Transmigrated Farmgirl's Scheme to Get Rich - Chapter 11
The Dough Soup Debacle
The dough had been kneaded and made into pieces. However, as the dough soup wasn’t just for Mo Yan anymore, Mo Ling added a pot of water and made it into a stew so they didn’t have to eat thin congee for lunch.
Mrs. Liang regretted breaking a perfectly good kneading bowl, so she picked up the two halves and put them away. She was planning on fixing them when the bowl repairman came by later, so the bowl could continue to be used.
When the dough soup was ready, Mo Ling took a hearty bowl to Mo Yan, who was still resting in bed. She hadn’t fallen asleep and heard everything Mrs. Liang and Mo Ling said.
“Sis, was I born by mother? Was I adopted?”
“Of course you’re not adopted! I was with her when she gave birth to you, and I was the one who named you! Don’t hope that your ‘real’ parents are rich and will come back to look for you when you get older!”
The word “Yan”, as in the phrase ‘smoke curling up’, had connotations of ‘home’, ‘the hearth’ and more. Mo Ling had never received a formal education and only knew a few words, but she had chosen a good name for her sister.
Mo Yan didn’t have much of an appetite and only had a little of the dough soup before setting the bowl down.
Mo Ling sighed worriedly, “If you can’t even eat this much, what should I do?”
Mo Yan pushed the bowl towards her, “Sis, you should eat! We don’t get to eat white dough very often.”
Mo Ling accepted the bowl and said as she ate, “Who do you think would eat your leftovers?”
They argued day and night, but in the end everything boiled down to a lack of money!
“Sis, we need to find a way to make money. We can’t live like this.”
“That’s easier said than done. How do we make money?”
Mo Yan quickly racked her brain for ideas. How do you make money when in a village in ancient China aside from farming and husbandry?
Apart from the fields owned by each household, there were large plains of alkaline soil outside the village. There were also a lot of plants growing near the pond and gutters.
She recalled that the dandelion had medicinal properties and could be sold. There might be some other herbs with medicinal properties aside from dandelions as well. And if she wanted to learn about medicinal herbs, the best person to ask was Mr. Cao.
“Sis, I’ll go and thank the young Mr. Cao later!”
“Then go after his school has finished for the day! It will be cooler by then.”
Mo Yan missed her ducklings, so got up and ran towards the pond. The ducklings were hunting for food in the grass under the willow tree in pairs, and their prey were grasshoppers, ants and all sorts of insects.
Lu Junming wasn’t there, and had presumably gone back home for lunch.
The ducklings already knew where the Mo family’s home was, and knew to go back when it was dark even when unsupervised. [1]
There were many dandelions growing by the pond. Mo Yan plucked some, wondering whether they could be sold or not. I’d have to ask Mr. Cao to know for sure.
She was sitting under the willow tree thinking when a bunch of red wildflowers were handed towards her. When she looked up, Lu Junming was smiling at her, “Why didn’t you come to the pond this morning?”
Today, he didn’t bring a fishing rod to the pond, but a bunch of flowers.
“I went to the fields. I probably won’t come every day in the future.”
“Why?”
“The ducks can find the way back home on their own now, so I don’t have to look after them every day. I have to find a way to make money anyways.”
“Will you still tell stories in the evening?”
“I will be. I might not be strong enough to work in the fields, but if I can earn some food by telling stories, then that’s still good.”
“Then I’ll go and listen!”
Mo Yan took the bouquet of wildflowers and held it up, “It’s very pretty. Lu Junming, you really have artistic talent!”
“What’s artistic talent?”
“I’m saying that you’re clever.”
There was a moment of silence before Mo Yan Yan suddenly said, “I’m sorry, Lu Junming!”
Lu Junming knew she was apologising for what happened last night.
“It’s nothing, he was telling the truth. I’m just a…”
“Shut up!” Mo Yan stopped him, “You are Lu Junming. It doesn’t matter who your parents are, but in my eyes, you’re still Lu Junming!”
When Mrs. Liang noticed that Mo Yan had gone to the pond again, she stood at the exit of the alleyway and shouted, “Mo Yan, where did you run off to? Why aren’t you resting when you’re sick, but instead running around!”
Mo Yan stood up and walked back. Lu Junming asked from behind her, “Did you fall ill?”
“It’s nothing, just a bit of heatstroke,” she replied as she ran back.
When she arrived at the south of the alleyway, Mrs. Liang was looking at her aggressively with her arms akimbo, “Why were you running around for no reason!”
“I went to check on the ducks.”
“They already know how to come back on their own, there’s no need to check on them. From now on you’re forbidden from going to the pond.”
Mo Yan didn’t dare talk back to her and entered the courtyard. Her sister had gone to the fields again, and Mrs. Liang sat down under the shade of the tree in the courtyard, still working on her shoe soles.
“I’ve troubled young Mr. Cao today. I want to go and thank him,” Mo Yan said.
When she heard that Mo Yan was going to the Cao family, Mrs. Liang agreed readily, “Sure. Change into a set of clean clothes before you go.”
Mo Yan went to change her clothes. Although they were still simple linen clothes, they weren’t as creased and she looked much sharper.
She was about to leave the house when she was stopped by Mrs. Liang, “When you want to thank someone, you have to give them a gift.”
After saying that, she put down the shoe soles she was working on and went to the kitchen to open a clay jar. She groped inside it for a moment before taking out two salted eggs. So that’s where she makes her salted eggs.
This time, she didn’t put them in a handkerchief, but instead she grabbed a small wicker basket made of willow bark and put the salted eggs into it. Then she put two more salted eggs in there, and after a moment’s hesitation, another two more.
Mo Yan was so shocked that her eyes widened, “So many?”
“The Cao family is very wealthy and they won’t care about these insignificant things, but our tokens of appreciation need to be decent!”
She handed the small wicker basket to Mo Yan, “Be careful, the eggs are still raw and might break. Tell Mrs. Cao that they should be steamed before eating!”
Mo Yan carefully went to the Cao family’s home while carrying the basket. She saw a few people on the way, and when they knew she was going to the Cao family’s home, smiled and said nothing.
The Cao family’s house was much grander than the Mo family’s. Their courtyard gates were painted black and the road from the courtyard gates to the house was made of azure bricks. To the north were five brick rooms with wide stairs at the entrance, also made of azure bricks.
To the west were two barns without doors. One had a work horse and an ox inside, while the other had a large cart and some farm equipment.
To the east were two rooms. One was the kitchen and the other was the granary.
The courtyard gates were open, so Mo Yan walked in. Mrs. Li, the Cao family’s maid, was drying clothes in the courtyard. When she saw Mo Yan carefully carrying a small wicker basket inside, she asked, “Yan’er, what are you carrying that you need to be so careful?”
“I have salted eggs with me. I came to thank young Mr. Cao for his help this morning.”
Mr. Cao had already returned from his clinic in Qianshui town. When he heard her speak, he came out of his in-home clinic and said, “I’ve talked to Zhang’er and his mother about it. I’ll take your pulse again to see if anything’s wrong.”
Mo Yan handed the small basket to Mrs. Li, “These salted eggs are still raw, so you should boil or steam them first. They taste really good!”
She followed Mr. Cao into his clinic, where he took her pulse.
Mr. Cao was a refined man who was extremely kind and never raised his voice. It was no wonder that he had raised a child like Cao Zhang.
After taking her pulse, Mr. Cao smiled faintly, “You’re not ill anymore. However, your body’s too weak and you need long term care to be healthy.”
The problem was, how could the Mo family afford long-term care?
PS: Edited Sept 11, 2023, to try and get the rest of the story up to the current standards. This includes using the current terms and polishing up the translation. Thanks for reading!
[1] This is about the point where I realised the ducks weren’t, in fact, living outdoors the entire time but actually returned to the Mo family.