Chapter 135

Chapter 135

Dog Dan's Father couldn't help but speak up, "Why ask so many questions? If you're really hardworking and capable, we'll definitely let you help when the time comes."

However, what that person said just now reminded many people. They all hoped Lin Chunyan would choose them so they could help and earn some money.

Lin Chunyan was like a trendsetter. Many people wanted to follow her to earn some extra cash.

Just like with pig farming, when Lin Chunyan announced the news in the village that they would buy all the pigs, many families decided to buy pigs despite the cost.

Since no one opposed, the Village Headman stood up directly, "Since that's settled, I'll take Yan Niang to handle the paperwork tomorrow. After that, everyone should avoid going to the eastern side of the village. The two mountains on the western side of the village are still open for use."

After returning home, many people discussed this matter. Some were waiting for the Village Headman to distribute the money so they could use it as capital to raise chickens and ducks. Others were secretly calculating how much Lin Chunyan's family had earned, feeling envious in their hearts.

No one had any bad intentions, though. The villagers had seen what happened to those who had been foolish in the past.

It was too late to go to the town now, so the Village Headman agreed with Lin Chunyan to go tomorrow and started walking home from the threshing ground.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. Lin Chunyan had readily taken out more than ten strings of coins, which meant she had earned a lot of money.

But the one who should really regret was Lin Laodie. He was truly an unlucky man.

Dog Dan's Father led the two Wu brothers to collect the grapes. This task couldn't be delayed; if they waited another day, the grapes might become too ripe to dry into raisins.

On the way, one of the Wu brothers brought up Lin Laodie, "I heard that life is quite hard for him now. To provide well for his son, he's been working at the docks loading cargo."

Dog Dan's Father didn't want to gossip about villagers, but thinking about what Lin Laodie had done before, he couldn't help but snort coldly.

"That's why I say he's unlucky. Thankfully he's gone; otherwise, we wouldn't have such a good future now."

The two Wu brothers felt happy, thinking that they would be able to help collect goods with Dog Dan's Father in the future.

Although their old mother was unreliable—she had even said those inappropriate things in public today, which they couldn't control—fortunately, Lin Chunyan's family were generous people and wouldn't hold it against them.

As soon as she returned, Mrs. Zhang hurried over to ask, "Did you settle things with the Village Headman? The money should be counted out in advance so we're not scrambling to find it at the last minute."

Lin Chunyan nodded, "It's settled. The money has been found, but this mountain was funded by the three of us. Each of us contributed something."

Lin Chunyan had mentioned this to Mrs. Zhang before. At that time, Mrs. Zhang had been reluctant to take out the money. Upon hearing that Lin Taohong and Wang Yingniang had both contributed, she went to them first, "How much did you both contribute? Why didn't you tell me?"

"How could we not have said? You were so absorbed in your operas that you didn't pay attention to what we said."

"Even when we talk to you, you're always distracted. How can you get so distracted by listening to operas?"

Mrs. Zhang felt a little guilty, "You're making too much of it. Just tell me how much you both contributed."

Lin Taohong said proudly, "I took out three strings of coins, and Yingniang did the same."

The bulk of the money was still covered by Lin Chunyan, but this had significantly eased her burden.

"Of course, there will be profits for those who contributed money," Lin Chunyan reminded Mrs. Zhang, "Mother, would you like to invest as well?"

"You can fool them, but not me. There are only wild vegetables, bamboo shoots, and at most some chestnuts on that mountain. What profits could there be?"

Lin Chunyan didn't bother explaining further, "If you don't believe me, that's fine by me."

Hearing this, Mrs. Zhang hesitated. If Lin Chunyan had been pushy, she wouldn't have contributed more.

But it was this attitude that made Mrs. Zhang reconsider. Gritting her teeth, she pulled out two strings of coins from a mouse hole and reluctantly handed them over, saying, "Don't forget to include me in the profits."

Lin Chunyan carefully put away the two strings of coins and nodded. "Of course, if I earn ten strings of coins, we’ll split it according to how much each of you contributed."

None of them understood what this meant, so Lin Chunyan explained it to them. Wang Yingniang was the first to catch on. "So, if I put in more now, I’ll get more later?"

Lin Chunyan nodded. "That’s right."

Wang Yingniang then got up and went to fetch more money. "I’ll add another string of coins."

Lin Taohong didn’t have much money left, as she usually spent it on flowers and planned to save the rest for buying fabric in the fall. She watched enviously as Wang Yingniang added more coins.

Mrs. Zhang was also hesitant. "But what if we don’t make any money? Won’t this just be a waste?"

After thinking it over, she decided not to add any more money but asked to be called when they went to the county hall the next day.

"I already spoke with Sun the Constable a few days ago. We’ll go straight to him at the county hall, which will speed things up."

After arranging everything, Lin Chunyan finally washed up and went to bed, but she was too excited to fall asleep until the middle of the night.

Even though it was autumn, the mornings were still bright. The village headman wouldn’t come to call her this early, so Lin Chunyan decided to head up the mountain.

On the way, she met some villagers who greeted her. "Going up the mountain for something?"

"Just checking if the wild Chinese dates are ready to eat."

The jujube trees were on the western mountain, where Lin Chunyan had picked them with Zhao Linglan’s sisters the previous year. The fruit tasted great, and they had made delicious jujube cakes afterward.

However, it was still too early. The jujubes were plentiful on the branches, but they were still too tart to eat. "We’ll have to wait a bit longer before we can pick them."

Lin Chunyan wasn’t disappointed. She simply shifted her attention to the walnut trees nearby.

"I’ll pick some walnuts to take back. Red Lady will be thrilled."

As she spoke to Wang Yingniang, Lin Chunyan took a bamboo pole to reach the walnuts.

Many walnuts had already fallen to the ground, and Lin Chunyan didn’t let them go to waste. She picked the edible ones to bring home.

Lin Taohong was doing laundry and was delighted to see the walnuts they brought back. "Finally, something to eat!"

Lin Chunyan, however, replied, "I’m keeping these walnuts to use in mooncakes."

Lin Taohong looked disappointed. "Do you need so many walnuts?"

Lin Chunyan nodded. "I’m making five-kernel mooncakes, so I need a lot of walnuts. But once the mooncakes are made, you’ll love eating them."

Lin Taohong finally smiled.

There was no rush to process the walnuts. They buried the walnuts in a hole to let the outer skin soften, then peeled them when the skin was soft enough.

As autumn arrived, people began to get busy. They first tidied up the vegetables in the garden. The beans, eggplants, and cucumbers were gradually pickled. As soon as that was done, it was time to harvest the soybeans and mung beans from the fields.

Beans were the first to mature. Every household in the village planted some soybeans and mung beans between the ridges of their fields. As Lin Chunyan passed by the fields, she saw people already harvesting with sickles.

Soybean stalks were thick and had some thorns, so using a sickle wouldn’t cause any hand injuries. Mung beans were simpler; they could just wear gloves and pull them up directly.

The stalks weren’t thrown away; they could be fed to livestock or dried for firewood.

Lin Chunyan’s family also planted some mung beans, but since they didn’t have much farmland, they didn’t plant a lot. A few of them worked for a morning and only finished half the field.

After finishing, they spread the mung bean pods in the middle of their yard. Under the scorching sun, the pods would curl up, and the beans inside would fall out.

"I heard that someone in North Village is growing cotton, and in a couple of days, it will be time to pick it. We should go and exchange for some more then."

The heat of late summer was still intense, and after working for a while, everyone started to sweat. Lin Chunyan was going to the county office with the Village Headman today and wasn’t in a hurry to leave. When she heard Mrs. Zhang mention picking cotton, she nodded in agreement.

Autumn flies by, and it’s always so busy. They needed to start preparing for winter early. The busyness started from the moment they received these mung beans and would continue non-stop.

After tidying up, Lin Taohong and Mrs. Zhang went to help at the shop first. Lin Chunyan leisurely organized the vegetables in the field again and then worriedly said to Wang Yingniang, "I don’t think those radishes are going to grow."

"How many days has it been since they were planted? Why are you in such a hurry? You said the pumpkins wouldn’t grow when they were planted too."

But Lin Chunyan had a bad premonition.

She had seen radishes in other people’s fields, which were already sprouting, but hers hadn’t even peeked through the soil yet.

The Village Headman was also afraid of delaying things. After finishing the work in the field, he hurried over. Yesterday, Lin Chunyan brought some spicy rabbit heads, which he ate. At first, he thought the rabbit heads looked a bit terrifying and didn’t know where to start eating.

But once he tasted the spicy and fragrant flavor, he was captivated and ate every last bit of meat on the head.

After enjoying her spicy rabbit heads, and since the villagers had already agreed to give the mountain on the east side of the village to Lin Chunyan, the Village Headman came early, leading his donkey.

Lin Chunyan didn’t stand on ceremony, called Uncle Lin and Erlang, and together they headed towards the county office.

On the way, it was inevitable to talk about the business of the shop. The Village Headman liked to show off in front of Uncle Lin and mentioned the pond that Sanlang had dug.

"Your children are capable, more so than you! In the future, don’t stop them from doing everything. After saving more money, hurry up and find a good match for the children."

Sanlang's pond was managed by Uncle Lin, who went to feed the fish every day. A few days ago, he didn’t know how big the fish had grown and fished them out to check.

After speaking, the Village Headman looked at Uncle Lin’s expression. Seeing no change on his face, he felt it wasn’t worth continuing and stopped talking.

They first detoured to the shop to pick up Mrs. Zhang. When they arrived at the county office, thanks to Sun the Constable being there, things went smoothly. After signing and pressing their fingerprints, the thin piece of paper landed in Lin Chunyan’s hands, and she treasured it in her chest, breathing a long sigh of relief.

From now on, that green mountain would be hers, the biggest property she had earned since coming here.

The Village Headman had helped a lot, running back and forth, so Lin Chunyan brought him to the shop and said she would treat him to a meal.

The Village Headman didn’t refuse. "I’ve known for a long time that your shop is very big, but I haven’t had the chance to come over."

When they entered the shop, Mr. Zhao and Mr. Qin were there. Aunt Liu was asking for the food journal that had been written. "You should really print more of these. Your food journal is really good."

Mr. Zhao had never been praised like this before and was floating on air. He bowed and replied, "I’ll print more soon, thanks to your appreciation."

Hearing this, Lin Chunyan said to Mr. Zhao, "Come to think of it, our shop has also benefited a lot from this. We should contribute to the printing."

She thought that if more people saw this book, they might buy the food made here.

Not to mention, the ham and dried bean curd sticks could be stored for a long time, making them perfect for preserving. If the reputation grew, they would definitely sell even better.

While Lin Chunyan was talking with Mr. Zhao, the Village Headman came in and was shocked by the scene in their shop. Seeing the cooked dishes, he realized that even half-portions could be bought, and buying a few wouldn’t cost much either.

No wonder Lin Chunyan felt confident enough to buy that mountain; it seemed that after the shop opened, she had already made a lot of money.

He also recalled how the villagers had come to him last night, hinting that he should help and say a few good words to Lin Chunyan to arrange some work for them.

They hadn’t aligned with Lin Chunyan before, but no one wanted to miss this chance.

When Lin Taohong saw Lin Chunyan return, she asked if everything had been settled. Lin Chunyan nodded with a smile.

"This is fantastic news!" Lin Taohong smiled happily.

Mrs. Zhang was initially against it, but once the contract was in her hands, she was overjoyed and couldn’t stop raving about it to everyone she met.

Lin Chunyan couldn’t stop smiling, thinking that since the mountain was bought, the next step was to plan the layout. They needed to decide where to plant the fruit trees and where to raise the livestock, keeping them separate.

The Village Headman hinted that he could help find people if they needed assistance, and Lin Chunyan didn’t refuse. Instead, she asked him to help look for some helpers.

After all, he was the Village Headman, and there were many people he was familiar with, more than Lin Chunyan knew.

The Village Headman returned home, full and satisfied, and on the way back, he started to plan.

As he said, there was only one person like Lin Chunyan in the surrounding villages. If her business really took off, every household in their village would become wealthier.

This time, when taxes were collected, their village paid the fastest and the most. Anyone who saw it couldn’t help but look at him with envy.

"Why is everyone so happy?" Sun Anyuan's voice came from the door. He had just gotten off the boat, carrying many packages in his hands.

Tutor Duan said with a smile, "Our boss encountered something joyful today."

He also winked at Mrs. Zhang.

Mrs. Zhang had originally planned to go to a play, but when she saw Sun Anyuan return, she decided not to go, watching him with a guarded expression.

Sun Anyuan pretended not to see her look, and when Mrs. Zhang saw this, she remembered what Erlang had quietly told her before.

Sun Anyuan had become increasingly bold, secretly meeting Lin Chunyan outside, and the two of them were so close that it bothered her a lot.

Jin Niangzi also stopped selling her wontons. As soon as she saw Sun Anyuan return, she asked the old man selling steamed buns to watch her stall and hurried into the shop, sitting next to Mrs. Zhang.

Lin Chunyan didn’t pay attention to their secret signals and took the package from Sun Anyuan, opening it.

The things he brought back were miscellaneous, mostly related to food. Lin Chunyan even saw a bag of seeds, though she didn’t know what kind.

What Lin Chunyan liked the most were the dried kelp. She took them out and examined them carefully. These kelp were likely dried by the fishermen themselves. Even though they were self-dried, they could be preserved for a long time.

Given their thickness, Lin Chunyan figured the kelp would be soft and chewy when cooked.

There were also some dried beltfish. These were cleaned and marinated with rice wine and ginger, then hung on a clothesline to dry. After some time, the meat would become very firm.

Sun Anyuan, worried that Lin Chunyan might not know how to prepare the beltfish, explained, "Just cut them into pieces and steam them, or steam them with rice wine and ginger."

"Did you go to a fishing village?"

Sun Anyuan nodded, "On the way back, I passed by a small fishing village and stayed there for a night. I saw all these things and brought them back."

Lin Chunyan asked curiously, "What did you eat in the fishing village?"

"We ate crabs. They were fatter than the river crabs here."

Unfortunately, those crabs couldn’t be brought back; otherwise, Lin Chunyan could have tasted them.

Without a care in the world, the two of them continued their conversation. Jin Niangzi couldn’t help but nudge Mrs. Zhang’s arm. "Aren’t you going to stop them? Just let them chat like that?"

Mrs. Zhang spat out a sunflower seed and called out to Lin Chunyan, "Chunyan, come with me to the backyard and see if there are any watermelons."

Lin Chunyan knew that Mrs. Zhang didn’t want her to interact with Sun Anyuan, so she apologized with a smile and followed Mrs. Zhang to the backyard.

"I’ll invite them over tonight," Sun Anyuan said, his eyes lingering on her.

Lin Chunyan agreed, and as Mrs. Zhang took her to the backyard, she asked, "Who is coming tonight? What were you two discussing?"

Lin Chunyan sighed, "It was agreed before that when he returned, we would invite all the constables from the yamen. We can't only know Constable Sun."

Mrs. Zhang sneered softly, muttering under her breath, "It's not that I don't want you to talk to him, but it's obvious he has designs on you. He's a constable who lives a dangerous life, not a good man at all."

"You’re jumping to conclusions," Lin Chunyan said with a smile, "I don't know if he's a good man or not, but as we run an establishment, we might need help from people. We can't avoid interacting with anyone."

Mrs. Zhang was sharp, "Don't try to brush me off. There are plenty of people who can help us. Why do I feel like he has ulterior motives!"

Lin Chunyan quickly changed the subject, "Since a lot of people are coming tonight, we need to prepare more dishes. I'll go check out the stalls outside."

With that, she left through the back door, leaving Mrs. Zhang alone.

Lin Cuixiang and Zhao Zilan in the kitchen heard this and covered their mouths, laughing.

"I didn’t realize Yan Niang had to deal with this too. I thought she was above it all."

"That Sun the Constable is tall and strong. He looks a bit intimidating to me. I'm worried if Yan Niang really likes him," Lin Cuixiang said with concern, "I'll have to ask her later."

"I think there’s something there. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have rushed off like that."

Jin Niangzi was also asking Mrs. Zhang, "Although Yan Niang didn't become my goddaughter, we have a good relationship. I naturally wish her well. If you really don't like that Sun the Constable, I can introduce you to someone better."

Mrs. Zhang didn't dislike Sun Anyuan, but the longer they lived together as a family of three, the more she didn't like anyone.

"My Yan Niang is still young. We don’t need to rush into anything," Mrs. Zhang was still angry and spoke harshly.

"Young? She's already fifteen or sixteen. By next year, she'll be seventeen or eighteen."

Mrs. Zhang glared at Jin Niangzi, "At this rate, she’ll be in her twenties before we know it. Now, go cook your wontons!"

Jin Niangzi stood up, straightened her clothes, "Alright, if you’re not interested, don’t come to the opera with me this afternoon."

Lin Chunyan went out and bought some fresh large shrimp. She trimmed the shrimp and marinated them in saltwater.

She also put two ducks into the bread kiln, rushing to make some small pancakes that would be used for wraps in the evening.

Seeing how seriously Lin Chunyan was taking this, Lin Cuixiang and Zhao Zilan became tense, "Should we help with something?"

Lin Chunyan thought for a moment and said, "You can make some braised pork. Large chunks of meat are quite popular."

Just meat wouldn’t be enough. We should also prepare some vegetable dishes for when the guests arrive.

As the evening cooled down, Sun Anyuan arrived early. He stopped by the yamen first to let Lin Chunyan know everyone would be arriving soon.

Lin Chunyan pushed some tables together, clearing a special area.

Although the decor inside their establishment wasn't great, the space was large enough. After rearranging, there were still several tables available, so it wouldn't affect other customers.

The alcohol was also set out in advance. Lin Chunyan planned to ask these people for favors, so she wanted to be well-prepared to leave a good impression for future requests.

Sun Anyuan saw her careful preparations and said directly, "Those who are coming are people we know. It’s just a meet-and-greet."

Lin Chunyan understood his implication. When the new county magistrate took office, he brought his own trusted people and was somewhat wary of the constables who had stayed on.

This led to the current division into two factions. The people Constable Sun brought were certainly those close to him.

Lin Chunyan felt relieved.

Aunt He, Wang Yingniang’s mother, was released from prison but didn’t head straight home. Instead, she sneaked off to Qingshan Village to find Wang Yingniang.

Unfortunately, after the mountain on the east side of the village was bought, many people wanted to offer their help with the work. When the village headman returned, he relaxed his stance, causing many people to gather at Lin Chunyan's door to inquire about the situation.

As soon as Aunt He saw this, she immediately turned around and left, not staying a moment longer.

Thinking about how Lin Chunyan and Wang Yingniang had brought ruin to their family, Aunt He's teeth itched with hatred. From a distance, she glanced at her house, seeing that the roof had collapsed during the rain since no one had been living there. The doorway was smeared with feces, and there was garbage thrown around, making it clear that the place was in disrepair and uninhabitable.

Aunt He had no intention of moving back. Wang Chuizi and Wang Dalang were set to be executed after the autumn, and Wang Erlang and Wang Sanlang had disappeared somewhere. It would be far too dangerous for her to live alone at home.

All in all, she had given birth to Wang Yingniang. If she refused to take care of her, she could report her for filial impiety to the authorities.

As she thought about this, she reached the shop. Aunt He paused in her steps, intending to go in and let Lin Chunyan know that she had been released from prison. No matter whether she was afraid or not, it would make her uneasy.

Just as she stepped into the shop, she heard voices inside. Some of the voices were very familiar, ones she had often heard in prison.

"Our work here can get quite busy, and though we haven't eaten here, we've sent idlers on errands. I know all about your fresh offerings."

Another person chimed in, "I'm the same. I didn't know you were so close with Big Brother Sun. From now on, we're all one family, so feel free to come to us if you need anything."

"I heard from Big Brother Sun that Wang Chuizi, who will be executed after the autumn, has some connection with your family. His wife was released from jail yesterday. If she comes to cause trouble, we'll throw her back in."

Aunt He had just stepped inside but froze upon hearing this. Thinking about the dark days in prison, her body began to tremble. Without another word, she turned and fled.

Tutor Duan sensed someone had entered but looked up to see no one there, leaving him to wonder with a strange "Huh."

The meal ended with both hosts and guests happy. After seeing them off, Lin Chunyan felt a weight lifted from her heart.

Before leaving, Sun the Constable gave Sun Anyuan a wink and asked him to stay behind to help tidy up.

Sun Anyuan could handle the teasing from others, but Sun the Constable's behavior made him a bit embarrassed.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Chunyan waved at Sun Anyuan with a smile, "I was in a hurry earlier and didn't get a chance to pay you for the things you gave me. How much do you think it would be?"

Sun Anyuan waved his hand dismissively, "It's just some seaweed. It's not worth anything."

"How can you say it's not worth anything? If you hadn't helped bring them back, we would have had to wait until a ship brought them in. Who knows when that would have been."

Sun Anyuan rubbed his nose and said, "How about this? Your wine is really good. How about giving us two jars for my brothers and me?"

"Then I'm the one gaining from this," Lin Chunyan said as she called Zhao Liu to help. She was worried that Mrs. Zhang might come to check on her again, so she went into the kitchen to help clean up.

"Are we going up the mountain when we head back?"

Lin Chunyan nodded. The autumn air was crisp and clear, and the chestnuts on the mountain were ripe once more. They could make chestnut tofu again.