Chapter 152: The Lin Family Orchard (1)

As soon as he spoke, they turned a bend and his eyes widened. About a hundred meters ahead, they could see a large, flat, spacious area with neat houses made of whitewashed walls and roof tiles. Sitting among the lush greenery, it was particularly conspicuous.

Two yellow dogs, one big and one small, ran towards the donkey cart, wagging their tails and barking as they ran and jumped around the donkey cart.

“Sister, sister, let’s raise a big dog too!” Lian Che and Lian Fang Qing begged, their eyes bright.

“Raising one would not be bad, it can help protect the house. If anyone dares to break into our house in the future, just let the dog go!” Lian Ze said, obviously thinking of something unpleasant.

“Yes! The second brother is too right!” Lian Fang Qing and Lian Che agreed.

Lian Fang Zhou thought this was a good idea, so she smiled and nodded: “If you see something suitable, just buy one.”

“Grandma, a visitor is here!” A girl about the same size as Lian Fang Qing, wearing a crimson floral gown and pink skirt, came out from the door, holding a four-to-five-year-old boy with a soaring braid in her arms. The little boy with the braid turned around and shouted when she saw the donkey cart.

“Who is it?” An old woman asked, stepping out of the door.

As she spoke, the Lian family got down from the donkey cart and Ah Jian drove it inside.

Lian Fang Zhou stepped forward and smiled politely: “Old Madam, I’m from Dafang Village, I want to come to your house to see fruit tree saplings, I want to book some!”

Old Madam Lin gave a ‘oh’ and laughed: “It turns out that you’re here to order fruit tree seedlings! Let’s sit inside, our old man is busy at the nursery with our son and daughter-in-law!”

Lian Fang Zhou smiled and said, “Oh, I see! I have never seen your nursery before, would it be alright to stop by and take a look?”

Old Madam Lin smiled, “That is fine, all our guests do! Zao’er, take the brothers and sisters to our nursery to find your father and grandfather!”

The little girl let out a sharp ‘okay!’ and turned to smile at Lian Fang Zhou and the others. “Brothers and sisters, come with me!”

While she spoke, she let go of her brother’s hand and led the way.

Obviously, it was not her first time doing this.

Her little brother was very dependent on his sister. Seeing her let go of his hand, he looked up at the sky and started to cry loudly.

Lin Zao’er was not surprised, she had probably seen him react like this before. She didn’t turn around to coax him but said over her shoulder, “Don’t cry! I’ll steam the persimmons for you when I come back.”

Her little brother cried harder, refusing. Old Madam Lin coaxed him, saying ‘good boy, good boy’ and tried to hug him. The chubby baby twisted his plump body and refused. He rubbed his eyes and cried louder.

It wasn’t that the little guy didn’t like to kiss his grandma but to a kid, who is more fun? Seeing his sister walk away with so many other brothers and sisters, naturally he wanted to go too!

Lian Fang Zhou saw that the situation was not resolving itself, so she said to Lin Zao’er, “It’s Zao’er, right? Here, give this to your little brother!”

She pulled out two pine nut candies wrapped in yellow paper from her purse and handed them to her.

Lin Zao’er’s eyes lit up and she licked her lips. Seeing that Lian Fang Zhou’s smile was very kind, she smiled back and thanked her. Taking the candy, she ran to her little brother and shook his hand, putting the pine nut candies in it. “Don’t cry, don’t cry, look, I’ll give you candy!”

The Lin family was better off than ordinary farmers and could be regarded as a relatively wealthy family in the village, other than the wealthy merchants and officials, but the family still rarely bought candy.

The little baby took the candy and stopped crying. Old Madam Lin whispered a few words to Lin Zao’er, which Zao’er responded to truthfully. Then she smiled and nodded to Lian Fang Zhou and waved her hand, thanking her loudly.

Lin Zao’er hopped over again and raised her head, smiling: “Big sister, let’s go!”

Lian Fang Zhou smiled back and followed. Seeing that the girl had given both pieces to her little brother, she laughed and teased her as they walked. “Why didn’t Zao’er keep a piece to eat for herself? Don’t you like sugar?”

Lin Zao’er licked her lips subconsciously and looked up at Lian Fang Zhou with big, bright eyes. She smiled and said: “I like to see sweets too but Gu’er is crying so I will leave them with Gu’er!”

Gu’er? What an interesting name.

Lian Fang Zhou smiled again: “Zao’er is so sensible, you really love your little brother!”

After being praised, the little girl was naturally very happy. Her eyes sparkled and shone but she was still young enough to be a little shy. She pursed her lips slighted and said, “Gu’er is still young. My father and mother said that I am the elder sister, so I should love him more!”

“Zao’er, I have another one. I’ll give it to you!” Lian Fang Qing seemed to like Lin Zao’er very much, so she walked closer and gave her a piece of candy.

Lin Zao’er’s face was bright with joy and she quickly looked at Lian Fang Zhou.

Lian Fang Zhou smiled and said, “She gave it to you so you can keep it!”

Lin Zao’er gave a ‘okay’ and took it happily.

Curious, Lian Fang Zhou asked her how old she was.

As it turned out, she was actually born the same year as Lian Fang Qing, just two months earlier. Lian Fang Zhou smiled and said, “Since Qing’er is younger than you, you can call her Qing’er. Qing’er, you should call your sister Zao’er!”

The two girls agreed and started talking as they walked, quickly becoming familiar with each other.

The Lin Orchard nursery was not far from the house, only about half a mile.  Even before they had gotten close, they could see people working inside, which should be Lin Zao’er’s parents and grandfather.

The ten acres of the nursery were roughly divided into ten plots and each had its own type of fruit tree seedlings, neatly distributed in even rows.

“Father, mother, grandfather! Guests have come to buy seedlings!” Lin Zao’er shouted loudly, waving at the adults.

Lian Fang Zhou, Lian Ze, and Ah Jian walked closer while Lin Zao’er pulled Lian Fang Qing off in another direction. Lian Fang Zhou was a little afraid the girls would get into trouble and sent Lian Che to follow them.

Lian Che was obviously unwilling to go off with two little girls and he puffed his lips with disgusted. However, he obeyed and left with them.

Old Man Lin was standing with his eldest son, Lin Feng Shou, and his daughter-in-law, Madam Wang, when they heard Lin Zao’er calling. They looked up and saw Lian Fang Zhou and the others and quickly walked over, smiling and greeting them.

It was usually Lin Feng Shou who dealt with customers so after they finished saying hello, Old Man Lin and Madam Wang returned to their work and Lin Feng Shou went to clean himself off with one of the towels hanging on a fruit tree. He wiped his face and hands and hung the towel back up before turning to walk back to Lian Fang Zhou and the others.

TN: One thing I really love about books like this is that you get a picture into what life was like (accuracy may vary by author, of course) in ancient china. I find it interesting to compare this to what I know of western life at similar time periods. It’s kind of neat that while things are different, they are similar in a lot of ways as well. People are always people!