusters, especially the blooming rhododendrons. There are several small flowers on one branch, which look like tea cups or bells. In addition, this flower comes in many colors. The ones picked by Lin Chunxing and others today include white, red, and pink. No matter which color, Lin Chuntao likes them very much.
In contrast, camellias appear much more bland.
As she had nothing to do today, she went to the wall to find a few bamboo tubes and took out a sickle, preparing to cut the mouth of the bamboo tubes to hold water and use them to arrange flowers.
She had seen Pei Ying peeling the edge of a bamboo tube gently, as if peeling tofu. Why did it seem a bit strenuous for her to peel it?
Seeing how determined she was, Pei Ying walked over and took the bamboo tube and sickle from her hands.
"What shape do you want it to be?"
Lin Chuntao looked up at him and pointed at the mouth of the bamboo tube: "Just make this one rounder, and these two need to be cut shorter."
Pei Ying nodded, and Lin Chuntao whispered, "Thank you for your hard work."
After she finished speaking, Pei Ying's lips moved, with a faint smile on his face. He nodded lightly and took the things to the side to get some.
Lin Chuntao went to the table and separated out the flowers she wanted to arrange.
Pei Ying quickly carved the bamboo tubes and brought them to her.
She filled the bamboo tube with water, trimmed the branches they had picked with a sickle, and then inserted the flowers into the bamboo tube one by one and placed it on the window. The flowers on the green bamboo tube were tightly wrinkled. Lin Chuntao looked at it and smiled. Unexpectedly, the bamboo tube that was not used as a vase felt more fitting and more vibrant.
This yard seemed to have changed in an instant.
Lin Qingqing liked the flowers on the window very much. There were still some flowers left to be arranged, so she ran to pick up a bamboo tube and asked Lin Chuntao to help her arrange the remaining flowers, and then she took them back.
Lin Chuntao did not refuse. The bamboo tube she found was a bit thin, so Lin Chuntao went to find her another one and asked Pei Ying to help cut the mouth of the bamboo tube. Lin Chuntao picked the remaining flowers, trimmed the ones in better condition and inserted them into the bamboo tube.
After the flowers were arranged, Lin Qingqing's face was full of joy.
"Sister Chuntao, it looks much better now that you do it."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "This flower is beautiful. It will look good even if it is placed in a bamboo tube."
Lin Qingqing carefully picked up the bamboo tube and looked at it from front to back, then smiled and said, "That's different. Sister Chuntao looks good when she inserts it."
"I'll take this back later."
Lin Chuntao nodded, she carried the bamboo tube to the windowsill and put it down, then went to the yard with Lin Chunxing and the others to squat and play.
They played until the sun was about to set, and then they heard adults calling from the village, and then they went home with the flowers.
*
Today in the county government office, in the court.
The Qian family not only hired a lawyer, but also invited the doctor who treated Qian that day and the neighbors and passers-by who had witnessed the quarrel between the two families to serve as witnesses.
As for the scene of the beating, all the adults and children of the old Lin family were in the yard that day. Although the adults wanted to conceal the truth and wanted to say that Tian hit Qian Dingxiang in the stomach by hammering her accidentally, the children did not know how to lie. Guided by the lawyer, they asked out the truth in just a few words.
The case was tried quickly, the facts were clear, and the witness testimony was sufficient. Tian deliberately hit Qian Dingxiang's stomach, causing her miscarriage, and the fetus was already formed, which was a crime of abortion, and its nature was bad. However, considering the ethics of hierarchy, Tian was only sentenced to 80 strokes of the cane and one year in prison, which could be redeemed with copper. The execution will be carried out tomorrow.
Things have come to this point, Tian has been taken to prison, and the Lin family can go home to raise money. If they raise enough money and hand it over to the government before the execution, they can bring Tian back safely.
On the way back, everyone in the Lin family was silent. Even the children who were eager to eat mutton were frightened and grabbed the adults' clothes without saying a word.
It was almost evening, when the sun had already set, when they entered the village.
Lin Cunzheng looked at Old Man Lin, who had been silent all the way without saying a word, and sighed deeply.
They all have children and grandchildren. Even though Tian has many minor illnesses, she has spent half her life with Old Man Lin. In this family, if one of the elderly people passes away, half of the family will be broken up.
Lin Cunzheng didn't want his brother to be old and the family to fall apart. He had to find a way to get Tian back. He looked at Old Man Lin and said, "Go back and see how much money the family can scrape together. I'll also ask your eldest sister-in-law to see how much we can give you. If that's not enough, we can ask the second and third brothers and their families to see how much they can raise."
Old Man Lin nodded silently and returned home with his son and grandchildren.
They hadn't eaten since lunch and were starving. Zhang went into the kitchen, where the mutton was still in the basin. She put it on the shelf and fetched some cornmeal. She quickly made half a basketful of cornmeal pancakes. No one else sat at the table, but squatted or sat in the yard, devouring their food.
After eating the cornmeal cake, Zhang thought about the old lady who was still in jail. According to the village chief, they still had to raise money to redeem her. She and Tian were not only mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but her mother and Tian were sisters. She also called Tian her aunt, which was even closer. She brought out the mutton and looked at Old Man Lin and said, "Dad, let's not eat this mutton. I'll go ask if anyone in the village wants it and sell it to them. Any money we can get is good."
Old Man Lin looked up at Zhang, then looked at Lin Changhai.
Lin Changhai said calmly, "We'll figure out the money issue. Cook the meat tomorrow morning and we'll eat it together when we bring Mom back."
Zhang looked at her husband. Although she didn't know what they were going to do with the money, she could tell from his tone that he had made up his mind. So she said nothing more and took the meat back into the house.
Lin Cunzheng returned home hungry after a day of hunger. Sun was busy bringing out the meat cooked in the morning and heating it up, and then gave Lin Cunzheng some soup and rice to fill his stomach first.
After he had almost finished eating, Sun asked, "How is it? Have they come back?"
Lincunzheng shook his head, "Tian Shi didn't come back, but the others did."
"Was he thrown into jail?" asked Sun.
"Well, Tian was sentenced to eighty strokes of the cane and one year in prison."
Just as Lincun was finishing his words, Sun exclaimed, "How could it be so heavy?"
"The Qian family hired a skilled lawyer and even invited the doctor who had been there to testify. Qian's pregnancy is already well underway. According to the law, she would only be sentenced to three years in prison, but this is already an exceptional leniency."
After Lin Cunzheng finished speaking, he glanced at his children and grandchildren in the yard and said in a deep voice: "Don't say what I said tonight outside."
The adults all know this, especially the children.
When they heard what Grandpa said, they nodded in unison and replied, "Grandpa, we understand."
Lin Cun had just finished his meal when he called Sun into the house.
"How much money do we have left that we don't need right now?" Lin Cunzheng asked, and Sun frowned slightly. "What do you mean? Do you want to raise money for Lao Wu and the others?"
Lincunzheng then said, "The Tian family can redeem the copper. I have asked the fifth brother to see how much they have at home. Let's see how much we can gather. Then ask the second and third brothers to see if they can come up with it."
"How much do you need in total?"
Hayashimura said, "Forty to forty-five taels should be enough."
Sun frowned and looked at Lin Cunzheng, "We can pool the money, but not in this way. We need to first see how much Lao Wu and the others have and how much they still need so that we can pool our money."
"Of course. I just wanted to ask how much my family can raise for him."
Sun looked at Lin Cunzheng. The money they had to raise at this time would probably drain the entire family of the Lin family's fifth branch. And if they borrowed more, how could they possibly save forty or fifty taels of silver in this village, with only so much income each year?
Lin Cunzheng asked you to take the money, but don't expect Tian to pay it back after she comes back.
After pondering for a while, Sun and Lincunzheng said, "Three or five taels at most."
Lin Cunzheng looked at Sun.
Sun looked at him helplessly and said, "There's more money at home than this, but we have to save some. Will our family not need money in the future?"
Lin Cunzheng patted Sun's shoulder and nodded slightly. "I know. If we had given out the money before, we might have thought they would pay it back. But now they're fighting every other day. It's hard to pay back the money we put together. But I'm the eldest brother. I can't just watch the fifth brother's wife and children leave him."
Sun said, "It's good that you know."
"Don't ask the second and third brothers yet. Go to the fifth brother's house first to see how much they can come up with."
Lincunzheng said: "I'll go and talk to the second and third brothers first."
After saying this, Lin Cunzheng left. No one in the family had eaten dinner yet. Chen Dongniang watched her father-in-law leave and hurried to steam the rice. Coincidentally, Sun came out and asked in a low voice, "Mother, will Aunt Wu be able to come back?"
Sun shook her head slightly: "I don't know what your fifth uncle and the others are planning. If they have money, they should be able to come back."
"How much silver will it cost?"
Sun said, "Forty or fifty taels."
Chen Dongniang opened her mouth in shock. Forty or fifty taels, many people in the village could not save enough in their entire lives.
"Where can we get this?"
Sun said, "I don't know what your fifth uncle and the others are planning. How much money do they have? If they don't even have half of it, it will be difficult to raise the full amount."
Chen Dongniang listened to what Sun said and said, "Didn't Third Lin marry Qian, and the eldest and second sons of the Changhai family marry wives? They both spent a lot. I guess they don't have much money left."
Sun nodded thoughtfully.
Chen Dongniang continued, "If they still had money, the sisters-in-law wouldn't be so anxious to marry Xian'er off to Zhang Bao."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a while, and finally both let out a long sigh.
As the sky gradually darkened, the children of the Lin family were sent to bed by their parents. The adults were still sitting in the yard, silent.
Watching the moon climb up to the top of the tree, Old Man Lin put out the cigarette in his hand and said in a deep voice: "The eldest and the second brother stay, you all go to sleep."
Lin Changhe frowned. Today's situation turned out like this because of Qian's lawsuit. He didn't dare to open his mouth the whole day, for fear that if he spoke, all the resentment would be directed at him.
But the old lady was going to be executed tomorrow, and he had heard what the uncle had just said. He had to raise money to bring the old lady back. After the old man came back, he just sat in the yard and didn't even check how much money he had. How much was still missing so that they could go and borrow from others.
Without saying anything, let them go to sleep.
Could it be that he doesn't care whether the old lady lives or dies?
"Dad, what should we do about Mom? Aren't we going to raise money tonight?"
Old Man Lin looked up at Old Third Lin, then closed his eyes again.
"Raise money, where are you going to raise it? Who are you going to ask for it?"
Listening to Old Man Lin's cold words, Old Third Lin's eyes turned and he said, "I'll go ask that damn girl Chuntao for it. Her husband is a pig butcher in the county town, and he must have saved some money these days. Besides, that guy hasn't paid the betrothal gift yet, so he has to pay it!"
The moment these words were spoken, it seemed that everyone in the yard began to get angry.
Lin Changhai bit his back teeth tightly, and after enduring for a long time, he could no longer bear it. He said in a deep voice: "Okay, go! Go now! If it weren't for those bitches you gave birth to, would our family have become like this?"
"If you hadn't been hanging out with that widow, insisting she could give you a son, would she have come into our house? Would she have caused so much trouble?"
"You still have the nerve to say you're going to ask for money? If you were someone who could get even a penny, our family wouldn't have ended up like this!"
"If you can't manage your wife well and can't teach your daughter well, what's the point of you living except wasting food?"
Lin Changhai cursed loudly, while Lin Changhe huddled in the corner, not saying a word.
After cursing for a long time, Old Man Lin finally said, "Go to bed! Stop being an eyesore here."
Except for Lin Changhai and Lin Changbo, everyone else went into the house and lay down.
Only the father and his two sons were left in the empty yard.
Lin Changbo pursed his lips and asked in a low voice: "Dad, should we go get it now?"
Old Man Lin shook his head slightly. "Wait a little longer. Your uncle will probably come to our house again. Tell him before you go."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hayashi Mura Masaru arrived.
He looked at the empty yard where only the three of them were, and asked, "Where are the third and fourth brothers?"
Old Man Lin said, "I let them go to sleep. It's annoying to watch them."
Lincunzheng sighed, feeling annoyed.
"Have you checked how much money the family can come up with? I just talked to the second and third brothers and they can probably get some for you."
Old man Lin looked at Lin Cunzheng, who was over fifty years old and had many children and grandchildren, but he still made his eldest brother worry about him. He felt ashamed.
"Thank you, big brother. Please also thank my second brother and the others for me. We can collect enough money."
"Can you scrape together enough? Where does your family get so much money?"
Lin Cunzheng frowned, feeling doubtful. He said, "If we have difficulties, everyone can help us, but please don't go astray."
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