CHAPTER 105: CHAPTER 105: SAUSAGE

"It’s nothing." Lin Xiang skillfully tossed various well-proportioned seasonings into the pot. "If you want to earn money, you have to endure this bit of hardship." Although selling spicy noodles only earned about one yuan in net income a day, for farmers scraping a living from the land, earning one yuan a day was already quite good.

Besides, compared to pulling a cart to the big market, working in the fields for work points was more tiring.

Mrs. Lin was just used to Lin Yun sharing the manual labor, so she was reluctant to exert herself.

Just as Lin Xiang finished preparing the base ingredients, Fifth Aunt came knocking at the door, carrying several pieces of cured pork and a few sausages.

"Sister-in-law, Sister Niu, these were given from my parents’ place for New Year’s feasting. I divided some and brought them over. Hang them on the rafter and eat a bit each day while cooking; with just the three of you, it should last until the New Year."

There were a total of three slabs of cured pork, each about a pound. The cured meat naturally weighed less after drying, so what Fifth Aunt brought today was almost as valuable as the seven yuan Lin Xiang used to buy cotton.

Lin Xiang knew that Fifth Aunt’s parents were slightly better off, but meat wasn’t eaten casually, let alone given generously to a married daughter. Whether the sisters-in-law at home would be happy was another matter.

Perhaps what she brought today was all that had been sent from her parents’ place.

"Fifth Aunt, we can’t eat this much. How about I just keep one slab of meat and three sausages?"

"Listen to your aunt and keep them all." Fifth Aunt placed everything on the table without argument. "Oh, and I’ve finished making clothes for Lin Yun, measured according to the last set. The cotton is also reused from it. Let him try it on for size."

Fifth Aunt was worried the oil from the cured meat might drip onto Lin Yun’s new cotton-padded jacket, so she covered it with an old cloth, but upon unveiling it, she didn’t see Lin Yun.

Lin Xiang explained, "Since there’s no work in the fields recently and no work points to earn, my brother went to the city to find some work. He won’t be back for a couple of days."

"Then I’ll leave the clothes here." Fifth Aunt sniffed, "What smells so good?"

"I’m preparing the base ingredients to cook spicy noodles. How about you bring over Chunya, Dong Sheng, and Fifth Uncle to join us for a meal?"

Fifth Aunt waved her hands repeatedly, "No need, no need. We’re about to start cooking dinner at home too, so I’ll head back first."

"Don’t be so polite!" Mrs. Lin insisted, "The spicy noodles are made with sweet potato vermicelli, which isn’t worth much. Who can miss out on a bite? Listen to me, go and call over Fifth Uncle, Chunya, and Dong Sheng so we can all enjoy the sweet potato noodles together."

With the addition of Fifth Aunt’s family, Lin Xiang specially chopped some minced meat and half a sausage to cook with the noodles.

When Fifth Aunt’s family arrived, they could only ask about the enticing aroma.

Dong Sheng gulped down his saliva, "Sister Niu, why do these spicy noodles smell so good? How come I’ve never had them before?"

Chunya chimed in from the side, "Didn’t you see the broth’s deep red color? How much oil does that take? Plus the aroma is so rich, who knows how many seasonings were added. Never mind if oil is difficult to buy, the seasonings alone aren’t cheap. It’s almost as pricy as a meat meal. Which household in our village would splurge like this?"

Upon hearing this, Fifth Aunt quickly said, "So there’s so much to spicy noodles? Sister Niu, are we getting a great deal?"

"What!" Lin Xiang responded while stirring noodles in the pot, "The broth isn’t a one-time use, shared among enough bowls, the cost is negligible."

Fifth Aunt wasn’t foolish; she knew Lin Xiang was merely comforting them. But they were already here, and refusing to eat would surely upset Lin Xiang and Mrs. Lin, so they decided to help with some chores in return.

When the spicy noodles were finally served, Lin Xiang placed a piece of sausage in everyone’s bowl.

Both Fifth Aunt and Fifth Uncle immediately took the sausages from their bowls and gave them to Chunya and Dong Sheng.

Mrs. Lin, after seeing this, also gave the sausage from her bowl to Lin Xiang.

Lin Xiang returned it back, "Our family isn’t lacking this bite to eat, you enjoy it."

Chunya, too, handed her sausage to Fifth Aunt, "Mom, Sister Niu gave me a piece. I just wanted to taste it. Honestly, the spicy noodles are tastier than the sausage."

Following suit, Dong Sheng, not wanting to be greedy, gave his extra sausage to Fifth Uncle.

The whole family enjoyed the meal together, with only the sound of slurping spicy noodles filling the room.

After the meal, Fifth Aunt didn’t let Lin Xiang busy herself and volunteered to wash the dishes.

She noticed the cart and two large barrels in the yard and asked Lin Xiang, "Are you planning to go to the big market to sell spicy noodles?"

"Yes. Recently, the foreign traders have left Mianyang Town, so I don’t need to go there every day. I thought I’d try to earn some money selling spicy noodles."

Fifth Aunt said, "With Lin Yun not here, it’s hard for you and your mom to pull the cart to the market. Anyway, there’s no field work recently; how about letting your Fifth Uncle help pull the cart tomorrow, and you just provide him with lunch? What do you think?"

"That would be wonderful. My mom was just worrying about the two of us not being able to get the cart to the market. But would it be too much trouble for Fifth Uncle?"

"We’re family; why talk about trouble?"

"Then it’s settled!"

Early the next morning, just as the sky began to lighten, before Lin Xiang’s porridge was finished cooking, Fifth Uncle came knocking.

Chunya was with him.

Chunya, slightly embarrassed, said, "Sister Niu, I want to go to the market to see if there’s anything I can pick up. Can I go with you?"

"Why not? But you’ll have to wait a bit. Once the porridge is cooked, we’ll head out."

Lin Xiang invited Fifth Uncle and Chunya to sit in the main room, giving each a steamed bun that had a bit of everything in it.

"Chunya, take these two back for Fifth Aunt and Dong Sheng to eat."

"No need, no need." Chunya placed hers down as well, "Mom made us breakfast before we left, and we’re still full."

"That’s right, Sister Niu, there’s no need to be so polite, or we’d feel bad about it."

Lin Xiang didn’t push any further. Once the porridge was ready, Fifth Uncle loaded the barrels onto the cart, and they all set off for the market.

"Today’s market is at the Zhouyun Commune, about ten miles away. It’s a bit far, so you three sit on the cart, and I’ll pull you."

"No need for that, we’ll walk there. Having you pull us might exhaust you." Mrs. Lin declined Fifth Uncle’s offer.

She wasn’t one to take advantage and understood Fifth Uncle’s kind intentions in helping them. They couldn’t be too greedy.

Halfway through, Mrs. Lin took out two White Rabbit creamy candies, "Chunya, have a candy."

"Second Aunt, I won’t eat it; save it for Sister Niu."