Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Zhang Zhuyu’s face was twisted with displeasure. She didn’t want to draw attention, so she kept her voice low and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Since Li Jingniang married into the family, Zhang Zhuyu rarely referred to her as 'sister-in-law' unless outsiders were around.

The two women never saw eye to eye. Zhang Zhuyu always felt that Li Jingniang was watching her like she was a joke.

Right now, Li Jingniang knew better than to say anything that might set Zhang Zhuyu off. She grabbed the hand of the maid next to her and asked calmly, "Where are you going? It's the middle of the night and it's pitch black outside."

Zhang Zhuyu couldn’t admit that she no longer wanted to live. She glared at Li Jingniang and tried to rush outside. "Where I go is none of your business!"

Li Jingniang grabbed her, terrified that Zhang Zhuyu would slip away. She even enlisted the help of the maid to hold her back.

"I’m not trying to control you, but you can’t leave the house tonight."

Li Jingniang didn’t have much affection for Zhang Zhuyu, but she couldn’t let her die at that moment. Otherwise, she and Zhang Tianhe would never be able to live in peace.

As expected, Zhang Zhuyu started thrashing. Li Jingniang, being quite weak, couldn’t restrain her and almost let her run off.

"Quick, get some help!" Li Jingniang panicked and quickly instructed the maid.

The maid was quick-witted and knew they couldn’t afford to get involved. Just as she was about to run out and shout, she saw the Village Headman coming in from outside.

He’d been outside for God knows how long, covered in frost. Seeing the maid run out, he knew something was wrong.

Without wasting any words, he strode right in.

The charcoal brazier inside was quite warm. As soon as the Village Headman entered, he started sneezing, one after another, clearly catching a cold.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhuyu felt a knot in her chest and instinctively stepped back.

The Village Headman felt a bitter taste in his heart, but he didn’t want to lower himself before Zhang Zhuyu. He only said to Li Jingniang, "Second daughter-in-law, take her into the room and lock her up. Don’t let her out."

Zhang Zhuyu began to struggle, and the Village Headman’s wife, who hadn’t slept soundly either, ran over. She first saw the layer of frost on the Village Headman and then noticed the new clothes Zhang Zhuyu was wearing. She was frightened out of her wits.

"My dear, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to rip my heart out?"

Even though Zhang Zhuyu knew it wasn’t the Village Headman’s wife who had slapped her, she couldn’t stop herself from lashing out at her. "I’m not your child! You only have two sons, so take care of them! Whether I live or die has nothing to do with you!"

Zhang Zhuyu’s voice was quite loud. The houses in the village were close together, and it was clear her voice had awakened the neighbors. Besides the sound of dogs barking, there were also sounds of people coughing.

The Village Headman was angered, his chest heaving. He had been outside, worrying that something might happen to Zhang Zhuyu, and the cold had seeped into his body. Hearing this, he was so angry he wanted to slap her again but couldn’t speak at the moment. His hands trembled as he coughed incessantly.

The sound of his coughing still made Zhang Zhuyu feel uncomfortable, but she soon remembered the slap she had received in public and turned her face away.

The Village Headman’s wife was also worried about his health. "I told you not to stand outside. You can see any movement from inside the house. Don’t end up with a lingering illness!"

She also tried to persuade Zhang Zhuyu, "Your father has this temper. He’s always valued face more than anything in his life. He was worried about you and stood outside all this time."

Zhang Zhuyu was finally persuaded into silence and was half-pushed, half-coaxed back into the room.

This time, the Village Headman’s wife didn’t dare to be careless and slept with her, comforting her with many words. "If you feel uncomfortable staying in the village, I’ll talk to your elder brother and sister-in-law. You can stay with them for a few days."

"No," Zhang Zhuyu shook her head. Zhang Tianhe had stayed at their house for a few days and had to endure anger, so she didn’t want to go.

The Village Headman’s wife sighed. "Then stay at home and do some needlework with your sister-in-law. I’ll find a good match for you, someone from a place far away, and no one will know about this."

Zhang Zhuyu bit her lower lip and remained silent.

Naturally, she didn’t want to be married off in such a humiliating way either.

After Lin Chunyan fried the yellow rice flour cakes, she sent quite a few over to Second Aunt Lin’s house next door and stayed for a chat with Shuangjie.

“Who was arguing at the door earlier?” Shuangjie was quite curious. She was cradling Xue'er to sleep, making her voice much softer.

Lin Chunyan was extremely fond of the child. Xue'er was as cute as a snowball, her eyes closing quickly as she swayed, leaving only the shadow of her lashes illuminated by the light.

“It was the young lady from the Village Headman's household. She came for work-related matters,” said Lin Chunyan.

Shuangjie’s hands paused while soothing the child.

It was only today that she realized how much Lin Chunyan’s business had grown. She had hired many people to help on the mountain, including four or five who were making tofu.

There were various other teams, and as the steward, Second Aunt Lin was so busy she hardly had time to rest. She was either checking accounts with Sang Zhuer or assigning tasks to others.

Shuangjie had never seen Second Aunt Lin like this before.

It was different from when she worked at Lin Chunyan’s house. She was capable and energetic now, like a completely different person.

It was said that Sang Zhuer’s family used to be very ordinary, but after learning arithmetic from Huang Niang, she became the accountant on the mountain.

Her bearing had transformed entirely, and Shuangjie, after taking a few glances, didn’t know what to feel.

She had been pondering over what Second Aunt Lin had said. She had never really considered not staying with the trading goods man, especially since they already had a child. It was just a matter of playing tough, a back-and-forth.

But after Second Aunt Lin spoke, she changed her mind.

If she could support herself and her child, why would she need a man?

She had never thought of relying on Second Aunt Lin to support her forever. After all, she wasn’t their legitimate daughter, and even legitimate daughters were often not wanted by their families.

She didn’t dare take those words seriously, only hoping that Lin Chunyan would notice her.

Zhang Zhuyu’s situation gave her another reason to think carefully, and she was clever enough not to directly ask about the work but to pay attention quietly.

“These yellow rice cakes are still warm,” said Second Aunt Lin after returning from outside, having warmed herself enough to shake off the cold. “That batch of smoked meat has already been reserved.”

Lin Chunyan was surprised, “But it wasn’t even smoked properly yet, and someone already wants it?”

Second Aunt Lin was also very pleased, “They spoke directly to Zhuer. It’s the steward from Mr. Wang’s house. They were worried it might be sold out by the time it was ready, so they booked it early.”

The two chatted for a while before Second Aunt Lin finally picked up a yellow rice cake to eat. “In the past, we could only eat these during the New Year. Now it’s great; we can enjoy them anytime.”

But everyone in their house was too busy. Even if they wanted to eat them, they were too lazy to make them.

She took a big bite. The yellow rice cake was slightly chewy and sweet, and after being fried, the crispy outer skin made it irresistible.

“Did you eat, Shuang?”

“Yes, Aunt,” Shuangjie replied sweetly.

“These are for Xiang Niang and Sanlang to have later.”

“Alright, they’ll be back soon.”

As soon as she said that, the sound of footsteps from the three could be heard outside the door, and indeed, they arrived home.

Shuangjie greeted everyone but deliberately ignored Erlang, not saying a word to him.

"Then I should be going too," Lin Chunyan said, without insisting on staying.

At night, while sleeping, Lin Taohong was startled awake twice by nightmares and only felt better after squeezing into Lin Chunyan's bed.

"Big sister, I'm a bit scared," Lin Taohong said, hugging Lin Chunyan's arm and sniffling. "Do you think something bad happened to Zhang Zhuyu?"

Lin Chunyan was awake too, and seeing that it was still dark outside, she knew it was early.

"Since when have you become such a worrier?" Lin Chunyan said, stroking Lin Taohong's hair. "It’s too late to go now. We’ll check on her in the morning."

Mrs. Zhang had also been awakened and muttered under her breath, "It's nothing. Do you think the Village Headman is clueless? He wouldn't have been the headman for so many years if he were foolish."

Hearing this, Lin Taohong fell asleep soundly, but Lin Chunyan lost all desire to sleep and stayed awake until dawn.

In the morning, Lin Taohong looked at Lin Chunyan curiously. "Big sister, why are the circles under your eyes so dark?"

Lin Chunyan nearly rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Knowing that porridge was being cooked at home, the three young ladies braved the chilly wind to visit the Village Headman’s home, carrying some dried peaches with them.

During the summer, they had picked many peaches and green plums. Most of the peaches had been dried into jerky, which now became a rare treat, sweet and refreshing with a pleasant chewiness.

The Village Headman's wife, like Lin Chunyan, had dark circles under her eyes and was very happy to see them, hurriedly ushering them inside.

"Come in and warm up for a bit. Are you here to see our Yujie? She's inside."

She avoided mentioning yesterday’s argument, acting as if they were just Zhang Zhuyu’s friends.

Lin Taohong felt awkward, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

As they walked into the house, they heard someone ask the Village Headman's wife, "Are you feeling better? I heard there was quite a commotion last night."

The Village Headman's wife quickly apologized.

Inside, they found Li Jingniang quietly sewing. Seeing them, she immediately smiled.

Lin Taohong peeked inside and saw Zhang Zhuyu sleeping soundly.

For some reason, she felt relieved, realizing her earlier concerns were unfounded, and let out a soft hum.

Li Jingniang had the maid bring them water and pulled them aside to speak in a low voice.

"After all the commotion last night, she finally managed to fall asleep just a little while ago."

The Village Headman's wife soon came over and sighed. "I failed to raise my daughter properly, and I’m sorry for any trouble she caused."

"We're all from the same village, Mrs. Zhang. No need to say such things."

There, Zhang Zhuyu heard the noise and turned over, meeting Lin Taohong's gaze.

She was startled, her face flushing red, and blurted out, "Are you here to laugh at me?"

Lin Taohong, hearing her loud voice, also jumped up. "Why would anyone want to laugh at you? Who do you think you are, anyway?!"

"Yujie, these ladies came with good intentions. Why are you being so rude?" the Village Headman's wife quickly pulled her sleeve.

Zhang Zhuyu then saw Lin Chunyan and thought of the scene where she had made a scene and been scolded at Lin Chunyan's door the day before. Her face wrinkled again. "There’s nothing interesting here. They’re not offering me work, so why pretend to care?"

Li Jingniang was left speechless by Zhang Zhuyu's sharp tongue. She clearly didn’t mean it that way, but she chose the most unpleasant words to express herself.

Lin Chunyan wasn't angry, though. She had encountered many people who were straightforward and spoke bluntly; even Mrs. Zhang used to be like that.

The words they spoke were always awkward, and those who didn't know them might think they were born to be so indifferent and sarcastic.

After scolding Zhang Zhuyu, the Village Headman’s wife apologized to Lin Chunyan, taking her hand and pleading, "Yanjie, I haven't been able to help you much before. As you've seen, our family is in a difficult situation. Do you think Yujie could go to work at your establishment?"

The Village Headman’s wife had even thought that even if they couldn't earn a single penny, she would be willing to spend money to make it happen.

The Village Headman didn't come out of the room, but his coughing could be heard from earlier, intermittent and unsettling to those who listened.

No good family wants to fall apart like this.

As the Village Headman’s wife spoke, she was about to kneel down, but the quick-eyed Wang Yingniang helped her up in time.

Lin Chunyan smiled at Wang Yingniang and together they helped the Village Headman’s wife to the side. Then she turned to Zhang Zhuyu and asked, "Do you really want to work?"

Zhang Zhuyu awkwardly replied, "Of course, it's just that you won't let me go."

"Working isn't just talk. The work is tiring. The women making tofu up in the mountains work from dawn till dusk."

After Lin Chunyan finished speaking, Zhang Zhuyu nodded, "I know that. Money doesn't just fall from the sky."

The Village Headman’s wife had been worried, but seeing that Zhang Zhuyu could speak properly, she sighed in relief and quickly took Lin Chunyan's hand, saying, "Yanjie, can you take one more person at your establishment?"

She knew it was unreasonable to ask, and her face turned redder than before.

Lin Chunyan thought for a moment and said, "Winter Solstice is coming soon, and we need a lot of dumplings at our establishment. I'll bring the filling over. Can you make the dumplings, Yujie?"

Zhang Zhuyu didn't immediately agree. She knew how to make dumplings, but from what Lin Chunyan implied, it seemed like a lot of work.

However, the Village Headman’s wife had already nodded in agreement, "She can make them! She won't delay your work!"

After leaving the Village Headman’s house, Lin Taohong didn't say anything but only sighed, "It's Winter Solstice again."

Last Winter Solstice, we were still setting up stalls in the snowstorm, most worried about snowfall.

"Yes, we'll have to sell dumplings again this year."

They would need to prepare early as many people would come.

Yu Chuanfu didn't take any other orders yesterday, just waiting to deliver those roast ducks. He barely managed to deliver them by noon.

This family from Gourd Town is well-off. They had known about Lin Chunyan's establishment for a long time. Sometimes they bought food from the boatman, and sometimes they sent servants to buy from this side.

This time, it was the old lady's birthday. They insisted on having roast duck. Since they were planning a grand celebration, they decided to order a lot of roast duck to keep all the relatives and friends happy.

Thankfully, the roast ducks arrived just in time. In winter, there was no fear of them spoiling. The next day, they were all steamed and served piping hot at the banquet.

Mr. Shen and Lady Shen also came to the feast. The moment they saw the roast ducks, they lit up with smiles. Mr. Shen even said to the people next to him, "This is the roast duck from the book written by my incompetent son-in-law."

Having eaten there many times, they could instantly recognize the roast duck from Lin Chunyan’s establishment. Even the side dishes were unmistakable.

Many have tried to imitate their roast duck, but no one has succeeded yet.

An elderly man nearby chuckled and invited his wife to give it a try, "I've heard you talk about it for so long, but I've never had the chance to try it. If it’s good, we’ll definitely get some next time."

Mr. Shen started promoting Mr. Zhao's book again, "How come you haven't tried it yet? Don’t tell me you don’t know about the amazing food at Lin’s establishment?"

He took out the book and showed it to the two of them, "It’s not just about the roast duck in the book. I especially love those meat-filled rice dumplings, though I’ve only had them once."

The lady next to him clapped her hands excitedly when she heard about the meat-filled rice dumplings, "I’ve had those before! And also the salted egg yolk mooncakes. Someone brought them as gifts, and they were really delicious."

Mr. Shen was pleased, "That’s right! My son-in-law might not be skilled in much, but he sure knows his food."

Lady Shen couldn’t stand it anymore and told Mr. Shen to shut up and eat the roast duck, "Why do you always bring up your son-in-law every few sentences? You weren’t like this before."

Mr. Shen was somewhat afraid of Lady Shen, so he didn’t dare to say more and followed everyone in eating the roast duck.

The elderly woman celebrating her birthday was clearly enjoying the meal. She wrapped several small pancakes and pointed to the crispy thin strips that had been fried, "There wasn’t this before, but it’s really delicious now."

The son and daughter-in-law next to her joined in the fun, "That’s why they deserve to make money. The roast duck is already so good, and they’re still trying to add more variety."

"I heard that Aunt Liu, whose house caught fire, has moved to White Cloud Town. It was said that at her age, she would be unhappy to leave her homeland, but now that I think about it, the two of them are not stupid. They moved there for the delicious food."

There were also people from other towns who came for the old lady's birthday. They hadn’t eaten the roast duck before and were eager to try it when they heard it was specially bought from another place.

Once they tasted it, many of them ate several small pancakes and started asking around where it was bought.

"You haven’t heard of it?" Those who’d tasted the roast duck felt quite proud, "It’s very famous here. It’s from Lin's establishment in White Cloud Town, run by several young ladies."

"Young women can run a business like that?" someone asked incredulously, "And the food tastes so good!"

"They don’t just run the place!" These people shared what they knew, "They also bought a hill. There are all kinds of things made on the hill, like jelly tofu, ham, meat sandwiches... All of them are made there."

"I know this jelly tofu!" The person asking was also excited, "I tried the jelly tofu when I visited a relative during the temple fair. It was smooth and slippery, really good."

"It’s all made in the young ladies' establishment. I’m planning to visit their town soon to try the food fresh from the source. I’m sure it will taste great."

The old lady at the banquet overheard and said with a smile to her daughter-in-law next to her, "The Lin sisters should thank me for giving them such great publicity!"

The daughter-in-law flattered the old lady, "What you said is right, but the idea of treating everyone to this roast duck is also very good. Whenever people talk about it, they’ll remember us too."

The old lady laughed happily, "Yes, we are also riding on their coattails."

Lin Chunyan noticed that, whether it was because everyone was idle in the winter or for some other reason, there were significantly more out-of-town customers coming to their establishment recently.

Even Yu Chuanfu came and said, "In the past, we didn’t have much business in the winter. This year, the weather has been good, and even the river hasn’t frozen."

As long as people came, Lin Chunyan was happy. Apart from some objective reasons, most of the people who came to their establishment became repeat customers.

When the weather got warmer, there would probably be even more people coming.

Mrs. Ma also brought good news. The price for the neighboring establishment had finally been negotiated. They wanted to sell it and return to their hometown for the New Year, and dragging it out wasn’t a solution.

"It’s not easy to negotiate this for forty-five strings of cash." Mrs. Ma felt a sense of accomplishment when she said this.

In the past, she hadn’t even handled a single string of cash, let alone forty-five.

Lin Chunyan was also very happy. She went to the neighboring establishment several times and finally went to see Sun the Constable to handle the paperwork.

Mrs. Zhang didn’t drag her feet this time. She also knew that the price was really good, and if they missed this opportunity, there might not be another one.

"At least now we own the place, instead of renting it." Mrs. Zhang said with a smile, "Who would have thought that one day we’d be able to buy our own establishment."

Sun the Constable handled the paperwork for them and congratulated them when he handed it over, "You should celebrate this properly."

Sun Anyuan left with a big smile on his face and asked Sun the Constable to keep an eye on Lin Chunyan and the rest.

He was so happy because of what Mrs. Zhang had come to tell him.

Mrs. Zhang examined the deed over and over before carefully placing it in her bosom. After a moment, she took it out again and handed it to Lin Chunyan, saying, "It's better if you keep this. I don't feel at ease holding onto it."

She ignored Sun the Constable’s comment, feeling slightly uneasy.

When Sun Anyuan gets back from this job, he might not be so happy.

With this shop, Lin Chunyan decided to move the roast duck business here right away.

"And we'll put those spicy rabbit heads and such here as well."

Mashi lived in the back of the shop and insisted on paying rent.

"Think of it as our rent. At least we won’t be crammed into one room anymore."

Lin Chunyan took the money and watched Hui Jier and Lan Jier cheerfully begin moving.

"Forget about that for now. We should build two big wardrobes."

"And we need to fix the heated bed. The old one isn’t working well."

Since they only needed tables and chairs for selling goods, Lin Chunyan wasn't in a hurry to ask Uncle Lin to help make these things.

After sorting all this out, several days had passed, and it was only seven or eight days until the Winter Solstice.

That evening, Lin Chunyan got a craving for spicy vermicelli, so she boiled mung bean noodles and took an empty bowl to put some sesame seeds, minced garlic, chopped scallions, peanut crumbs, and pickled vegetables. She poured hot oil over them, added vinegar, sesame oil, and other seasonings, finally placing the cooked noodles into the broth.

The spicy vermicelli smelled great, but without cilantro, it looked a bit plain.

"I think we can add some tofu skin."

Wang Yingniang quickly sliced the tofu skin into thin strips, making the dish look even more appetizing.

"And we could add some ham," Lin Taohong's eyes lit up. "Since we're eating at home, I'll go cut some to put in."

Mrs. Zhang also became interested but was too lazy to do it herself. She simply asked Wang Yingniang to help her cut some more tofu skin. "A bowl of this noodle before bed will definitely warm us up."

"It's best to eat it while it's hot like this," Lin Chunyan said, already holding a bowl of spicy vermicelli and taking a bite. Feeling that there wasn't enough vinegar, she added some more.

Right away, the vermicelli became tangier and more refreshing, and she eagerly slurped it up.

It's really delicious.