Wednesday 14 October 2020

BTTS 154




Chapter 154. Moon cakes


"Mother, you're apologizing to me?" San Wa looked at his mother blankly.

"Mother made a mistake, so of course I need to apologize. Whether one is an adult or a child, it's the same. As long as one is in the wrong, they must have the courage to admit the mistake and apologize." Lin Qing He nodded.

"Then I forgive you, Mother," San Wa declared, staring at his mother with bright eyes.

"Then thank you, San Wa." Lin Qing He looked at him and said, "Since you don't like to drink milk anymore, then don't drink it."

"Really?" San Wa's eyes lit up.

"Really." Lin Qing He affirmed.

"I don't want to drink milk, however, I do want to eat milk mantou." San Wa watched his mother as he spoke.

"Sure." Lin Qing He inwardly uttered that milk mantou was deliberately made to torment you and unexpectedly you actually really like to have it.

San Wa was delighted.

He stuck to his mother for the whole day and didn't even go outside to play.

The next morning, Lin Qing He boiled milk, and then she added a little rock sugar in one share of the milk.

"Mother, you said you won't force me." San Wa bitterly stared at the milk in front of him and sulkily glanced at his mother.

"Have a taste." Lin Qing He gave him a spoonful.

San Wa looked at his mother and took this sip. Afterward, he blinked in surprise, "Sweet?"

"I added some sugar for you. Will you drink now? If you don't want to, I can give it to your father." Lin Qing He stated.

"I'll drink and give it another go." San Wa quickly said.

Lin Qing He passed the spoon to him and San Wa drank it by himself.

To say the extent of sweetness, it wasn't much. It was only a tiny bit of rock sugar added. Still, the sweetness was there. With such a little hint of sweetness, it was also very delicious.

San Wa fell in love right away. Eating mantou with sweet milk was such a pleasure. Where was the previous unwillingness and bitterness?

Seeing him like this, Lin Qing He internally smirked. She thought I can still sort you, little furry boy, out, no?

"Mother, I want mine to have sugar too," Er Wa said with envy.

"San Wa isn't afraid of tooth decay. If you don't want to have tooth decay like him, you can add it." Lin Qing He glanced at him.

Er Wa internally cried out that he was really not afraid of tooth decay, but seeing his mother's gaze, he knew that he would have no more milk to drink if he kept going.

So he obediently ate his share.

With the pure milk turned into sweet milk, San Wa liked to drink it. After finishing his half bowl of milk, he was still a little dissatisfied.

Lin Qing He didn't pay any heed to him. Finally, he drank milk.

Father Zhou and Mother Zhou can finally see another side of Fourth's wife.

Although she appeared harsh, she really spoiled the children. If they didn't like to drink pure, she can add sugar to it. The other children in the village have never got a taste of milk.

The mantou at home was cornmeal mantou. From the start, there wasn't much milk. Although they all have it, the amount wasn't much. Lin Qing He didn't want to make them because she bought the milk for her children to drink.

Don't say she doesn't respect Father Zhou and Mother Zhou. She and Zhou Qing Bai didn't even get a share?

After the last summer harvest, it wasn't long before the Mid-Autumn Festival almost arrived.

Last time, Lin Qinghe relied on the summer harvest to sell a lot of grain. Mother Zhou would also enquire a bit. Lin Qing He told her that she had exchanged it for meat coupons with someone.

Mother Zhou realized what she did with the grain. She didn't say anything besides reminding her to be careful.

It wasn't like Mother Zhou doesn't understand. After all, there was always meat at home. And was it easy to buy meat these days?

So she consciously pinpointed the reasons for this.

Because she didn't ask anything else, Lin Qing He had sold more than 500 jins of grain and made a fortune.

During these times, food was very easy to sell, so she didn’t have to worry about nobody wanting it.

Lin Qing He gathered more than three hundred jins by herself. The other two hundred, she asked Third Brother Lin to collect it for her. Afterward, he stealthily carried it outside for her to receive.

Third Brother Lin just thought that his sister didn't have enough food, so she told him to buy some in his village and didn't think much.

Asking him to help buy it, he just buys it. No other questions were asked.

While Third Sister-in-law Lin had a vague idea, but she didn't say anything.

Toward Third Sister's help to her family, she had to remember it for a lifetime.

Without this Third Sister, she and her three daughters would currently be at old Lin Family's side and be shunned. How could she possibly simply move out like now?

After moving out, she felt that the sky above her head was really clear.

With Third Brother Lin's existent, Lin Qing He would naturally make more money.

The price of a jin of grain on the black market was raised to a dime and a half. If one didn’t have food coupons, they can buy it if they have money.

One jin was one dime and half, ten jins was one yuan and half, meaning one hundred jins was fifteen yuan. With five hundred jins of grain, Lin Qing He made nearly eighty yuan during this time's summer harvest.

And this was because of the summer harvest. If it came to the autumn harvest and all the grain was mature, then more grain can be collected!

However, for this year's summer harvest, Lin Qing He did dare to take the risk. In previous years, she was stopped at 200 jins max at the end of the day.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, Lin Qing He came over to see if there were any moon cakes.

However, at this time, the moon cakes were pretty rare in the supply and demand cooperatives and the taste wasn't that great. At least for Lin Qing He. She had bought it before.


The taste was incomparable to later generations.

But it did not prevent people from desiring it at this time. The boys all liked to eat it.

Lin Qing He didn't buy it after coming over.

The salesperson's name was Shen Yu, who was the person from the last time that wanted her to help introduce a potential partner. She called Lin Qing He to go inside and talk.

Then she gave Lin Qing He a jin of moon cakes: "I kept this for myself. If you want it, I'll give it to you."

"Keep it for yourself, I can't really take yours. Take it back and eat it yourself." Lin Qing He smiled and said.

"I still have a jin." Shen Yu smilingly responded.

Lin Qing He understood that this was internal consumption.

Last time Shen Yu wanted her to help introduce someone and she had mentioned it to Zhou Qing Bai. Zhou Qing Bai was not interested in introducing someone to someone, but since his wife brought it up, Zhou Qing Bai mentioned a few words when he went to see his comrade.

His comrade was definitely married, however, there were people under his comrade.

So Lin Qing He arranged for a day and introduced him to Shen Yu. The young man worked in the police station, had a very good root, and was handsome. At present, the two were getting pretty intimate. Shen Yu naturally wanted to thank Lin Qing He, the matchmaker, for this.

She gifted a red envelope to Lin Qing He last time, but Lin Qing He didn't accept it and just let them connect by themselves.

However, Shen Yu always felt that she needed to repay Lin Qing He. Every time Lin Qing He came over when she was at work, she would use her connection to help Lin Qing He gets the things even if she didn't have to.

The moon cake from this time was one of them.

Lin Qing He didn't act shy after hearing her say that.

Others were displeased to see Lin Qing He having it: "She came afterward, why does she have it while we don't?"

"Oh, Brother. Don't tell me off. I ordered this a few days ago. I'm counting on this bit of moon cake to coax the kids when I get back." Lin Qing He explained.

6 comments:

  1. I wish there was more of this, mc greasing the correct hands and getting shit done, no just page after page of her getting pounded and mother zhou disapproving but keeping it to herself.

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  2. Kinda wonder when it'll change to them moving into the city, I think the college arc would be fun, and I'm guessing it'll be here soon? since we practically zoomed past Summer.

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  3. I can understand why LQH more lenient to San Wa, afterall LQH transmigrated when San Wa was a baby 😅

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