Chapter 53: Mutton Soup and Little Thoughts

The next morning, a delicious aroma of meat wafted through Xiaoda Village.

This time, the smell was particularly strong, practically filling the air for miles around. Even from a distance, you could smell the savory scent of stewed mutton.

The new house’s kitchen hadn’t been finished yet, so Lin Yue and Zhang Yuan Dong cooked their meal at the old house after returning from the county.

Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua had come to help early in the morning. Aunt Su didn’t come this time. She had heard Lin Yue say that she was making mutton soup and felt that she wouldn’t be of much help, so she simply stayed home. That way, she could also save on a meal.

Lin Yue usually paired her mutton soup with scallion pancakes.

But scallion pancakes were too oily, so Lin Yue didn’t dare mention it. She was afraid Wang Xiuxiang would scold her.

Wang Xiuxiang’s family lived by the sea. When it rained heavily a few days ago, the wind there was much stronger than in Xiaoda Village. They said that trees were blown down, and many roofs were blown off. The damage was much more severe than in their village.

It happened to be the busy season for double cropping, so Wang Xiuxiang didn’t have time to go back and check on her family. She had been worried about them for a long time until she heard about the relief grain. Only then did she feel a little relieved.

Yesterday, she finally went back to her family’s home. Seeing that her family was doing okay, she finally started to smile again today.

Liu Jianhua brought over a griddle from his house and set it up on the mud stove next to the kitchen to bake mixed grain pancakes.

They were preparing lunch for fourteen people, which was quite a task.

Although it was just mutton soup, cutting the meat, chopping scallions and cilantro, and other preparations took a lot of time.

Wang Xiuxiang also stir-fried a dish with seaweed. They worked until almost noon before they finished preparing the food.

Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua carried buckets to deliver the food to the workers, while Lin Yue carried a full winnowing basket of mixed grain pancakes. The three of them went out together.

As soon as they opened the door, they saw a group of little kids gathered outside the gate. They were peering through the door, their eyes wide with anticipation. Not far away, several adults were also peeking in.

Lin Yue looked back and saw several figures hiding behind the collapsed courtyard wall, as if they had been standing there for a while.

The three of them were startled by the sight. Wang Xiuxiang was the first to react. She pushed Lin Yue and told her to stay inside and guard the door, while she and Liu Jianhua carried the buckets out, one on each side.

Lin Yue had also been startled. She had gone to the new house to deliver water twice before, and there was no one at the door then. How come there were so many people suddenly?

She was about to close the door when she saw a young man running towards her. Even from a distance, he shouted, “Sister-in-law Lin, wait a minute!”

The young man was thin and lanky, with slumped shoulders and a loose shirt that swayed in the wind, as if a gust could blow it away.

He was another good-for-nothing in the village, besides Wang Baodong. His name was Zhu Yongchang.

He was different from Wang Baodong. Wang Baodong was spoiled by his parents, lazy, and had a lot of tricks up his sleeve, but at least he wasn’t very bold. You could beat him up, and he wouldn’t dare to provoke you again.

Zhu Yongchang was different. He was a neglected child, who had grown up stealing and scamming.

He wasn’t very interested in women, just gambling.

If he had any money, he would gamble it away. If he didn’t have any money, he would steal it and gamble it away.

Lin Yue had always kept her distance from this kind of person. She had hardly ever spoken to him. Now, she didn’t know why he suddenly stopped her.

Even though Zhu Yongchang was thin, he ran all the way to Lin Yue and didn’t even take a breath: “Sister-in-law Lin, are you still short of workers? I’ll help you fix the house. I’m not doing anything anyway. I can start working right now!”

Lin Yue… You came right when the food was served. Are you afraid that everyone won’t know what your plan is?

Her gaze swept over the adults outside the gate, all waiting to see how she would respond. She spoke firmly, “We don’t need any more workers. No.”

She was about to close the door.

Zhu Yongchang quickly blocked the door and said anxiously, “Sister-in-law, I’m just trying to help. We’re all from the same village. Why are you so heartless?”

Lin Yue: “They say even rabbits don’t eat grass near their burrows. You know what kind of person you are. We’re all from the same village. Why do you only target people in the same village?”

In the spring, Xiaowanli and Lingling had their dates and crackers stolen several times. She had thought it was some children doing it and had secretly followed the two children for several days.

Who knew it was this twenty-something-year-old man doing it. He was very brazen and dared to steal right in front of her house.

Lin Yue was furious at the time and beat him up in front of the children.

After that, he didn’t dare to provoke the two children again. He would also avoid her whenever he saw her. She thought he had learned his lesson and wouldn’t dare to mess with her family anymore. But it seemed he hadn’t learned his lesson and had come running to take advantage of the situation, smelling the aroma of meat.

Zhu Yongchang wanted to keep pestering her. This was a good opportunity to eat meat. Who wouldn’t be tempted? What was wrong with doing some work? There were so many people, he could sneak around and slack off without being discovered.

Recently, Widow Liu’s family had built a brick and tile house, and the food was not as good as what Lin Yue was making.

“It’s a good thing, and if you miss it, you’ll never get another chance.”

He propped himself against the door, refusing to leave: “Sister-in-law Lin, you can’t do this. Little Grey and I have been friends since we were kids. I was just trying to help my brother. How can you turn me away? When Little Grey comes back and finds out you were so heartless, he won’t let you off easy!”

Lin Yue laughed and grabbed the door bolt from the side and swung it towards his hand holding the door: “You’re so close to Yuan Dong. When he comes back tonight, you can go ask him. Why are you bothering me about this?” She slammed the door shut while Zhu Yongchang dodged.

She really didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

As expected, Zhu Yongchang didn’t continue to pester her. He knew that many people nearby were secretly watching him and laughing at him. Although he was thick-skinned, he didn’t want to be made a monkey by them. Knowing that Lin Yue wouldn’t listen to him, he turned around and walked away, sticking to the wall.

Lin Yue sent Zhu Yongchang away and went inside to find a large basin. She put half of her pickled radish strips and tiger skin peppers into it, added some seasonings, and placed a winnowing basket on top. Then, she carried it out of the house.

As she went out, she took a deliberate look around.

She noticed that the few people who had been watching the show were still observing from a distance, but Zhu Yongchang was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Yue didn’t pay any attention and continued to carry the food to the new house.

When she arrived, Liu Jianhua and Wang Xiuxiang had already started serving the food.

Everyone brought their own bowls and chopsticks. Liu Jianhua and Wang Xiuxiang just had to ladle the meat and soup into their bowls.

They were doing physical labor, so they couldn’t just be given soup. Lin Yue gave each of them a thick stack of pancakes.

Liu Jianhua was a quick worker and had baked a lot of pancakes that morning. Even after Lin Yue distributed them, there were still many left.

Lin Yue placed the pickled vegetables on the table and smiled as she told everyone to help themselves.

Among the workers today, several were from the neighborhood.

Zhang’s family had three brothers, and two brothers from Zhang Zhixi’s family on the east side had also come.

It was considered impolite not to call your neighbors for such a big event like building a house, unless the two families were on bad terms. In that case, the neighbors would definitely come to help.

Liu Dezhi, the husband of Jin’s older sister, was also there. He was the oldest and had experience building houses, so he was the leader among the workers.

Zhang Shouren and Zhang Shouyi, two brothers, had also come. Zhang Yuan Dong had told them to come and help for a few days.

The two brothers were only thirteen or fourteen years old, but Zhang Yuan Dong thought they should learn more, so he had specifically called them over so they could learn from the experience.

The two brothers worked quite well and didn’t slack off just because they were young.

That morning, they ran to wherever they were needed. Even when they had to carry stones up the mountain, a tiring task, they didn’t slack off. They were two very qualified workers.

Lin Yue had left the two little ones at Zhang’s family’s house that morning. Wang Xiuxiang had already taken them in. When she saw Lin Yue coming over, she quickly called her to come inside and eat.

Lin Yue asked, “Why didn’t you call your two boys over? It’s so close. I’ll go call them.”

Wang Xiuxiang quickly stopped her and whispered, “Their uncle sent some sea shrimp over early this morning. They should be eating at home now. We don’t need to worry about them.

I just went to the west room to get the two children and brought them a bowl of mutton soup.”

Lin Yue nodded, “That’s right. You’re so thoughtful.”

She secretly took out the yellow croaker canned food that Zhang Yuan Dong had sent back and shared it with her two good friends.

Who knew that as soon as she opened the can, Liu Jianhua covered her chest and vomited.

Lin Yue was immediately dumbfounded. She and Wang Xiuxiang quickly went over to help her, pouring water and patting her back. When she finally calmed down, Lin Yue was puzzled and picked up the fish can and smelled it again: “It’s yellow croaker. It doesn’t smell bad. You must have an upset stomach.”

Wang Xiuxiang glared at her and asked Liu Jianhua, “Count the days. Are you pregnant?”

Liu Jianhua was stunned when she heard this.

She counted for a moment and nodded. Her emotions were visibly agitated.

Wang Xiuxiang and Lin Yue quickly held her down: “Don’t get excited now! Sit down and calm down. I’ll take you home later, and let Little Moon go find Doctor Liu to check on you.”

Lin Yue nodded, “My dear sister-in-law, you need to calm down now. You helped me cook all morning. I’d be in big trouble if you got tired. Rest well now!”

Liu Jianhua’s pregnancy was hard-won. Lin Yue was afraid for a moment.

Liu Jianhua couldn’t sit still: “Oh, I’d better go home. I’m not tired at all, really.”

Lin Yue and Wang Xiuxiang laughed. They understood. Liu Jianhua had gotten married two years before Lin Yue, but they still didn’t have any children. The whole family had been hoping for this for so many years. Now that she was finally pregnant, how could she not be excited?

They didn’t tease her anymore and quickly helped her up, one on each side, and took her to the village clinic to find someone.