Chapter 69 Chapter 69 - Two-in-one Gray Fungus
The sisters' eyes were sparkling and full of anticipation.
This was an egg, but not the boiled egg they had eaten before. The peeled egg was difficult to pick up with chopsticks. Lin Duoer tried twice but failed. Lin Chunxing got up to get a spoon and each of them took a bite of one.
The egg is already cold, but it doesn't seem to matter.
The brine soaked through the eggs, and the originally tasteless egg whites became somewhat fragrant. The egg yolks that originally had a slight fishy smell no longer had that smell. Lin Chuntao added a lot of chili peppers, and the eggs had a little spicy taste when they put them in. They had eaten scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, and candied eggs before, but they had never thought that eggs could be eaten braised like this.
After eating one after another, Lin Duoer felt that she wanted to eat more, but Lin Chunxing no longer let her.
"Cook a few more for yourself tomorrow, and we can sell the rest tomorrow."
Hearing this, Lin Duoer giggled and nodded.
When rural people go out, they either eat pancakes or steamed buns. Yizhou is rich in potatoes and sweet potatoes, so they will cook a bag of potatoes and eat them even when they are cold.
In the past, Pei Ying followed his master out of town to the village to buy pigs. His master's wife felt sorry for them, so she would cook a bag of eggs every time they went out.
The eggs have a strong smell when they are cold, and the fishy smell will linger for a long time after eating. They often go out and eat them frequently, so they get tired of them after eating them for a while.
Today, seeing his sisters praising the food, he started to eat it too. He was addicted to the braised eggs and wanted to eat another one after finishing one.
The fishy smell is covered by the marinade, but the taste is still there, the egg white is chewy and the egg yolk is soft and fluffy.
Lin Chunhe sighed beside her, "This boiled egg just passed through my sister's hands and turned into a spicy braised egg. It's so delicious!"
Pei Ying also curled his lips and smiled when he heard this.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Eggs are delicious, but you can't eat too many in one day. If you like, you can cook a few every day. It's very simple."
Lin Chunhe nodded. She watched Lin Chuntao do it today and she has almost learned it. She can just wait and do it later.
Before the hour of Yin the next day, Lin Chuntao was woken up by the system, which kept reporting the location of the gray fungus.
There was a promotion at the noodle stall today, and she wanted to go there with Lin Chunxing to run the stall. Now that there was a report of mushrooms, and they were gray mushrooms, she hadn't picked up any gray mushrooms this year. This mushroom was like a chicken mushroom, only appearing occasionally, and it was not easy to come across on weekdays. Since the system had reported it, she must go and pick it up, and she didn't have to sell it. The fried mushroom oil was also very fragrant.
As soon as she sat up, she heard some noise coming from next door. It seemed that Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe were talking.
When Pei Ying saw her stand up, he also sat up.
"Hasn't the rooster crowed yet?"
Lin Chuntao replied, "Well, not yet. I'm going into the mountains to pick mushrooms. You can help Chunxing and the others carry their things later."
Pei Ying nodded. Carrying things was a piece of cake. But picking mushrooms in the mountains and selling them in soup noodles at the market was too tiring for Lin Chuntao.
"Aren't you busy with your stall today? If you're too busy, don't go pick up the mushrooms."
Lin Chuntao smiled. She made money from selling noodle soup, but she couldn't earn any points. In addition to making money, she also had to earn points to exchange for things. Even if she didn't use them now, she would be able to use them in the future.
"I'll go first. After picking mushrooms, I'll go directly to the county town."
Lin Chuntao had her own idea, and Pei Ying had no choice but to agree.
There are many mushrooms in the mountains in the past two months, and people in the village often go into the mountains to pick mushrooms. He has encountered quite a few of them going back and forth, but at the same time he also saw that the mushrooms picked by the villagers in the mountains were mixed with various kinds of mushrooms, and they couldn't pick up many. Some people were lucky and picked up a bamboo basket and were very happy.
Lin Chuntao seemed different from them, but Pei Ying couldn't tell why.
Lin Chuntao helped put the things together to prevent Lin Chunxing and the others from missing anything. After explaining everything to Lin Chunxing, she carried the basket on her back and left the house.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, a half moon hangs high in the sky, and the night wind rustles the corn leaves on the roadside.
Time flies. After August 15th, everyone will be busy with the autumn harvest. With less rain, the mushrooms in the mountains will gradually become less, and it may be that there will be no mushrooms to pick up. She pondered and opened the seed area of the control panel. In addition to crop seeds, there are also various types of mushrooms. She has become a familiar face selling mushrooms at the market this summer. Since she can't pick wild mushrooms in winter, she wondered if she could grow mushrooms so that she can continue to sell them.
There are too many things going on right now and she is too busy to handle it, so the thought just flashed through her mind.
The ash mushroom had a slender stem and an umbrella-like cap with a thin tip, making it more prone to breaking than the blue-headed mushrooms. She padded the bottom of her backpack with fallen leaves and walked halfway up the mountain, collecting a shallow basket. By the time she finished, daybreak was almost here. Lin Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly headed down the mountain toward the county town.
When Lin Chuntao arrived, it was already bright. People who were going to the early market had already arrived one after another. Many women with children went straight to the soup noodle stall as soon as they entered the market.
When Lin Chuntao arrived, the stall was crowded with people and noodles were already being cooked on the clay stove. Lin Chuntao carried the mushrooms directly into Helan's house, put them down, went to the backyard to wash her hands and then came out to help.
When she left, she saw an old lady frowning and saying unhappily, "Didn't you say you'd give me some braised eggs? Why are you still buying me some noodle soup? Ten cents a bowl isn't cheap!"
"We came here because the kids told us we were going to give out marinated eggs!"
Two old ladies nearby also echoed, "That's right!"
The old ladies were so loud that Lin Chunxing was speechless for a moment. Lin Chuntao happened to come up from behind and smiled at the old ladies. "Aunties, we're giving these braised eggs away for free! We don't charge for them! We're giving them away to thank the customers who eat our noodle soup!"
The old lady naturally knew that there was nothing free in this world, but when she came here and saw that they were a few little girls, she wanted to take the opportunity to play tricks and see if she could get a few eggs for free.
Hearing Lin Chuntao say this, her face turned red.
"Then the shopkeeper lady must make it clear. This kid will go back and tell us that we will deliver eggs for three consecutive days, today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
Seeing that she was taking advantage of the situation, Lin Chuntao also played dumb and agreed: "Yes, the child didn't explain it clearly! We eat noodle soup with a braised egg!"
"I use a variety of spices to braise the fragrant braised eggs. They are as delicious as braised meat. Today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, eat the soup noodles and get a free fragrant braised egg. After three days, we will charge you. Three cents for one egg, five cents for two!"
The people present hissed coldly at the words. An egg cost three cents. "Boss, this is too expensive! An egg is only one cent!"
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Eggs are only a penny, and spices are expensive! Buying spices to braise a few eggs is not cost-effective, but buying one or two is more convenient for everyone!"
After he finished speaking, many people behind him nodded in agreement.
She said loudly, "Today's noodle soup is still ten cents a bowl, and each bowl comes with a free braised egg. Everyone is welcome to try it! It's first come, first served. Once the braised eggs are gone, there will be no more. Customers who want to eat noodles, please line up here to get a number."
As they were talking, the four bowls of food that had been cooked earlier were ready. Lin Chunxing took out four eggs from the jar and put one in each bowl. The eggs took on the color of the marinade. The children were so greedy that they pulled the adults' hands and urged them to buy some.
Lin Chunhe served it to the four guests who had sat down earlier.
Lin Chuntao had seen the two young ladies and two young men several times, and listening to their conversation, they sounded like cousins.
Several of them liked the noodle soup very much. When they heard that a braised egg was available for free, they made an appointment to sneak out early and come for breakfast.
As soon as the soup noodles were served, several people stared at the tea-brown egg in the bowl. It was difficult to pick up, so they quickly inserted their chopsticks into the egg, poked it up and took a bite. As they chewed, they looked at each other and showed happy expressions.
"Brother, this egg is delicious! It's even a little spicy!"
The young man who was called brother also nodded and looked at the two sisters beside him. "What do you think, sisters?"
The young girl also replied, "This is much better than the fried eggs my cook makes back home." She looked at the young man who asked the question and whispered, "Brother, ask the shopkeeper if you can sell us a few to take back home?"
Although they spoke in a low voice, Lin Chuntao and the other guests beside them heard it. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Young Master, we won't be selling braised eggs for the next three days. If you like, come back tomorrow. We won't start selling them until the 17th."
The young man nodded, but he really wanted to eat more, so he asked, "If I cook the noodles and take them home, will you still give them away?"
Lin Chuntao said, "It's a gift."
After saying that, the two of them slurped up their noodles and ran away, saying before leaving: "Boss, leave eight for us, we will be back soon."
Lin Chuntao agreed with a smile.
Watching them run away, the people watching in front of the stall also started to order noodles. Lin Chuntao collected money and gave number tags. In a blink of an eye, more than a dozen number tags were sold. Fortunately, the bone soup was boiled in the house, and the noodles were cooked quickly with four fires working together.
Lin Chuntao asked Aunt Guizhi to make a bamboo tray. At this time, Lin Duoer and Lin Chunhe were using the tray to serve noodles to the guests, which was faster than serving them in bowls.
After eating this braised egg, many people want to eat more. Children are okay, they are almost full after eating some noodles and then an egg. Adults are more greedy than children.
After the guests finished eating, Lin Chuntao went over to help collect the dishes and wash them.
That morning, long lines formed in front of the meat stall and the noodle soup stall, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding shops. The owner of the sweet soup stall next to the butcher shop looked at Helan and Lin Chuntao standing side by side and said sourly, "Oh, the money on this whole street is made by the two of you!"
Helan laughed and said, "Manager Fu, you're joking. I only make money from the pork, and Madam Lin only makes money from the soup noodles. We can't make money from the sweet soup."
The shopkeeper curled his lips and walked away with a forced smile.
Chai Xingyu and Guo Jixiang came together today. The mother and son looked at the small stall which was busy with work. There was surprise in Chai Xingyu's eyes, while Guo Jixiang was a little surprised.
Chai Xingyu thought that the braised eggs must be delicious, while Guo Jixiang felt that Lin Chuntao and her sisters had a good business sense. Such a small stall, with just one braised egg, attracted a long line in front of it.
Chai Xingyu rejected them arranging a marriage for him, but he was not opposed to contacting Lin Chuntao and others. Guo Jixiang thought in her heart, if people fell in love in advance, it couldn't be arranged by them, right?
After she figured it out, she followed Chai Xingyu. Occasionally, when she saw that he hadn't visited Lin Chuntao and the others for several days, she would ask him.
This time, when Guo Jixiang heard that Lin Chuntao had made braised eggs and was giving them away for free to people eating soup noodles, she took this opportunity to call Chai Xingyu to come and eat together.
Seeing the two of them, Lin Chuntao called out, "Madam, how did you find time to come over?"
Guo Jixiang laughed and said, "I heard this brat say that you guys made something new, so I followed him here to join in the fun."
Lin Chuntao was very busy, and Helan was almost done. Since Chunzi and Pei Ying were there, she could take a break. She invited the mother and son into the house and went upstairs to have tea.
Lin Chuntao took the opportunity to cook three bowls, put two braised eggs in another bowl, and asked Lin Chunhe to serve it.
Helan had met Lin Chunhe several times, but this was the first time he met Guo Jixiang.
She greeted the three of them calmly, served them the noodles, put down her chopsticks, and said, "Manager He and Madam, enjoy your meal. Call me if you need anything."
Guo Jixiang nodded. After Lin Chunhe left, she and Helan said, "Is this Madam Lin's third sister?"
"Yes, her name is Chunhe."
Guo Jixiang said: "The little girl seems neither humble nor arrogant."
Helan nodded. Lin Chunhe gave her the impression that she didn't talk much, but she wasn't completely silent either. She seemed very steady. She even felt that she was a little more composed than the Second Lady.
Guo Jixiang looked down from upstairs at the four busy sisters. Although the sisters had different personalities, they all knew their limits and knew when to advance and retreat. She felt this was very rare. She glanced sideways at Chai Xingyu who was concentrating on preparing to eat beside her, but her mind remained unchanged.
They have all eaten this soup noodle, and today they mainly want to try the braised eggs.
Helan was pleasantly surprised after taking a bite. Many children would definitely like this taste, and it would be perfect to sell it on a market stall.
Guo Jixiang was amazed after tasting it. She was worthy of being Lin Chuntao. Just one egg could attract a large number of customers to her stall. The taste must have required some skill.
Although she liked it, Guo Jixiang acted calm in front of Helan. However, Chai Xingyu ate it and praised it again and again: "Sister Chuntao's cooking skills are really good. I think in a few days, all the children in the market will come to buy it with copper coins."
Helan smiled and said, "This taste is really suitable for people of all ages. Madam Lin's noodle stall will have even better business in the future."
Guo Jixiang also echoed: "Mrs. Lin is really skillful."
The three of them ate and chatted. When they finished eating, Lin Chuntao and the others were still busy, so Chai Xingyu asked Sanbao to bring the bowls down to Lin Chuntao and the others.
When Lin Chuntao saw Sanbao, she asked, "Sanbao, are you free to eat now? If you are, I'll cook you a bowl."
Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Sanbao was touched, but he waved his hand. Lin Chuntao thought that Guo Jixiang was there, so she said, "Then you and Ayu should come early to eat tomorrow."
Sanbao nodded, "Thank you, my lady."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You and Ayu are like brothers, why are you being so polite to me?"
Sanbao saw Lin Chuntao and the others busy washing dishes, and the water in the bucket was almost gone, so he asked, "Madam, do you need some water?"
Lin Chuntao glanced at the bucket and saw that it was empty. Then, after hearing Sanbao's question, she said bluntly, "Yes."
Sanbao asked, "Is it the one next to the stove in the house?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, and Sanbao said, "Then I'll help my wife carry out two buckets."
As he spoke, he carried the wooden bucket into the house, filled it from the water tank, and then carried it out. After putting it away, she asked Lin Chuntao, "Madam, did you draw this water from the well at Manager He's house?"
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, and he said, "Then from now on, when you need to buy water, you can tell me. I have an uncle who pulls a water cart in the city, and he can give you a discount."
"Okay! I didn't have any acquaintances before, and Shopkeeper He said he would borrow money from her first. If you need anything in the future, I'll tell you."
Guo Jixiang and the others left after a short while. Chai Xingyu took advantage of the time when Madam Guo and Helan were exchanging pleasantries to whisper to Lin Chuntao, "Sister, we have to wait a few days for what we discussed a few days ago."
Lin Chuntao said, "It's okay, don't worry, just take your time."
Today Lin Chuntao and the others are much busier than before. Fortunately, Lin Chunhe is very organized in helping them and knows what to do without them having to tell her.
It was almost 9:00 a.m. and the market was crowded with people. Lin Chuntao then remembered that she had not sold the basket of mushrooms yet. She quickly took it out and shouted that she was selling mushrooms. Those who were waiting nearby with signs immediately crowded over.
"Ouch, gray fungus!"
"so much?"
"Madam, how much is this per pound?"
Everyone was talking at once, and Lin Chuntao said, "It's the gray fungus. It's very hard to find. I only found it once this year. It's 18 cents a pound."
Eighteen cents, a little painful, everyone hissed coldly, hesitated for a moment and said cruelly: "Give me two pounds, you can't buy chicken mushrooms all year round, buy two pounds of gray mushrooms to take back and fry them in oil to eat with noodles."
There were not many mushrooms today, just a shallow basket, less than 20 kilograms. Lin Chuntao kept 2 kilograms for herself, and the rest were sold out quickly.
After selling the mushrooms, Lin Chuntao carried a basket on her back and went to the market to buy vegetables and eggs. The stall was very busy, so she went and came back quickly.
We have sold a lot these past two days, so we need a lot of vegetables and meat.
Today they were so busy that they didn't finish delivering all the braised eggs until almost the end of lunch. They also sold less than a bowl of noodles and almost used up all the meat sauce. The sisters were so tired that their cheeks flushed. They quickly cleaned up, washed the dishes and pots, and moved into the house after they were done.
The collection is almost finished, but some people are still late.
"Boss, do you have any more braised eggs?"
Lin Chuntao replied loudly, "Sorry, we don't have any today. Come back tomorrow."
"Where's the powder? Is there any powder left?"
“Gone too!”
The man stopped walking, his face full of disappointment: "Boss, could you please prepare more? We didn't get any to eat yesterday."
Lin Chuntao was squatting there washing dishes. After hearing this, she stood up and looked over. "Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll save it for my sister!"
After hearing Lin Chuntao's words, the woman said, "Two bowls, be sure to leave some for me."
Lin Chuntao agreed and turned back to Lin Chunxing and said, "Remember to save two bowls for tomorrow."
Lin Chunxing nodded and waited until they finished cleaning up before they carried the meat and vegetables and prepared to go home.
Lin Chuntao asked, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat in the county town?"
They were a little hungry, but food in the county town was not cheap. They thought it would be delicious after they got home. They all shook their heads in unison. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's go to the flower garden and the grocery store. Tomorrow is August 15th. I'll make a cake for you to share."
When they heard that there was something new to eat, the sisters' faces were full of joy.
"What do you want to buy, sister?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Let's buy some flower petals and a slate for baking pancakes." Then, she suddenly said, "We need to buy some candy too. Let's go buy them separately. Chunxing, take your sister to buy the slate. You know the owner of the grocery store well."
After saying that, she looked at Pei Ying and said, "Go to the flower garden and ask to buy some roses. Talk to the shopkeeper and she'll know how to make cakes. I'll go buy some candy and I'll be back when I'm done."
She ran away after saying that, and Pei Ying had no choice but to do as she arranged.
Lin Chuntao went to the pastry shop, but she only bought a can of malt sugar. She used points from the system to exchange for two cans of malt sugar and two cans of wild honey. She then went to the grain shop and bought a bucket of buckwheat noodles, and exchanged ten pounds of red beans from the system.
Then he carried it on his back to find Lin Chunxing and the others. Shiban and the others had already bought the flowers, but Pei Ying had not bought the petals yet. Lin Chuntao went along to buy them. The first roses were no longer available, but they had just picked the second batch, so there were still some, but the quantity was small. Lin Chuntao only bought more than two kilograms. It was the season for jasmine, so she bought two kilograms.
Buying flower petals was not unusual for Lin Chunxing and the others, as they had all eaten wild vegetables and flowers before. But Pei Ying found it rather unusual, as he had only eaten the melon flowers fried by Lin Chuntao and the others, and nothing else.
On the way back, Lin Chuntao, Lin Chunxing and Pei Ying were all carrying things. The stall closed late today and everyone was a little hungry halfway.
Lin Chuntao said, "Let's buy a donkey cart or a mule cart in the future."
Lin Duoer turned around and looked at her with joy, "Sister, when are we going to buy it?"
Before Lin Chuntao could say anything, Lin Chunxing said, "We'll definitely buy it after the house is built. We need to save money to build a house now."
After hearing what Lin Chunxing said, Lin Chuntao did not refute and agreed: "Yes, we will buy it after the house is built."
When they returned to the village, the villagers were working in the fields with their backs to the sky and facing the loess. The potato seedlings were turning yellow quickly, and everyone dared not wait any longer, for fear that it would rain and the seedlings would turn yellow again, which would easily cause the potatoes to rot in the ground. Every household was busy digging potatoes.
Each household didn't plant a lot, but by the middle of the month, everyone had almost finished digging up all the crops.
There were many people in the Sun family, and before she could help, the whole family had already dug almost everything out.
The people who were picking potatoes in the fields were very surprised to see them coming back with their baskets full.
"Hey Chuntao, what did you buy?"
Lin Chuntao looked at the person asking the question and replied with a smile, "We're out of food at home, just a little bit left. Are you digging potatoes?"
When they heard Lin Chuntao say that there was no food, they looked at the bumper harvest of potatoes in their fields and suddenly didn't feel how hot the sun was. After all, they didn't have to spend any money, they just had to dig them up from the fields and carry them back. If they had to buy so many potatoes, they didn't know how much it would cost.
"Yes," the woman replied.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I heard from my great-grandmother that the potatoes planted by everyone in the village had a good harvest this year. We could dig up more than ten potatoes from each plant, and they grew big."
The woman couldn't hide her smile as she said to Lin Chuntao, "It's a shame you didn't plant anything this year. The harvest was indeed very good, but I see that the corn you planted is growing well too, so you should be able to harvest quite a bit. Dried corn is easier to store than potatoes, so it can be stored for a year or two without any problems."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, aunt. But I planted mine late, so the harvest will probably be late too."
The woman said, "A couple of days earlier or later won't make a difference. Looking at the weather, it shouldn't be cold this year."
Lin Chuntao agreed and said goodbye.
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