"Chapter 22"

"Sang Luo was completely unaware of the Chen family’s situation."

"Having picked enough leaves from the Fairy Tree with the two children, they returned home where she washed a small portion, enough for about four pieces, to make Fairy Tofu."

"Shen Ning, having learned the process after several tries and seeing her sister-in-law tirelessly working the past few days with little sleep, eagerly stepped forward, 'Sister-in-law, let me do it. You take a rest.'"

"Making this wasn't difficult and Shen Ning was indeed capable, so Sang Luo considered for a moment and agreed, 'That works.'"

"After delegating the task to Shen Ning, Sang Luo didn’t rest but instead fetched a bowl of water from the spring to moisten the hemp drying on the bamboo rack outside."

"Having been out all morning, the hemp had dried a bit too much. Examining it, Sang Luo guessed it might bleach unevenly, yielding reddish spots. Such hemp wouldn’t sell well, but it was still usable for their own needs."

"Now with a way to earn money, Sang Luo wasn’t too bothered about this. Not to mention weaving, the house should have some thread and rope. She patiently doused each strand of hemp with water several times and figured it would be ready for spinning after drying for another day."

"Shen An had already repacked the grain into another old cloth bag. Seeing his sister and sister-in-law busy, he approached Sang Luo, 'Sister-in-law, what can I do?'"

"Usually, at this time, he’d take his sister to gather edible wild plants and fruits, but with enough food for the next couple of days, he was at a loss."

"Maybe I should go and cut some more hemp?"

"No need for now," Sang Luo glanced at the wild grass growing all around, "Grab a basket, let’s go to the creek to find some things, and maybe we can set a fish trap too."

"At the mention of setting a fish trap, Shen An’s eyes lit up. He hurried inside and came back with an empty basket."

"After instructing Shen Ning to stay home, Sang Luo set off with Shen An."

"Setting the fish trap was just an extra task; her main goal was to find stones by the creek suitable for making makeshift hoes. Iron tools were too expensive, and she couldn’t afford them yet. She couldn’t always rely on borrowing everything from the Chen family, especially farming tools."

"Until she could afford proper tools, a temporary alternative was necessary."

"Understanding that they were looking for stones to make hoes, Shen An knew exactly what to find. They both bent over searching along the creek, eventually unearthing several stones that only needed some shaping to be usable."

"Busy till nearly noon, Shen Ning found them with two hoe heads and an axe head shaped from stone, and several wooden handles suitable for the hoes."

"Let’s go back to process the wood, then bind them with hemp rope, and they'll be ready to use."

"Shen Ning watched in amazement, her admiration for Sang Luo’s abilities soaring to new heights!"

"Returning home, the amaranth porridge was ready. After lunch, Sang Luo shaped the wood for the hoe handles, twisted a few strands of hemp rope from the dried hemp outside, and quickly fashioned two makeshift stone hoes."

"Limited by materials and craftsmanship, the hoe was more of a shovel in terms of effort required. Sang Luo tested it in the overgrown weeds outside the house; it was harder to use than a regular hoe but adequate for weeding and tilling."

"Shen An and Shen Ning each tried the hoes. Excited by their new tool, they took it to the hillside behind their house, where they used to grow vegetables, only to be called back by Sang Luo: 'You hardly slept last night and worked hard this morning. Take a nap now, and you can play in the afternoon!'"

"A nap was restorative and helped digest the meal. Obedient, the children cleaned their new tool at the spring before heading to bed."

"Perhaps due to the sleepless night and morning exertion, when Sang Luo woke, it was already late afternoon. Seeing the children still sleeping soundly, she quietly got up."

"The Fairy Tofu in the clay pot was set. She cut it into four pieces, reserving two as a refreshing treat for the children, and packed the other two in the borrowed clay pot from the Chen family, covering them with a clean lotus leaf."

"She placed the morning's grain purchase, bag and all, into her basket, set the clay pot on top, and headed to the Chen's."

"Arriving at the Chen residence, she found the grandmother and her granddaughter spinning hemp under the eaves of the main house."

"Sang Luo greeted them cheerfully, calling the grandmother 'Granny' and the little girl 'Miss'."

"The young girl, remembering the Fairy Tofu and fish Sang Luo had brought before, brightened up at seeing her, calling her 'Sister Shen' with extra sweetness."

"Sister Shen..."

"Sang Luo was still not quite accustomed to this address but responded with a smile nonetheless."

"Spotting Qin Fangniang in the kitchen window, Sang Luo realized it was the time most families prepared their second meal of the day."

"Her modern mindset, ingrained with the habit of three meals a day, influenced her dietary advice to the children the previous day, though it reflected her own lifestyle."

"Putting aside her work, the grandmother stood up and approached, 'What brings you here at this hour?'"

"Sang Luo, smiling, set down the carrying basket she had on her back: 'I've come to return the hemp processing tools and wanted to ask if I could borrow your mortar for a bit.'"

"'Of course, the tools are under the eaves. I’ll get the pestle for you.' Old Lady Chen, having heard from her son about Sang Luo buying grains, had guessed she’d come to borrow the mortar, but hadn’t expected her to arrive so soon."

"Taking the hemp tools and placing them aside, she glanced at the basket Sang Luo had just put down. Inside, a clay pot was covered with a lotus leaf, and underneath was a cloth bag presumably filled with grains. Old Lady Chen was a bit surprised: 'You finished the rice I carried up the mountain the day before yesterday?'"

"It was two liters of rice."

"Well, two liters might not last long in an average household, but Old Lady Chen thought Sang Luo and the two kids wouldn’t be indulging in such a luxury as plain white rice."

"Sang Luo laughed: 'Oh, no, this is a different cloth bag.'"

"She took the clay pot out of the basket and, lifting the lotus leaf, handed it to Old Lady Chen with a smile: 'I made this after returning home. It's to add a dish to your meal, as a thank you for Uncle Youtian’s help in carrying my load today.'"

"Old Lady Chen immediately spotted the glistening miraculous tofu inside the pot."

"She knew that Sang Luo sold it for two wen a piece, more expensive than eggs, and shook her head in refusal: 'It was just a small favor, no need for such a gift.'"

"Sang Luo placed the clay pot firmly into Old Lady Chen's hands, letting go only when she had a good grip, smiling: 'But it was a big help to me, especially this morning. Also, I would like to borrow this clay pot for a few more days.'"

Holding the weighty clay pot, Granny Chen felt a mix of emotions. She glanced towards the courtyard entrance, saying nothing more, but accepted the pot, telling Sang Luo to use it as needed and simply come over for any future borrowings, without the need to bring something each time.

She then invited Sang Luo to sit for a while before carrying the pot into the kitchen.

Sang Luo smiled in response, picked up the bag of grain from her basket, and headed straight for the mortar under the eaves of the Chen family’s house.

At this time, nearly every farmhouse had a mortar because grain was more durable and less prone to infestation than rice, which could attract weevils. So, families would mill only enough rice for a few days; those with sufficient labor would do it every few days, while others, particularly the women, had to do it almost daily.

Granny Chen took the Fairy Tofu into the kitchen, and soon returned with the empty pot and a human-height wooden pestle, handing it to Sang Luo with a question, "Can you mill rice?"

Sang Luo nodded in confirmation.

In fact, she had never actually milled rice herself; in modern times, where rice was readily available, finding a place selling unprocessed grain was rare. Even living in the mountains, buying grain from local farmers meant getting mechanically husked rice, not the raw, unprocessed kind that needed milling.

As for her previous self, since moving into the Shen family, Li Shi had delegated the task of milling rice to her. The two bags of grain they split after parting ways were unprocessed, and she had milled them using the Shen family’s stone mortar, though naturally, what was left wasn’t all rice – about thirty percent was bran.

When there was no grain left, she would lump the bran together, wrap it in wild vegetables, and force it down – that was a meal in itself.

The children had gone to borrow grain from the Shen family when even the bran was finished at home.

Remembering her previous self's memory of milling two bags of grain until her arms ached unbearably, Sang Luo felt apprehensive, grateful that she only had a little over two liters of grain to process.

Sang Luo took the bag from her basket, poured all the grain into the mortar, and started working with the wooden pestle. It felt easy at first, but soon, only she knew the aching soreness in her arms.

No wonder milling rice was used as a punishment in the Qin Dynasty; milling rice non-stop for a whole day was indeed like enduring torture.

Granny Chen, observing her, placed the washed clay pot back in Sang Luo's basket. She silently shook her head, her curiosity piqued about Sang Luo's background. It seemed unlikely she was a typical farmer's wife.

But Granny Chen, always respecting boundaries, just mused to herself. Unless Sang Luo shared voluntarily, she wouldn't pry, continuing her work with hemp and chatting intermittently with Sang Luo.

When it seemed about time, Granny Chen approached and stopped Sang Luo, examining a handful of the rice and bran mixture. She then went inside to fetch a winnowing basket, a small reed broom, and a bamboo mat.

She spread out the bamboo mat in the farthest corner of the yard from the kitchen and placed the broom on top, then handed Sang Luo the winnowing basket with a hesitant look, asking, "Do you know how to winnow?"

It wasn't that she underestimated Sang Luo, but winnowing rice required skill beyond mere strength, as unskilled efforts could scatter the rice all over.

Sang Luo recalled her predecessor’s memory and nodded, "Yes."

Granny Chen handed her the winnowing basket and returned to her hemp, occasionally glancing at Sang Luo.

Initially unsteady, Sang Luo gradually became adept, reassuring Granny Chen.

This was Sang Luo's first time instinctively performing a task according to her predecessor's memory, her palms sweaty with nervousness.

The first round of winnowing didn't completely separate the grain; some unhusked grains were still mixed in. She poured the rice back into the mortar for another round of milling. After repeating the process twice and winnowing again, the basket was filled with clear grains, with only a few unhusked grains remaining.

Sang Luo picked out the few unhusked grains from the rice, totaling about a dozen. Deciding they weren't worth milling again, she threw them back into the mortar. The Chen family could mill them along with their rice in a few days, avoiding any waste.

She poured the rice into her own grain bag, borrowed a cloth from Granny Chen to dry the clay pot, swept the bran onto the bamboo mat with a special broom, then poured it into the clay pot she brought.

With that, the task of milling rice was complete.

After cleaning and rolling up the bamboo mat, Sang Luo didn't even need to ask where to put it as Granny Chen took over, noticing Sang Luo's dusty hands. She fetched a ladle of water from the kitchen for her to wash her hands.

Sang Luo, however, shook her head, "No rush, Granny. Where's your measuring container? I borrowed two sheng of rice from you the other day, and I’d like to return one sheng now."

This statement surprised not just Granny Chen but also Qin Fangniang, who was cooking in the kitchen. Both couldn't help but turn to look at Sang Luo in the yard.

Both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law knew, as Chen You Tian had told them, that after buying the clay pot, Sang Luo only had enough money left for two and a half sheng of grain, which would make just over one and a half sheng of rice. And now she was offering to return a whole sheng?

Granny Chen looked at the deflated grain bag in Sang Luo's basket and shook her head, "If you return a sheng, what will be left for your family? Keep it for yourselves. It's the thought that counts, no need to rush."

But Sang Luo, not one to owe debts, insisted with a smile, "We have enough at home. To be honest, I plan to sell some more Immortal Tofu tomorrow, so you really don’t have to worry about us running out of food."

Granny Chen, puzzled, remarked, "But tomorrow isn’t a market day, is it?"

Sang Luo explained, "Yes, I plan to make a smaller batch and carry it in a backpack to sell in Sanli Village. I think it should work."

Understanding Sang Luo's plan and her continued need for the pot, Granny Chen nodded, then went inside to get a measuring container and measured out one sheng of rice from the bag.

After Sang Luo left, Granny Chen shared with Qin Fangniang, "This Sang Luo, she really has a likable character."