Ch. 21..25: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 21-25

Chapter 21 Fixation (1)_1 “Benefactor Lin, why have you come to deliver firewood so early?” The door-opening monk asked Lin’s old man in surprise.

“I’m not here to deliver firewood today.” The old man from the Lin family jovially responded, “We’ve made some new food at home that’s quite suitable for the masters at the temple. So, we’ve brought it especially for the masters to try. Could you trouble the young monk to fetch the guest keeper and host, and ask if they could possibly keep it?”

“Amitabha Buddha.” The young monk uttered, somewhat amazed, after hearing the old man’s words, and glanced at the baskets.

However, the baskets were covered and it was impossible to see what was inside. After chanting the Buddha’s name, he said to the three Lins, “I will go and inform the guest keeper and host right now.”

“Please convey to Master Host that our new product is nutritious, and it is no less beneficial than eggs. Moreover, it’s vegetarian, perfectly suitable for the masters in the temple.” Lin Ziyin, in fear that the host might refuse to meet with them, took the opportunity to elaborate more.

“Amitabha Buddha.” The little monk chanted the buddha’s name and closed the back door.

“Grandfather, would the Host be unwilling to meet us?” Lin Ziyin asked with some apprehension. Regardless of who might come out to meet them, she believed that as long as someone in authority saw the tofu, they would undoubtedly be tempted. After all, Ding’an Temple was not short of silver, but the monks in the temple had too few dietary supplements. Tofu was absolutely the best choice for them.

“Is the price a bit high?” Lin Changshu was also worried.

“The price definitely cannot be lowered.” Lin Ziyin insisted, “If they don’t want it, we can go sell it at the market. Even if we can’t sell it there, I have ways to manage.”

She had thus already inoculated her brother and grandfather.

Seeing her determination, Lin Changshu and the old man sighed. Fortunately, if they didn’t manage to sell it, the loss would only be a dozen or so kilograms of beans, a bit of firewood, and some salt they had boiled later.

After both grandfather and granddaughter understood this, they no longer felt entangled.

“Amitabha Buddha.” At this moment, the door opened. Unexpectedly, the host and guest keeper of the temple had actually come out with the young monk.

“Master Host, Master Guest Keeper.” The old man greeted them with palms together.

“We heard you have a new food product for sale?” The guest keeper asked seriously, his eyes focused on the baskets.

“Yes.” It was Lin Ziyin who answered, “It’s this tofu.”

After saying this, she took the initiative to open the cover, and then lift the white cloth covering the top.

“This is the new food?” Upon seeing the fresh, white tofu, the Guest Keeper’s eyes roundened in surprise. The young monk and the host master also looked over.

“Yes, it’s our new tofu product, it’s more nutritious than eggs. Masters, you are all vegetarians and it’s naturally hard for the body. If you regularly eat tofu, it can compensate for this nutritional deficiency.” Lin Ziyin explained with a smile, fully devoting herself into the role of a salesman.

“You make it sound good.” The guest keeper said, frowning, “But how’s the taste?”

“Empty talk is pointless, it’s better for the masters to taste it and give their opinions.” Lin Ziyin said, “Master, could we borrow your stove to use?”

“Amitabha Buddha.” Master Host clasped his hands together, “Please, benefactor.”

This was his agreement.

Ziyin and her companions were filled with joy.

The temple stove was rather large, and Ziyin didn’t know how to use a traditional stove, so she simply asked Lin Changshu to help her stoke the fire. Under the gaze of the monks, she swiftly prepared a tofu soup with bok choy. The only downfall was that the soup could only be seasoned with salt, as there were no other condiments available.

Chapter 22 Fixation (2)_1 “Honored masters, please.” Lin Ziyin served the tofu soup.

“Host brother, let me try it first.” The Guest Keeper suggested.

“Together.” The host replied, picking up his chopsticks first.

Even the simplest tofu with salt tastes much better than just boiled cabbage in water.

The monks silently finished the tofu soup in their bowls, then put down the bowls in their hands.

“I wonder how much these tofu would sell for?” The host inquired.

“Ten coins a kilogram.” Lin Ziyin answered.

“Why is it so expensive?” The Guest Keeper raised his eyebrows in surprise. “It seems to be just made from beans.”

“Yes, indeed it includes beans, but there are other ingredients as well. Moreover, making tofu involves many steps. If not careful, a whole pot can be ruined, wasting all the ingredients. Considering the kindness of the temple, I was willing to bring it for the masters to nourish their bodies. To be honest, because the temple cannot use meat oil, the deliciousness of the tofu is much compromised. It was quite a pressure for us to bring it here.” Lin Ziyin explained.

“Beans only cost two coins a kilogram, but your tofu has more than doubled in price, not to mention the water content. The price indeed seems a bit high.” The Guest Keeper still seemed concerned.

“Master, you can’t calculate it that way. Although beans are cheap, making them into tofu is more than just talk. We wouldn’t want to put any master in a difficult position. We absolutely cannot decrease the price, otherwise, we would not make any profit. If the masters cannot accept this price, I wouldn’t force it upon you. Grandfather, brother, let’s sell elsewhere.” Lin Ziyin insisted firmly.

Lin Changshu was secretly anxious on the inside. He wanted to make this deal with the temple, as the numerous monks would demand tofu daily. If a deal were to be made, it would greatly improve their family’s well-being.

“Could it be eight coins a kilogram?” The Guest Keeper didn’t expect the young girl to be so tough, ready to reject the deal without a second thought.

“No, that’s too little. There’s no profit.” Lin Ziyin shook her head and rejected.

“Girl.” The old man intervened.

Lin Ziyin looked at the old man, seeing his troubled expression, she sighed. The old man was too kind-hearted indeed. “Master, considering you’ve always looked after the Lin Family, nine coins, it really cannot be less. Otherwise, we’d practically be working for free. However, there’s a condition.”

“What condition?” The Guest Keeper asked.

“Our Lin family would like to conduct some small business in the market in the future, so we would like to store some furnaces and such in the temple, would that be possible?” Lin Ziyin stated her terms, “Of course, we won’t take it for granted, for each day we conduct our business, we’ll give an extra kilogram of tofu to the temple.”

That works! The Guest Keeper looked at the Host, waiting for his decision.

The Host calculated in his mind. The temple requires thirty kilograms of tofu daily, which would only cost around two hundred and seventy coins, but tofu has high nutritional value, so this is a good deal. “Can you deliver thirty kilograms of tofu daily?”

“Yes, completely possible.” Lin Changshu was overjoyed. Thirty kilograms of tofu per day equates to two hundred and seventy coins. Minus the cost of beans and firewood, clear two hundred coins could be made.

This was a much better deal compared to working laboriously.

“Shall we start delivering tomorrow?” The old man could not suppress his joy.

“Amitabha, it’ll begin tomorrow.” The Host made the final decision.

Lin Ziyin secretly rejoiced, their family life would significantly improve in the future.

“Master, there’s one more thing I need to clarify. From now on, if our family is busy making tofu, grandfather won’t come to deliver firewood.” She said with a smile.

The Host gave her a meaningful look, then nodded, “We can find someone else to deliver firewood.”

Lin Ziyin was unnerved by his gaze, the old monk’s eyes were too mysterious, and she felt inexplicably nervous.

“Benevolent benefactor, Amitabha, you possess a deep karmic bond with Buddha.” The Host spoke again.

“Thank you for your praise, Master.” Lin Ziyin thanked, grinning. In her mind, however, she was rolling her eyes. A deep karmic bond with Buddha, that was nonsense. She never believed in Buddha.

Chapter 23 Improvement(1)_1 After negotiating future business, everyone in the Lin Family was in high spirits. They had brought over thirty pounds of tofu today. The Firehead Monk weighed it and confirmed it to be thirty-five pounds, so the Guest Keeper let monks pay the Lin Family three hundred and fifteen copper coins.

The three members of the Lin Family were absolutely delighted with the earned copper coins.

Leaving Ding’an Temple, Lin Changshu and the old master still couldn’t believe their good fortune.

“Grandfather, I want to buy some food to take home.” Lin Ziyin voiced her request. She promised Lin Yanzhi that she would bring back snacks. They should also stock up on food at home, but they would wait a few days to buy clothing.

“Fine, the silver is what you earned, you can use it however you want.” The old master readily agreed.

The vendors on the open space at the foot of the mountain were still shouting out loud, and the pilgrims gradually went up the mountain.

“The number of pilgrims coming over will be more on the 1st, 10th, and 15th days of the month.” Seeing her curious face, Lin Changshu tried to hide his laughter and said.

Lin Ziyin nodded her head. This information was important. Today was the fifth, and in another five days, the pilgrims would flock together. At that time, she would come and make a small fortune again.

“Pork, top-quality pork.” At the meat stall, seeing Lin Ziyin glance at the stall, the pork vendor shouted passionately.

“Fresh pork.” Another butcher didn’t want to be left behind and piped up.

“How much is this meat?” Lin Ziyin asked as she walked over.

“Twenty copper coins per pound, miss. Take a good look, these are all top-quality streaky pork. They are fat and plump. It would surely be worth your money if you buy it.” Seeing a potential sale, the butcher was ecstatic. “Lean meat is eighteen coins.”

“Get me two pounds of streaky meat, and a pound of lean meat. Also, how much are these?” Lin Ziyin pointed at the lard on the chopping board and asked.

“This one is twenty-five.” Seeing her buying in bulk, the butcher was even happier.

“Alright, get me a pound of that.” Lin Ziyin declared.

Lin Changshu looked slightly anxious on the side. In just a little while, his sister had spent quite a bit of copper coins. However, seeing Lin Ziyin happy with her purchases and the old master showing no signs of interference, all he could do was wait.

“Shopkeeper, since I bought a lot, how about giving me some offal?” Lin Ziyin looked at the offal placed under the chopping board and pretended to bargain.

“Okay, I’ll give it to you for free.” The butcher agreed readily. After all, he was planning to throw these away, so he didn’t lose out at all.

Lin Ziyin cleverly managed to get intestines, pork heart, lungs, stomach, liver for free, and even scored a large bone.

“This is eighty-three copper coins. Here you go.” Lin Ziyin handed over the cash.

“Alright, miss, come back again!” The butcher cheerfully greeted her.

“Sure.” Lin Ziyin nodded. She wasn’t just humoring the butcher. In return for the free items, she would definitely come back again.

“Grandfather, do you know where I can buy some grains?” Lin Ziyin, who had put the meat into Lin Changshu’s basket, asked.

“There’s a place right up ahead.” The old master answered.

“Let’s go buy some flour and rice to bring back.” Lin Ziyin cheerfully said, completely ignoring Lin Changshu’s anxious expression.

“Do as you wish.” The old master repeated his earlier statement, in his view, the money was earned by Lin Ziyin and she should spend it as she sees fit. Besides, it’s not every day that the girl gets to go out.

“Here it is.” Lin Ziyin looked up and saw the words ‘grain shop’, and thus, she walked into the shop first.

Chapter 24 Improvement(2)_1 “What can I get you?” the waiter asked with enthusiasm, not showing any hint of disdain towards his customers.

“How much for these high-quality flour?” Lin Ziyin asked.

“Ziyin, we should get the dark flour.” Lin Changshu was becoming anxious. If she continued spending like this, they would quickly run out of money from selling tofu.

“How much for the rice?” Lin Ziyin then cast her admiring gaze on the rice. She loved food both made of flour and rice.

“White flour is five copper coins, dark flour three coins, and rice is five coins,” the waiter quickly listed the prices.

“I’ll take ten catties each of flour and rice, and ten catties of the dark flour as well,” Lin Ziyin decided in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Alright, I’ll get them bagged up for you right away,” the waiter, fearing that a somewhat distressed Lin Changshu might object, quickly bagged up the items Ziyin ordered.

“One hundred thirty copper coins,” Lin Ziyin tossed over a handful of coins.

The waiter counted them, “Exactly right, miss.”

And so, they got their rice and flour.

“Ziyin, I think we have enough now, right?” Feeling pressured by the weight of their haul, Lin Changshu warned, “We can’t keep buying like this.”

“No, we need to buy some flavorings too,” Lin Ziyin insisted.

Though the concept of flavorings wasn’t common in this era, she was clever and went straight to the pharmacy.

Once there, she truly found what she needed – Sichuan peppercorn, fennel, black pepper, and such. Without hesitation, she spent another eighty copper coins.

In the end, Lin Ziyin also bought two sugar figurines on the street for the kids, spending another three copper coins.

So, when they finally went back home, they had only nineteen copper coins left from their tofu sales earnings.

“Grandpa, when we get home, I’ll make you all something delicious,” Lin Ziyin said, never one to deprive herself. Seeing the load she had bought, she was nothing but jolly all the way home.

“Good, I’m looking forward to your blessing,” the old man seemed also pleased, only Lin Changshu felt deflated at their spending. Considering the debt they owed the Ma family, it was disheartening to see them spending so extravagantly.

Yet he found he couldn’t bring himself to scold Lin Ziyin.

Without any significant incidents on the way, they had rested three times before finally reaching the entrance of their village.

As they walked through the village, though some people noticed they were carrying a load, no one paid much attention since it was covered and everyone knew the Lin family was poor.

“Did you go to the marketplace?” Their neighbor from the Bai family noticed and asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Grandpa and my brother took me to thank the monks at the temple.” Lin Ziyin was quick to answer. Not that she was stingy, but considering their poverty, she thought it better to keep their tofu business a secret from the other villagers. “On our way back, we picked up some offal.”

“How can you eat such stuff?” Grandmother Bai frowned and asked, causing the surrounding villagers to lose interest previously shown.

“It’s still meat,” Lin Ziyin replied with her head down.

“Humph, I’ve warned you before, don’t always think about eating, you better pay back the money you owe our family soon.” Just then, Mrs. Yan arrived from the fields. Seeing Lin family carrying a load, she instantly became unhappy.

Lin Changshu felt a bit awkward hearing her words, which made him more uneasy considering what was inside their load.

However, Lin Ziyin looked up and responded with an impassive face, “Don’t worry, we had agreed on a one-year deadline to repay the debt. The Lin family will certainly abide by that.”

When Mrs. Yan saw Ziyin’s cold gaze, and the disdainful looks from the other villagers, she gritted her teeth and responded, “You’d better not forget.”

With that, she twisted her body and walked off, regardless of what others thought.

“Despicable,” Grandmother Bai spat in her direction.

Seeing her taking sides, Lin Ziyin could not help laughing. “Grandmother, we’ve been away for a while and I’m tired. We should head home now.”

“Alright, you go ahead,” Grandmother Bai turned back around and replied with a smile.

Chapter 25 Earn Again (1)_1 Upon reaching the gate of their home, they saw the courtyard door was wide open with Lin Zige sitting inside, embroidering and frequently looking at the gate.

“Second sister.” Lin Changting, seeing their figures, immediately jumped up in joy.

Lin Yanzhi, who was squatting on the ground, was so moved he didn’t know what to say.

“We are back.” Lin Ziyin said, smiling as she took out some candy figures and handed them to the two little figures who rushed over to meet them.

“Candy figures?” Lin Changting’s eyes lit up.

“Candy.” Lin Yanzhi was so happy he didn’t know what to do.

“Yes, let’s go in and eat them.” Lin Ziyin said, laughing as she patted the little ones’ heads.

“Thank you, Second Sister.” Lin Changting said, looking up.

“Thanks, Sister.” Lin Yanzhi also gratefully said with a big grin.

“Are you back? Sold everything?” Lin Zige eagerly asked as she came out.

“We’ve sold everything.” Lin Ziyin nodded, “We’ll eat well tonight.”

“How much did you sell?” Lin Zige asked further.

“A total of 315 wen.” Lin Changshu answered in his usual tone.

“You really managed to get a high price.” Lin Zige was stunned. She had thought Lin Ziyin was daydreaming that morning, but it turned out to be true after all.

“I need to soak the beans right away.” Lin Ziyin thought of the important task at hand, rushed into the house, found the beans she had chosen, poured them into a basin, then washed them and soaked them in water.

“Why did you buy so much stuff?” When she saw the food and meat in the basket, Lin Zige was shocked.

“Because we spent almost all the copper coins we earned today selling tofu.” Lin Ziyin replied with a laugh. “It looks like we won’t be eating at noon, but we’ll have a good meal tonight. And don’t let anyone else know.”

“How could you spend it all? You even bought wheat flour. What a waste.” Lin Zige found it hard to digest Lin Ziyin’s reckless spending.

“Don’t touch it. We can use the wheat flour for the tofu. The tofu we made this morning was plain because we didn’t have it. From now on, we will use it.” Lin Ziyin stopped Lin Zige’s complaints.

“By the way, Sister, is there any remaining tofu residue from this morning?” She asked.

“It’s all still there.” Lin Zige answered.

“Let’s stir-fry some for lunch.” Lin Ziyin suggested. It was good to have tofu residue to eat when there were no grains. She was feeling peckish already.

“Sure.” Lin Zige agreed. She had been worrying about what to do with the leftover tofu residue.

“By the way, the leftover tofu residue can be used to feed pigs. It will make them fatter.” Lin Ziyin reminded her again.

Lin Changshu and the old man exchanged puzzled glances. What an odd piece of advice.

Lin Ziyin didn’t care. She took charge of the cooking and quickly stir-fried the tofu residue with vegetables.

Because she generously used all the oil they had at home, the stir-fried tofu residue was especially fragrant. However, her extravagance made Zige feel heartache for a while.

“It’s delicious.” This was Lin Changting’s second satisfying meal of the day. The tofu residue was oily and he was extremely content.

The little ones also ate a lot.

“This afternoon, your sister-in-law and I will quickly finish the work in the field so that we can help with making tofu.” Lin Changshu, who couldn’t sit still, put down his bowl and was ready to work in the field again.

“I’ll go too.” The old man announced before picking up his tools and heading out the door.

“I’m going to sow some more seeds in the vegetable garden.” Lin Zige hesitated before speaking up.

“Sister, that’s good. Changting and I will go make some dumplings and clean up this mess.” Lin Ziyin replied, with a smile on her face.