Chen Xiao Mi dipped a finger into the sugar and licked his finger, "So sweet!"
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mi with affection, "Isn't is too cloying?"
"No, not at all!" Chen Xiao Mi surely had a sweet tooth.
"Why not mix some sugar with water now that you like sugar so much?"
Hearing that, Chen Xiao Mi grabbed the rest of the sugar in case Lu Lin changed his mind the next second.
Chapter End Notes
Jam for Sale
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Chen Xiao Mi stared at the jar of jam, "How long do we have to wait for?"
"Is it cool yet?"
"No."
"A little longer then."
"Okay."
Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin went a few rounds like that, and finally Lu Lin said the jam was ready at the fifth round.
Chen Xiao Mi dipped a finger and had a taste, he closed his eyes and said, "Y-U-M-M-Y!"
Lu Lin had a taste too, but Lu Lin found it too sweet.
"No, I think it's perfect." Chen Xiao Mi didn't get it, why would someone say something was too sweet.
Lu Lin cast a glimpse at Chen Xiao Mi and thought, 'Maybe he is right, maybe the locals here do enjoy sweets.'
Chen Xiao Mi had gulped down about half a bowl of jam while Lu Lin wasn't paying attention.
"Stop, your teeth will rotten."
Chen Xiao Mi pouted, 'food is food, food is good!'
Lu Lin made a whole batch of jam using the berries the kids had picked, he stored them in the shop, he planned to sell them to Manager Wang when they went to town next time to sell sweet potato wine.
Chen Xiao Mi had hidden two jars of jam, he had no access to Lu Lin's shop, and he knew Lu Lin would refuse to give him jam in large amount.
"It's not healthy", "You need to take care of your teeth", "This is junk food too"… …
"Aiya, Lu Lin, Chen Xiao Mi, you guys are finally here!" Manger Wang beamed with smiles.
Their wine was much in demand, Manger Wang hoped to buy more this time.
"How much are you selling this time?"
"10 jars of beer, 30 jars of sweet potato wine."
"Great, great!" with that Manger Wang asked the busboys to carry the alcohol into the cellar, and he handed Lu Lin 17 taels of silver.
Lu Lin looked at Manger Wang and said, "I've made something new recently, can I ask you to have a look?"
"Oh? What is it?" Manager Wang was interested.
Lu Lin handed a little jar of jam to Manager Wang, Manager Wang had a taste and exclaimed, "Wow, what is this thing, tastes so good! You are very generous with sugar and berries, I think the customers will love it!"
Lu Lin smiled, "Correct. I've put a lot of sugar, so it's not cheap, otherwise I'll end up losing money."
Manager Wang had one more taste and said, "How many days can I store them though?"
'How sharp-eyed! He has asked the key question, the shelf life!'
"Around seven days." Lu Lin replied.
"Sounds good enough."
The couple decided to sell their jam in Good Luck Restaurant, one tael of silver for one jar, Manager Wang could get 200 cents for each jar that was sold.
The high price had scared people away in the beginning, but more and more people showed interest in them. And they became very popular.
Several days later, the berries in the mountain were ripe again. Lu Lin asked Chen Xiao Cai to pick some more with his friends, same price as last time, 3 cents.
It went so smooth this time, Chen Xiao Cai had gathered a group of kids in no time.
As a matter of fact, there were always kids asking Chen Xiao Cai whether he still wanted berries in the past few days, but Chen Xiao Cai had turned them down because Lu Lin had not mentioned a thing.
Chen Xiao Cai now trusted Lu Lin completely. Everyone else in the village all thought it was Chen Xiao Mi who came up with the idea of kang and gloves, but Chen Xiao Cai was well aware it was actually Lu Lin. This kid had realized more and more his brother-in-law was an amazing man even though both Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi tried to hide a lot of things from him.
Zhang Da Hu had brought his little sister Zhang Mei Zi this time, soon the kids scattered around in the mountain and picked all the good berries in the mountain.
Lu Lin checked the berries and paid the kids in the evening. There were more kids than baskets this time, so some baskets were filled up by two kids together.
"Mi, one more basket has gone missing."
Chen Xiao Mi frowned, he felt like this was no accident, someone must have stolen the basket, just like last time.
"This is not right, I need to ask Cai about this. It's just so strange, what if it continues." Chen Xiao Mi stood akimbo.
"What? We've lost one basket?" Chen Xiao Cai was surprised.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded.
Chen Xiao Cai squinted his eyes and said, "I think it's Lu Song Shi."
Chen Xiao Cai was a bit overwhelmed the first time he organized the kids to pick berries, he couldn't recall who was there, but this time he observed carefully and he remembered who were there with him and who took baskets from him.
Zhang Da Hu had mentioned that this Lu Song Shi had egged them on bullying him and speaking ill of Chen Xiao Mi, so Chen Xiao Cai was surprised to see Lu Song Shi among the kids.
Chen Xiao Cai hesitated a bit when Lu Song Shi asked for a basket, he gave Lu Song Shi in the end, but he didn't recall seeing Lu Song Shi sending the basket back.
Now he was even more sure he had not seen Lu Song Shi sending the basket back when Chen Xiao Mi mentioned there was one basket missing.
Chen Xiao Mi pressed his head, Lu Song Shi was Lu Lin's Fourth Uncle's son.
Chen Xiao Mi was very glad that the Lus agreed to marry Lu Lin into his family, that Lu Lin now was a different soul. But Lu Lin was still a Lu in name, Chen Xiao Mi found this quite tricky.
"Forget it, just some baskets, let's all watch out next time." Chen Xiao Mi decided to give up.
Lu Lin took a deep breath, he couldn't bear the sight of Grandma Lu, it wasn't because he was scared of that annoying woman, he just didn't like the drama, plus the feudal ethical code valued filial piety. Arguing with an elder, regardless of who was in the right, meant you had lost moral high ground already.
Several days later, Chen Xiao Cai had organized another berry picking. Three new kids had joined them, Chen Xiao Cai had seen Lu Song Shi again this time.
Chen Xiao Cai gave the baskets to the other kids on purpose, Lu Song Shi ended up not getting a basket.
Chen Xiao Cai told the kids it's okay if they wanted to use their own baskets, he would count them in the small baskets and pay them the accordingly.
Zhang Da Hu was glad to hear that, he grabbed a huge basket from home.
Picking berries for Chen Xiao Cai now was growing vigorously in Big Stone Village, some adults got so jealous when they heard some kids had earned about 100 cents per day, but they knew they shouldn't steal kids' jobs, so they sent their kids to work for Chen Xiao Cai.
Chen Xiao Cai had become the new kids leader in the village now.
"Dad, look, I made this money." Zhang Da Man held the coins Lu Lin paid him in cupped hands.
Zhang Jin smiled, "Good job, Man!"
Zhang Da Man was pleased to hear that, "Zhang Da Hu made the most, and I'm the runner-up!"
Kids were pretty competitive on berry picking, the winner would feel so proud.
Zhang Jin sighed on seeing the coins his son had made. He used to think Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi would stay poor forever, but little did he expect the young couple has been prospering with each passing day.
"What's with the coins?" asked Zhang Cheng, the Village head.
Zhang Da Man said with pride, "Grandpa, I made this money!"
Zhang Cheng wasn't happy about that, "You went to pick berries for Chen Xiao Cai, right? But I told you not to play with him."
Zhang Jin frowned, "Father, how can you say that to a kid? Plus Man feels happy that he is making some allowance."
Zhang Cheng sighed, "But Chen Xiao Cai is Chen Xiao Mi's little brother, Chen Xiao Mi is bad influence."
"Father, you are overthinking, it's not like that." Zhang Jin countered.
The jam was popular in town, Manager Wang could sell two dozen jars on a good day, but not a lot of people could afford to eat it as a snack regularly, so there were bad days when Manager Wang couldn't sell any. Lu Lin stored a lot of jam in the shop.
Chen Xiao Cai didn't know exactly what Lu Lin had done with the berries, he just took it for granted that Lu Lin was using the berries to brew wine, that was what he had been telling the other kids as well. Therefore, no one had thought the "Good Luck Jam" in town was made by Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi.
The customers who had bought jam all became returned customers, they loved the flavor. Especially the elders who had lost teeth, they enjoyed the soft and creamy texture.
The young masters also liked to buy them to impress the ladies. Sugar was very rare, jam was a novelty as well, the ladies also liked jam.
"Lu Lin, you are finally here!" Manager Wang exclaimed on seeing Lu Lin.
"What's wrong?" Lu Lin looked confused.
"It's that jam, it's sold out days ago, so many customers are asking me about it, I plan to visit you soon if you don't show up by tomorrow."
"Really? I thought they were hard to sell." Lu Lin was surprised.
"Are you kidding me?" Manager Wang laughed, "Landlord Li held a gathering two days ago, he is one of the wealthiest people in town, he prepared a jar of jam on every table, all the guests fell in love with the flavor and they came to my restaurant to buy more."
Lu Lin was glad to hear that, 'Great! Now more and more people know about the jam thanks to that Landlord Li!'
Lu Lin handed Manager Wang 30 jars of jam this time.
"Is this all?" Manager Wang looked disappointed.
"They will go off in 7 days, I tent to not make too much."
"Don't worry, I guarantee you I can sell them even though you double the amount!" Manager Wang smiled.
Chapter End Notes
Fancy Some Tang Yuan, Kids?
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Chen Xiao Mi counted their saving again, it was 180 taels and 762 cents!
Chen Xiao Mi took pleasure in counting money, but he became less thrilled about it as they had more and more money.
Chen Xiao Mi handed the saving pot to Lu Lin as Lu Lin walked in, "Can you keep it for us?"
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Mi with surprise, "Are you asking me to keep the money for us?"
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yes, please. I can't think of a good place to store it."
It was true, Chen Xiao Mi couldn't find a safe place to store the money at home.
Lu Lin smiled, he now knew his partner was trusting him 100%.
180 taels and 762 cents was a stupendous sum. Chen Xiao Mi would worry about the money whenever he and Lu Lin went to town, Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai were just kids, he dreaded to think what if some thief broke in and took the money.
Lu Lin held the saving pot in cupped hands, then he closed his eyes, and just like that the saving pot had disappeared.
"This jam business is so profitable." Said Chen Xiao Mi with a broad smile.
Lu Lin also smiled, he just felt so glad he could keep all the jam in his shop where time didn't exist thus he could store as much as he wished, and the jam wouldn't go bad.
Sugar was a type of preservative, but it was too expensive in that time and space. The jam that Lu Lin made could only be stored for 7 days in room temperature, that was why Lu Lin gave them to Manager Wang the jam batch by batch in case they went bad.
"Cai, the wild berry season is about to finish, right?" asked Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded, "Yeah, I think we can only make one more round."
Lu Lin smiled, "Why not ask your little friends to have dinner at ours next time after you pick the berries?"
Chen Xiao Cai frowned, "That's not necessary, we've already paid them, and I don't think they will come. I'm worried about the villagers too, I'm sure they will have something to say if we treat the kids."
Lu Lin tilted his head, "That's okay, just a simple meal, nothing fancy. Just bring this up when you see them next time, they can decide whether they wanna come themselves."
Chen Xiao Cai hesitated for a while and nodded, "Okay then."
Chen Xiao Mi asked curiously, "What are you going to make for the kids?"
"Tang Yuan." (T/N: Tang Yuan is a Chinese dessert that is a ball of glutinous rice flour and water that has been either boiled and served in a hot broth or syrup or else deep-fried)
Chen Xiao Mi drooled, "Tang Yuan? We need glutinous rice then."
Glutinous rice was twice as expensive as rice, and it was hard to deal with.
Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah, I will make a big batch and save the rest in the shop for ourselves."
"Why do you want to treat those kids? We can just have them all to ourselves."
"Haha, they have been working hard for us. I want to send a message to the villagers, we are reasonable people, you are nice to me, I will be nicer to you. Hopefully they will watch their mouth in the future."
"But we've paid them good money already." Chen Xiao Mi just repeated what Chen Xiao Cai just said.
Lu Lin smiled, "That's true, but I think it's time that we get along with the villages, I really want to look for a good partner for our Cai in the future."
Chen Xiao Mi frowned, "Isn't it too early to talk about that? Plus we have money now, we can just buy Cai a wife."
"Mi, it's okay, it's not too much trouble."
"Okay, if you insist."
Zhang Da Hu's eyes sparkled when Chen Xiao Cai invited him for a dinner, "Really? Really? Really?"
Chen Xiao Cai nodded.
The other kids soon surrounded Chen Xiao Cai and they were all excited about this invitation.
Chen Xiao Cai didn't see that coming, he had no idea the kids were interested in spending time with him apart from 'work'.
There were some kids looked hesitant, the truth was they liked Chen Xiao Cai more and more, but their parents had warned them that they shouldn't hang out with Chen Xiao Cai too much.
As a matter of fact, Zhang Da Hu and kids could always smell the aroma of great food when they walked past Chen Xiao Mi's house, so they were more than happy that Chen Xiao Cai invited them for dinner.
Lu Lin greeted the kids when they handed the baskets to him, "Kids, good job, hope you are hungry, dinner is ready."
With that the kids walked into the room where they saw a line of bowls sitting on the table.
"Come on over."
Lu Lin heard them swallowing and he smiled.
The kids who said they couldn't make it suddenly changed their mins on seeing the snow white and round Tang Yuan balls.
"Can we stay, Cai?"
"Is it too late to change our mind, Cai?"
Chen Xiao Cai and Lu Lin both said they could stay.
"Make yourselves at home, kids, enjoy."
With that Zhang Da Hu grabbed a bowl and a spoon, he gulped down one with relish.
The other kids followed suit, they ran towards the table like they were afraid the other kids would steal from them.
Chen Xiao Cai rolled his eyes on seeing the kids who said they were not interested gulping down the Tang Yuan.
Lu Lin prepared a whole pot of Tang Yuan for the kids, but the kids loved them so much that they not only had finished the pot, but they almost made a scene on fighting for the last ones.
The kids became closer to Chen Xiao Cai after this dinner, they said goodbye to Chen Xiao Cai and Lu Lin reluctantly after dinner.
Chen Xiao Mi didn't show up when the kids were here in case he scared them away, he was surprised they had finished the whole pot.
So was Lu Lin, "Tut tut tut, these kids… …"
Chapter End Notes
Updates about The Lus
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
In Zhang Cheng's house.
Zhang Jin noticed how sulky his parents looked as soon as he walked to the room.
"Father, I just saw the Lus coming to your room, what were they doing at our house?" Zhang Jin was curious.
"What else could it be, they want to borrow some money from us." Said Zhang Cheng.
Zhang Cheng's wife raised her volume, she looked sideways at Zhang Cheng and said, "Not a penny."
Zhang Jin shook his head, he knew the Lus' visit didn't bode well.
"They just want to borrow some money, I'm sure they will return the money." Zhang Cheng countered in a low voice.
His wife pulled a long face and said, "They don't need to borrow money from anyone, they have so many farmland, they can always trade some land! We are not well-off ourselves, we are in no position to lend money to them!"
Zhang Cheng lowered his head and said, "They are only borrowing money because they are about to hold a wedding ceremony."
"Don't listen to that nonsense, Lu Tong's fiancé offered them 20 tales of silver as her betrothal present, mind you, they sold Lu Lin for 10 taels as well. They are affluent, don't you worry about them!" Zhang Cheng's wife said bitterly.
Zhang Cheng smoked his pipe and said, "What do you mean by they sold Lu Lin?"
Zhang Cheng's wife snorted, "I'm just calling a spade a spade, Lu Lin is the only son in the Second Branch in that family, yet they still decided to marry him into Chen Xiao Mi's family! That is 'sell' and you know it!"
Zhang Cheng sighed, "But Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi are doing so well themselves."
"That's good karma for Lu Lin! That Grandma Lu didn't prepare anything for Lu Lin, Lu Lin was carried to Chen Xiao Mi's house on two door planks! But Grandma Lu dared sneak into Chen Xiao Mi's house and steal from them! I told you to stay away from them but you have actually lent money to them!"
"Father, how much did you lend them?" Zhang Jin asked with surprise.
"Not much."
Zhang Cheng's wife gnashed her teeth, "They wanted to borrow 5 taels! The nerve! I kept shooting your father warning looks, but he ignored me and lent them 2 taels! But Tang looked like she thought 2 taels was too little!"
Zhang Jin's heart gave a jolt, 'Chances are they won't pay us back ever!'
"Father, you will nag me when I buy a bun for my son, we are not doing so well ourselves, why satisfy their vanity when we cannot afford it?" Zhang Jin looked so upset.
Zhang Cheng felt so wronged that he was called out by his wife and his son at the same time, "But… but I'm doing this for Lu Cheng Yu, I hope he can pass the imperial examination at the county level and bring glory to our village."
Zhang Jin replied, "For the past few years, Tang has been saying that her son will pass the imperial examination at the county every year. But has he?"
"Maybe things will change after his wedding, maybe his new wife will bring good luck." Zhang Cheng said in a low voice.
Zhang Jin said in a serious tone, "Father, I work hard to make money and I ask you to keep the money for me because I'm a filial son, but I will take my money back if you lend money to them again."
Zhang Cheng felt so wronged, he was furious that no one in the family got him.
Zhang Jin turned around and said "I'm going to do some farm work now" before Zhang Cheng defended himself further more.
Grandma Lu asked Tang as soon as she set foot on the yard, "Have you got the money?"
Tang sighed, "Just 2 taels."
Grandma Lu frowned, "How come the Village Head is so cheap now?"
"The Village Head is nice, but his wife gave me a hard time."
Grandma Lu snorted, "That woman, so annoying, throwing her weight around like that!"
Tang sighed again, "I don't think 2 taels is enough."
"It looks like we have to trade some farmland for money."
Grandma Lu didn't feel too heartbroken about this, she was getting old, she had been overwhelmed by the farm work since the host Lu Lin's mother had passed away.
Chapter End Notes
Going Hunting Again
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
In Chen Xiao Mi's house.
Chen Xiao Mi was wiping his bow and arrow in the yard when Lu Lin walked in from outside.
"Are you going to go hunting soon?"
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yes, I need to get back to it before it gets rusty for me."
Chen Xiao Mi didn't count on hunting to make money, but he enjoyed honing his hunting skill, and he enjoyed being able to constantly bring food on the table.
Lu Lin had harvested the veggie patch in the yard days ago, they had been eating nothing but vegies for three days straight.
Chen Xiao Mi was never a picky eater, but Lu Lin used to cook them meat all the time, as a matter of fact, he didn't enjoy the veggie dishes as much as he used to. And Chen Xiao Mi began to understand why Lu Lin only liked lean meat instead of fat meat, because somehow he found himself was more and more like Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Mi was so curious about Lu Lin's hometown, he had been asking so many questions about the modern society and Lu Lin's shop. Chen Xiao Mi was surprised that people living in modern society had such different lifestyles from them, he was fascinated by the modern society.
"Can I go with you?" Lu Lin asked.
Chen Xiao Mi thought for a while and nodded, "You need to watch out though, watch out for snakes, it's now spring."
Lu Lin smiled and said, "I will, thank you for the reminder."
'Mi has been a lot nicer to me recently, he used to be so cold whenever I say I want to go with him.'
The young couple went to the mountain together, and this matter was widely discussed by the villagers. They all thought the couple must have made a fortune through selling alcohol, so they were surprised seeing them going hunting again. Now they thought the couple hadn't make much money for they were still venturing their lives.
To return to the couple.
Chen Xiao Mi heard some rustle in the bush, he asked Lu Lin to keep quiet, he closed his eyes and listened attentively, and the next second he threw his dagger into the bush, it hit a bunny!
Lu Lin watched it with his mouth wide open, 'Look at wify go! He still got it after a long winter's rolling around on the kang!'
Chen Xiao Mi grabbed the bunny and flaunted it like a boy who just won a medal.
"I really like this dagger you gave me, thank you."
Lu Lin smiled, "I'm glad you like it."
Chen Xiao Mi lifted the bunny and said, "This is a chunky bunny, can I expect a stir-fry dish tonight?"
Lu Lin nodded, "Of course."
Lu Lin snickered as he recalled Chen Xiao Mi didn't care a thing about things like 'what's for dinner' when he first married into his family, but now Chen Xiao Mi always liked to discuss what they should have for dinner. And he was surprised to find Chen Xiao Mi loved spicy food.
Chen Xiao Mi was devastated when Lu Lin told him he had eaten up all the 'Latiao' in the shop, but luckily Lu Lin had some chilli powder in the shop.
Chen Xiao Mi was a great hunter, he could always come back home with something, bunny, bird, pheasant were the most common stuff he brought back home.
Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin got quite a few wild bunnies this time, they walked back home with such delight.
"Wow, Chen Xiao Mi, look at the bunnies! Good job!"
Some villagers greeted him, they were all very jealous.
Chen Xiao Mi wasn't good at talking to people, he just nodded and excused himself awkwardly.
"I wish I were a hunter, look at those bunnies."
"Yeah, it's been so lone since I had any meat."
"But why is he hunting again, didn't he just make a fortune?"
"Yeah, he must have been doing great, he has renovated his house and he has bought a mule carriage, but maybe not as good as we thought, he didn't buy any farmland yet."
Buying farmland was the ultimate symbol of getting rich.
"But the problem is no one is selling farmland."
"I agree, probably he can afford to buy it, but no one is selling."
Chen Xiao Mi was baffled that why the villagers started to talk to him.
Lu Lin laughed, "Isn't that a good thing?"
"But they are not scared by me anymore."
"You want to scare people away?"
Chen Xiao Mi blinked, "Not exactly, but I can always solve tricky problems easier if they are all scared by me."
"Scaring people away isn't the only solution to a lot of problems."
Chen Xiao Mi pouted, but deep down he knew what Lu Lin said was right.
Chapter End Notes
Spring Imperial Examinations is Coming
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Days passed uneventfully for Lu Lin and the Chen Brothers, but the young people who went to school in town had become the talk of the village for the Spring Imperial Examinations was just around the corner.
The young people's family would always try to create a quiet environment for them, they would keep their voice down and make less noise.
"Lin Gege, do you know there are so many matchmakers visiting the Lus now?" Chen Xiao Cai asked.
"Oh? Matchmakers? For who?"
"Some are for Lu Tong, some are for Lu Cheng Yu. But Tang said Lu Cheng Yu needed to focus on the examination first, so mainly they are for Lu Tong. The villagers all say that Lu Cheng Yu is very proud and arrogant, he thinks he is too good for the village girls, he is counting on marrying a lady in town after he becomes a Xiucai. (T/N: Xiucai, one who passed the imperial examination at the county level)" said Chen Xiao Cai with a radiant face.
Lu Lin was surprised to see Chen Xiao Cai's change, Chen Xiao Cai used to be a sulky kid who pulls a long face all the time, but now he looked so much happier. Lu Lin thought it must be those little friends who had help him open up more.
"Zhang Da Hu told you this?"
"Not only Zhang Da Hu, but other kids are also talking about the same thing."
Lu Lin smiled, "Good job, Cai, it looks you and your friends are really getting along well."
Chen Xiao Cai scratched his head and blushed a bit.
Chen Xiao Cai didn't understand why the kids who used to stay away from him now had become his best friends, they would tell him all the gossips they had heard from the parents without reservation. 'Well, maybe it's for the Tangyuan's sake.' Thought Chen Xiao Cai.
Zhang Da Hu and the kids kept asking Chen Xiao Cai when they could help to do some farm work or pick some berries, they all said they were willing to work for free, all they wanted was a nice meal. But Lu Lin didn't mention a word about berry picking, so Chen Xiao Cai had been turning them down.
"The kids can't wait to have some more Tangyuan." Laughed Chen Xiao Mi, "I can't believe they finished the whole pot. I'm so glad I had eaten some in advance, otherwise I couldn't even have a taste."
Glutinous rice was too pricy for most villages, that was the first time the kids had Tangyuan, and they wished they could have some more soon.
"Cai, what else have you heard about Lu Tong's marriage?" Lu Lin was interested to find out more information.
Chen Xiao Cai shook his head, "Not yet, the Lus want 20 taels of silver as betrothal present, which has scared away a lot of families."
"20 taels?" Lu Lin was a bit shocked.
'20 taels is no small amount, and I'm sure Tang won't prepare a decent dowry for Lu Tong like other families who marry daughters.' Thought Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Cai continued, "My friends also said there are a lot of villagers who like Lu Tong, but they are scared away by that 20 taels."
Chen Xiao Cai had no idea hie brother and his brother-in-law had already made a fortune through selling alcohol and jam, so he also was intimidated by the number 20.
"Wow, 20 taels!" murmured Chen Xiao Mi, then he couldn't help but recall he had only spent 10 taels on marrying Lu Lin, he didn't think that Lu Tong was worth two Lu Lin.
Lu Lin cast a glimpse at Chen Xiao Mi who was lost in thought and snickered.
"That will scare away a lot of villagers, is Tang not afraid of that? Maybe Lu Tong will end up marrying late due to the high price." Said Chen Xiao Mi.
"Tang seems to be very confident." Lu Lin shrugged.
'Tang must be very confident with her kids, she must be counting on Lu Cheng Yu becoming a Xiucai this time, so both Lu Tong and Lu Cheng Yu can marry well, but it will end up ugly if Lu Cheng Yu fails at the examination. Lu Tong is turning 18 soon and she need to pay tax if she can't marry soon.' Thought Lu Lin.
The villagers enjoyed gossip. The Lus were a well-off family, they had a lot of farm land, so 3 tales tax money wasn't a big deal for them, but it was a disgrace more than anything.
Chen Xiao Cai tilted his head, "I also heard many villagers have a crush on Lu Tong, they say she is pretty."
Lu Lin smiled, 'That Lu Tong is a lazy bone compared to other village girls who work hard all the time, she doesn't do any farm work, so she has fair skin and she wears better clothes, that's why the villagers think she is pretty.'
However, the young villagers couldn't figure that out, they had completely ignored the more important traits like good personality and diligence. Their parents couldn't convince them either, but 20 tales of silver was too much.
"Well, that has nothing to do with us, let's just watch and see how this turns out for Tang." Said Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded.
It was springtime, villagers tended to get busy on the farm land, but the young couple didn't have any farm land, so they kept going into the mountains.
Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai were busy too, they had been collecting food scrapes for the geese and chickens at home. The geese and chickens started to lay eggs, more than enough for their kitchen.
Lu Lin felt so glad that the kids had become so responsible for the animals at home.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi had expanded their veggie patch in the yard too, now that had lettuce, carrots, cucumber and so on.
This young couple went to town this day.
Manager Wang was more than happy to see them, he could make 200 cents for each jar of jam sold in the restaurant, plus the jam had attracted more customers for his restaurant. He had made significantly more money this month.
"Manager Wang, this is the last batch of jam, 20 jars in total. And I have 40 jars of sweet potato wine for you asl well."
Manager Wang took a look at the wine and asked whether they still had the other kind of alcohol.
Lu Lin apologized and said he didn't have enough ingredients to brew the other kind of alcohol.
Manager Wang nodded and said he understood, he paid the couple 32 taels in total.
"Lu Lin, Xiao Mi, you guys are becoming rich." Manager Wang smiled.
Lu Lin smiled and shook his head, "Not really, jam is so hard to make, and the ingredients are so expensive, you have no idea how much sugar I've put in each jar, and we all know how expensive sugar is. And I suffer a great loss if they go bad."
Manager Wang nodded and smiled, "Yeah, you guys work hard for your money. Anyways, please think of me whenever you have new business ideas."
"Of course, of course!" replied Lu Lin, "Manager Wang, your restaurant is packed today, and it looks like they are all here to buy that pastry."
"Yeah, it's called the Scholar Pastry. People are buying it for good luck in the Spring Imperial Examinations." Manager Wang explained.
"Ah~ they are for the Spring Imperial Examinations~" Lu Lin nodded, "it looks like people value the Spring Imperial Examinations so much."
Then Lu Lin recalled in modern society parents also valued college entrance examination, they would go to the temple to worship Buddha for good luck for their kids, so it was basically the same.
"Yes, we do. Lu Lin, would you like some Scholar Pastry?" Manager Wang asked.
Lu Lin thought for a while, he decided to buy some for the Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai just because the pastry looked yummy.
Lu Lin also bought some buns after he bought the pastry.
Chen Xiao Mi asked Lu Lin on the way back how many sweet potatoes they had left.
"Not a lot, we have been brewing a lot of wine recently. We have sold 300 jars of sweet potato wine, so there's only a small pile of sweet potatoes left in the shop now."
"How much beer have we sold?" asked Chen Xiao Mi.
"About a quarter of the total inventory."
"Hmm, why don't you have this much Latiao in stock?" Chen Xiao Mi blinked.
"Haha, because when you hang out at a friend's house, you bring beer instead of Latiao." Lu Lin was amused by Chen Xiao Mi's question.
Chen Xiao Mi lied in the mule carriage cozily and said, "How strange you people are! I think Latiao is so much better than beer."
Lu Lin laughed.
"How much money do we have now?" Chen Xiao Mi asked.
"310 taels, give or take."
"Really?" Chen Xiao Mi's eyes were wide open when he heard that, 'What a shame that no one is selling farmland, it would be great if we could just buy some farmland and find some tenant peasants. But probably I shouldn't do that even though there is farmland available, that's too high-profile.'
Chen Xiao Mi knew the villagers all knew he was doing business with Manager Wang in town, but no one knew how much money he had made, and he intended to keep it a secret too.
Chen Xiao Mai greeted Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi like a puppy as soon as they were home because he knew Lu Lin would bring him something to eat.
Lu Lin handed the pastry to Chen Xiao Mai with a smile. Chen Xiao Mai took a big bite without even looking at it. Lu Lin chuckled, 'Mai, this is Scholar Pastry, please don't be so uncouth.'
But on a second thought, Lu Lin changed his mind, Chen Xiao Mai could eat the pastry in whichever way he liked, the important thing was he was enjoying it.
Chapter End Notes
Internal Contradictions Within the Lus
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
"Dad, I want Scholar Pastry! Have you bought me some today?" Lu Song Shi demanded.
Lu An rubbed his forehead and said, "I bought you a piece today, just leave me alone for the rest of the day."
Lu Song Shi pouted, "Dad, all my friends now have become friends with Chen Xiao Cai, they don't hang out with me any more, and they kept saying Chen Xiao Cai have treated them with some Tangyuan balls."
Lu An felt so bitter on hearing that, he had bever paid any attention to Lu Lin when Lu Lin was living under the same roof with them, he always looked upon on this nephew who looked a bit slow.
But to his surprise, this Lu Lin had turned it after he got married.
Lu An worked in town, he knew Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi had been doing business with Manager Wang, but he couldn't pry for more information like what business it was and how much money Manager Wang had been paying them. However, he was sure they had made a lot of money considering how often they visited the restaurant.
Lu Tong now walked in, "Song Shi, what are you eating?"
Lu Song Shi quickly hid the pastry behind his back.
Grandma Lu usually doted on Lu Cheng Yu and Lu Song Shi the most, but she had been paying more attention to Lu Cheng Yu who was going to attend the Spring Imperial Examination recently.
Grandma Lu had spent good money buying and cooking amazing dishes for Lu Cheng Yu, as a result, the other family members could only live on a budget thus Grandma Lu could afford to buy fancy stuff for Lu Cheng Yu.
Lu Song Shi felt so jealous on seeing Lu Cheng Yu's lavish lifestyle, his mother didn't like it either, but she knew now wasn't the time to make a scene, so she had to mollify her son.
Lu Song Shi was a spoiled child, he sneaked into the kitchen and served himself a bowl of chicken soup stealthily.
Tang was so furious when she found the chicken soup was missing that she slapped Lu Song Shi.
Lu Song Shi wasn't a pushover like the host Lu Lin, he made a scene after he was slapped, his mother also joined him, Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu tried so hard to appease them.
Grandma Lu doted on Lu Cheng Yu, she also doted on her youngest grandson Lu Song Shi, so she scolded Tang hard for this. Tang knew she went too far and she apologized reluctantly.
Lu An bought pastry for his son this day to make him feel better. Lu An's face darkened on seeing Lu Tong walking in without even knocking on the door.
Lu Tong took a look at the Scholar Pastry and said, "Fourth Uncle, you bought this Scholar Pastry for my brother, right? Come on now, I will bring this to him."
Lu Song Shi's heart sank as he heard that, he had just had a few bites of the pastry. He cried after Lu Tong took away the plate and the pastry.
Lu An started to dislike Lu Tong on seeing his son crying.
Lu Song Shi's mother Lin Xiu'er frowned on hearing the story.
"Damn that Tang and her stupid kids, they all act like Lu Cheng Yu is already a scholar now, that Lu Tong is so arrogant too, a villager girl she is, but she turns her nose up to people like she is a lady in town. She is not getting any younger, I say let's just pray that she won't end up being an old maid!" Lin Xiu'er looked really upset.
Lu An sighed, "Let's keep it to ourselves, hopefully Cheng Yu can pass the examination and have a successful official career, we will become official's relatives by then."
Lin Xiu'er frowned, 'I know! That's why I have been putting up with this nonsense! That Tang has become more annoying recently!'
"Hopefully Cheng Yu can make it this time!" Lin Xiu'er gnashed her teeth.
Lu An gave half of his wage to Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu, and he knew the money went directly to Lu Cheng Yu's tuition fee.
Lin Xiu'er stroked her son's head.
Lin Xiu'er wasn't having a good time herself either, Tang had made up a lot of excuses like she needed to stay home and take care of Lu Cheng Yu to avoid doing farm work, thus Lin Xiu'er had been doing an awful amount of work. She had been doing the entire family's laundry by hand. It was terrible.
Lu An felt sorry for his wife, but there was nothing he could do, he sighed and said, "Let's wait until Cheng Yu finishes the examination."