Chapter 69: Sharing a Single Pair of Trousers

Sang Luo had planned well, making some hawthorn cakes in the next few days to sell.

She made Fairy Tofu before going to bed at night, conveniently processing the hawthorns she had collected in the afternoon. However, the weather was not on her side, as it began to rain in the middle of the night.

Waking up from her sleep, Sang Luo was initially startled but then remembered her newly built house and the spacious kitchen. The hawthorn cakes she made were no longer dried outside but inside the kitchen, only to be moved to the drying rack in the backyard at dawn.

She felt relieved. Had they been drying outside on the tree branches as before, today's batch of hawthorn cakes would likely have been ruined.

The sound of rain was so loud that Shen An and Shen Ning also woke up. Shen Ning rubbed her eyes, confused for a moment before realizing it was raining outside and then suddenly becoming alert.

"Elder sister, are the chickens and ducks outside getting soaked in the rain?"

Speaking, Shen Ning seemed ready to get out of bed, intent on checking outside.

Sang Luo quickly stopped her, saying, "Don't go out now. The chicken coop has a wide-roofed canopy covered with banana leaves, and the ground level is lined with bamboo fencing and straw. It's rainproof. But if you get soaked and fall sick, that would be troublesome."

Hearing this, Shen Ning immediately calmed down.

Falling ill was distressing, and they couldn’t afford treatment. Just a few years ago, a child in the village had died from a simple cold and fever.

The three of them sat on the bed, finding it hard to fall asleep again.

Shen An asked, "Elder sister, with such heavy rain, can we still sell tofu tomorrow?"

Even though everyone had already paid, they could simply make and deliver the tofu, but he worried about Aunt Chen and others selling it.

Sang Luo was also worried.

The beans had already been soaked and had to be used. If soaked for too long, even with frequent water changes, they could spoil.

Another option was to make fermented dried tofu, which is more time-consuming and cannot be stored for very long. Plus, there was the promise of delivering fifty pieces of tofu to Madam Xu early in the morning.

It was their first steady large order, and Qin Fangniang was unlikely to break the agreement.

"Each family should have raincoats. The tofu carriers have lids, and the barrels are covered. We can also cover the carts. The only problem is the difficulty of the journey today."

Sang Luo murmured, "I hope the rain stops or at least lessens by dawn."

Seeing the children awake, Sang Luo advised them to stop worrying and get some rest.

After about thirty minutes, steady breathing sounds came from the adjacent bed. It made sense; the children were worried about the rent tax and had barely slept. They had risen early to help her grind the beans, and they didn’t rest all day. No wonder they were exhausted.

At the first crow of the rooster, Sang Luo, who had only been resting with her eyes closed since waking to the sound of rain, carefully got out of bed without waking the children and made her way to the kitchen to start grinding tofu.

She hadn't been grinding long when someone knocked on the courtyard door. Hearing Chen Youtian's voice, she hurried over with a wooden plank to open the door.

Chen Youtian was alone, and they stood under the shelter of the eaves to talk.

Chen Youtian had come early, concerned that Sang Luo might wonder whether to make tofu due to the heavy rain. He informed her that all three families had agreed to proceed as usual, and the men would help deliver the tofu to the county gate.

Smiling, Sang Luo replied, "I'm already on it. They can pick it up a little later than usual."

Relieved, Chen Youtian, dressed in a raincoat and hat, quickly left.

Back at his house, Chen Lao Han, Chen Po Zi, and Tian Fang Niang were awake and waiting in the main room. They inquired about his visit upon his return.

Chen Youtian reported, "She's already making tofu, guessing we wouldn't break our promise to Madam Xu."

Hanging up his rain gear, he commented, "Sang Luo works hard for her earnings. It's just after the first rooster crow, and she's already busy in the kitchen."

Comparatively, they could have slept an extra hour and a half on non-rainy days while selling at their stalls.

Chen Po Zi sighed, "It's hard-earned money. Nothing comes easy."

Especially without a man in the house.

Chen Po Zi kept the latter half of her thought to herself.

Initially, she felt Sang Luo burdened Shen An and Shen Ning. If not for her, the children wouldn't have faced separation so soon.

But as Sang Luo established herself and treated the siblings well, Chen Po Zi felt happy for them, relieved they could survive together.

Over time, Chen Po Zi grew fond of Sang Luo, seeing her almost like a granddaughter, especially when addressed warmly as "Grandma." Knowing Sang Luo was already busy making tofu at such an early hour made her feel uneasy.

If only there was a man in the house, there would be no need for a woman to endure such hardships.

Sang Luo was considered a widow, yet in truth, she was still unmarried... Chen Po Zi abruptly halted her train of thought, not daring to continue.

If she pondered any further, should she find Sang Luo another match? What would become of Shen An and Shen Ning then?

Despite knowing she shouldn't think about it, her mind wandered. Lying in bed, Chen Po Zi couldn't find peace, tossing and turning restlessly.

Chen Lao Han turned to his wife: "What's troubling you?"

Chen Po Zi couldn't bring herself to say: "Nothing much, just shallow sleep. Once awake, I can't fall back asleep. You go ahead and sleep."

How could she admit she had considered remarrying Sang Luo?

Sigh, such thoughts are not to be entertained, it's a difficult dilemma either way.

……

Sang Luo was completely unaware of the old lady's sleepless night over her and the Shen siblings. After finishing the tofu and handing it over to Chen Youtian and others braving the rain in raincoats, she saw the children were still asleep. Deciding against preparing breakfast, she went back to bed to catch up on some sleep.

She slept until it was fully light outside; it seemed the rain had stopped. Turning to look beside her, she found the young siblings were already up.

Sang Luo lifted the quilt and got up. As soon as she stepped out of her room, she was spotted by Shen An outside the kitchen, his eyes brightening as he smiled, "Big sister, you're up? Don't you want to sleep a bit longer?"

The siblings had realized they had overslept only after waking up. They had sneaked into the kitchen and noticed many buckets and basins were missing, and a basin of fresh tofu residue on the counter indicated their elder sister had completed all the work during the night.

They couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Just yesterday, they had vowed to work hard and help earn money to support the family, yet today they had slept in.

Sang Luo smiled, "No, I won’t sleep more. Have you two had breakfast yet?"

Shen An shook his head, "Shen Ning just finished cooking. We planned to eat together once you were up."

Speaking, he turned back to the kitchen to fetch a few cleanly washed white Imperata roots for Sang Luo: "Big sister, please wash up. I'll serve the porridge. We can eat very soon."

Sang Luo thanked him and took the white Imperata roots, going out to wash. Shen Ning was outside feeding their cherished chickens and ducks, looking somewhat sheepish: "Big sister, both Shen An and I overslept this morning."

Sang Luo laughed, "I deliberately didn’t wake you. If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t grow tall, and being too short later on isn't good."

"Ah? Is that really how it works?" Shen Ning's eyes widened in earnest. "Then you should sleep more too, big sister."

Sang Luo: ……

A knowing strike.

The original host was only fifteen years old, well, in a little over two months, she would be sixteen. She wasn’t really tall, Sang Luo guessed she was at most about 1.58 meters, and that’s thanks to being well-nourished since childhood.

She pondered, at fifteen or sixteen, there indeed was still potential to grow taller, and with some luck, it could be for another two or three years.

Thinking this way made sense to her, so she nodded: “You’re right. Starting today, we’ll make our fairy tofu earlier before it gets dark. After a spell of autumn rain, it’s going to cool down. The weather, as I see it, won’t affect the freshness if we make it earlier. Moreover, we won’t be selling fairy tofu for many more days, just about ten days left. After that, let's sleep early at night and try to get over four hours of sleep.”

Shen Ning was delighted and nodded vigorously, then earnestly said to Sang Luo: “We’ll go to bed early too, and big sister, when you wake up in the morning, don't get up quietly. Wake Shen An and me up too, grinding tofu alone is too tiring for the arms.”

Only those who grind know the effort.

Sang Luo smiled, “Alright, I just didn’t want to disturb you because you didn’t sleep well yesterday. I’ll call you from now on.”

After all, it’s a family effort. Sang Luo didn't have the mindset of a self-sacrificing 'mother hen'.

Shen Ning's eyes curved in a smile: “Then big sister, hurry up and wash up, I made something delicious this morning.”

Only when Sang Luo entered the kitchen did she find out what Shen Ning’s delicious treat was.

Tofu residue pancakes.

“I used some of the leftover flour from last time and cracked an egg into it. I tried to imitate how you fried tofu residue balls, big sister. This doesn’t use much oil, just a little to fry them up. Try them and see how they are, big sister.”

Sang Luo had to admit, Shen Ning, the young girl, truly possessed a natural talent for cooking.

The tofu residue balls she had fried just once on the day of the banquet, and Shen Ning wasn't even present at the time. She simply liked them and later asked Sang Luo how to make them. Today, she cleverly adapted the method to make pancakes.

After tasting one, Sang Luo raised her eyebrows in approval and gave Shen Ning a thumbs up: “Delicious!”

Receiving praise, Shen Ning beamed with joy, her smile never fading: “Then I'll make them for you more often, big sister.”

There was only one small stool available for use at the table, which Sang Luo sat on. The siblings stood while eating, yet they enjoyed their meal immensely.

After breakfast, Sang Luo stood for a while before taking out the unfinished pants from yesterday. In less than half an hour, she finished sewing them and asked the little guy to try them on.

Excitedly, Shen An went inside to change and soon came out wearing the brand-new pants. He admired them from every angle, clearly delighted: “Big sister, these pants fit perfectly. Can I accompany you to the mountains today?”

“Yes,” Sang Luo smiled. “I left a few inches at the bottom to be let out later. They are double-layered, so when you grow taller, we can adjust them. Let's go to the mountains later; the sun seems about to come out. We'll wait for the air to dry a bit after the rain. It's the perfect time now. After rain, mushrooms often grow in the mountains. Let's see if we can find some.”

Previously, when she lived in the mountains, if the rice was ready to harvest and it rained, you could find black trumpets in abundance. In her original world, good-quality black trumpets were quite expensive, selling for about thirty to sixty yuan per kilogram.

She wasn’t sure if this world had them, but considering the trees and plants were similar, Sang Luo felt it was very likely.

Hearing about picking mushrooms, Shen Ning's eyes lit up with excitement, but then she remembered she didn’t have any long pants suitable for the mountains and looked at Shen An with longing eyes.

Shen An, who had long awaited a trip to the mountains: “…”

Seeing his sister’s eager gaze, he relented. After all, he had to be considerate towards his little sister.

“How about I let you wear my new pants for a day?”

Sang Luo: “...???!!!”

Grateful for small mercies, she was relieved that in this era, even in previous ones, due to horse riding and archery, undergarments already existed, although quite different from modern ones. Otherwise... the thought was too beautiful to imagine.

Moreover, Shen An's words inadvertently reminded Sang Luo of the past poverty, where brothers shared a single pair of pants, the only decent pair they owned, worn by whoever had to go out.

So, had their family now reached the point of sharing one pair of pants, like in those stories??

Surely not, definitely not. Shen Ning, the young girl, should just go to the mountains next time!

No, better to work hard to escape poverty!!!