There were only a few days left before the market on the fifteenth.
Lin Shu had only taken a brief look when she arrived and had not yet carefully examined Jingxi Town, nor did she know if the market held every five days was truly as lively as her mother said.
However, after spending a few days in Tianshui Village, she already had plans to sell food.
Since ancient times, the people of the Southwest region had prioritized their appetites; as long as they weren’t too poor to keep the pot boiling, most were willing to spend a bit of small change to satisfy their stomachs. If she came up with some rare and interesting foods, she could definitely entice the common people to open their purses!
She had this plan for no other reason than to earn some money to satisfy her own cravings. She was a bit of a foodie herself; only by earning money could she have the spare cash to buy various ingredients and seasonings to make all sorts of delicious things.
Life lasts only a few decades; eating well, drinking well, and having fun are the most important things.
However, Tianshui Village was too far from Jingxi Town. It wasn’t realistic to do food business in town every day. Lin Shu pondered that she would just make a move when the market was crowded; if business was good, she could make a tidy profit.
Wang Qiaohua did not know her mind had already turned to setting up a stall to sell food. Upon hearing her words, she naturally agreed, liking this niece she had only met a few days ago more and more.
Recalling that her husband had brought back a piece of wild boar meat, Wang Qiaohua hurried into the room to fetch two embroidered silk handkerchiefs she had prepared earlier and gave them to Lin Shu. “The proprietress of the shop said my patterns are outdated and the stitching isn’t dense enough. She drove the price down so hard that I refused to sell them in a fit of anger. I might as well give them to you, A-Shu; they’re good for wiping away sweat or whatever normally.”
Silk handkerchiefs were expensive, especially those with embroidery. Lin Shu took a look; the stitching indeed wasn’t very dense, but they were embroidered with plum blossoms and orchids. Plum blossoms and orchids were the favorites of scholars and poets; how could they be outdated? It was likely just an excuse the Third Aunt had used.
Lin Shu accepted the favor. “This handkerchief is very beautiful, thank you, Third Aunt.”
“Third Aunt knows you’ve seen all sorts of rare things, but Third Aunt really can’t produce anything good to give you. It’s enough that you like these silk handkerchiefs.”
Lin Shu laughed. “Third Aunt, those are all things of the past. Nowadays I can’t afford those rare things; I like this handkerchief very much.”
After Lin Shu left, Wang Qiaohua stood with her hands on her hips and laughed out loud, “Hahaha…”
A scholar! In the past, she only dared to think about it in her dreams!
…
Not to mention that when Lin Dashui returned from the field later and learned of this, he felt another burst of wild joy. Meanwhile, Lin Shu went back and gave one of the silk handkerchiefs to Lin Xiaopu. Lin Xiaopu was overjoyed to receive it; she hid in the room to admire herself secretly and even twisted the handkerchief embroidered with orchids into a flower to wear on her head. “Sister, do I look beautiful?”
Lin Shu was thoroughly amused by her. “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Among all the little girls your age in the surrounding ten miles, you are the most beautiful!”
She wasn’t telling a lie. Their mother was a born beauty, it was just that after years of rough labor, her face bore the traces of hardship. Since she and Xiaopu were born from the same mother and her own looks were excellent, how could Xiaopu’s be bad? It was just that she hadn’t blossomed yet, and with her skin being a bit yellowish, her appearance was slightly diminished.
“Come on, pretty girl, let’s go to the mountain to pick some Guanyin wood. When Brother A-Ye returns, we’ll make a huge basin of Guanyin tofu and set it before him, letting him eat his fill straight from the basin.”
“Alright!”
“While we’re at it, let’s pick some cedar leaves and mugwort leaves. I’ll make a simple shampoo, and we’ll all wash our hair today.”
Lin Xiaopu said, “We just washed it not long ago. We usually wash it the day before the market.”
Lin Shu was slightly surprised. “A market is only held every ten days; does that mean you only wash your hair once every ten days?”
Lin Xiaopu: “That’s right. We are considered diligent. There are people in the village who only wash once a month. However, Brother A-Ye is even more diligent; he washes every three to five days, and Mother saves the rice-washing water for him. Oh, by the way, our family always uses rice-washing water to wash our hair. If it’s too dirty, we add a bit of plant ash.”
Lin Shu fell silent after hearing this.
Washing hair once every ten days is considered diligent? It’s summer right now, summer!
On her way to Tianshui Village, she had bathed whenever there was an inn or relay station. It was only because she knew the conditions at home weren’t great that she had waited a few days before mentioning washing hair.
But on second thought, it was understandable. Ancient people believed that one’s body, hair, and skin were received from one’s parents and not a single strand should be cut. Regardless of gender, everyone had a massive amount of hair. Washing it took a long time, and after washing, it could only be wrung dry with a cloth. The whole process was very tedious.
Ladies and young misses from wealthy families were fine, having money, leisure, and maids to serve them. Rural households had endless farm work to do all day, so in tedious matters like washing hair and bathing, they naturally saved effort wherever possible.
“Xiaopu, from now on you’ll follow me and wash every three days. I’ll ask Father and Mother; if they aren’t willing, then forget it.” Since Xiaopu said their family was already considered diligent in washing hair, Lin Shu couldn’t force her parents to wash even more frequently.
“Alright! Sister, there are soapberry trees in the deep mountains. Brother Zhou Ye sometimes brings back some soapberries from the mountains; they’re great for washing hair, but they aren’t fully grown yet.”
Lin Shu was delighted to hear this; soapberries were indeed good things. “Why didn’t you pick more and save them in previous years?”
“We did, but we didn’t save much, and they’ve long since been used up. Brother A-Ye goes to the mountains mainly to look for food; picking soapberries is just an afterthought, so he doesn’t pick many.”
Hearing this, Lin Shu wanted to take a walk in the deep mountains even more. Even if she didn’t go deep, just wandering around the outskirts might yield unexpected surprises.
The sun was already very intense. By chance, there was a taro plant by the side of the road. As Lin Shu reached out to snap off a taro leaf, Lin Xiaopu quickly warned her, “Sister, be careful not to touch the sap inside the stems and leaves. If that stuff gets on your hands, it’ll itch.”
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow. “Xiaopu, you recognize this?”
Lin Xiaopu covered her mouth and giggled. “This is wild taro; it looks just like the taro we grow in the fields, so how could I not recognize it? But Sister, this wild taro only looks like regular taro on top; it doesn’t grow taro roots underground. If Sister wants to eat taro, wait another month or two. Our own taro will be ripe then, and we can eat it for the whole winter.”
Lin Shu was slightly surprised. “Our family grows taro too?”
Taro was a good thing; whether used in savory dishes or made into desserts, it was delicious. For example, taro rice cakes, taro rib soup, or taro paste and taro ball soup.
Not only that, but taro could also be used to brew wine. Both taro wine and taro rice wine had quite good flavors!
The more Lin Shu thought about it, the more her mouth watered.
But seeing Xiaopu’s expression, it was likely the family only used simple methods like roasting, boiling, or steaming.
This taro wasn’t like fragrant taro; its texture was coarser, it was chewy, and its flavor was mild. Moreover, it wasn’t easy to preserve. After harvest, they would surely eat it continuously, meal after meal, only switching to rice and flour after the taro was gone. The only reason they didn’t get sick of eating it was because they lacked food; having anything to eat was already good enough.
Lin Xiaopu replied, “Every household in our Tianshui Village grows taro. It’s easy to feel full after eating it. Our family has three acres of paddy fields and two acres of dry fields. The paddy fields grow rice. One and a half acres of dry fields grow wheat, and after the wheat is harvested, we plant beans. The remaining half-acre near the small creek is where we grow taro. The dry land is on the other side of the small earthen hill, which is why Sister hasn’t seen it. If you take this stuff to town to sell, not many people buy it; usually, it’s kept for ourselves.”
The small earthen hill Xiaopu mentioned was adjacent to the furthest paddy field. Smaller than a mountain but larger than a slope, it blocked the water from the big river. Only a small creek could divert water for irrigation, which was why it was classified as a dry field.
“When the taro is ripe, Sister will make you taro paste cakes to eat!”
Lin Shu felt cheerful and snapped off two taro leaves with their stems attached. Each of them held a taro leaf over their head to block the sun.
Then she explained to Lin Xiaopu, “The wild taro you mentioned is also called Yuhe. Although it looks like regular taro, they aren’t the same thing. The stalks of the Yuhe are edible; they’re incredibly fragrant when stewed with duck or fish, and pickling them is also a treat. They’re best harvested next month. At that time, we’ll pick a big handful, go back, slaughter that pheasant kept in the chicken coop, and stew it with these taro stalks. I guarantee you’ll be drooling from the aroma!”
Lin Xiaopu hurriedly wiped the corner of her mouth and giggled, “Sister, I’ve noted it all down: taro paste cakes and pheasant stewed with taro stalks!”