mtlumby2d Chapter 100 Torrential Rain
Chapter 100 Torrential Rain
After returning home, Song Jiaojiao took the pastries she bought in town to the village chief's house. She had only gone halfway when a torrential downpour began. Fortunately, Song Jiaojiao, who had sensed something was wrong before leaving home, had brought an umbrella with her. This umbrella was the one He Fan had bought when he went on a delivery mission last time, and it came in handy today.
Although I had an umbrella, the rain was so heavy that my trouser legs below the knees inevitably got covered in mud and rainwater.
"Aunt Li, Aunt Li, are you home?" Song Jiaojiao shouted loudly in the heavy rain. She had to shout, because the rain was too heavy and her voice wouldn't carry inside the house if she didn't.
"Old man, is someone shouting outside?" Aunt Li felt like she heard something, but she couldn't make it out clearly. She asked the village chief, who was doing the accounts, with a puzzled look.
"What's that sound? With such heavy rain, who would come at this hour?" the village chief said without even looking up.
Aunt Li still felt someone calling outside, and reluctantly put down the clothes she was holding. "No, I have to go out and check to feel at ease."
He took the raincoat and went into the yard. Sure enough, through the heavy rain, he saw someone outside. He quickly put on the raincoat and asked as he walked, "Who is it?"
“Auntie, it’s me,” Song Jiaojiao quickly replied loudly.
Upon hearing that it was Song Jiaojiao, Aunt Li quickly ran a few steps, opened the door, and pulled Song Jiaojiao inside.
"You silly girl, what brings you here in this heavy rain? If you're not in a hurry, wait until the rain stops or lessens." As she spoke, Aunt Li pulled Song Jiaojiao into the house and asked Sun Meihua to get some charcoal that hadn't gone out yet.
"Oh dear, it started raining when we were only halfway there. Since we were already here, we decided not to turn back. Luckily, I brought an umbrella with me, otherwise I would have been soaked to the bone." Song Jiaojiao put the oil-paper umbrella under the eaves and followed Aunt Li into the main room.
The village chief was still calculating accounts at the table when he looked up at Song Jiaojiao and said, "Your aunt was just saying that someone was calling her, but I didn't believe it. You silly girl, with this heavy rain, what if no one at home heard you? You'd be soaked outside."
"Don't worry, Uncle Wang. If no one's around, I'll go back. I won't just stand there like an idiot," Song Jiaojiao said playfully, blinking her eyes.
Sun Meihua brought the brazier in and then went out again.
"Come on, sit down and warm yourself up. Look, your pants are half wet." Aunt Li pulled Song Jiaojiao to sit by the fire pit. It was raining today and the weather was much cooler, otherwise, she wouldn't dare to sit in front of the fire.
Sun Meihua handed Song Jiaojiao a bowl of water, and the smell of ginger was clearly noticeable.
"I made you some ginger water with brown sugar. Drink it while it's hot," Sun Meihua said with a smile.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Song Jiaojiao held the bowl and took small sips.
"Jiaojiao, is there something you need?" Aunt Li asked while making clothes.
Song Jiaojiao put down her bowl and said, "I harvested mung beans a couple of days ago. The mung bean flour I made yesterday was ready. I used the mung bean flour to make some jelly yesterday. Today I went to Sifanglou in town to ask about it. They were very satisfied with it, so we need people here to make mung bean flour. We need about two men, mainly to grind the beans, and three women to wash the ground beans."
"Liangfen, that's the food you had someone deliver yesterday." When the village chief heard Song Jiaojiao mention liangfen, he remembered the crystal-clear thing he had eaten yesterday, which was truly refreshing.
"Yes, Uncle Wang, what do you think of the taste?" Song Jiaojiao turned around and asked him expectantly.
"You silly girl, if Sifanglou approves of something, how could it not be delicious? Especially when it's served with rice, you'll eat two more bowls of rice than usual." The village chief replied with a laugh, still savoring the memory of the cold noodles.
"I happen to have some at home. I'll have Xu Da bring it to you when I get back." Seeing the village chief's expression, Song Jiaojiao knew he hadn't had enough.
"Alright, alright, then I won't stand on ceremony with you," the village chief said with a smile, without making any excuses.
"You greedy old man, that's what Jiaojiao uses to earn money. All you do is eat! Jiaojiao, don't worry about your Uncle Wang. When are you going to get the man? Look at this rain, it'll probably rain for days." Aunt Li said worriedly, looking at the sky. This is going to delay Jiaojiao's important business. This weather is worrying, whether it rains or not.
"Auntie, the jelly is ready. It won't last long in this hot weather, so this will help me finish it. We can work even on rainy days. It's just that it will be hard for you aunties to walk in the rain. We can put the millstone inside and grind the beans first. We can dry them when the weather gets better. Just remember to change the water every day."
"I know how to change the water. Is the method for making mung bean flour similar to that for sweet potato flour?" Aunt Li heard Song Jiaojiao's description and felt that the steps were probably not too different.
"It's basically the same. I'll come over and teach them when the others arrive. It mainly depends on the aunties. Anyway, I've given Sifanglou seven days' notice, so there's no rush."
How could I not be anxious? A couple of days ago they said there was no work and we would have to stop for a while. The aunties in the village were still asking when we would start work again. Although the busy farming season is coming soon, the grain in the fields is not as good as the wages Song Jiaojiao pays. She can earn 600 coins a month if she works a full month.
"Don't worry, it's easy to find people. Someone asked me about it a couple of days ago. We'll start work tomorrow. I'll go and notify people when the rain gets lighter. But do you have enough mung beans?"
"The mung beans can last for about half a month. It depends on what Sifanglou says. As long as their owner agrees, it will be hard for the sweet potato mill and mung bean flour mill to stop. Even if they don't reach an agreement, mung beans are planted right after the wheat is harvested, and they can be harvested in two months. Then there will be goods available."
Song Jiaojiao said nonchalantly, and Sifanglou would certainly agree. After all, how much money did Song Jiaojiao lose? Compared to Sifanglou, it was just the tip of the iceberg.
"That's true, I was worrying for nothing. With you buying mung beans this year, I'm sure every household will grow more. The price is so good, it's only three coins a pound in town." Even his family will probably grow more.
The village chief's family doesn't have many able-bodied workers, and most of their land and fields are rented out, with rent paid at a rate of 40% of the after-tax grain yield.
The rain lasted for a full hour before it subsided. By the time Song Jiaojiao got home, it was already dark. Song Jiaojiao first soaked 50 jin of mung beans. The stonemason Wang was still grinding them. They only had a small millstone at home, and it would be quite good if the two of them could grind 50 jin a day.
After soaking the beans, he went home. The first thing he did when he got home was to have Xu Da deliver some cold noodles to the village chief's house before he changed his clothes.
Since we had jelly noodles yesterday, everyone in the family has really enjoyed it. So this morning, I asked Xu Fang to make some more. It'll be perfect to eat with porridge tonight. It's a pity the salted eggs are only a few days old and not ripe yet.
The next day, Song Jiaojiao got up and went to the sweet potato workshop. Everyone had arrived early. Xu Fang was teaching everyone how to grind soybeans and how to wash the soybean residue, so Song Jiaojiao didn't need to do anything.
It's still raining today, though much less than yesterday. The sky is overcast, and there's a thin layer of mist on Qingshui Mountain in the distance, adding to its mystique.