Chapter 106 Chapter 106-Two-in-one moving to a new home
The next day, Pei Ying went to the county town first, and Lin Chuntao and the others went to the county town together at dawn.
Lin Chuntao originally wanted to talk to Aunt Guizhi and the others about taking a day off and let Lin Chunhe go to the county town with them, but Lin Chunhe directly said no, she had to look after the house, and asked Lin Chuntao to take Lin Duoer with her.
When they arrived at the market, she helped Lin Chunxing set up the stall. While Lin Chunxing was setting up the stall, Lin Chuntao took Lin Duoer to get the straw mats and cushions.
Straw mats are relatively easy to buy. They are available in shops, and many people weave them at home and bring them to the market to sell. However, the ones woven in the market are relatively small, only about one meter wide. The ones in the shops are wider. Lin Chuntao bought five mats from the shop and also bought cotton pads from the cloth shop. The five mats cost her more than one guan.
By the way, I asked about the status of the quilts that were ordered earlier. The quilts and pillows have been made, but the quilt covers for the remaining three beds have not been sewn yet.
Zhang Qingqing left, and the familiar girl was also gone. A woman in her thirties came to the shop. From the way she spoke and acted, she seemed to be the new manager of the shop.
The manager said to Lin Chuntao, "Madam, come and get it on the morning of the sixth day. It will be ready by then."
Lin Chuntao nodded. Seeing that she was enjoying her shopping, the manager said, "Madam, we have some new fabrics in our shop. They're great for making winter clothes. Would you like to take a look?"
Winter clothes need to be made, but Lin Chuntao plans to make them after moving, but she needs to buy at least two pieces for Lin Cunzheng and Sun.
"Do you have any ready-made winter clothes?"
The steward said, "This year's new models haven't been made yet, but last year's old models are available on the second floor. Madam, would you like to take a look?"
Lin Chuntao responded and followed the steward upstairs. As they walked, the steward said, "Although this is an old model made last year, we have kept it very well. It hasn't even gathered a speck of dust and it still looks brand new."
Lin Chuntao asked, "Are there any styles suitable for the elderly?"
The steward was stunned for a moment, then said, "Yes, yes, ma'am, how old is the old man?"
Lin Chuntao said, "I guess he's in his fifties or sixties."
"Yes, I'll get it for you."
The steward went to the cupboard and took out two packages. Inside were neatly folded winter clothes with thin cotton sewn inside. The steward said, "Although the winter here is not very cold, the elderly get up early, and the frost in the early morning can still be a bit chilly. That's why we made this batch of winter clothes last year and sold these leftovers."
Lin Chuntao looked at the stitching details and found it was sewn very densely and made very firmly.
The long-sleeved outer jacket, for men, has a middle opening and cloth buttons, while for women, it has two buttons on the inside, alternating on the left and right sides, and then buttons on the outside. It is a very conventional style.
"How much is this one?" Lin Chuntao asked.
The steward said, "The women's version is 360 wen, and the men's version is 340 wen."
Lin Chuntao took the men's pair and took a look. The workmanship was nothing special. The style was old. Every shop was going to release new styles this year, and it was definitely impossible for their shop to sell this all year round. Lin Chuntao smiled and bargained: "A cheaper price. I'll take one each for men and women."
"My wife is also a frequent customer of our shop. So, two pieces for 680 wen."
Hearing her words, Lin Chuntao smiled, thought for a moment and said directly: "Two pieces, four hundred coins."
The woman was shocked by the price Lin Chuntao offered. She looked at her in disbelief and said after a while, "Madam, four hundred coins won't do. Look at this fabric, it's cotton. We even use fine cotton for the lining, and we even add cotton inside."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I found it, but this one probably only has half a pound of cotton in it, a thin layer. If you make this fabric in bulk, all the fabric can be used, and the cost will not exceed one hundred coins. Two hundred coins per piece is still very profitable in the shop. They are going to make a new style soon, so sell me two pieces of the old style."
Listening to Lin Chuntao's clear and logical words, the woman smiled helplessly. Lin Chuntao continued to press on: "Good sister, just sell me two. I will come back in a few days to make new winter clothes for my sisters. I will come back to you then."
"Add a little more, add two and you can take both."
Lin Chuntao said, "This price is very suitable."
Seeing Lin Chuntao's determination, the steward sighed and said, "Okay, my lady, come to me directly next time you need winter clothes."
After buying straw mats and clothes, Lin Chuntao went to buy some red beans and bitter herbs, and then went to the dry goods store to buy some dried bamboo shoots, dried ferns, dried beans, etc. She also saw dried day lilies, but the shopkeeper said it was called golden needle vegetables. Lin Chuntao bought several kilograms of each, as she would need them when she held a banquet, so she bought them back first.
The two sisters bought a mule cart full of things and pulled it back. These were all things they would need for their new home. Lin Chuntao only locked the main door of the new house, and the doors and windows of each room inside were open, so she pulled these things directly to the old house.
Since it was decided to hold a wedding banquet and wait for Pei Ying to come back, Lin Chuntao notified every household in the village and had dinner in the evening of October 8th. After notifying the villagers, Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying went to her uncle's house again. Lin Chuntao also had two aunts, but they were married far away, so it took more than an hour to go there one way, and it took most of the day to go back and forth.
But it was impossible not to notify them on such a day, so the uncle asked Lin Chuntao: "You guys are very busy recently, right?"
Lin Chuntao said, "It's okay, I'm just preparing the things to move in."
The eldest uncle said, "I'll go and inform your second and third aunts. You guys go about your business. If you have anything, just talk to your eldest aunt directly."
Lin Chuntao hurriedly thanked her, and also said that Lin Chuntao knew Xu Tianzhu and other cousins in the village. She went to notify them herself, and the other uncles helped to notify them.
The eldest aunt said that she would come to help her cook that day, but Lin Chuntao did not agree. "I have already invited the cook. Aunt, you can just bring your younger brothers and sisters to eat."
"Are you all ready?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and said, "I'll invite everyone. I'll be the head chef. I'll prepare the main dishes a day in advance, and the vegetables will be ready quickly."
The eldest aunt thought of the many stoves in her new house. They would all be lit by then, so she wouldn't have to worry about anything. She smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take them over there early."
In the past few days, Lin Chuntao and her friends asked someone to buy some things. On the morning of the sixth day of the New Year, Lin Chuntao went to the county town early to get a quilt.
When Pei Ying learned that she was going to get the quilt, he said, "I'll go with you."
When she arrived at the cloth shop, Lin Chuntao found out that Pei Ying had also ordered a set of sheets and quilt covers in bright red, which looked extremely festive.
After checking the items and paying, they packed everything up and loaded it onto the mule cart, and then the two of them left.
After leaving the shop, Lin Chuntao said, "When did you order it? You didn't even tell me."
Pei Ying said, "I should have prepared these for your wedding. Actually, your wedding dress hasn't even been made yet."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I won't make bright red clothes. Just make me some winter clothes later."
Pei Ying nodded slightly, "Then come back in a few days to pick out the fabric you like."
These quilt covers have not been washed yet. Taking advantage of the good weather, Lin Chuntao drove the mule cart back first. Aunt Guizhi and the others helped her move into the house. Lin Chuntao called Lin Duoer and took a large wooden basin to wash and hang all the sheets, quilt covers and pillowcases.
The two sisters worked for a whole morning before they finished washing. Lin Chuntao had reserved a space in the new house and put up bamboo poles so that they could hang the sheets and quilt covers directly on it. The space was spacious, there was no obstruction, and the sunlight was particularly good.
To prevent the flowers from being blown to the ground by the wind, Lin Chuntao made a few bamboo clips and clamped them.
Lin Chuntao was so tired that her waist ached, but Lin Duoer seemed tireless. She looked at the brand new sheets and quilt covers, running back and forth, extremely excited.
Seeing that she still had a lot of energy, Lin Chuntao called her to bring the wooden basin, and she came over jumping and skipping.
When Mrs. Hu and the others saw the things Lin Chuntao brought back, their eyes widened. They had never seen so many quilts when they got married.
They had also been to Lin Chuntao's new house. It had such a big yard and so many rooms. Lin Chunhe and the others had said that when the time came, each sister would live in a room of their own.
They thought, wouldn't that mean we'd have to make a lot of quilts? And making quilts isn't cheap.
Unexpectedly, Lin Chuntao and the others had started working early. Now the house has been built and the quilt has been made and brought back.
Looking at Lin Chuntao, Mrs. Hu felt a little envious. This girl, who was less than twenty years old, had a new house built and was living such a good life. The people in the fifth room were really good. They even drove out a rich man.
Everything is ready. Tomorrow is the seventh day of the first lunar month. Lin Chuntao plans to move some things into the new house. She will make the bed, put the tables and chairs in place, and move all the firewood and utensils that will be needed in. She will also move all the utensils that can be moved in in advance. She will wait until the eighth day to bring in some grains, oil, meat, etc., make a fire and cook a meal, and then she will officially move in.
Although both Mrs. Sun and Lin Cunzheng knew that they were moving on the eighth day of the first lunar month, Lin Chuntao did not formally thank them.
After dinner, Lin Chuntao took the two pieces of clothing she had bought and went to visit Muramasa's house with Pei Ying, Chun Xing, Chun He and others.
The sun had just set and the sky was still bright. Lin Cunzheng and his family were sitting in the yard chatting.
Seeing Lin Chuntao and the others coming, Sun hurriedly invited them to sit over.
Lin Chuntao went straight to Sun's house. Pei Yinghe was called to his side by Lin Changzong. Lin Changzong was making a hoe handle made of a very straight tree trunk. Pei Ying took a look at it out of curiosity.
He was not very good at farming, so he just followed and watched.
After sitting down and chatting for a while, Lin Chuntao said to Sun and Lin Cunzheng, "Grandma, Grandpa, I see the weather is getting colder. I went to the county town a few days ago and bought two winter clothes. You can try them on to see if they fit. If not, I'll take them back and exchange them."
As Lin Chuntao spoke, she took out two pieces of clothing from the package, handed the women's one to Sun and the men's one to Lin Cunzheng.
Sun looked at the new clothes in her arms. The brown-yellow color was neither too dark nor too bright, and it was just right for her age. She took it and found that it was a thick double-layered dress with soft cotton inside.
"Hey, Chuntao, why did you buy this for us?" Sun exclaimed, and said to Lin Chuntao, "You just spent so much money on building the house, why waste this money?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's true that we've spent almost all the money on building the house, but this is something I saved a long time ago. Thank you and Grandpa for lending us the old house."
Lin Cun was looking at the clothes on his legs. The cotton ones looked much softer and thicker than the linen ones. He never expected that Lin Chuntao would buy clothes for them.
Sun said, "Your great grandfather and I gave you our old house to live in not because we want you to thank us. Although we are a little apart, we are still very close relatives. There is no need to be so polite. Seeing that you are living a good life, your great grandfather and I are also happy."
Lin Chuntao said, "I'm not being polite, I just want to show my filial piety to you. Try it on and see if it fits you."
Sun was actually very excited when she held the clothes. At her age, she had never made winter clothes with cotton inside.
Chen Dongniang noticed the old lady's joy, but she felt a little embarrassed. She looked at Lin Chuntao, the young girl's eyes full of sincerity. She said, "Mother, Chuntao's intention is good. You and Dad should give it a try."
Sun looked at Lin Chuntao, and Lin Chuntao said, "Yes, let's give it a try."
Meeting Lin Chuntao's gaze, Sun Shi didn't hesitate and said, "Then I'll give it a try?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, and the old lady unbuttoned her clothes. Chen Dongniang also turned around and took Lin Cunzheng's clothes, unbuttoned them and handed them over.
They both tried them on and found they fit perfectly.
Chen Dongniang was surprised, "Chun Tao, you have such a good eye, how can it fit so well? I can't even buy clothes that fit your grandmother and the others."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I bought it based on my estimate. I even told the shopkeeper that if it doesn't fit, I can take it back and exchange it."
Chen Dongniang said, "It fits perfectly, just right!"
Lin Chuntao also took a look and found it was indeed perfect. People also needed to wear clothes inside in winter, so this was just right.
Sun and her friends helped Lin Chuntao with her work, and Lin Chuntao paid them wages. Although they were paid for their work, they could not find such easy work in the county town. It was close to home, so they could go home for dinner at any time and they did not have to rush in the morning and evening. It didn't take long before the money in their family's jar began to accumulate.
Regarding this matter, Sun felt that Lin Chuntao was already thanking them.
She never expected that she could buy clothes for her and the old man. She was deeply touched and happy.
Sun felt very embarrassed, but after being persuaded by Lin Chuntao, Chen Dongniang and Hu, she happily accepted it.
After the old lady accepted the clothes, Lin Chuntao and the others sat and chatted for a long time before returning home.
The next day, Lin Chuntao and the others had to move some things to the new house early, so Sun called Chen Dongniang and Lin Changzong to help.
After the straw mats and cushions were moved over, Lin Changzong and the others helped move the grain cabinets over as well.
When there are more people, things can be moved faster.
After a busy morning, a lot of things were moved and put away in their proper places.
By the afternoon, all the sheets and quilt covers washed yesterday were dried. Lin Chuntao went to put quilt covers on all the quilts and made the beds.
She laid out her sister's bed first, then she laid out her own.
After the bed was made, everything looked brand new, clean and soft. Lin Duoer and Lin Chunhe didn't want to leave their room and wanted to lie down and take a nap, but it was broad daylight and they hadn't taken a shower yet, so they could only stand by the bed and watch.
Lin Chunxing was in a similar state of mind, but theirs was done, while Lin Chuntao's was not.
"Sister, can I go with you to the shop?"
Before Lin Chuntao could say anything, Pei Ying said, "No need. Your sister and I can handle it. You two can take a break."
Lin Chunxing smiled and nodded, then didn't follow.
Lin Chuntao made a lotus root pink set, but Pei Ying also made a red set. After entering the house and spreading out the straw mat and cushions, Pei Ying said, "Let's spread out the red set."
The two of them stood in the bedroom with the window half-closed. It was not a very enclosed space, but some inexplicable emotions were floating in their minds. Lin Chuntao thought of what she had said before, and when she heard Pei Ying ask to lay the red carpet, she felt as if the two of them were going to spend their wedding night.
"Um."
Lin Chuntao responded and went to get the red set.
The quilt was spread out. The red quilt cover was bright and festive. Pei Ying looked around the room and said to Lin Chuntao, "I bought two red candles to light tomorrow night."
Lin Chuntao hissed coldly and looked at Pei Ying with a complicated expression.
"what ever."
Pei Ying smiled when he heard this, walked out of the house and locked the door.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Pei Ying and Lin Chunxing both rested.
There is no need to get up early to do anything, but everyone gets up early anyway.
When moving to a new house in Yizhou, the most important thing is to bring in a pot of charcoal fire and light the stove inside the house. Then the family can cook a meal, or make a pot of dumplings, or sugar-coated eggs, etc.
According to Lin Chuntao's own habit, she prepared grains, a piece of meat, a jar of oil, a bamboo basket of eggs, and seasonings.
She had already prepared and divided everything when she came back from Hayashimura Masaru's house last night, and knew what everyone should take the next day.
At dawn, Lin Chunxing and her friends came out of the next room. The rustling noises of the sisters woke Lin Chuntao up.
Pei Ying woke up as soon as Lin Chuntao got up.
He stretched and sat up.
The sisters couldn't wait to move. Since the fire in this house hadn't been rekindled yet, they planned to go straight to their new home to cook breakfast after Lin Chuntao got up.
Just as the three sisters were thinking, Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying came out.
Lin Duoer looked over happily: "Sister, brother-in-law, you are up."
Lin Chuntao nodded.
"I was thinking that since we have nothing to do today, you guys should get some more sleep. Now that you're all up, let's go over and make breakfast."
Hearing this, Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe's eyes lit up and they echoed, "Okay, okay!"
There was no brazier, so Lin Chuntao lit two sticks of firewood and took the money from home. Lin Chunxing carried the meat, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duoer carried the grains, and Pei Ying drove the piglet and carried the chicken coop, and they walked towards their new home.
It was still early, dew had formed, and the air was filled with the smell of green grass.
Lin Chuntao took a deep breath, looked back at the small courtyard behind her, looked at the people beside her, lowered her eyes, smiled, and strode forward.
The courtyard gate was locked, and Lin Chuntao opened the gates on both sides.
After entering the yard, she went straight to the kitchen and lit the fire immediately. Pei Ying drove the piglets into the pigpen, put the chicken coop in place, and went to the backyard to fetch water with Lin Chuntao.
Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying were not at home, so Lin Chunhe and the others walked around the kitchen and the yard several times. She was a calm person, but she couldn't hide her happiness at this moment.
"Second sister! Are we staying here tonight?"
Lin Chunxing nodded. "Yes, we'll live here. We can even take a bath right in our room. My eldest sister bought us a bathtub each."
"Then who will boil water for washing first tonight?" Lin Duoer asked.
Lin Chunhe smiled and said, "We have many stoves at home, we can boil water together, so there is no need to wait."
Lin Duoer said, "I'm going to bed early today. I'll go to bed as soon as it gets dark. Have you tried it? The mattress is so soft, and the quilt is so soft too. It's such a big quilt, I can roll around in it!"
The three sisters chatted with each other, and were so happy that they couldn't close their mouths.
Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying came back with water, and Lin Chuntao cooked a pot of sugar-water eggs. After each of them ate two, Lin Chuntao led them to light several stoves. They hadn't cooked anything yet, so they boiled a pot of water first, as there would be a lot of dried vegetables to soak later.
The people in the village had just woken up and were still drowsy. When they turned around, they saw several puffs of green smoke rising from the direction of Lin Chuntao's new house.
"Oh, are the Chuntao sisters here so early? Are they going to light a fire already?"
The neighbors all looked over at the exclamation, and someone asked, "Are you going over for dinner tonight? What are you bringing?"
"Take some eggs and dried vegetables. There's nothing else at home."
"That's right. I'll bring some pumpkins to Chuntao. My pumpkins are very sweet this year."
There were many people eating tonight, and there were too many meat dishes for Lin Chuntao to provide. Yesterday, she asked Pei Ying to bring five sets of pork offal, including pig hearts, pig livers, pig stomachs, pig intestines, and pig lungs. Lin Chuntao washed them all and braised them together, estimating that she could make a big pot full of them.
The last time a pig was slaughtered, two legs and half a rib were left. Since they had been marinated, Lin Chuntao planned to wash them and cook them directly. She would then make some spicy dipping sauce and they should taste good.
Pei Ying first washed the meat, chopped it, and cooked it, which took quite a long time.
Lin Chuntao soaked various dried vegetables and some red beans, and would cook them into sauerkraut later to relieve the greasiness.
Aunt Guizhi and Grandma were invited to cook together. When they saw smoke coming out of Lin Chuntao's chimney, they quickly had breakfast and rushed over.
Lin Changzong and others also came with them.
There are many soy sauce jars in the old house, so we asked Lin Changzong and others to help carry them.
Lin Chuntao found all the vegetables to be picked and gave them to Sun and the others, and then followed Lin Changzong and the others to carry the jars of soy sauce.
Grandma and the others took the vegetables directly to the well, picking and washing them. By the time Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying moved all the things from Lao Wu's side over, Grandma and the others had already finished preparing all the vegetables for today and had almost finished washing the pig intestines.
Lin Chuntao put the sauce jar away and added the pork offal to the stew, making a big pot full.
Deng went to help add firewood and saw the big pot of meat cooked by Lin Chuntao. With the addition of this pot of pork offal, tonight's banquet would be very delicious.
Lin Chuntao said, "I also bought a few chickens, and Pei Ying will come to kill them later. I'll also boil a pot of pig's blood to make cold slices, and then stir-fry some pig's liver. That's all for dinner."
When Sun and the others heard this, they said, "Chun Tao, five meat dishes are already a very good feast."
"With your cooking skills, those who come to the dinner tonight will be in for a treat." Mrs. Hu said with a smile.
Lin Chuntao smiled after hearing what Hu said, "I can make more without making it too delicate. If everyone finds it tasty, I'll be very happy."
Deng said, "Chuntao, with your cooking skills, it's impossible for anyone to find it unpalatable."
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