Chapter 163

Chapter 163

"Tasty?" Tutor Duan waved at Tutors Wen and Yu from inside the shop. The newly fried spring rolls were crispy, and the two weren’t afraid of the snowstorm outside. As soon as the rolls were fried, they began eating.

Tutor Yu was too busy eating to respond, only nodding casually a couple of times. Tutor Duan, feeling tempted, said to Mrs. Song, "Save two for me to try."

Even without him asking, Mrs. Song had already set aside some for the others in the shop. After frying the batch, she gave two to the tutors, then handed some to Jin Niangzi and Old Man Zhang, who were waiting nearby. The rest were for the other people in the shop.

Jin Niangzi took a bite of the spring roll. The golden exterior was crispy, and the inside had a sweet and sticky red bean paste filling.

"This is really delicious!" Old Man Zhang couldn’t help but say, "Even children would love this."

"Who wouldn’t? Even as an adult, I find this delicious."

In no time, a layer of snow had covered the ground, and people had to be more careful when walking, afraid of slipping.

In the backyard, Lin Taohong was still complaining to Lin Chunyan and Wang Yingniang, "When we go out later, you have to speak up for me."

Wang Yingniang teased Lin Taohong, "Are you going to keep wearing that flower? It cost you quite a few coins, after all."

Lin Taohong was conflicted about wearing it but urged Lin Chunyan to check if the two tutors had left the front of the shop.

"If they’re still here, I won’t go out today, and I’ll let Mother handle the selling."

"Do you think you can make Mother listen to you?" Lin Chunyan glanced outside a few times. The two tutors had come in with the spring rolls, talking and eating, and it didn’t look like they would leave anytime soon.

Mrs. Zhang was always inconsistent, even less diligent than Lin Taohong. Every now and then, she needed a reminder.

Lin Taohong pouted, "If she doesn’t go, I’ll deduct her wages for the month."

Mrs. Zhang wasn’t afraid of this threat anymore. After investing in the mountain east of the village with Lin Chunyan, she could earn a lot of money every month without doing any work.

"I think I should go," Wang Yingniang was about to stand up, "Mother is quite wealthy now."

"Yingniang, don’t go. Big Sister can’t just let Mother stay idle like this," Lin Taohong, no longer worried about the flower on her head, felt a sense of injustice seeing that Mrs. Zhang was always chatting and maybe knitting, yet still earning a lot of money every month.

Seeing that some idlers had arrived outside and Lin Chunyan hadn’t returned yet, Mrs. Zhang came in from the front hall to find Lin Taohong, muttering non-stop.

"Where’s Red Lady? Is she slacking off again?"

Lin Chunyan didn’t let Lin Taohong go out, as they might argue. She peeked through the curtain and said to Mrs. Zhang, "I asked her to help make fish balls back here. Why don’t you go to the front and help serve food for now?"

Mrs. Zhang wasn’t convinced and peeked through the door a few times. Seeing Lin Taohong working, she reluctantly headed to the front of the shop, grumbling, "Why did she suddenly decide to help with fish balls?"

Once Mrs. Zhang left, Lin Taohong huffed, "I’m going to help in the back kitchen from now on and let Mother handle things in the front."

Lin Chunyan and Wang Yingniang exchanged glances. They knew that this idea of hers wouldn’t last long. Helping in the back kitchen was tiring, especially in the summer when it was hot, and sweat didn’t stop.

Since she didn’t want to go out today, they let her stay.

After finishing their spring rolls, the two tutors ordered two large bowls of noodles. While waiting, they started discussing the private school head with Tutor Duan.

"He asked us to come. He said he had been thinking too narrowly before, and if it’s appropriate, he would also lend a hand," they said.

Tutor Duan hadn’t expected such a dramatic change in the private school head’s attitude. After the book publication incident, he realized that the head was different from what he had imagined. He would lend a hand during difficult times but also pursued fame and fortune.

People were complex. After some thought, Tutor Duan accepted this but hadn’t expected that the head would one day offer to help voluntarily.

He hesitated and asked, "What’s the reason for this now? My wife is already proficient, and the apprentices she’s taught can help with the beginner classes."

Even he couldn’t help much these days, so it was surprising that the private school head would get involved now.

Tutor Yu, always blunt, snorted, "What else? He’s just trying to boost his reputation."

Tutor Wen gave Tutor Yu a disapproving look, "We can’t say it like that. Isn’t this what we’re aiming for?"

Seeing that Tutor Duan was still confused, Tutor Wen lowered his voice and explained everything he knew, "I heard the new county magistrate is really interested in your arithmetic classes."

Tutor Duan finally understood. Of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Knowing the reason, he was still somewhat conflicted. He had already clashed with the private school head before, and even after two attempts to mend things, their relationship hadn’t improved much. Now that the head was offering an olive branch, should he accept it?

Neither Tutor Wen nor Tutor Yu could help him make this decision. When the steaming bowls of noodles arrived, the two of them eagerly picked up their chopsticks and started eating. Outside, the snowstorm was getting heavier, with occasional flurries drifting in, making the warm bowl of noodles even more enticing.

The idlers waiting outside for their meals were struggling too. Unlike rain, snow made the straw raincoats less effective. Without them, snow would quickly settle on their heads and shoulders.

They usually carried several food boxes when delivering, so there was no hand left to hold an umbrella. Guys like Ye Xianhan and Lin the idler didn’t care much and braved the snow as it came.

Wang Xianhan was the most meticulous, probably because he delivered to the Wang family and other wealthy households, where appearances mattered. The food boxes had to be kept free of snow.

None of them complained about the heavy snow. In fact, it was during storms like this that their business picked up.

After finishing the bowl of noodles, the two tutors asked for a jug of wine before leaving. Tutor Duan didn’t really want to give it to them. The wine was plum wine brewed early in the summer and there wasn’t much of it left.

When Lin Chunyan came out, she saw the three tutors arguing over the jug of wine. Seeing her, Tutor Wen quickly asked for her support, "Every time we take a jug of wine, it’s like taking the life from Brother Duan."

"Yes, Madam Lin, next time you brew wine, make more. It would save us from fighting over it every day."

It wasn’t that Lin Chunyan’s wine was exceptionally good. It was just that the brewery on the east side of town watered down their wine, and with Old Man Qin’s promotion, many people stopped buying wine from them.

The brewery on the west side was quite far, requiring an extra two li of walking. Except for the wine-loving Old Man Qin, most people didn’t want to go there.

"If you don’t mind, next time prepare some sweet wine for the tutors."

Sweet wine could still be brewed in winter by placing it next to the stove and covering it with a thick quilt, but she wasn’t very confident about other types of wine.

She knew that some places had the custom of brewing wine on the Winter Solstice, and the wine brewed in winter was particularly rich and potent. Unfortunately, she had never done it before, and with different fermentation starters, she was afraid of wasting the ingredients.

The two tutors didn’t mind that the sweet wine wasn’t strong enough. They agreed to let Lin Chunyan brew it for them by the time they headed back into the snowstorm.

Tutor Duan brought up the matter of delivering the private school head’s message, "Shopkeeper, what’s your take on this?"

Lin Chunyan didn’t expect the private school head to want a share at this point. But as Tutor Duan said, everything was already on track. Why would he want to interfere?

Judging by Lin Chunyan’s expression, Tutor Duan understood, "I think the same. We’ve already offended him. Even if our relationship recovers, it will never be the same."

A few words settled the matter, but the fact that the county magistrate was paying attention to this surprised Lin Chunyan.

She couldn’t guess what the magistrate planned to do with this.

Taking advantage of the break, Madam Hong decided to check on Ding Hui Niang.

It was snowing, and there weren't many people on the street. When Madam Hong passed by Old Man Peng's door, she spat in disgust.

Just at that moment, Peng Pingan had just opened the door and saw Madam Hong's action. Both of them were a little embarrassed.

Madam Hong had once been a quick-witted person, but after being beaten by Shiliu's father for so long, she had become meek and submissive, a shadow of her former self. Fortunately, over the past year or so, her feisty nature had returned. Seeing Peng Pingan standing there, she snorted coldly and entered Ding Hui Niang's house.

Peng Pingan had wanted to visit Sister Wei Ruo and Liu Niangzi. With such heavy snow, someone had to go up on the roof to clean it, and it wasn't convenient for the two young ladies to handle such tasks.

Maybe if he showed some effort, they'd change their minds and let him come back home.

He really didn’t want to stay in this old house with Old Man Peng anymore. Not only did he have to cook three meals a day for him, but there wasn’t even any firewood in the house. He had to chop it from the mountain himself.

Ever since marrying Sister Wei Ruo, Peng Pingan hadn’t experienced such hardship. It reminded him of his childhood, when he often went hungry, making him feel even more anxious.

However, Sister Wei Ruo and Liu Niangzi didn’t let him in and didn’t give him a friendly look.

When Madam Hong found Ding Hui Niang, she was making pig pancreas soap with Ge Da. Seeing Madam Hong come in, Ge Da's father, who was lying on the bed, quickly tried to hide what was in his hand behind his back.

But Madam Hong's sharp eyes saw that Ge Da's father was holding wool and learning to knit.

Obviously, he didn’t want others to know, as his ears turned red, and he stammered, unsure how to explain.

He had wanted to learn to knit because he saw that even young Ge Da knew how to help Ding Hui Niang make pig pancreas soap, while he, lying in bed all day, felt like a burden. He was also afraid that Ding Hui Niang might harm him, fearing that one day she would find him useless and could easily end his life.

Seeing that Ding Hui Niang sometimes knitted when she returned, and hearing that it earned a good income, he got the idea to try it himself.

Madam Hong's eyes flickered, but she didn’t ask further. She then led Ding Hui Niang into the next room.

"Hui Niang, I've heard about that matter. If you're angry, let me help you..."

Without needing to say more, Ding Hui Niang knew what she meant. It was a tacit understanding between them.

But Ding Hui Niang shook her head. "There’s no need for that. Death is a release. It's better to let him be despised by everyone."

After the incident where she and Liu Niangzi had beaten up Old Man Peng, with so many villagers watching, Old Man Peng wouldn’t dare to cause trouble easily again.

Even if he did come again, Ding Hui Niang wasn’t afraid.

Madam Hong breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she had steeled herself, she couldn’t stay calm when it came to taking a life.

Ge Da quietly listened for a while. When they started talking about working on the mountain, he quietly returned to the room.

His father was waiting to ask, "What did they say?"

Ge Da shook his head. "They only talked about work. Nothing else."

Ge Da's father had no suspicions and, seeing that it wasn’t anything he was worried about, didn’t ask further.

Seeing that his father wasn’t pressing further, Ge Da lowered his head and resumed making the soap, but his gaze grew darker.

The fried spring rolls were sold well into the night. Occasionally, passersby would smell the aroma and couldn’t help sniffing. Parents rushing by with their kids would tug them along, but even as the children glanced back wistfully, few were willing to splurge on a treat.

A boat docked by the shore, and the boatman, shivering, tidied up and came to the establishment. He had intended to go directly inside but was momentarily frozen in place when he saw the spring rolls being fried in the stall outside.

"So early and they’re frying spring rolls?" The boatman sniffed hard. "It's still far from New Year."

"Nowadays, everyone has money. Who says you have to wait until New Year to eat them?" Mr. Song said with a smile.

"You're right. Give me three, one of each flavor! When it gets cold, people just can’t resist a snack."

Mr. Song has now taken over the task of frying spring rolls, with Mrs. Song helping him prepare the filling beside him.

Once they were busy, the old couple no longer felt any discomfort in their hearts. They were too occupied to dwell on their worries and greeted everyone with a smile.

"Were those roast ducks all sold?" Mr. Song casually struck up a conversation with the boatman.

"Yes, but it's been harder to sell them since it got cold. People don’t like that the roast ducks get cold."

"Did you use a warming plate?"

"Of course I did! But it's been so cold that it didn't help much."

When Stone arrived, Mr. Song had just finished frying spring rolls for the boatman. Seeing Stone, he waved him over, "Come and try some. Your sister Yan taught us how to make them."

Stone hurried over, shaking off the snow. He took some pine needles out of his coat, saying, "Last time you said you liked drinking this, so I picked some while I was cutting firewood up the mountain."

Mr. Song happily accepted them. It wasn’t about the item itself, but being remembered like this made him very happy.

"Eat it while it's hot, and take a few more home with you later," Mrs. Song said kindly, her gaze gentle.

Stone had something on his mind, and the old couple's kindness made warmth well up in his heart, though he felt overwhelmed and didn’t know how to start talking.

"Are you here looking for your mother? I reckon she'll be out soon since it's not busy today."

Stone quickly shook his head, "No, I'm not here for my mother today."

He had intended to tell Mr. Song about his concerns, but when he was in front of him, he didn’t dare to say it. He was afraid that Mr. and Mrs. Song would think he was too troubled and might not approve of him.

After finishing one spring roll, Stone lost his appetite for another. Meanwhile, the boatman beside him was eating ravenously, his body, which had been shivering from the cold earlier, now much warmer.

"Young master, why are you dawdling with your food? Is there something troubling you?"

The boatman's words made Stone uneasy. He went to Mr. Song, took the oil-paper-wrapped leftover spring rolls, and left a few coins before heading to Lin's establishment to find Lin Chunyan.

He had to speak up; otherwise, he was afraid he wouldn’t even dare to come to the establishment again.

Unfortunately, it was almost dark by then, and Lin Chunyan and the others were already heading back to the village, so Stone ended up missing them.

At home, Lin Chunyan wasn’t idle. She helped make the exam cakes that Xiao Zhu had requested, while Lin Taohong was learning to cook dishes.

Wang Yingniang kept glancing at Lin Taohong, looking a little worried. "I wonder if what she makes will be edible. Should I go take a look?"

"Let her try it herself. Besides, she still has her mother to help her."

Mrs. Zhang didn’t intervene. She had been helping with the cooking all day and, feeling quite proud of herself, sat down on a stool to pick some vegetables.

There weren’t many vegetables to eat in the winter. Lin Chunyan thought that since it was cold, it would be nice to have some nourishing soup, so she bought some lamb from Old Zhou and picked some radishes from Second Aunt Lin's field.

"We can't keep relying on others' vegetable fields like this. I was thinking of pickling some radish, so we should harvest some back."

Mrs. Zhang disagreed, "Your second aunt isn’t an outsider. She’s said we can pick as much as we want. I think they’ve grown enough to cover both our households."

The two had different opinions. One thought it was fine to take small favors from family, while the other preferred not to trouble anyone.

Lin Taohong couldn’t be bothered with the matters between Lin Chunyan and the others. It was her first time working with lamb, and even though they weren’t short on money, she still felt cautious about wasting it.

"Big Sister, and Yingniang, I've already boiled the lamb, what's the next step?"

Seeing that Lin Chunyan was sweating even in the middle of winter, she handed her a sweat towel to wipe it off. "We're making lamb rice soup, so now that the lamb is scalded, let’s start boiling the rice soup."

You can make lamb rice soup with either millet porridge or rice, and each gives a different flavor.

Today, they were making lamb rice soup with millet porridge. Besides the radishes, they would also add the napa cabbages that Mrs. Zhang had washed earlier.

They had planted plenty of napa cabbages in their field, and almost every household relied on radishes and napa cabbages to get through the winter. People would get sick of eating the same thing all winter. Back then, if a family could afford tofu, it was a sign they were doing well.

Things were different now. The tofu from the tofu shop on the mountain was sold to the villagers at a cheaper price, and a few coins could buy a large block of tofu.

When Zhang Tianhe, the headman, got married, his wife made sure to get plenty of tofu so the guests could eat their fill.

Word spread about how well things were going in their village, and people from nearby villages were jealous.

Some even wanted to move to their village and started sending gifts to the headman’s family.

However, the headman didn't agree to any of it.

If he started letting people move in, it would only cause problems down the line. Refusing people would make enemies, and they’d wonder why some were allowed to move in while others weren’t.

But today, the headman's refusal wasn't as straightforward. Seeing Sun the Constable and Sun Anyuan arriving with gifts and explaining what they wanted, the headman’s brows furrowed tightly.

He didn't want to offend either of these men, and he didn't know exactly what the relationship was between Sun Anyuan and Lin Chunyan. It seemed like there was something, as Sun Anyuan always ran to their village. Anyone could see that.

It was said that the escort agency even helped deliver goods to Lin Chunyan's family, and they played a significant role in ensuring safe travels back.

The snow outside showed no signs of stopping, and the headman, looking troubled, took a long drag on his pipe. In the end, he just said he needed to talk to Lin Chunyan and the other villagers.

"It's only fair. We're not trying to freeload off the village. It's just that if we could move to the foot of the hill on the village's eastern side, it would be more convenient to help out."

Ever since Madam Lin fell into the water last time, Sun Anyuan had been feeling uneasy. He kept thinking about how things could have gone wrong if he hadn't been there to save her that day.

Whenever this thought crossed his mind, he would break out in a cold sweat, which was why he was considering moving to the eastern hillside.

After leaving the Village Headman's yard, Sun the Constable and Sun Anyuan walked back slowly. They weren’t bothered by the snow. As dusk settled in, every household had started cooking with fires lit, but the snow hid the rising smoke from view.

"I don't think this matter will be easy to handle," said Sun the Constable, his voice trembling, looking forward to getting home and having a couple of drinks to warm up. He picked up his pace a little.

He had been brought over by Sun Anyuan, and seeing his troubled expression, he couldn't help but ask, "Have you spoken to Madam Lin about this?"

Sun Anyuan shook his head. "No."

He planned to tell Lin Chunyan only after the Village Headman agreed. If it didn't work out, it would be embarrassing to mention it.

"You should still say something. Who knows, she might not even want you to move over."

Sun the Constable meant it as a joke, but it happened to hit on Sun Anyuan's underlying worries and insecurities.

Seeing Sun Anyuan's reaction, Sun the Constable stopped joking and sympathetically said, "You’re right to be careful since nothing’s official yet."

After all, Sun Anyuan wasn’t the only one with his eye on Lin Chunyan.

Not to mention, as the eastern hill became more developed, she would become even more desirable as a wife. Naturally, more men would want to marry her.

"Here it is!" Lin Taohong, unafraid of the heat, carried a pot of lamb rice soup into the room and proudly showed it to everyone. "Looks good, doesn't it?"

The lamb rice soup had a golden hue, and its aroma filled the room. Lin Chunyan ladled out bowls for everyone, and they eagerly took their first bites.

Cooking is different from other tasks; appearance, color, flavor, and aroma are just for show, and only taste is what truly matters.

But on the other hand, to stimulate appetite and make the food more appealing, color, flavor, and aroma cannot be neglected.

Lin Taohong waited anxiously for them to finish tasting and share their thoughts. Lin Chunyan didn’t hold back and sincerely shared her opinion.

"It’s really good, though the lamb could be a little more tender."

The Chinese cabbage and radishes in the rice soup were cooked until they were soft and almost blended into the broth.

"Did I add the cabbage and radishes too early?"

Lin Chunyan nodded, "But for home cooking, there’s no need to be that picky. Look, Mom is almost finishing her bowl."

Mrs. Zhang finally spoke after swallowing, "I’ve been working all day and was exhausted, and by the time the lamb rice soup was ready, I was starving."

"We’ve got plenty of snacks at home, Mom. Next time, you should grab something before dinner."

Mrs. Zhang knew there were plenty of snacks, but she thought if she snacked beforehand, she’d end up eating less of the lamb rice soup, which she didn’t want.

The warm lamb rice soup filled her with a cozy warmth that lasted through the night.

This kind of weather was perfect for the whole family to cozy up inside and savor the moment.