Chapter 26.1

Chapter 26

“Third Aunt.” Lin Haicai smiled shyly.

Ning Shu didn’t expect her nephew, who usually seeks benefits, to also join the queue.

“Hai, you have quite a lot of chestnuts…” She went over to help him carry the baskets because he had a big one and a small one.

“Why so many?”

“The big one was picked by the older siblings this morning, and this one is mine,” Lin Hai pointed to the two baskets separately.

Since the incident of trading sugar for chestnuts was known to the older siblings, they went to pick chestnuts early in the morning today.

I see.

Ning Shu weighed the big basket first, then the small one. “Hai, this big basket is 9 jin of chestnuts, so you get 18 pieces of candy. Put them in your left pocket.”

It was actually only 8 jin and 6 liang, but Ning Shu wasn’t that meticulous.

“This small basket is 3 jin, so you get 6 pieces of candy. Put them in your right pocket.”

The small basket was picked by Lin Hai himself, not much.

“Just remember, the extra candy is for the older siblings, and the other ones are yours. Got it?”

Lin Hai nodded. “I got it, Third Aunt.” It’s easy to remember when you think of it in terms of more or less.

Next were the other kids…

one after another, until Ning Shu had collected all the chestnuts from the kids.

She was sore and tired. No, this scale wouldn’t do. She needed to use a hook scale that could weigh up to 20 jin at once.

Suddenly, someone tapped her waist.

Ning Shu turned around to see Yibao squatting on the ground, lightly tapping her waist with his little fist. When she turned back, Yibao smiled. “Mom…”

Ning Shu felt a swelling in her heart. As a childless woman, she felt the maternal feeling for the first time. Content, happy… and much more. “I’m fine, are you tired?”

“I’m not tired,” Yibao shook his head. Actually, he was tired, but seeing Mom rubbing her waist all the time, he knew her waist must be uncomfortable.

“Thank you, Yibao. A few taps from you and my waist feels better. You should rest too. I’ll take these in and then make lunch for you guys.” Ning Shu stood up.

Top of Form

“Ah.” Yibao didn’t rest but instead helped to carry the chestnuts.

There were many chestnuts in the baskets. Ning Shu had just calculated that she had collected over 150 jin, so it would take several trips. Seeing this, Yibao took out a small basket to help. Even Lin Hai, who had stayed to help after weighing the chestnuts, started to help carry.

Watching the two kids help, Ning Shu’s usually emotionally lacking heart gradually became richer.

After finishing moving the chestnuts, Ning Shu said, “You guys rest. Hai, you’ll have lunch here later, so tell the others at the old house.”

“Okay.” Lin Hai agreed without hesitation. He had already eaten twice at Yibao’s house, so he was used to it by the third time. Plus, Auntie Three’s cooking was delicious, and he liked eating at her house.

Today, with over 150 jin of chestnuts added to yesterday’s 60 jin, there were over 210 jin. She planned to sell 210 jin, and the rest could be used for snacks or chestnut stew with chicken. But selling 210 jin could fetch 840 yuan, a big profit. So today, she wanted to treat the little bees who helped with something nice.

Looking at her inventory, the only suitable dishes were pan-fried beltfish and pickled fish. She decided to make pan-fried beltfish.

Ning Shu made lunch first, with white rice. Then she went to the backyard to pick loofah and green onions. She planned to make loofah soup, scrambled eggs with green onions, and stir-fried pumpkin. There were still some long pumpkins from the last harvest. With these three dishes, plus the pan-fried beltfish, four dishes would be nice.

Just then, a woman’s voice came from outside, “Ning Zhiqing… Is Ning Zhiqing here?”

Ning Shu went out to see a woman from the village, but she couldn’t recall her name because she hadn’t interacted with her before. “What’s the matter?”

The woman asked somewhat embarrassed, “Ning Zhiqing, are you still collecting chestnuts? I heard from the kids that you exchange two pieces of sugar for a jin of chestnuts.”

It was already the end of the workday, and with the kids spreading the news, it seemed like everyone in the village knew about her trading sugar for chestnuts.

Ning Shu thought for a moment and said, “Not for now.”

“Oh?” The woman seemed disappointed. “I can offer a lower price. One jin of chestnuts for one piece of sugar?”

Ning Shu took the opportunity, “I was collecting chestnuts because I went back to my mother’s house a few days ago, and my family wanted chestnuts. But I’ve collected over 200 jin in the past two days, enough for my parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunts. How about this, if I collect again next time, I’ll let you know?” This excuse was quite plausible. With so many relatives, collecting 200 jin of chestnuts was not excessive.

“I see… well, then forget it,” the woman sighed and left. However, after a few steps, she came back. “Ning Zhiqing, do you… do you have any sugar left? Can you sell me a few? I don’t have sugar coupons.” Many children in the village had exchanged for sugar and had sugar to eat, but her children hadn’t picked any chestnuts, so they had no sugar. The children were crying, and she wanted to get some sugar for them.

Ning Shu had bought 4 jin of fruit sugar today, probably around 400 pieces. She had collected 153 jin of chestnuts, exchanged for 306 pieces of sugar, and had one jin of fruit sugar left. But she hadn’t thought about selling it, only exchanging. “Do you have any vegetables at home? Winter melon, eggplant, or something like that? In my garden, I only have bok choy, long pumpkins, edamame, and loofah. I want to exchange for other vegetables.”

“I do, I have winter melon, I have winter melon…” The woman couldn’t contain her joy. “I’ll trade winter melon with you.”

“One jin of winter melon for 2 pieces of fruit sugar, okay? Winter melon is only worth a few cents per jin, but fruit sugar is worth a penny per piece and requires a coupon,” Ning Shu added.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get the winter melon… Ning Zhiqing, how many jin of winter melon do you want to exchange?” The woman was eager.

“Give me two jin, exchange for four pieces of sugar, is that enough?” Too much winter melon would spoil, but two jin could be split for two meals.

“Okay, okay.” The woman hurried home to get the winter melon.

Looking around, Ning Shu saw only Yibao and Sanbao in the yard, with no Erbao or Lin Hai, probably at the old house. She took out four pieces of fruit sugar for Sanbao’s Yibao. “Yibao, when the aunty comes later, give her these four pieces of sugar after she gives you the winter melon.”

“I got it, Mom.” He had been watching just now.

As a result, before the woman returned, several other women came.

“Ning Zhiqing…”

“Guodong’s wife…”

“Yibao’s mom…”

All kinds of titles were used.

Ning Shu had to come out of the kitchen again, looking at the three villagers. Combined with the previous woman’s situation, she already knew their intentions.

One of the women asked, “Ning Zhiqing, are you still exchanging chestnuts? Ours are from last year, is that okay?” () “And ours, ours are also from last year.” ()

“I have this year’s.” Her family actually didn’t, but her mother’s family did. Chestnuts only sell for a few cents per jin, so it’s better to exchange for some sugar. People like them, who don’t have sugar coupons, usually can’t buy sugar, so now that they can exchange, they all want to.

“Ning Zhiqing, are you still exchanging chestnuts? Ours are from last year, is that okay?” () “And ours, ours are also from last year.” ()

“I have this year’s.” Her family actually didn’t, but her mother’s family did. Chestnuts only sell for a few cents per jin, so it’s better to exchange for some sugar. People like them, who don’t have sugar coupons, usually can’t buy sugar, so now that they can exchange, they all want to.

One of the women asked, “Ning Zhiqing, are you still exchanging chestnuts? Ours are from last year, is that okay?” () “And ours, ours are also from last year.” ()

“I have this year’s.” Her family actually didn’t, but her mother’s family did. Chestnuts only sell for a few cents per jin, so it’s better to exchange for some sugar. People like them, who don’t have sugar coupons, usually can’t buy sugar, so now that they can exchange, they all want to.

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Ning Shu definitely didn’t want last year’s chestnuts, no matter how well-preserved they were. Her app was all about fresh ingredients, and people in this era didn’t care about aged chestnuts or rice. But she didn’t know if the people buying on that app cared, so she could only procure fresh ones.

“I’m sorry, everyone. I collected the chestnuts because my family wanted to eat them. My mother’s family doesn’t have chestnut trees, and with so many relatives, I collected over 200 jin to distribute to them. Now it’s enough, so I don’t need any more.” Here, Ning Shu added a somewhat impolite tone, “If it weren’t for my mother, why would I collect so many chestnuts? I’m not stupid.” Her split personality was showing again.

The three women understood after hearing this. They could only leave disappointed. After they left, they encountered several people at the door who were inquiring, but after hearing from them, those people didn’t enter the yard and left.

The woman came quickly. Although she said she wanted two jin of winter melon, she brought more than two jin, looking like more than two jin. With the winter melon, Ning Shu immediately added another dish.

With two pots at home, cooking was fast. “Yibao, Erbao, and Hai, are you back?”

“Mom, we’re back…” Erbao responded from outside.

Lin Hai said, “Auntie Three, I’m back too.”

“Then come in for dinner.”

The four children’s stomachs were rumbling with hunger. When Sanbao heard his mother calling for dinner, he couldn’t wait and eagerly pulled his brothers’ hands, saying, “Let’s eat, let’s eat…”

Yibao and Erbao were almost dragged along by him. Since he learned to walk, Sanbao loved walking in front. But he was unsteady and looked like he might fall at any moment.

“Mom, what’s this?” Greedy Erbao saw the unfamiliar dish of pan-fried beltfish on the table and immediately asked.

“This is fish.” Ning Shu had taken out two servings of pan-fried beltfish, each weighing 200 grams. “But this fish has bones. When you eat it, be careful of the bones. Don’t put the whole piece in your mouth. Eat the meat on both sides of the fish, spit out the bones. Understand?” Ning Shu explained carefully, even picking the fattest piece of meat and showing them how to eat it. “Look, this is a fish bone. If a fish bone gets stuck in your throat, it can be very painful and cause illness, so eat slowly.”

She explained carefully, and because of the authority she had built up over the past five years, the children listened to her.

Erbao was the first to try, and as a foodie, he learned from his mother and also picked the best piece of meat.

Yibao picked the piece from the tail.

Seeing this, Ning Shu thought Yibao was too shy to pick a big piece. She said, “Yibao, at home, you don’t have to be so cautious. You can pick the biggest and best things to eat first, because this is your home. If you and your brother both want the same big and best piece, you can split it in half or into thirds and eat it together. But if you go to someone else’s home, you should be modest. You shouldn’t take the biggest and best, but you also shouldn’t take the smallest and worst. You can take something in the middle.”