Chapter 51 Borrowing Mill
A large tree with lush branches and leaves stands quietly at the entrance of the village. Its thick trunk and dark brown bark are covered with irregular cracks, all of which are traces of history, with thousands of years and stories. The branches stretch outward like a huge umbrella, providing shade and shelter for the villagers under the tree.
When the wind blows, the red ribbons tied to the branches flutter in the wind. The red ribbons are old and new, carrying people's wishes.
Lin Zisu withdrew her gaze and watched Li Zheng negotiating with the people of this village.
This village has a stone mill, and it is a big one, which is located in the mill at the entrance of the village.
Lin Zisu didn't go to the county town, so she wanted to come to this village to have a look. She pestered Old Man Lin and said, "You brought all grown men with you. People thought you were going to rob people!"
Seeing that there are so many of you, not only adults but also children, they will not be too wary and are willing to talk to you.
In such a chaotic world, people are afraid! With so many people walking towards the village, who would be in the mood to discuss things with you?
Then, seven or eight half-grown children followed the adults to join in the fun.
Lin Zisu was fully armed, with only his eyes showing. With his thin body and lack of development, he looked like a half-grown boy wearing coarse clothes.
The village is called Changqing Village. The old men and women who were sitting and chatting under a tree at the entrance of the village saw a large group of people walking towards the village. They hurriedly went to find the head of the village and gathered the young and middle-aged men in the village to the entrance of the village.
Two groups of people were standing at the entrance of the village, and if you didn't know, you would think they were having a fight!
The village head stepped out first and said, "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! We are just passing by and would like to borrow your village's millstone for use."
The head of Changqing Village is also a thin old man. Lin Zisu stood behind them, looking at the two old men. Are there no young and middle-aged people to be the head of the village?
The village chief of Changqing was named Li. After hearing Lin Lizheng's request, he was about to wave his hand to refuse.
Lin Lizheng said quickly, "Brother Li, we are not using it for free. We will pay you and we don't need your animals to grind the mill. We can grind it ourselves. We are traveling and we really can't bring the stone mill with us, but we have to eat." Then he walked up to Li Lizheng of Changqing Village and handed him a small cloth bag the size of his palm, "Brother Li, I have some tobacco leaves here, you can smoke it for fun."
Li Lizheng of Changqing Village looked at Lin Lizheng with his cloudy old eyes, then squeezed the pack of tobacco leaves in his hand and asked in a hoarse voice, "How much grain do you want to grind? How much will you pay?"
"Brother Li, how much money can we poor people have? How about 20 copper coins? I know it's not much, just consider it as a favor. We will grind it ourselves, and the mill will clean it before we leave. We will only stay at the mill and will never go into the village. Brother Li, do you think it's okay?"
When Li Lizheng from Changqing village heard that it was only 20 copper coins, he wanted to turn around and leave.
Lin Lizheng hurriedly called out: "Brother Li, don't think it's too little, we can discuss it!"
Lin Zisu tugged at Old Man Lin, whispered something to him, and handed him a few acorns. Old Man Lin took the acorns, walked a few steps forward, whispered something to Lin Lizheng's ear, and handed him the acorns.
Lin Lizheng looked at the acorn in his hand and thought for a while, just a few seconds, then stretched out his hand in front of Li Lizheng from Changqing Village, spread out his palm, showing the acorn and said, "Brother Li, I wonder if you guys can eat this?"
“Bitter beads?! This thing is poisonous and bitter! Who would eat this?” He looked at Lin Lizheng with an unhappy expression as if he was kidding.
Lin Lizheng grinned, revealing his toothless gums, and said, "That's because you don't know how to cook! These bitter beads can be processed and eaten just like rice, and they can fill your stomach! They are everywhere on the mountain, and you won't starve to death if you work hard! They are also very good for feeding livestock, as livestock eat this special meat!" Seeing the group of people on the opposite side looking at him in surprise, with an expression that said, "You are talking nonsense, we came to borrow the stone mill to grind it. If it's not edible, why would we go to the trouble of bringing it on the road! This stuff is everywhere on the mountain, and it's not worth much!"
A group of people were all excited when they heard Lin Lizheng say this. If it was really as he said, it could be eaten like rice, and it could also feed livestock to grow meat. There were so many of them in the mountains, who wouldn't be tempted? Few families had enough food to eat, and after paying taxes, no family had too much surplus food.
In most people's homes, adding wild vegetables to porridge is considered a good meal. If you can eat it, you are lucky to survive.
"Where?" Li Li was looking at the crowd opposite.
"They are all piled up at the place where we are going! Brother Li, if you agree, we will bring the mill here. This is not a lie. You can all see us bringing the mill here!"
"Is it really edible? Is it delicious?" Li Lizheng still didn't quite believe it. He had never heard of it in his 60 years of life.
"What's real can't be fake, and what's fake can't be real! We grind it, cook it, and eat it in front of you, okay?" Although Lin Lizheng had never eaten food made from acorn flour, he believed in Lin Youcai. There was no need for him to lie to everyone!
Someone was behind Li Lizheng, pulling his clothes. Li Lizheng knew what everyone wanted to say without turning around. He said to Lin Lizheng, "The villagers are discussing this. You wait a moment." After that, he turned around and asked the villagers to talk not far away.
It wasn't long before the crowd returned.
"Brother Lin, 20 copper coins are too little. How about this, if it is true as you said that the bitter beads are edible, then you tell us how to make the bitter beads, and the mill will let you use it for free. Do you think it's okay?" Li Lizheng knew that it was not kind to ask others how to process the bitter beads, but the stone mill was a very precious tool and indispensable to farmers.
The village raised money to buy the stone materials, chose a good day and hired a master to install it. The placement of the stone mill also required a Feng Shui master to check the location, it was not just placed anywhere randomly.
If a village had a mill, it was a big deal. People from other villages had to pay money or provide grain to use it.
Lin Lizheng knew the value of the stone mill, not to mention that acorns were worthless. We were all poor people, and it would be a good deed if we could get more food and save a few people from starving to death. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll tell you how to clean and cook them. We have a lot of bitter acorns, and we are in a hurry to travel. I guess we will grind them tonight. We will definitely not go into the village, but stay at the entrance of the village, so we won't disturb you."
"Okay, you can use it. I'll leave Ergou and Zhuzi here, just tell them to call me if anything happens." Li Lizheng looked at the two men standing next to him, handed the key to the mill to one of them, and asked the two to guard the entrance of the village.
"Okay, I'll stay here, and they can go back and get the bitter beads." Lin Lizheng sat down on the stone block under the tree.
Old Man Lin and several old men from the village stayed behind to accompany the headman, while the others went back to carry the acorn kernels for grinding.
Li Lizheng simply sat down and chatted with these old men, wanting to hear what was happening outside.