Chapter 156

Chapter 156

When Stone Lady heard this, her face turned deathly pale, and she stopped in her tracks, not daring to move forward.

Fortunately, they were in a secluded area, and no pedestrians on the street noticed them. After looking around, Erlang sighed with relief and said, "We'll have to go through this sooner or later. What are you afraid of? I’m here for you, so don’t worry."

Stone Lady had too many fears, and she never imagined their relationship would come to this.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Erlang was a good man, always taking care of her and her son. Stone Lady was very grateful to him, especially since he had declined her earlier invitation to a meal at her house, saying it was against the rules. This made her feel that Erlang was very reliable.

However, she also felt guilty about being taken care of by Erlang all the time, so she made a few pairs of shoes for him.

Over time, they became more familiar with each other. Once, when she felt unwell and didn’t know what to do, she hurriedly went to find Erlang, who then brought a doctor to treat her.

In the days that followed, Erlang also came over to help them fetch water and chop wood, and slowly, feelings began to develop between them.

But Stone Lady knew her place. She was a widow with a half-grown son, while Erlang had never been married. Now that their family’s life was improving, it would be best for him to find a suitable young lady.

She had long considered ending things with Erlang.

But he disagreed, and this time he brought her to Lin Chunyan's establishment on his own initiative.

The two of them stood at the alley entrance, staring at each other for a long time. Eventually, Erlang gave in, his voice soft. "You have to think about Stone. It's for his good to help out at the establishment."

Seeing that Erlang no longer mentioned the matter between them, Stone Lady also sighed with relief and said, "What I told you before was serious. We should break it off, and in the future, we should act like we don’t know each other. You need to find a suitable young lady."

Erlang frowned, clearly annoyed that she had brought this up again.

"What kind of person do you think I am? You don’t have to worry about this. With me taking the lead, no one can say anything about you."

Once his stubbornness surfaced, he lowered his head and hurried forward without looking back at Stone Lady.

Stone Lady sighed, reluctant to disappoint his kindness. She followed him to the establishment.

Lin Chunyan hadn’t been to the establishment for several days, and many accounts were left unsettled. She was sorting them out when Erlang entered, and she looked behind him.

When Lin Cuixiang mentioned that Stone Lady would come to help, Lin Chunyan found it strange. Neither Erlang nor Lin Cuixiang were the type to meddle in others' affairs. Many people had expressed a desire to recommend someone to help, but the second branch of the family had never said anything before.

Suppressing her curiosity, she waved to Stone Lady behind Erlang and greeted her first.

"Calling me 'Auntie' might make it sound like I’m older than I am."

Stone Lady was slender, almost fragile, as if a strong breeze could knock her over, but she was dressed neatly despite her frail appearance. Years of doing laundry had made her knuckles rough and her fingers swollen from constant soaking.

"Calling you 'Auntie' makes you sound old." Lin Chunyan said with a smile, "Let’s not worry about those things. If you have a name, I’ll just add a word."

Stone Lady was slightly stunned and took a long time to reply, "You can call me Mei Niang."

This name hadn’t been used for a long time. After marriage, neighbors called her Li Niangzi, and after having Stone, everyone called her Stone Lady.

Seeing that Lin Chunyan and Li Mei Niang were getting along well, Erlang sighed with relief, thinking about setting up his stall for business, and hurriedly left.

Lin Chunyan led Li Mei Niang to the back kitchen. Meanwhile, Mrs. Zhang, bored with her conversation with Mrs. Song, grabbed some melon seeds, wrapped herself in a rabbit fur scarf, and headed to the door to find Jin Niangzi.

Mrs. Zhang, noticing Erlang earlier, pulled Mrs. Song aside and whispered, "Did you see it? My nephew seemed distracted, constantly glancing at Mei Niang."

Mrs. Song didn’t dare to comment recklessly on such matters. If there was nothing going on between them, they could end up causing trouble. Feeling that chatting with Mrs. Song wasn’t very interesting, Mrs. Zhang decided to find Jin Niangzi at the door instead.

Once it turned cold, running a stand outside the shop became a miserable task. Jin Niangzi stayed by the stove, only taking her hands out of her sleeves when someone came to buy wontons.

When Mrs. Zhang came out, Jin Niangzi’s eyes immediately landed on the rabbit fur scarf around her neck. Feeling envious, she thought that she should buy one for herself.

The fabric shop in town that sold yarn and scarves like this one had them for sale. Jin Niangzi felt that wearing such a scarf was much more comfortable than a knitted one. Especially when Mrs. Zhang wore it, she looked so much more elegant, which made Jin Niangzi even more envious.

"Why did you come out? Isn't it warm inside the shop?"

Mrs. Zhang mysteriously leaned in, "I want to ask you something. Do you know Li Niangzi, the widow who does laundry? They call her 'Stone's Mother' because she raises a child alone."

Jin Niangzi had a sudden realization, "Yes, I saw her enter your family's shop just now. What about her?"

"I just wanted to ask about her," Mrs. Zhang didn’t dare to voice her suspicions and made up a random excuse.

"Other than what’s commonly known, she’s said to have had a hard life. After her husband passed away, her mother-in-law blamed her for everything and mistreated her for a while. Fortunately, that mother-in-law didn’t live long."

Mrs. Zhang sighed upon hearing this. Her own mother-in-law was also difficult, and whenever she heard of such troubles in other families, she always felt a strong sense of empathy, wishing she could join in and scold the wrongdoers.

Li Meiniang nervously followed Lin Chunyan into the kitchen. She didn’t dare to look around but noticed three young ladies standing in the spacious kitchen, all smiling kindly at her.

This sight relieved Li Meiniang a little. After putting on an apron, she followed Lin Chunyan’s instructions and cooked a dish for everyone.

Life had been hard for her family, and she didn’t use much oil when cooking. Even so, the dish turned out quite tasty.

Lin Chunyan tasted it and gave a thumbs up, "No wonder Xiang Niang said you have good cooking skills. This is really delicious."

Li Meiniang’s face turned slightly red, knowing that Erlang’s sister had spoken well of her, which filled her with gratitude and emotion.

Lin Cuixiang didn’t know about the situation between Li Meiniang and Erlang. She only found it a bit unusual and had some suspicions, but thought it unlikely.

Why would Erlang, who hadn’t even married yet, choose a widow with a child over all the other eligible young women in town?

Even though she thought this, Lin Cuixiang didn’t make Li Meiniang feel uncomfortable. Seeing that Lin Chunyan was pleased with her skills, she proactively helped Li Meiniang get familiar with the place.

Meanwhile, Shiliu spoke kindly to Li Meiniang, saying that when she first came here, she had been very scared too, "Looking back, I can’t believe how shy I was back then."

Li Meiniang knew they meant well, which further eased her mind, and she began to busy herself with work.

Outside, Mashi occasionally peeked into the kitchen. Seeing Lin Chunyan come out, she asked with a smile, "Is this a new person?"

Lin Chunyan nodded, "She’s also from our town, called Meiniang."

Mashi, upon hearing that the person was from their town, showed a hint of envy and asked worriedly, "Why is it so hard to find a suitable house?"

Ever since Mashi started making roast duck, she had been diligent and skillful, not one to be lazy. This greatly improved Lin Chunyan’s impression of her, and she was willing to have more interactions with this aunt.

"If it doesn’t work out, you can continue staying here. I think Mrs. Song would be fine with it."

Mashi had the most contact with Mrs. Song and knew she was a good person, but she couldn’t keep living in someone else’s house with her family.

"I still need to look slowly. At least I want my two daughters to have a good life."

Overhearing this, Mrs. Zhang exclaimed, "If I had heard you say this before, I would’ve thought you were joking."

Mashi rolled her eyes, "Look at what you’re saying. Is it only allowed for you to care for your daughter and not for me to try to improve my life?"

With another person now living in the backyard, Lin Chunyan began to feel that the yard was becoming a bit crowded. Moreover, the front hall was bustling with people coming and going, and most of them weren’t there to eat but just to grab some pickled vegetables, ham, and other items to take home.

She started thinking about whether she should rent another shop.

If she did, she could move the roast duck operation outside and focus on running a dedicated roast duck shop.

With this idea in mind, Lin Chunyan reviewed the accounts and discussed her plan with Tutor Duan.

“It’ll take some time to find the right place,” Tutor Duan agreed, also thinking that the shop needed to be expanded. “I think those preserved meats can be moved out too.”

The most popular preserved items in the shop came from Lihua’s family-raised rabbits. The spicy rabbit heads had become a signature dish and could be moved out along with the roast duck operation.

“Why bother moving it out?” Mrs. Zhang disagreed. “Moving it out will add extra expenses—rent for the new shop and we’ll need to hire more staff. Do you think this is just a casual conversation?”

She looked glum, with a scarf made of rabbit fur around her neck, which made her seem quite serious.

“We don’t need to rush into finding a new place right away. Even Second Aunt hasn’t found a house yet. Our shop won’t be easy to find either.”

After Lin Chunyan’s explanation, Mrs. Zhang finally relaxed.

The coal Lin Chunyan had ordered through Sun Anyuan was also delivered. This year’s order was significantly larger than last year’s, with two carts left at the shop.

Lin Chunyan planned to use this coal for cooking hot pots in the winter. By placing a small stove on the table, there would be no need to cook the hot pot thoroughly before bringing it up.

The remaining carts of coal were taken back to their house, creating quite a spectacle. Many children from the village ran behind the carts, watching the coal being unloaded and marveling at the sight.

“Weren’t you scammed? There are so many trees on the mountain. Just cut a few down to use as firewood. Why bring in all this coal?”

Someone asked Lin Chunyan enthusiastically, “If you run out of firewood, every household in the village can go up the mountain to cut some.”

Lin Chunyan quickly waved her hand. “We have enough firewood. Erlang and Sanlang go up the mountain every day to cut firewood for us, and we still have quite a bit stored.”

However, that firewood wouldn’t be enough for the entire winter. Lin Chunyan was afraid of the cold, and the heat for the kang bed needed to be kept warm.

Besides heating the kang, two more charcoal braziers were placed in the room, yet Lin Chunyan’s hands were still always cold.

She still wasn’t used to life without central heating.

Mrs. Zhang didn’t say much about this. When someone made sarcastic remarks, she immediately shot back.

“What do you mean by not knowing how to live? We live our own lives. Are we bothering anyone? People are even commenting on bringing in coal.”

“The villagers mean well. They’re just afraid you might get scammed.”

Not only their family, but even Village Headman Zhang Tianhe’s family was the same. Many villagers went to help when Zhang Tianhe was getting married. One person suggested doing this, another suggested that, all meaning well and feeling they were contributing to the Village Headman’s family.

After seeing the coal placed in the backyard, Lin Chunyan felt greatly relieved and couldn’t help but smile.

“When the first snow falls this year, we’ll light the kang fire.”

After tidying up, Lin Chunyan went with Lin Taohong to the Village Headman’s house to watch the excitement. Although Zhang Tianhe and Miss Li would live in the town after marriage, the wedding would be held in the village’s old family home.

Lin Taohong had gone to watch the excitement earlier and exaggeratedly gestured, “There were so many items in the dowry, carried in by so many people. I heard no family in the surrounding villages had such a large dowry.”

Mrs. Zhang gasped. “So much! Aunt Liu said our family’s life was almost like that of a wealthy family, but we’re still far from it.”

She had saved for so long, but it was still only a fraction of what that family had.

Mrs. Zhang felt heavy-hearted again.

Many people had come to see the new bride and her wedding dowry. The entrance of the Village Headman's house was surrounded by layers of onlookers. The Village Headman and his wife were beaming with joy, greeting everyone who came.

The sweets were specially made by Lin Chunyan at the Village Headman's request, using peanuts and sesame from their own garden. They were cut into bite-sized pieces so that the children, with their small hands, couldn't grab many at once.

The melon seeds were also from Lin Chunyan's house. The adults, feeling too embarrassed to take the sweets, helped themselves to the melon seeds instead, cracking them open in their mouths. When they spotted Lin Chunyan and Mrs. Zhang, they warmly welcomed them.

The Village Headman also invited Lin Chunyan and Mrs. Zhang inside, saying, "Come in and sit for a while. There's tea ready."

Not everyone could go inside, as the space was limited. Most of those who went in were elderly villagers who were highly respected.

This gesture showed just how much respect Lin Chunyan had earned in the village.

But Lin Chunyan stayed outside, smiling at the Village Headman. "I'll just watch the festivities outside for a while. There will be firecrackers soon, and you can't see them from inside."

The elderly people inside, both men and women, had gray hair and most of their teeth were gone. Some were relatives of the Village Headman, while others were respected for their good character. When they heard the Village Headman inviting Lin Chunyan inside, some of them stood up to greet her.

In their daily lives, they had few interactions with Lin Chunyan. They only knew that she was a very capable young lady who had opened a shop and bought a mountain on the east side of the village, providing jobs for many people.

Making five to six hundred coins a month was a fortune for the villagers, and plenty of people were eager to work there.

These elderly folks also wanted to build a relationship with Lin Chunyan, hoping she could help their children and grandchildren in the future.

After grabbing plenty of sweets, Dog-Egg and Heizi went to pick up firecrackers. Many hadn't gone off yet, and finding a good one made them happy for half the day.

Seeing them, Lin Taohong waved and asked, "I heard you went to learn arithmetic. How's it going?"

Dog-Egg and Heizi looked at each other, their faces showing bitter smiles. "It's too difficult. I just can't remember."

Heizi nodded vigorously beside him. "I still can't do addition and subtraction within ten. If I don't get it, Teacher Huang said she'll tell my parents."

Mentioning this, Dog-Egg and Heizi lost interest in collecting firecrackers and looked downcast.

But Lin Taohong burst out laughing. "Then you're not as good as I am! I can already calculate within a hundred!"

Dog-Egg, irritated and not wanting to be outdone—especially by Lin Taohong showing off—brought up Zhao MuYang. "He's doing very well in his studies. Teacher Huang said if he keeps going, he'll learn multiplication."

After more time, Teacher Huang would divide them into classes. Those in the beginner class would continue with addition and subtraction, while those in the intermediate class would move on to multiplication and division, which was said to be even harder and required memorizing formulas.

Both Dog-Egg and Zhao MuYang had no sisters, and they had paid full tuition. However, Heizi had two sisters attending the classes, and together, his family paid less than what Dog-Egg and Zhao MuYang had paid.

Hearing this, Heizi puffed out his chest, feeling proud of his sisters. "What Zhao MuYang is learning doesn't count. My sisters are the ones doing really well. Zhao MuYang still asks them for help!"

Dog-Egg scratched his head, not wanting to argue with Heizi. Instead, he agreed. "That's why I say young ladies learn better than us! They're smarter!"

Even Lin Taohong could do math up to a hundred, which made Dog-Egg feel a bit jealous. He decided to study hard and ask Heizi's sisters when he didn't understand something.

Seeing this, Lin Taohong's face turned a bit red, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She regretted asking them about their studies.

But even if she hadn't asked, many others were waiting to inquire. They had similar children at home who hadn't been sent to study with Teacher Huang yet.

"I should've had more daughters," someone said regretfully. "It's cheaper to send them to school."

"As if having boys or girls is up to you," someone else joked. "Whether it's a boy or a girl, it's just spending a few more coins. It's good to let the children learn."

Back then, anyone who heard this would have thought the person was bragging. If a family couldn't even afford to eat, sending their children to learn those useless things was just wishful thinking.

But now, they all had some money. Even those who didn't work could earn a bit by picking chestnuts or selling chickens, ducks, and grain to Lin Chunyan.

The person sent by the Li family had been quietly listening on the side. This person was dispatched by Madam Li, the main lady of the family, to assess what the Zhang family was like.

If the Zhangs were difficult to get along with, they would provide a larger dowry, including more maids and older women to assist, so that the young couple could live in the town without much interaction with their in-laws.

After hearing these things, the person returned and recounted everything to Madam Li and Miss Li, including what they had seen.

"Many people came down from the mountain, arriving during their lunch break and leaving after a short chat. They didn’t seem as poor as we had imagined."

Madam Li thought of the last time she saw Lin Chunyan, recited a Buddhist prayer, and then said, "This young lady is really something else. Their village is lucky to have her."

Miss Li felt the same way, believing that not only the village was blessed, but even those close to Lin Chunyan would have good fortune.

After going out, Dong Xiaoniang rented a courtyard with Madam Chen, who worked as a matchmaker. She helped Lin Chunyan with knitting and earned quite a bit.

She thought that after she married, she could maintain more contact with Lin Chunyan.

After returning, Lin Chunyan picked the chrysanthemums by her door, washed them, and laid them out to dry in a basket.

She decided to make a new chrysanthemum pillow, as the one from last year had lost its scent, and she had since switched to a pillow filled with cassia seeds for better sleep.

Now that the chrysanthemums were in bloom again, she naturally wanted to make another chrysanthemum pillow.

After drying, the chrysanthemums shrank into small clumps. Lin Chunyan, seeing that they were ready, collected them and placed them inside a pillowcase.

This year, she dried a lot of chrysanthemums and made one for everyone. Each pillow carried a gentle scent of chrysanthemums.

With the remaining chrysanthemums, Lin Chunyan mixed them with glutinous rice flour to make fresh chrysanthemum-filled rice dumplings (tangyuan).

The filling used the same ingredients as their pastries, but the most popular was the peanut and sesame filling. After rolling them into balls and cooking them in boiling water over low heat for a while, the chrysanthemum tangyuan were ready.

Lin Chunyan gently took a bite. The outer glutinous rice skin carried a faint chrysanthemum scent and was sweeter and more refreshing than usual.

"By the time we make tangyuan for the New Year, we might run out of filling," said Wang Yingniang worriedly. "There were too many things happening this autumn, and we didn’t get around to it."

Lin Chunyan comforted her, "Don’t worry, tomorrow we’ll go up the mountain to look for some wild kiwi fruit."

At this time of the season, wild kiwi fruit was abundant on the mountain. If they were lucky, they might even stumble upon other wild fruits.

Lin Taohong also reassured Wang Yingniang, "We still have plenty of hawthorns at home. The filling made from them is sweet and tangy, and especially delicious."