Ch. 11..15: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 11-15

Chapter 11: One Family(1)_1 I don’t recognize her! Staring at the stranger with a friendly and sincere face, Lin Ziyin felt very awkward.

“Sister Bai, the master said my second sister has amnesia, so she can only recognize her family members for now.” Lin Changting kindly explained to the woman.

“So that’s what it is. She did have a serious head injury.” The woman sighed and then looked at Lin Ziyin with sympathetic eyes. “But waking up is certainly a good thing.”

“Yes.” Lin Changting nodded like a little grown-up.

“Right.” Lin Yanzhi also fervently nodded in agreement.

“Thank you for your concern, Sister-in-law.” Not being familiar with her, Lin Ziyin had no choice but to hide her uneasiness behind her shyness.

“It’s almost noon, you guys shouldn’t stay outside too long.” Sister Bai kindly reminded them.

“We will leave soon.” Lin Ziyin answered with a faint smile.

Sister Bai was slightly surprised to see the once shy Lin Ziyin now so forthright and relaxed.

However, remembering Lin Ziyin’s amnesia made it clear to her. “I have to go cook. I’ll leave first, but once you’re better, make sure you come to my house to visit.”

“Of course.” Lin Ziyin nodded in agreement, although she didn’t really have the time to wander around.

The three watched Sister Bai hurriedly leave, and then they slowly started to walk home together.

“Changting, what are big brother and sister-in-law doing?” Lin Ziyin took the opportunity to ask her younger brother about the family’s situation.

“They are preparing the fields to plant rice.” Lin Changting answered without hesitation.

“And Grandpa?” For the past few days, Lin Ziyin had been bedridden. Every day, she saw only her oldest sister bustling about with the housework and embroidering while watching over her. Her brother Lin Changshu, sister-in-law, and grandfather were only home at meal times.

She had no memory of what her family members had been doing.

“Grandpa cuts firewood in the mountains in the morning and delivers it to the temple in the afternoon.” Lin Changting took extra care of Lin Ziyin, fearful that she would tumble due to discomfort. He would assist her whenever he noticed any uneven paths. Although Lin Yanzhi was only three years old, he would also try his utmost to aid her.

The old man has to chop wood in the mountains even when he is unwell? Lin Ziyin frowned upon hearing this.

In the midst of their conversation, the three slowly returned home.

“Elder sister, now that I am well, you don’t need to cook separately for me anymore,” Lin Ziyin said.

“We still have enough rice to make a few more meals for you. We can discuss it further once we run out.” Lin Zige was busy in the kitchen cooking lunch; she responded while bustling about the kitchen.

Knowing she couldn’t persuade her, Lin Ziyin did not insist further.

She did indeed feel much better. After taking a walk and breathing some fresh air, her mood lifted.

Because Lin Zige adamantly refused to let her assist in the kitchen, Lin Ziyin carried a small stool and sat with her two younger brothers in the courtyard, admiring the distant view while occasionally chatting with Lin Zige. “Sister, do we own a lot of farming land? Can our brother and sister-in-law manage it all?”

“We have slightly more than three mu of paddy fields, and a bit more dry farmland – about seven or eight mu. A few days ago, your eldest brother and sister-in-law sowed the soybean seeds,” Lin Zige responded loudly from the kitchen.

Lin Ziyin let out a secret sigh.

It seems like they have quite a lot of land at home. However, in ancient times, the yield per mu was starkly different from today’s. Most of their land was used for planting soybeans and sorghum since this area was known for its harsh cold winters. Even now, in April, the chill night had them buried under blankets.

Chapter 12: One Family(2)_1 Thus, when winter arrived, the fields seemed to be all barren.

Lin Ziyin was quietly curious. In the past few days, she had secretly gathered some information, such as the fact that the country she was currently in was an era that never existed in history, known as the Daqin Empire. Of course, the emperor of the Daqin had also never existed in history. This emperor seemed to be a pleasure-seeking character, especially untrusting towards his own offspring and siblings, for fear that one of his relatives would seize his power. The village where the Lin Family resided was the fief of one of his sons.

Let’s set all these aside for now, after all, the emperor is far away from here. What perplexed Lin Ziyin was that Shilitun, though known as a harsh cold area, differed from the modern understanding of cold. The soil of Shilitun, as Lin Ziyin had observed, was black and extremely fertile, ideally similar to the quality of soil in modern Northeast China.

However, the actual climate here was significantly different from Northeast China: though the winter was cold, it wasn’t significantly long, it was, in fact, only about a month colder than Jianghuai region, other than that there was no major difference.

This land, blessed by nature, should have been an ideal place for crops to grow. Unfortunately, due to the harsh winter and outdated farming techniques, the villagers here could only depend on the sky for food. Every year, they mainly planted soybeans. Some households also planted rice, but not many.

“Grandpa, I’m coming,” Lin Ziyin was deep in thought when Lin Changshu’s voice was heard from outside the courtyard wall.

“Brother and Grandpa are back.” Lin Changting happily went out to greet them with the little one.

“Dad.” The little one got it right this time.

Then Lin Ziyin saw her elder brother, Lin Changshu, coming back carrying a heavy bundle of firewood, while their grandfather followed him carrying a knife.

Lastly, Guo Huiniang entered the gate, sandwiched between Lin Changting and the little one, holding a hoe and a shovel in her hand.

“Grandpa, Brother, Sister-in-law, you’re back,” greeted Lin Ziyin as she stood up.

“Did you manage to get out?” her grandfather asked her with concern.

“Sister, why aren’t you resting in the room? Your health isn’t fully recovered yet,” Guo Huiniang spoke urgently too.

“It’s okay, I’m much better. I took the medicine and have been resting for a while. I don’t feel dizzy anymore,” Lin Ziyin replied with a smile.

“That’s good,” Lin Changshu’s face expressed happiness.

“Dinner’s ready. Everyone, come into the room for dinner,” Lin Zige came out to call everyone with the food.

“Second sister, let me help you in,” Lin Changting came over to help her.

Lin Ziyin held his hand as she entered the room, “I’m good now. Stop treating me like I’m ill all the time.”

“You haven’t fully recovered,” Lin Zige bluntly said.

Grandpa, Lin Changshu, and Guo Huiniang, who had washed their hands outside, also came in, “True, you must be careful. After losing so much blood, if you don’t take care and leave a chronic health problem, you’ll suffer.”

“Grandpa, I’ll be careful,” Lin Ziyin promised with a smile, knowing that her family was concerned about her.

“Grandpa, sit,” Lin Zige set a bowl of bean paste in front of Grandpa, then skillfully served rice to everyone else.

This was the first time Lin Ziyin had a meal together with her family. She noticed that everyone else had bean paste in front of them, while her bowl was filled with rice porridge. The basket on the table was filled with sorghum bread, and the plate was filled with wild vegetables that Zige had picked the day before.

Chapter 13: Business Opportunities (1)_1 “Let’s share this rice porridge.” Without waiting for everyone to react, Lin Ziyin swiftly divided the porridge, pouring some for Lin Yanzhi, Lin Changting and the old man. She, of course, left a little at the bottom of her own bowl.

“What are you doing?” Lin Zige asked anxiously.

“Oh my…” Guo Huiniang was stunned and at a loss for words.

“I told you, I’m really feeling much better. From now on, I’m going to eat the same as everyone else. If you keep making separate meals for me, I’ll refuse to eat.” Lin Ziyin announced firmly, “I want to eat the same as you all.”

“Your body…” Lin Changshu was both touched and excited.

“Oh well, let’s eat,” the old man glanced at Lin Ziyin and said.

The younger generation looked at each other, and seeing Lin Ziyin start eating her rice paste and beans, everyone finally sat down to continue their meal.

“Delicious,” Lin Yanzhi, being the youngest, always exclaimed when he got to the last few grains of rice.

Their cheerful voices made both Guo Huiniang and Lin Ziyin feel a bittersweet sentiment.

“Grandfather, why don’t we make some tofu ourselves?” Seeing everyone only eating wild vegetables at lunchtime, Lin Ziyin couldn’t stand it. Although wild vegetables would be considered good food in the modern world, Lin Ziyin would bet that anyone who tries the wild vegetables on their table would find them hard to swallow.

It wasn’t that Lin Zige’s cooking was poor, it was just that the wild vegetables had barely any salt or oil, accurately speaking, they didn’t even have a hint of grease.

“What is tofu?” Lin Zige asked in confusion while Guo Huiniang and others also looked at her curiously.

Lin Ziyin was taken aback. Didn’t they know what tofu is? But then she realized that she was in an era when tofu, despite having a long history since the Han Dynasty, did not exist.

“Sister, how can the beans be eaten?” Lin Ziyin asked.

“We can make bean wraps, bean paste, bean cakes,” Lin Zige answered shyly.

“Are there many beans here?” Lin Ziyin smelled a business opportunity from her words. If there were no bean-based products at this time, she could take advantage of the situation to profit from beans, and also improve the household’s living conditions.

“Of course, there are. Wealthy people use beans to feed horses and cows, but we depend on them for our meals,” the old man replied.

“Do we only use lard for cooking oil?” Lin Ziyin probed further.

“Yes,” Lin Zige replied heartily, clueless as to why her sister had suddenly taken an interest in kitchen-related matters.

“Do the monks in the temples also consume animal fats?” Lin Ziyin asked curiously.

She had learned during the last few days that Ding’an Temple, one of the more famous large temples in the region, is not too far away, about ten miles or so. Many merchants traveling north and south would stop there to burn incense.

“Monks in the temples only eat plain boiled vegetables,” the old man responded. He would often deliver firewood to the temples and thus had a good understanding of what went on in there.

Hearing this, Lin Ziyin was delighted. It seemed as if she had found another source of income.

“Grandfather, brother, can you buy me a small grinding stone and a set of carpentry tools?” Lin Ziyin requested.

“What do you need these things for?” Lin Zige was surprised. Their family was very poor; how could they afford to buy a grinding stone?

“I need them. If we can’t buy a grinding stone, you could even borrow one from someone else to use for a few days.” Lin Ziyin suggested.

She wasn’t entirely sure yet. Making tofu required particular water quality and boiling down the right brine. She didn’t know if she could do it well, so she decided to keep her plans a secret for the time being so as not to disappoint her family.

 

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Business Opportunities (2)_1 The old man furrowed his brow at her, and Lin Changshu also looked up at her, perplexed.

“A hint of an idea popped up in my mind, but I’m not sure it will work, so I want to give it a try.” Lin Ziyin explained with a dry laugh.

“Alright, I will go and ask for you when it gets dark.” The old man didn’t agree until after he finished his soybean paste.

“The old savage at the very west end of the village has it, Grandpa. I think I should go and ask.” Lin Changshu didn’t interfere with Lin Ziyin’s plans.

“Then you go ask.” The old man nodded.

And that’s how it was decided.

After they had finished dinner, the old man went out with a heavy load of firewood on his back, while Lin Changshu and Guo Huiniang continued to work in the fields.

It wasn’t until the moon was hanging in the willow branches that the old man returned. Meanwhile, Lin Changshu had managed to borrow a grinding mill from the elderly savage’s house.

Seeing that the grinding mill was not large, Lin Ziyin felt happy.

Considering her current weak physique, a smaller mill was actually more suited for her to utilize.

“I also found this set of carpentry tools for you, but you can’t use them for too long, because they are borrowed.” The old man quietly placed a set of carpentry tools on the table.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ziyin instantly came over to look and was pleased. Even though the tools were not complete, they were more than enough for her needs.

“Brother, you will help me tonight.”

“Eh?” Lin Changshu looked at her in astonishment. His little sister who used to know nothing was actually learning carpentry. Could it be a sign from the Bodhisattva or Buddha?

Lin Ziyin noticed the confusion in his eyes, but she simply smiled faintly and didn’t clarify anything. With her previous excuse, she was sure that the Lin family would not doubt her.

“Sister, what are you trying to make?” After dinner, Lin Zige curiously watched as Lin Ziyin instructed Lin Changshu to cut the wood into pieces of varying lengths.

Lin Ziyin smiled faintly and answered, “I am not exactly sure, but I have this gut feeling that tells me I should do something.”

“Alright.” Lin Ziyin didn’t need many wood pieces, so Lin Changshu quickly chopped the wood according to her requirements.

“Thank you, brother. You have worked hard all day. You should go to bed early.” She said with a smile.

“Alright.” Lin Changshu nodded his head. After a day of hard work, he needed to take an early rest. He still had work waiting for him in the fields the next day.

“Sister.” Lying in bed, Lin Zige still couldn’t help but want to know what Lin Ziyin intended to do with all the “wood pieces?”

“Sister, can you find some clean gauze for me tomorrow and sew it into straps? Oh, and could you also find me some soybeans?” After saying this, Lin Ziyin closed her eyes.

Seeing how tired she was, Lin Zige kept her questions to herself.

Early the next morning, the family quickly ate some soybean paste, and then Lin Changshu and the others went about their own tasks.

Meanwhile, Lin Ziyin, accompanied by the two children, ran a few laps around the house pretending to play.

“Don’t tire yourself out.” Lin Zige called out loudly.

“Ah, it’s not tiring. A bit of exercise is good for the body.” Lin Ziyin replied with a laugh, then took out her tools to prepare for work.

“Sister, what are you doing?” Lin Changting, holding a basket, stood by and watched. The boy also had a task – he was responsible for gathering grass for the family’s pig, a daily task of his.

“Just practicing my hand.” Lin Ziyin replied.

“Oh.” Lin Changting nodded sagely like an adult, then took his small sickle and got ready to leave.

“Sister, I am also going out to forage for some wild vegetables.” Lin Zige left the gauze bag on the table, then turned to Lin Ziyin saying, “Sister, everything you requested is here. Please look after Yanzhi in the house.”

“Big sister, I’ll be good.” Yanzhi blinked his big eyes, “My sister is ill, and I will look after her.”

“Such a good boy, Yanzhi.” Lin Zige didn’t correct his wrong address, instead she looked at him appreciatively, “Good boy, take good care of her.”

Lin Zige instructed Lin Yanzhi to take care of Lin Ziyin.

“I’ll take good care of my sister.” Lin Yanzhi replied with a pleased smile after being praised.

Lin Ziyin watched it all with an amused smile.

“I’m leaving now.” Lin Zige was carrying a small basket on her back, with a sickle in her hand.

“Alright.” Lin Ziyin didn’t say much because her mind was occupied with the thought of how to start her work.

Chapter 15 – Brine(1)_1 “Yanzhi, could you help your aunt hand out things?” After Lin Zige and Lin Changting had left the house, Lin Ziyin saw the little lad with his big eyes fixated on her, so she smiled and coaxed him, “Without your help, I won’t be able to get anything done today.”

“Help.” Lin Yanzhi answered with a vigorous nod of his head.

“Great, let’s first plane these wooden slats smoothly.” Lin Ziyin picked up the plane and started working.

What she had to make were the tofu boards used for pressing the soy milk, and the racks, the work was not too much.

“Pretty.” Lin Yanzhi was distracted by the wood shavings scattered on the ground instead.

“Yanzhi, you can collect these wood shavings in the basket. We’ll use it when cooking at noon. It’s excellent for starting a fire.” Lin Ziyin coaxed the little lad with a smile. “When Aunt Guo sees this, she would definitely praise our capable Yanzhi.”

“Alright.” The little lad loved being praised. Upon hearing Ziyin’s words, he immediately hurried over with the basket, diligently gathered all the wood shavings, and then transferred them to the kitchen.

The aunt and nephew duo were having a great time together.

When Lin Zige came back, she saw Lin Yanzhi working up a sweat, busying around like a little mouse. Meanwhile, there was already an extra rack and tofu board in the yard.

“What are these?” Lin Zige looked at the rack with confusion on her face and turned her gaze toward Lin Ziyin.

“We’ll use them tomorrow.” Lin Ziyin responded with a smile.

“Yanzhi made these.” Lin Yanzhi took credit for the work.

“Very good, well done.” Seeing that Lin Ziyin was not willing to speak more on the issue, Lin Zige gave up her inquiries and complimented the little lad lowly, then grabbed a basket and headed into the kitchen to clean up the wild vegetables she had dug up.

Lin Yanzhi was elated to receive praise; his cheeks turned rosy in his excitement.

“I will pick the soybeans.” Lin Ziyin put down the tools and then brought out the soybeans from the winnowing tray, ready to select and clear the beans. The most crucial ingredient in tofu making, aside from good water quality, is the soybeans, and she didn’t dare to be careless. “Yanzhi, come over here and help your aunt.”

“Alright.” The little lad ran over, his face still flushed with excitement.

“Look carefully at the sleight of hand your aunt is about to perform. If you see any dirty or bad soybeans, help your aunt to pick them out.” Lin Ziyin said. The so-called picking was merely letting the soybeans roll off a little wooden plank, those that could roll off naturally, were good and plump beans.

Lin Yanzhi obediently kept his eyes wide open, and when he spotted a bad bean rolling down among the others, he immediately reached out his little hand to remove the unwanted item.

By noon, Lin Changshu and the others had returned, and several villagers from the village had also come to visit.

“We have been busy working in the fields and didn’t get a chance to visit Ziyin.” One of the aunties handed over three eggs, “for Ziyin to replenish her body.”

“Auntie, how can this be? You have brought things over countless of times. Your life isn’t easy either. Since Ziyin is already recovering, we really can’t accept these eggs.” Lin Changshu declined.

“It’s only a few eggs.” The woman said with a laugh.

“I heard Ziyin has memory loss?” An older woman asked.

“The master said that she had hit her head and has a hematoma in her brain. It’s normal for her not to remember things temporarily.” Guo Huiniang didn’t want to dwell on this topic for too long, but she was worried that Lin Ziyin might offend someone by saying something wrong since she didn’t recognize them.

“We farmers, if she can’t remember, she can’t remember. After all, it’s just trivial matters. It’s not like she hurt her limbs and can’t move. If she’s worried about encountering people she doesn’t know, there’s a simple solution. Just take more walks around the village, and she’ll recognize everyone in time.” Sister Bai came over and spoke with laughter.