Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 55

Chapter 55

When Ye Xi returned home, it was just past noon. He took two of the ciba he had made earlier, pan-fried them, and ate them with pickled vegetables.

The pan-fried ciba were crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, forming stringy bits when he bit into them. As Ye Xi sat under the eaves, enjoying his meal, the fawn came and nuzzled against his knee, and he shared a small piece with it, rewarding it for guarding the chickens and ducks.

After his meal, Ye Xi went into the kitchen to make paste.

He brushed the thick paste onto the paper and carefully pasted it onto the windows, two layers on each window. After finishing, he checked the room, satisfied that it was still bright, the light not blocked.

The wind couldn’t get through the cracks anymore, and the room felt warmer.

Ye Xi then took out two bundles of dried reeds, sat in the courtyard, brewed a pot of tea on the low table, threaded a needle with hemp string, and started sewing straw curtains.

He would hang them outside the windows, rolling them up during the day to let in light, and lowering them at night to block the wind. With the added layer of paper on the windows, the cold winter wind wouldn’t be able to get in.

He had just finished one curtain when Li-ge’er arrived. It had been a while since he last visited, after the incident with the Li family, and Ye Xi hadn’t wanted to disturb him.

Seeing him, Ye Xi put down his needlework and smiled. “It’s been a while, come in, have some tea and chat.”

Li-ge’er took a stool from under the eaves and sat beside Ye Xi. “What are you making?”

Ye Xi held up the curtain in his hand. “It’s getting cold, I’m making these to cover the windows and block the wind.”

Li-ge’er nodded. “You’re always so skillful, I should make a few for myself too, we have some dried reeds at home.”

He rarely visited, but the fawn wasn’t afraid of strangers and nudged Li-ge’er’s knees with its antlers.

“Your deer has grown, it’s like a dog, so intelligent and playful. Come on, move aside, I’ll feed you some radishes later.” Li-ge’er petted its antlers and shooed it away.

While the fawn chased the rooster in the courtyard, Ye Xi asked Li-ge’er, “Did the Li family cause any more trouble for you after that incident?”

Li-ge’er shook his head. “Thanks to your family, my mother and I were able to deal with those hooligans. Since Li Xi separated from that family, they haven’t come back.”

“How’s Li Xi doing?” Ye Xi asked. He had separated from his parents, leaving with nothing, his life must be difficult.

Li-ge’er said, “His brother, sister-in-law, younger brother, and sister-in-law are all leeches, most of the family’s money and possessions were earned by Li Xi. Now they’ve made him leave with nothing, not even a dilapidated hut or a small piece of land. Li Xi left with only a few clothes.”

Ye Xi sympathized. “He’s brave to separate from his family like that, rare to see in these villages. He must have been truly disheartened. Does he have a place to stay now?”

Li-ge’er twirled a reed in his hand. “Thanks to your brother, the abandoned old house your family had by the pond, although old, it can still provide shelter. Your brother let him stay there temporarily.”

Ye Xi smiled. “My brother is truly kind. But he has no money, how can he afford food?”

Li-ge’er continued, “He knows how to butcher pigs, and he’s been working from dawn till dusk recently, going from village to village, buying pigs and selling meat. He seems to be earning some income, and he should be able to live a decent life after a while.”

Ye Xi nodded, relieved. Li Xi was a capable and resilient man, he wouldn’t have to worry about his life after marrying Li-ge’er.

Li-ge’er poured himself a bowl of tea, his expression slightly embarrassed. “He said since my mother has agreed, he wants to hold the wedding in two months, to marry me soon, so we don’t have to wait any longer.”

His marriage with Li Xi had been a bumpy road. They started discussing marriage at the beginning of summer, the matchmaker visited two or three times, but after learning about the Li family’s behavior, his mother changed her mind and refused, so the matter was put on hold. Then, Li Xi caused a scene, demanding separation from his family, and then there was the incident of the Li family coming to their house to cause trouble. Now that Li Xi had separated from his family, everything had calmed down, and the marriage, delayed for half a year, could finally be settled.

Ye Xi smiled. “It seems he’s anxious, afraid of further delays, wanting to marry you as soon as possible. But he doesn’t even have a house now, does your mother agree?”

Li-ge’er took a sip of tea and leaned back in his chair. “He has saved some money, and in two months, he’ll have enough to buy a house. He has his eye on a plot of land on the mountainside, he’ll build a small house there.”

Land on the mountainside was cheaper than in the village, but it required more effort to go up the mountain.

Ye Xi said, “Then we’ll be neighbors in the future, living close to each other. I think living on the mountain is quite nice, fresh air, not much disturbance, beautiful scenery, look, we can see the clouds and mist on the opposite mountainside from our courtyard, and it’s also convenient for picking fruits and digging wild vegetables.”

Li-ge’er didn’t mind where he lived, as long as his husband was reliable and their life was harmonious. “Yes, I like your courtyard, spacious, with a stream and a pool, and flowers planted in the corner, much nicer than the houses in our village.”

“Just ask your Li Xi to build you one too.”

“We have to thank Sister-in-law Ran for the house construction. Master Lu, the most famous carpenter in the area, is her uncle. Thanks to her connection, Master Lu, who rarely takes on house construction projects anymore, agreed to build a small house for Li Xi. You know how skilled he is, and he’s also very efficient and economical with materials, saving a lot of money.”

Ye Xi knew that Li Ran had an uncle who was a carpenter in Xiushui Village. He had seen him from afar when the pagoda was being built in town, a tall and sturdy man, working quickly and efficiently. Later, he saw his husband in town, a fair and handsome young man, creative with his cooking, and soft-spoken and polite.

“Master Lu is truly capable and respected in the surrounding villages.”

Li-ge’er started gossiping, “It’s a pity Master Lu doesn’t have a son to inherit his skills. He’s been married for many years, but it seems he only has one son. He dotes on his husband and doesn’t want him to suffer anymore, so they didn’t have more children. But their son is so cute, like a little glutinous rice ball.”

“A virtuous family, everyone in the Lu family is caring and loving. Now you’ve met Sister-in-law Ran, her personality was nurtured in such an environment, straightforward, kind, and good-tempered. It seems there’s a reason why the Lu family is so prosperous, a harmonious family brings prosperity.”

Li-ge’er nodded, agreeing.

They chatted for a while longer, and Li-ge’er said he was embroidering his wedding clothes recently. His needlework wasn’t as good as Ye Xi’s, but he had managed to finish half of it, and his mother finally allowed him to leave the house.

“Yao-ge’er is getting married, have you heard?”

Ye Xi nodded. “I heard the aunties in the village mention it, I even ran into him this morning when I went to the next village to buy paper.”

Li-ge’er said, “The Cao family actually married him, I’m surprised, but I don’t care about their affairs. They invited the women in the village to prepare the bridal chamber, but most people are unwilling to go, saying his reputation is ruined, and if they go, it will bring them bad luck. If he can’t find anyone to prepare the bridal chamber, Yao-ge’er will lose face again.”

Villagers valued reputation, and preparing the bridal chamber for someone with a bad reputation would invite ridicule.

Ye Xi didn’t care. “Anyway, they won’t invite our family to the wedding feast, his marriage has nothing to do with me.”

Li-ge’er sat for a while longer, relieved of his boredom after chatting, and then went home satisfied.

Shortly after he left, as the sun was setting, Lin Jiangshan returned from town.

Ye Xi saw him leading a goat and stood up in surprise. “Why did you bring a goat back?!”

Lin Jiangshan led the goat into the courtyard. “I met an old goatherd on my way back. This female goat injured its leg and couldn’t keep up with the herd. He has to take the goats to the mountains to graze every day, and he can’t carry it with him, so he could only keep it in his courtyard. He wanted to sell it in town for meat, but the butcher thought it was too old and the meat would be tough, so he kept lowering the price. I saw it and thought it could provide goat milk, so I bought it for one and a half taels of silver, to nourish your body.”

He had heard from his brother-in-law and mother-in-law that Ye Xi was weaker than other children when he was young and was raised on goat milk for two or three years. Now that Ye Xi was his husband, Lin Jiangshan still felt that he was delicate, his waist so slender that he could encircle it with one arm. It was only the beginning of winter, and his feet were already cold, always pressing against his legs in bed.

He thought that buying this goat and keeping it in the courtyard, so Ye Xi could drink goat milk again, would improve his health.

Ye Xi was touched by his husband’s care and consideration. Life was truly good. Although he felt sorry for the money, he couldn’t reject his husband’s kindness. “We have livestock now, it will be fun to keep it in the courtyard. We can even make goat cheese in winter.”

The fawn, seeing another creature with horns in the courtyard, came over to sniff it, but the goat, having a temper, tried to kick and headbutt it, scaring the fawn, which retreated, its large eyes looking at the goat with grievance.

Ye Xi patted its head and soothed it, “It just arrived, don’t provoke it, you’ll become friends later.”

Lin Jiangshan entered the house, took out the remaining money from his pocket, and handed it to Ye Xi. “I sold the baskets for three hundred and twenty wen, and your bamboo shoots for three hundred wen. I also collected my last payment for the official road construction, one hundred and eighty wen. After deducting the cost of the goat, this is the remaining money, keep it for our daily expenses.”

Ye Xi put the copper coins in the clay jar on the cabinet and smiled. “We spent a lot today, I even spent dozens of wen on paper at the paper shop.”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “We have to spend money to earn money, what’s the use of saving if we don’t spend? I can always earn more.”

He took out a small bell from his pocket. “I saw it at a stall, ten wen. I bought it to tie around the deer’s neck. Now it’s your pet, guarding our home, part of our family. With a bell, it can be reincarnated as a human in its next life.”

People here believed that if livestock wore a bell around their neck, they were recognized as part of the family and would have a better next life, not as animals again. Therefore, most oxen in the fields wore bells, and some families even put bells on their guard dogs.

Ye Xi happily found a red string and tied the bell around the fawn’s neck. It jingled as it ran.

The fawn seemed to understand and nuzzled against Lin Jiangshan with its antlers, as if thanking him.