Liu had never eaten lotus root before, and this was the first time she had ever seen it. She had never even heard of lotus root before.
The first time Liu ate lotus root, it won over both her mouth and stomach.
Just because something tastes good when served cold doesn't mean it will taste good when stir-fried!
If it doesn't taste good, wouldn't it be a waste to have a whole plate of lotus root?
Unfortunately, she wasn't in charge, so even though she didn't want to waste the opportunity, she had no choice but to try.
The final result...
The Liu family has been conquered once again!
Then came various pickling and stir-frying methods, as well as several kinds of lotus root soup. We also made lotus root boxes and lotus root cakes. If we hadn't been short of ingredients, we would definitely have made even more dishes.
The whole family was amazed by the lunch feast made with lotus roots. They were surprised that such delicious things could grow in the mud!
Everyone else was busy eating lotus root, but Lin Chaodong glanced thoughtfully at Liu Shi, then at the dishes on the table, his movements of picking up food noticeably slower than the others.
However, everyone was eating happily, and no one cared who was slow. First come, first served, and if you ate less, you could only blame yourself.
Regardless of how others felt, Yue Jiuyue thoroughly enjoyed the meal. It had meat and vegetables, hot soup and cold dishes, making it even more enjoyable than the Mid-Autumn Festival meal she had the day before.
In the afternoon, the group continued digging for lotus roots. Yue Jiuyue also joined in, helping to wash the lotus roots clean so they could be taken to the county town to sell the next day.
It was only the next day, when Lin Chaodong went to the county town with Lin Chaonan and Lin Chaobei to sell lotus roots, that he learned that his family not only had an oxcart, but also a horse-drawn cart!
The last time Lin Chaonan and Lin Chaobei drove a carriage to the city to see him, he thought the carriage was hired.
On the day he returned, all he knew was that there was an oxcart at home. When Lin Chaonan drove the horse-drawn carriage back, he was out playing with Dazhuang and didn't see it.
A carriage! If the family even has a carriage, doesn't that prove that the family isn't as poor as he thinks?
Besides, with fruit trees planted, houses built, people hired to work, and more than a dozen servants, they don't look like they're short of money at all!
He's not as demanding as he was when he first went to the city. He doesn't dare listen to Liu's words anymore and just think about squeezing more money out of his mother. He doesn't need to buy a two-courtyard or three-courtyard house, nor does he need to go to a rich or noble area. He can just buy a detached house in a place where ordinary people live. It won't cost more than a hundred taels of silver in total. His mother should agree, right?
As for whether Lady Liu will be angry then, that's a matter for the future. The most important thing for him is to establish a firm foothold in the city first.
The lotus roots sold out faster than expected, in less than an hour. The buyers were mostly wealthy families, as well as restaurants and clinics. After buying the lotus roots, the three brothers had a simple lunch and, thinking there was nothing else they needed to buy at home, headed home.
On the way home, Lin Chaodong's mind was racing, constantly thinking about the carriage, the family's money, and the house purchase. After arriving home, he couldn't find an opportunity to be alone with Yue Jiuyue. This dragged on until the family had finished dinner before Lin Chaodong finally had to bite the bullet and speak to Yue Jiuyue under the questioning gazes of his two younger brothers.
“Mother, I want to buy a small courtyard in the city. I’ve inquired and found that in the area where I live, a small courtyard will cost about fifty taels of silver. With some renovations and furniture, it won’t cost more than a hundred taels of silver in total. Mother, can you help me?”
As Lin Chaodong spoke his last sentence, his voice grew softer and softer. He felt ashamed to beg his mother in front of his two younger brothers. He was the eldest son in the family, and he had never been so humble in front of his brothers before.
The main reason is that he's afraid his mother won't give him any face at all. If she refuses him outright in front of his two younger brothers, he feels he won't have the face to come back for the New Year!
"Eldest brother, although we haven't separated the family yet, you're the one who spends the most money. Not to mention anything else, you've spent two or three hundred taels of silver this year alone, right? How should we calculate this money?"
She has four sons! She never thought about giving the eldest son the largest share and dividing the remaining three brothers equally. Since they are all her sons, even if they are not her biological sons, they should be treated equally. There is no such thing as one having to get more and the other having to get less.
The eldest brother has already spent so much money, and Yue Jiuyue didn't intend to get it back, but he had to give her an explanation for this matter. Or, when she made up for it to the other three brothers in another way, she hoped that the eldest brother and his wife wouldn't have any objections.
"mother……"
Lin Chaodong never expected that not only would he not get the money, but his mother would also bring up old scores with him. This was something he hadn't anticipated. After all, no one's family had ever experienced something like this before. Shouldn't it be the respected elders in the village who preside over the accounting and division of the family property after the elders are about to pass away or have already passed away?
This sudden revelation of old grievances left Lin Chaodong completely bewildered. His large eyes kept glancing at Yue Jiuyue, then at his two younger brothers, but they were both clueless and didn't give him any response.
What's wrong with his mother? Why doesn't she explain it to him? Could it be that what he thinks isn't true, that his mother has some serious illness and won't live much longer?
But looking at his mother's rosy complexion and her ability to eat and sleep well, it doesn't seem like it at all!
Lin Chaodong was conflicted, but his mother was still watching him, waiting for an answer. If he kept dawdling, it would be dawn soon.
“Mom, we haven’t separated the family yet, how can you calculate the money like this? Besides, that money was spent on Dazhuang and his mother’s medical treatment.”
He hadn't considered that Yue Jiuyue wanted him to repay the money. After all, they were family, and talking about repayment would be too formal.
"Well, you know what I mean. I brought this up to tell you that your family has already spent two or three hundred taels of silver, and that's just what your family spent this year. I will definitely have to make up for it for your younger brother and his family in the future. They are all brothers, and we can't be too different. No matter where I make up for it, you and Liu can't have any objections."
After thinking for a moment, Yue Jiuyue added:
"Even if you have any complaints, you have to keep them to yourself!"
Once the loving brothers and sisters start their own families, they are no longer a family that works together with one heart and one mind. Therefore, if the elders show favoritism, they will deliberately create conflicts for the children in the family. Even though this is ancient times and the eldest son of the eldest son has an advantage, Yue Jiuyue did not intend to let Lin Chaodong take full advantage of the situation and alienate the other sons.
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