Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 13

Chapter 13

After returning home, Ye Xi first checked on Ye Shan, who was recovering in his room. He refilled his tea and helped him to the outhouse.

Ye Shan felt guilty. It was the busy farming season when everyone was needed, and he had injured his foot. “How’s the rice harvesting going?” He was still worried about the farm work.

Ye Xi replied, “We can finish today. Lin Jiangshan came to help. He works fast, comparable to you, Brother.”

Ye Shan was relieved. “It’s my good fortune to have befriended him as a brother. I’ll definitely treat him to a good drink later to thank him.”

Ye Xi went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. Usually, they would just make something simple, but not today. He had to make sure the person who helped them had a good meal.

After cleaning the wok, Ye Shan, unable to stay idle, limped to the kitchen door and asked if there was anything he could help with. Ye Xi knew his brother couldn’t stay still, so he gave him the rice ears he had collected today.

“Then help me pound the rice, so we can have rice for lunch later.”

Ye Shan took the rice bag and sat by the door to pound the rice. Ye Xi cut a small piece of cured meat from the stovetop, washed it with hot water, and diced it.

The corn and peas in the vegetable garden were in season, so he went to pick a few ears of corn, sat by the stove, and shelled the corn kernels and tender green peas.

Ye Shan pounded the rice with a pestle, and Ye Xi shelled the corn kernels with his fingers, casually asking his brother, “Brother, what do you think of Lin Jiangshan?”

Ye Shan said frankly, “He’s a good person, of course. Although we haven’t known each other for long, I think he’s reliable, straightforward, and willing to help. He’s a good man. I want to be brothers with him for life.”

Ye Xi didn’t speak, silently shelling the corn with his fingertips, the yellow corn juice staining his fingertips. He thought to himself, couldn’t his brother think about being family with him for life, why did he only think about being brothers?

He didn’t want to talk to his brother anymore. After preparing the ingredients, he went into the kitchen to cook.

The freshly pounded rice still had the fragrance of green grass. He only needed to rinse it once with water before steaming it in the steamer. In just a short while, the aroma of rice filled the room with the steam.

The rice water from steaming would be used to cook the rice later. Ye Xi stir-fried the diced cured meat in vegetable oil until the surface turned golden brown, then added potatoes, corn kernels, and peas, stir-frying them together.

Finally, he spread a layer of freshly steamed rice on top, poured a bowl of thick rice water along the edge of the wok, covered it, and simmered it over low heat.

Rice alone wasn’t enough; he also had to make dishes. The vegetables in the vegetable garden were abundant these days, so Ye Xi picked a few eggplants and braised them with minced meat and soy sauce, adding half a bowl of water starch and a handful of minced garlic.

By the time the dried chili peppers were ready, the rice was also done.

Ye Shan could smell the aroma from outside and took a deep breath. “Xi-ge’er, the food smells so good today!”

Ye Xi smiled and lifted the lid of the wok, and the steam and aroma wafted out. The rice was oily, fragrant, and glistening, with a layer of golden crispy rice at the bottom, crunchy and delicious.

“Brother, go to the main room and eat. I’ll take the food to Father and the others.”

Ye Shan replied, “Okay, I’ll clean up the dishes and stove later.”

“Alright.” Ye Xi packed the bowls and chopsticks in a basket and set off to deliver the food.

The midday sun was scorching, and by the time he reached the fields, Ye Xi was drenched in sweat, the beads of perspiration trickling down his fair neck.

“Lunchtime!” He waved to the people in the field from the ridge.

Father Ye dropped his sickle and said to Lin Jiangshan, who was working diligently beside him, “Lad, haven’t you used up all your energy yet? Come on, let’s eat. We’ll continue in the afternoon.”

Lin Jiangshan’s neck and arms were sunburnt and reddish. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Alright, we’ll continue in the afternoon.”

Ye Xi spread a bamboo mat under the shade of a tree and laid out the food from the basket. The aroma of the food immediately wafted out, making their stomachs rumble and their mouths water.

Father Ye and the others went to the nearby ditch to wash their hands. When they returned and saw the food, Father Ye exclaimed, “We have pot rice today? Great, oily and filling!”

Ye Xi served everyone a bowl from the basket. When he handed a bowl to Lin Jiangshan, he whispered a thank you. To be honest, he had never eaten this kind of rice dish. Rice was scarce in Beizhou, usually just steamed, rarely prepared in other ways.

The pot rice Ye Xi made was golden in color, with corn kernels, peas, and other ingredients, mixed with crispy rice. The more he chewed, the more fragrant it became.

Unconsciously, he finished the entire bowl, and Ye Xi, seeing his empty bowl, added more with a spoon.

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “I came to help you harvest rice, but I’ve eaten so much of your food, I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

Father Ye chuckled and said loudly, “You’ve helped our family so much, two bowls of rice are nothing. You can come to our house for dinner every day if you want.”

Liu Xiufeng added, “Although our family isn’t wealthy, we have enough rice. Xi-ge’er is a good cook, and the food he makes is delicious. I’m not boasting, but few people within ten miles can compare to my Xi-ge’er’s cooking.”

Seeing his mother praising him like this, Ye Xi blushed and stopped her. “Mother, that’s embarrassing, don’t brag like that.”

Liu Xiufeng covered her mouth and laughed. “Hey, I’m just telling the truth. You’re shy. I wouldn’t say this to others, but Lin lad won’t laugh at us.”

The tips of Ye Xi’s ears turned slightly red. He held his bowl, sat on the side, lowered his head, and didn’t speak. Could it be that his mother really liked Lin Jiangshan and wanted him to be her son-in-law? But with his current appearance, he was afraid Lin Jiangshan wouldn’t agree.

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “Aunt Liu is right, Ye Xi’s cooking skills are excellent. It was the first time I had such delicious food, I almost swallowed my tongue.”

Ye Xi’s ears turned red, and he glared at him. “You’re teasing me too!”

Lin Jiangshan said, “Can’t I tell the truth?”

Ye Xi retorted, “Then stick out your tongue, let me see if it’s still there, how come you didn’t swallow it.”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “Maybe if I have another bowl, I really will swallow it.”

Ye Xi glared at him. “You’re really good at teasing people!”

Lin Jiangshan said, “Is it wrong to give a sincere compliment now?”

Their playful banter made Liu Xiufeng and Father Ye laugh heartily.

Ye Xi snatched the bowl from Lin Jiangshan’s hand and put it in the basket. “For the sake of your tongue, it’s better not to eat any more.” After saying that, he picked up the basket and prepared to go home.

As he walked, he thought angrily, this man used to be a quiet person who barely spoke a word, how come he was so talkative now? Was he pretending before?

The summer wind blew through the rice fields, creating waves of golden grains. Lin Jiangshan, sitting under the shade of a tree, watched Ye Xi walk away along the ridge, his eyes filled with amusement. The leaves rustled, and the cicadas chirped even more urgently and shrilly, the sound of summer filling the air.

With Lin Jiangshan’s help, the Ye family finished harvesting their rice quickly. During this time, Lin Jiangshan worked in the Ye family’s fields every day and gradually started interacting with the villagers.

The villagers saw that he was a hard worker, not a sly and cunning person, and they would exchange a few words with him when they met in the fields.

Time passed peacefully in the mountains.

Ye Shan’s foot had healed, but he still needed to rest for a while. Father Ye and Liu Xiufeng were most worried that he would have lasting problems. If he ended up limping, it would be difficult for him to find a wife.

They worried about this for several days. Ye Xi was also concerned about his brother’s injury. The weather was hot, making it difficult for wounds to heal, and they could easily become infected and swollen.

He specifically went to ask the doctor. The village doctor said that he had injured a tendon and it would take time to heal. If he wanted to fully recover, he needed to rest and recuperate.

The best remedy was to use Sanqi (pseudoginseng) and Touguxiao (penetrating bone dispelling medicine). The doctor had Touguxiao, but Sanqi was rare, so he told Ye Xi to inquire at the larger pharmacies in town, preferably the five-year-old or older variety.

His brother had always been so good to him, so Ye Xi would find a way to get it. The next day, he went to town to inquire about the price of Sanqi at the pharmacy.

Upon inquiring, he found that one qian (a unit of weight) of Sanqi actually cost over one and a half taels of silver. He calculated that he would need about three taels of Sanqi, which was exorbitantly expensive. As the saying went, “Poor people can’t afford to get sick,” and it seemed to be true.

Ye Xi couldn’t afford it and returned home dejectedly. Just as he left the pharmacy, he saw a familiar figure.

“Brother Lin?” Ye Xi called out.

After spending time together, Lin Jiangshan had become quite close to the Ye family, and Ye Xi started calling him “Brother.”

Hearing someone call him from behind, Lin Jiangshan stopped and turned around to see Ye Xi standing there with his face veiled.

“Why are you here? Are you here for the market?” he asked.

Ye Xi shook his head. “I came to the pharmacy to ask about Sanqi. My brother’s foot injury hasn’t fully healed yet.”

“How did it go?”

“It’s too expensive. The money I saved is far from enough. I can only go back and ask the village doctor if there are other remedies.”

Lin Jiangshan nodded. “Sanqi is a good medicine for reducing inflammation and healing injuries. I heard that the wound medicine the military doctors used in the army camp was made of Sanqi.”

Ye Xi sighed. “It’s a good medicine, but the price is too high. What are you doing in town, Brother Lin?”

Lin Jiangshan lifted the package in his hand and replied, “I caught two wild rabbits in the mountains and came to exchange them for some money, to buy some salt, oil, and other daily necessities for the house.”

Ye Xi looked at the oil-paper package in his hand and couldn’t help but smile. “You do use a lot of salt at home, you should buy more.”

His cooking was so salty, of course, he used a lot of salt.

Lin Jiangshan was stunned for a moment, as if he didn’t understand. Seeing Ye Xi’s smiling eyes, he realized that he was being teased about his cooking.

He touched his nose and smiled along.

The streets were crowded. A man driving a mule accidentally bumped into Ye Xi, and Ye Xi stumbled forward. Seeing this, Lin Jiangshan reached out to steady him.

The next second, Ye Xi fell into Lin Jiangshan’s arms, and Lin Jiangshan’s hand was still on his back.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I accidentally bumped into your husband,” the mule driver apologized loudly.

Ye Xi blushed upon hearing this and quickly pulled away from Lin Jiangshan’s embrace, the warmth of his body still lingering on his cheek.

Lin Jiangshan said in a low voice, “That was a reflex, I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you.”

Ye Xi lowered his eyes and softly replied, “I know.”