Lin Shitou quickly explained the situation.
After listening, Sister-in-law Lin looked at Song Anxin with a conflicted expression and said, "Sister-in-law, it was wrong of Lin the Drunkard to hit someone, and he has already paid the money. Let's just forget about the ten coins. Stone Mother's health is not good to begin with."
Stone's mother said weakly, "It's alright, I can still manage some housework...cough cough..." Before she could finish speaking, she started panting and coughing, and Stone quickly patted her back to help her catch her breath.
Lin Fengshou also looked like he didn't want his good friend's mother to do chores for his family.
Seeing their expressions, Song Anxin realized that if she didn't explain, she would become the villain. She said, "Don't worry, I won't really make Stone's mother do any work. I just saw that Lin Jiugui was in a bad mood and was afraid that he would take it out on Stone and Stone's mother after we left, so I made up an excuse to call them out."
Sister-in-law Lin looked at him with an "I see" expression and praised, "Sister-in-law, I knew you weren't heartless enough to torment people. Alright, since you're all fine here, I should hurry back; the food is still cooking on the stove."
Watching Sister-in-law Lin hurry away, Song Anxin thought to herself that Sister-in-law Lin had really forgotten all the evil deeds the original owner had committed.
Upon hearing this, Stone's mother said with gratitude, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Lin. It's alright for me to be beaten, but it's Stone who has suffered. My health is getting worse and worse, and I can't protect him anymore."
As she spoke, she secretly wiped away a tear and continued, "Our family still has to do this work. Don't worry, Sister-in-law Lin, although I'm not in good health, I can still do sewing and washing. Shi Tou can also help your family chop firewood and do other things."
Lin Shitou quickly said that he could.
Looking at the pitiful mother and son, Song Anxin thought for a moment and said, "Alright, but you need to eat first to have the strength to work. You can have dinner at my house tonight."
Stone Mother quickly refused, saying, "No, no, no, the work hasn't been done yet, how can I accept a meal from you?"
Song Anxin turned and walked back to her yard after saying that: "If you don't eat, Shitou has to eat, right? Look how thin this child is. Don't worry, you won't get to eat for nothing. You have to do chores after you finish eating."
As soon as Song Anxin stepped into the courtyard, the children quickly surrounded him, or rather, Lin Fengshou, because he knew they were worried about the second son.
After reassuring the younger children that Fenghe was alright, she went straight to the kitchen.
Zhang Mei had already prepared the food in the kitchen and kept it warm. Only the rabbit was left to be cooked. When Zhang Mei saw her mother-in-law come in, she quickly called out "Mom".
Song Anxin didn't waste any time. She instructed Zhang Mei to chop the rabbit into pieces, while she took out some spices she had picked from the mountain from her basket, such as star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves. These were actually Chinese medicines, but people in this era didn't know they could be used as seasonings.
Song Anxin then remembered that she didn't have any scallions, ginger, or garlic, so she asked Lin Fengyao to borrow some from the neighbor's house. She then remembered the big radish that the neighbor's wife had.
So he said, "Fengyao, borrow two more radishes from your aunt. Also, see if your aunt has finished cooking. If she has, have her family bring the food to our house so we can eat together. Just say we got a fat rabbit."
Sister-in-law Lin left so quickly that she didn't even have time to say goodbye.
Lin Fengyao responded and ran off quickly.
Soon after, Lin Fengyao brought scallions, ginger, garlic, and two large radishes, along with a message: "Auntie didn't want to come and eat our big rabbit, but Dongzi kept pestering her to come. However, Sister Erxi went to raid bird nests this afternoon and hasn't come back yet. Uncle went to look for her, and Auntie said she'll come to our house when Uncle brings Sister Erxi back."
Song Anxin nodded in agreement and went to cook. First, she put a little bit of lard at the bottom, then added the rabbit meat and slowly rendered the rabbit fat. Next, she added ginger and garlic to sauté until fragrant, then quickly stir-fried it with radish. She added salt and diluted soy sauce, then poured in enough water to cover the rabbit meat and added star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon. She also added some dogwood, which she picked from the mountain. In this era, there were no chili peppers, so people mostly used dogwood to add a touch of spiciness.
The water quickly boiled, and Song Anxin turned the fire down to a medium-low heat to simmer.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the entire courtyard was filled with this enticing aroma.
Stone's mother finally brought Stone in. Stone told his mother to rest on the side while he chopped firewood with Song Anxin's axe, while Lin Fengshou chopped firewood with another axe.
Lin Fengnian was drawing water from his own well, intending to fill the water tank in the kitchen. His mother was very clean and would boil water to bathe every night, and she would also make them wash themselves before going to bed.
Seeing that his work had been taken over, Lin Fenghe could only join Lin Fengyao in stacking firewood.
The aroma wafted into the yard, and the boys immediately looked up and sniffed hard. Lin Fengyao wiped his drool and said, "Mom, is this rabbit meat you made? It smells so good! I can't stop drooling."
Song Anxin was amused by his greedy look and said, "Everyone, hurry up and wash your hands and get ready to eat."
Just then, Sister-in-law Lin and her family arrived with their own food. As soon as Lin Erxi entered the yard, he exclaimed, "Wow, Auntie, your stewed rabbit smells so good! My family has caught rabbits before, but they never smelled this good."
Sister-in-law Lin pretended to be angry and said, "What's wrong? You don't like what I made? If you don't like it, then don't eat it anymore."
Lin Erxi quickly said in a coquettish tone, "Oh, Mom, it's so delicious! Your cooking is the best, but I feel like Auntie's cooking is even better!"
He ran off as he spoke, and everyone in the courtyard was amused by Lin Erxi. Lin's sister-in-law also gave him a helpless smile.
Brother Lin, who had lagged behind, arrived carrying a large wooden basin. The honest man said, "Fengnian's mother, you're late today. I spent a lot of time cutting wood this afternoon, so I only managed to make one basin. I'll bring you two more tomorrow."
Song Anxin quickly handed the money to Lin Fengnian, saying, "Thank you, brother. No rush, take your time. I'll settle the payment with you later."
"It's just a few wooden basins, and the wood is readily available on the mountain. It'll only take a little time, and it's free for the whole family," Brother Lin said.
Sister-in-law Lin chimed in, saying that Song Anxin's expenses were not required.
Song Anxin didn't say anything more. She would settle the money later; there was no point in talking now.
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Soon, the group served the food. Since they had invited Sister-in-law Lin and her family to eat together, as well as Lin Shitou and his mother, Song Anxin made chestnut rice. It wasn't that Song Anxin was reluctant to give them white rice, but rather that Sister-in-law Lin had brought chestnut rice from her own home.
Song Anxin didn't want people to feel disappointed, but the chestnut rice at Song Anxin's house was more substantial and a brighter yellow.
Fortunately, Sister-in-law Lin's family didn't seem to mind. Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi, not satisfied with their own food being gone, also served Song Anxin's food. Luckily, Song Anxin had Zhang Mei cook a lot.
Lin Shitou's mother and Shitou initially refused to eat, but Lin's sister-in-law dragged them to the table. However, they still didn't dare to eat freely, so Lin's sister-in-law kept piling food onto their plates. Lin Fengshou also piled food onto Shitou's plate, and the two of them were fed to their hearts' content.
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