"Auntie is from Caijiapo, which happens to be at the foot of this mountain, the village you passed through when you came up."
My house is by the village road. Every few days, people who have traveled a long way into the mountains come to my house asking for a bowl of hot soup. Later, I thought to myself, since I've already finished all the work in the fields and have nothing else to do, why not set up a porridge stall here? That way, people who go up the mountain early in the morning can have a bowl of hot soup to warm themselves up, and it will also bring in some extra income for my family.”
The woman had gentle eyes, smiled before speaking, her hair was tied up at the back of her head with a wooden hairpin, and she wore a blue and white floral headscarf. Her coarse cloth clothes were patched and faded from washing. She spoke frankly and was talkative, and was warm and friendly. She gave people the impression of being shrewd and capable.
Upon hearing the name "Caijiapo," Lin Momo's brow twitched, and she suppressed the tremor in her heart.
Seeing the woman stop talking and look at her expectantly with a smile, she couldn't bear to disappoint her and asked, "Auntie, what kind of soup is in this pot? How much is it?"
Upon hearing the price quoted by the chief consultant, the woman in the coarse cloth blouse immediately beamed with joy. "This pot contains white rice soup, made with white rice grown in our own fields. It was cooked at home and has been kept warm on the fire ever since I brought it here. I guarantee you'll feel comfortable drinking it, girl. It's very cheap, a big bowl of rice soup with a small bowl of cooked chestnuts, only one coin."
As he spoke, he pointed to two stacks of bowls, one large and one small, placed on the wooden table next to him.
The large bowl was an old, uncommon coarse pottery bowl. The Lin family had two of them, each a size larger than their usual bowls. The small bowl was the kind of coarse black pottery bowl used for making braised pork.
That does sound inexpensive.
The rice is homegrown, and the chestnuts were probably picked this morning. Selling it so cheaply, the soup must be so clear you could see your reflection in it.
It's all for keeping warm, and it's better than drinking water, at least it has a rice aroma.
Lin Momo immediately took out two copper coins and handed them over, saying, "Auntie, give me two bowls."
“Okay!” the woman readily agreed, taking the coin with her hand.
Lin Momo poured a bowl of chestnuts into the bamboo basket she had brought, then turned around and called out to Uncle Lin and the others not far away, "Uncle, brother, brother, come and have some soup!"
Seeing them coming this way, Lin Momo turned around, picked up a bowl of clear soup, took a small sip. It was hot and a little scalding. She then picked up a lukewarm chestnut, peeled it open from the opening, and after a few quick movements, the brown outer shell fell off. She then put it in her mouth and began to chew.
Hmm, it's rather sweet, but it's not as glutinous as when it's stir-fried.
"You silly child, why are you wasting money again?" Uncle Lin scolded his niece before he even got close.
Lin Momo hadn't swallowed the chestnut in her mouth yet, and ignored him, continuing to peel and eat chestnuts.
Adults are all like this, so hypocritical. They clearly enjoy it, but they have to pretend to be disgusted.
"Hey girl, why is your rice porridge so thin? Are you trying to rip off my niece because she's young? How much is this bowl of rice porridge?" The uncle picked up a bowl, looked at it, and became even more disgusted.
“Look at what you’re saying, brother. We’re just country folk, how would we know about all the tricks and swindles city people do? A bowl of rice porridge with a bowl of chestnuts only costs one copper coin. Rice porridge may be thin, but it’s still warming. If we made it like we usually do at home, wouldn’t it cost two copper coins a bowl to break even?”
This woman was also very eloquent. With just a few words, she left Uncle Lin, who was not used to arguing with people, speechless, and he could only bury his head in his soup.
A while ago, women from nearby villages started selling soup at a stall here, but he had never bought any and didn't know the price.
It wasn't just him who was reluctant to buy it; basically, people his age wouldn't be willing to spend the money. Only young people who don't know the cost of living and don't know how expensive firewood and rice are willing to spend this money, and only people who have done a day's physical labor on the mountain and are extremely thirsty would buy it to quench their thirst.
"Uncle, I only bought two bowls. You and my brother can have one, and I'll have the other with him," Lin Momo said, worried that her uncle would finish the soup.
"Cough cough cough," Uncle Lin then burst into a fit of coughing.
Lin Momo picked up another bowl of soup and pushed it in front of her cousin: "Here, big brother, you and my brother can drink this bowl."
Really!
They drank so fast without even complaining about the heat. Didn't they see their cousins, Lin Zhiyong and Lin Zhiqiang, peeling chestnuts to eat first because they thought it was too hot?
Lin Momo, happily chewing on chestnuts, wanted to see her uncle make a fool of himself, but she didn't expect that she would stop laughing the next moment.
"Er Ya, where did you get the money? If you have money, why don't you give it to your mother?" The shameless Lin Zhiqiang said while eating the chestnuts that Lin Momo had bought and shoveling food into Lin Momo's pot.
"Where else could it have come from? It must have been borrowed."
"You brat, the money for the doctor isn't all spent, so your mother should keep it."
Lin Momo glared at him and questioned, "Didn't you say that whoever borrowed it should pay it back? What, did you ask Mom for the money you borrowed to treat Dad's illness back?"
"What are you going to pay back? How could you possibly earn the money? In the future, your father will have to pay it back anyway. Since you can't pay it back, you should naturally give the rest of the money to your mother."
"That's none of your business!"
"How can it not be my business? Don't forget, this house will be mine sooner or later. If you can't pay back the money, they will naturally come to your house to ask for it."
"And don't forget, your mother is pregnant with another one. Maybe that one will be much more successful than you. If your father is happy, he'll give all the family property to his younger son. You good-for-nothing, just wait to be kicked out of the house."
Seemingly having his secret exposed, Lin Zhiqiang's face darkened, and he stopped eating the chestnuts, casually tossing the chestnuts he had just grabbed from his bowl aside.
The chestnuts that hit the wooden planks of the stall immediately rolled off the planks and into the grass, disappearing from sight.
People who lack ability tend to have a bad temper.
Lin silently complained in her heart.
Lin Zhiyong, the cousin standing nearby, quickly spoke up to remind his irritable younger cousin: "Zhiqiang, watch yourself! We're outside."
Uncle Lin had choked so badly that tears were streaming down his face, and he hadn't paid any attention to the siblings' quarrel. Now that he had finally calmed down, he said, "Stop arguing. Eat and drink as you please. Hurry up, we still have to go up the mountain."
Lin Zhiqiang picked up the bowl, drank a few sips of soup, and finally couldn't suppress his question, asking Lin Momo again, "Lin Erya, how much money did you borrow? How much do you have left?"
"Want to know?" Lin Momo peeled a chestnut, smiled slightly, then made a face. "I won't tell you, just to annoy you!"
"You—" Lin Zhiqiang was furious and reached out to hit Lin Momo a few times.
This brat is always going against him. If he doesn't teach her a lesson, she'll cause chaos. What will become of her brother's authority?
This girl can't possibly be carrying scissors with her today, can she?
Lin Zhiyong, who was standing to the side, had been on guard against his cousin's recklessness ever since the siblings started arguing. Seeing that things were not going well, he immediately dropped the chestnut in his hand, pulled his cousin away, and advised, "Hey! Zhiqiang, why did you start fighting while we were talking? We're still outside. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"
As he spoke, he glanced sideways at the woman selling soup in front of him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
