These days, farmers don't have it easy. They don't even have enough to eat for their own families, so they rarely invite people to their homes for meals.
Even though the eldest uncle's family was doing quite well, the eldest aunt, who disliked the second branch of the family, never invited them to stay for a meal.
Old Master Lin could easily understand his eldest daughter-in-law's little scheme.
But he was in a good mood today and wanted to have his two granddaughters stay for a meal, so he chose to ignore them this time: "Tell your mother to cook more."
"Okay!" Stone replied and ran off.
Lin Momo didn't want to go back and face the mother and son for the time being. Since the old man invited her to stay for dinner, she decided to stay as well. However, she still wanted to help out.
She pushed the silver to the old man: "Keep this silver with me, sir. You can take it if you need it tomorrow."
She didn't dare let that mother and son touch this money.
Seeing that the old man had accepted the money, Lin Momo called Lin Sanya to the kitchen to help with the cooking.
However, Lin Momo soon regretted staying.
Before even approaching the kitchen, one could hear Aunt Wang's loud, abusive voice: "Running out at mealtimes! Are we some kind of beggars? Does everyone else's food smell so good? Even wild boars want to eat bran..."
Lin Momo gripped Lin Sanya's hand tightly, took three steps at a time, and walked to the kitchen door. She stopped, smiled, and looked at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law cooking inside without saying a word.
The daughter-in-law, who was tending the fire under the stove, had a delicate face. When she saw her mother-in-law being caught talking badly about someone behind her back, she blushed with embarrassment. She greeted the two of them with an awkward smile, "Er Ya and San Ya are here."
Wang, who was kneading dough, stopped talking abruptly, but stared at the two of them without any fear, just about to speak.
Lin Momo, her smile undiminished, spoke first: "Auntie, are you teaching your daughter-in-law? It doesn't sound like anything nice. Are you planning to lead her astray so you can abuse her when she gets old? Well, we're leaving now, you two continue."
After leaving her uncle's large brick and tile house, Lin Momo was at a loss for where to go.
He simply turned around and took Lin Sanya out of the village, thinking it best to familiarize himself with the surrounding environment first.
The crisis of being sold has been temporarily resolved, but Lin Momo still faces a very difficult situation, which does not allow her to relax in the slightest.
The father lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), his fate unknown.
She has incurred another famine of fifteen taels of silver today.
Her family had borrowed a lot of money for medical treatment, which she could ignore for now, but she would have to repay the money she had borrowed herself today.
How do I make money?
People who live near mountains live off the mountains, and people who live near water live off the water.
Linjiazhuang can be considered to be nestled against the mountains and beside the water.
To the south is a large east-west mountain range, said to stretch for hundreds of miles, somewhat similar to the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province.
There is no air pollution in this era, and the visibility is excellent.
The mountain didn't seem very far away. Looking into the distance, one could vaguely see the white ribbon-like mountain path, as well as houses and trees on the northern slope of the mountain range.
But even looking at a mountain can make a horse run itself to death.
Currently, the only means of transportation besides mules, donkeys, and oxen are walking.
If you want to make a round trip in one day, you have to leave in the middle of the night and return in the middle of the night.
In order to store firewood for the winter, the villagers have been going into the mountains in groups with dry food to cut the firewood they need in one go. After the wood has cooled down, they transport it back in trips by oxcart or mule cart.
Speaking of firewood, the second branch of the family has been so busy these days seeking medical treatment for the head of the household that they've long forgotten about it.
Uncle Lin and his two younger brothers have also been busy going into the mountains to collect firewood these past few days.
This distance was awkward for Lin Momo, who wanted to go into the mountains to search for treasure.
Even if she shamelessly hitched a ride on her uncle's mule cart, she wouldn't dare spend the night in the mountains.
It's late autumn, the perfect time to collect wild mountain produce.
The mountains are full of wild persimmons, wild grapes, chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and many other good things. Although they are not worth much, they can be given to children as snacks or saved to entertain guests during the New Year, which is quite presentable.
At this time of year, people from various villages around Nanshan flock to the mountains to gather firewood and collect local produce. The main road leading to the foot of the mountain is bustling with people and vehicles, just like a lively market day.
Unfortunately, Lin Momo could only look on with envy.
With such a giant mountain range, there is naturally no shortage of water.
Not to mention far away, there is a river about seven or eight zhang wide next to Linjiazhuang Village, and there are several ponds of different sizes in the surrounding wasteland.
Although located in the north, the area is not short of water, so the main crops are wheat and rice, and some millet is also grown.
It's right that it's nestled against the mountains and beside the water.
But for Lin Momo, it was a useless thing.
After looking around, her ambition to earn money to pay off her debts was greatly diminished.
The most pressing problem right now is not repaying the money, but how to survive the coming winter.
Winters in the north can be deadly cold.
In Lin Momo's memory, last year Lin Erya was often forced to go to the river to fetch water for washing clothes, and she almost froze to death.
The winter clothes she wore were taken from her older sister, Lin Daya. They had been patched and mended for years, and were now worn and stiff, no longer providing any warmth.
Did she expect the Xu family to provide her with something new?
Pure fantasy.
To get through the winter safely, she needs to start preparing winter supplies now.
We also need to bring Lin Sanya's share.
This is absolutely hell mode!
Who the hell picked out the script for her?
"Second sister, second sister, you're hurting me." Lin Sanya's little hand was squeezed so hard that it hurt, and she couldn't help but cry out in a wronged voice, shaking off their clasped hands.
The little girl was initially holding back, but as Lin Momo's hands clenched tighter and tighter, she became somewhat afraid.
Lin Momo suddenly realized what was happening and quickly let go of her hand. Sure enough, her little sister's hand had turned white from being gripped so tightly. She quickly grabbed it back and began to stroke it gently, coaxing, "It's alright, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Second sister, what happened to you just now?" Lin Sanya thought about how pale her second sister's face was just like when her father was brought back.
She overheard an aunt whispering to someone, "Look how pale that face is, it's probably not going to make it."
She was terrified.
Sure enough, her father still hasn't woken up.
"It's nothing, Second Sister was just lost in thought," Lin Momo said dismissively, then put down her younger sister's hand. "Let's go back."
Lin Momo figured her family had already eaten by now, and since she was going to the county town early tomorrow morning, she planned to go back and tidy herself up.
Using Lin Sanya's disheveled appearance as a mirror, Lin Momo could imagine what a terrible sight she herself looked like.
Even if conditions are limited, at least take a shower and change your clothes so you look presentable when you go out.
I'll go to the county tomorrow to broaden my horizons, get a general understanding of the situation in this era, and then make some plans.
Given Lin Momo's current difficult situation, giving up is out of the question for her.
She wasn't so lucky!
"Did you two sisters manage to borrow any money?"
As soon as the two sisters entered the courtyard, Lin Xushi, who was sitting under the eaves leisurely basking in the sun, couldn't wait to ask.
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