Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 26

Chapter 26

Having stayed up late the night before, Ye Xi woke up late. He hadn’t slept in for years, and now, on the second day of his marriage, he couldn’t get out of bed, his back and waist aching. By the time he got dressed, the sky outside was bright, it was almost noon.

Lin Jiangshan wasn’t in the house or the courtyard, he must have gotten up early. When Ye Xi opened the door and went out, several bundles of chopped firewood were piled up in the courtyard, thick and sturdy pieces. It seemed his husband had gotten up early and chopped firewood for half the morning, and must have gone out now.

Ye Xi inwardly scolded himself for being so lazy, sleeping in on the second day of his marriage, and hurried to the kitchen.

On the kitchen table was a bowl of plain porridge and a plate of pickles, the ones Ye Xi had given him before. Lin Jiangshan’s cooking skills were still terrible. It was already a feat for him to cook a bowl of porridge, and Ye Xi ate it with the pickles.

Now that they were married, he had to take care of the household chores and live a good life.

Taking advantage of the sunny weather, Ye Xi moved the jars and pots from the kitchen to the courtyard and took out all the bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard.

He burned some firewood to ashes, mixed them with water to make lye, took a small stool to the courtyard, and carefully washed everything with soap pods. Lin Jiangshan wasn’t one for cleaning when he was alone, just using one or two bowls and leaving the rest to gather dust.

It took Ye Xi a while to clean the jars and pots, then he left them to dry in the sun before putting them away.

The land in front of the courtyard also needed to be tilled to plant vegetables. Some would be for their own consumption, and the rest could be sold at the market. Although they could only sell them for a dozen or twenty wen each time, the vegetables in the garden grew continuously, and they could sell them every few days. Over half a year or a year, they could earn one or two taels of silver.

Thinking about their future plans, Ye Xi went back inside and wiped the stove, rearranged the tables and chairs, pasted new paper on the windows, and cleaned the kitchen.

There was a bamboo grove in front of the courtyard, so he took a knife and cut some bamboo strips, tied them together with hemp rope, and attached them to a long pole, creating a useful tool for dusting.

Ye Xi tied an old cloth around his head to protect himself from the dust and then carefully swept every room and the eaves with the bamboo pole, removing the cobwebs and thick dust that had accumulated over the years, making the house look much brighter and cleaner.

After cleaning everything, it was already noon. His husband had been working all morning, he couldn’t let him come back to an empty stomach and no warm food.

Ye Xi quickly finished cleaning and went straight to the kitchen to cook.

There was half a bag of rice in the rice jar and a cured chicken hanging on the stovetop, otherwise, the kitchen was bare, which made Ye Xi feel a bit disheartened. When had their kitchen been so bare? Although they didn’t have mountains of meat and fish, the rice and flour jars were always full, there were always eggs in the basket, pumpkins for porridge in the corner, and cured meat for stir-frying on the stovetop. It was never like this.

Ye Xi thought for a moment and could only make a simple meal with what he had. He cooked two handfuls of rice in a clay pot and took down the cured chicken from the stovetop, not knowing how long it had been there. He carefully washed it with cold water, boiled it once, and then soaked it in fresh water for a while. After changing the water twice, the saltiness of the chicken finally lessened.

This man really put so much salt in everything, enough to kill someone. No wonder he was always buying salt in town.

After the chicken was cooked until tender, he tore it into strips. Fortunately, they had dried chili peppers, although they were a bit damp and not crispy. Ye Xi roasted the dried chili peppers in the stove, then ground them into powder, added soy sauce and minced garlic, no need for more salt, thus creating a spicy cold dish with chicken.

Seeing that Lin Jiangshan hadn’t returned yet, Ye Xi went to the open space in front of the courtyard and dug up a basket of purslane. They hadn’t planted any vegetables yet, so they could only eat wild vegetables for now.

Purslane was a popular vegetable, growing everywhere in the fields. It could be stir-fried or eaten as a cold dish. In late autumn and winter, they would dig up a basketful, dry it, and save it for winter meals.

After washing and blanching the purslane, he heated the wok, added garlic slices and dried chili peppers to flavor the oil, then added the purslane. The purslane was tender this season and didn’t need to be cooked for long. After a few stirs, he added some salt and served it.

At this moment, Lin Jiangshan returned. He had gone to the fields after chopping firewood early in the morning. Now that there were two people to feed, not just himself, he worked extra hard, wanting to improve their lives as soon as possible.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he smelled the aroma of food. Smoke curled from the kitchen roof, jars and pots were drying in the courtyard, and even the old dust under the eaves had been cleaned. The small courtyard looked the same, yet everything seemed different.

He stood at the entrance of the courtyard, his heart filled with complex emotions, his eyes slightly moist.

Hearing the sound of the door, Ye Xi came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands with the coarse cloth apron tied around his waist. Seeing Lin Jiangshan standing at the door, he called out, “Dinner is ready, you’re back just in time. Come and eat, what are you doing standing at the door?”

Looking at the gentle and calm smiling face, Lin Jiangshan came back to his senses, agreed, and put the hoe back in the woodshed.

The smell of cooking oil still lingered in the kitchen. On the table were a plate of cold shredded chicken and a plate of stir-fried vegetables. Lin Jiangshan washed his hands with the water in the wooden basin under the eaves.

Entering the kitchen, he praised, “The food smells delicious.”

Ye Xi lifted the lid of the clay pot, releasing the aroma of rice. He served two bowls of glistening white rice, then scooped the rest into a basket to cool. There was a layer of golden crispy rice at the bottom of the pot, and Ye Xi scraped it off, smiling. “There’s nothing at home, so I just made do with what you had. This won’t do, we need to buy some things.”

After scraping off the crispy rice, Ye Xi sprinkled a thin layer of salt on it, broke it into pieces, and placed it on a plate.

Lin Jiangshan took the plate and replied, “I’ll take you to the market tomorrow, buy whatever you need.”

He then took a bite of the crispy rice, crunchy and fragrant, the flavor of rice intensifying with each chew. Ye Xi could even turn the burnt rice at the bottom of the pot into crispy rice, unlike him, who had burnt the rice several times and had to throw most of it away.

Seeing him enjoy the crispy rice, Ye Xi served a bowl of milky rice water from the pot. “It’s dry, have some rice water to help with digestion.”

People here believed that rice water helped digest rice.

Lin Jiangshan finished the crispy rice and drank half a bowl of rice water, feeling much more comfortable, his empty stomach warmed.

Ye Xi handed him chopsticks, and they sat down at the table to eat.

Lin Jiangshan put some shredded chicken in Ye Xi’s bowl. “We slept late last night, are your back and legs still sore?”

Ye Xi’s ears turned red, and he scolded him, “You still remember that?”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “Is there any other work to be done at home? Tell me, and I’ll do it so you can rest.”

Ye Xi shook his head. “I’ve almost finished cleaning the house, just need to air the quilts. The weather is good today, perfect for airing them. But we’re short of bamboo poles in the courtyard for drying.”

Lin Jiangshan took a large bite of rice, finding it particularly delicious. “I’ll cut some bamboo and make clothes racks after dinner.”

Ye Xi agreed and asked, “Did you go to the fields this morning?”

Lin Jiangshan swallowed his food and nodded. “I’ve finished plowing the two acres of land and fertilized it, ready for planting. What do you think we should plant, husband?”

Ye Xi thought for a moment. They didn’t have any grain at home, and it was already autumn, winter was coming in a few months. Planting now was the last chance for the year, probably for storing food for winter.

“Let’s plant winter wheat. We can grind the harvested wheat into flour, enough for half a year. If we want to eat rice, we can buy a bag and alternate.”

Lin Jiangshan naturally agreed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll buy wheat seeds tomorrow.”

They ate for a while, and Lin Jiangshan was already on his third bowl of rice, while Ye Xi had only eaten half a bowl. Seeing his husband enjoy the food so much, he smiled and asked, “Is the food I made delicious?”

Lin Jiangshan said, “It’s even better than my mother’s cooking. After eating your food, I’m afraid I’ll never be able to live without it. I just want to stay with you and have three meals a day, every day.”

Ye Xi was pleased and shared his plan with him. “We need a vegetable garden to grow vegetables. I think the land on the left side is good, flat and spacious, probably about an acre after clearing it, enough for planting.”

Lin Jiangshan naturally agreed with everything he said, just nodding and waiting to do the work.

“We can’t do without poultry. Firstly, we need meat, and secondly, it’s also a source of income. If we raise them well and sell them in town, it’s equivalent to half a year’s income from the fields.”

Lin Jiangshan said, “Just raise a few, don’t raise too many, I don’t want you to overwork yourself. I’ll earn the money for the family, don’t worry too much.”

His husband’s consideration warmed Ye Xi’s heart. “Let’s raise two pigs and a dozen chickens and ducks. We’ll slaughter one pig for winter and sell the other for the New Year expenses. We don’t have a pigsty or chicken coop, we need to build new ones.”

Lin Jiangshan had finished eating and drank the remaining rice water. “Alright, I’ll do whatever you say, husband.”

After lunch, Lin Jiangshan went to the bamboo grove in front of the courtyard and cut down a few bamboo poles, carefully trimming the branches with a cleaver.

Ye Xi sat on a low stool in the courtyard, quietly watching him work.

Lin Jiangshan worked efficiently and quickly built the bamboo racks for drying clothes. Turning around, he saw his husband looking at him with a smile, his black hair swaying gently in the breeze, a peaceful and beautiful scene.

The house, which he used to find empty, suddenly felt warm and cozy, and Lin Jiangshan smiled foolishly.

Ye Xi cupped his face in his hands and teased, “Silly.”

Faint red marks still lingered on his fair neck, evidence of last night’s passion.

Lin Jiangshan’s throat tightened at the sight.

He threw down the cleaver, dusted off his hands, walked over to Ye Xi, and lifted him onto his shoulder, startling Ye Xi, who cried out and blushed, hitting his shoulder. “What are you doing! Put me down!”

Lin Jiangshan carried him into the house, kicking the door open. “I’m tired after lunch, come and rest with me.”

He didn’t believe that for a second!