Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 705 - Chapter 705 697. Cousins_1

Chapter 705: 697. Cousins_1 Chapter 705: 697. Cousins_1 Seventh Uncle’s timing was just perfect. Today was hot, and after only soaking for a few hours, the soybeans had already swelled up, casting a tender sheen in the washbasin–

Hiss.

Even the well-stocked Chef couldn’t help but think of the pigs in the back hills when he saw them.

Imagine, those trotters stewed and then braised with these soybeans, how fragrant it would be!

Thinking about the soybeans in the storehouse–don’t think it’s much, just five acres planted between the chestnut trees in Chestnut Garden, but the yield is quite good. Although the family consumes a lot, and adding the ones used today, there’s still more than a thousand kilos left!

Enough to last comfortably until the New Year if we ration our use.

This morning, he and Song Tan discussed it and ended up using 400 kilos of soybeans!

If it wasn’t for Song Tan’s agreement to lend a hand, how could they have managed to get Zhang Yanping, who already couldn’t lift his arms, to diligently wash and soak the soybeans little by little?

After lunch, just as Aunt Lianhua had finished tidying the kitchen to spotlessness, with the three large stoves cleaned not even showing a speck of oil, Seventh Uncle came calling with a cheerful smile:

“Yanping, get all these beans cooked up, will you!”

Song Tan had helped carry the beans, but cooking them… that task fell to Zhang Yanping alone!

Zhang Yanping felt like crying but had no tears: “Seventh Uncle, Doctor Guo said I need some exercise, but he didn’t say you should work me to death! Do these hundreds of kilos of beans really all need to be cooked today?”

“What else can we do then?”

Seventh Uncle was also rather helpless: “The beans have been soaked; if you don’t finish cooking them today and they start to sprout tomorrow, won’t you still have to keep moving the beans?”

His expression seemed to say “I’m doing this for your own good, young man,” and was exceptionally sincere.

But Zhang Yanping felt even more distressed–Couldn’t we just do a hundred kilos today? With these four hundred kilos of soybeans, he looked really pathetic dragging and hauling them!

It was, after all, just a drag from the storehouse to the water pool in the courtyard.

Tantan also helped carry a couple of big bags.

But even if it was just simply washing, very few bad or black beans were picked out, and his ‘Tai Chi water vat skill’ was close to being fully achieved!

If he had this ability to stir water as a child, he definitely would have been attending the Shaolin Martial Arts School instead of going to a 211 university!

Now, he raised his two dark, sturdy arms which were visibly trembling continuously; today’s labor had clearly been squeezed to the limit.

Ah, this.

Song Tan thought to herself, after all, he is my dear cousin, I can’t drain him dry like this! Didn’t Wang Xiaoshun say that the mountain will also start making watermelon jam tomorrow?

Cousin can keep working tomorrow.

So, she quickly said, “Oh dear, Brother Yanping, I didn’t notice you were this tired… take a break! I’ll cook the beans this afternoon!”

Zhang Yanping was touched to tears.

He truly believed his cousin hadn’t noticed he was exerting himself too much.

Because her own strength was so great, just like how a top student doesn’t understand the struggles of a poor student, those with great strength probably don’t know how tough it is for those with less strength, right?

At that moment, with tearful eyes: “Tantan…”

Song Tan accepted the gratitude calmly. Now guarding the stove, in the kitchen where the free air conditioning and the heat mixed from the flames created a mildly warm temperature, she added another piece of firewood.

She thought to herself: So silly… ah no, so naive!

Cooking beans, how could that be tiring? With the air conditioning, it’s not too hot, just watch the fire, and occasionally stir the beans a bit.

In doing so, I could also appear to have done several more hours of work.

If Yanping really took on this job as well and went up the mountain tomorrow to help Master Qian dry the beans, wouldn’t she feel bad about that?

After all this talking, it wasn’t that she was too harsh on her relatives; rather, it was that her cousin just wasn’t ambitious enough!

Ah, what a pity, another cousin hadn’t even reported for duty yet.

…

Zhang Yanping had spent a month or so studying Administrative Law at home and was now blissfully unaware of his cousin’s scheming. He had just woken up from a satisfying nap and felt rejuvenated.

He even competently checked on Qiaoqiao’s livestream background for her–Xin Jun had slept for half an hour in the morning, and during that time, there was a decline in the number of viewers, but the tips…

Why were there still tips?

He couldn’t understand it!

Had he, a modern netizen, lost touch with the live streaming ecosystem?

Looking through Qiaoqiao’s past live streaming history, he discovered that whenever the frequency of “hypnosis,” “so sleepy,” or “fell asleep” was high, the tips were plentiful, and the top three fans on the leaderboard were all sleep-related.

Ah, this.

After such reflections, he stretched leisurely, checked the time, and slowly made his way downstairs.

Qiaoqiao was in class with Xin Jun, and Professor Song and his student were said to be revising a paper. Earlier, Aunt Lianhua had sent grandma to help weave grass mats, so she didn’t need to worry about that, and with nothing to do in the middle of the day, she meticulously wiped down a new tarpaulin and laid it out in the yard to sun.

Seeing the other’s slightly dark complexion and the sweat beads as big as beans on the face, Yanping clicked his tongue and shook his head: Being diligent truly is hard work!

Looking further ahead, Wu Lan and Song Sancheng weren’t yet at the time for driving practice, yet both were jointly wiping down a large winnowing basket.

Numerous other baskets were propped against the wall, too.

“When the grass mats are done tomorrow,” thought Wu Lan, “I’ll have Dad make a few more winnowing baskets and baskets of various sizes for us.”

“Sure,” agreed Sancheng, nodding. “He’s been selling those mats for two months, must have made about a hundred thousand… They’re pleased as punch!”

Not to mention, the old couple had never saved up that much money in their entire lives when looking at their nest egg!

Of course, Tantan had earned even more, possibly several hundred thousand.

“I’m thinking! Next year we definitely should plant more spikerush… Wait until winter. By that time the grass mats should be finished, and there won’t be much to do. I could go cut some bamboo and have Dad make us more,” he said.

Wu Lan nodded in agreement: “Grass mat weaving is something even Lianhua’s mom-in-law can do, seventy per mat, and we also send our tea residue and herbal tea over there…”

She did the math: “Oh my! Aunt Lianhua, your mom-in-law can make two thousand a month just weaving grass mats!”

Little did she know that Lianhua’s smile was even brighter:

“It’s more than that! Only in these recent years when she was paralyzed did she fall behind, but she was renowned for her dexterous hands–Old Song Uncle says the patterns she weaves are exquisite, paying 120 per mat, and she could make eight mats in a week!”

As for other patterns… The village elders might not recognize many big characters, but when it came to craftsmanship, they were in a league of their own.

If you counted it up, Lianhua’s mom-in-law could make four thousand a month. And as for Lianhua, she made about the same amount after several wage increases for her hard work.

But Lianhua didn’t seem to mind at all–after all, grass mat weaving was just a job for a few months in a year, but her job allowed her to take care of her mom-in-law, where else could she find such an opportunity?

After some thought, Wu Lan decided to give a heads-up:

“When the canteen up the mountain is built later, you and your mom should still eat with us; our food tastes even better!”

“Really?!” Aunt Lianhua’s eyes lit up.