Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Mrs. Zhang was quite fortunate; she had just been thinking about eating duck eggs, and within a few days, someone arrived with duck eggs.

Ever since Ye Xianhan had taken up the life of an idler, life at home had become much easier compared to before. The silver coins they had saved were not spent extravagantly but were instead put aside to purchase livestock.

In their view, raising chickens and ducks was a sure way to avoid losses. A well-tended hen would lay an egg every day, and over time, these could be accumulated and exchanged for a substantial amount of money.

They also raised geese. While not many people in Qingshan Village kept geese, there were quite a few in their area. These geese could guard the house and live for a very long time. Moreover, a single goose egg could be sold for four or five copper coins, making it much more profitable than raising chickens or ducks.

Ye Xianhan held the freshly laid goose eggs, which had not been cured. He hadn't dared to prepare the goose eggs the way Lin Chunyan did.

Lin Chunyan counted out the money and gave it to Ye Xianhan, smiling at Mrs. Zhang. "Now that we have goose eggs, have you figured out how you want to eat them?"

"No," Mrs. Zhang replied.

Mrs. Zhang held the goose eggs as if they were precious treasures. They were large, nearly the size of her palm. She examined each one carefully and set them down gently.

Lin Chunyan was curious. "What are you looking at?"

Mrs. Zhang explained, "I want to see if these goose eggs can hatch."

This skill was taught to her by Liu Niangzi. Although Liu Niangzi had never examined goose eggs, she was always accurate with chickens and ducks.

Mrs. Zhang then called over Mrs. Song, and the two of them whispered for a long time, both believing that these goose eggs might just hatch.

If that were the case, they would have hit the jackpot.

Mrs. Zhang's face showed a hint of excitement as she carefully placed the goose eggs to one side.

Lin Chunyan thought they were dreaming. Even if the goose eggs were fertilized and could produce goslings, they wouldn't be able to hatch them without a mother goose to incubate them.

Lin Chunyan didn't take this to heart and took the prepared mint cakes to Lady Zhu.

After picking the raspberries, they were mashed into juice, filtered through fine cotton cloth, and sugar was added for flavor before being poured into the flour mixture to create a purplish-red color.

With a layer of green mint cakes and a layer of purplish raspberry cakes, the colors looked especially beautiful.

Lin Taohong, eating the honey-floating flowers made with clarified butter, thought the cakes could be made into flower shapes. "The purple ones could be shaped like flowers, and the green ones like leaves, making it look very pretty."

Lin Chunyan glared at her. "You're not helping in the kitchen, and it's so hot. It's already good enough to layer them like this."

When she arrived at Lady Zhu's establishment, she found the decor had changed significantly from before. The familiar tea ladies greeted Lin Chunyan with smiles and called out to Lady Zhu, "Boss, look who's here."

Lady Zhu hurried over from the back. She was now dressed more respectably and neatly than when she was a tea lady. Seeing the mint cakes in Lin Chunyan's hand, her smile grew wider. "I was about to come and drag you here if you didn't bring these soon. What took you so long?"

Lin Chunyan pointed to the purple part. "We tried a new style. Do you like it?"

Lady Zhu didn't hesitate and took one. The mint cake was refreshing, and the purple raspberry cake was sweet and sour, perfectly complementing each other and enhancing the taste.

Lady Zhu was satisfied. "These are perfect to serve with our tea. They're just what we needed."

Lady Zhu wouldn't let Lin Chunyan leave and had Qin Niangzi brew tea for them. "Let's have a good chat with these pastries and tea."

Lin Chunyan sat down and looked around before asking Lady Zhu, "Where is the lady who used to play music here?"

Lady Zhu looked a bit troubled. "She was taken by a wealthy merchant to be a concubine. I couldn't stop her, so I had to let her go. I haven't found another good musician to replace her yet."

Lin Chunyan remembered the lady. She played the qin beautifully, and Wang Dalang had spent Chef Wang's life savings to come and listen many times, completely smitten.

However, these musicians are considered part of the lower strata of society, and that lady probably thought she had struck gold by being able to rely on a wealthy merchant. In her haste, she agreed immediately, leaving Madam Zhu in a bind.

"The teahouse isn't losing many customers, so no need to rush."

Madam Zhu nodded. "Yes, and it's thanks to the pastries you made. No other place has them, so if people want to eat them, they have to come to me. But we need to find someone who can play and sing soon; this can't continue long-term."

They also brought up the matter of Hehua Restaurant. "The whole town is talking about it. Are you planning to buy that establishment? If you're short on funds, I can help you raise some."

Lin Chunyan knew that Madam Zhu was generous and straightforward, but hearing her say this still warmed her heart. She smiled and shared her plan. "Even if I buy that establishment, will it be enough to satisfy me? I'll inevitably have to open more establishments in the future, and then I'll be busy like a spinning top that can't stop! After careful thought, I've decided to just focus on taking care of my current establishment. Having regulars visit makes me content."

Madam Zhu looked at Lin Chunyan with great admiration. "It's very good that you can think like this. Many people can't grasp this and constantly strive to rise."

This remark also applied to herself. She had always been strong-willed. Even when she started learning tea preparation, she wasn't particularly skilled, but she always put in the hard work. After all these years, everyone knew her tea-making skills were among the best. Many people invited her to prepare tea or wanted to learn from her.

Even when Bookkeeper Huang was leaving, her ambition didn't diminish. She wondered why only men could be bookkeepers and why women couldn't.

Because of her own temperament, she often felt tired. Seeing Lin Chunyan let go and move on made her envious.

News of Hehua Restaurant being for sale had spread, and both Mrs. Song and Mr. Song had heard about it. As soon as Lin Chunyan returned, they called her over.

"Don't spend so much money on that establishment. When we're gone, we'll leave it to you. Then you can either expand it or sell it, as you wish."

Lin Chunyan quickly shook her head. "How can this be! This establishment belongs to the two of you. Please don't say things like that again. If the wrong people hear this, who knows what they might do."

Mr. Song thought about it and told Mrs. Song to stop talking about it. He also intended to leave the establishment to Lin Chunyan, but they had a major fallout with their clansmen over Juan'er, and it wasn't wise to bring this up now to avoid trouble.

Mr. Song had unilaterally cut off contact with them, but the Song clan members didn't care. They still had their eyes on the establishment, hoping to claim it by becoming foster relatives.

Such practices weren't uncommon in the village. Without a son, one would be the subject of gossip. Some knew what was important and didn't care much, but there were those obsessed with lineage who took in foster relatives from the clan and gave away everything they had.

Not to mention in ancient times, even when Lin Chunyan was a child, she had heard of such things in their town. There was a boss who had three daughters but was unsatisfied. They secretly adopted a boy unrelated to them and gave him all their vast inheritance.

Fortunately, after that incident, Mr. Song had become thoroughly disappointed with the clan members and no longer interacted with them, dashing their hopes.

Madam Hong went to see Ding Hui Niang. Pomegranate, who had initially been slightly reluctant to marry, was now more determined not to, especially after seeing the dowry that Madam Hong had prepared for her, which made her even more upset.

Madam Hong couldn't persuade Pomegranate, so she went to Ding Hui Niang.

Ding Hui Niang was cutting kudzu, the same kudzu that Lin Chunyan had wanted to pull up to make kudzu powder. After cutting them down, she threw them into the water. After soaking for some time, the outer skin would rot, and the glutinous part inside would be exposed.

The kudzu she had cut earlier was already in the small river. Ding Hui Niang brought them up and bundled them. Madam Hong helped her, not understanding why she was doing this. "Now that you have money, if you want to wear something nice, you can just buy fine cotton at the establishment."

Ding Hui Niang planned to make clothes out of kudzu and hemp for Lin Chunyan and Lin Taohong. Although kudzu and hemp were worn by people of the lower classes, if made soft and fine, they were very light and sweat-absorbing, even cooler than fine cotton.

Ding Hui Niang didn't say much, comforting Madam Hong while working. "There's nothing that can't be overcome now. If she doesn't want to marry, just let her be. Just make sure she doesn't come to you complaining in the future."

Madam Hong sighed. "If we miss this opportunity, there won't be another. It'll be hard to find such a good family in the future."

After bringing the soaked kudzu back, Ding Hui Niang began to boil them. This was a long process, and it took more than three hours to get delicate and soft kudzu threads.

She lit the fire and sighed helplessly. "None of you are willing to compromise. I try to persuade this one and that one, but no one listens to me."

Madam Hong knew she was right and, fearing that Ding Hui Niang might get annoyed and stop interacting with her, went back to her birth family to discuss the matter and let her mother decide.

"Of course she has to marry. How can a daughter stay at her birth family? That would be bad for the malt."

Her mother had said this many times. When she couldn't bear the beatings and sought help from her birth family before, her mother had said the same thing.

She had been told to endure it and never be divorced or leave her husband, as that would bring trouble to her birth family.

Madam Hong could only keep enduring, and hearing her mother speak about Pomegranate this way made her feel even more uncomfortable. "Barley Sprout is still young; how can we talk about this now? They are real siblings, after all."

Mother Hong gave Madam Hong a sharp look. "I know you gave birth to both of them, but don't you understand what's more important? A daughter, no matter how good, still needs a son to carry on the family line! Don't be confused; don't harm Barley Sprout because of Pomegranate."

Madam Hong sat there for a long time, recalling how, when she was at home, her mother pampered her greatly and even taught her the tofu-making skill, which everyone said was because her mother doted on her daughter.

But this love could not compare to that for a son. Whenever there was a conflict of interests with her brother, her mother would abandon her first.

In the end, Madam Hong returned home and saw Pomegranate still stubbornly sitting there, just like she had been after being beaten.

When she chose a husband, she deliberately chose someone who was handsome and honest and even had him as a live-in son-in-law for a long time, but she still ended up in this situation.

If it weren't for Ding Hui Niang's help, she might have been beaten to death already.

"Get up," Madam Hong suddenly said.

Pomegranate didn't move. "You agree?"

Madam Hong nodded. "I agree, but just don't regret it later."

Pomegranate immediately sat up. "I won't regret it!"

Madam Hong turned her face away and hummed in response. She thought that when Barley Sprout grew up and got a wife, she would let him live separately and stay with Pomegranate for the rest of their lives.

Just for herself.

She didn't need a son to carry on the family line, nor did she need to abandon her daughter just because it might be bad for her son.

As Ding Hui Niang said, was there anything more desperate than being beaten?

Lin Chunyan and Wang Yingniang took advantage of the cool weather to wash clothes by the river. On their way back, they noticed Mrs. Zhang wasn't in the yard. After calling out to her a few times, she finally emerged furtively from the backyard.

Her guilty expression gave Lin Chunyan a bad feeling, and she called out to her, "Mother, what were you doing?"

Mrs. Zhang quickly explained, "I went to pick some eggplants."

But she wasn't holding any eggplants, and realizing her excuse didn't hold up, she forced a dry laugh and asked if there were still many people by the riverbank while heading into the house, "I need to wash some clothes too."

As Mrs. Zhang entered the house, Lin Taohong took the chance to sneak into the backyard. After a short while, they heard her loud cries, "Big Sister, come and see!"

Lin Chunyan sensed something was wrong and massaging her temple, sensing a headache coming on. Wang Yingniang had already stood up. "Stay here; I'll go check it out."

Lin Taohong ran over, gesturing as she spoke, "Mother placed the goose egg under the hen, and now the hen has gone wild, clucking and flying all over the place."

Mrs. Zhang glared at Lin Taohong sharply. "What nonsense are you saying? How would the hen cluck and fly around? You must have startled her when you went into the backyard."

After the hen had started brooding, everyone had been extra cautious when entering the backyard, afraid of startling the hen and causing her to accidentally crush the eggs while moving around, which would prevent them from hatching.

This was a serious matter. Lin Chunyan stopped washing clothes and rushed to the backyard. Mrs. Zhang couldn't stop her and watched as Lin Chunyan dashed to the chicken coop.

Sure enough, the hen had been startled and was flying around frantically, feathers scattering everywhere. In the wicker basket lay a large goose egg.

Realizing the matter was exposed, Mrs. Zhang gave up trying to hide it. "This isn't a joke! I just wanted the hen to hatch the goose egg. They're both eggs, after all; the hen can't tell the difference."

Wang Yingniang was so amused she laughed. "Mother, this is ridiculous! Even if the hen couldn't tell, with all the commotion of moving the hen from her nest and putting a goose egg under her, how could she not be startled?"

Seeing that even Wang Yingniang wasn't on her side, Mrs. Zhang felt uneasy and quickly checked Lin Chunyan's expression. Seeing her dark face as she tried to grab the hen and put it back in the nest, her expression so fierce that it sent a shiver down Mrs. Zhang's spine, she turned and ran out of the house.

She was afraid that if she didn't leave, Lin Chunyan would punish her as she had punished Lin Taohong.

Lin Chunyan had been thinking the same. Ever since Mrs. Zhang wanted to make her the goddaughter of Golden Maiden, she had been seething with anger. Seeing that Mrs. Zhang dared to run off, Lin Chunyan didn’t care about the hen anymore and chased after her, shouting.

"Ma, where are you going? You can't leave this mess for us to deal with! You clean it up yourself!"

Mrs. Zhang couldn’t hear clearly what Lin Chunyan was saying and truly thought she was going to hit her. She ran faster than before and didn’t dare go to the second family, afraid that Second Aunt Lin wouldn’t help her. She had no choice but to look for Liu Niangzi.

In her hurry, she bumped into Wei Rou, who was carrying a basket of eggs and duck eggs. Startled, Wei Rou almost dropped everything. Seeing it was Mrs. Zhang, she rubbed her sore nose and said, "Auntie, why are you in such a hurry?"

Mrs. Zhang could only laugh awkwardly and tried to slip into the house.

Unfortunately, Liu Niangzi wasn’t in the house, and Mrs. Zhang didn’t linger. She headed straight to the chicken coop to look for her.

Liu Niangzi’s most common task was cleaning the chicken coop, and sure enough, Mrs. Zhang found her there, sweeping chicken feathers.

The scene was oddly similar to what had just happened in their own yard. In her rush, Mrs. Zhang didn’t see the ground clearly and stepped right into chicken droppings.

Seeing this, Liu Niangzi cried out, "What’s the matter with you? Are you trying to die?"

Mrs. Zhang only begged Liu Niangzi to save her, "If Yan Niang beats me later, you have to stand in front and protect me."

Liu Niangzi, finding this entertaining, quickly set down her broom and looked around.

Seeing Mrs. Zhang, she promptly pushed her forward, "Your ma is here, and she’s stepped in chicken droppings."

Mrs. Zhang was so angry at her betrayal, "I’ll never come to you again, you old hag."

Lin Chunyan’s anger, which had been at three points, rose to seven or eight after the chase. Seeing that Mrs. Zhang had truly stepped in chicken droppings, her headache worsened. Without entering the chicken coop, she shouted from outside, "Ma, will you come out on your own, or should I go in and drag you out?"

Knowing Liu Niangzi couldn’t be relied on, Mrs. Zhang had no choice but to come out, scraping her feet on the ground to clean off the droppings. Liu Niangzi, too engrossed in the spectacle, didn’t notice and followed Mrs. Zhang back to their house.

Over there, Second Aunt Lin also came out to watch the fun. Seeing Mrs. Zhang in such a state, she couldn’t help but laugh, "I never thought I’d see Big Sister in such a state. Usually, it’s her doing this to others."

Liu Niangzi, not knowing what had happened, pulled Second Aunt Lin’s arm, "What did she do? Did she steal money?"

Second Aunt Lin, having heard the commotion clearly, smiled and said, "No, she just put a goose egg under a brooding hen, and it got mad."

Hearing it was such a small matter, Liu Niangzi was a bit disappointed, "Is the hen refusing to brood?"

Though Liu Niangzi was lazy, she had a knack for handling chickens and ducks. After some mysterious maneuvers, the hen gradually calmed down and indeed resumed brooding the eggs.

Seeing this, Mrs. Zhang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smiled at Lin Chunyan, "I wasn’t running away. I went to find Liu Niangzi. I knew she had the skills."

Lin Chunyan, finding it curious, ignored Mrs. Zhang and asked Liu Niangzi several questions. She was somewhat relieved that they had raised ducks together and accidentally found an expert.

Mrs. Zhang let out a long sigh, thinking that with so many people around, Lin Chunyan wouldn’t dare do anything to her and that the matter was over.

She breathed a deep sigh of relief, no longer blaming Liu Niangzi for watching the show. She took out her prized goose egg and asked, "Can it hatch?"

Liu Niangzi examined the egg for a long time and said, "It looks like it can be hatched. But your method won’t work."

Mrs. Zhang’s eyes flickered, and she said, "Why don’t we raise the goose together?"

Liu Niangzi shook her head, "We already have enough ducks. We have to drive them to the river every day to find food. It’s such a hassle."

Seeing there was no more spectacle to watch, Liu Niangzi lingered for a while before leaving.

Lin Chunyan had no intention of letting Mrs. Zhang off the hook and let out a few cold laughs, "Ma, let’s settle this now."

Mrs. Zhang, horrified, tried to back away, but Lin Chunyan grabbed her and dragged her to the west room, handing her some wood, "Chop it."

The west wing had a lot of firewood, most of which was brought back by Erlang and the others. Some of the smaller pieces could be burned directly, but the larger ones had remained unused.

Lin Chunyan thought Aunt Zhang was always idle and handed her an axe, indicating a rough area to split the wood. "If you don't split enough, you won't be allowed to eat or sleep."

"Oh my," Aunt Zhang was truly frightened, even more anxious than when her monthly allowance was deducted.

Splitting firewood was one of her most hated tasks, as bad as digging holes and cutting bamboo shoots. It required a lot of effort, especially in such hot weather. After working for a short while, she would break out in a sweat all over her body, which was really uncomfortable.

Seeing Lin Chunyan's expression, she didn't dare refuse and could only reluctantly take the axe to split the wood.

Fearing that Lin Chunyan might not leave her any food, she couldn't help but remind her a few times while splitting the wood.

After the grain was collected from various places, the tax collectors would start collecting taxes.

Lin Chunyan had inquired about it, and the taxes at this time were relatively not too heavy. Besides the land tax, poll tax, and other taxes, those who ran establishments like hers also had to pay a commercial tax.

Most of the time, people used grain to offset the taxes. Lin Chunyan's family had grain supplied by the second and third branches, as well as some brought by Old Uncle Zhang and Young Uncle Zhang, which was enough to cover the taxes. However, if they used it for taxes, they wouldn't have fresh grain to eat at home.

Buying from the grain and oil shop might mean getting some old grain mixed in. Lin Chunyan thought about it and decided to pay with money instead.

Aunt Zhang was distressed when she heard money was going to be used. "That would cost a lot of money!" she said, her heart aching.

She didn't say the rest. She had never heard of anyone paying taxes with money instead of grain.

Lin Chunyan ignored her and explained to others, "It's just half a day’s earnings. We can afford it."

Even though it was only half a day’s earnings, Aunt Zhang wasn't willing to spend the money and said, "If you don't want to use the grain, I can go ask them for more."

Lin Chunyan grabbed Aunt Zhang and said, "Mother, that wouldn’t be polite. People kindly gave it to us. It’s not proper to ask for more."

"They're willing to give it. It's a win-win situation," Aunt Zhang said, feeling more spirited now that Lin Chunyan was talking to her. Especially since Lin Cuixiang from the second branch was still apprenticing under Lin Chunyan, and they were teaching her wholeheartedly without asking for anything. It wouldn't be too much to ask for some grain, would it?

"I’ve already counted out the money. Mother, don't say another word."

After Lin Chunyan left, Aunt Zhang pulled Wang Yingniang's hand and poured out her grievances, "Goddaughter, can you reason with me? I don't understand why Chunyan insists on paying with coins."

She also complained about how hard she had worked splitting the wood and how her shoulders still hurt from not sleeping well the previous night.

Wang Yingniang couldn't help but laugh. "Dry mother, you made quite a fuss. We were laughing in our beds for a long time."

Aunt Zhang felt even more wronged when she heard they had been secretly laughing. "I've seen hens hatch ducklings before, so I thought it would be the same. That's why I did it."

The morning sun was so bright it was hard to keep my eyes open. Lin Chunyan went to the backyard to pick the eggplants. Seeing the leeks had grown again, she decided not to cut them since they don't taste good no matter how you prepare them at this time.

Lin Taohong scratched herself and came over to ask Lin Chunyan to check if she had developed heat rash. "I've been itchy since I woke up."

"Did mosquitoes bite you again?"

Lin Chunyan lifted Lin Taohong's clothes and saw that her back was covered in small heat rashes. Knowing that Lin Taohong sweated a lot, she felt both sympathetic and amused. "You really have heat rash. Don't scratch anymore. If you scratch until it breaks, the sweat will sting even worse. I’ll get the mugwort ointment and apply it."

Lin Taohong followed her back into the house and lay on the bed, looking rather pitiful. "Why do I always get heat rash? I never used to."

"I think it's because of the clothes you're wearing. I’ve told you to wear something lighter."

Lin Taohong loved a dress with floral embroidery and refused to take it off even in this hot weather. Naturally, wearing it for too long caused heat rash.

Lin Chunyan washed her with cool well water first, then applied the mugwort ointment, which made Lin Taohong feel much cooler and more comfortable.

"This mugwort ointment is very effective. It seems to work for both mosquito bites and heat rash."

Lin Chunyan nodded, "Yes, don't worry, you can use it. We still have several porcelain bottles of it."

Lin Taohong felt relieved and took it with her when she went to the shop. Along the way, she asked Mrs. Song to help her apply it twice, and the itchiness from the heat rash gradually subsided.

Mrs. Zhang sat by the kang and started talking to Mrs. Song about Lin Chunyan's matter, "I don't dare to say anything to her. You all need to judge this for me."

Lin Taohong, having dressed, didn't hold back and revealed her mother's secrets, "Ma'am, don't pay attention to my mother. She's been upsetting my elder sister these past few days."

Mrs. Song laughed upon hearing this, "I thought you two had already made up. How did it start again?"

Lin Taohong rattled off about the incident with the goose egg, "If it weren't for the people around, I think my elder sister would have really wanted to beat up my mother."

Lin Taohong's expression of schadenfreude was too obvious, which angered Mrs. Zhang so much that she raised her hand as if to hit her, making Lin Taohong shut up.

Mrs. Song looked at them enviously, "It's nice to have such moments. A family that quarrels and makes a commotion is living a flavorful life."

Just like her child, now she wanted to argue with her but couldn't find her anymore.

The bailiffs arrived soon, but this time it wasn't Sun the Constable, but a stranger. Mrs. Zhang was a bit nervous as she watched them go over the documents line by line and only relaxed when they signed under their names.

Although Mrs. Song and Mr. Song were only two people, the amount of money they paid was no less than what Lin Chunyan's family paid. This was because the shop was under their name.

The two elders didn't have any land, and when they had to pay the tax, they had already spent most of it treating their daughter's illness. Over the years, paying these taxes almost left them short. Fortunately, this year they rented the shop to Lin Chunyan, and with the monthly rent and the income from the tea stall, they didn't need to borrow money anymore.

Once paid, they wouldn't worry about it anymore. While listening to them talk, Lin Chunyan learned that in the early years, the monks in the temples didn't have to pay the assistance tax. Only in recent years had they started to pay, which put an end to many people's idea of becoming monks to evade taxes.

Tutor Duan came over and, seeing that Lin Chunyan was in a good mood, brought up the matter the private school head had mentioned again.

"I actually think it's feasible. If we publish a book, at least more people will know about this method. But I think it's not appropriate to put the private school head's or my name on it. It's best to put the shopkeeper's name."

Lin Chunyan raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Tutor, didn't you previously think that women's names shouldn't be printed?"

Tutor Duan smiled awkwardly, "That was indeed my previous thought. But after my wife pointed it out, I realized how shallow that was. There are many capable and skilled people in this world. Why should women not excel in reading?"

Lin Chunyan didn't expect Tutor Duan to change his mind like that and thought his wife must be an extraordinary person. She nodded in agreement, "Exactly. There's no reason only men should be allowed. But these ideas weren't mine originally. I just learned them too."

Tutor Duan thought the matter would be dropped, but then Lin Chunyan said, "Publishing a book isn't a big deal. We need to teach others. And since the imperial examinations don't test these things, the scholars might look down on it. I think it would be a good deed to formally teach the children in our town."

She didn't specify boys or girls, but Tutor Duan understood her meaning. If they were to teach them, it would naturally be both. Being a woman herself and doing such a good job, she probably never thought women were inferior to men.

Tutor Duan thought of what his wife had said. He could study because everyone worked hard to support him, without needing to help with household chores. If women were given the same opportunity, they probably wouldn't be much different.

But the private school head might not agree to this. He wanted to publish the book to gain fame among scholars.

He sighed and said to Lin Chunyan, "I can't decide this. I'll check with the private school head again. If he agrees, we'll do it your way."

Lin Chunyan nodded and, after settling the accounts, saw Sanlang coming over, drenched in sweat. He first gulped down water and wiped his mouth, saying, "It's so hot today."

His clothes were soaked through, looking quite disheveled.

Behind him were a few strong men. Lin Chunyan raised her eyebrows in surprise. Before she could ask, Sanlang said proactively, "I found these people to help me dig the pond. We're heading back now."

Sanlang's pond had only been worked on by a few family members. It had rained the past few days, and it took several days just to get the water out. They still hadn't completed the digging.

Unable to wait any longer, Sanlang decided to hire workers, "We agreed on fifteen coins per day, and they need to finish digging today."

Mrs. Zhang gasped, realizing this would cost a lot of money, likely using up all the money they had earned recently.

She pulled Sanlang aside and whispered, "Did you tell your mother?"

Sanlang didn’t consult with Second Aunt Lin and Uncle Lin. He knew that if he had, they wouldn’t agree, so he decided to take action first and inform them later.

"My mother is fine. If I talk to her, she’ll agree, but my father is not so easy to fool. If he really starts hitting me, you must save me, Auntie."

He didn’t bring anything back but left the carrying pole at their shop. If anyone came to buy something, he asked Lin Taohong to collect the money.

Lin Taohong insisted on her cut, saying she would help sell the items in exchange for some palace flowers.

Since Sanlang became a peddler, Lin Taohong no longer bought palace flowers or handkerchiefs elsewhere. She got everything from Sanlang. She wasn’t taking them for free either; she always paid. She knew most of these were crafted by Li Shi or Lin Fengdie and looked exquisite.

However, she felt embarrassed to keep asking, so this arrangement was mutually beneficial.

Sanlang let her choose freely, "Just don’t lose anything."

"Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on things."

After harvesting the eggplants, the pancake vendor made eggplant-filled pancakes. The filling was still prepared by Lin Chunyan and delivered to them. Like the tofu-skin pancakes, these were put out for sale.

During the eggplant harvest, every household would eat a lot of eggplants. They would only stop when they got tired of it. So, when the eggplant pancakes were first made, many people thought of the various eggplant dishes they made at home.

Some joked that since Lin Chunyan’s family grew so many eggplants, they made this filling.

The pancake vendor’s daughter and daughter-in-law laughed, "If it tasted like our home-cooked meals, why would we be selling here?"

Everyone wanted to try and see if Lin Chunyan could make the eggplant filling taste better.

After the customers left, the pancake vendor’s daughter lowered her voice, "They all thought, like me, that eggplant filling wouldn’t taste good."

The pancake vendor and her daughter-in-law covered their mouths and laughed, "If it were that bad, why would we be opening a stall?"

When the pancake vendor saw Lin Chunyan bring out the eggplant filling, she had no doubts. She believed that what Lin Chunyan made would taste different from theirs, and indeed, the eggplant pancakes were delicious. There was so much oil that it seeped through the pancake skin, making it look very appetizing.

The customers who bought the pancakes agreed, saying they were just as good as the tofu-skin pancakes, each with its own unique flavor.

With the remaining eggplants, Lin Chunyan made dried eggplants, planning to use them in the winter for stewed meat or fish. They would be even more delicious than the meat.

"You’re finally here. We’ve been waiting for a long time."

Mrs. Song’s voice came from outside the shop. Looking over, she saw the foolish boy grinning.

Zhao Liu and Hu Daqiang exchanged glances, both recalling the times when the foolish boy ate a lot at their establishment. They gripped their spoons tightly.

Without saying a word, the foolish boy put down the honey he was holding and immediately went to get some food. Hu Daqiang didn’t want to give him any, so he tried to stall the foolish boy.

The foolish boy didn’t understand what Hu Daqiang was saying and only knew he was being mean. When he saw Lin Chunyan, he went to complain.

Lin Chunyan didn’t treat the foolish boy like a normal person. She just told Hu Daqiang not to bother with him, "He’s a great contributor to us now."

The foolish boy didn’t understand these words but knew that Lin Chunyan was letting him eat. Happily, he took a plate and asked for a lot of each dish. Lin Chunyan then spoke with the foolish boy’s brother and sister-in-law, "It must have been hard for you."

The couple waved their hands but kept their eyes on the dishes the foolish boy was taking. They also seemed to want to eat, and Lin Chunyan couldn’t help but laugh. She invited them to sit down and eat while they talked.

The foolish boy’s sister-in-law didn’t immediately pick up her chopsticks but awkwardly explained their purpose for coming, "These jars of honey were really hard to make. We bought all the jars ourselves."

Lin Chunyan was surprised and immediately said, "That’s easy to solve. Just tell me how much you paid for the jars. When we finish using the honey, you can use the jars again."

She meant that the jars would become theirs, and they wouldn’t need to pay extra when they brought more honey next time.

"If we give you the jars, where would we put the honey when we have more? Could you give us some extra money so we can buy more jars?"

Mrs. Song spoke up directly, "You’re really counting your chickens before they hatch. The first batch of honey hasn't even been used up, and you’re already asking us to pay for the jars for the next batch. You don’t have to put in any money for anything—what a profitable business!"

The couple didn’t know what to do with their hands and feet. "No, no, we were just thinking we could split the cost. Those jars cost us a lot of money, practically emptying our pockets."

This wasn’t a lie, and Lin Chunyan, who frequently bought these jars, knew how expensive they were. She asked them, "Do you deliver this honey only to us, or do you have other customers?"

If they delivered only to her, Lin Chunyan was willing to pay for the jars in advance, but if they had other intentions, she wasn’t going to be taken for a ride.

The couple couldn’t lie and hesitated before saying, "We still have a lot of honey left. I don’t think you’ll need that much here, do you think you can sell it?"

"That’s not my problem. The honey you deliver to me needs to be prioritized. I’m not paying for the jars again; I’m not buying jars for you."

Seeing that Lin Chunyan wasn’t someone easily fooled, they dropped the subject.

The couple was just accustomed to being stingy and didn’t want to spend a single cent. They could endure hardship and labor, but spending money felt like cutting flesh from their bones.

Mrs. Song gave them a few disapproving looks. "Since you’re in the beekeeping business, you can’t just focus on these petty gains. In the future, when others come to buy your honey, how do you plan to handle sales?"

The couple hadn’t considered it that way. They were just upset about the money spent on the jars.

Mrs. Song sighed, "If people bring their own jars, just sell them the honey. If they don’t have jars, just add the jar cost. What’s so difficult about that?"

It wasn’t clear if the couple had listened. They just mumbled an acknowledgment and quickly joined the second fool to eat.

If it weren’t for the fact that they were from her village, Mrs. Song wouldn’t have said so much. Worried that Mrs. Zhang and the others might get angry, she also emphasized how hard the couple worked at beekeeping.

Lin Chunyan placed the jars in the backyard room and opened one to take a look. The golden honey was quietly lying inside the jar, emitting a sweet fragrance.

She used this honey to make the green plum ginger. The green plum ginger originally had a bit of sourness, but after adding the honey, the taste immediately changed, becoming sweet and sour—really delicious.