Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 27

Chapter 27

Before dawn, the oil lamp in the small courtyard was already lit. Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan were going to town to buy things today, so they had to get up early to avoid missing the market’s opening time. If they went late, they would only be left with scraps.

Lin Jiangshan got up and dressed first. He saw Ye Xi still dozing in bed, his eyes half-closed.

He hadn’t controlled himself last night and had bothered Ye Xi for quite a while. Now he regretted it. He used to have good self-control, but after getting married, with his soft and lovely husband in bed, he had become like a restless young boy.

He said to Ye Xi apologetically, “Why don’t you rest a bit longer? It’s still early, the moon hasn’t even set yet.”

Ye Xi knew he was concerned, but going to the market was related to their plans for raising livestock, and he couldn’t delay it just because he was sleepy.

“No, I’ll get up now. After a quick breakfast, we have a long walk to town, it takes about an hour. If we go late, I’m afraid the seedlings will be sold out.”

Lin Jiangshan could only agree. He handed Ye Xi the clothes on the kang table at the foot of the bed. “Then I’ll go and bundle the firewood in the woodshed so we can leave earlier.”

Ye Xi nodded as he dressed. “I’ll go to the kitchen and make some breakfast. We can’t walk on an empty stomach.”

Lin Jiangshan went out to organize the firewood. He went to the mountains every few days to chop firewood, dried it in the courtyard for a few days, and then stored it in the woodshed. Because he was strong and skilled at chopping wood, the firewood he chopped were thick and sturdy logs, slow-burning, and could be sold for twenty wen a bundle in town.

Ye Xi stopped dawdling and, hearing Lin Jiangshan start working in the courtyard, quickly got up and left the room.

After the beginning of autumn, the temperature in the mountains dropped sharply. Before dawn, the morning wind and mist were bone-chilling.

As soon as Ye Xi opened the door, he shivered from the cold wind, the air he breathed icy cold. The moon was indeed still hanging over the mountaintop. The night blended with the dawn light, the sky a dark blue. A partridge called a few times in the quiet and dark forest, making the mountains seem even colder.

Ye Xi went to the kitchen, took out a flint and lit the oil lamp. The small flame illuminated the small room, and he opened the cupboard and took out the half bowl of leftover rice from yesterday.

There was nothing else to eat at home, so he could only make do with some porridge made from leftover rice.

Ye Xi sat in front of the stove and lit the firewood. The fire gradually grew stronger, the orange-red flames dancing on the wall and illuminating the kitchen. He added two ladles of cold water to the pot and waited for it to boil.

While waiting for the water to boil, Ye Xi took a wooden basin, scooped half a basin of cold water from the jar, and went to the courtyard to wash up. Lin Jiangshan didn’t have a well at home and used spring water from the mountain, clear, sweet, and pure, much better than well water.

It was just troublesome, having to carry buckets to the mountain stream outside to fetch water. Thinking about how Lin Jiangshan had to find time to fetch water every day, Ye Xi always used water sparingly.

The spring water that had been left overnight was icy cold, and Ye Xi’s fingertips, immersed in the basin, turned red. He splashed some water on his face, the coldness waking him up completely.

Hearing Ye Xi’s soft hiss, Lin Jiangshan came over after bundling a pile of firewood. Seeing his flushed face from the cold, he touched the water and frowned.

“It’s very cold in the mountains, and the spring water is icy. You should use hot water, what if you catch a cold?”

Ye Xi mumbled, “I saw you using cold water, so I didn’t bother boiling water to save trouble.”

Lin Jiangshan said, “I’m a rough man, I’ve even taken cold baths in the middle of winter. You’re different, you’re delicate, not as robust as I am. If you find it troublesome, I’ll boil water for you in the morning from now on.”

Ye Xi knew he was a caring man, but he didn’t expect him to be so thoughtful. Whose husband would be willing to boil water for his wife to wash her face?

“Stop nagging me, I’ll use hot water in the future, husband. Don’t worry about me.”

Seeing him acting cute, Lin Jiangshan couldn’t keep a straight face and only reminded him that the weather was getting colder, and he shouldn’t be lazy, lest he catch a cold and suffer.

Ye Xi stuck out his tongue in response.

The water in the pot in the kitchen was boiling, and steam rose. Ye Xi returned to the kitchen, lifted the lid, broke up the leftover rice, and poured it into the pot.

The rice was cooked in the water, simmered for a while, and gradually the soup turned milky white, the rice grains softened and dissolved, releasing their starch, becoming a thick porridge.

There were no eggs to add to the porridge, so Ye Xi added a piece of lard, thankfully there was still some left from the jar Lin Jiangshan bought last time.

He went to the wall outside the courtyard and picked a handful of wild canola in the dark. It wasn’t late autumn yet, and although the wild canola had bloomed and the leaves had become tougher, the tender leaves at the tips were still edible.

There were many wild plants growing by the wall, among them shepherd’s purse. Ye Xi picked half a basket of tender leaves, intending to use them as a side dish for breakfast.

Returning to the kitchen, he chopped the wild canola and added it to the porridge, stirring a few times. The white porridge, mixed with the green leaves, became lard and vegetable porridge. Finally, he sprinkled some chopped wild onions. The aroma of oil and rice whetted the appetite. This warm and comforting porridge was perfect for breakfast.

When Lin Jiangshan returned after bundling the firewood outside, Ye Xi was mixing shepherd’s purse with sesame oil. He stirred with his chopsticks and asked Lin Jiangshan, “Do you like it sour?”

Lin Jiangshan was never picky, he would eat whatever his husband made. “Just season it to your liking, I’ll eat anything.”

Ye Xi added a little vinegar. He liked sour flavors and always felt something was missing without vinegar.

A bowl of steaming hot porridge and a plate of shepherd’s purse with sesame oil was their simple breakfast. Although simple, it was warm and comforting for their empty stomachs.

Ye Xi was a good cook, and the porridge he made was sweet and fragrant, and Lin Jiangshan drank three large bowls. He couldn’t remember the last time he had such a satisfying breakfast. In the army camp, breakfast was a dry pancake with a bowl of cold water. When he was lucky, the cook would add a few pieces of pickles, hard and cold.

Later, when he was wandering around, breakfast was optional. If he had to work in the morning, he would eat a piece of leftover steamed bun, dry and hard after being left overnight, just enough to fill his stomach.

It was nothing like now, with steaming hot and flavorful porridge, and his husband even made a side dish for him. Looking at his husband, gracefully eating his porridge, he felt that life couldn’t be better, even a celestial being wouldn’t trade places with him.

After breakfast, Lin Jiangshan and Ye Xi prepared to leave.

Ye Xi carried a basket on his back, and Lin Jiangshan carried two large bundles of firewood on a shoulder pole. They walked on the misty village path, their pants wet from the morning dew on the roadside weeds.

They weren’t the only ones up early. There were also women going to town to sell vegetables and porters driving ox carts to earn money.

After walking for about half an hour, the moon set behind the mountains, and the morning glow filled half the sky. Golden sunlight began to shine on the earth, awakening all living things.

Ye Xi felt sorry for his husband carrying the two large bundles of firewood. “Are you tired? If you are, let’s rest by the roadside.”

Lin Jiangshan’s forehead was slightly sweaty, but his pace didn’t slow down. He smiled. “I carry firewood to town every few days, I know this road so well I can walk it with my eyes closed. It’s tiring, but it’s alright. My shoulders are covered in calluses, they won’t get sore even after half a day.”

Ye Xi knew that Lin Jiangshan’s shoulders were covered in calluses. He was startled when he accidentally touched them on their wedding night, they were so rough. Even his father, after decades of hard work, didn’t have such thick calluses.

Lin Jiangshan explained that his calluses weren’t so thick when he was in the army, just a thin layer from carrying stones and food supplies. Later, when he was wandering around, he earned a living by doing hard labor, carrying heavy loads at the docks and beams for house constructions, that’s how they became so thick.

Ye Xi’s eyes reddened as he asked, “Did it hurt?”

Lin Jiangshan deliberately played up the pain, wanting his husband to feel sorry for him. “Of course it hurt. At first, the skin on my shoulders would be rubbed raw, swollen, cracked, and even bleeding. The next day, I still had to carry things on those wounds. After the scabs formed, they would be rubbed off again, and new scabs would form, over and over again. Eventually, the scabs turned into calluses, thicker and thicker, and then it wouldn’t hurt anymore. It’s like a layer of armor, I can just use all my strength when carrying things.”

He said it lightly, but it made Ye Xi’s heart ache and cry, and he had to comfort him for a long time that night.

He didn’t mind suffering himself, but he couldn’t let his husband suffer. Looking at the ox carts and mule carts on the road, Lin Jiangshan remembered how he had bothered Ye Xi last night and his legs might be sore, so he said, “You take a cart, I walk fast, and I’ll catch up with you in town. This way you don’t have to struggle to keep up with me and get out of breath.”

He walked fast, and Ye Xi was always half a step behind, practically jogging to keep up. Seeing the sweat on Ye Xi’s forehead, he felt distressed.

Ye Xi shook his head, unwilling to spend the money. “We’re saving money now, you’re working so hard selling firewood, I can’t contribute, and I shouldn’t be a burden and spend money. I’m not a young master from a wealthy family, I never take a cart to town. If you think I can’t keep up, just slow down and wait for me. We’re husband and wife, we can walk to town together, side by side.”

His husband’s understanding and willingness to endure hardship, not being spoiled at all, made Lin Jiangshan smile. He slowed down his pace. From now on, he had someone to walk beside him, he couldn’t walk so fast anymore. “My fault, husband, just follow me, I’ll wait for you.”

Ye Xi gripped the straps of the basket on his shoulder and walked lightly beside him, the morning light shining on his delicate face. “Mm, I’ll follow you wherever you go, since I married you, I’ll walk with you.”

Lin Jiangshan asked, “Always?”

Ye Xi smiled. “Mm, as long as we move forward, we’ll have a good life.”

In the morning sun, their shadows stretched long on the country road.