The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 235: Lime

Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Lime

Busily defending herself, "Mother! I didn’t! I am overjoyed that Zhuzhu can manage the household! All I hope for is for the entire family to get along well with Zhuzhu. If I harbored any ulterior motives, may I be struck by lightning and meet a dreadful end!"

Old Granny Zhang certainly knew Lady Jiang didn’t have the courage, but she couldn’t help worrying that now her daughter had improved the Wang Family’s fortunes, if someone coaxed Lady Jiang into competing with her daughter or scheming against her, it would be best to put Lady Jiang in her place right away, best if she didn’t entertain such thoughts, or better yet, completely relinquish them.

Hearing Lady Jiang swear such a serious oath, Old Granny Zhang grunted, which amounted to belief.

Wang Yongzhu, having left, had no idea that back at home, Old Granny Zhang and Lady Jiang had just had such an exchange.

She headed straight to the Song Family at the village entrance, who sold tofu.

The Song Family sold tofu thanks to their good fortune of marrying a girl from another village, whose family had a generations-old tofu making craft. She had helped at her family home daily, watching and learning by heart.

After getting married, she convinced her husband and mother-in-law to let her experiment, and learned to make tofu herself.

The tofu from her family came in soft and firm varieties, with the soft one melting in the mouth and the firm one being delicious when stewed, ensuring that the business was always good.

Upon arriving at the tofu-selling Song’s, where their tofu typically sold out every day, the remaining pieces on this hot summer day spoiled quickly and were being kept cool in well water till nearly noon.

Wang Yongzhu naturally didn’t start by directly asking about lime; instead, she bought the few remaining pieces of tofu.

Song’s Wife was initially worried about the hot weather and the few pieces of tofu left unsold, as keeping them in well water for too long would affect the taste. She was considering eating them for lunch instead.

Seeing Wang Yongzhu come to buy them, she welcomed her with a smile.

Because she scooped them out of the water, Song’s Wife generously knocked a bit off the weight and rounded down the price.

After taking the tofu, Wang Yongzhu then inquired about the lime.

Song’s Wife immediately became wary. Using lime water to make tofu was her family’s closely guarded secret. It had taken her a long time to master the technique after her marriage.

Many people had tried to coax the secret out of her, and some even experimented with lime on their own, all failing. After so many years, the money earned from the tofu came from hard work, and those with ulterior motives had given up.

The Wang Family had been shouting all over the village for the past few days that they’d secured a deal with a big boss and were collecting wild goods. Why were they interested in her family’s tofu now?

Wang Yongzhu, seeing the suspicion in Song’s Wife’s eyes, quickly explained, "Sister-in-law, isn’t my family starting to collect wild goods? We’re worried about the dampness in the house, and it’s unclean. We thought of getting some lime to help with the moisture. Since I didn’t know where to buy it in town, I wanted to buy some from you and also ask you to kindly tell me who sells it."

You don’t hit a smiling face, and Wang Yongzhu hadn’t haggled after buying up her remaining tofu, which was quite refreshing.

Beside, what she said made sense; it’s common knowledge that lime helps with dampness, and preparing some for the wild goods was reasonable.

Thinking that she might need the Wang Family’s business for wild goods in the future, Song’s Wife quickly mustered a smile, "Why would you say that, Wang sister? It’s just a bit of lime, not a big deal at all! I’ll give it to you! There’s only one shop in town that sells lime, next to the biggest restaurant. They have a wide and complete selection of goods, and their prices are fair too. If you want to buy in the future, just go there."

Saying this, she went inside to wrap up a small package of lime for Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu tried to pay, but Song’s Wife playfully insisted on refusing initially.

Not wanting to take advantage of her, Wang Yongzhu left behind several large coins, expressed her thanks, picked up the tofu, and left.

Song’s Wife, holding the large coins, couldn’t help but complain to her husband as she returned to their house, "Are the Wang Family really on the verge of becoming rich? Getting involved with the big boss really is different. They spend just a little on lime and get paid more than a dozen large coins, flaunting their wealth like nobody’s business!"

In recent days, Song’s Husband had heard about the girl from the Wang Family, who, along with their own clan’s Song Chongjin, had partnered up to kill more than a dozen wolves in the mountains; some people had even gone to the Wang Family to see for themselves.

In the shady part of their courtyard hung more than ten wolf pelts, no doubt about it, not to mention the air-dried wolf meat in the yard, the scent of which wafted all the way outside.

It made everyone envious; the Wang Family must have chosen a great spot for their ancestral grave, their family fortune was soaring!

That’s why he grumbled, "What’s so great about that? That girl and that bastard hunted over a dozen wolves in the mountains, and that bastard, he’s certainly no son of our Song Family, handed over all the wolf meat and pelts to that girl from the Wang Family. Just one of those pelts is worth more than ten taels of silver. Such a good fortune, and he doesn’t think of his own clan? What an ingrate! He’s not one of us. How could he and his shameless mother have survived to this day?"

Song’s Wife, an outsider who had married into the Song Family, heard it all and felt sorry for Song Chongjin. She reckoned that given a choice, no one would want to be born into the Song Family.

It must be a rotten twist of fate to be born from Mother Song’s womb, and to have lived to this day without much help from the Song Family, yet they exploited their orphaned and widowed situation a good deal.

And now, seeing someone with something good, they wanted a piece of it. Have they no shame?

With that thought, Song’s Wife locked away the large coins in her own chest and stormed out.

When she got home and saw Wang Yongzhu coming back with tofu, Old Granny Zhang exploded, "Zhuzhu, why are you bringing tofu back? It can’t be that Song’s Wife took advantage of your meekness and shoved that unsellable sour tofu off on you, can it? Watch me go tear down her tofu stand!"

Rolling up her sleeves, she was about to storm out the door.

But Wang Yongzhu quickly stopped her, "Mother, it’s nothing like that. I just felt like eating tofu, so I brought back a couple pieces. Let’s make some for lunch!"

Old Granny Zhang finally took the tofu, "If you wanted to eat it, why didn’t you say so earlier? I would have bought it for you first thing in the morning. Fine, I’ll stew the tofu for you for lunch!"

Looking at the sky, she cursed Lady Jiang for not cooking faster, and then hurried off to prepare the vegetables.

Wang Yongzhu checked the pottery jar and saw the piece of cloth bobbling up and down in the deep red water, already taking on color.

Unsure about the timing, she asked Xiao Tiantian, "Xiao Tiantian, how long has that cloth been in there? Has it been an hour yet?"

"Fifteen minutes to go!" Xiao Tiantian responded promptly.

"Remind me in fifteen minutes!"

"Of course, Host! No problem, Host!" Xiao Tiantian was nearly prostrating itself in eagerness to please, seeking redemption for past wrongs.

As soon as time was up, Wang Yongzhu wrapped the jar with a cloth and took it out to the yard. She found a stick, stirred it for a while, then took out half of the lime she had bought earlier, mixed it with water, and stirred it into lime water.

After the lime water had cleared and the water in the jar had cooled, she used the stick to lift the cloth now dyed a deep red out and into the lime water, stirring it once more.

Just then, Old Granny Zhang called them to eat. Wang Yongzhu hurried to join the meal, her mind preoccupied with the cloth outside, eating distractedly. As soon as she finished, she placed her chopsticks and bowl down and rushed outside.

The children and adults alike, having noticed that Wang Yongzhu had been up to something all morning, were curious. If it hadn’t been for their preoccupations and strict supervision, they would have gathered around to inquire.