Chapter 136

Chapter 136

Picking acorns was actually quite an interesting activity. Lin Chunyan wore a hat and carried a basket, walking among the oak trees. She listened to the people around her chatting. Occasionally, the wind brushed against her skin, and she felt a refreshing sense of joy.

"During the winter, Liu Niangzi still went up the mountain to look for acorns. She’s someone with bad luck. In the middle of winter, she couldn’t find any, but when I went to look again in early spring, there were still plenty of acorns left. I even found a squirrel’s nest."

The squirrel’s nest contained many things, most of which the squirrel had stored for the winter. However, people often competed with animals in nature for food. Finding a squirrel’s nest meant having access to a large supply of nuts.

Wang Yingniang didn’t go up the mountain. She stayed at home to help collect the acorns. Although most of the villagers hadn’t gone up the mountain to pick them yet, there was already a small mountain of acorns piled up in our yard.

When Lin Chunyan returned, Wang Yingniang pointed to the small mountain and complained, "Tomorrow, even more people will come to exchange acorns for money. We can’t keep piling them up outside every day."

The storage room, where they used to store the acorns, was already filled with firewood. Lin Chunyan went in to take a look and had to tell those bringing acorns that there was no more room in the house and that they would have to come back another time to collect the payment.

Although each trip only earned a few coins, after many trips, it added up to quite a bit. When they heard Lin Chunyan’s explanation, many people grew anxious.

"How can you stop exchanging them? We worked so hard to pick these from the mountain."

"Exactly, think it over carefully, Miss Yan, you can’t just stop like this."

Although they wanted to work for Lin Chunyan, when it came to their own interests, no one was willing to back down.

Mrs. Zhang came out to explain, "Look at our house; is there any space left? It’s not that we won’t collect them anymore; we just need some time to finish organizing what we have first."

Hearing that they would continue to collect acorns in the future, everyone’s mood calmed down, and they began to chatter about suggestions.

Lin Chunyan drew a rough map of the mountain on the ground. With the help of Sun the Constable, the officials from the local government didn’t come to measure the size of the mountain on the east side of the village. The Village Headman had reported a larger size on purpose. If you calculate it correctly, all the land east of the mountain would belong to her.

The acorn forest could be well utilized. A workshop should be built nearby, specifically for making acorn tofu.

After finishing the sketch, Lin Chunyan decided to hold a meeting to gather everyone and discuss it.

She called over Lin Taohong and asked her to help gather people, "Sister Wei Ruo, Sister Ding Hui Niang, Liu Niangzi, Lihua..."

These were all women from families who regularly visited ours. Women from all over the village hurried to Lin Chunyan’s house.

As the villagers saw these women walking briskly, they couldn’t help but stop and watch, muttering admiring comments.

The women who came strutted confidently, heads held high, aware that everyone was watching them and putting on a show of importance.

When Qian Niangzi arrived, she couldn’t help but laugh, "I’ve never felt so important in my whole life. Men, women, old, young, everyone looked at us. It made me feel so proud."

She giggled as she spoke.

Liu Niangzi, hearing this, felt envious, "Oh dear, we live too close by and never get such opportunities. I’ll have to follow you all for a walk later."

Sister Wei Ruo glared at her mother-in-law, "Mother, do we have time for that? We need to collect acorns and raise pigs. We should hurry up the mountain to collect more. Do we want to suffer in the cold wind again like last winter?"

As soon as Sister Wei Ruo spoke, Liu Niangzi fell silent. The others joked around, encouraging Liu Niangzi to oppose Sister Wei Ruo.

"You guys are such troublemakers." Liu Niangzi wasn’t fooled, "My daughter-in-law is right. We should hurry up the mountain to collect more. Otherwise, the winter experience won’t be pleasant."

Seeing that she wasn’t falling for it, everyone burst into laughter, "I didn’t expect you to be so insightful, knowing not to oppose your daughter-in-law."

Liu Niangzi felt proud, "My daughter-in-law has everything under control in every other way except for making me work. Why would I oppose her?"

Everyone praised her for being sensible, "That old lady Wu just can’t understand this. She’s always opposing her two daughters-in-law, causing chaos at home. It’s really hard to know what to say."

Since Qian Niangzi and Li Shi both lived in the village, everyone turned to them to explain what was going on with old lady Wu.

Mrs. Zhang had been listening to the gossip since earlier and even brought out melon seeds to offer them. Her own mouth was busy too, inserting herself into every conversation like a squirrel in a cornfield, darting around restlessly.

“What’s the purpose of coming here today?” Mrs. Sun felt a bit uneasy, unsure of why they were all gathered. She was the kind of person who couldn’t hold anything in; no matter how small or simple, she would instinctively worry.

Pomegranate was also nervous. This was her first time here, and when Lin Taohong invited her, Madam Hong was even more excited, giving her detailed instructions to keep her mouth shut.

Fortunately, Ju Miao wasn’t faring much better.

People gradually arrived, and Lin Chunyan brought over many stools from Second Aunt Lin’s house. The yard soon filled with people, stools scattered around as everyone found a place to sit.

Lin Chunyan looked at everyone—Mrs. Sun, Second Aunt Lin, Li Shi, Lin Cuixiang—these were all people who managed important matters.

Once everyone had settled, she cleared her throat, and the chatter quickly died down.

Lin Chunyan didn’t want the atmosphere to become too serious and said with a smile, “I called all the aunts and sisters here today to discuss future arrangements with you.”

Madam Qian, with her usual boldness, said, “Whatever arrangements you make, Yan Niang, that’s what our family will do. We have no objections.”

“Listen to Yan Niang, and don’t talk too much,” Second Aunt Lin glared at Madam Qian. Madam Qian had just started learning to knit from Li Shi and had become a bit arrogant.

Madam Qian awkwardly closed her mouth and lightly slapped her own face. “My mouth is uncontrollable.”

Lin Chunyan skipped over Madam Qian’s remark and continued, “Let me first explain my current plan, and if you all have any ideas, feel free to share them later.”

“I plan to plant some fruit trees on the mountain. This will require people to manage the mountain, regularly removing insects and bagging the fruits... It’s quite a troublesome task. We can’t rely only on what grows wild on the mountain anymore.”

Wild plants were good, but their taste and size weren’t sufficient. Planting them with dedicated care would certainly make a difference.

Li Shi frowned and asked, “Why are we planting these fruit trees?”

“That’s a good question,” Lin Chunyan smiled at Li Shi. “The fruits have many uses. The sweet brine used in our tofu pudding and cold rice cakes, the various fruit teas, wines, jams, and canned fruits—all of these require fresh, high-quality fruit.”

Everyone suddenly realized the importance of these fruit trees.

Lin Chunyan continued, “As for the chestnuts, they are definitely our main focus this year. We need to store more; otherwise, there will be a shortage for the tofu pudding next year.”

She directly pointed out that the tofu pudding was made from chestnuts. Even if Lin Chunyan hadn’t said it, most villagers had already guessed.

Knowing didn’t mean they could do it; they still didn’t know how to start, so Lin Chunyan felt at ease mentioning it.

Mrs. Sun, who had been helping with the tofu pudding, asked, “Storing more chestnuts isn’t the issue; it’s where we’ll keep them that’s the challenge.”

“I plan to store them directly on the mountain, and we’ll also move the tofu pudding processing site up there.”

Lin Chunyan intended for Mrs. Sun to continue managing the tofu pudding and discussed it with her in detail for a while.

After discussing the details with Mrs. Sun, Lin Chunyan turned to the rest of the group.

Gradually, the laughter faded, and the women began to realize the weight of what they were planning.

A vision they had never dared to imagine was being formed, and each of them was a creator and participant.

As soon as Madam Liu understood, she couldn’t sit still. Seeing that Lin Chunyan had finished talking with Mrs. Sun, she hurriedly asked, “Can we raise chickens and ducks on the mountain, or will we have other responsibilities?”

Lihua’s ears perked up, and she listened carefully with Mrs. Zhao.

Lin Chunyan nodded. “We’ll also set aside an area on the mountain for raising chickens and ducks, and we’ll collect their feathers for the textile group, which my third aunt oversees.”

Li Shi’s eyes lit up. “So we’re part of the textile group?” Madam Qian laughed and tugged at Li Shi’s sleeve. “Looks like we’ll be working together again!”

Lin Chunyan continued, "We will also raise pigs. The pork will go to the ham processing group, and the pig pancreases will go to the textile group to make pig pancreas soap—the people responsible for making the soap will be integrated into the textile group."

With just a few simple words, Lin Chunyan clearly divided the groups. Watching the people below chatter and debate which group they belonged to, Lin Chunyan calmly took a sip of water.

Wang Yingniang quietly gave Lin Chunyan a thumbs up, which brought a slight smile to her lips.

However, while the groups were easy to assign and everyone knew which group they were in, the current problem was that they had too few people.

"After this, everyone can recommend some people. If I find them suitable, I will hire them, and we will pay wages every month."

This sparked even more discussion. After all, who didn't have relatives? Someone immediately asked, "Yan Niang, what counts as suitable?"

"First of all, they need to have good character, be diligent, clean, and not have too many tricks up their sleeves. The most important point is, except for some necessary groups, I only want women to work."

There was a moment of shock, but then everyone nodded in agreement. After all, everyone attending this meeting today was a woman!

Sun Niangzi worried, "Will this cause problems? What if someone comes to cause trouble?"

"We'll see who dares!" Qian Niangzi puffed out her chest. "Is everyone in our village just eating rice for nothing?"

"Exactly, if anyone dares to cause trouble, we women working here will make sure they don't leave! Their men can find work, some as apprentices, some as peddlers, and if all else fails, they can do hard labor at the docks! We've finally found a place to work, and if anyone tries to mess with this, they're working against us!"

These words earned nods of agreement from everyone. Even though they might not be as physically strong as men, they'd always pulled their weight in the fields. At home, they washed clothes and cooked, putting in endless effort, yet no one seemed to want to hire women for work.

So, they felt like they always had to depend on men for everything.

Lin Chunyan let them calm down a bit, and after they suppressed their excitement, she continued, "Should we include people from outside the village?"

"Yes, my sister-in-law from my hometown is very capable, but unfortunately, she's not in our village."

"I don't think we should include outsiders. Who knows if they'll try to learn or spy on our methods?"

"That's not entirely right. There are many young unmarried women here. Are we saying they won't get married in the future?"

Pomegranate, feeling eyes on her, whispered anxiously, "I'm not getting married, so why are they still looking at me?"

Lin Chunyan immediately gave her a reassuring look and said to everyone, "Everyone has valid points. This is what I think: for making ham and tofu pudding, each person will only be responsible for a small part. Even if outsiders don't know how it's made, even if they leave, we won't have to worry about them learning our methods."

This way, it would be best for the unmarried young women and wouldn't interfere with their prospects for marriage.

Lin Taohong added, "If there are people who want to secretly learn from us, we should reject them outright, and even refuse the person who recommended them."

This method was good but a bit too harsh, as you never knew what someone else might do. However, saying it out loud would make everyone more careful when selecting people.

After another round of chatter, Lin Chunyan noticed it was getting late and told everyone to head back. If there were any questions, they could ask later.

The group slowly got up and left, still discussing the matter. They all felt this was a huge deal and needed to think it over carefully when they got home.

Once everyone left, Lin Chunyan slumped in her seat. Lin Taohong, covering her mouth, giggled and came over. "Big sister, you were awesome back there, talking in front of all those people! Were you not afraid?"

Lin Chunyan thought for a moment, "A little, I suppose. But they're mostly familiar faces, so it's a bit awkward to speak so formally."

Mrs. Zhang, who used to dislike going up the mountain, surprisingly said, "Tomorrow, when you go up the mountain, call me. It's our mountain after all, and we need to pay attention to it from now on."

She also said that if anyone recommends people, "Yan Niang, don't agree right away. You should at least ask Aunt Liu and me. We can get a better sense of who they are."

Knowing their talent for gathering information, Lin Chunyan readily agreed.

In the evening, the ladies went back to sleeping on the roof. In the distance, there were many more lights in the village than before. Where once it was pitch black, now you could see faint lights in the distance.

The three sisters huddled together. Lin Taohong and Wang Yingniang exchanged a glance across the way and then started tickling Lin Chunyan.

"W-what are you doing?" Lin Chunyan was laughing so hard she could barely get a word out.

"Be honest, what's going on between you and Sun Biaotou?"

Lin Taohong had already quietly discussed this with Wang Yingniang earlier. It still left her feeling uneasy.

She had noticed that Lin Chunyan didn’t seem to mind spending time with Sun Anyuan.

After they finally stopped tickling her, Lin Chunyan calmed her breathing and said, "To be honest, I used to see him as just an ordinary person, but after spending more time with him, I found I don’t dislike him."

Apart from her male relatives, Lin Chunyan had more or less harbored some prejudice against other men, thinking their flaws were too obvious.

This was something she had never mentioned to anyone before. After organizing things on the eastern hill today, she felt a stronger sense of belonging to the village and decided to think more about her future plans.

For her, not disliking someone was already a big deal, especially when it came to men.

Wang Yingniang propped herself up and whispered, "Would you marry him if I asked?"

Lin Chunyan felt a shiver run down her spine and shook her head firmly. "No, I wouldn’t want to marry anyone."

Lin Taohong asked from the side, "What if Sun Biaotou married you instead?"

"What kind of question is that?" Wang Yingniang gave Lin Taohong an exasperated look. "Stop interrupting."

Lin Chunyan actually thought about it seriously, listening to the bickering between Wang Yingniang and Lin Taohong, before finally breaking into a smile.

"Go to sleep early. We'll be going up the mountain tomorrow, and we need to see which places are suitable for what."

Only then did Lin Taohong stop teasing Wang Yingniang, yawned, and leaned against Lin Chunyan. She fell asleep not long after.

"She always drifts off so fast," Lin Chunyan said with a smile, pushing Lin Taohong's head gently to the side. She hesitated before speaking to Wang Yingniang, who was also still awake.

"Yingniang, when I invited those constables over for dinner today, I heard that your mother has been released."

Wang Yingniang stiffened, and after a long while, she sighed.

Lin Chunyan patted her reassuringly, "If she comes looking for you, don’t act rashly. Let’s talk it through before we do anything."

Wang Yingniang nodded. "If my second and third brothers have any conscience, they’ll find her sooner or later. But it’s not very likely. This is sort of her retribution."

Back then, Aunt He often said that daughters were useless and that she would have to rely on her sons for old age care.

She had three sons, and back then, Aunt He had been smugly waiting for the day she would be taken care of by her daughters-in-law.

The two talked for a long time before eventually dozing off unknowingly.

In the morning, they ate dried fish.

This type of fish was rare in their area, not the usual freshwater fish. Lin Chunyan, worried they might not be used to the taste, had deliberately added some wine and ginger strips to mask it.

It worked, and the overpowering taste was gone. Mrs. Zhang ate with great relish and curiously asked, "What kind of fish is this? It’s almost like it knows how to keep all its bones in one place."

Lin Chunyan thought about waiting until Sanlang's pond had more fish, and then they could make some dried fish too.

The outer shells of the mung beans in the yard had already curled up, revealing the green beans inside. After another day of drying, the beans would be ready to harvest.

Just like during the wheat harvest, Lin Chunyan hoped the heavens would hold off on the rain so they could quickly finish harvesting the mung beans.

After the meeting yesterday, Pomegranate went back and gave a brief account of what happened. Both Madam Hong and Maiya listened very attentively, though Maiya was confused. "Why can’t the men go? I’m grown up and strong enough now."

Pomegranate and Madam Hong exchanged a glance but didn’t respond.

Madam Hong didn’t sleep well that night, thinking about what Pomegranate had told her after coming back. She felt a fire burning in her heart.

The next morning, after she finished making the tofu, she took out the rest of the red beans from her house.

Pomegranate saw this and was quite curious.

She actually had quite a lot of work to do every day—washing dishes and vegetables. Although she could sit while working, it was still very physically exhausting. Two eggs sat on the table, ready to be eaten.

"Take one and give it to Yan Niang’s family first," Madam Hong said.

Pomegranate ate an egg without hesitation. In the past, she wouldn’t have dared to eat it unless Madam Hong and Maiya had eaten theirs first.

But now, she wouldn’t do that. She remembered what Lin Chunyan had told her. These young girls were rarely cherished, so they should always think of themselves first. Being soft-hearted and kind could come later.

After she ate one egg, she saw there was still one left on the table and gave it to Madam Hong.

Madam Hong waved her hand to refuse. "I won’t eat it. Let Maiya eat it."

Pomegranate turned her head away, unhappy. "From now on, we’ll boil three eggs—one for each of us. If you don’t eat, it won’t feel right for us to eat either."

Madam Hong fell silent and urged Maiya to eat the egg before saying, "Tell me, do you think Yan Niang would let me come up the mountain to help with the tofu-making?"

Pomegranate hadn’t expected Madam Hong to have such an idea and was momentarily stunned. Madam Hong seemed a bit awkward. "These red beans are in great condition. Take them to Yan Niang and ask her if she can help."

As Lin Chunyan and the others were about to head out, they saw Pomegranate coming with a half sack of red beans.

"Yan Niang, these are fresh red beans from our farm. We wanted to give you some to try."

Pomegranate wasn’t someone who was particularly good with words or social niceties. Lin Chunyan, not wanting to accept them for free, found some mung bean vermicelli from the kitchen and handed it over.

Pomegranate stepped back, refusing. "My mother sent me with these beans because she wanted to ask if she could come here to make tofu."

Mrs. Zhang, who had just happily accepted the red beans, jolted in surprise when Pomegranate spoke.

"What?" Lin Taohong, who was standing nearby, also reacted. "Come here to make tofu? We can’t afford to take on someone like your mother. It’s too much for us."

The words were rather unpleasant, and Pomegranate pressed her lips tightly together.

Lin Chunyan gave Lin Taohong a sharp look. "Ignore her. She doesn’t know better. I’ll apologize for her and talk to her later."

"Big sister, why are you saying that about me?" Lin Taohong protested.

Lin Chunyan ignored her and continued speaking to Pomegranate. "Making tofu? Why suddenly think of coming up the mountain to make tofu? Aren’t you doing your own business?"

After the initial surprise, Lin Chunyan thought about it and realized it wasn’t impossible.

As they walked up the mountain, Lin Taohong was still fuming over what Lin Chunyan had said, her cheeks flushed with anger.

Lin Chunyan tried to pinch her cheek, but Lin Taohong turned her head away to avoid it.

"What’s this? Do you think I said something wrong earlier?"

"That Madam Hong was so awful to us before and even raised the price of the tofu. She’s a terrible person. Big sister, why didn’t you reject her right away and even scolded me?"

Lin Chunyan patiently explained, "No matter how bad someone is, it’s best not to speak badly about them, especially in front of Pomegranate."

Lin Taohong glanced at Mrs. Zhang, who was also looking at her, and quickly assured her, "If anyone says something bad about you, I’d give them a piece of my mind."