I heard it's burned already."
"What?" Chen Jing couldn't believe it.
The villagers had been talking to Chen Xiao Mai for inside information, but Chen Xiao Mai didn't know much, he would just say a few random words and the villagers just made up a whole story about Chen Xiao Mi stumbling across a 'treasure book' and burning it accidentally.
Chen Jing sighed, "I can't believe the book is burned, but that Chen Xiao Mi, damn his luck!"
Chapter End Notes
I Don't Care about My Reputation
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The imaginary story of Chen Xiao Mi stumbling upon a 'treasure book' spread rapidly in the village.
Grandma Chen was immediately intrigued when she heard the story.
"Chen Xiao Mi has found some treasure in the mountain, why don't we try our luck as well?" Grandma Chen brought that up by the dining table.
Chen Shou Xin's heart jolted as she heard that, 'Mother, please don't send me to the mountain, have you forgotten how your second son died? He died from venturing into the mountains!'
"Mother, just give up on that thought. Chen Xiao Mi is a total freak, that's why he has survived the mountains!"
Grandma Chen shook her head with indifference, "He is just a Bio."
"Mother, my Big Brother is right about this, Chen Xiao Mi must have rummaged the entire mountain for treasures." Chen Shou Ren chimed in, he was afraid of his own safety as well.
Chen Shou Xin and Chen Shou Ren disdained each other, but finally they saw eye to eye on something.
"I doubt it, there must be something left."
Grandpa Chen snapped, "Are you done with your crazy talk? We've already lost a son, isn't that enough?"
Grandpa Chen always felt guilty about his second son's death, but only sometimes, back then he agreed on risking his son's life as well.
Grandma Chen hated Chen Xiao Mi even more now that Grandpa Chen snapped at her.
Grandma Chen thought Chen Xiao Mi was just a hunter, but her other grandson Chen Jing was an intellectual. Chen Jing could make better use of the 'treasure book' if he was the one who had found it. She was just so indignant that it wasn't her favorite grandson who had made a fortune.
Chen Shou Xin and his family had defamed Chen Xiao Mi one more time after Chen Xiao Mi kicked him out.
Chen Xiao Mi's reputation had taken a sudden turn and become worse rapidly.
Grandma Chen would just run her mouth in front of villagers saying Chen Xiao Mi showed a total disregard for his grandfather's health, she couldn't believe her own grandson could be so unfilial.
Some villagers who envied Chen Xiao Mi's success took the moral high ground and accused Chen Xiao Mi being unfilial.
Chen Xiao Mi didn't care about this reputation at all.
As a matter of fact, he had some fun when the villagers started to talk to him days ago, it had been so long since anyone ever wanted to talk to him except his two brothers and Lu Lin after all. But the novelty soon wore off.
The villagers always asked him questions like 'what inspired you to make the kang', 'are you still brewing your own liquor', 'what inspired you to make the gloves'… …
Lu Lin gave all the credit to Chen Xiao Mi because he didn't want the Lus to make a scene, but the fact was Chen Xiao Mi had nothing to do with those ideas, so he had idea how to answer those questions. He would just pull a long face and walk away. Soon the villagers thought Chen Xiao Mi was just too small-minded to share.
Lu Lin didn't have a good way to make Chen Shou Xin and his family shut up. Filiality was the most valued characteristics in that time and space.
"Your uncle is a bit annoying." Said Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Mi squinted and nodded, "He just wants to mooch off me."
Chen Xiao Mi knew no way could he allow that to happen, he knew Chen Shou Xin's entire family would just leech off him once he softened his attitude.
Lu Lin frowned, "But I don't think he will take no for an answer now that he knows we have made a fortune."
Chen Xiao Mi suddenly looked fierce, "I will ask him to talk to my bamboo stick!"
Chen Xiao Mi used to worry about his brothers' marriages, he was once afraid what if no one wanted to betroth with his brothers due to his bad reputation. But that was no longer a matter of concern to Chen Xiao Mi, he decided to buy his brothers partners if no one wanted to marry them.
Human nature was a funny thing. Some people would just keep harassing you if you gave them any attention, and they would lie low if you ignored them.
Villagers were used to the drama between Chen Xiao Mi and Grandma Chen, soon no one talked about it because Grandma Chen was the only one who kept barking.
Chen Shou Xin was so disappointed that Chen Xiao Mi wasn't affected by those talks.
And soon the table had turned. Just a few days later, the villagers started to talk about Chen Shou Xin was just being petty by making a scene, Chen Shou Xin ended up losing money in his gloves business, that was why he asked for money from Chen Xiao Mi.
The villagers didn't approve that behavior, they had even gloated over Chen Shou Xin's failure.
Chen Shou Xin turned furious when he heard of the villagers started to make fun of him instead of criticizing Chen Xiao Mi, but there was nothing he could do about that.
Chapter End Notes
Sweet Potato Wine
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The first snow ushered in winter in Big Stone Village.
Lu Lin convinced Chen Xiao Mi to stop hunting since the snow, Chen Xiao Mi didn't resist much, he used to have no option but to be a workhorse, but now he didn't feel obliged to work his ass off now that he had over 80 taels of silver in hand.
"Our kang is just so amazing!" Chen Xiao Mi tucked himself under the quilt and started to roll back and forth.
Lu Lin cast a glimpse at Chen Xiao Mi, he thought Chen Xiao Mi must have learnt that from Chen Xiao Mai, Mai always took pleasure in rolling back and forth on the kang.
Chen Xiao Mi sniffed the new quilt on him, he found the smell of new quilt and fresh beddings rather fascinating.
He always felt cold in winters no matter how bundled up he was, and he would worry about his two little brothers, 'what if they get cold', 'what if I can't afford a doctor'… …
But the kang this year had set his mind at rest, this was the first time that he was not frightened by winter, he found winter could be cozy.
Lu Lin opened the window, snowflakes whirled in the sky like a myriad of feathers, he murmured, "Wow, such heave snow."
Chen Xiao Mi cast a glimpse at the snow and said, "This is nothing compared to a few years ago, a lot of people were frozen to death. But this year will be a whole lot better because many villagers now have kang at home."
Winter was a farm slack season, villagers usually hid at home to avoid the severe cold. Their only entertainment was to gather around on a sunny day and chitchat.
Chen Xiao Mi had nothing to say to the villagers, so the Chen Brothers tended to stay at home all the time in previous winters. But this year was much different due to Lu Lin.
"Xiao Mi, I think the sweet potato wine is good now."
Chen Xiao Mi blinked, "Really? That's exciting."
"We can open a jar and have a taste."
"Sounds good." Chen Xiao Mi nodded.
"We can sell some if it tastes good." Said Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Mi tilted his head, "Let's have a taste first."
'Lu Lin is a rich kid, I'm not sure whether the wine will be good or not, hmm… let's see.' Thought Chen Xiao Mi.
Lu Lin had seen Chen Xiao Mi through, "Haha, let's have a taste now."
The two soon walked to the cellar. They opened a jar, it tasted quite nice. But there were two jars were off, they reeked of sourness.
"We can use these two bad jars to make vinegar." Suggested Lu Lin.
"Let me see how bad it is, I think we can still sell them, maybe for a cheaper price."
Lu Lin smiled, "That would be good, the restaurant owner wants to buy more wine from us anyways, I think he will be interested in buying these two jars."
"Let's bring some potato wine to his restaurant next time." Chen Xiao Mi nodded.
"We can organize a trip to town soon if weather permits."
Snow would make the muddy road slippery, hopefully the sun would come out soon. Lu Lin already felt bored staying at home all day.
Several days later, the two decided to take a trip to town, they carried jars of sweet potato wine to the mule carriage and asked the two little ones to stay home.
The little ones made a protest of course, especially Mai, he just stared at his brother and Lu Lin with those puppy dog eyes.
Chen Xiao Mi managed to pacify Chen Xiao Mai by promising him that he would bring snacks for him.
With that the two set off.
Chen Xiao Mi used to love driving the mule carriage when they first bought the mule, but as time went by, he lost interest in it, so Lu Lin became the drive now, and Chen Xiao Mi would just relax in the coach.
Lu Lin recently was making an inventory of the store, he wanted to clean up more space to store stuff, he had used up all the bottled water in the store and burned all the plastic bottles.
Chen Xiao Mi was so eager to help, he found out a snack called "Latiao", and he had absolutely fallen in love with it. (T/N: Latiao is a kind of Chinese spicy snack that is made of gluten, it's the most popular snack among the young generation)
Latiao wasn't necessarily a healthy food, so Lu Lin would only allow Chen Xiao Mi to eat it when the kids weren't around.
Chen Xiao Mi now was eating Latiao in the coach.
"Can I have some more please?" Chen Xiao Mi craned his neck out of the coach and asked Lu Lin.
Lu Lin smiled, "It's all gone now, you've finished them all."
Chen Xiao Mi's eyes dimmed, "All gone?"
Lu Lin shrugged, "You have been eating them like a machine, plus, it's junk food, don't eat too much."
Chen Xiao Mi's heart sank on saying goodbye to Latiao, but soon he cheered himself up because there were still a lot of other snacks, "How about chocolate then, and… and marshmallow?"
Lu Lin squinted his eyes, "I'm cutting you off, none of them is healthy food."
Chen Xiao Mi shook his head, "I don't get it, why are you being so picky on food? Food is food, food is good!"
Lu Lin found Chen Xiao Mi's little tantrum quite amusing.
Chapter End Notes
Spring Returns to the Earth
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The wind was getting up, Lu Lin gathered his coat around him.
Lu Lin started to transport the sweet potato wine stored in his shop into the carriage as they were getting closer to town. Chen Xiao Mi had to huddle himself up to make room for the jars.
The couple and Manager Wang of Good Luck Restaurant were on great terms, they went directly to the backyard of the restaurant after they arrived.
Manager Wang was interested in the sweet potato wine, but he offered them a lower price, 300 cents per jar.
Lu Lin thought about it, he nodded assent even though it was a lower price than the beer.
Manager Wang paid them 17 taels of silver for ten jars of beer and 30 jars of sweet potato wine.
Chen Xiao Mi was so thrilled when Lu Lin handed the money to him, he held the silver in cupped hands and started to get emotional. Making money was a mission for him before he met Lu Lin, but now everything seemed to become so easy, they were making money without risking their lives!
Chen Xiao Mi used to lose his sleep at night when they made money, but now he could sleep better because he was getting used to it.
Chen Xiao Mi bought some fabric after they left the restaurant. Chen Xiao Mi suddenly realized he was becoming Lu Lin, Lu Lin enjoyed some shopping every time they sold some alcohol.
"Next time please stop me when I buy stuff, fabric is not essential." Chen Xiao Mi was so regretful.
Lu Lin laughed, "Why? We need the fabric, we can make some clothes."
Lu Lin came to Chen Xiao Mi's house empty-handed, he had been either wearing Chen Xiao Mi's old clothes or asking Granny Shen to make winter jackets for him. But he needed some spring clothes sooner or later, he had no intention to get back to the host Lu Lin's old house and collect the old, patched clothes.
Chen Xiao Mi rolled his eyes, 'What a rich kid! Clothes can go for three-year new, three-year old, and another three-year in patches! And he only likes to eat lean meat, lean meat is so much more expensive than fat meat!'
But on a second thought, Lu Lin could afford to be this luxurious, the fabric and the lean meat money was nothing compared to the money he had made.
"But it's still winter, no need to make spring clothes this early."
Lu Lin smiled, "Granny Shen is not busy at the moment, and spring is a busy season for villagers, so I'd like to get it done now."
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "You have a point. Granny Shen will be busy in her farmland in spring season for sure, probably she won't have time or energy to make clothes by then."
Lu Lin had been trying out new recipes at home recently.
The Stewed Chicken with Bamboo Shoots had made the Chen Brothers drool.
Chen Xiao Mi counted the savings, he was wild with joy when he found out they had over 130 taels of silver in total now.
The transactions between them and Manager Wang became more concealed, the villagers knew they were doing business, but no one knew how much money they had made.
The Chen Brothers had an amazing winter, and it showed on their rosy cheeks.
Most villagers looked a bit sallow due to malnutrition, so did the host Lu Lin. Lu Lin now looked so much healthier as well.
Winter had passed uneventfully, it started to get warm day by day.
The villagers started to get busy in the farmland, but Chen Xiao Mi didn't have any farmland, so he had been learning brewing sweet potato wine from Lu Lin.
"Mi, are you going hunting soon?" asked Lu Lin.
"No, hunters tend to not go hunting in early spring."
"Why is that?" Lu Lin looked confused.
Chen Xiao Mi cast a glimpse at Lu Lin, 'Ha, finally something you don't know!'
"The animals get conceived in spring, we just don't hunt them then."
Lu Lin nodded, "Ah~"
Chen Xiao Mi grinned, 'It's cute that he has no common sense like this, but he has all the novel ideas in his mind.'
The couple had made several trips to town to sell wine, Lu Lin started to sell more sweet potato wine because he didn't have the heart to sell beer any more, he loved beer when he was in modern society.
The villagers were just getting more and more curious why the two made frequent trips to town now.
Chen Xiao Mi had inquired about farmland in the village as they had more wealth in hand, while Lu Lin was more interested in the commercial real estate in town.
There was no farmland for sale in Big Stone Village, and Chen Xiao Mi knew other villages wouldn't sell their farmland to an outsider like him even though they had farmland for sale.
Chen Xiao Mi had to wait for the right time to buy some farmland.
Chapter End Notes
Wild Berries Picking
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The kids who were confined at home started to gambol in the village as soon as it got warm, they loved to do their little adventures in the mountain too, they dared not go into the deep mountains, but they enjoyed exploring the outer circle of the mountains.
Mushrooms, bamboo shoots, wild vegetables, the kids loved to collect them.
Most villagers didn't have enough food in winter, including the kids. So the kids were more than happy to collect anything they cold eat from the muntains.
Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai were exceptions, the two boys grew taller and prettier thanks to Lu Lin's amazing cooking in this winter.
Lu Lin this day made some fried beans for them and handed them several bamboo baskets, "Cai, Mai, would you guys like to invite your little friends to pick some wild berries from the mountain? I will pay 3 cents for each basket."
Chen Xiao Cai frowned, "3 cents is a lot."
Lu Lin smiled, "It's okay."
Chen Xiao Cai scratched his head and said, "But they don't like to play with me, I don't think I can find anyone."
Lu Lin pulled a long face on purpose, "Cai, you are a big boy now, you can do it. You can ask Shen Chi to invite some friends with you."
Chen Xiao Cai turned red, he nodded, "I think I can do it."
Lu Lin handed about a dozen small baskets to Chen Xiao Cai.
"Why do we have so many small baskets at home?" Chen Xiao Cai asked.
The small baskets looked rather exquisite, but they were suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.
"I asked some elders in the village to weave these baskets for us, 5 cents each." Lu Lin replied.
Lu Lin found that such a good deal, cheap workmanship, Lu Lin was glad that the villagers were simple and honest in that sense.
Chen Xiao Cai judged Lu Lin a little at heart, but he didn't say anything, he was used to Lu Lin's 'extravagant' lifestyle already.
"Okay, I'm going now."
"Good luck, kiddo." Lu Lin waved his goodbye.
Chen Xiao Cai went to talk to Shen Chi, Granny Shen liked the idea, so she gave Shen Chi her permission.
Shen Chi held a small basket in hand and asked Chen Xiao Cai, "But why does Lin Gege want wild berries?"
Chen Xiao Cai shook his head, "No idea, to brew wine maybe?"
"To brew wine?" a touch of admiration flashed across Shen Chi's eyes, brewing wine was a wonderful skill in that time and space.
It was getting warmer and warmer, there were a lot of berries in the mountains, kids loved to pick the sour and sweet berries.
Zhang Da Hu now was sitting on a tree, enjoying the berries he had just picked, his ten fingers had all turned red due to the juice.
Zhang Da Hu jumped off from the tree when he saw Chen Xiao Cai, Chen Xiao Mai and Shen Chi walking towards the mountain with a dozen of small baskets, he blocked their way and asked, "What are you doing with these tiny baskets?"
Zhang Da Hu saw the new outfits Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai were wearing, he was a bit jealous.
Chen Xiao Cai raised the baskets in hand and said, "My brother-in-law asks me to pick berries, he pays me 3 cents for each basket."
Zhang Da Hu saw the baskets in Shen Chi's hand and asked, "Are you helping him?"
Shen Chi nodded, "Yes, there are too many baskets here, Lin Gege will pay me 3 cents for each basket too."
"Will I get 3 cents too if I help?" Zhang Da Hu's eyes lit up.
Chen Xiao Cai was so glad to hear that for he had no idea how to ask Zhang Da Hu for help, but he covered the happiness and put on a serious face, "Yes, but we only accept good berries, we only want big ripe ones."
Zhang Da Hu nodded, "No problem!"
Zhang Da Hu was the leader of the kids, other kids soon had surrounded Chen Xiao Cai and asked whether they could help as well.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded, he soon distributed the baskets.
There were three types of wild berries in the mountain, one grew on the tree and the other two grew in bush. They had similar size, but the one grew on the tree was dark purple like mulberry, the bushed ones were like cherries.
Chen Xiao Cai said he wanted all three types of berries, but he wanted them to be in different baskets.
Zhang Da Hu had great hand–eye coordination, he managed to fill up two baskets while most kids were still struggling with the first basket.
"Chen Xiao Cai, have a look at my baskets, are you happy with the amount?" Zhang Da Hu asked.
Some other kids also got Chen Xiao Cai's approval.
Chen Xiao Cai checked and nodded, "Now we can go back to my house and talk to my brother or my brother-in-law."
The kids were afraid of Chen Xiao Mi, but no one could resist the 'Almighty Cents', they looked at each other to cheer themselves up and together they marched down to Chen Xiao Mi's house.
Lu Lin was impressed by how quick Chen Xiao Cai managed to get the job done.
Chen Xiao Cai blushed on seeing Lu Lin's appreciative smile, he felt proud.
Lu Lin checked the berries, he was happy about the quality, so he paid them with alacrity.
The kids were thrilled, usually they didn't have any allowance. But now they had 3 cents, that's enough to buy 2 big steamed stuffed buns!
Lu Lin put the berries in big baskets, he told the kids to pick up the small baskets if they were interested in continuing working for him.
That was exactly what the kids wished for, they soon surrounded Lu Lin and picked up the small baskets. They kept going back and forth from the mountain to Chen Xiao Mi's house that day, most of them picked 6 baskets that day, some kids managed to pick 9 baskets.
At the end of the day, all good and ripe berries were picked in the mountain.
Lu Lin didn't want the kids to go into deep mountains to pick berries, so he told the kids that was enough and he had to call it a day.
The kids were somewhat disappointed, they enjoyed making some allowance for themselves.
"Cai, please let me know when you need help next time." Zhang Da Hu patted on Chen Xiao Cai's shoulder.
Other kids also chimed in, "Yes, please, Cai, please let us know."
This was the first time that the kids talked to Chen Xiao Cai in such warm tone, Chen Xiao Cai was a bit-tongue-tied.
Zhang Da Hu went back home with 24 cents.
His little sister Zhang Mei Zi asked with surprise, "Gege, where did you get all this money?"
"Haha, because I have great hand–eye coordination and I run fast."
It was true, Zhang Da Hu was great at climbing trees too, he picked the most berries from trees among all the kids.
"What have you done? I'm so curious." Zhang Mei Zi was intrigued.
"Chen Xiao Cai's brother-in-law pays everyone 3 cents for a small basket of berries, but unfortunately, he doesn't want any more. I guess that's fine, I don't want to go into deep mountains to pick berries, it's too dangerous."
"Why does Lu Lin want so many berries?"
Zhang Da Hu shrugged, "I didn't ask, but he and Chen Xiao Mi are so rich now, they sold gloves and wine, maybe he is doing it for fun?"
Zhang Lin Sheng, their father, now walked in while the kids were talking.
"Great job! 24 cents!" Zhang Lin Sheng patted Zhang Da Hu's head.
"I got paid the most out of all the kids." Zhang Da Hu grinned.
Zhang Lin Sheng nodded and put all the money into his own pocket, "Good for you."
Zhang Da Hu frowned, "Father, that's my money."
Zhang Lin Sheng glared at Zhang Da Hu, "I know, I'm just putting it away for you, I will buy you steamed stuffed buns next time I go to the market."
Zhang Da Hu got riled up, "When exactly are you going to the market then?"
"In a couple of days." Zhang Lin Sheng brushed his son off impatiently.
He dared not make eye contact with son now, he couldn't handle the heated stare.
Zhang Mei Zi pouted, "Father has taken it all."
Zhang Da Hu whispered, "I've put 3 cents in my sleeve, don't worry, I can buy you an egg."
Zhang Mei Zi didn't see that coming, she beamed with smiles.
The villagers were surprised to hear the kids made around 15 cents for picking berries, that was what they got for being a casual worker for a day if they were lucky enough to get hired. They no longer mentioned things like 'stay away from the Chens'.
Lu Lin started at the small baskets, lost in thought.
"What's wrong?" Chen Xiao Mi asked.
"One missing."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's just so strange, isn't it? I paid 5 cents for each of them, I don't care about the 5 cents, it's just so strange, isn't it?"
"Let's ask Cai."
Lu Lin shook his head, "Nah, it's no big deal, Cai has finally built up some self-confidence, let's not blow this out of proportion and ruin his good mood. Maybe some kid just liked it and took it back home. It's okay."
Chapter End Notes
Making Jam
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Grandma Lu looked at the small basket and nitpicked, "Why would anyone want small baskets like this?"
Grandma Lu didn't like Lu Lin so she criticized unfairly on the things that Lu Lin did, but there was nothing she could do about it because Lu Lin now was married. She dared not provoke Lu Lin since the episode where Lu Lin said he caught her stealing.
The Village Head had warned Grandma Lu about the drama she had been making, Chen Xiao Mi was not someone she could mess with, plus they had basically sold Lu Lin to Chen Xiao Mi already.
"I heard Lu Lin paid Craftsman Lin Wen for the baskets, 5 cents each." Replied Lu Song Shi.
Lin Wen was a craftsman who made articles from bamboo strips, bamboo baskets, bamboo chairs, bamboo couch, just to name a few.
Lu Song Shi was Lu Lin's Fourth Uncle Lu An's son, Lu Song Shi was among the kids who helped to pick berries this day. Neither Lu An nor Lu Song Shi had regard for the host Lu Lin. Lu Song Shi despised Lu Lin even more when he heard Lu Lin was going to marry the Bio Chen Xiao Mi, a man marrying off to a Bio's family? Ridiculous!
Both Lu Tong and Lu Song Shi's mother used to abuse the host Lu Lin's mother when she was alive, they wouldn't life a finger in the kitchen. The two liked to shift responsibility onto each other since Lu Lin's mother's death.
Their drama always threw the house into turmoil, and Grandma Lu had blamed that all on Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi, therefore, Lu Song Shi had been hating on Lu Lin.
Lu Song Shi was with the kids when Chen Xiao Cai asked them to pick a basket and fill it with berries, he got a basket, but he didn't go to Chen Xiao Mi's house to exchange money.
Lu Song Shi turned up his nose at Lu Lin, he was too proud to get 3 cents from Lu Lin. But he liked this exquisite basket and had taken it back home with him.
Lu Song Shi turned green with envy when the other kids were asking each other how many cents they had made, he remembered they all had agreed on bullying and not playing with Chen Xiao Cai before, but now that Chen Xiao Cai had won everybody's heart.
Lu Song Shi called his friends cowards in the heart, they had betrayed their promise for money!
Lu An, Lu Lin's Fourth Uncle, asked, "Why does Lu Lin want so many berries? Lu Lin must have paid the kids over 200 cents altogether, how can he squander money like this?"
Lu Song Shi had no idea.
Lu An was the lucky son in the family who was now working in town, thanks to Grandpa Lu's old connection. Lu An made 2 taels silver per month, hence he had a very good opinion of himself, he refused to do any farm work because he always thought he was different than the peasants in Big Stone Village.
But Lu An was outshined by Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi, the couple made 50 taels of silver from selling gloves within one day and Lu An was not happy about that.
In Chen Xiao Mi's house.
Chen Xiao Mi's eyebrows knitted as he saw three piles of berries, "What are you going to do with this berry mountain?"
Spring was the most beautiful season, you could just have a feast in the mountain, Chen Xiao Mi liked the berries too when he was a kid. But they would rot within days.
Lu Lin smiled, "We can make jam."
"Jam? What's that? Is it yummy?" Chen Xiao Mi had never heard of the word before.
Lu Lin nodded, "Yummy!"
"Ha, let me help." Chen Xiao Mi was excited.
Lu Lin nodded, "Great, you can help me to wash them and make fire."
The two washed the purple berries together and Chen Xiao Mi made a fire.
Lu Lin took some sugar from his store. Sugar was rare in that time and space, Chen Xiao Mi couldn't afford to have sugar regularly before Lu Lin married him. Lu Lin once gave Chen Xiao Mi some toffee candies, Chen Xiao Mi literally jumped for joy after the first taste. He kept asking for more, but Lu Lin refused to give him any more.
"That's a giant packet of sugar!" Chen Xiao Mi exclaimed. 'Very expensive!'
Lu Lin smiled.
Sugar was a dime a dozen in modern society, that packet of sugar was worth like a dollar.
Lu Lin mixed the berries and the sugar into a pot, then he stirred the pot on the stove until the mixture became fairly smooth and creamy. Then Lu Lin put the mixture in a clean jar to cool it down.