Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Mrs. Zhang was also unreasonable. At first, she went with a hoe to argue with those few families, but after returning, she felt she hadn't done well enough. The more she thought about it, the more restless she became, so she went door to door to confront those who had bullied Lin Chunyan.

She knew that if it came to a fight, she definitely wouldn't win. This time, she did nothing but sit at their doorsteps and cry.

Those who didn't know the truth might think that Lin Chunyan and her family had suffered greatly for Mrs. Zhang to come twice in one day.

Those families could only endure this silent suffering. Some even found it unlucky and came out to say some kind words to send Mrs. Zhang away.

They were genuinely afraid; having Mrs. Zhang crying at their doorstep was worse than fighting with hoes.

Regardless, those few boys got another scolding from their parents when they returned home, telling them not to provoke that family anymore.

How crazy! None of those three seemed normal.

Those young boys, without being told, would naturally avoid Lin Chunyan and her family in the future, as no one wanted to experience what happened that morning again.

Not just the terrifyingly thin fish slices, but the fact that they were scared stiff—it wasn't something they wanted others to know.

Some families, feeling sorry for their children, cursed Mrs. Zhang behind her back, "With such a disgraceful attitude, who would dare marry those two girls? They don't care about their daughters' reputations, only their own satisfaction!"

At first, Mrs. Zhang hadn't thought about this aspect. She walked back home feeling quite pleased, thinking she had finally vented her anger.

She shared Lin Chunyan's thoughts: from now on, they would live as a family of three and needed to be stronger.

But halfway through, Mrs. Zhang realized something was wrong.

If this incident spread, how would they find suitors for the two girls?

No one might even want to marry into their family!

Mrs. Zhang almost couldn't resist going back to reason with those people again, but the heavy rain that had been looming all day finally poured down, preventing her from making a third trip.

Summer rains always came quickly. Mrs. Zhang covered her head and ran home.

Their house was at the far west end of the village. Initially, they chose this location because it was spacious, with larger front and back yards compared to other houses in the village.

Mrs. Zhang had been proud of this choice for a long time, believing she had found a good spot.

Now, with only the three of them left, Mrs. Zhang feared something might happen at home, so she always locked the doors whenever she went out.

Still, it felt somewhat unsafe.

When Lin Chunyan saw Mrs. Zhang return drenched from the rain, her heart softened. She asked Mrs. Zhang to go inside and change into dry clothes before starting to cook noodles.

Mrs. Zhang hastily dried herself off and noticed Lin Taohong bringing her hot water. For some reason, her heart felt warm.

Although she often boasted outside about how great it was to have two daughters, deep down, she didn't truly believe it.

But now, she increasingly appreciated her two daughters.

Just as she thought this, she saw Lin Taohong setting down the hot water and began complaining.

"Big Sister won't let me rest for a moment. First, she has me stoking the fire, then kneading dough, and later washing and slicing peaches. Even bringing hot water is a chore."

Mrs. Zhang looked at Lin Taohong's aggrieved expression and, remembering Lin Chunyan's busy work, mimicked her by slapping her back.

Lin Taohong, feeling the pain, looked at Mrs. Zhang in disbelief, "Mother, why did you hit me?"

Wait, Lin Taohong quickly corrected herself, "Why are you hitting me like Big Sister?"

Mrs. Zhang wiped herself with the hot water, put on clean clothes, and hummed, "I agree with Yan Niang. You need to be disciplined properly."

Lin Taohong was stunned and remained so even when Lin Chunyan brought out the pork bone noodles.

The wild ginger they had was scarce, found in the wilderness outside the village, and they had used a lot of it recently.

Seeing Mrs. Zhang savoring a sip of the soup, her eyes closed in pleasure, the pork bone broth had turned milky white, garnished with green scallions and carrots, looking particularly appetizing.

The aroma filled their mouths, making it hard to swallow, warming their bodies as the noodles, rolled thin by Lin Chunyan, remained unbroken even when picked up with chopsticks.

"This is truly delicious, the best noodles I've ever had."

Outside, the rain continued, but inside, they enjoyed the pork bone noodles, feeling content.

Lin Taohong, seeing the two already eating, forgot about the earlier incident and sat down to eat eagerly.

In between bites, she couldn't help but exclaim how delicious it was.

Lin Chunyan, watching the heavy rain, thought that once it stopped, mushrooms and wood ears on the mountain would grow abundantly, allowing them to gather more.

"We should also collect wild ginger and wild scallions," Lin Chunyan said to Mrs. Zhang. "Tomorrow, when I go to town, you can look for them after finishing your fieldwork."

Mrs. Zhang nodded without looking up, preoccupied with the idea of asking Lin Chunyan about buying a cart.

After the meal, Lin Chunyan gave the leftover bones to Little Hei. Seeing this, Mrs. Zhang felt a pang of regret.

"Why give such good bones to the dog? Save them for me; I could eat them."

Before bedtime, Mrs. Zhang tried several times to speak but couldn't bring herself to do so.

Lin Chunyan noticed but decided to ignore her, not initiating any conversation.

The next morning, Lin Chunyan took the prepared crispy fish to town. Lin Taohong, yawning and opening her eyes, saw her leaving and hurriedly got dressed to follow.

Lin Chunyan paused and looked at Lin Taohong in confusion, "Are you coming too?"

Lin Taohong nodded, imitating Lin Chunyan's simple hairstyle, and quickly got ready.

Seeing her so enthusiastic, Lin Chunyan figured she must want to buy something in town. Knowing that she had some pocket money, Lin Chunyan didn't stop her.

The two of them still followed the mountain path up to the town. The rain from yesterday had stopped in the early hours of the morning, leaving the road muddy and difficult to walk on, with every step sinking into the mud.

Lin Chunyan was wearing straw sandals. These sandals needed to be replaced every two or three days when walking long distances.

However, because the materials were easy to find, she had Mrs. Zhang make several pairs for her to rotate.

Throwing them away wasn't a waste either.

Before she wore straw sandals, she thought they might hurt her feet, but after getting used to them, they were surprisingly comfortable.

The bed at home was also covered with a straw mat, and the curtains were made of straw mats as well, proving very useful.

She planned to gather more wheat stalks when she returned today to replace the straw mat on the bed.

Lin Taohong, eager to go to town for fun, had changed into a pair of cloth shoes. Seeing the mud sticking to her shoes now, her face turned sour.

Lin Chunyan paid no attention to her. After the heavy rain, the mountains were particularly quiet and fresh, with the leaves looking as if they had been washed clean, making the scenery especially pleasant.

Mushrooms were already poking their heads out, ready to be picked by the afternoon.

After a few steps, she spotted some bamboo shoots emerging. Although not as tasty as spring bamboo shoots, they still made a good dish.

Seeing Lin Chunyan pulling out the bamboo shoots, Lin Taohong quickly tried to stop her, her tone tinged with a hint of schadenfreude, "Sis, you can't eat these shoots; they'll numb your mouth."

Someone in the village had once tried eating them and ended up with a numb mouth.

Lin Chunyan's hands didn't stop; she knew that soaking these bamboo shoots overnight would remove the numbing taste.

Lin Taohong grew anxious, unable to stop her, and said, "If you dig these up, you'll have to eat them yourself. Neither Mother nor I will eat them."

"Fine," Lin Chunyan nodded, thinking that if she dug up more and pickled them, they could be given away as side dishes if she ever set up a stall.

When the basket was nearly full, Lin Chunyan filled Lin Taohong's basket to the brim as well. Realizing it was getting late, they hurried towards the town.

Lin Taohong, who had never done any real work before, found the weight of the basket of bamboo shoots unbearable.

Upon reaching the town, Granny Tangshui exclaimed upon seeing her.

"Why didn't you come yesterday? You missed it—several people were selling fried river fish! What about your business?"