The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences
The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences Chapter 55

Chapter 55

In rural households, where food was scarce this year, wine was considered a luxury. Pouring wine was naturally not a task for the elders.

At this table, there were only the two old gentlemen from the Chen and Lu families, followed by Chen Youtian, Shi Erlang, and the two Lu brothers. There were only six people who could drink, and the semi-grown children couldn’t touch alcohol. They were sitting properly at the table right now.

Regardless of whether it was in the city or the countryside, at mealtime, if the elders hadn’t started eating, the younger generation wouldn’t touch their food. This was a rule understood by most families. So, at the moment, the semi-grown children were just watching the adults enjoy themselves. The oldest among them, Zhuanzhu, was a little envious that his third uncle could drink. He was only fourteen, and adults didn’t allow children to drink. He didn’t even know what wine tasted like.

Among Chen Youtian’s generation, Shi Erlang was more lively and had a greater fondness for alcohol. When he saw Sang Luo bring out the wine, he stood up to receive it.

At a glance, it turned out to be poured wine!

He picked it up and looked around, his eyes gleaming. “Lilian, did you buy this from the village grocery store? I checked before; this must have cost eighteen wen, right?”

Sang Luo didn’t expect him to be so clear about the price. She smiled and said, “Uncle Shi, you seem to have a good taste for food. My funds are limited, so I couldn’t afford anything better.”

“Isn’t this good enough? It’s top-notch! Your Uncle Shi isn’t just a food lover; I’m also greedy. When the craving hits, I can only afford a few coins for wine on holidays or special occasions. Today, I’m in luck.”

Old Man Chen and the others all agreed, “We don’t usually buy such a jar of wine. Wife-in-law Alie’s, your hospitality is beyond words.”

Sang Luo smiled. “Then let’s all have a good meal and enjoy some drinks tonight.”

Seeing the sealed jar of wine, she didn’t know how to open it. Seeing her reaction, Shi Erlang laughed, “Don’t worry about this; I’ll take care of it. Just find a stone to loosen the seal. You go sit at the table; we’ll handle the wine.”

Sang Luo wasn’t really adept at serving drinks for men. “Thank you, Uncle Shi, for your help.”

After greeting the elders at the table, she turned to check on the children’s table.

With Shen Ning fetching people, Shen An was in charge of this table. Several semi-grown children, aged twelve and up, had joined the men’s table. This table was full of kids, the oldest being ten-year-old Er Niu, and the youngest being Shen San’s two-year-old daughter, Tian Ya’er. There was also a girl who looked about four or five years old, accompanying Er Niu and San Niu. She should be from the Shi family.

There were eleven children, with the younger ones squeezed together. One bench accommodated three, and the smallest ones, like Shen Tian and the Shi family girl, didn’t sit at the table. They stood beside their brothers waiting to be fed. Shen Ning, who went to fetch people, and Ah Xu, who hadn’t arrived yet, made room for one more bench.

Seeing her elder sister-in-law approaching, Shen An leaned over and whispered, “Hu Zi also has an older sister named Big Sister. Big Sister didn’t come today either.”

The little one whispered to her elder sister-in-law, “Hu Zi said his grandmother was afraid there would be too many people at home, so she didn’t want everyone to come. She thought having his dad and his two brothers, plus him, would make it four. His mother, sister, and brother stayed home this morning, so he asked his second aunt to bring Ah Xu over.”

Hu Zi didn’t know about the change in the guests. He only noticed that everyone from the Shi family had come, and all of Shen Jin’s siblings were there. He was concerned that his elder sister and cousin Ah Xu hadn’t come, so he quietly spoke to Shen An.

Sang Luo’s eyes flickered as she listened. The slight change in Mrs. Lu’s expression at that moment should have been due to this.

She didn’t know whether the switch in guests from the Lu family was due to some scheme between the two sisters-in-law or just a coincidence. It didn’t matter. She was hosting this feast today to thank everyone for their help, and she didn’t care to delve into the Lu family’s affairs.

Originally unaware of how many children the Lu family had, Sang Luo heard that besides Mrs. Lu and Ah Xu, there was also a girl named Big Sister. Worried that she hadn’t instructed Shen Ning to call her, she said to Shen An, “Then you go and call your Big Sister too.”

Mrs. Lu seemed to be someone who understood propriety and cared about appearances. She probably felt genuinely embarrassed to have three people from her family come. Sang Luo thought that if it weren’t for Zhuang Zhu, Tie Zhu, and Hu Zi all working at her house and being invited, Mrs. Lu wouldn’t have let these kids come either.

Recalling how kind Mrs. Lu had been to her daughter-in-law that day, Sang Luo thought she had asked her daughter-in-law to bring Ah Xu over to take care of the second house, which didn’t have a man to rely on.

When Shen An heard his sister-in-law tell him to fetch someone, he smiled and agreed, quietly informing Hu Zi as he ran out.

When Sang Luo returned to the women’s table, some of them asked about Shen An going out. She smiled and said, “I just found out that Hu Zi has an older sister. I asked Xiao An to go and call her. Since everyone is here, it wouldn’t be right to leave her alone at home.”

Mrs. Lu was a little embarrassed. “Alie, this isn’t appropriate. To be honest, we’ve never had such a feast in our village with so many people.”

Sang Luo interrupted with a smile, “Auntie, rules can be flexible. Our feast is a bit different. We’re just getting together for some fun with a few families. We don’t need to be so strict. Besides, I’m not that generous. Look, we’re seated at these three tables, and even if a few more people come, we’ll still have these three tables. The kids can squeeze in a bit and stand at the corners. It won’t cost me any extra money, right?”

Everyone laughed, and Mrs. Chen continued, “That’s right. We all know each other here. Why stick to those rules so rigidly?”

Mrs. Shi and the others also chimed in with laughter, and Mrs. Lu smiled too. “Alright, alright, I see it now. Alie is generous, and you guys aren’t making fun of me either. This old lady will let it slide this time.”

With the tension broken, the atmosphere became livelier.

The children’s table had already started eating, and when the men’s table was served wine, Old Man Chen and Old Man Lu invited everyone to eat and began using their chopsticks.

Seeing this, Mrs. Chen smiled at the others at the table. “Shall we start eating too?”

Everyone echoed, “Let’s eat!”

As they reached for the food, Mrs. Shi asked with a smile as she picked up a piece of tofu, “What dish is this? I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”

Mrs. Chen chuckled. If there was anyone clever in the Shi family, it was this Mrs. Gan. Some people were openly sharp, while others were cunning internally. Shi Erlang was the former, and Mrs. Gan was the latter.

Without saying a word, Mrs. Gan smiled and tasted the tofu.

Sang Luo smiled. “This is tofu. It’s not something we often see around here. Give it a try.”

Everyone was curious, so those who hadn’t picked up food yet reached for the tofu. After tasting it, they all raised their eyebrows. Mrs. Shi’s daughter-in-law asked, “Where did you buy this? Is it expensive? Why haven’t I heard of it?”

Mrs. Gan tasted the tofu and looked at Sang Luo.

Sang Luo put everything on the table and naturally wouldn’t hide anything. She smiled and said, “It’s a recipe passed down from my mother’s family, and I made it myself.”

Except for Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Fangniang, or maybe Mrs. Gan too, everyone else was stunned. At that moment, they all had the same thought: no wonder they could afford to build a house! How could they afford such good food when they were selling vegetables? 

Sang Luo smiled and picked up a piece of tofu. “This is called Fairy Tofu, and I made it myself. It’s simply made by mixing it with sugar syrup. Auntie and the other ladies, please try it and see if you like it.”

Almost instinctively, everyone reached for the Fairy Tofu.

This time, the taste of the Fairy Tofu wasn’t as pure as the regular tofu they had just eaten. They all looked at Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Fangniang.

Mrs. Shi’s daughter-in-law was the most straightforward. She asked Mrs. Fangniang, “Mrs. Fangniang, did you also sell this when you went to the county before?”

Mrs. Fangniang: …

What does she have to do with this matter when the main person is sitting right here?

Mrs. Gan: …

My younger siblings are at it again.

It would have been better to ask Sang Luo directly rather than asking Mrs. Fangniang in her presence.

Feeling somewhat awkward, she quickly thought about how to smooth things over. Sang Luo smiled and said, “It’s alright. We have some friendship between our families now. Since I’ve put everything on the table, there’s nothing I can’t say. It’s true that I sold vegetables in the county before, and this Fairy Tofu was also sold. It’s not a very expensive food, just two cents per piece. I earned some money to buy rice and grain for daily life. Grandpa Chen didn’t mention it to anyone outside, and I asked him to help me keep it quiet.”

Everyone then understood that as for the house in front of Shen’s parents’ room, if they had such a recipe in their hands, they really had to be careful.

No wonder they were in a hurry to build a house and put up a fence.

And looking at the locked backyard door, they understood even more.

Mrs. Gan smiled first. “The recipe passed down in the family is now used to make a living. It’s necessary to be cautious. It was also my brother and sister who spoke too quickly. We shouldn’t have asked. Daughter-in-law Alie, you can rest assured. Let’s stop here for today’s conversation. Only our few families know about it, and we won’t spread it further.”

Mrs. Shi’s daughter-in-law and Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law nodded in agreement. Mrs. Lu was relatively better off, but Mrs. Shi’s daughter-in-law and Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law were now quite envious of Mrs. Fangniang.

Two cents per piece, and it’s a type of food that no one here has seen before. It must sell well.

Sang Luo saw everyone’s reactions and smiled. “There’s no need for that. Now that the house is built, the recipe isn’t so easy to learn. I originally wanted to sell these two kinds of tofu at the market. The people in the village will know sooner or later. But the other issue is that I have limited energy, and making this tofu every day takes up a lot of time. Plus, going back and forth to the county is a bit too much for me. Today, I made these two dishes because I wanted to ask for your opinions. Do you have any intention to, like Grandpa Chen’s family, allocate someone to also engage in the business of selling food?”

The courtyard was too crowded, especially with so many children, making it particularly noisy. Sang Luo spoke in a low voice, and only the people at her table could hear her.

Mrs. Chen and her daughter-in-law smiled, as they expected.

However, the daughter-in-law of the Lu family and the sister-in-law of the Shi family were both surprised and delighted. “Really!? Can we also sell this stuff?”

“Of course. Let’s eat first, and we’ll talk more later.”

Both families were stunned, as if they had just been hit by a pie and were a bit dazed, unable to believe it.

At that moment, Shen Ning’s voice came from outside the courtyard.

“Sister-in-law, Aunt Lu is here.”

After a few people woke up from their dazed state, they all turned around and saw that Shen An and Shen Ning’s brother and sister were back, along with Feng Liuniang, Da Niu and Ah Xu. They all rested their chopsticks and stood up to greet her.

“Liuniang, come over here.”

Their faces were all beaming.

Feng Liuniang: ???

3 Comments
  1. M&M's has spoken 5 months ago

    With two more people helping to sell her tofu, Sang Luo will be raking in the money pretty quickly, lol. I’m just concerned about which daughters-in-law from the Lu and Shi families will be selected because clearly she needs to choose people with both good and trustworthy personalities.

    Thanks for the chapter! 😀

    Reply
    • JShaw has spoken 3 months ago

      Yeah. Honestly, getting jealous is not necessarily bad. It is only really bad if it goes too far and becomes malicious in nature.

      Hope they can work it out.

      Reply
  2. TJadakaa has spoken 8 months ago

    MC is smart. Collect allies and they will protect you later

    Reply

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