Chapter 140

Chapter 140

After finishing his work in the mountains, the Village Headman came straight to Lin Chunyan’s house.

Lin Chunyan was placing mooncakes into boxes one by one. She had told Wang Yingniang about the old method of making mooncakes, and Wang Yingniang used a large tray and lit a fire to bake two batches of mooncakes.

With more people helping, things were no longer as hectic.

“The Village Headman is here.” Lin Chunyan finished packing and looked up, seeing the Village Headman. She quickly made room for him.

The Village Headman sat down and started chatting, not getting straight to the point: “We’ve had quite a few strong laborers come to the village. At this rate, the houses will be built quickly. The places we talked about are quite flat and easy to manage.”

Lin Chunyan occasionally agreed with him, waiting for him to state his purpose.

After chatting for a while, the Village Headman coughed and spoke somewhat embarrassedly: “It’s not a big deal, but my daughter is getting older now. Do you have any suitable position for her to help with work?”

Many families in the village were looking for work. The Village Headman hadn’t originally planned to have Zhang Xiaoniang work, but with so many people coming, he was tempted.

Lin Chunyan thought for a moment: “We’ve already arranged most of the manpower, and we can’t expand too quickly. If Zhang Xiaoniang really wants to come, bring her over.”

This meant for him to go back and ask again, and the Village Headman didn’t understand why Lin Chunyan said this when he left.

But soon, he understood why.

As soon as the Village Headman mentioned this to Zhang Xiaoniang, she cried and refused: “I’m not going to take on manual labor! Only people who can’t afford to eat have to do that kind of work! My brother is getting married to Miss Li, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. If they find out the younger sister is working outside, what will they think?”

The Village Headman was so angry his beard almost blew up. “They are a wealthy family, but we are not!”

Zhang Xiaoniang always felt she was a bit more noble than the other villagers. Their family had the best conditions in the village, and she ate and dressed better than everyone else. Her mother even spent money to teach her skills.

She had never done any labor!

The Village Headman’s wife advised: “If she doesn’t want to go, then don’t. We won’t lack food for her.”

The Village Headman shook his head, “It’s not as simple as you think. In the future, if someone comes to propose marriage, knowing that we are working and earning money will help find a better match.”

The Village Headman had only realized this today. If these girls were working here, they would become quite desirable for marriage proposals.

The Village Headman’s wife pouted, “I thought it was something big. Our family has a scholar and a wealthy family as in-laws. We aren’t an ordinary family. We don’t need to work to find a good match.”

The Village Headman couldn’t convince them and just walked away, fuming in silence.

Zhang Xiaoniang thought the same way. Her mother had taught her embroidery and other feminine arts so she could marry into a good family, ideally one with a scholar. She had also overheard that the Village Headman’s wife had asked Zhang Tianhe to keep an eye on his old classmates to see if there were any suitable matches.

As for someone like Lin Taohong, even if she worked her whole life, she couldn’t find a match as good as Zhang Xiaoniang could.

In the evening, Lin Chunyan started to check the accounts. With so many new people, the daily expenses had increased significantly, and they needed to sell more goods.

“Fortunately, we have quite a few businesses now. The pastries we deliver to Manager Zhu, the mooncakes we make ourselves, the sweaters and wool sold by Third Aunt, and the pig pancreas soap, ham, tofu skin, dried tofu, and pickled vegetables.”

Lin Chunyan calculated, “But this is still not enough. We need more people to know about our products. It depends on whether my brother-in-law can sell more wool and ham this time.”

At first, Li Shi only sold the newly made sweaters and pants to a ready-made clothing shop. The wool clothes were certainly warm, but their unusual styles didn’t appeal to many customers.

It was later seen by an embroidery shop. If more people started making these, word would spread about how great they were.

The embroidery shop bought a lot of ready-made wool clothes and even stocked up on raw wool.

Zhang Xiaojiu brought quite a lot of sweaters and yarn this time. Although these items take up the most space, fortunately, they often bring back wool and have already arranged with Yu Chuanfu to have him deliver it.

In addition to Zhang Xiaojiu leading the charge, Lin Chunyan was also hoping that Mr. Zhao's book would be printed soon. Even if it only spread in Gourd Town and Qixia Town, it would attract more people to come and eat here.

Mrs. Zhang had returned at some point, and as soon as she came back, she fell asleep as if she were extremely tired. Lin Chunyan went over to check on her and covered her with a blanket.

"If you didn’t know any better, you’d think she had been out harvesting sorghum, given how late she got home."

The sorghum had also ripened, and people could be seen harvesting it everywhere. After taking it back, it was sun-dried and threshed, and the first meal made was always sorghum bread.

Lin Chunyan asked Mrs. Zhao for some sorghum stalks and planned to weave them into pot lids.

The woven pot lids were perfect for holding dumplings and steamed buns. The sorghum leaves could also be made into scrubbing brushes.

Lin Chunyan decided to purchase some sorghum in the village and store it in the basement under her house, just like wheat.

Daylight came later than usual, so Lin Chunyan slept in a little longer and, when she got up, saw that Lan Jier and the others had already arrived.

"What time did you guys come?" Lin Chunyan yawned and looked at the rising sun.

The people at Old Uncle Zhang’s house slept on the roof. Seeing that they had come so early, they disapproved, saying, "You should get enough sleep."

Later, Dong Taoyu and the others also came early and said with a smile, "My foster mother went out to take care of some business last night and found them already waiting at the door, so we came early."

Lan Jier and Hui Jier didn’t sleep well their first night. Since Mrs. Song and the others always got up early, the two didn’t dare to continue sleeping and got up to help with the work, going out early to wait for Dong Taoyu and the others.

"Since you’re here, let’s eat."

Lin Chunyan went into the kitchen and boiled some salted eggs to go with a few side dishes, and everyone had a steamed bun and a bowl of porridge.

Lan Jier and the others were starting their official duties today and were somewhat apprehensive. While eating, they didn’t dare to pick up any dishes or even the salted eggs.

Mrs. Zhang pulled a long face and pretended to be angry, and only then did the sisters dare to eat.

Second Aunt Lin's family had previously grown some sorghum, and after harvesting it, they sent half of it to Lin Chunyan's house. Lin Chunyan ground the sorghum into flour and used a little of it mixed with glutinous rice flour to make sticky rice cakes.

The filling was made from the same filling used for the five-nut mooncakes. The resulting sticky rice cakes were chewy and had a unique taste of sorghum.

She set these aside for Wang Yingniang and the others to enjoy at lunchtime, and Lin Chunyan also told them to cook a gruel with sorghum flour then.

The sorghum gruel tasted like cornmeal mush, but Lin Chunyan sighed, realizing she would never have the chance to eat corn here again.

"Alright, you all stay busy. If you need anything, find your team leader. We're heading to the establishment."

Mrs. Zhang had recently been very proactive about going to the establishment, tidying up and following them there.

Lin Chunyan didn’t think much of it, but when she arrived at the establishment door, she saw that there were already people queuing. Tutor Duan held some coins in his hand and said, "They're here to buy mooncakes in advance, afraid that like the meat zongzi, they'll be sold out before they can get any."

The boatman also came early in the morning, saying, "Give me more this time. When I went to Gourd Town yesterday, I let it slip that you had mooncakes, and people wanted to buy them. I didn’t dare agree to everything since I didn’t know how many the young lady could sell."

Wang Yingniang had made quite a lot at home the previous day, including not only five-nut fillings but also more peanut, jujube paste, and jam fillings.

During the day, Lin Chunyan planned to make mooncakes with salted egg yolk and ham filling at the establishment.

These people had come from far away, and the limited availability had worked, but they couldn’t rely on it forever. Lin Chunyan had more working capital on hand, and with more people, she was planning to go all out this time.

Xiao Zhu poked her head in again, and Lin Taohong waved her over, poured her a drink, and asked, "Where's your shopkeeper? Why didn't he come today?"

"She went to learn arithmetic from Madam Huang. A lot of people have been going to her lately, even at night. Our manager can only go in the morning to learn." Xiao Zhu was still quite close to Lin Taohong, remembering how Lin Taohong had helped her by scolding people on her behalf.

Seeing her so attached made Lin Taohong feel even more protective. She pulled Xiao Zhu close and quietly asked her, "Does Manager Zhu treat you well? Has that family bothered you again?"

Xiao Zhu sighed, "Manager Zhu treats me well. Although she has a sharp tongue, she’s got a heart of gold. She told me to follow her and learn the craft seriously so that I can earn a living in the future."

Lin Taohong and Manager Zhu got along very well, so she nodded and said, "That makes sense. My elder sister doesn’t let me eat for free either; we all have to work."

Unfortunately, Lin Chunyan wanted to teach Xiao Zhu how to cook, but Xiao Zhu didn’t want to work in the kitchen, so they dropped the idea. Lin Chunyan thought it would be fine to have her help manage the establishment in the future.

Xiao Zhu became even closer to Lin Taohong. "Sis Red, I think the same way, so I’m learning very seriously. That family naturally didn’t give up and tried to cause trouble at the teahouse, but they didn’t succeed. Then they went to find Qiwen Jie."

Speaking of Qiwen Jie, Lin Taohong sighed. "She’s still the same, can’t figure it out?"

Xiao Zhu didn’t want to talk about her. "I don’t know. After she got better from her illness, I didn’t go there anymore, so I don’t know what she’s thinking now."

Zhao Liu was selling mooncakes. People who initially didn’t want to buy saw the long line and, if they had time, joined the queue.

The boatman took several boxes of mooncakes and left. After he left, it was Xiao Zhu’s turn. Their establishment needed a lot, specially distinguished, and Wang Yingniang had even made sesame balls for them.

Xiao Zhu was obviously less restrained in Clear Breeze Building. Seeing the sesame balls, she smiled brightly and took one to taste.

The sesame balls were made into bite-sized pieces, each bite filling the mouth with fragrant sesame, very sweet and delicious.

Lin Taohong couldn’t help but take one to try. "When did you make these yesterday? How come I didn’t know?"

"It was made when you were arguing with Young Lady Zhang."

Lin Chunyan had checked the accounts from the previous day and planned to create new food items to attract more people.

Zhang Xiaojiu took Dabao with him to do business this time. Dabao was excited when he set out, although he felt nauseous the whole boat ride and vomited a lot when they reached the shore, he still felt he had accomplished something.

Most kids in the village had never even left, let alone gone somewhere so far away.

Zhang Xiaojiu knew there were many tasks this time, all accumulated from dealing with Mashi’s matters before, resulting in him bringing a lot of goods.

Daniu, Hu Zi’s brother, was already waiting for them. Now he was considered a half member and mostly went along with them. Although he was a bit dull, his tall and strong figure served as a good deterrent.

Zhang Xiaojiu first sold the wool to a familiar shop and, without wasting any time, went to sell mooncakes.

Daniu had already eaten two mooncakes and wanted more, but Dabao, with his sharp eyes, saw this and stopped him.

"Dad, how can he eat so much! I only ate half."

Daniu grinned at Dabao. "We’re different. I eat these as part of my wages; your dad has it all calculated!"

He joked to Dabao, "You’re quite amazing to follow your dad on errands at such a young age. Has your dad started paying you?"

Dabao, excited by the praise, looked at Daniu with a mix of hesitation, wanting him to help. He wasn’t being paid; sometimes Zhang Xiaojiu didn’t even let him eat enough.

No, he decided he needed to ask for some wages too.

"Oh dear, why haven’t you come for so long? I’m out of tofu skin and dried tofu; I was waiting for you to restock!"

Before, they didn’t need much, and Zhang Xiaojiu didn’t bring much either, often asking Yu Chuanfu to help bring things over. Now, it couldn’t be done that way, so he only explained the difficulty. "In the future, we’ll probably have to find someone to pick up the goods at the dock."

The shopkeeper was anxious when he heard this. "It wasn’t agreed this way before, wasn’t it supposed to be delivered?"

Zhang Xiaojiu patiently explained, "It’s still us delivering, but the boatman takes it to the dock. You’ll need to find someone to move the goods."

The shop owner refused to budge, insisting the situation was different from what was initially agreed upon. Li Youfu had already brought this up before, but without success. Zhang Xiaojiu had anticipated this and proposed a compensation plan.

"You've tasted the ham last time. Once we have more stock, we'll supply it to you first."

Hearing this, the shop owner finally smiled. "Alright, we have a deal. Don't go back on your word this time."

Dabao stood there in shock as Zhang Xiaojiu bowed deeply and apologized, a far cry from the confident figure he remembered.

Doing business is tougher than I thought.

As they left the establishment, Zhang Xiaojiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I shouldn't have sold so much and promised to deliver. Now it's become a burden."

Da Niu didn't understand. "Our goods are in such high demand. Why should we still tiptoe around them? Just tell them if they don't want to deal with us, we can walk away. They’ll think twice about that."

"Handling deliveries isn't done like that. Who would dare to work with us in the future? Besides, I was the one who promised to deliver to their shop first. It's only a few shops in this town anyway, not elsewhere."

Zhang Xiaojiu wanted to explore farther places he hadn't been to before. He knew that after buying that mountain, Lin Chunyan’s workload had grown heavier, and he needed to share more of her burden.

After finishing the accounts, Lin Chunyan noticed that the people who queued up in the morning to buy mooncakes had dispersed. She heard that there were new products every day, and word spread that once people felt they had enough, the queues got shorter.

"We should grab one of each to give them a try."

The sesame pancake vendor delivered the freshly baked pancakes in the morning. Soy milk and tofu pudding were also set out, along with various seasonal side dishes, ready to be sold as breakfast.

Once the crowd thinned, Tutor Duan spoke to Lin Chunyan about teaching literacy. "I've thought about it and discussed it with my wife, and we think it's feasible."

Lin Chunyan looked up, surprised and delighted. "Really?"

Tutor Duan nodded. "But we won't announce it publicly yet. We'll only mention it among the current students and charge extra. We'll just teach a few characters each day."

With the information from Lin Chunyan, those who came to learn arithmetic were full of enthusiasm, so it should be easy to implement.

"Big sister!" Just after Lin Chunyan expressed her gratitude to Tutor Duan, she saw Lin Taohong rushing back from seeing off Xiao Zhu. Lin Taohong looked panicked and pulled Lin Chunyan to the backyard.

"What's wrong?" Lin Chunyan asked, amused by her urgency. "Did you see a ghost?"

"Almost like it!" Before Lin Taohong could say more, Mrs. Zhang pushed aside the curtain and entered the backyard.

She must have run over, breathing heavily, and raised her hand to stop Lin Taohong. "Red Lady, don't talk nonsense!"

Lin Taohong ignored Mrs. Zhang and pulled Lin Chunyan into the room. "We can't let others hear this; it's really embarrassing."

This piqued Lin Chunyan's curiosity. "What happened?"

Lin Taohong whispered into Lin Chunyan's ear, "Mom was just pulling and tugging with a young actor."

Lin Chunyan was shocked, her pupils dilating as she looked at Mrs. Zhang. "Mom, is it true?"

Mrs. Zhang knew it was over when Lin Taohong told Lin Chunyan. Who would have thought she’d get caught red-handed? Her heart pounded with anxiety and unease.

Lin Taohong urged, "Mom, why aren't you saying anything? When she saw me, she turned her back. If I hadn't looked a few more times, she would have gotten away with it."

Mrs. Zhang muttered softly, "I was just talking to him. That child is pitiful, sold to a theater troupe since childhood. I often go to listen to operas, and we became familiar over time."

Lin Chunyan's jaw dropped. "How old?"

Mrs. Zhang, even more embarrassed, said, "Just turned twenty."

To Mrs. Zhang, twenty-something was still young enough to be considered a child.

Lin Chunyan gasped and almost lost her balance, "How long have you two been together? How far have things gone?"

Mrs. Zhang, seeing Lin Chunyan ask such a question, turned red in the face and waved her hands frantically, "What are you talking about? It's not that kind of relationship! He considers me his adoptive older sister. He comes to me to vent when he's wronged in the troupe."

"Hmph! What older sister! When Mr. Zhao wanted to call you his dry sister, why didn't you go for it?" Lin Taohong was also angry and would have started shouting if she wasn't afraid of others finding out.

"Did you spend money on him? How much?" Lin Chunyan began to calculate in her mind. She didn't believe this was a coincidence. Mrs. Zhang wasn't the type to inspire people to confide in her.

"Yes, I spent money. Let me think." Seeing that the two of them already knew, Mrs. Zhang felt less burdened, "I spent five coins and bought him water twice."

Lin Chunyan: ...

Fortunately, Mrs. Zhang was a miser. Lin Chunyan had hesitated to let her invest, so it was unlikely she would spend money on others.

Lin Taohong was no longer in a hurry and looked at Mrs. Zhang with disdain, "Mother, why are you so stingy?! What can you do with just five coins?"

If I had found such a man, I'd be grossed out.

Mrs. Zhang pushed her aside, "I said, I just pitied him. Originally, he was a young actor, pale and thin. I always thought he was one of the girls."

Thinking about how this girl was exploited by the troupe master, singing for several consecutive shows, she felt sympathetic. Seeing him cry after coming off stage only increased her sympathy.

"Besides, he didn't just come to me for comfort. He also went to Aunt Jin!"

Lin Chunyan shook her head and went to fetch Jin Niangzi.

"About that, the young actor was trying to get us to buy him out of the troupe. I saw right through his act. My money is for buying wine. The whole family depends on me. How could I spare any?" After that, he never came to me again.

Mrs. Zhang jumped up, "Why didn't you tell me he was faking his pity?"

She had been worried all this time that someone would find out.

"Faking pity?" Jin Niangzi didn't understand Mrs. Zhang's words, "I don't think it was fake. He really was that pitiful. I heard they get beaten if they don't learn from a young age, and there are other forms of exploitation..."

Jin Niangzi coughed, "And he didn't just come to us. I noticed he approached any woman who went to watch the shows alone."

After Jin Niangzi left, Mrs. Zhang still hadn't recovered and sat on the edge of the bed with a sullen expression.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Lin Taohong quietly asked Lin Chunyan.

Lin Chunyan thought for a moment and roughly understood why Mrs. Zhang had believed the young actor. Even though there was no romantic involvement, the young actor had triggered her protective instincts, something she didn't find in her relationship with Lin Taohong.

Probably because Lin Taohong always turned to Lin Chunyan for everything, leaving Mrs. Zhang feeling empty.

Lin Chunyan thought for a moment and then tried to comfort Mrs. Zhang, "Mother, this is how theatrical troupes are. The young actor is pitiful, but isn't everyone in the troupe? We can't help everyone. Don't be too upset."

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Zhang looked up with some indignation, "He told me he came to me because I looked kind. Who knew he was hitting up so many people behind my back? No, I have to confront him!"

Lin Chunyan: ...

She realized she had misread Mrs. Zhang. She wasn't upset at all.

She pulled Mrs. Zhang back, "Forget it. If this gets out, everyone will know, and it won't be good for us."

Mrs. Zhang had no choice but to give up, but then she took Lin Chunyan's hand and said, "Yan Niang, do you think I can still go to watch the shows?"

"Mother, do you still want to watch the shows?"

"Why should I stop going to the shows just because of one guy? It's not like I did anything wrong, and I even spent five coins on him!"