New ink fragrance in old times

Lin Mo sighed, "Grandpa, I haven't thought of this."

Lin Wenru also smiled and patted Lin Mo's shoulder: "Sanlang, your grandfather has been dealing with land all his life. He has accumulated all these experiences bit by bit. You should learn from him."

The three of them talked as they walked, and soon they met up with Old Lady Lin and the others.

Brothers Lin Wenhong and Lin Wenru, as well as their sons harnessed the ox carts and mules, and everyone got on the ox carts, loaded with today's harvest, and set off on their journey home.

"Second brother."

Lin Wenhong called softly, opening the cloth bag. Inside were rows of neatly arranged copper coins. He counted them carefully, and after confirming that they were correct, he handed the seventy-seven copper coins to Lin Wenru:

"This is the money you earned from selling your remaining grain. Count it."

Lin Wenru took the copper coins and counted them carefully. He found that they were correct. But then he looked up at Lin Wenhong with a hint of doubt in his eyes: "Brother, you gave too much. This number is wrong."

Lin Wenhong smiled slightly. "It's just a few cents. Take it. We brothers don't need to be so picky."

As the sun began to slowly set and the sky was dyed with orange sunset glow, the Lin family finally returned to the Lin family courtyard with their empty ox carts and mules.

Han sat in the yard, her eyes piercing through the twilight, waiting anxiously and expectantly.

When she saw the familiar figures slowly approaching, and when she confirmed that everyone had returned safely, her frown finally relaxed and a relieved smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"Mom and Dad, you're finally back!" There was a barely perceptible tremor in her voice, which expressed her deep joy for her family's return.

Then, she turned towards the kitchen and shouted in a louder voice, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, come out and see, Dad and Mom are back! We can prepare the noodles now. I bet everyone is hungry."

In the kitchen, the flames on the stove were jumping happily, and the hot water in the iron pot was bubbling.

Hearing Han's call, the two daughters-in-law of the Lin family, Shen and Lu, hurriedly put the rolled noodles into the already boiling pot.

"Oh, Mom and Dad are back, how great!"

As soon as Xing'er and Hua'er heard the noise outside, they ran out of the house immediately.

Huaer even ran to Old Mrs. Lin, called her "Grandma" sweetly, and then immediately joined the busy procession.

Huaer helped the adults unload the goods from the truck. Although she was not very strong, her seriousness made people laugh.

After a while, he ran to the well, stood on tiptoe, and tried his best to help draw water, and he was very busy.

Today's dinner is very different from usual. This is the second time Lin Mo has eaten noodles since he traveled through time.

Shen said to everyone, "Everyone has been busy lately and hasn't had time to make such a delicate meal. Now that I have some free time, I'll just make some noodles."

Lin Mo picked up the chopsticks, picked up a handful of noodles, blew it gently to cool it down, and then put it into his mouth.

The noodles were just as he expected, chewy yet soft. Paired with the delicious soup and simple side dishes, they tasted so good that one couldn't help but want to eat a few more bites.

"It's so delicious!" Lin Mo exclaimed sincerely, with a satisfied and happy smile on his face.

For him, this simple happiness is so hard-earned and so precious.

Lin Mo thought back to the past two months, when he had either eaten corn rice, corn porridge, or mung bean porridge. Now he finally had a different meal, and his appetite was much better than usual.

Everyone enjoyed the dinner and after that, went back to their own business.

Lin Wenhong and Old Mrs. Lin walked into the house side by side, and a dim oil lamp illuminated their focused faces.

Lin Wenhong gently opened the yellowed account book, picked up a pen, and checked today's accounts. He first changed the taxes paid this year in the account book, writing every stroke carefully and rigorously.

Afterwards, Lin Wenhong handed the money he earned from selling grain today to Old Lady Lin: "This is the money from selling grain today, you keep it."

Lin Wenhong sat at the table, his fingers tapping lightly on the surface, his brows revealing a hint of worry and determination. He looked across at Mrs. Lin, her eyes filled with deep thought about the family's future.

"Someone will come to collect our grain tomorrow. I've already told them we have thirty dan of rice, fifty dan of corn, and seven or eight dan of beans. But as for how much to sell, I'm a little undecided."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lin sighed softly, "Dad, if we sell all of this, we'll still have a lot of food left. But you know, the price of food in town is always lower than in the county. If we sell it later, I'm afraid we'll lose a lot."

Lin Wenhong nodded in agreement, and then mentioned another matter at home.

"My second brother reported half of the surplus grain today. I guess what he will actually sell tomorrow will definitely be more than what he reported today." When he said this, Lin Wenhong's tone was inevitably filled with some worry.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lin frowned and said, "Won't my second brother and his family be living in even greater hardship?"

Lin Wenhong sighed and said, "Yes, the situation in my second brother's family is indeed worrying. Especially Qian, she is already at the age of looking for a husband, and she is about to get married. The dowry and etiquette are all necessary and must be prepared in advance."

Lin Wenhong continued, "And then there's Mao Wa. That child is bright and clever. In two or three years, he should be able to learn to read and write, which is another significant expense. Not to mention Shui Sheng and Shui Zhi. They've only been married a few years, so they'll definitely have children in the future. Everything costs money."

After hearing this, Mrs. Lin sighed and said, "It's all because of poverty."

A hint of worry flashed across Mrs. Lin's eyes. She stroked the edge of the table and continued to carefully calculate the family's expenses: "It's the same in our family. With so many people, food, clothing, housing and transportation, which one doesn't cost money?"

"Our family's clothes alone cost more than ten taels of silver, and the children are still growing, so their clothes need to be replaced every year."

Mrs. Lin took a deep breath and said, "Da Lang studies very hard. He earns ten taels of silver a year for his tuition, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. Er Lang just started studying at the community school this year and earns eight taels a year.

Old Madam Lin continued to calculate: "Add to that the various etiquettes we have to attend to during the New Year holidays, and our family will spend more than fifty taels of silver on these alone every year. It's really a headache."

At this point, Mrs. Lin frowned even more tightly. "And the second son's baby is about to give birth this year, which means another mouth to feed. In two years, Sanlang and Silang will be of school age, and each of them will have to pay six or seven taels of silver a year. Life is really getting tighter and tighter."

Old Mrs. Lin looked up at Lin Wenhong and said, "Dad, why don't we sell another ten dan of rice? We can save as much as we can."

Chapter 82 My worries are unnecessary