Chapter 37: Good Heavens! The Proprietress Uses Glass Paper to Wrap Chestnuts!
At the old house.
Lin Sanniang kept her head down, scoring the chestnuts with meticulous efficiency. From time to time, she would stand up to check the fire and stir the chestnuts in the pot.
Jian Xingxia had carried the small table out from the house and set it under the eaves of the back door. Seating herself on a low plastic stool, she began portioning the chestnuts.
A small stainless-steel tray sat atop the electronic scale. Once the scale was tared, Jian Xingxia used a stainless-steel scoop to ladle the frozen chestnuts out for weighing.
Each portion had to be just over 500g, while trying not to exceed 520g.
Once weighed, she picked up the tray and poured the chestnuts into a sealable bag.
The bags came with a self-adhesive strip. She simply peeled off the backing paper, gave it a quick squeeze and a swipe, and the packaging was done.
Lin Sanniang kept the standard rules of hired labor firmly in mind: work more, ask less. Originally, she had resolved that no matter how extraordinary things were here with the “Proprietress,” she would absolutely never steal a second glance or utter an unnecessary word.
Yet, watching Jian Xingxia package the chestnuts, Lin Sanniang truly couldn’t tear her eyes away.
Good heavens!
This really must be an immortal’s dwelling!
This kind of glass paper—thin as a cicada’s wing, even more translucent than a cicada’s wing, and brighter than a glass mirror—was actually being used by the young mistress just to hold chestnuts!
Lin Sanniang had seen plenty of wealthy families throw things away as if they were worthless toys, so she had long since learned to keep her mouth shut, see nothing, and hear nothing.
But seeing Jian Xingxia use this glass paper so casually still sent shockwaves of awe through her heart.
Never mind the glass paper; just look at the massive basins and small trays used to hold the chestnuts. They sounded like ironware when clinked together, ringing clear and crisp.
Yet they were brighter than a bronze mirror.
Polishing a single bronze mirror took a tremendous amount of effort, let alone iron. Iron was far harder than copper.
Moreover, these bowls, plates, and dishes hadn’t just been polished on one side; every single surface was smoothed down to a mirror-like sheen.
Yet judging by the young mistress’s casual demeanor, such exquisite and precious items were just ordinary everyday things to her, no different from their own wooden basins and buckets.
Even though Lin Sanniang had weighed things over and over in her mind before coming and strictly warned herself, she was still rendered speechless by the sheer shock.
No wonder Taoya said this was an immortal’s dwelling and that the Proprietress was a fairy living in the mountain villa…
I thought Taoya was just young and lacked worldly experience, exaggerating things in a half-dreaming state. But looking at it now, it turns out I’m the one who lacks experience.
Lin Sanniang kept her head lowered as she worked, trying her best not to look around too much. But she couldn’t help it. She really couldn’t help it.
Jian Xingxia knew that Lin Sanniang was filled with doubts and amazement, but she simply feigned ignorance.
Could she really explain thousands of years of technological advancement in a few sentences?
If she had to explain it to every single person who came along, she would end up exhausting herself to death before saving any labor from hiring temporary workers.
Jian Xingxia kept a straight face, determined to play the part of a taciturn, cool-headed employer.
Fortunately, Lin Sanniang was indeed exceptionally well-mannered. Though she couldn’t resist sneaking glances, she managed to keep her mouth shut and didn’t let it hinder her work.
Furthermore, she was far more adept at using the earth stove than Jian Xingxia.
Jian Xingxia considered herself someone who had endured hardships among modern youth; she had lived in the countryside during her childhood and seen earth stoves with large iron pots. Even so, after living in the city for so many years, she still tended to get a bit flustered when managing a fire.
She would either burn the food or fail to provide enough heat.
Lin Sanniang was much more familiar with it. She could judge the state of the chestnuts and adjust the intensity of the fire inside the stove belly accordingly.
Without wasting a single piece of firewood, she could simmer away the water in the pot, leaving every single chestnut thoroughly cooked, powdery, and soft.
By the second pot, she had truly hit her stride.
Jian Xingxia felt that the chestnuts Lin Sanniang cooked tasted even better than her own.
For the third pot, they began trying out the rock-sugar flavor.
Jian Xingxia told Lin Sanniang to boil a smaller batch: “Let’s boil eight catties first to try it out. I’ll weigh out the sugar and salt according to the ratio for you.”
Saying this, she used the electronic scale to measure out some salt and rock sugar.
Falling into Lin Sanniang’s eyes, this brought another wave of unspeakable shock.
Look at this perfectly square iron block. It had neither a counterweight nor a scale beam, yet the young mistress claimed it could weigh things.
Jian Xingxia even tapped it a few times, and a small section on the iron block actually lit up.
Lin Sanniang felt that she wouldn’t even be able to dream up such an object.
Once the salt and sugar were in the pot, Lin Sanniang stirred carefully. The rock-sugar flavor required much more precision than the original flavor.
If the fire was too high, the rock sugar would burn dry and easily turn bitter.
If it remained on a low fire the whole time and was tossed around constantly, the sugar would crystallize into granules after melting. It wouldn’t achieve the thin, translucent coat wrapping the chestnut like ice that Jian Xingxia requested.
After about forty-odd minutes, a pot of rock-sugar chestnuts was finally finished.
Jian Xingxia sampled one and was instantly full of praise: “Lin Sanniang, the viscosity and thickness of the syrup are absolutely perfect! The chestnuts are incredibly flavorful!”
Since her parents divorced, Jian Xingxia hadn’t been looked after by anyone. When she ate, no one ever concerned themselves with her tastes.
She didn’t rely on others either. During high school, she lived in the dorms, and whenever she returned home for the weekend, she would cook for herself.
Over the years, her culinary skills had become quite decent. Because no one taught her, she grew accustomed to figuring things out on her own and looking up tutorials online.
During university, she would cook using a small electric pot in the dorm room, and her roommates always enthusiastically cheered her on.
Yet compared to Lin Sanniang, she still fell short.
Seeing that Jian Xingxia wasn’t displeased and was genuinely praising her skills, Lin Sanniang finally couldn’t help but smile, her lips pursed. “When I used to do hired labor for others, I mostly helped out in the kitchen. It was only later on…”
“Only later what?”
Jian Xingxia handed over a few chestnuts, gesturing for Lin Sanniang to taste them as well.
Lin Sanniang took the chestnuts, saying rather shamefacedly, “It’s just that I offended someone later on, so I could never enter the inner estate again.”
She could only do menial tasks outside, like sweeping and doing laundry.
The wages for day labor were meager. Only when a master’s family celebrated a birthday or hosted a banquet would they need to hire outside hands to help.
If one helped out in the kitchen, they usually got priority in receiving some leftover scraps.
Once the banquet ended, they could also scramble to pack up some leftovers.
Only in this way could they supplement their rations.
If they relied solely on their wages… Lin Sanniang sighed silently in her heart. No woman could feed her children on day labor alone.
Lin Sanniang shyly sampled two chestnuts and refused to try any more.
“These chestnuts used such expensive ice-crystal sugar. It’s only sensible to save them to sell for money.”
Jian Xingxia didn’t have much money, but she had chestnuts in abundance.
She directly grabbed a massive sea bowl and filled it to the brim with chestnuts. “Didn’t Taoya tell you? When you work for me, meals are provided until you’re full!”
Lin Sanniang wanted to politely decline again, but Jian Xingxia said seriously, “Don’t push it away. In the time it takes to haggle over this, you could go into the mountains and gather two bowls’ worth of chestnuts back.”
Jian Xingxia was extremely satisfied with Lin Sanniang’s work.
Compared to Taoya, she had more strength and could handle a wider variety of chores.
Compared to Dahei, she was more meticulous and considerate, making communication effortless.
On top of that, the chestnuts Lin Sanniang was making right now were meant to be taken out to sell for cash.
Before her first batch of crops could be harvested, Jian Xingxia had to find a way to scrape some money out of the mountains.
After spending half the day together, Lin Sanniang also realized that Jian Xingxia wasn’t someone who just put on appearances. If she said to eat, she truly meant it.
Lin Sanniang had been starving for quite a few days herself. Even after Taoya brought supplies back, Lin Sanniang, thinking of the future, had only eaten until she was three or four-tenths full.
She ate a dozen chestnuts in a row, finally feeling something inside her empty stomach.
She couldn’t bear to eat the rest. “Miss, can I take these chestnuts back with me? I still have three children at home…”
“I’m afraid not,” Jian Xingxia shook her head.
