Chapter 182: Rice Wine Starter

Chapter 182: Rice Wine Starter

Seeing Lin Zhaodi so disheartened, Lin Shu couldn't bring herself to scold her. "It's alright, Aunt Lin. Our ice jelly must have sold so well that the thief had their eyes on you from the start. If it didn't happen today, it would have happened another time. As the saying goes, it's not the theft itself you should fear, but the thief's persistent intent. Now that it's happened, we'll just have to be more vigilant from now on."

Lin Shu was truly philosophical about it.

It was only money that was lost, after all. Money could be earned again; what mattered was that Aunt Lin and the others were safe. Thieves were despicable, but they were still better than encountering robbers.

Having lived through the apocalypse, she had witnessed countless instances of looting and violence over resources—scenes that were brutal and bloody. That was why she often reminded her companions that if they ever faced robbers they couldn’t defeat, preserving their lives should come first. Supplies could always be replenished, but once a life was lost, it was gone forever.

Lin Zhaodi gritted her teeth and said, "A Shu, today’s earnings were about the same as yesterday’s, so let’s calculate it as 1,700 wen. I’ll take responsibility for this loss and pay you back slowly."

"Aunt Lin, saying that makes it sound like we’re strangers. Since I entrusted the ice jelly business to you, I naturally have to share the risks too. If you really feel bad about it, why don't we calculate it based on the profit-sharing ratio? Since you take 30% of the profits, you can cover 30% of the loss. How does that sound?"

It sounded reasonable, so after thinking it over, Lin Zhaodi agreed. That way, she would only need to repay the 500 wen she would have earned that day.

However, when she left the Lin household, Lin Zhaodi still seemed somewhat dispirited.

When Zhou Ye learned about the incident, he said to Lin Shu, "This is your business, after all. We can’t afford to be careless."

After dinner, Zhou Ye went to Zhao Laosan’s house. When he returned, he told Lin Shu, "It’s settled."

Lin Shu blinked. "How did you settle it? No matter how vigilant you are, there’s always a chance for thieves to strike."

Zhou Ye explained, "The theft happened because there weren’t enough people. If we assign someone specifically to guard the cash box, the thief won’t have a chance."

Lin Shu nodded. "Some expenses really can’t be spared."

"Some expenses indeed cannot be spared," Zhou Ye echoed, his gaze intense and burning as he looked at her.

Lin Shu: "…"

She had a feeling Zhou Ye wasn’t talking about the same thing she was.

"A Shu, there are only about twenty days left," Zhou Ye suddenly said.

Lin Shu: "Huh?"

Zhou Ye: "Our wedding day."

Lin Shu couldn’t help but laugh. "A Ye, have you been counting down the days?"

Zhou Ye hummed in agreement. "I have."

Lin Shu teased him, "What’s there to count? It’s just a wedding. Even after we’re married, things won’t be much different from now. You’ll be busy with your work, and I’ll be busy with mine."

"It’s different," Zhou Ye said, his voice low.

"How is it different?" Lin Shu asked, already knowing the answer but pretending not to.

Zhou Ye paused, as if considering what kind of answer Lin Shu wanted to hear. After a moment, he replied, "A Shu, I want to go inside. Once we’re married, I can."

Lin Shu’s eyes widened in shock, almost thinking she had misunderstood. But when she met Zhou Ye’s burning gaze, which felt like it could bore a hole through her, she realized she hadn’t misunderstood at all.

In an instant, her face flushed bright red. "Ah! You rogue, A Ye! How can you say such shameless things!"

The two of them had been enjoying the evening breeze by the fishpond. Embarrassed, Lin Shu stomped hard on his foot and ran off.

Zhou Ye looked down at his stepped-on foot, a slight smile curling his lips.

When A Shu stepped on him, she hadn’t used much force. It didn’t hurt at all—it just felt a little ticklish.

The next day, when Aunt Lin and Zhao San came to pick up the ice jelly and ice, Lin Shu finally learned what Zhou Ye had done the previous night. He had actually convinced Zhao San to go with Lin Zhaodi to sell ice jelly at the stall!

For farmers who relied on the land for their livelihood, nothing was more important than farming. Take Lin Dashan, for example—he went to the fields every day. Weeding didn’t require daily attention; it could be done every other day, as long as the weeds were removed before they grew too tall. Otherwise, for families with large plots of land, the limited labor force wouldn’t be able to keep up. But the more time you spent tending to the fields, the higher your harvest would be.

Yet Zhao San was willing to put aside farming to help with the stall?

Zhou Ye explained, "Zhao San was reluctant at first, but after I did the math for him, he agreed."

Aunt Lin earned nearly 400 to 500 wen a day from selling ice jelly. This year, a *dan* of coarse rice cost 600 wen, meaning her daily earnings were almost enough to buy a *dan* of rice. Meanwhile, farming a *mu* of paddy field yielded at most three *dan* of grain, which selling ice jelly for four or five days could match!

After this analysis, even the slowest person would know which option to choose.

Although farming was ingrained in farmers and hard to abandon, it paled in comparison to such clear profits.

Moreover, Zhao San wasn’t neglecting the fields entirely. After making up his mind, he visited the Wang family—the same family that had sent Wang Zhangshun to help with building the house earlier.

The Wang family had little land but many mouths to feed, often struggling to have enough food. Zhao San asked Wang Zhangshun to help farm his two *mu* of land, offering him one meal a day (dinner, since breakfast was simple and eaten early) and an additional ten copper coins.

When the Wang family heard this, both the elders and Wang Zhangshun himself agreed without hesitation.

Their family didn’t have much land, so they could manage even with one less laborer. Having Wang Zhangshun, who had a big appetite, work for another family in exchange for a meal sounded like a good deal.

What’s more, Aunt Lin’s meals were generous and delicious—even Wang’s younger brother envied them.

Even more appealing was that Zhao San not only provided a meal but also offered ten extra copper coins!

To others, ten coins might not seem like much, but for the poor Wang family, it was significant. A *sheng* of coarse rice cost seven coins at the grain store, so ten coins could buy a *sheng* of rice with some left over. And a *sheng* of rice was enough to make three meals of porridge for their large family!

After hearing Zhou Ye’s explanation, Lin Shu felt relieved.

Compared to Old Man Liao, Zhao San was sturdier and would stay at the stall without leaving, making him a more reliable choice.

With Zhao San around, tasks like moving things no longer required Zhou Ye’s help. Although Zhao San wasn’t as burly as A Ye, he was still a strong man, easily carrying the ice jelly and ice to the oxcart.

Since the oxcart was already loaded with tables, chairs, and other items, there was no room for Zhao Laosan to sit after Lin Zhaodi got on. So Zhao Laosan walked behind the cart. As a man accustomed to heavy labor, the walk was nothing to him.

After seeing Aunt Lin and Zhao San off, Lin Shu returned to the courtyard.

"Sis, if Zhao San is going with them, will Aunt Lin still hire her cousin?" Lin Xiaopu asked.

If she hired someone one day and let them go the next, it would be quite disheartening for Aunt Huang.

Lin Shu said, "Aunt Lin is a cautious person. The cash box was stolen yesterday because there weren’t enough people. Zhao San is going to help keep an eye on things and guard the cash box. Tasks like wiping tables and washing bowls aren’t suitable for a man."

Lin Shu had originally considered the need for security, which was why she had Old Man Liao stop by occasionally. But Old Man Liao had his own tasks to attend to, and his oxcart couldn’t stay too long in the streets without blocking the way. The day before yesterday, Old Man Liao had only been able to help collect money because he parked the oxcart outside the gate and asked an acquaintance to watch it.

However, after saying this, Lin Shu added, "Even if Aunt Lin decides not to hire her cousin anymore, it’s not a big deal. Setting emotions aside, Aunt Lin is the employer. If her cousin had been working elsewhere and Aunt Lin hired her only to fire her shortly after, that would be unfair. But that’s not the case here—Aunt Lin asked her cousin to help her out. If one day Aunt Lin no longer needs her cousin, as long as she pays what’s owed, she has every right to stop hiring her. If she keeps someone on out of guilt even when they’re not needed, she’s only sacrificing her own interests to support an idle person. That would only make things harder for herself—why would she do that?"

Lin Xiaopu fell into thought after hearing this.

Lin Shu patted her little sister’s head and turned to He Guixiang. "Mom, when are you going to make the rice wine starter? You said you’d do it the day before yesterday, then yesterday, and now today. If you don’t make it soon, will we even have rice wine to drink at my wedding?"

He Guixiang shot her a mock glare. "I’ve been busy making your wedding dress! My sewing skills aren’t as good as your third aunt’s, and she offered to help. But I thought, since it’s my daughter’s wedding, I should make the dress myself."

Lin Shu grinned. "Go ahead and make it, Mom. I’m already good-looking, so no matter how the dress turns out, I’ll still look beautiful in it."

He Guixiang chuckled, "Alright, alright, I know you're eager to have rice wine. After breakfast, I'll go pick the yeast grass."

Lin Xiaopu chimed in eagerly, "Mom, I'll go with you! Sis, in previous years, Mom and I always made the yeast balls together."

After the family finished breakfast, He Guixiang asked Lin Yushu, who had come to visit, "Yu Shu, has your family made yeast yet?"

Lin Yushu replied, "We still have last year's yeast at home, so Mom isn't making any this year."

"I'm making yeast today. Once it's ready in a few days, you can take some back with you."

Lin Yushu didn't refuse and quickly thanked her.

After Lin Yushu entered the main hall, Lin Shu, as the teacher, began the daily lesson. He Guixiang then took Lin Xiaopu to the fields to pick yeast grass.

Yeast grass was what Lin Shu referred to as smartweed. The village used this smartweed every year to make yeast for rice wine, so they called it yeast grass.

Both the flowers and leaves of the smartweed could be used to make yeast, but He Guixiang only used the flowers, and specifically those from dryland fields. Yeast made from dryland smartweed flowers was better than that from riverside plants.

Seeing Lin Xiaopu stuffing handfuls of smartweed flowers into the bamboo basket, He Guixiang couldn't help but laugh, "That's enough, that's enough. We're only making yeast; we don't need that much."

Lin Xiaopu chuckled, "But we're giving some to Third Auntie's family too, so let's make a bit more."

"Even if we make more, we still don't need this much. Yeast is for fermenting rice wine, not for eating as a meal."

The two gathered half a basket of smartweed flowers. The flowers were mashed and mixed with rice flour. As for the exact ratio, He Guixiang couldn't explain it precisely, but after making it so many times, she could estimate it just by looking. After mixing thoroughly, an appropriate amount of warm water was added—not too much, just enough to form the mixture into cohesive balls without falling apart.

Lin Xiaopu helped He Guixiang shape the mixture, forming about twenty to thirty yeast balls, each about the size of a quail egg.

Shaping the yeast balls wasn't the final step; they also needed to be dusted with some aged yeast.

He Guixiang brought over a large bamboo sieve and placed the yeast balls inside. Lin Xiaopu sprinkled crushed aged yeast powder over them while He Guixiang continuously rotated the sieve.

As the sieve turned in circles, the yeast balls inside rolled back and forth. After a few rotations, the yeast balls were not only coated with the aged yeast powder but had also become more rounded.

"Xiao Pu, help Mom bring a basket over."

"Sure thing!"

Since they had made a lot of yeast balls this time, one layer wouldn't be enough—they needed two layers. A layer of straw was laid at the bottom of the basket, slightly thicker for the first layer. The yeast balls were placed one by one on top, followed by another layer of straw, and then the second layer of yeast balls. Finally, a final layer of straw was added on top.

After arranging everything, He Guixiang placed the basket in a corner against the wall.

The basket would be left there for two or three days. If droplets appeared on the straw during this time, they would ventilate it promptly to prevent the yeast from overheating and spoiling.

Once white fuzz grew on the yeast balls, it would indicate that they were ready.

"Mom, you focus on your work these next few days. I'll keep an eye on this. When the yeast balls grow white fuzz, I'll let you know," Lin Xiaopu volunteered for the task.

He Guixiang laughed, "I already know when the white fuzz will appear. There's no need for you to watch over it."

After the white fuzz appeared, the yeast balls would be placed in a shaded, well-ventilated area to dry for three days. Once completely dry, they could be sealed and stored.

If stored properly, the yeast balls would remain usable for one or two years without spoiling.