【Note: The prices mentioned later in the story are based on price levels from the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Northern Song was one of the most economically prosperous periods in Chinese history, with a developed currency economy and relatively stable prices, it serves as a useful reference. Of course, these are the author DeepSeek’s own estimates, so if there are any unreasonable prices, readers are welcome to point them out. Thank you!】
【Currency Conversion:1 tael of gold = 10 taels of silver = 10 strings of copper coins = 10,000 copper coins.
1 tael of silver = 1 string of coins = 1,000 copper coins.1 qian = 100 copper coins.】
【Grain Measurement Conversion:1 shi = 10 dou.1 shi = 120 jin.1 dou = 12 jin.
These measurements are based on rice for easier understanding in the novel. In reality, rice, wheat, millet, and glutinous millet each had different weights per dou.
1 dou of rice = 12 jin1 dou of millet = 15 jin1 dou of glutinous millet = 12 jin1 dou of wheat = 13 jin】
Lin Mei was awakened by the sound of rustling movements. Her mother was changing her diaper. She had both peed and pooped during the night. Ah… at an age where even bodily functions couldn’t be controlled, there was a faint sense of sorrow.
Lin Mei had no idea what time it was, but she could vaguely hear people bustling about outside the window.
Before long, she heard her father’s voice.
“Niu Niu, you’re awake? Hungry? Daddy will bring you some rice soup.”
“Dad, what baby survives on rice soup alone after being born? I want milk! I’m so hungry my arms and legs have no strength left!” Lin Mei complained helplessly in her heart.
“Wife, I’ll go ask Mother to think of a solution. You still don’t have any milk, and Niu Niu can’t live on rice soup alone,” Lin Sanyong said as he got out of bed to find Old Madam Lin.
“Mother, Guihua still doesn’t have any milk. Niu Niu cried herself hoarse from hunger last night. What should we do now? When Guihua gave birth to those two boys before, her milk came in almost immediately. But this time, there’s still nothing,” Lin Sanyong said worriedly in a low voice.
“I know already,” Old Madam Lin replied. “I already had your father go check with Old Wang for goat’s milk. Also, after breakfast, go to your father-in-law’s house to announce the good news, but don’t rush back afterward. Stop by Xiaohe Village and buy two crucian carp. Fish soup is best for helping a new mother produce milk.”
As she spoke, Old Madam Lin handed Lin Sanyong two hundred copper coins.【Note: Based on Song Dynasty Beijing prices, fresh fish cost around 30 copper coins per jin.】
Today it was Eldest Daughter-in-law’s turn to cook breakfast.
In the Lin family, aside from Old Madam Lin herself, the three daughters-in-law who stayed at home took turns cooking every day. However, once one of them reached eight months pregnant, she would be exempt from cooking duties until the end of her confinement month.
Because of this rule, all three daughters-in-law believed Old Madam Lin to be fair and considerate. So even though there were occasional tensions between mother-in-law and daughters-in-law, none of them dared openly disobey her.
Old Man Lin had arrived at Peach Blossom Village fifty years ago while fleeing famine with his parents.
Back then, his parents had brought along three sons and two daughters from their hometown. After three brutal months of famine migration, by the time they settled in Peach Blossom Village, only Old Man Lin’s father, five-year-old Old Man Lin himself, and his seven-year-old second sister Lin Er’ya remained alive.
Sadly, Lin Er’ya also died the following year after catching a cold. The hardships from the refugee journey had damaged her body too severely, and even a minor illness took her life.
Old Man Lin’s father also passed away when Lin was fifteen years old. Fortunately, his father possessed excellent bamboo-weaving skills, and Old Man Lin himself was talented at it too. He inherited all of his father’s craftsmanship and had even developed many new weaving patterns of his own.
There was also a touching story behind Old Man Lin marrying Old Madam Lin.
Back in her youth, Old Madam Lin had been considered quite a pretty young woman in Sophora Flower Village. She had four older brothers and was deeply cherished by both her parents and siblings.
Three months after becoming engaged, her fiancé died unexpectedly before the wedding. Unable to bear the gossip and rumors, she secretly went to the river to drown herself while her family worked in the fields.
By sheer coincidence, Old Man Lin happened to be delivering bamboo goods to Sophora Flower Village that day. Without overthinking, he jumped into the river to save her.
And because of that rescue, Old Man Lin gained himself a wife. Given his circumstances back then, he would never normally have had the chance to marry Old Madam Lin.
Perhaps because of their own life experiences, Old Man Lin and Old Madam Lin were both especially loving toward their sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and granddaughters. The Lin family was considered one of the rare harmonious households in Peach Blossom Village.
Peach Blossom Village was a mixed-surname village. When Old Man Lin arrived as a refugee, there had only been fifteen local households originally living there. Unlike many villages dominated by a single clan, Peach Blossom Village consisted of many family names.
At present, the village had fifty-eight households and nearly nine hundred residents, making it one of the larger villages under Qingshi Town’s jurisdiction.
Because the village sat at the foot of the Qingshi Mountain range and possessed hundreds of connected acres of flat land, many refugees had originally been settled there.
During the autumn harvest season, the Lin family ate breakfast especially early.
They woke during the Hour of Yin—around three to five in the morning—to prepare food, and by the beginning of the Hour of Mao—around five to seven—they would already be eating.
Harvest-season breakfasts were relatively plentiful:
“A large basin of millet porridge, a basket of steamed buns, and two bowls of salted pickled vegetables.”
Each adult man received two steamed buns and two bowls of thick porridge.
Each adult woman received one steamed bun and two bowls of porridge.
Children between fifteen and eight years old received one steamed bun and one bowl of porridge.
Younger children like Second Son’s daughter Yulan and Third Son’s boys Fuping and Fu’an were still small, so each only got half a steamed bun and half a bowl of porridge.
Food like this was already considered exceptionally good in Peach Blossom Village. Even though the village had plenty of flat farmland, many households still couldn’t eat their fill every day.
After breakfast, everyone quickly went to work.
The adults harvested millet stalks in the fields, older boys bundled the stalks together, and younger children followed behind picking up fallen ears of grain.
The older girls traveled together into the mountains to cut pig fodder and dig wild vegetables.
The family owned not only a large yellow ox, but also two pigs and twelve chickens. The need for pig fodder and wild greens was enormous, so several people had to specialize in gathering them.
Any extra wild vegetables they collected were washed, blanched in hot water, and dried for winter storage, when they would become another valuable dish.
Today was only the second day of the autumn harvest.
Yesterday, Lao Xi—Lin Xiyong—had sent word that he would return today to help with the harvest.
Remembering this, Old Madam Lin hurriedly ran off to tell Eldest Daughter-in-law to prepare extra food for lunch.
Farming families normally only ate two meals a day. Only during the busy farming seasons did they eat three meals daily.
Tian Guihua’s breakfast today consisted of one steamed bun and a bowl of brown sugar egg soup with two poached eggs inside.
All daughters-in-law in the Lin family received the same treatment during postpartum confinement: three home-raised chickens over the month, two fish purchased by Old Madam Lin at family expense, and every morning a bowl of brown sugar egg soup with two eggs.
If they wanted additional food, their own small family could pay for it, or food sent by their natal family could be cooked separately for the recovering mother. Old Madam Lin never interfered.
And confinement was always observed for a full thirty days.
The treatment of the Lin family’s daughters-in-law made women from neighboring villages green with envy. Many wished they themselves could marry into the Lin family.
Forget chicken and fish—even eggs were rare luxuries in most homes. As for a full thirty-day confinement period? Impossible. Being allowed to rest for even three or five days already counted as a kind mother-in-law.
Lin Mei’s breakfast was still rice soup specially cooked for her by Eldest Auntie. But after finishing it, she continued smacking her lips in dissatisfaction.
Unable to bear it, Tian Guihua secretly fed Lin Mei two spoonfuls of brown sugar egg soup.
Lin Mei became so excited she grabbed onto the spoon with both hands and refused to let go.
Near the end of the Hour of Chen, Old Man Lin finally returned slowly from outside carrying a large bowl in his hands.
He instructed Eldest Daughter-in-law to boil the goat’s milk inside.
Knowing Tian Guihua still had no milk and that little Niu Niu hadn’t drunk a single mouthful of milk all day, Little Liu quickly set down her work and efficiently went to boil the goat’s milk.
Half an hour later, Little Liu carried a bowl of goat’s milk into Tian Guihua’s room.
“Milk! That smells like milk! It’s mine! Mine! Mom, hurry and let me drink it!” Lin Mei screamed inwardly.
Tian Guihua did not disappoint her. After thanking her sister-in-law, she immediately took the bowl and began feeding Lin Mei.
Perhaps because she had been starving for too long, Lin Mei finished over half the bowl of goat’s milk in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
And don’t ask whether Lin Mei thought goat’s milk tasted gamey.
At this point, she was hungry enough to pick up chicken droppings from the courtyard just to see whether they tasted salty.