Chapter 45: Oh No, She Actually Believed It
Lin Sanniang hesitated over whether she should speak up to remind her, quickly calculating if there was still enough time to roll out noodles.
Just as she was wavering, she saw Jian Xingxia walk out of the house carrying two massive sea bowls.
Piled high in the bowls was gleaming white rice.
It was the exact same kind of refined white rice Taoya had brought home!
But…
Lin Sanniang stood jaw-dropped, instinctively looking up at the roof. Half of the roof was covered by a strange “pavilion,” but whether it was the pavilion or the peak, she didn’t see a single wisp of smoke.
How on earth did the Proprietress cook this rice?
It seemed that although the Proprietress was a good person, this mountain villa still harbored quite a few eccentricities.
Lin Sanniang swallowed her curiosity. After thanking Jian Xingxia, she took a bowl and began to eat.
It was truly hard to believe that such delicious rice existed in the world.
It was fresh, plump, perfectly hydrated yet with every grain distinct—slightly chewy, but not sticky at all.
Most importantly, there was absolutely not a single grain of grit or speck of husk. It was completely clean, so she could eat every single mouthful with total peace of mind.
Lin Sanniang couldn’t help but marvel in her heart: So this is what it feels like to eat good rice. No wonder Manager Zhang was willing to trade four catties of old rice for one catty of the good stuff.
Thanks to the employer’s favor, she was finally eating such wonderful rice too.
Lin Sanniang thanked Jian Xingxia thousands of times in her heart.
Jian Xingxia, oblivious to all of this, simply used a pair of clean chopsticks to constantly pile food onto Lin Sanniang’s plate. If she didn’t, Lin Sanniang would just eat the plain rice.
Although the woman seemed to enjoy eating the plain rice immensely, there were too many dishes for Jian Xingxia to finish alone. The chest freezer was packed with chestnuts, so she absolutely couldn’t mix leftovers in there.
Jian Xingxia kept piling the food on. “Eat up! I steamed a massive pot of rice!”
Lin Sanniang finally couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “Miss, I did not see you light a fire… nor did I see any smoke from cooking. How did you cook this rice?”
“Huh?”
Jian Xingxia had been busy all morning with field chores, packaging chestnuts, and freezing them, so she hadn’t even thought about this.
Only now did she realize that for a modern person, taking rice that only needed a quick rinse without meticulous sorting, putting it in an electric rice cooker, and pressing a single button was an incredibly miraculous thing to an ancient person.
Jian Xingxia was deeply satisfied with her meal. Being in a great mood, she couldn’t resist playing along.
Leaning in toward Lin Sanniang with a mysterious look, she whispered, “I possess a magical treasure. With just a gentle tap right here, it automatically cooks the rice.”
After saying it, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
The feeling was a bit like fooling a little kid by telling them that cola is just a bitter medicine.
But looking at Lin Sanniang’s expression, she had actually believed it completely.
Life here was even better than the life she imagined an emperor lived. If the Proprietress wasn’t a spirit, she had to be an immortal.
It was only logical for an immortal to possess a magical treasure.
The gaze Lin Sanniang directed at Jian Xingxia, aside from gratitude and closeness, now held a deeper layer of adoration and awe.
Taoya really hadn’t been wrong; the Proprietress here was indeed a fairy!
Seeing Lin Sanniang’s expression, Jian Xingxia realized things had gone a bit awry.
Oh no, she actually believed it!
But she had no idea how to explain it now. Was she supposed to actually lug out a giant electric rice cooker and lecture her on the discovery of electricity?
Jian Xingxia felt the sting of digging her own grave, so she could only bury her face in her bowl and keep eating.
Forget it, forget it. There were too many things in this world that couldn’t be explained. The universe is vast, but eating is the priority!
After lunch, it was time for Lin Sanniang to “clock out.”
For today’s six hours, Lin Sanniang’s wages could range from 36 to 60 yuan. Jian Xingxia naturally calculated it at the highest rate.
A twenty-four yuan difference wouldn’t make her poor, but it could make Lin Sanniang rich.
Having learned the prices of the various items yesterday, Jian Xingxia let her choose for herself.
Differing from yesterday, Lin Sanniang picked out more fabric today. After obtaining Jian Xingxia’s permission, she took away the remaining eight catties of cotton scraps from yesterday.
Lin Sanniang explained to Jian Xingxia rather self-consciously, “My family still has two mu of meager fields that can yield a bit of grain, but we absolutely cannot afford cotton cloth… The children haven’t worn new clothes in several years. Their old clothes are altered over and over, patched time and again, and really look too ragged.”
Jian Xingxia expressed her understanding. “It’s fine. As long as it’s within your wage limit, you can choose whatever you want.”
She smiled. “I just didn’t expect the fabric to be in such high demand.”
The grain she had prepared wasn’t even halfway gone, yet the fabric had run out first.
Seeing this, Lin Sanniang hurriedly offered to return some. “Then I shall take less.”
“No need,” Jian Xingxia said. “I’ll just buy some more. It only takes two or three days to arrive.”
She marveled once again at the convenience of online shopping in modern society.
Lin Sanniang had mentioned just now that even if they had money, they might not be able to buy cloth. They had to wait and see when the textile shops and cloth stores restocked. Furthermore, as ordinary citizens, they had to scramble just to grab some leftover scraps after the high officials and noble lords had finished buying.
Ultimately, Lin Sanniang selected eight catties of fabric for thirty-two yuan, two catties of coarse salt for three yuan, and used the rest for some rice and flour, while also asking Jian Xingxia for a bit of cooking oil.
Lin Sanniang told Jian Xingxia, “The harvest last year was poor, yielding less than thirty percent of the usual crops. The oilseed crops suffered an almost complete failure.”
Not only did her family lack food, but they also hadn’t tasted a drop of oil in ages.
Now that Lin Sanniang had earned wages, she wanted to give the children something good to eat to nourish their bodies.
Jian Xingxia asked her, “Then you can take a few more eggs.”
The wild chicken eggs Taoya had found earlier were already gone, but the two crates of sixty eggs she bought at the market last time were mostly left.
Not to mention Dahua, who looked sleek and glossy from eating bugs every day. Starting from the third day, she would leave a smooth, round egg in her nest every single morning.
Lin Sanniang shook her head shyly. “Back where we live, an egg can be bought for two or three coppers. Four eggs would equal ten coppers, but ten coppers cannot buy this much grain.”
After all, grain was something they needed to eat every day, whereas eggs were not.
Hearing this, Jian Xingxia nodded. “Alright, then you can arrange things as you see fit.”
Saying this, she brought out the wild vegetables that had been drying for two or three days and some slightly wilted vegetables, letting Lin Sanniang check them.
Whatever could be sold would be brought back, and whatever couldn’t be sold—as long as Lin Sanniang didn’t mind—she could take away.
How could Lin Sanniang possibly mind?
She wished nothing more than to kneel down and kowtow to Jian Xingxia all over again.
Jian Xingxia quickly shooed her out, then called Little Hu the Sixth. “Hey, Little Hu the Sixth, help me borrow the electric tricycle again.”
As it turned out, Little Hu the Sixth was busy today and couldn’t make it. “Sister Xiaxia, Grandma Hu Ming kept the vehicle for you and wouldn’t let anyone else touch it. I’ll have Fangfang and Hu Ming go pick you up in a bit.”
“Alright, go tend to your business. It’s fine, I’ll contact Fangfang myself.” Jian Xingxia didn’t want to disrupt his earning potential and quickly hung up.
Fangfang and Hu Ming were still students and didn’t have cell phones, so Jian Xingxia placed a call to Auntie Lu instead. The moment Auntie Lu heard about it, she immediately called out to Fangfang.
“Get up, stop watching television! Go to Hu Ming’s house, ride the tricycle over to the old house.”
Jian Xingxia could practically hear the sound of Auntie Lu slapping Fangfang’s plump arm.
Fangfang flipped herself right up. “Awesome!”
