After the Scholar Rejected Me, I Married the Rogue and Got Rich - Chapter 13

She spent nearly a hundred coins on meat, bones, odds and ends, and food. Now she had a full hundred coins left. She wrapped fifty coins in an old cloth and prepared to give them to her mother. She carefully hid the other fifty coins in the innermost crevice of the closet in her room.

After tidying up the money, she went out of the house and called to her younger siblings: “Song-ge, go feed the pigs. Miao-miao, feed the chickens and ducks.”

“Sister, is there really meat for dinner tonight?” Lin Song asked eagerly as he picked up the pig feed bucket.

Lin Miao also looked up with her little face full of anticipation.

Seeing their greedy expressions, Lin Sang chuckled and said, “Haven’t you had enough meat buns for lunch yet?”

“A meat bun is a meat bun, and braised pork is braised pork!” Lin Song declared confidently. “Sister, meat is the best!”

“That’s right!” Lin Miao nodded vigorously in agreement.

Lin Sang was amused by them, but deliberately put on a stern face: “If you want to eat meat, then work hard! If you do a good job, I’ll give you two extra pieces tonight!”

“Great!” the two children cheered and ran off to get to work with great enthusiasm.

Lin Sang turned and went into the kitchen. She first took out half of the five pounds of pork belly, cut it into even cubes, and prepared to make braised pork. She lightly rubbed the remaining meat with salt and hung it in a ventilated place, planning to marinate it carefully tomorrow so that it could last for several days. She also soaked the large pork bones in water, preparing to make soup.

Looking at the cut pieces of meat on the cutting board, she figured that just eating meat might not be enough, so she went to the vegetable garden behind the house and picked a few potatoes and a handful of green beans. Stewing potatoes and green beans in the braised pork would not only cut through the greasiness, but also allow the vegetables to absorb the meat juices, making them more fragrant and filling.

She heated the large iron pot, added a little precious oil, and a few spoonfuls of white sugar to caramelize it. Then she poured in the meat chunks and stir-fried them quickly until each piece of meat was coated with an enticing caramel color. She then added soy sauce, salt, scallions, ginger, and other seasonings, poured in an appropriate amount of water, covered the pot, and simmered it.

While the meat was stewing, she put the soaked bones into another earthenware pot, filled it with water, threw in a few slices of ginger, and placed it over the stove to simmer slowly over a low flame.

After thinking for a while, I used the leftover flour at home to make dough and made a ring of multigrain pancakes around the braised pork pot, so that the pancakes could also absorb the aroma of the meat juice.

Finally, I quickly stir-fried the remaining greens to make a refreshing side dish.

As night fell, Lin Laoda, Wang Shi, and Lin Baicai dragged their tired bodies home.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, a rich and enticing aroma of meat wafted over them, causing the three of them to swallow hard in unison.

Wang hurried into the kitchen, lifted the pot lid, and saw chunks of dark red meat, potatoes, and green beans bubbling in the broth, glistening and fragrant. She immediately exclaimed with heartache, “Oh dear! You spendthrift child! How could you put so much meat in! How can we live like this!” Although she complained, her eyes couldn’t help but glance at the pot, and her throat bobbed again.

Seeing her mother’s hypocritical expression, Lin Sang couldn’t help but chuckle. She pulled Wang Shi into the house and stuffed the fifty coins she had prepared into her hand: “Mother, please stop nagging. We made some money selling herbs today, so it’s only right to treat ourselves.” She then briefly explained the day’s earnings.

Wang Shi held the heavy copper coins in her hand and exclaimed in surprise, “So many? No wonder capable people love to go into the mountains. This is much faster to make money than digging for food in the soil!” She sighed, but then stuffed the money back into Lin Sang’s hand. “This money is what you earned through your hard work. Keep it safe. You’re not young anymore. When you get married, having more money in your hands will make you more confident. We have many children in our family. When our two sons get married, it will be a big expense. Your parents can’t give you much. You have to learn to plan for yourself.”

Lin Sang held the copper coin that her mother had given her back, feeling a surge of warmth in her heart, but also a sense of urgency.

Yes, our family was poor before, the younger generation was too small, and there weren’t many capable people.

But now that my younger siblings are growing up and can share the burden, they can no longer just focus on their immediate responsibilities like before. Otherwise, it will be difficult for my younger brothers to find good marriage partners in the future.

She needs to think carefully about how to improve her family’s life.

Dinner was served: a large bowl of braised pork with potatoes and green beans, a bowl of milky white bone broth, a plate of stir-fried greens, and a ring of cornbread soaked in meat juice.

The family sat together, so engrossed in their meal that they didn’t want to lift their heads. The room was filled with satisfied chewing sounds and exclamations of praise.

After the meal, Lin Sang said while clearing away the dishes, “Dad, Mom, there’s not much work to do in the fields now. I plan to start tomorrow. We’re just idling around anyway, so I’ll take Song Ge’er into the mountains to pick some mountain produce to dry for winter. I’ll also let him gather some firewood on the way back.”

Boss Lin nodded: “Yeah, we feel more at ease with a kid following us.”

Wang also said, “Miaomiao is older now, and she can do light chores like feeding the chickens and ducks and looking after the house. You go ahead, I’ll take care of things at home.”

The next day, Lin Sang finished tidying up the housework and carefully instructed Lin Miao to be obedient at home and not to run around. Then, she and Lin Song carried baskets on their backs, took hemp ropes and machetes, and went out.

When they met villagers on the road, they greeted them with smiles: “Sang girl, going into the mountains again?”

Lin Sang replied with a smile, “Yes, Auntie, take your brother inside for a look around, and gather some firewood while you’re at it.”

Watching the siblings, one tall and one short but equally agile, walk away, the aunt sighed to the people beside her, “Look at this family, how united they are! How could they not have a good life? They are all good children who know how to share the burden of the family.”

The person next to him said, “That’s right! Hey, I heard your nephew is getting engaged? I think Sang girl is quite nice, why don’t you go and sound her out?”

The aunt quickly waved her hand: “Oh dear, I can’t make that decision. My nephew has high standards and will have his own ideas.”

———

Lin Sang led her younger brother into the mountains, familiar with the area.

The mountains and forests in autumn are colorful and offer a unique harvest. She taught Lin Song to identify edible wild vegetables, such as shepherd’s purse and purslane. After picking them, she would blanch them and dry them in the sun. They would be delicious when stewed with meat or used to make steamed buns in winter.

They then pointed out the wild hawthorns and sea buckthorn berries hanging on the trees. Although they tasted sour, they were excellent when soaked in water or made into jam. Most importantly, they found several wild chestnut trees with ripe chestnuts scattered all over the ground. Some of them had already cracked open, revealing the brownish-red, glossy fruit inside.

“Sis! This is delicious! Tie Dan gave it to me!” Lin Song excitedly picked up one.

Lin Sang smiled too. Stewed chicken with chestnuts is a good dish, and roasted chestnuts can also be sold in town, which is a decent source of extra income. With a thought, she and her brother immediately got to work and filled a basket to the brim.

When they passed the path that used to be overgrown with thorns, Lin Sang stopped in her tracks.

The road ahead was noticeably wider, and the sprawling branches had been cut off at the base or pried aside, leaving clear traces of the alteration.

Lin Sang was slightly taken aback. Was it a coincidence? Did some kind hunter or woodcutter find it inconvenient and clean it up on their own?

But for some reason, the image of that large hand that had blocked her way in town that day kept flashing in her mind. The hand had distinct knuckles, but it bore several fresh, shallow scratches from thorns.

As if guided by some unseen force, she reached out and gently touched a broken branch beside her that had not been completely cleared and still had sharp thorns.

“Hiss—” A sharp pain shot through the back of her hand, and she jerked her hand back, a small bead of blood seeping from her fingertip.

“Big sister! Are you alright?” Lin Song exclaimed in surprise.

Lin Sang looked at the red marks on the back of her hand, then at the specially cleared road in front of her, and instantly understood.

It turns out it wasn’t a coincidence.

Someone was quietly clearing the obstacles in her path.

She recalled Zhou Han’s always cold and hard face, his clumsy words, and then compared them to this silent yet meticulous devotion…

A complex mix of emotions welled up in Lin Sang’s heart, a bittersweet feeling mixed with an indescribable warmth.

She sighed softly and whispered, “What an idiot…”

How can someone have such a huge difference between their outward appearance and their inner self?

“Big sister, what did you say?” Lin Song asked in confusion.

“It’s nothing,” Lin Sang said, regaining her composure and suppressing the excitement in her heart. She tightened the straps of her basket. “Let’s go and take another look ahead, and pick up some more chestnuts.”

But as she turned and continued walking into the mountains, her mind was no longer as calm as it had been on the way there