Ch. 41..45: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 41-45

Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Business Knocking at the Door (1)_1 “”I’ll try to go to the city when I get the chance,” said Lin Changshu. In reality, the Capital City wasn’t too far from Shili Village, only about fifteen or sixteen miles away. However, since the bustling market at the foot of Ding’an Temple was established, villagers preferred to do their business there. After all, compared to dealing with the contemptuous looks from city dwellers, they preferred doing business at the market.

Besides, with the presence of Ding’an Temple, there was a considerable amount of merchants traveling from north to south. The goods they brought, to be honest, were no worse than those available in the city.

In this lifetime, not to mention Lin Changshu, even the old patriarch had never set foot in the city.

They neither wanted nor preferred to go to the city. In their view, the difference between city people and their farming lifestyle was as wide as the difference between the earth and the sky.

Lin Ziyin bore no notions of social class, she enjoyed implementing her own ideas, gradually realizing her dream of improving the family’s condition.

Shuanzhu was pleased, though he wasn’t aware of what business the patriarch was talking about. Still, noticing the improved living conditions of the Lin Family, he was quite supportive.

“I must get going now,” said Shuanzhu. The Guo Family village was more than ten miles away from Shili Village, so after his meal, Shuanzhu was anxious to return.

“You’re leaving just as the seat is getting warm?” Guo Huiniang felt somewhat reluctant. Due to her busy schedule, she hadn’t visited her parent’s home in a long time.

“I’ll find some work at the scholar’s residence after I go back,” Shuanzhu replied rather sheepishly.

“Fair enough,” agreed Guo Huiniang hesitantly.

She had brought gifts from her parent’s house and likewise, she intended to take back a few things. But the goods at home were earned by her younger sister Ziyin, she didn’t have the authority to arbitrarily decide to give things to Shuanzhu to take back.

“Sister-in-law, we have plenty of cold cuts left at home. Let brother Shuanzhu take them back, so my mother can enjoy them,” volunteered Lin Ziyin, “we sold out of tofu today, what a pity!”

“This?” Guo Huiniang was hesitant and more than that, she was rather embarrassed.

“I can’t accept this,” Shuanzhu shook his head stubbornly.

“Why can’t you? Haven’t you seen what we have plenty of now is the meat?” replied Lin Ziyin with conviction. Meanwhile, Lin Zige silently filled a basket with cold cuts and added the leftover lean meat from lunch for him to take back.

“Take it,” said the old patriarch.

Scratching his head, Shuanzhu agreed reluctantly under the teary gaze of Guo Huiniang.

After sending off Shuanzhu, the Lin family members began their next set of tasks.

“Brother Wu, I’d like to ask if you and my brother could help deliver tofu for a few days. I can give you twenty coins a day, would that be acceptable?” asked Lin Ziyin with a smile.

The old patriarch was growing old, and for Zige and Guo Huiniang to carry loads for ten-something miles was quite strenuous. She didn’t want her family members to suffer.

“I can deliver tofu or meat, but I’m not doing it for the money. Are you looking down on me?” Wu Dayou said coldly, “Just let me eat with you guys every day, and don’t bring up money again. I’d be upset if you did.”

“There’ll be no shortage of food for you,” replied Lin Zige before Lin Ziyin had a chance to, staring at him in admonishment.

Her tone suggested more of playful annoyance than genuine anger.

Lin Ziyin couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re on your own…” Lin Changshu, seeing how difficult life was for his friend, wanted to give him some wages to help him out.

“What are you worried about when it’s just me?” interrupted Wu Dayou, giving him a look of discontent.

“Alright, you can count on us for your three meals a day,” said Lin Ziyin, grinning, “You can see that Wu Dayou is an honest and straightforward man. As for the favor, we will have an opportunity to repay it in the future.”

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Business Knocking at the Door (2)_1 In the evening, Lin Ziyin completed all the braised meat, then let it cool down in the pot.

The next day before dawn, Wu Dayou came on time. Not only did he help with grinding, but also with loading, and then ate breakfast at the Lin family’s home before leaving with Lin Changshu, each of them carrying a load.

This time, Lin Ziyin didn’t follow. Instead, she stayed home with Guo Huiniang and Lin Zige, picking beans before soaking them for later use.

“Ziyin, are you making buckets?” The old man looked on as Lin Ziyin started working with the wood.

“We need a lot of wooden buckets at home, so I need to make some extra ones.” Lin Ziyin replied.

“Mmm.” The old man agreed and quietly helped her split the wood.

After all the work was done, he sat aside and began weaving baskets.

“Little Sister is becoming more and more capable.” Lin Zige said laughingly to Guo Huiniang.

“Isn’t she?” Guo Huiniang also laughed along, remembering the family’s burden of debt and the constant hustle of she and Lin Changshu trying to make ends meet, which had been really depressing.

Now that there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel, there was a growing smile on Guo Huiniang’s face these past few days.

By noon, Lin Ziyin had made two wooden buckets, and Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou had also returned.

“How did the selling go?” Guo Huiniang asked anxiously.

“We sold everything.” Wu Dayou quickly answered, “The braised meat made by Sister Ziyin was indeed a good seller. No one asked for it at the start. But after we let everyone taste it for free, like Sister Ziyin suggested, it was soon sold out.”

“This is the money we made today.” Lin Changshu took a heavy purse out of his pocket and gave it to Lin Ziyin. “And there’s other good news. Several big households in the city have placed orders with us for tomorrow.”

“For tofu?” Lin Ziyin asked.

“Yes.” Lin Changshu took a sip of water before answering, “I didn’t dare to promise too much, fearing we would be too busy at home.”

“How much did you commit to delivering?” Lin Ziyin asked, very pleased that Lin Changshu hadn’t been blinded by profit. If he’d committed to too many orders, they might not have been able to deliver, which would have meant breaking their word.

And the most troublesome thing in business is to break one’s word.

“I agreed to an extra thirty kilos.” Considering that this was about the amount they had prepared yesterday, it seemed manageable.

“Next time, you can commit to an additional twenty kilos.” Lin Ziyin said, “But not when the weather gets hot. Also, on holidays like the first and fifteenth of the month, you should not take orders.”

“Understood.” Lin Changshu responded, letting out a sigh of relief.

Since their order quantity had increased, Lin Ziyin soaked more beans in proportion and set them aside.

With ready-made tofu, meat, and vegetables at home, the family enjoyed a lavish meal at noon again.

Guo Huiniang was somewhat worried that their meals were becoming too extravagant, given that the Lin family was still in debt.

But when she saw everyone’s improved mood at the table, she swallowed her words.

“Is anyone home?” They had just finished eating when they heard someone knocking at the door, followed by the voice of the Bai Family’s sister-in-law.

“Yes, come in.” Guo Huiniang went to open the door.

“What’s that delicious smell?” As soon as Mrs. Bai stepped in, she asked directly, “The village is buzzing about it.”

Buzzing about what? The Lin family had no idea, they had been busy making tofu and hadn’t been able to keep up with the gossip.

“They say the Lins are living in luxury, that they have money but are unwilling to repay their debts.” Mrs. Bai hesitated before answering.

Indeed, she didn’t believe the rumor at first, but after smelling the fragrant aroma from the Lin household for several days in a row, her curiosity got the better of her.

Chapter 43 Injured (1)_1 The Bai Family were not ones to pry into other’s business, let alone take unfair advantage of the Lin Family. While the two families had a good neighborly relationship, after all, there was a line; both families simply lived their own separate lives.

They had come to caution the Lin Family, since the village was abuzz with rumors recently, especially from the Yan Family, who had been avidly sabotaging the reputation of the Lin Family.

In a rural village, reputation was among the most important things. If a family’s reputation was tarnished, their relationship with the rest of the village was as good as over. In future, if they were to encounter any troubles, the villagers would be unlikely to lend a helping hand.

“Far from any treasures.” Lin Ziyin saw the look of astonishment on her family’s faces, and she hurried to speak up with a smile, “After all these years, Auntie, don’t you know our circumstances? Our family has been accumulating debts because of my injury, so I merely devised a way to run a small business.”

Having said that, she led Auntie Bai to the kitchen, “I was simply selling some offal and beans. How much money could that possibly bring in? I didn’t expect the villagers to think this way about us, the Lin Family.”

With these words, her eyes reddened.

A few bamboo baskets were laid out on the table in the hall, filled with various offal. A bucket by the table was filled with ordinary soybeans.

Auntie Bai didn’t react much to the sight of the soybeans, but when she saw the different types of offal, she was immediately stunned. Rural folks rarely had a chance to eat meat. While some resorted to cheaper offal in moments of craving, the strange smell that came with them ultimately deterred people from eating them.

Unexpectedly, the source of the meaty aroma from the Lin household was offal, and astonishingly, it had none of the usual off-putting smell.

“Auntie Bai, we also made some snacks using soymilk.” While observing the expressions of the Bai Family, Lin Ziyin said, “They’re just some snacks. We just want to earn a bit of extra cash as these snacks are not well known yet. We would prefer not to spread the word.”

Lin Ziyin stuttered with a blush on her face, appearing rather embarrassed.

Auntie Bai paused and instantly got her point, “You kid, we have been neighbours for so many years, surely you know the kind of people your sister-in-law and I are. Rest assured, we won’t spill the beans. You all have had a difficult life these past few years, and now that you finally found a way to make ends meet, do you think I could potentially ruin things for you?”

Lin Ziyin, upon hearing this, quietly rejoiced.

The Bai Family truly were good people. In her memory, the Lin and Bai families had always had a strong neighbourly bond, especially when her parents were still alive. They treated each other like family. When disaster struck the Lin Family, the Bai Family didn’t just stand back, but offered the little help they could.

“These are leftover soybean residues. They may not be much, but if you add some oil and vegetables, they can make fine buns,” Lin Ziyin knew the Bai Family wasn’t well-off either, and currently, she had just managed to improve her own family’s living standards. She did not have the spare resources to help them out yet.

But she thought that perhaps, she could assist them in the future.

“How can I accept this?” Auntie Bai blushed.

“Auntie, it really isn’t anything special. You know that beans aren’t worth much around here. As for these leftovers, to be very frank, we have been making use of them too, and even fed the excess to the pigs to prevent anyone from seeing.” Lin Ziyin’s voice faded as she finished, “So, I hope you won’t take offense.”

Chapter 44 Injured (2)_1 Upon hearing that the residue was for feeding pigs, Sister Bai turned to stone.

However, Mrs. Bai reacted quickly, “Thank you.”

Upon hearing that the bean residue could be used to make buns, she responded immediately. The Lin family was already having a hard time. The fact that they thought of her family when they had food made Mrs. Bai very happy. Besides, beans were also used to feed pigs. Wasn’t that what they usually ate?

Therefore, she did not take to heart what Lin Ziyin said.

“Offal isn’t such a delicacy either. Take some home for your child to try,” said Lin Ziyin. She then casually took out a piece of pork liver from the basket to give to Mrs. Bai.

“No, I can’t accept this,” Mrs. Bai insisted, waving her hands in refusal, “You guys earn a little money from this. It wouldn’t be nice if I accepted it.”

After that, she quickly pulled Sis Bai along with the bean residue and practically jogged away, fearing Ziyin would give her more.

“The Bai family is quite straight-forward. They helped us a lot in our time of hardship,” the old man began.

Lin Ziyin nodded, “I know.”

There was no more discussion.

Everyone knew well enough of Ziyin’s resourcefulness. Seeing that she didn’t wish to further comment, they refrained from discussing Bai’s family.

As soon as Mrs. Bai left Lin’s residence, the villagers soon found out the reason behind the smell of meat coming from Lin’s house. They became aware that the Lins were making a small business out of offal and beans.

“The Ma family is truly intolerable,” people gossiped, “Back when the Lin family was doing well, they were eager to propose a marriage. They even sworn promises about treating Lin Zige well, but now that the Lins are down, they kick them while they’re vulnerable. They’re not afraid of divine retribution.”

“They had high hopes for their son’s future.” added someone else begrudgingly.

…

This conversation soon reached the ears of the Ma family.

“Mom, stop gossiping like a cackling hen,” Ma Zhicai started, furrowing his brows.

On hearing her most adored son comparing her to a cackling hen, Mrs. Yan’s face immediately clouded over.

“I’ll be scrutinized in the future,” Ma Zhicai added. These words quickly deflated her anger. True, she couldn’t ruin her son’s reputation over the Lin family. Her son was to be an official one day. If his reputation was ruined, everything would be over.

“Listen to Zhicai,” Ma-er-lang added with a furrowed brow.

“Understood.” said Mrs. Yan, huffily. “What are you doing standing around? Are you expecting me to cook for you?”

Unable to vent her anger on her husband or son, she turned to see her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Huang, who had just returned from the fields. Now she had found her scapegoat.

Mrs. Huang was always terrified of her mother-in-law. Hearing Mrs. Yan’s rebukes, she immediately responded in a flustered panic, “Mom, I’ll do it right away.”

Having said that, she quickly rushed into the kitchen.

The Lin family, completely unconcerned about the goings-on outside, was busily working with Wu Dayou.

The next day, before daybreak, Wu Dayou had breakfast with Lin Changshu and left with his goods.

Lin Ziyin was pondering to herself, aside from making more tofu that day, her elder brother and the others also took along a good amount of braised meat. They should be able to bring back quite a few copper coins when they returned.

Combining that with their recent earnings, it was possible that within two to three days they would be able to buy the new grindstone.

“Brother, Brother Wu, what happened?” Just as Ziyin was lost in her thoughts, she suddenly heard Lin Zige’s panicked voice, accompanied by a “thump” sound.

Ziyin quickly recognized it as the sound of a wooden basin falling to the ground. Just a moment ago, Guo Huiniang and Lin Zige had gone out to fetch water.

Uncertain of what had happened outside, Ziyin quickly got to her feet and dashed out the door.

Upon stepping outside, she was shocked to see that the two men, who had left in the morning to deliver goods, had returned within half a day, battered and bruised.

Chapter 45 Jealousy(1)_1 “She was alright when she left in the morning, how did this happen?” Guo Huiniang asked with a crying tone.

“Was there a robbery?” Lin Zige also anxiously surrounded Lin Changshu.

“Let them come in and talk.” Lin Ziyin calmed down, using his cold voice to stop the two women’s tears.

“Let’s talk inside.” Lin Changshu glanced at Lin Ziyin and echoed. He walked into the courtyard with his head down, dragging his two damaged baskets.

“Ah, let’s go inside.” Guo Huiniang quickly opened the door.

Wu Dayou glanced at Lin Zige and followed them into the courtyard.

The old man had taken the two kids out to gather pigweed and was not at home. Lin Ziyin allowed Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou to sit down and carefully examined their injuries. Although they seemed seriously injured, they only suffered minor surface wounds, which relieved him.

Guo Huiniang and Lin Zige also relaxed, standing aside waiting for Lin Changshu’s explanation.

“What happened?” Lin Ziyin asked.

“Some people at the market took a liking to our business. They wanted to force us to give them our secret recipe, but we refused. We were then ambushed halfway there.” Lin Changshu replied.

“What are we going to do now?” Guo Huiniang asked anxiously.

“We’ll have to put the business on hold for now.” Lin Ziyin stated in a calm manner. Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou were both physically strong men. Their injuries indicated that there were quite a number of opponents, and they definitely weren’t pushovers. Both men returned with their baskets destroyed.

Lin Ziyin thought that if the attackers didn’t want to push too hard, the injuries sustained by Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou would have been even more serious.

“We’ve soaked all the beans, what are we going to do if we’re not making tofu?” Lin Zige asked anxiously.

“We’re not selling them, we’ll keep all for ourselves.” Guo Huiniang was really scared.

They were just ordinary country folks, not daring to offend anyone.

The Lin grandparents are no longer here. What would become of her if the head of the household were no longer around?

“We’ll just be careful next time. What will we do if we don’t run the business?” Lin Changshu disagreed, their living conditions had just started to improve, and he wasn’t willing to let go of the business so easily. “We’ve already made an agreement with the middleman.”

“So, this afternoon, let the suitable people from our village go there and let them know in advance that we won’t buy their unwanted parts temporarily. Let them sell to others first.” Lin Ziyin suggested.

“The good business is there, do we not do it forever?” Lin Changshu asked anxiously holding his head in misery.

“Next time, I will bring a fork with me when I go out.” Wu Dayou said, glancing at Lin Zige, who had red eyes.

“And then?” Lin Ziyin asked.

“Then if I encounter them, I’ll fight them.” Wu Dayou answered through gritted teeth.

“Are you stupid? They’re all desperate men.” Lin Zige hurriedly refuted. She didn’t want anyone in her family to get into any trouble.

“Don’t worry, listen to me. We definitely need to do the business, just take it slow for now. Perhaps someone will take the initiative to do this business with us.” Lin Ziyin replied. “Also, take advantage of today’s free time to make some new products, then go to the market on the fifteenth.”

“Can we really escape this?” Zige asked, sulking with a hint of tears.

“Maybe we can.” Lin Ziyin answered with a smile, “You guys just listen to me and take care of your injuries for these few days. Also, brother, where can we buy small cans, I need to buy a few more.”

“They’re sold in Xiawa Village, I’ll go take a look tomorrow.” Lin Changshu replied.

“Buy small ones, the smaller the better.” Lin Ziyin reminded once again.