Chapter 30 Chapter 30-Two-in-one Is your waist sore? Come in and sit down...
"Second brother, what are you looking at?" Lin Changhe asked Lin Changhua in front of him.
Lin Changhua stepped aside slightly to let Lin Changhe squeeze in. Looking back, he saw a crowd of men, women, and children from the fifth branch of the Lin family. He looked at Tian and asked with a smile, "Fifth Aunt, are you here to see Chuntao and the others planting corn?"
When she heard the word Chuntao, the smile on Tian's face disappeared immediately. Zhang's sisters-in-law also frowned slightly. Lin Changhe, who had squeezed to the front, watched the village chief driving cattle to plow the fields. Sun and Lin Chuntao were bent over, not knowing what to do. Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe followed behind the village chief with hoes, knocking left and right.
"Are they planting corn?" Lin Changhe asked with a frown.
Lin Changhua nodded. "It's corn. Chuntao and my aunt are planting the seeds. Look how fast they are! It's much faster than having someone run after the cows."
"I just heard from my aunt that this was Chuntao's idea, and everyone said we could try it next year."
Lin Changhe scoffed, "Then why don't we just rent some oxen? We can just plow the land ourselves and plant as we go. Why bother with that?"
"This damn girl is now growing corn and renting cattle. Can her harvest pay the rent by the end of the year?"
Lin Changhua shook his head slightly. Lin Changhe was being stubborn. He felt that the way Lin Chuntao and the others were planting seeds was just like transplanting rice seedlings. Everything was ready and any half-grown child could join in. Even if they had to plow the land by themselves, they could get an extra plow. Wouldn't two or three people plowing the land make spring planting faster?
He waited to see whether Lin Chuntao's plantings would sprout. If many sprouted, he would get another plow in a few days and try this method for next spring planting.
He thought so in his heart, but he did not argue with Lin Changhe. No matter what Lin Changhe thought, it had little to do with him.
Lin Changhe muttered to himself for a while and felt a little bored when no one spoke to him. He looked for a while and then realized that Pei Ying was not there.
He asked Lin Changhua, "Where's that damned man from Lin Chuntao's family? Didn't he come to work?"
Lin Changhua then realized that Lin Chuntao was married. "Huh, I don't think I saw this person this morning."
Everyone around was curious. Zhang Qiuniang looked at Zhang Qiuzhen and the others not far away and asked with a smile, "Chuntao, where's your husband? Why didn't he come to plant corn?"
Lin Chuntao smiled when she heard the question: "He went to the county town and will be back in the afternoon."
"You guys are so busy, why would he go to the county town? Is he sleeping in at home and you're covering up for him?"
Lin Chuntao was busy planting seeds. When she heard this, she slowly looked up and saw that it was Zhang Qiuniang. She was too lazy to say anything to her.
People standing on the roadside on the ridge were whispering to each other. Sun looked at Lin Chuntao and said with a smile, "Don't pay attention to them. They are bored all day long."
Lin Chuntao smiled and nodded, then continued working.
The onlookers looked at the bright sun and went back to their work, so they dispersed.
Lin Chuntao and her colleagues were efficient, but planting seeds was tough on their backs. They felt sore, so Lin Chuntao called Chunxing and Chunhe over and taught them how to plant seeds. She and Sun went to dig the soil. The old lady smiled and said they didn't need to switch. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Take turns, otherwise your back will be hurt if you keep doing it."
Lin Cunzheng was plowing the land quickly. Seeing that he could not keep up with the planting, Lin Chuntao called out to Lin Cunzheng to take a break, but he did not, he just slowed down a little.
It was almost noon when Sun's son and daughter-in-law came back from the fields and came over to take a look. They were shocked to find that they had almost finished planting a piece of land.
Chen Dongniang smiled and said, "Oh, Mom, you guys are so fast. Can you finish planting these two plots of land today?"
Sun looked at the sun and smiled, "It should be about the same."
After watching for a while, Chen Dongniang said, "Then I'll go back and cook. I'll ask Jiayin to call you later."
Hearing this, Lin Chuntao hurriedly said, "Aunt, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma are coming to my house for dinner. How can they come home to eat after working with me? I've prepared the dishes and soaked the rice. We can go back and steam the rice and eat it later."
As she spoke, she said to Chun Xing, "Chun Xing, go back and light the fire and steam the rice. Duo'er, you and your second sister go back and look after the firewood."
Upon hearing this, Sun said, "Your great grandfather and I will go home to eat."
Lin Chuntao looked at her steadily, "Grandma, you can't do this. If you know, you'll feel bad for us sisters, but if you don't, you'll say we're ignorant. I've prepared everything." She said to Chen Dongniang, "Aunt, you guys are busy. Grandpa and Grandma will be eating at my house soon. If you keep doing this, I'll be embarrassed to ask you for help in the future."
She started babbling, and Sun smiled helplessly and said to Chen Dongniang, "You guys go and do your work. We'll go back with this girl in a while."
After hearing this, Chen Dongniang left quickly. The people working in the fields were about to go home for lunch.
Lin Chuntao estimated the time and felt that the rice was almost done. She called out to Lin Cunzheng, "Grandpa, let's take a break and get ready to go home for dinner."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sun sat down on the ridge next to her and looked up to see Pei Ying walking towards her not far away.
"Chun Tao, is that Xiao Pei coming back?"
Lin Chuntao looked over when she heard that, and saw Pei Ying coming back with something in his hand.
It seems that it is not yet time. Why did he come back so early today?
Seeing Pei Ying approaching them, Lin Chuntao asked loudly, "Why are you back so early today?"
"I told my employer that she was busy with spring planting these days, so she asked me to come back first."
The villagers looked at Pei Ying, who was holding things in both hands, and one of his hands seemed to be holding meat?
Listen to what he said, boss? Is he going to the county town to find a job?
He grumbled inwardly, but since he wasn't familiar with Pei Ying, he was too embarrassed to ask. He just wanted to ask around someday. What kind of work was this person doing in the county town? Did they need any help? After these busy days, everyone would have some free time before the autumn harvest, so having work and earning a few cents would be nice.
When Pei Ying came up to her, Lin Chuntao saw the pottery jar and bowl in his hands, as well as a piece of pig liver.
"Are you buying pig liver?"
Pei Ying nodded slightly. This pork liver was given to everyone by Helan, one pound per person, and he told them to eat more because it was good for their eyes.
But Zhang Dayong and Zhao Guang didn't like it, saying that their wives at home would find it fishy and smelly, so they gave it all to him. In fact, he didn't like to eat it either, but thinking that Lin Chuntao was a good cook, what if it turned out delicious, so they took it back.
In front of others, he didn't explain that he got it for free.
"This is the chili you wanted. It's out of stock. My brother Zhang made it at home. I paid some money to buy a can."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's fine if there is chili pepper. The dipping sauce won't taste good without chili pepper."
Sun looked at the young couple talking and laughing, and felt relieved that Pei Ying didn't look as cold and scary as he had been when they first met.
When they returned home, the first thing Lin Cunzheng did was to take care of the cow, giving it water and feeding it grass.
The rice is almost cooked, steam is rising above the steamer, and the yard is filled with the rich aroma of rice.
While Lin Chuntao was scooping water for Sun to wash her hands, she told Pei Ying to move the table out. The room was a bit narrow, and it was inconvenient for her to cook, sit down to eat, and watch over the cows in the yard.
Lin Chuntao and the others were using stones to build fires inside and outside the house. Sun said, "After these few days of hard work, I'll ask your uncle to build a stove for you. It will be more convenient to use."
Lin Chuntao smiled and thanked him. She lifted the lid of the steamer and scooped out some rice to taste. It was already steamed very soft. Pei Ying looked at her and nodded, then took the steamer off the fire and placed it on the bamboo rack.
Lin Chuntao had already thought of the dishes last night: stir-fried shredded melon, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried cabbage with oil residue, and some potato slices. Heating up the meat would be enough to eat.
Sun looked at the steamer being brought down and asked, "What do you want Chuntao to do? I'll do it with you."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Grandma, you take a rest. I've almost finished it. It will be ready soon."
As she spoke, she brought out the colander she had prepared last night, which contained chopped cabbage and shredded melon, and washed tomatoes. She also brought out a bowl of peeled potatoes soaked in water.
Sun was a little surprised, "Did you prepare this last night?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and said, "Yes, I was afraid that I would be slow to finish it after I got back from work, so I just did it in advance."
As she spoke, she carried the iron pot back to the house to scoop up the broth to heat up the meat dumplings. She thought that while the meat was heating up, she could cut tomatoes and potatoes, and then she could quickly stir-fry the vegetables. She was already hungry, and the old couple must be hungry too.
When she came out with the pot, Sun's eyes widened.
"Chun Tao, why... did you cook meat?"
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "How can we not eat meat during spring plowing? It's exhausting to work all day long."
Sun thought that even if you eat meat, just put a little bit in the dishes, add more oil when stir-frying, and don't boil all the vegetables in water.
She looked at the meat dumpling and thought that it was only eaten like this during the New Year when the pig was slaughtered.
"You don't have to spend so much money, kid."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I live for this bite of food. It won't cost me anything if I eat it."
Lin Chuntao finished slicing potatoes and was about to cut tomatoes. She turned around and asked Lin Chunxing to get some eggs. Sun quickly stopped her and said, "Don't worry, these vegetables are enough!" Then she looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "You don't need to cook so many dishes. Just stir-fry the shredded melon and cabbage, and the potatoes. That's enough!"
The old lady stopped me and I didn’t make scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
The meat and soup were heated and served. Lin Chuntao cooked quickly, stir-frying shredded melon and cabbage with oil residue, and finally potato slices. While doing so, she quickly prepared the dipping sauce with ginger and garlic.
She asked Lin Chunxing to go to Aunt Guizhi's house to see if she had returned and call her to eat.
Lin Chunxing left quickly and came back quickly. Aunt Guizhi had not returned from the county town yet, so they ate first.
The red and oily dipping sauce makes people drool just by looking at it.
I don’t know if it was because of the dipping sauce, but Lin Chuntao felt that the cooked meat was actually quite delicious.
Pei Ying couldn't eat spicy food very well, but he found this spicy food very addictive. After the meat was dipped in the sauce, it was completely different from what he had cooked before.
After working for the whole morning, the old couple were in a good mood and enjoyed a delicious meal.
After dinner, Pei Ying cleared the dishes and washed them. Lin Chuntao and Sun sat in the yard to rest. She turned around and said to Lin Chuntao, "If you want vegetables in the future, go pick them from my fields. I have cabbage, tomatoes, and peppers. You don't have to spend money on anything else."
Lin Chuntao understood her good intentions and said with a smile, "I saw Aunt Guizhi selling vegetables in the county town. She had a lot of vegetables, so I made an appointment with her to go pick them every few days."
"Even though I only have one vegetable per meal, it's not enough to eat it every day. It's not easy. After I'm busy in the next two days, I'll plant some too."
Sun smiled and said, "It's more convenient to eat if you grow it yourself."
After Pei Ying finished cleaning up and the cows had eaten and drunk their fill, everyone returned to the fields to continue working.
Just after they started working for a while, Aunt Guizhi came and helped to plant the seeds. Pei Ying was assigned by Lin Chuntao to break up the soil, which made them much more efficient.
The two plots of land were planted before the sun set.
Lincunzheng said: "Let's go to the back mountain and plant some more."
A group of people went to the back mountain in a mighty manner and planted most of the land before they finished. The old man and the old lady went home to wash up, Lin Chuntao went back to cook, and Pei Ying went to cut grass for the cows.
As dusk approached, dinner was ready and Lin Chuntao went to call Lin Cunzheng and others to come for dinner.
We planted almost three acres of land that day.
It was only the first day, and everyone was very energetic. Later on, everyone was tired, and it was considered good if they could plant about two acres a day.
After dinner, it was already dark. Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao lit torches to send the old couple and Aunt Guizhi back.
When they came back, Lin Chunxing and the others had already washed up and were lying down. Lin Duoer was massaging the backs and shoulders of Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe. When she saw Lin Chuntao coming back, Lin Duoer shouted, "Sister, come quickly. I'll give you a massage."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You give your second and third sisters a massage first. I'll go tie up the cow."
Lin Chuntao locked the cow in the room where the piglets lived, but she was worried, so she lengthened the rope and tied it to the door frame of Pei Ying's room so that Pei Ying would know if there was any movement.
Pei Ying said, "It's okay, I'm a light sleeper."
Lin Chuntao nodded and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."
Pei Ying answered the question irrelevantly. Looking at her hands rubbing her waist, he asked in a low voice: "Is your waist sore?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and pounded her shoulders again, "My back and shoulders are sore too."
Pei Ying pushed open the door, turned around and said to her, "Come in and sit down, I'll give you a massage.
Lin Chuntao was stunned, her thoughts wandering. Pei Ying reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the house, and brought a stool for her to sit down.
He reached out and gathered her hair to one side, then began massaging her shoulders, neck, and back. Pei Ying's movements were gentle, yet the massage left her feeling quite relaxed. After massaging her shoulders and neck, he also massaged her arms. Seeing the familiar technique, Lin Chuntao asked with a smile, "Did you often give massages to others?"
"My master suffers from headaches. I follow the old Chinese medicine and massage his head frequently."
Lin Chuntao nodded and whispered, "It's quite comfortable."
"Go lie down on the bed, I'll massage your waist."
Thinking about her almost broken waist, she went over and lay down without any hesitation.
Pei Ying's broad palm landed on her lower back, and one hand almost covered her entire waist. Pei Ying frowned slightly, thinking that Lin Chuntao was too thin and needed to eat more to replenish her body.
Through the thin clothes, Lin Chuntao felt the warmth of Pei Ying's palm. He applied a little force, and Lin Chuntao groaned.
"Did you press too hard? If it hurts, tell me and I'll go a little easier."
Lin Chuntao shook her head. "It's either painful or too sore."
Pei Ying said, "You did too much today. I'll come back early tomorrow and plant the seeds."
"It's okay. You just went to work. If you leave too early, the shopkeeper and Lao Zhang might not be happy."
Pei Ying curled her lips and said, "Then you should do less in the morning and wait for me to come back."
As the two chatted, Lin Chuntao felt that her entire back and waist were much more relaxed. She was so sleepy that she wanted to fall asleep directly.
Pei Ying called her softly and asked, "Are you asleep?"
Hearing the man's voice, Lin Chuntao suddenly woke up, turned over, and met Pei Ying's eyes.
Pei Ying was looking at her with burning eyes. She pressed her eyebrows and sat up as if nothing had happened.
"I'm so sleepy. I'm going back to sleep first. You should go to bed early too."
As she spoke, she stood up and walked out. Pei Ying nodded and told her to watch her step.
After returning to the room and lying down, Lin Chuntao's heart was still pounding.
Lin Duoer got up and called her, "Sister, let me come over and give you a back massage."
Lin Chuntao waved her hand and said, "No need to press it. Go to sleep. I'm sleepy."
Not long after the words were spoken, everyone fell asleep.
Before midnight, the system announced twice that today's points had been received, but Lin Chuntao was not woken up.
She slept until the morning, and when she woke up, Pei Ying had already left.
The system kept reporting that there were blue-headed mushrooms four miles away. Lin Chuntao thought it was not far, so she told Lin Chunxing, put on her backpack and carried a bamboo basket, and went there. She picked up a small basket of blue-headed mushrooms. After going down the mountain, she met Aunt Guizhi who was driving a mule cart into the city to sell vegetables. After thinking about it, she decided to give the blue-headed mushrooms to her.
Aunt Guizhi smiled and asked her to pick up the mushrooms and put them in the bamboo basket. She was surprised to see that they were all green-headed mushrooms.
"Such pure mushrooms must be expensive, right? How much did you sell them for per kilo?"
"The tricholoma is 12 cents a pound. Please excuse me, auntie!"
Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Don't be polite, it's just a small thing."
Lin Chuntao didn't pick up all of them, leaving enough for two meals. She smiled and said, "If my aunt comes home early, come to our house and eat mushrooms."
"Sure, I'll try to get back as soon as possible. I haven't had any mushrooms this year."
Lin Chuntao likes to deal with straightforward people, and Aunt Guizhi is one of them.
"I'll keep it for my aunt."
Aunt Guizhi smiled heartily and drove the mule away.
At the market, Aunt Guizhi set up her stall as usual and prepared to sell basket vegetables, but she thought of Lin Chuntao's shiitake mushrooms.
He then started shouting about mushrooms.
As soon as the word "Qingtou Mushroom" was called out, many people came over and greeted him warmly. Those who wanted to buy or just take a look first walked over to the stall.
"Sister, I just picked some tricholoma mushrooms today. They're twelve cents a pound. Would you like a pound?"
The woman watching saw that the mushrooms were indeed fresh. Another young woman holding her arm said softly, "Sister-in-law, these mushrooms are really good. I just wonder if the girl who often comes to sell mushrooms has picked up any more chicken mushrooms."
Aunt Guizhi frowned slightly, then asked tentatively, "Are you talking about a tall, thin girl with a plum blossom birthmark on the back of her hand?"
Hearing about the plum blossom birthmark, the woman smiled and said, "Yes, it's her. Do you know her?"
Aunt Guizhi knew it was her niece when she heard this and smiled, "She knows me. She's my niece. She's been busy working in the fields these past two days and can't come. She picked up these mushrooms, and I'm helping her sell them."
"So you two are relatives. Fine, give me two kilograms of mushrooms."
Aunt Guizhi methodically weighed the mushrooms for the woman. After she finished, she asked, "Would you like to buy some vegetables? Twenty-five cents for a bamboo basket, and there's all sorts of vegetables in it. My niece helped me put these together. She said that if you buy a few different kinds of vegetables, you might end up wanting more. This basket of vegetables she put together ensures everyone can have what they want, and even includes what the family wants. It's convenient and saves waste!"
The woman leaned over to take a closer look. Indeed, there were tomatoes, eggplants, cabbages, leeks, and melons. Onions and garlic were also added. Almost all the same dishes were stir-fried in one meal, without any waste. She thought the dish combination was clever, but twenty-five cents seemed a bit expensive. She smiled and lowered the price: "Can you make it cheaper? Twenty-five cents is a bit expensive."
Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Sister, take this basket of vegetables back home. It will be enough for at least two days. If there are not many people at home, it may even be enough for three days. It's a great deal."
The young girl stared at it and thought for a moment before smiling, "Sister-in-law, just buy a basket. Dad said he wanted to eat scrambled eggs with leeks, and big brother wanted to eat eggplant. You like melon, so it's perfect."
The woman listened to her sister-in-law's words, took out the money, and said with a smile: "Then give me a basket."
Aunt Guizhi took the money and handed over the basket. The young girl quickly took it and said, "I'll carry it!"
As soon as the aunt and sister-in-law left, the people waiting behind them started urging them to weigh the mushrooms. Many people bought mushrooms and also bought a basket of vegetables. Because of the mushrooms, Aunt Guizhi's mule cart of vegetables was sold out before noon.
She happily packed up her things and went home, thinking about going back to chat with Lin Chuntao and doing small business together.
*
There is no need to waste time going to Qianniu today. As soon as the sun rises, the old couple Lin Cunzheng will come together.
Lin Chuntao had just come back and was lighting a fire, preparing to continue making some buckwheat pancakes.
"Grandma, you guys are here so early?"
Seeing someone coming in, Lin Chuntao hurriedly stood up and went over to greet him.
The old lady looked at her, still holding the kneaded buckwheat noodles in her hands and the pot on the fire, and said with a smile: "It's not hot enough to farm early, and you still want to make pancakes?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and said, "Well, I'll make a pancake to fill my stomach, otherwise I won't be able to endure the work."
"You can't endure working without eating, but you still have sweet potatoes and potatoes. Cook up a pot tonight and roast them in the morning. I see your buckwheat is ground very finely. Did you buy it at the grain store?"
"Yes, I bought it a few days ago." Lin Chuntao said,
The old lady sighed softly and grumbled, "This noodles are not cheap. How can we spend so much money? Farming is tiring. Eating two potatoes and two sweet potatoes early in the morning will fill us up."
Lin Chuntao listened. The old lady meant well. She knew that a bushel of flour would be finished in no time. But not only did she lend them the plow, but she also helped them farm. How could she not let them eat well?
Lin Cunzheng went to see the cow. Lin Chuntao had given it some fodder earlier. Now that it had almost finished eating, he took it to drink water.
The buckwheat pancakes were spread out and the cows were full. Everyone sat in the yard, ate the pancakes quickly, locked the door, and went to the fields with their things.
When Aunt Guizhi came back, Lin Chuntao and the others were still busy working in the fields.
She put on her backpack, picked a few radishes, took her sickle, and walked straight towards the back mountain.
Seeing that Lin Chuntao and her friends had almost planted half of the second plot of land, Chuntao was a little surprised when she saw her.
"Aunt, you're back so early today?"
Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Thanks to you, many people are buying mushrooms, and my vegetables are selling much faster."
After saying this, Aunt Guizhi greeted Lin Cunzheng and Madam Sun. Madam Sun asked her with a smile, "Are you almost done selling those vegetable plots?"
"Aunt, it's still early."
As she spoke, Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Are you thirsty? I brought some radishes."
"I was just thirsty, and you're here, auntie." Lin Chuntao asked Lin Cunzheng and Sun to take a break, peel a radish and eat it before planting again.
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