Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lin Taohong was clearly more excited than Mrs. Zhang and spoke with enthusiasm about what had happened earlier.

It turned out that the gentleman who had come to buy small river fish from Lin Chunyan yesterday had returned, purchasing quite a bit to serve as a dish for drinking alcohol.

While buying them, he didn't forget to praise the taste of the small river fish.

Yesterday, it just so happened that his classmate had visited, and he hadn't had time to prepare anything else, so he brought out the small river fish. The two of them drank a lot of wine with the fish, originally thinking it was coarse, but after tasting it, they all praised its excellent flavor, giving him much face.

Today, this gentleman came back again, buying two pounds to send some to his classmate from yesterday.

Hearing this, Lin Chunyan remained composed, but Lin Taohong looked proud.

Mrs. Zhang was also astonished and couldn't help but glance at Lin Chunyan several times.

Regardless of how Lin Chunyan had changed, it was ultimately a good thing.

With the burden of writing to her family lifted, Mrs. Zhang no longer felt troubled. With the additional income, she now wore a faint smile on her face.

Lin Chunyan thought for a moment and, passing by a steamed bun shop, tugged at Mrs. Zhang's clothes.

"Mom, let's buy two buns to try."

The aroma of the buns wafted over; they looked plump with plenty of filling, and the grease from the meat buns had seeped through the wrappers, making them look incredibly appetizing.

Mrs. Zhang stopped, swallowing hard when she saw the buns.

The owner of the bun shop was used to this reaction and continued working, calling out, "One copper coin for a meat bun, one copper coin for two vegetable buns."

The prices were fair, and Mrs. Zhang was tempted, considering she still had the five copper coins Lin Chunyan had given her.

But thinking about their future, she forcibly shifted her gaze away from the buns.

"Let's not."

Lin Chunyan felt disappointed, planning to buy some next time she came alone.

Lin Taohong was also disappointed. In the past, she would have thrown a tantrum, but today she noticed someone frying doughnuts nearby.

The doughnuts were made from cornmeal with a little white flour and sugar, then fermented and cut into pieces before being fried. After frying, the air was filled with a fragrant aroma.

These doughnuts were sweeter than ordinary oil sticks.

Lin Chunyan followed her gaze, mentally noting the process, estimating she could replicate it, before looking away.

"Mom, I want to eat these."

Lin Taohong didn't notice Mrs. Zhang's hesitation, pulling her arm and pouting on the street.

In the past, Mrs. Zhang always gave in to her requests when she acted like this.

But this time, Mrs. Zhang refused.

"We need to get home quickly."

Lin Taohong felt disappointed, glancing back repeatedly as she was pulled along.

Seeing her younger daughter like this, Mrs. Zhang relented and said, "We'll have big steamed buns at home."

Thinking of the buns Lin's second aunt had sent over, even though they contained little white flour and were somewhat dry, Lin Taohong found some comfort and stopped fussing.

The return journey seemed longer than the trip there. They rested under a tree for a while before heading home before sunset.

After washing up, Mrs. Zhang went straight to work in the fields.

Lin Chunyan washed herself with well water, while Lin Taohong, feeling lazy, wanted to use the leftover water from Lin Chunyan's wash.

Lin Chunyan refused, saying, "Isn't that dirty?"

Lin Taohong pouted, "What's so dirty about it? We used to bathe together when we were little. Besides, you wash every day, so it's fine."

Lin Chunyan ignored her and took the basin outside to pour the water in the backyard, retrieving the chilled wild fruits from the well.

After a day of chilling, the wild fruits were cool and refreshing, and eating a few helped dispel the heat.

She recalled the iced drinks sold by the sweet soup vendor but lamented the lack of sugar at home, making it impossible to make them.

Even after searching the mountains in the morning, she hadn't found any honey.

Without sugar, the wild fruit drinks would be too sour and unpalatable.

There weren't many condiments at home either, so when Mrs. Zhang returned, Lin Chunyan asked her for money.

"What do you need that for?"

Mrs. Zhang was sweating profusely, having cried a lot in the past few days, leaving her feeling weak and slightly dizzy.

"Don't we need condiments for cooking?"

Mrs. Zhang hesitated, "I think the small river fish are doing fine, and we still have some lard."

"With the heat, fewer people buy small river fish."

Lin Chunyan insisted, "With condiments, the small river fish will taste even better."

Lin Taohong, having simply wiped herself down, was still upset about Lin Chunyan not letting her use the water and sided with Mrs. Zhang.

"Without any seasonings, I see people buying it anyway."

Lin Chunyan looked at them for a while, making both Mrs. Zhang and Lin Taohong feel uneasy. She said nothing more and turned to go into the kitchen.

Lin Taohong let out a sigh of relief and said to Mrs. Zhang, "Mom, I feel like Elder Sister has changed into a different person."

Mrs. Zhang didn't say much else, only that she guessed Lin Chunyan must have been affected somehow, just like herself, with a significant change in her demeanor.

As for cooking these dishes, she wasn't surprised. Before Lin Laoye traveled far and wide, he had been a chef, and he used to always ask Lin Chunyan to help in the kitchen.

She found reasonable excuses for all this behavior. She picked a few wild fruits to eat. At first, they tasted sweet and sour, so she ate a few more until her teeth felt sour and she stopped.

"How come the meal isn't ready yet?" Lin Taohong began to complain.

Lin Taohong didn't want to go to the kitchen to start the fire; it was so hot, and after starting the fire, she would have to take another bath.

Lin Chunyan didn't call her either, so she pretended not to know.

Lin Taohong couldn't sit still and peeked into the kitchen, where she smelled something delicious. Her stomach growled at that moment, and she couldn't resist going in to check.

She saw Lin Chunyan already eating, with two small dishes in front of her. One was the wild vegetables she had picked in the morning, prepared in a way that made them look fresh and green from afar, likely very refreshing.

The other dish was cold cucumber salad, with green cucumbers mixed with some dogwood and mashed garlic.

Though there were no chili peppers, people still enjoyed spicy food, relying on ginger, pepper, and dogwood to add flavor.

Lin Taohong swallowed a couple of times, as if finding something wrong, "Are you really eating first? Mom, come here quickly."

She shouted, and Mrs. Zhang came over quickly.

Lin Chunyan, tired from a day's work, didn't want to start the fire, so she made some cold dishes and had a simple meal.

Seeing Lin Taohong shouting, she wasn't annoyed. She finished the last few bites of the cold dishes, placed the bowl on the stove without washing it, and by the time Mrs. Zhang arrived, she had eaten everything clean.

Lin Taohong's mouth gaped open, "How could you eat it all?"

Lin Chunyan paused, turned back to look at Lin Taohong, "I made it myself; I'll eat it however I want."

This clearly indicated that she wasn't going to cook for the two of them.