Chapter 38 Chapter 38 - Two-in-one Sister-in-law Tian, I let Brother Zhang...
The sisters agreed readily.
Lin Chuntao listened to the unanimous answer, she felt very happy and smiled.
Whether they can do it or not, the three sisters never refuse to do their own things.
Pei Ying cut the cloth very quickly. After he finished cutting, he took it out of the house and gave it to them respectively.
Although Lin Chuntao said she sewed her own, Pei Ying still asked, "Do you know how to sew?"
The sisters nodded, "Yes."
Pei Ying nodded slightly and went to help Lin Chuntao cook. Lin Chunxing went back to the house to get the needle and thread. After threading the needle, she began to stick the new cloth to the old clothes and then started sewing.
Pei Ying took a casual glance and his eyes widened.
He asked Lin Chuntao, "Sisters, is it okay to sew like that?"
Lin Chuntao also laughed after looking back. It would not only look ugly if all the threads were exposed, but they would also be easily scratched. If they were accidentally scratched by branches when entering the mountains, the cloth underneath would definitely be torn off.
Pei Ying looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "Go get your clothes and I'll teach them."
Lin Chuntao put down her things and went into the house to take out her washed linen clothes.
Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Chunxing and the others and said, "You guys can't sew that. Wait a minute, learn how to sew from your brother-in-law."
When Pei Ying went to get the needle and thread, her sisters had already undone the stitches they had just sewn and were sitting on the stools waiting obediently.
He taught them how to turn old clothes inside out, and how to join and sew two pieces of cloth together so that the marks would not be obvious. The sisters learned very seriously and sewed very seriously. It was not until Lin Chuntao started to stir-fry the pork with chili peppers and the aroma filled the whole yard that they all looked up.
"Sister, is it time to eat?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, "Okay, clean up, wash your hands and eat."
For dinner, Lin Chuntao stir-fried cabbage and meat with chili peppers.
After eating for so many days, Lin Chuntao has figured out how everyone eats vegetables and meals. There is no need for too many vegetables. If there is fried meat or scrambled eggs, the amount of vegetables must be larger to make it enough to eat.
It was the fragrant fried pork with chili peppers again. Lin Duoer talked about the dishes for the lunch banquet.
"I don't know who prepared the banquet for Sister Qiao'er's family. The pig liver wasn't tasty. It felt like a waste."
As soon as Lin Duo'er finished speaking, Lin Chunhe said, "You are stupid. They did it on purpose."
Lin Duoer's face was full of confusion.
"Why do that? No one wants to eat it anymore."
Lin Chunhe said, "We haven't often gone out to eat together. Qingqing said that almost every family does that. If no one eats, there's no need to buy a lot of food."
Lin Duoer tilted her head and thought about it, it seemed to make sense.
Seeing her sister's expression, Lin Chuntao said softly, "It's because we're all too poor now. We don't have enough money for luxurious meals, but we have to hold this feast. So, of course, we have to have these meat dishes to make it look good. This is a big happy occasion, and the host family certainly hopes that everyone will eat and drink well. Don't make malicious assumptions about the host family."
The sisters nodded obediently when they heard this.
But when Lin Duoer thought about the pig liver and recalled what Lin Chuntao had made before, she still felt that it was a waste. Something so delicious had to be made into something unpalatable just to make it look good. It was not cost-effective.
After dinner, they were busy sewing clothes and left the cleaning to Lin Chuntao.
Everyone took their stools and went to the yard. Lin Chuntao washed the dishes and pots, while Pei Ying taught her sisters while sewing Lin Chuntao's own.
After sitting for a while, Lin Chunxing suddenly remembered what Lin Qingqing said during the day.
"Sister, Qingqing asked us today where our clothes were made. She said they were very beautiful and that she wanted her mother to buy some cloth for us to make during the Chinese New Year."
Lin Chuntao looked at Pei Ying and said with a smile, "Just tell Qingqing that any tailor can make it. If she likes our style, just tell her to tell the tailor when the time comes."
Lin Chunxing nodded and said, "Okay, then tell me this next time she asks me."
It was just a matter of making the clothes and pants a little longer. There was no need to sew too much. When the moon climbed to the roof, the few people completed the task and went home.
Lin Chunhe smiled and said, "I have to go change it and give it a try."
As he said that, he trotted into the house and quickly came out changed.
The sleeves are of normal length, and there is still a little bit of disharmony. After all, it is a small size dress that has been lengthened, which makes the lapel a little thin. But it is much better than holding it halfway before.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's okay, just wear it for now."
"Then we'll wear this when we go into the mountains, and wear new clothes when we don't." Lin Duo'er's eyes lit up after she finished speaking, and she smiled, "Hey, now we have two sets of clothes, right?"
When Lin Chuntao heard her words, she curled the corners of her lips.
"Well, that's two sets of clothes."
At the hour of Yin the next day, Lin Chuntao woke up naturally.
As soon as she sat up in the dark, she heard the system begin to broadcast: "Host, there are a lot of broom fungi eight miles away today."
Lin Chuntao listened to the interjections in its report and said with a smile, "Are you in a good mood today?"
“My mood is the same every day.”
Lin Chuntao shook her head helplessly. "You keep reporting at the exact same time every day. When the mushrooms are gone, you won't report anymore. What should I do if I can't get used to it?"
"Host, you can also take the initiative to find me. I can wake you up the next day as usual. Besides, when it snows heavily in winter, I will notify you to go hunting. Hare and pheasant are both fine."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I don't know how to do that."
"Host, someone around you knows how to do it. Just follow them and catch them and give them to you."
Hearing what it said, Lin Chuntao laughed.
"That's a really clever idea of yours."
"Thank you, host. I am indeed very smart."
They chatted back and forth, and when Lin Chuntao got up and went out, Pei Ying was already at the door.
She looked up at the sky. The moon was still there, but dark clouds were rolling in. Pei Ying also looked up and said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid it will rain today."
"It's possible. Let's hurry up and pick the mushrooms first. If it rains heavily, we can carry them back to eat. If it doesn't rain, we can carry them to sell."
Pei Ying nodded, helped her carry the backpack and bamboo basket, and the two of them walked out of the yard together.
Halfway through, the moon hid in the clouds and it suddenly became dark.
Pei Ying took out a tinderbox and handed it to Lin Chuntao, "Take this with you, it'll be useful if it gets too dark."
Lin Chuntao took it and asked, "Do you have any more?"
"There's one more."
She thought that if Pei Ying didn't have her, she would return it to him. The system's guidance arrow was bright, but Pei Ying couldn't see it. She didn't actually need any fire starter.
But since he gave it to her, she should accept it.
When they reached the fork in the road, Lin Chuntao went into the mountains with her backpack, while Pei Ying walked towards the county town.
The broom mushrooms reported by the system were in a pine forest. Broom mushrooms are also called coral mushrooms. There are a lot of them as long as you find them. They are larger than single mushrooms and not easy to break. After picking up the broom mushrooms, it was still dark and the backpack was not full yet. Lin Chuntao asked the system to continue to illuminate her, and she continued to look for mushrooms in the mountains with her back bent.
By the time daybreak came, Lin Chuntao had already climbed to the top of another hill.
Her backpack was full and her bamboo basket was full too.
Most of the baskets are filled with coral fungi, and the rest are some blue-headed fungi, milk fungi and the like.
It was still early when she arrived at the market, so she sorted the mushrooms on the backpack and in the bamboo basket and piled them up according to categories.
Aunt Guizhi came just as I finished.
"Chun Tao, why are you here so early today? I was looking all the way, wondering if I could see you."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I saw that the weather was not very good, so I hurried."
As she spoke, she went over to help lead the mule and asked Aunt Guizhi to unload the mule cart.
After putting down the mule cart, Aunt Guizhi pulled the mule over and tied it to the pillar at the back.
The two of them put the vegetables into the basket together. Lin Chuntao smiled as she packed, "I went to the fields yesterday and saw that the vegetables I planted have sprouted. I estimate that we will be able to eat them in a month or so."
Aunt Guizhi asked in surprise, "I was so busy that I forgot to ask you, what vegetables did you grow?"
"I've planted some bamboo shoots, cabbage, pumpkin, cucumber, red onion, carrots, and peppers."
"You also planted peppers. It's a little late, and I can't sell all the peppers. When they are red, you can pick them and take them back to dry."
Hearing Aunt Guizhi's words, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I want to make some sauce in a few days. Call me when you pick them, Auntie."
"Okay, I'll call you then."
After the two of them finished their work, more and more people came to the market, and some regular customers came to visit.
Lin Chuntao sells mushrooms and Aunt Guizhi sells bamboo basket vegetables. People who often come to the market are already familiar with the places and just come to buy when they need them.
This morning, Lin Chuntao and Aunt Guizhi were selling mushrooms and vegetables respectively. They both had good business every time. Fortunately, Aunt Guizhi only sold a little every day. She was not greedy, otherwise she would easily be envied by those who sold vegetables in the market.
When they learned that the basket of vegetables could be sold for twenty-five cents, they also learned to make it, but almost no one bought it because they said they didn't need so many vegetables.
Some people were curious and came to Aunt Guizhi's stall to buy a basket, only to find that her basket contained a little of everything, but not much of anything, and was not worth twenty-five cents at all. They realized their problem: there were not so many varieties of vegetables, and the basket was not worth enough.
Some people think about planting all kinds of vegetables next time, while some people are unkind and start to criticize customers when they mention the vegetables in the bamboo basket, saying that they have lost money and it is not worth it.
When the aunt selling mutton patties talked about this with Lin Chuntao and the others, Aunt Guizhi was still a little unhappy. Lin Chuntao looked at the aunt and said, "I guess this customer didn't buy anything from that person?"
The old lady's eyes lit up and she smiled, "Young lady, how did you know that? You seem a little unhappy. The vendor was even angry. He said that he didn't appreciate the kindness he gave him and that he deserved to be cheated."
Lin Chuntao couldn't help laughing, and Aunt Guizhi looked at her in confusion.
"How did you guess that, girl?"
"Just a wild guess," Lin Chuntao replied casually with a smile. It wasn't until the two of them packed up their stall and left that Aunt Guizhi asked her, "You didn't tell the truth to that lady just now, did you?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said to Aunt Guizhi, "It was indeed a guess, but people have strange mindsets. I can feel that I've lost out and feel bad about myself, but others can't say that. After being told that I've lost out, I actually hate the person who said it."
Aunt Guizhi listened to Lin Chuntao's words and whispered, "But what that person said is also true. If you calculate carefully, it's still a loss."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Aunt, that's not how it's calculated. There are a lot of people at the market in the morning, but most of them come with a purpose, not just to stroll around. After buying vegetables, some women have to go back to cook. They buy a little here, a little there, and when they get home they realize they forgot to buy some onion, ginger, or garlic, and they might get upset. But your basket has everything, so it saves you a lot of trouble. And who made her save trouble and effort? It's you! Is any vegetable in your basket enough to make a stir-fry? Of course, it's enough, and there won't be any waste. No waste means saving money!"
Aunt Guizhi was stunned by Lin Chuntao's righteous words.
She whispered, "To be honest, I've always felt really undervalued for selling this basket of vegetables at this price."
Lin Chuntao smiled and replied, "Indeed, we have provided them with convenience."
Aunt Guizhi was persuaded by Lin Chuntao.
"Do you want to go find Xiao Pei?" Aunt Guizhi asked her after they returned the scales.
"Yes."
Aunt Guizhi said, "Then you go. I won't accompany you. I need to go to the cloth shop."
"You want to buy some cloth?"
Aunt Guizhi nodded and said, "Your sister Shuilian, I haven't seen her since I got better. I thought of buying a piece of cloth to make a set of clothes for her."
"Then I'll go with you."
"No need, go find Xiao Pei."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "He's busy too. I just thought that there isn't much going on at home recently, so I'll go buy cloth with you when he gets home."
Aunt Guizhi took her arm and patted the back of her hand.
"Okay, then help me choose a color."
Aunt Guizhi originally had a son and a daughter, the son was the eldest and the daughter was the second.
I heard that there was a disturbance in the village a few years ago, so the child was sent away. Originally, he was to be sent to live with a relative, but he was raised as someone else's child. Aunt Guizhi and her husband went to pick him up, but the child despised his father for being mute and refused to come back.
Lin Shan listened to his son's harsh words and came back with Aunt Guizhi.
Since they didn’t want their son anymore, they had another one.
But later on, they were not destined to have children and never got pregnant again. So they raised a daughter. The daughter looked like her father and could not speak. When she was still young, they were afraid that she would not be able to find a good family in the future, so they arranged a marriage for her early on and got her married when she was old enough.
Now the children are four or five years old.
When they arrived at the cloth shop, Aunt Guizhi said Shuilian liked purple the best, so she chose smoky purple cotton cloth.
After buying the cloth, Aunt Guizhi drove the mule cart home, and Lin Chuntao went to find Pei Ying.
At this time, Zhang Bao was buying meat at the meat stall. He wanted to buy a rib. After hearing this, Pei Ying took a knife and started cutting the meat. He cut off a rib with the meat and handed it to Helan Cheng.
As soon as the meat was handed over, Zhang Bao pointed at Pei Ying and said with surprise, "Hey, you're working here?"
Helan also raised his eyebrows slightly, then looked at Pei Ying.
Pei Ying recognized him as the man who went to the Lin family to propose marriage that day.
But he looked at Helan and shook his head, "I don't know him."
Zhang Bao thought Pei Ying had forgotten, so he reminded him, "You don't remember me? It was me who went to the Lin family to propose marriage last time, Zhang Bao."
"We'll go to your house soon. When you leave, I'll take you back in a donkey cart."
Pei Ying frowned and said calmly, "You've got the wrong person, haven't you? I don't know you."
Zhang Bao looked at him with a cold expression, his face darkening slightly, and he seemed unwilling to give up.
"You young man, you're still pretending not to know me. Lin Xian'er is your aunt, right? I might even be your uncle-in-law in the future."
"I don't know him."
Zhang Bao snorted disdainfully, and listened to Helan's words as to the weight and the price. He counted the money and handed it to Helan, then looked at Pei Ying deeply before carrying the meat away.
After taking two steps, he met Lin Chuntao walking towards him.
Zhang Bao frowned and looked at her, then turned back to look at Pei Ying.
"Are you Lin Xian'er's niece?" Zhang Bao asked.
Lin Chuntao looked at Zhang Bao, who was carrying a piece of meat, and replied calmly, "You've got the wrong person. I'm not him."
Zhang Bao hissed coldly, his face full of confusion and displeasure.
"What's wrong with you Lin family? On one hand, you're hinting at me buying meat and cloth to propose marriage, and on the other hand, you're pretending not to know me when we meet outside!"
Lin Chuntao frowned, suggesting buying meat and cloth to propose marriage? Who in the Lin family came up with this wicked idea?
"We have severed ties with the Lin family. It doesn't matter."
Zhang Bao frowned, his face full of disbelief.
"Sever ties?"
"A few little brats had a conflict with their family and cut off all ties? How could their parents just cut off ties with them?" Zhang Bao muttered and turned to leave, but the people around him looked at Lin Chuntao with curiosity.
As they got closer, Helan asked in a low voice, "What's going on? Are you looking for trouble?"
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "It's my stepmother's fault. This man has set his sights on my aunt, but the old lady disapproves of him because of his age. Shouldn't I go back home to mediate again?"
Her previous sentence was vague, but Helan was also a woman, so she understood it immediately. Was this because the stepmother wanted to marry them off after entering the house?
"I remember you said you had several sisters?"
Lin Chuntao nodded. "Yes, I have three younger sisters, but it doesn't matter. We have separated and have separate household registrations. It won't affect us at all."
He Lan was obviously relieved when he heard this and smiled, "That's good."
While they were still talking, Little Bell ran out of the house.
"Sister Chuntao, you're here."
Lin Chuntao looked at her and asked with a smile, "You didn't go out to play?"
"I'm waiting for you today."
Helan laughed beside him and said, "This little girl has been asking why you haven't come yet all morning."
Lin Chuntao looked at the little girl and smiled, "Go get a colander. I picked up some beautiful coral mushrooms this morning. I'll have your mother fry them for you later."
"Wow, what are coral fungi?" Little Bell asked curiously. Lin Chuntao urged, "Bring out the colander and take a look."
The little girl ran into the house and quickly came out with a colander.
Lin Chuntao picked up the broom mushrooms from the backpack and put them in the colander. Little Lingling squatted beside her and stared at the mushroom. There were many small branches on the mushroom plant, and the tips were a little red. She exclaimed, "It looks like a pink tree."
Lin Chuntao looked at her sparkling eyes and knew that the little girl really liked it.
After she finished picking up the things, Lin Chuntao asked her to take them back to the house. Helan said, "Mrs. Lin, why did you bring so much? I'll give you some money."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's enough to make a stir-fry. I thought the coral fungus looked pretty and Xiao Lingling might like it, so I left some for her. It's just our friendship playing with stones. What if I charge her for it? Don't give it to me."
Helan had grabbed all the copper coins, but put them back after hearing what she said. Just then, Xiao Lingdang came out of the house. Helan said, "Xiao Lingdang, your Aunt Lin gave you something. Don't you want to thank her?"
"Thank you, Sister Chuntao."
Lin Chuntao smiled and patted her head, "You're welcome."
Helan was helpless and looked at Xiao Lingling and said, "Call her Aunt Lin."
"I want to call Chuntao sister."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, call me whatever you like."
Helan said, "Sister, don't spoil her. It's confusing the generations."
Lin Chuntao looked at Helan and said, "It doesn't affect us. Let's discuss our own affairs."
Helan couldn't help but smile bitterly at Lin Chuntao's casualness as he saw the two of them squatting down to play with stones again.
After staying for a while, there were fewer people in the market and the meat for the day was sold out, so Helan closed his stall.
Pei Ying had saved two pounds of front leg meat early today, four parts fat and six parts lean.
This morning they were having mutton noodles again. They all bought them in pots, and the shopkeeper gave them cheap prices. He liked the noodles very much, but he couldn't stand the mutton taste all the time.
Thinking about the taste of what Lin Chuntao made yesterday, he felt like eating it.
"Let's go buy a few more pounds of soya powder."
Lin Chuntao had the same idea. Yesterday, Lin Duoer said she wanted to eat more, so she planned to buy two more kilograms.
Near the Suofen shop, Pei Ying looked at Lin Chuntao several times and seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
Lin Chuntao raised her eyebrows: "What's the matter?"
"I have something to trouble you, ma'am."
He said it politely. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Why are you so polite? Just tell me what you want to say."
Pei Ying said, "I think the noodles your wife cooked yesterday are better than the mutton noodles. Recently, Lao Zhang and Lao Zhao have both treated me to breakfast while I'm working in the shop. Could you please help me cook a clay pot tomorrow so I can bring it to the shop for breakfast?"
Hearing this, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You're so serious, I thought it was something serious. What's the big deal? Just buy enough noodles. I'll make the soup and boil the noodles tomorrow morning, and you can bring them to the shop."
Lin Chuntao agreed, and Pei Ying smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my lady."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Don't be so polite."
Pei Ying wasn't a good cook, so he mostly ate Lin Chuntao's meals at home. It would have been fine if he'd just eaten, but since he was inviting people to dinner and had to bother Lin Chuntao with the cooking, he naturally had to get her permission first.
After hearing Chuntao's agreement, he directly bought six kilograms of noodles.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Didn't Chunxing want to learn how to make it and sell it at the market? It's a good opportunity for you to let them taste it and see how they react."
Pei Ying smiled and nodded.
When the two walked back to the village entrance, they met Zhang Bao and Qian the matchmaker sitting on a donkey cart.
As soon as the matchmaker saw Lin Chuntao, she asked loudly, "Chuntao girl, have you picked any mushrooms recently?"
Lin Chuntao replied, "Yes, but they're sold out."
"Oh, you're carrying it all the way to the county town to sell it?"
"If you can save two pounds for me tomorrow, I'll go to the market to get them."
The old lady wanted to buy something from her, and Lin Chuntao was still friendly and responded softly, "Okay, old lady, you have to come earlier. I usually go home after I finish selling."
"Where are you setting up your stall?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's not fixed. We'll just set up wherever there's room."
"Then I'll find you tomorrow morning."
After the old lady finished speaking, several people entered the village together. When they arrived at the gate of the Lin family's courtyard, Zhang Bao got off the donkey cart. He saw that Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying did not stop at all and went straight through the gate.
Zhang Bao frowned slightly: "This..."
Matchmaker Qian said in a deep voice, "The family has split up, and they went there alone."
As for the reason, Matchmaker Qian didn't say, she just said, "Hurry up and get your things and knock on the door."
The fight yesterday broke the morale of the Lin family.
In broad daylight, the whole family was sitting and lying down. Except for a few children who carried baskets on their backs to go up the mountain to collect firewood and cut grass for pigs, the adults were lazy and listless at home.
Tian went in and out cursing, but no one paid any attention to her.
There was a knock on the door, which sounded repeatedly, but no one got up to open the door. After a while, Yang's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she realized something, and she hurried over to open the door.
When they opened the gate, they saw Zhang Bao and Qian the matchmaker.
She looked at the meat and cloth in Zhang Bao's hands, and welcomed him in with a smile.
Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, everyone sitting or lying down in the house came out. Matchmaker Qian greeted the Lin family enthusiastically, "Is everyone here?"
Tian was in the backyard. Hearing this familiar voice that disgusted her, she quickly rushed out from the backyard. Before she could finish scolding Matchmaker Qian, she heard Matchmaker Qian calling her enthusiastically: "Sister-in-law Tian, I asked the Zhang brothers to send some gifts to honor you today."
Tian looked at the things in Zhang Bao's hand, which contained meat, cloth and snacks.
Seeing the children in the yard and the daughters-in-law with shining eyes, she was furious and cursed: "I have children and grandchildren, I don't need anyone to respect me! Get out!"
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