Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 7

Chapter 7

With the hot weather and the abundance of farm work, a large basin of laundry piled up every two or three days. Since the start of summer, good spots by the river in the village were in high demand, everyone rushing to wash clothes.

Walking along the shaded path between the trees to the riverbank, Ye Xi found the good spots already crowded with people. Village women and young men were squatting in groups of three or five on the rocks by the river, their hands immersed in the water, swirling the fabric, while chatting and joking with each other.

Ye Xi carried his wooden basin and searched around but couldn’t find a suitable place to settle. Instead, he received a lot of curious stares.

He ignored them. Since breaking off the engagement with the Cao family, there were always people who treated it as gossip. Coupled with the white gauze covering his face due to the burn, he attracted even more attention.

Not wanting to be disturbed by the gossip, Ye Xi simply carried his wooden basin and walked further along the riverbank.

After walking for several dozen meters, he could no longer see the group of women and young men from the village. The river gurgled, and the reeds on the bank grew lushly.

Ye Xi found a spot with shallow water and a good place to stand, put down his basin, and squatted down, starting to beat the clothes with a wooden mallet.

The soap pods for washing clothes were picked from the mountains, no need to spend money to buy them, but they weren’t abundant either. Many villagers relied on soap pod trees for washing clothes and hair. While scrubbing the clothes, Ye Xi thought about taking some time these days to go up the mountain and pick some more, so the family wouldn’t run out.

Lost in thought about household matters, he momentarily lost track of his laundry, and the river current swept away a freshly washed garment. Although the river wasn’t fast-flowing, the current was still strong, and Ye Xi couldn’t catch it in time.

He watched as the garment drifted downstream with the current.

Farming families weren’t wealthy and could only afford new clothes every few years, mending and patching them for three years. Even if they were completely worn out, they would be saved to be cut up and made into cleaning rags.

He couldn’t just lose a piece of clothing like this!

Ye Xi chased after it along the riverbank, wading through the reeds, the sharp leaves cutting his heels, but he didn’t care.

Seeing that it was about to flow into the wider part of the river, Ye Xi rolled up his pants, intending to jump into the river to try and retrieve it.

Just as he was about to enter the river, someone next to him was a step ahead.

Lin Jiangshan quickly stepped into the river. The water wasn’t deep, and since he was tall and strong, the water only reached his waist. He walked against the current, seemingly unaffected by the resistance, and quickly reached the middle of the river. With a swift scoop of his large hand, he caught the garment that had been swept away.

Ye Xi stood blankly by the river, watching him return from the river.

“Here.” He handed the garment to Ye Xi.

Ye Xi reached out to take it and softly thanked him, his ears turning red. Not for any other reason, but because he now realized the garment that had been swept away was an undergarment.

A young man’s undergarment was a private item, not to be seen by others. Now, it had been held in this man’s hand, and he couldn’t help but blush.

But Lin Jiangshan showed no other expression. He had simply helped him as a matter of course, not even distinguishing what it was.

After handing the garment to Ye Xi, he bent down to wring the water from his pants, picked up the fish he had left in the reeds, and prepared to leave.

“Did you catch these fish?” Ye Xi asked, seeing the fish in his hand, their gills tied with straw rope, their tails still flapping, clearly freshly caught from the river.

Lin Jiangshan nodded. “Caught them with a fishing net, considered a meat dish.”

Not many people in the village knew how to fish. This was considered a skill, and fish in town sold for a few copper coins each.

Therefore, Ye Xi looked at him with a hint of admiration.

“Your fishing skills are quite good. You caught so many. Even the professional fishermen in our village might not be able to catch so many in a day.”

Lin Jiangshan didn’t seem good with words. Faced with Ye Xi’s praise, he seemed a little at a loss for words, just staring at him, Ye Xi’s reflection appearing in his dark eyes.

His lips were tightly closed. After a while, he handed the straw ropes tied to two fish to Ye Xi.

Now it was Ye Xi’s turn to be stunned. He looked at the fish in confusion. “Are you giving them to me?”

Lin Jiangshan nodded slightly. “Mm.”

Two fish weren’t cheap. How could he accept them? Ye Xi quickly waved his hands and refused. “I didn’t mean I wanted your fish. I was just praising your fishing skills. You don’t have to give them to me.”

Did he think that he was talking to him because he wanted his fish?

Lin Jiangshan didn’t take them back, just placed them at Ye Xi’s feet and said in a low voice, “I can’t finish them all anyway, you take them.”

It was easy for him to provide for himself. One fish a day was enough. Every time he fished, he had enough to eat for a long time. He would salt the extra fish and make salted fish, but his skills weren’t good, and the salted fish always turned out bitter, making them hard to eat.

Having received such a generous gift, Ye Xi felt embarrassed and said, blushing, “Then I’ll pay you for the fish. But I don’t have any copper coins on me right now. Can I give them to you another day?”

Lin Jiangshan said, “No need for money. I just caught them from the river, I don’t rely on this for a living.”

He was about to leave when Ye Xi suddenly thought of something and quickly called out to him, “Then how about I give you another jar of pickles?”

Lin Jiangshan stopped and turned to look at him.

Ye Xi pursed his lips and asked, “If you liked the pickles I gave you the other day, I can bring you some more, as payment for the fish.”

The jar of pickles Ye Xi gave him last time was refreshing and delicious, perfect with plain porridge and steamed buns. Lin Jiangshan had finished it in just two days.

Thinking of this, he finally relented and nodded, his voice low and husky. “Thank you.”

Ye Xi smiled, his eyes curving into beautiful crescents. “Pickles aren’t worth as much as fish.”

Lin Jiangshan’s eyes flickered slightly, but he didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.

Ye Xi quickly finished washing the rest of his clothes and carried the two fish home.

It was almost noon, time to make lunch.

Smoke rose from the chimneys of the houses in the village. Ye Xi thought about his father and brother working hard in the fields all morning and that they would be coming back for lunch soon, so he quickly hung the clothes on the bamboo rack in the courtyard and went into the kitchen to cook.

The cornmeal at home was freshly ground, a large jar full. He scooped out a large ladleful, mixed it with half a bowl of fine flour, added well water, and kneaded it into a golden yellow dough.

While the dough was fermenting, he quickly took the fish to the courtyard to gut and scale them. He buried the fish scales in the vegetable garden as fertilizer and threw the gills and internal organs into the chicken coop.

Fish was a rare treat, and Ye Xi made sure to prepare all the ingredients to make a delicious dish to go with rice. The pickled red peppers in the jar were crisp, and the ginger was also tender and crisp. Chopping them up and using them to cook fish would make it sour, spicy, and fragrant.

The oil in the wok was sizzling hot. He scored the fish and threw it into the wok, added half a bowl of chopped pickled peppers, poured in some sweet potato starch water, and the kitchen filled with steam and the aroma of fish, drifting out the window.

Father Ye and Ye Shan just returned, carrying their farming tools. Before they even entered the courtyard, they smelled the delicious aroma and couldn’t help but sniff, their stomachs rumbling.

“Xi-ge’er, what are you making for lunch? Why is it so fragrant?” Ye Shan eagerly went into the kitchen.

Ye Xi was pouring the chopped red and green pickled peppers from the cutting board into the wok, finally sprinkling a handful of fresh agastache leaves. He smiled and replied to his brother, “I’m making chopped pepper fish. I have all the ingredients today, it’s definitely going to be delicious.”

Ye Shan came over to look into the wok and exclaimed, “Wow, we have such a delicious meal today! Did you steam the rice? I’m going to eat three big bowls!”

Ye Xi smiled. “We don’t have much pounded rice left, so I steamed cornbread. It’s also filling.” He lifted the woven straw lid of the steamer next to him, and white steam billowed out, revealing golden brown, fluffy, and soft cornbread inside.

“Great! I want to eat three or five!” Ye Shan happily went to the courtyard to wash his hands.

Ye Xi quickly served the dishes and set the table for lunch in the kitchen.

Liu Xiufeng also returned from selling vegetables in town, her basket empty. It seemed business was good today.

“There were a lot of people in town today, and I got a good spot. The vegetables sold quickly!”

Father Ye smiled and took the basket from her. “It must be because the vegetables you grow are good that they sold so quickly. It was worth all your hard work tending to the vegetable garden day and night.”

Liu Xiufeng rolled her eyes at him, feeling pleased. “If I don’t grow vegetables, what will our family eat? You finally know how hard it is to grow vegetables.”

Ye Xi called out, “Come and have lunch, don’t let the food get cold.”

Liu Xiufeng entered the kitchen and exclaimed, “Such a delicious meal for lunch! Did you find money? You actually bought fish.”

Ye Shan replied, “Xi-ge’er bought it, probably seeing how hard we worked.”

Ye Xi put the cornbread into a basin, handed one to each of them, and smiled. “I’m very tight-fisted, where would I get the money to buy fish? Someone gave it to me.”

Father Ye took a bite of the cornbread and asked curiously, “Who is so generous? Willing to give away two fish?” Villagers would fight over a few inches of farmland, who would give fish to another family for free?

Ye Xi held his earthenware bowl, pursed his lips, and said truthfully, “It’s the stranger who moved to the mountainside.”

Hearing this, Liu Xiufeng frowned and scolded, “Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him! He’s a stranger with unknown origins, so tall and strong, living halfway up the mountain, far from the village. Who knows what he’s up to! And he gave you fish, who knows what his intentions are!”

Ye Shan also warned his younger brother, “Mother is right, we should be careful, in case we fall into someone’s trap.”

Ye Xi lowered his head and didn’t speak. He was convinced that the man was a good person.

Father Ye doted on his young son and saw Ye Xi’s dejected look. He tapped his bowl with his chopsticks and defended him, “Why are you blaming Xi-ge’er? He brought the fish home to cook for us, and you’re still scolding him? I think the man isn’t necessarily bad. Since he has official documents and can settle down in the village, he must be law-abiding. Let’s not judge him prematurely.”

Ye Xi perked up after hearing his father’s words and explained, “His name is Lin Jiangshan. He’s not a bearded Hu barbarian like Brother said, and he knows how to fish. I was washing clothes by the river today, and a garment was swept away. He went into the river to retrieve it for me. Not only that, he said he couldn’t finish all the fish he caught and gave me two. I offered to pay him, but he refused.”

Father Ye’s tone softened. “This man is kind and generous. He seems to be an honest person, not a bad one. Let’s not follow the gossipmongers in the village and judge him.”

Liu Xiufeng pouted. “Just two fish and you’re won over? Our Xi-ge’er is a young man, who knows what that man’s intentions are.”

Ye Xi pointed to his face. “I look like this, Mother, what could he possibly want from me?”

“Xi-ge’er…” Liu Xiufeng felt a pang of pain in her heart.

Ye Shan pursed his lips and said, “Let’s eat, why are we talking about this? I’ll thank him properly when I see him next time.”

The conversation at the table died down, and the family quietly finished their lunch.