Chapter 46 The Silver Earned by Risking One's Life
After dinner, the setting sun had exhausted its last rays and disappeared from sight, and darkness was falling.
Chen boiled water, and Lin Yuesha washed up and was forced to drink a bowl of bitter medicine soup.
She didn't know what the ingredients were, but it was even more bitter than modern Coptis chinensis. Despite eating the maltose her father gave her, Lin Yuesha still had a bitter taste lingering on her lips and teeth.
When the moon was high in the sky, there was finally some movement at the courtyard gate.
Xiao Qi was carrying a package, looking exhausted.
"Tingyun, you're back?"
The gate to the courtyard was unlocked, left open especially for Xiao Qi. Chen Shi, who usually sleeps a lot during the day, was warming herself by the fire in the kitchen.
"Mother, my eldest uncle and the others are still in town. They won't be back until tomorrow."
There was still a faint light in the kitchen; someone was waiting for him to come home.
Xiao Qi was somewhat surprised and asked, "Mother, why aren't you asleep yet?"
"That's because I slept too much during the day."
Madam Chen smiled slightly. Even without taking a nap, she still had to wait for Xiao Qi to come back so she could have a hot meal.
Xiao Qi pursed his lips, feeling touched, but didn't say anything.
"Mom, the food smells so good today. Am I just really hungry?"
Xiao Qi was taken to the village entrance by carriage, and then walked back against the cold wind. He hadn't told his parents beforehand that he was coming home that night, thinking he could just go to the kitchen and have a sip of hot water.
He was surprised to find hot food, and the taste was so delicious that he didn't care about being polite and quickly finished it, leaving not a single vegetable leaf behind.
"It's not your imagination, your father ate half a bowl more rice."
When Chen heard her stepson praise the food, a smile immediately appeared on her face. She deliberately kept him in suspense, asking, "Guess who made it?"
Xiao Qi narrowed his eyes. Almost everyone in his family was in town. If it wasn't his father who did it, could it be that little girl Yue Sha?
"Exactly."
Chen rubbed her hands together and poured Xiao Qi a glass of water. She herself hadn't expected that Xiao Ya had such a talent for cooking.
“Mother, this is some fine flour, white sugar, red beans and mung beans that I bought in town. You know how to make red bean cakes and mung bean cakes, so I thought we should make some and send them to the clan chief’s house.”
Xiao Qi handed the package to Chen Shi, which he had bought specially. This time, they had borrowed the carriage from the clan chief's brother-in-law, and regardless of whether the other party had any ulterior motives, they had incurred a favor. It was only right and proper to give something in return, a small gift but a heartfelt expression of gratitude.
Chen Dafa, who was also delivering letters to his uncle's house, also had to deliver some.
"Tingyun, you're so thoughtful."
Madam Chen nodded and then asked about the magistrate's court hearing. She was somewhat relieved to learn that the Ma family had all been imprisoned.
"Ma Youde and the three Ma brothers are definitely going to lose their heads. As for the sentencing of the Jin family women, the county magistrate is still considering it."
Xiao Qi briefly explained the situation. Seeing that he looked pale and very tired, Madam Chen quickly told him to go back and rest.
The next morning, Lin Yuesha woke up to find out that her good-for-nothing brother had returned the night before, but she had been sleeping soundly and had no idea.
Chen prepared a simple and light breakfast: congee, side dishes, and coarse flour steamed buns. Xiao Qi had eaten Lin Yuesha's cooking last night, so he felt that the plain congee tasted bland.
"Tingyun, there was a purse in the package you gave me yesterday."
After the meal, Madam Chen took out her purse and handed it to Xiao Qi, saying, "If you need to buy some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, keep this money safe; we have plenty at home."
Chen thought that Xiao Qi had deliberately given her the money, so she wanted to return it. Scholars have high expenses, and Xiao Qi had to support himself through his studies; his family couldn't offer much help.
"Mother, this isn't something I brought home; it was an official who asked me to bring it back."
Xiao Qi shook his head and pushed the purse back.
To be precise, the two taels of silver were for Lin Yuesha, who was designated by the officials to use the hanging method to compare the results.
Afterwards, Lin Yuesha's throat was constricted and became red and swollen.
The official received compensation from the yamen and used it to get medicine for the little girl.
Lin Yuesha's eyes lit up at the sight of the glittering silver coins. Was this money really meant for her?
"Little girl, here's some silver."
Chen handed the purse to her youngest daughter almost without thinking, which surprised Lin Yuesha.
She also received lucky money from her maternal grandparents, uncle, and aunt during the Lunar New Year. Although it was only a few copper coins, she could only touch them briefly before they were taken away by Chen, who claimed they would be used as part of her dowry.
Now, Chen gave her such a large sum of money without hesitation, which puzzled Lin Yuesha.
"Mother, this is two taels of silver, are you really going to give it to me?"
Could it really not just be empty words from Madam Chen? Lin Yuesha was puzzled. Although she really wanted the money, she knew how difficult her family's situation was; they probably didn't even have two taels of silver.
"Yes, this is what you earned with your life, your mother can't keep it."
Seeing the wound on her daughter's neck and the dark mark, Chen felt even worse. She herself was incompetent and could only let her daughter suffer with her. Over the years, without the help of her family, the mother and daughter would not have been able to make a living at all.
"good."
Lin Yuesha remained silent for a moment before accepting the money. She would consider this money as her capital; if she wanted to make and sell food, she would need to spend money to buy ingredients.
When she earns money in the future, she will give all the money to her mother, Chen, because her own mother will not mistreat her.
"Little girl, I'm going to make some red bean cakes and mung bean cakes to send to the clan chief's house as a thank you for borrowing the carriage. Would you like to learn how to make them?"
Seeing that Lin Yuesha had put the money away, Madam Chen asked.
"Mom, I'll learn."
Lin Yuesha quickly nodded. She was equally skilled at both Chinese pastries and Western baking.
In order to change her family's opinion of her and make them acknowledge her talent in cooking, Lin Yuesha has abandoned her lazy persona and become extremely diligent.
Chen first washed and crushed the mung beans, preparing to add white sugar to make the filling, but Lin Yuesha stopped her.
"Mom, I'm thinking, if we remove the mung bean skins, will the color be better?"
Actually, removing the mung bean skins causes the loss of nutrients. However, since they were giving it as a gift and not for their own consumption, Lin Yuesha didn't mind.
When it comes to gift-giving, appearance is important; as long as the gift looks nice, that's fine. However, country food is still a bit too simple for wealthy families.
"Then let's have half of each."
The Chen family had never seen anyone do it this way before, but the finished mung bean filling was indeed not very refined because of the skin.
I heard that the clan chief's brother-in-law owns large courtyards in both the town and the county, and runs a sizable business. He must have seen all sorts of good things.
Ms. Chen planned to try her daughter's suggestion, but she didn't dare to do everything Lin Yuesha said.
Making mung bean cakes is not complicated at all; on the contrary, it's quite simple. Lin Yuesha saw that Chen was very skilled at it, so she patiently observed from the side.
The mung bean cakes were all round and lacked any creativity. Lin Yuesha couldn't resist the urge to try it herself, so she followed Chen's lead and made the mung bean cakes into the shape of "福" (fortune/blessing).
These days, people like auspicious words like wealth, good fortune, and bountiful harvest, and the word "good fortune" just happened to be taught to her by Xiao Chenggui.
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