As Lin left the grain store, she noticed a farmer selling eggs on the street and suddenly remembered that she should stock up on some coarse grains.
The hen I caught in the mountains last time just sat still on the nest of eggs after entering the space; it must be brooding. I don't know if it started brooding in the mountains or only started after entering the space's courtyard.
Either one is fine.
Lin Momo was pleased to see it happen.
In order to have wild eggs to eat as soon as possible, Lin Momo also had to go into the space from time to time to feed and water the hardworking hen who was brooding.
Feeding them refined grains is a bit too extravagant; we should switch to coarse grains.
So Lin Momo took out a wooden wheelbarrow from her spatial storage, found a grain shop, and went in to buy a bag of brown rice and two bags of wheat bran.
This handcart was used by her grandfather; it's quite an antique.
Lin Momo thought she would probably still need it after transmigrating, so she put it into her space when she packed her belongings before leaving.
I didn't expect it to be put to use so quickly.
*
When Lin Momo returned to Linjia Village, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.
At midday, as the sun shone directly down from above and the shadow was cast beneath her feet, Lin Momo found a secluded spot and deliberately took out her mechanical watch from her spatial storage to check the time.
There will definitely be some error, but it will absolutely not exceed half an hour.
From now on, she won't have to look at the sun to estimate the time.
Lin Momo didn't go home first, but instead went to the village head's house to return the money she had borrowed.
Nowadays, after the autumn harvest, farmers no longer plant grains in the fields. If they do plant, they plant some winter storage vegetables, such as radishes and cabbages, which have short maturation periods. They will only get busy with spring plowing next year.
It's currently the off-season for farming, so the forestry chief usually stays at home.
When he saw Lin Momo arrive, he assumed she was there to borrow money again, and his face immediately fell.
Upon realizing they were there to return the money, she smiled and feigned politeness: "Why did you return it so quickly? You're in such a hurry, little girl. How's your father? I heard he woke up this morning. When will he be able to get out of bed?"
The village chief's expression changed as easily as turning the pages of a book.
Lin Momo couldn't help but find it amusing.
“I happened to find a medicinal herb in the mountains the day before yesterday. I took it to the doctor at the clinic today, and he said it was some kind of wild ginseng. It’s a good medicine, but it was dug up a bit too early, so it’s only worth a few taels of silver. That’s just enough to pay back the silver I borrowed from you. I haven’t even gotten home yet, but I’ve come to pay you back first.”
Old Mrs. Lin, who rushed into the main room shortly after, looked much kinder after taking back the money she had lent out.
Lin, the village chief, was quite pleased with what he heard. He puffed on his cigarette and blew smoke rings while listening quietly to Lin Momo's reply, occasionally glancing at her new clothes.
“My dad can’t get out of bed yet. The doctor said it takes a hundred days to recover from a bone injury, so he probably won’t be able to get out of bed until after spring.”
After leaving the village chief's house, Lin Momo turned onto the street where Fan Dalang's house was located.
As she passed by the Fan family's gate, she peeked through the slightly ajar gate and looked inside for a while. She neither saw Fan Dalang nor caught a glimpse of his voice. Suddenly, she heard a loud shout from Fan Dalang's stepmother, Aunt Fan.
Startled, Lin Momo quickly shrank back and ran away.
Counting on my fingers, I realized that Fan Dalang had only been gone for a few days, less than half a month, so he shouldn't be home so soon.
Disappointed, Lin Momo turned around and went to the old house again, intending to inform the old man that she had already returned the money to the village head, so that he would not be unaware and have to return it again later.
Lin Sanya had already informed Old Master Lin yesterday that she had woken up.
When the grandfather and granddaughter met, the old man first looked Lin Momo up and down, and then said with concern, "Tell me if you feel unwell anywhere, and we'll go see a doctor. You're so young, you don't want to develop any chronic illnesses."
The old man had never seen anyone so tired that they could sleep for three days straight. He always thought there must be something wrong with their health to cause this, and perhaps the two doctors were incompetent and couldn't figure it out.
This granddaughter is the most outstanding among the second wife's children; nothing can happen to her.
Lin smiled and said, "Grandpa, I'm really fine now. I even went to town today and sold the herbs I picked from the mountain to the clinic. I made some money and just paid back the money I borrowed from the village head."
But she couldn't help but wonder. The old man was nice to his granddaughter, but he hadn't paid much attention to Lin Erya before!
What's going on here?
Or perhaps, through this loan incident, Grandpa Lin realized that his granddaughter was quite capable and deserved more care.
"How much can you sell it for? That's five taels of silver!"
"It's like this, one of the medicinal herbs is quite valuable. The doctor said it's wild ginseng, but it's a bit old and won't fetch much money. After returning the five taels of silver, there wasn't much left. I bought myself a new set of clothes and a roast chicken for my master."
As she spoke, Lin Momo took out a roast chicken wrapped in lotus leaves from the basket on the ground and placed it in front of the old man.
Then he picked up his basket and headed home: "Grandpa, I'll go home now."
Before she could even leave the main room, Old Master Lin called out to her, "Er Ya, wait a minute! Go back and tell your sister that your eldest brother will take her home in a mule cart first thing tomorrow morning. Just tell her to wait at home."
Lin Momo's heart stirred.
He quickly replied with a "yes," and seeing that the old man had no further instructions, he left.
Auntie was still sewing shoe soles in the yard, ignoring Lin Momo just like when she came in, still holding a grudge about the unpleasant incident from last time.
But Lin Momo acted as if nothing had happened, and greeted her with a smile, "Auntie, I'm back."
Regardless of whether she paid any attention to him or not, he walked straight past her and headed towards the courtyard gate.
Inside the main room.
Grandpa Lin watched Lin Momo leave the courtyard before turning his gaze back to the roast chicken on the table.
The enticing aroma kept wafting into his nostrils. The old man, who hadn't eaten chicken in a long time, couldn't help but swallow hard, chuckling under his breath, "He's really getting more and more useless as he gets older!"
However, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
He was increasingly satisfied with Lin Momo, feeling that he hadn't misjudged her; this girl was becoming more and more promising, and her mind was upright.
*
They returned to the second branch of the Lin family.
The interrogation Lin Momo had anticipated did not happen, or rather, it did not happen immediately.
Lin Xushi went out to visit neighbors.
Lin Zhiqiang also disappeared without a trace.
As long as those two troublemakers aren't around, the house feels especially quiet and peaceful.
In the kitchen, Lin Daya and Lin Sanya were cooking and tending the fire, exchanging a few words from time to time.
Lin Musheng, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), was silently weaving something with bamboo strips, showing no intention of joining his two daughters' conversation.
To give his second son, who was recuperating on the kang (a heated brick bed), something to do, Old Master Lin cut a bundle of bamboo from somewhere, split it into strips at home, and brought it over. After teaching his son the bamboo weaving technique, he gracefully withdrew, leaving him to work on his own.
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