Chapter 66 Chapter 66 - Two-in-one fried mashed potatoes
Guo Jixiang and Chai Songchuan looked at Chai Xingyu with a puzzled expression. Was this too much to ask? It wasn't. Pei Ying was his savior after all.
But what was Chai Xingyu doing? Using such childish means to stop them?
Lin Chuntao looked at everyone at the table and quickly refused: "Not right, not right!"
Chai Xingyu asked, "Madam Lin, do you dislike my appearance?"
Lin Chuntao: "..." I despise your Chai family for being inhumane. "Mr. Chai, I absolutely do not mean that."
As soon as Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Chai Xingyu immediately bowed and said, "Then Xingyu greets you, sister!"
Lin Chuntao: “…”
She didn't move, so Chai Xingyu just kept hunching over. Guo Jixiang and the others couldn't bring themselves to persuade Lin Chuntao to accept, hoping she would refuse again. But Lin Chuntao turned around and gave them a helpless look before helping Chai Xingyu up. "Okay, I'm a few years older than you, so I won't be shy. I promise! But I don't know how old you are this year?"
Chai Xingyu: "I'm sixteen, where's my sister?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Nineteen. After my birthday in December this year, I will be twenty."
After the meal, Guo Jixiang took out a box and insisted on giving it to Pei Ying. Pei Ying refused firmly and confiscated it.
On the way home, Lin Chuntao couldn't help laughing. This was really funny.
The three members of the Chai family also returned home. Chai Xingyu was very happy, but Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang were very angry.
As they approached the Chai residence, Chai Songchuan lost his patience and cursed, "You want to be that peasant girl's brother? Why don't you just follow her back?"
Chai Xingyu was stunned for a moment, then turned around and smiled, "I forgot about that. Dad, you were right to remind me. I should have gone with you."
"Tomorrow, I'll go with you tomorrow."
Chai Songchuan: "..."
Guo Jixiang: "What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you hear your father say those angry words?"
Chai Xingyu hated his parents' vain expressions. He sneered, "Why are you so angry? Aren't you very happy to have found my savior today and treat him to a meal? You even spent a lot of money to Wanfulou! Why would Dad be so angry?"
Before he was injured, he was handsome with fair skin, and his sarcasm seemed a bit unruly. Now that he had a scarlet scar on his face, the sarcasm in his sneer was extremely obvious, and Chai Songchuan felt even more angry.
Chai Xingyu sneered and prepared to get off the carriage and return to his yard.
Chai Songchuan shouted sternly, "Sit down!"
Chai Xingyu stopped and turned to look at the old man again. Chai Songchuan's face was gloomy, but his eyes were shining. "You are very disdainful of our methods, so I will give you a task!"
Chai Xingyu said: "You say."
"Let the sauce made by that noodle lady be put on the shelves of our shop!"
Guo Jixiang thought it was a joke, but when she looked up at her husband's serious expression, she realized he was serious. Chai Xingyu snorted coldly, "How difficult is that? But you have to write a seal for me. I'm fully responsible for this matter. Don't refuse me when I ask the accountant for money."
Chai Songchuan thought to himself, "Who wouldn't pay to buy a house? Do we still need you?"
"What if I lose money?"
Chai Xingyu snorted coldly, "You're at a loss, then find someone else to inherit your family business."
"evil creature!"
Chai Songchuan cursed angrily, and the father and son walked away with their hands behind their backs.
Today is July 30th, the last day of the month.
Lin Chuntao and the others went home for lunch, took out the cabbage and bitter herbs and put them in the sun to dry, and then went to the fields to work together.
At this time, the area outside the village was green everywhere. The corn stalks were already half a person's height, the branches and leaves had become darker in color, and thorns had begun to grow. The potato seedlings had begun to turn yellow, and the new potatoes were ready to be eaten.
But most people are reluctant to dig them out now. The skin of new potatoes is too thin, they are easy to spoil and difficult to store. People only dig one or two when they are ready to eat.
When they went to the fields, they happened to meet Chen Dongniang and her son digging potatoes in the fields. Chen Dongniang politely asked them to dig some and bring them back to eat. They didn't plant potatoes this year, so they must buy some. It's okay to eat a few, but it would be bad if they ate too much.
Hearing Chen Dongniang's call, Lin Chuntao went straight over. Looking at the potatoes Chen Dongniang had dug out, which were still very fresh and tender, and not too small in size, Lin Chuntao said, "Auntie, dig half a basket and sell it to me."
Chen Dongniang smiled when she heard this. "Just dig some up and take it back to eat. Why bother selling it?"
"That won't work. We didn't plant any potatoes this year, so we still need to buy a lot. Let's buy some new potatoes first to try them out, and then I'll buy more when we officially start digging."
After Lin Chuntao said this, Chen Dongniang was no longer polite. She said, "Then I'll dig it up and take it back. You can come and get it in the evening."
Lin Chuntao said, "Okay, thank you for troubling my aunt."
"What's the problem? Are you mowing grass for the pigs?" Chen Dongniang asked. Lin Chuntao replied, "Yes, I'm pulling some grass in the field at the same time."
Chen Dongniang looked at the cornfield not far away. Lin Chuntao and the others planted their corn late, but two months later, with good rain in the summer, the corn seedlings grew rapidly and were almost catching up with those they planted earlier.
Lin Chuntao didn't rush back to pull weeds. Chen Dongniang was digging potatoes, and she followed and picked them up and put them into her backpack.
Chen Dongniang swung the hoe and turned the soil and potatoes over. She knocked them gently with the hoe, and the soil fell off from around the potatoes like fine sand, revealing several potatoes of relatively uniform size. Chen Dongniang was very satisfied with the size of the potatoes, and her slightly red face was full of joy.
"This one is growing well, there are probably seven or eight of them."
Lin Jiahui hurriedly brought the backpack over, and Lin Chuntao helped to pick up the fruits, picking out seven big ones and two small ones.
Just after she finished picking up the trash, Lin Chuntao heard a familiar announcement voice.
"Congratulations, host. Red Potato has successfully signed in and has earned 18 points..."
These are other people's potatoes...
Lin Chuntao didn't care anymore and just signed it if possible.
Chen Dongniang and Lin Jiahui each carried a basket on their backs. After they had dug a full basket of potatoes, Lin Jiahui carried the basket of potatoes, and Chen Dongniang tied up the potato seedlings and put them in the basket.
Lin Chunxing and the others had also cut enough grass for the pigs. Lin Chuntao wanted to go back and get some new potatoes to eat, so she packed up and went home with them.
After arriving home, Lin Chuntao poured out the pig grass and said to Lin Chunxing and the others, "Let's light a fire. I bought half a basket of new potatoes for my aunt. Your brother-in-law and I will go and carry them back."
After she finished speaking, she took some money, put on her backpack and left.
Seeing how much Chen Dongniang and Lin Jiahui had dug up, Sun was filled with astonishment. "Oh, how did you two manage to dig up so much? The skins should still be very tender, right?"
Lin Jiahui smiled and said, "Grandma, we met Sister Chuntao. She wanted to buy half a basket, so my mother dug some more."
Sun heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this and hurried over to help take the backpack off Lin Jiahui's back.
The potatoes are now rotten and will go bad if they are dug up too early. Farmers hate to see the food go bad and wasted the most.
Lin Jiahui said: "My mother said to carry it back and pick it up before giving it to her."
Sun said, "Of course. If she gives me money, I have to give her the bigger one."
Lin Jiahui chuckled, beads of sweat rolling down his red face. The old lady looked at him with concern and said, "There is some fermented rice wine in the house. Go and scoop a bowl to drink."
Lin Jiahui shook his head and went straight to the bucket in the kitchen. He scooped a bowl of cold water and drank it down in one gulp. This relieved some of the heat.
Chen Dongniang came out after putting the potato sprouts away. Seeing Lin Jiahui like that, she frowned and said, "You drank that cold water again. Don't complain of stomach discomfort again soon."
Lin Jiahui ignored Chen Dongniang's nagging and just felt comfortable after drinking the bowl of cold water.
Seeing Chen Dongniang like that, the old lady went into the house and scooped her a bowl of fermented rice wine. It was boiled in the morning and was now cold. It was not very sweet, but it had some flavor.
Chen Dongniang drank a bowl and said, "The weather is getting hotter and hotter."
"Isn't it? With this weather, we might have to dig potatoes in less than two weeks." Sun said. Chen Dongniang said, "Mom, will we have a surplus of food this year? Chuntao just said they didn't plant potatoes this year, so we'll have to buy some later."
The potatoes are looking good now, and this year should be a bumper year, but the harvest of these crops will only be known when they are brought home. The potatoes are almost ready for harvest, and the rice will also have a good harvest, but there are still sweet potatoes and corn to come, so the yield is still uncertain.
"We can share some with her. When every household collects it, her family should have quite a bit to spend."
Chen Dongniang nodded when she heard this. She understood the old lady's worries. Even in a year of bumper harvest, grain would not be sold for money easily. Grain can be stored. For example, corn and rice can be stored for a year or two. If they are sold at a low price, the price will not be the same when they are bought.
Lin Chuntao and the others only bought some for themselves, so the old lady agreed to share some.
Chen Dongniang said, "We don't need to pay so much grain this year. We should have enough food to eat."
Sun said, "Even if it's enough to eat, save it first. I see that Chuntao and the others are planting corn, so I think they can harvest a lot this year."
Chen Dongniang listened to what she said, thinking of the cornfields, and said to the old lady, "Mom, come to think of it, I think Chuntao's corn is a little strange. It was planted so much later than ours, and yet it's almost as tall as the ones in our field."
Sun remembered that the corn seeds Lin Chuntao brought were a little different from the ones they planted.
"I don't know if it's the weather or the type of corn she's planted."
Chen Dongniang said, "Let's wait and see during the autumn harvest. If her harvest is good, we can buy some seeds from her and try planting some next year."
As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking, Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying arrived.
They were still sitting at the door. When they saw people coming, Chen Dongniang and Sun got busy to help them into the house. After sitting for a while, Chen Dongniang and Sun went to empty the basket of potatoes and picked out the big ones without worm holes.
They left some food at home, and Lin Chuntao weighed twelve or fifteen pounds. Lin Chuntao saw someone selling new potatoes in the market, two pounds for three cents, so she also paid the old lady according to the market price, but the old lady only took thirty cents from her.
"I just heard from your aunt that you're going to buy some later?"
Lin Chuntao said, "I'll probably buy about 500 to 600 kilograms."
Sun groaned at the number and said, "So many? Why don't you wait until the corn is harvested before deciding how many potatoes to buy?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head. "No, I won't wait. If the corn harvest is good, I'll sell some. I have to buy potatoes anyway."
Sun said, "Then come pick up some while we're digging. I'll ask other families about buying some for you."
"Okay, thank you, Grandma. We can come and help you in the afternoon when you're digging potatoes."
Sun said, "I estimate it will take another half a month." Then the old lady asked about their noodle soup business, "How is your snack stall doing?"
"It's OK, but we've just started so we have to wait and see. I'm worried that people will lose interest in it after a while and the business will suffer."
Sun had never tasted the noodles she cooked, but she had tasted the meat she cooked. She smiled and said, "With your cooking skills, your business will only get better and better."
The weather was hot, so Lin Chuntao and the others didn't stay long. They just chatted for a while and then went home with the potatoes on their backs.
Lin Chunxing and the others lit a fire, hoping Lin Chuntao and the others would return. The new potatoes would be tender, soft and glutinous with a hint of sweetness, and would be delicious whether boiled or roasted. Thinking about the sauce at home, if they dipped the potatoes in it, they would eat several more.
As soon as Pei Ying carried the potatoes in, Lin Chunxing went to get a clay basin, scooped water, and picked up the potatoes. When she was about to wash them, she remembered to ask Lin Chuntao how to eat them.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Just cook it and eat it. Cook more and I'll make other flavors to share with you in the evening."
Lin Chunxing and the others washed and cooked potatoes. Lin Chuntao went to check on the bitter herbs and cabbages that had been drying in the sun at noon. They had completely wilted. She saw that the water in the bucket was almost gone, so she called Pei Ying to carry the bucket and she took the vegetables to the well to wash them.
Passersby met a few women from the village. Lin Chuntao smiled and greeted them. They looked at the vegetables in her pot and asked with a smile, "Chuntao, are you going to make sauerkraut?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and replied, "Yes, auntie."
The woman saw that there were still bitter herbs, and thought that Lin Chuntao often went to Aunt Guizhi to buy vegetables, but Aunt Guizhi's house had no bitter herbs, so she became a little malicious.
"Wow, this bitter herb is really big. Did you buy it from your Aunt Guizhi?"
Lin Chuntao curled her lips and looked at the woman with a colder look in her eyes.
"Aunt Guizhi doesn't have any bitter herbs. My aunt gave them to me when I went to my uncle's house a few days ago. Aunt, if you also want some, I'll ask my aunt to sell some for you."
Hearing this answer, the woman looked embarrassed and waved her hands quickly: "No, no, radish leaves are more delicious when making sauerkraut."
Lin Chuntao was too lazy to pay attention to them and walked straight towards the well.
She planned to make sauerkraut with the cabbage, but she wanted to make pickled vegetables with the bitter herbs. The taste would be richer than sauerkraut and would be delicious when used to make soup noodles.
Making sauerkraut is quite simple. Cook it, put it in a jar, and roast it next to the stove.
Pickled vegetables are a little more complicated. They need to be dried and then chopped. They can be pickled whole, but the whole thing will not be as flavorful. Lin Chuntao likes to chop them up, as the taste is purer.
Lin Chuntao put the bitter herbs in a colander to drain. After the potatoes were cooked, Lin Chuntao took some green peppers and fried them and made a sauce. Lin Chuntao also scooped half a bowl of hot sauce and put the two bowls on the table. Whoever wanted to eat it could eat whichever one.
It was a bit late at noon, so Lin Chunxing asked with a smile, "Can we still have room for dinner tonight?"
Lin Duoer squatted aside and said with a smile: "Let's eat later."
Lin Chuntao smiled. Lin Duoer would never want to skip a meal, so she still had to eat dinner to avoid having to get up in the middle of the night to get something to eat when she was hungry.
There was still some time before dark, so Lin Chuntao boiled the cabbage and radish leaves and made a jar of sauerkraut.
After sealing the jar, Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying to carry the jar to the stove and place it next to the chimney.
There were still a lot of water stains on the bitter herb after washing, so it probably couldn't be cooked today. Lin Chuntao turned it over and covered it with gauze, and decided to cook it tomorrow.
As the sun set, the chicks that were looking for food outside came back. After catching them all in the chicken coop, Lin Chuntao threw some grass in.
The two old hens and the rooster will go in by themselves when they come back, so there is no need to worry about them. After feeding the pigs, Lin Duoer pulled Lin Chuntao to ask what to do with the potatoes in the evening?
Lin Chuntao was thinking about what she was going to do later, and smiled as she asked them to peel the remaining potatoes.
Lin Duoer didn't ask any questions and ran to peel potatoes obediently.
Lin Chunxing looked at the rice in the steamer. It wasn't much, but everyone wasn't very hungry, so it was enough. She just put it on the fire to steam it.
After the rice was steamed, Lin Chuntao peeled some broad beans and cut some cabbage. She stir-fried the broad beans, the cabbage with oil residue, and finally the potatoes.
Lin Chuntao asked someone to bring the bamboo rolling pin and crushed all the peeled potatoes into a paste.
Lin Duoer looked at Lin Chuntao's actions, her little face full of confusion.
After Lin Chuntao pressed the potatoes, she went to chop ginger, garlic, coriander and green onions.
After the seasoning was ready, she put a lot of oil into the pot, sautéed the ginger and garlic first, then scooped a spoonful of chili powder into it. After the chili was fried fragrant, she poured the mashed potatoes directly into it and stir-fried it quickly. Soon, the ginger, garlic and chili were melted together with the mashed potatoes. When it was almost cooked, she added coriander and green onions, stirred evenly and served.
A big bowl full of food. This was the only dish Lin Chuntao made that made her three sisters fall silent.
They looked at the huge bowl of mashed potatoes and then looked at Lin Chuntao in disbelief, as if asking, "Sister, do you treat us like piglets?"
Perhaps because the expectations were too high, the sister would also fail. Lin Chunxing took the bowl from Lin Chuntao and called Lin Chunhe and Lin Duoer to get bowls to serve rice.
Lin Chuntao frowned and said in shock, "What do you guys mean? You don't believe it will taste good, right?"
Lin Chunxing hesitated to speak, and Lin Chunhe smiled and said, "Sister, I believe it. I'll go and try it first."
As she said that, she actually scooped half a spoonful into her bowl and tasted it directly.
Lin Chunxing and Lin Duoer both stared at her, wanting to see whether it tasted good or not.
Lin Chunhe held a mouthful of mashed potatoes in her mouth, her eyes wide as bells. She couldn't believe it. After swallowing it, she took another bite. Lin Chunxing couldn't wait any longer and asked directly, "How is it?"
After swallowing, Lin Chunhe pursed her lips and exclaimed, "Second sister, it's so delicious!"
"Is it true?" Lin Chunxing and Lin Duoer said in unison, and then they both went to taste it. Soon, Lin Chuntao saw that they were staring at each other with wide eyes. She quickly came over and helped Lin Chuntao to sit down, served her the rice, and put the chopsticks on it.
"Sister, try it! It's so delicious!"
Lin Chuntao said proudly: "How can I not know whether what I made is delicious or not?"
Lin Duoer, like a little dog, pounded Lin Chuntao's shoulder and said softly, "Yes, yes, you can't judge by appearance, sister. We were wrong. We won't do it again."
The sisters sat down and started eating noisily. Pei Ying watched from the side and laughed. After sitting down, he was the first to scoop up a spoonful.
The new potatoes have a slightly sweet taste and a smooth texture. After this ingredient is stir-fried, it instantly becomes fragrant.
It’s mainly the taste, which is a bit intoxicating.
Pei Ying asked Lin Chuntao for the first time: "Does this dish have a name?"
As soon as the words came out, Lin Chunxing and the others also looked over, waiting for Lin Chuntao to say her name.
Lin Chunxing bit her lip and smiled, "What do you think this dish should be called?"
The sisters frowned.
“Mashed potatoes?”
"Soft potatoes?"
Lin Chuntao: "...Do you think this dish is suitable for people without teeth?"
Lin Duoer nodded vigorously, her eyes lighting up as she quickly shouted, "I know, let's call him Toothless Potato!"
Lin Chuntao just took a sip of water and burst out laughing. Fortunately, she was sitting sideways, otherwise the water would have sprayed directly on them.
Not only Lin Chuntao, but also Lin Chunxing, Lin Chunhe and Pei Ying were laughing so hard that they couldn't straighten their backs.
"What's wrong? I think it's very fitting."
Lin Chuntao's face was sore from laughing. She calmed down and said, "It's indeed very appropriate, but saying it's missing teeth doesn't seem very nice. We don't need a name for what we're eating. If we want to eat it, just call it fried mashed potatoes."
After dinner, Lin Duoer ran out to play and called Lin Chunhe away.
Today was the end of the month, so Lin Chuntao called Lin Chunxing over, and the two sisters counted all the money they had earned. Pei Ying's salary, Lin Chuntao's mushroom sales, and Lin Chunxing's earnings from her stall—totaling seventeen coins. The coins clashed against each other, and the sisters were filled with joy. Lin Chunxing's cheeks flushed with excitement.
"Sister, can we start building a house after September?"
Lin Chuntao nodded. "If the business is stable, then it's fine."
After counting the money and recording the amount, Lin Chuntao put the money away in its own hands.
Lin Duoer and the others played until dark before returning home. Lin Chuntao had already washed up and was ready to go to bed. She waited until the two children fell asleep before she bolted the door and went back to the room to lie down.
Pei Ying asked Lin Chuntao why she agreed to Chai Xingyu's request, and Lin Chuntao replied, "If my feeling is correct, Young Master Chai is currently rebelling against his parents. Shopkeeper He said the other day that the Chai family would commit arson and murder in order to steal the recipe. Are they so grateful for saving your life?"
"I think that's definitely not the case. They might be thinking about our sauce recipe."
Pei Ying nodded slightly. This family's attitude was already very clear.
Chai Songchuan said at the dinner table that everyone liked the sauce made by Lin Chuntao and went to their shop to look for it. This shows that Lin Chuntao's sauce is delicious and is not inferior to Chai's sauce, so the people's first reaction is Chai's sauce.
I’m afraid the Chai family won’t give up easily.
"What are your plans? If the Chai family asks to buy your house, will you sell it?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head slightly. How could she possibly sell this recipe when it was unique? She also needed to use it to make her own soup noodles. She couldn't possibly sell the recipe and then have someone strangle her, could she?
Pei Ying understood what Lin Chuntao meant, but he felt that the Chai family would not give up easily.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "The Chai family's sauce seems to be very trusted by the people."
Pei Ying said, "I've heard from Brother Zhang and the others that the Chai family has sauce shops all over Yizhou. They even take some of the caravans to Canglan and Luchuan. They're very popular with the people there."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly when she heard this. Such an old brand can sell its products without much effort in promotion. It can be considered a mature platform.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Selling my wife is impossible, but I make sauce to make money. If their family can make money for me, that would be the best."
Pei Ying smiled. It would be great if it was really as they thought. "I'm afraid the Chai family wouldn't be happy to do such a thing."
Lin Chuntao said, "Businessmen are always driven by profit, and the Chai family is probably no different. They're stealing the recipes and monopolizing the market because they're afraid someone will steal their business. I'm not competing with them, I'm even giving them money!" At this point, Lin Chuntao paused, "I'm just afraid the Chai family is too greedy, wanting to take all the money and leave no one else any chance of survival."
Pei Ying felt that this was possible.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Go to sleep, go to sleep. This matter can be dealt with as it comes. There is no need to worry about it."
On the first day of August, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse in the night sky at the hour of Yin, and it was obvious that it would be a good day.
Lin Chuntao and her friends continued their daily lives as usual. Lin Chunxing went to get flour to set up a stall first, while she went into the mountains to pick mushrooms and then carried them back to the county town.
Mushrooms can be sold for about two hundred coins a day, and with the system's guidance, it is impossible for Lin Chuntao to stop picking mushrooms just to sell soup noodles. For her, picking mushrooms does not cost anything.
After selling the mushrooms, she helped Lin Chunxing make the noodle soup, so she had plenty of time.
After the morning rush hour, Lin Chunxing looked after the stall while Lin Chuntao and Helan went into the house to chat.
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