Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 10

Chapter 10

Keeping Lin Jiangshan’s large appetite in mind, Ye Xi steamed a full steamer of rice and started preparing since noon.

Liu Xiufeng was sewing Father Ye’s short jacket in the main room. Seeing Ye Xi busily moving about, she said, “Looking at your preparations, it seems like you’re about to make a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.”

Ye Xi’s heart skipped a beat. He pursed his lips and said calmly, “He gave our family fish last time and helped us with the irrigation, so we have to treat him well, so people won’t say we’re stingy.”

Liu Xiufeng ran a needle through her hair. “That’s true. We’re inviting someone to dinner, we can’t lose face. Just use whatever ingredients we have at home, it won’t cost much.”

Ye Xi nodded and went out with some copper coins to buy meat.

In the evening, as dusk settled, Ye Xi stood in the kitchen, holding a plate of freshly stir-fried green peppers with meat, his eyes constantly glancing outside, worried that Lin Jiangshan wouldn’t come.

When the last dish, the soup, was ready, Father Ye asked, “Is that Lin fellow coming? Did he agree that day?”

Ye Xi wiped his hands with the apron tied around his waist and replied, “I asked him casually, and he said he would come.”

Ye Shan put down the bamboo basket he was weaving and stood up. “It’s getting late, I’ll go to his house and invite him again.”

Before he could step out the door, a tall figure appeared on the path outside the fence, slowly emerging from the evening mist.

It was Lin Jiangshan.

As he approached, they saw he was carrying two pheasants with long tail feathers in his right hand.

Ye Shan enthusiastically went to greet him. “Brother Lin, why are you so late? I was about to go look for you.”

Lin Jiangshan handed him the pheasants. “I took a walk in the woods and lost track of time.”

Ye Shan looked at the two pheasants and felt embarrassed to accept them. He refused, “Since you’re here, why bring these? These are rare things, I can’t accept them. Take them back!”

Lin Jiangshan hunted these pheasants in the woods that afternoon. It was only during summer that these wild creatures would come out. If it were winter, he might not be able to hunt them.

The Ye family invited him for dinner, and he couldn’t eat for free, he had to bring a gift.

“I caught them in the woods, they didn’t cost anything, just take them.”

Ye Shan still didn’t dare to accept them and refused, “Brother Lin, you probably just arrived and don’t know the prices here. These two pheasants can be sold in town for fifty wen each. That’s a lot of money.”

Lin Jiangshan’s face darkened, and he turned to leave, carrying the pheasants. He said directly, “Since you won’t accept them, I can’t eat this meal for free. I’ll just leave.”

Seeing him about to leave, Ye Shan became anxious and quickly stopped him. “No, no, no, I’ll take them, alright? Don’t leave, Xi-ge’er has been busy all afternoon, preparing a table of good dishes to treat you.”

Hearing this, Lin Jiangshan stopped, handed the pheasants to Ye Shan, and said, “Then I won’t stand on ceremony and enjoy the dinner at your house tonight.”

Ye Shan happily patted his shoulder. “Hey, you’re quite interesting, I like you!”

When Lin Jiangshan entered the main room, Ye Xi was setting the table. He looked up and saw Lin Jiangshan, smiling softly. “Sit down, don’t let the food get cold.”

Lin Jiangshan agreed and sat down at the table.

Tonight, Father Ye and Ye Shan accompanied him, drinking with him. Ye Xi and Liu Xiufeng sat on the side, eating and letting the men enjoy themselves.

“Come, have a bowl of wine. This is sorghum wine brewed at the village distillery, very strong and mellow.” Ye Shan poured wine for Lin Jiangshan from the wine jar.

Lin Jiangshan wasn’t one for pretense, so he held out his bowl.

Father Ye said gratefully, “Thanks to you the other day, Brother Lin, our family’s rice was saved this year. Enough said, let’s drink.”

Lin Jiangshan clinked bowls with Father Ye and drank the entire bowl of wine in one gulp.

Ye Xi watched, slightly alarmed. This man must have a high tolerance for alcohol.

As the wine flowed, the conversation also opened up. Father Ye, hiccuping slightly, asked, “Where are you from, Brother Lin?”

Lin Jiangshan replied respectfully, “Beizhou, a town under the jurisdiction of Xi County.”

“Oh, that’s quite far.”

Lin Jiangshan agreed.

Ye Shan craned his neck, looking at Lin Jiangshan curiously, and asked, “Then why did you come to Nanchuan Prefecture? It’s unfamiliar here. As they say, there’s no place like home. People should stay in their hometown to feel at ease.”

Lin Jiangshan’s lips tightened into a straight line, his expression darkening.

Ye Xi sensed something and nudged his brother’s arm with his elbow, whispering, “Brother, don’t ask. It’s not appropriate to pry into other people’s private matters.”

Ye Shan was clearly a bit drunk and didn’t listen to the advice, instead exclaiming, “Is Brother Lin a stranger? He’s straightforward and righteous, I truly treat him as a brother! We’ll be close friends from now on! What’s wrong with asking? I don’t treat him as an outsider.”

Ye Xi looked at his brother, feeling a headache. Just as he was about to speak again, Lin Jiangshan spoke.

He said in a low voice, “Since Brother Ye treats me as one of your own, there’s nothing I can’t say. I won’t hide those old matters.”

Ye Xi looked at him quietly, also curious about his past and origins. He knew that Lin Jiangshan didn’t come to Shanxiu Village for no reason.

Lin Jiangshan slowly began, “My family was a large and prosperous clan in town. My father had six brothers, and my uncles had many children. Only my father had me as his only son. Later, the Xie Rong from the north rebelled and invaded. The imperial court issued a decree to conscript soldiers to fight the enemy, requiring one able-bodied man from each family. My uncles all had sons to send, so I had to go from my family.”

Father Ye had lived his entire life in Shanxiu Village and had never seen war. “Heavens, you really went to the battlefield? And you came back safe and sound?”

Lin Jiangshan said, “The war lasted five years. Swords and arrows have no eyes, but I was fortunate enough to return safely.”

Ye Shan clicked his tongue in admiration. “Brother Lin, you’re a god! With such skills, it’s not an exaggeration to say you fought your way back from hell!”

Liu Xiufeng was engrossed in the story and quickly asked, “Since you returned safely, why did you leave your hometown and come to our Shanxiu Village?”

Ye Xi was also waiting for his answer.

Lin Jiangshan took a sip of wine, the spicy liquid flowing down his throat. “After the war, I went to the government office to cancel my military service document. But the officials said they had recorded my death on the battlefield three years ago. They must have made a mistake and mistaken someone else for me. I had a bad feeling and quickly returned to Xi County.”

“As expected, when I returned, I heard that I had already died in battle. My mother had always been frail, and upon hearing the news, she became ill and passed away. My father couldn’t bear the blow of losing his son and wife and followed her.”

Liu Xiufeng’s eyes teared up. She was kind-hearted. “War is truly inhumane, look at what it does to people!”

Ye Xi’s heart ached as he listened. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if he lost his parents and brother. He would probably bang his head against a beam and follow them in death.

Lin Jiangshan continued, “My father had some wealth when he was alive, considered a wealthy family. The land deeds, houses, and some family assets he left behind were distributed among my uncles according to custom. When I returned, they naturally didn’t want to give up what they had already taken, so they colluded and insisted that the Lin family’s son had died in battle three years ago, and that I was an imposter. They expelled me from the clan.”

Ye Shan gritted his teeth, wishing he could take a cleaver and seek justice for Lin Jiangshan. “Those bastards! They should be struck by lightning!”

Ye Xi asked, “So you came to Shanxiu Village after that?”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “After leaving Xi County, I had no household registration documents and no relatives to turn to. I wandered around for three or four years. Then I met a comrade from my military days. He was doing quite well after returning to Nanchuan Prefecture. His brother worked in the government office. Through his connections, I came to Nanchuan Prefecture and re-registered my household registration documents. However, the registration required a residence and land deed. I heard that Shanxiu Village had an abandoned house for sale at a low price, so I bought it and registered my household in Nanchuan Prefecture.”

In a few words, he explained his past and origins. He spoke concisely and clearly, but the hardships he endured were probably more than a basket could hold.

The Ye family felt sorry for him, and the room fell silent.

Lin Jiangshan had already let go of the past. He raised his wine bowl, clinked it against Ye Shan’s arm, and said heartily, “Don’t worry about the past anymore. It’s fate that I came here and settled down in Shanxiu Village. Meeting Brother Ye’s family is also fate. Let’s drink!”

Ye Shan finally relaxed and started drinking again.

After the meal, the jar of wine Ye Xi brought was finished. Father Ye and Ye Shan were both flushed and slightly drunk, while Lin Jiangshan seemed unaffected.

Liu Xiufeng cleared the table and told the Ye family men to go back to their rooms and lie down, so they wouldn’t cause a drunken scene later.

Ye Xi sat by the oil lamp, looking at Lin Jiangshan in the dim light. Although his cheeks were slightly flushed and he smelled strongly of alcohol, he didn’t seem drunk.

“Are you… drunk?”

Lin Jiangshan lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes clear, obviously not drunk and fully conscious. He shook his head. “No, although my tolerance isn’t bottomless, I can handle this much.”

Ye Xi breathed a sigh of relief. “With your tolerance, no man in the village can outdrink you.”

Lin Jiangshan stood up. “It’s getting late, I’ll be going.”

Ye Xi looked at the dark scenery outside and said worriedly, “It’s so late, what if you encounter snakes, insects, or wild animals on the way?”

He lived halfway up the mountain, it was a scary thought.

Lin Jiangshan didn’t seem worried at all. “Fighting in war is life-threatening, these animals and snakes are nothing.”

Ye Xi thought for a moment, then went to the kitchen and made him a torch with pine resin. “Use this to light your way. Be careful in the dark.”

Lin Jiangshan nodded and took the torch. As he was about to step out the door, he turned to Ye Xi and asked, “Did you make dinner tonight?”

Ye Xi didn’t expect him to ask this suddenly and froze for a moment, then nodded slightly, frowning. “Yes, was it not good?”

Lin Jiangshan smiled heartily. “Your skills are good, the meal was very satisfying. Thank you for your hard work.”

Ye Xi smiled faintly, looked away, and said softly, “If you like it, come again. My father and brother both like you, you’re welcome anytime.”

Lin Jiangshan agreed. “Get some rest.” After saying that, he lit the pine resin, held the torch, and left the Ye family’s courtyard.

Ye Xi stood under the eaves, watching the torchlight move further and further away, gradually disappearing around the bend at the foot of the mountain.