Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 35

Chapter 35

Autumn deepened in the mountains, late autumn now, and in less than a month, winter would arrive. Ye Xi hurried to plant the vegetable seedlings, fertilized them, and after a while, the seedlings had grown considerably, ready for pruning and trellising.

Ye Xi was tending the vegetable garden at home, creating furrows for the scallions and ginger, and caring for other vegetables. Lin Jiangshan didn’t know how to do these things, so he took his hunting tools, planning to go into the mountains to see if he could hunt something.

Ye Xi packed a water bottle and a cloth bag with two pancakes for him, filled with stir-fried shredded potatoes and minced meat with pickled vegetables. The journey into the mountains was long, and he would be gone for the entire day, not returning for lunch.

“The forest is dangerous, you must be careful, don’t be greedy for prey. It’s good if you can hunt something, but it’s fine if you come back empty-handed. Just come back safely, you’re the pillar of our family, I can’t manage alone.”

After his last experience in the forest, Ye Xi had developed a fear and felt that the place was dangerous, so he couldn’t help but repeatedly warn Lin Jiangshan.

Lin Jiangshan listened patiently to his husband’s words, a smile on his lips. In the past, when he went into the mountains alone, he would be gone for two or three days, and no one would care. Now it was different, his husband was waiting for him at home, worried about him.

“I know. If I can’t hunt anything, I’ll look for other things. I’ll be back before dark.”

Ye Xi nodded, reassured, and saw Lin Jiangshan off.

After Lin Jiangshan left, Ye Xi aired the quilts. Winter was approaching, the weather cold and damp, and they needed to switch to thicker quilts. The thick quilt stored in the cabinet all summer had a musty smell, and he had to air it out during these autumn days.

After airing the quilt and dusting it with a feather duster, Ye Xi went back inside to find needle and thread to sew shoe soles.

Lin Jiangshan had large feet and wore out shoes quickly from working in the fields and mountains, so he had to make him several pairs of shoe soles.

The chicks and ducklings had grown considerably, no longer the size of his palm. Ye Xi went to the chicken coop and let them out into the courtyard to roam and peck for food, while he sat in the courtyard, sewing shoe soles and occasionally glancing at them.

This was time-consuming work. By the time he finished a pair of shoe soles, it was already noon. Since Lin Jiangshan wasn’t coming back for lunch, Ye Xi cooked a simple bowl of noodles for himself.

In the afternoon, Liu Xiufeng came to visit. This was her second time visiting their courtyard. The first time was before the wedding, when she came to help with the decorations.

“Xi-ge’er,” Liu Xiufeng called out happily, pushing open the courtyard gate.

Ye Xi, in the courtyard, heard her voice and looked up to see his mother. “Mother! Why are you here!”

He quickly went to get a stool for her to sit on.

After sitting down, Liu Xiufeng looked around, nodding with satisfaction. “You two are living a good life, I see the house is tidy, you’re raising poultry, and oh, this firewood pile is impressive.”

A neat pile of thick and dry firewood was stacked against the wall under the eaves of the side room.

Ye Xi smiled. “My husband is hardworking and restless. When there’s no work in the fields, he takes his machete and goes to the mountains to chop firewood. He says we need it for cooking and boiling water, especially now that it’s late autumn and winter is approaching. We need to stock up on firewood to keep the kang warm during the cold weather.”

Liu Xiufeng was very satisfied. “He’s so thoughtful. This pile of firewood would probably be worth one or two taels of silver in town. You’ve always been sensitive to cold, you won’t be freezing this winter!”

Ye Xi smiled softly.

Liu Xiufeng then noticed the pool in the courtyard, looking curious, unlike a well. “What is this pool for?”

Ye Xi replied, “There’s a mountain stream nearby, the spring water is warm, and my husband thought it was inconvenient to fetch water, so he dug a ditch and diverted the water to the courtyard, for cooking, cleaning, and even washing. We don’t have to boil water in the winter, so I won’t have to worry about freezing my fingers.”

In previous years, when the weather was cold, Ye Xi’s fingers would get chilblains from washing clothes and cooking, his fair fingers swelling up like carrots, a painful sight. He had to apply a folk remedy for over a month for them to subside. Even now, his hands would still itch slightly in winter, and he couldn’t touch cold water.

Liu Xiufeng was happy to hear this. Her son-in-law was so caring and attentive, she was relieved. She had been worried that her son’s life wouldn’t be smooth after marriage, but now it seemed that Ye Xi was living a good life, the couple loving and harmonious, the household well-managed, a truly prosperous life.

“Speaking of which, where’s your husband?”

Ye Xi replied, “He went hunting in the mountains. If he can catch something, it will supplement our income.”

Liu Xiufeng said, “The piglets you asked me to inquire about, Old Li the butcher’s pigs have been weaned, and he sent a message saying we can go and get them.”

Ye Xi put down his needle and thread, his face lighting up. “That’s great! We built the pigsty long ago, just waiting for the piglets. What’s the price?”

Liu Xiufeng took a sip of water. “Two hundred wen each. His pigs are strong and healthy, plump and white, worth the price!”

It wasn’t expensive. Ye Xi nodded and then asked, “What about the marriage proposal between Li’s daughter and my brother?”

Liu Xiufeng’s face beamed with a smile. “It’s practically settled. I asked the matchmaker to take your brother to meet Ran-guniang from the Li family two days ago. They both blushed and didn’t say anything, but it seemed they liked each other. When they came back, I asked your brother, and he stammered, so I told him that if he didn’t like her, I would decline the proposal. He immediately became anxious and said repeatedly, ‘I’m willing, I’m willing,’ it was hilarious.”

Ye Xi giggled at his mother’s story. His brother was so innocent and naive, and he finally had someone he liked.

“What betrothal gifts did the Li family bring, and how much is the dowry?”

Liu Xiufeng said, “The Li family is generous and straightforward, much better off than our Ye family. They said just the usual gifts are fine. I’m thinking of bringing a pair of chickens and ducks, two bolts of cloth for Ran-guniang, and a few jars of wine. We won’t shortchange her. As for the dowry, the Li family said three or five taels are fine, not asking for too much, but not too little either, to save face.”

The betrothal and dowry weren’t excessive, the Li family’s requests were reasonable, no wonder his mother was so happy about this marriage.

“Brother has found a good family!”

Liu Xiufeng said, “I’m going to deliver the betrothal gifts tomorrow, why don’t you come with me to the Li family? It will show our sincerity for your brother, and we can also bring back the piglets.”

When proposing marriage, the more family members from the groom’s side went, the more it showed their respect for the bride, and it would give the bride’s family face.

Ye Xi naturally wouldn’t refuse and readily agreed. “Alright, even if it weren’t for the piglets, I would definitely go for my brother.”

Liu Xiufeng chatted with Ye Xi for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting dark, she prepared to go back down the mountain. It was good that her son lived nearby, she could visit him often and chat with him.

Ye Xi saw Liu Xiufeng off to the mountain path and watched her descend the mountain before returning to prepare dinner.

Just as he entered the courtyard, Lin Jiangshan returned, carrying something.

Ye Xi hurried to greet him. “You’re back!”

Lin Jiangshan was covered in leaves and dust, looking weary, he must have had a hard time in the forest.

Seeing his young husband come out to greet him, he smiled. “I was lucky today, I hunted a deer.”

Ye Xi’s eyes lit up at the sight of the deer in his hand. This was the first time he had seen a deer! It looked like a small goat, except the antlers were different.

“A deer! I’ve never seen one before!”

Seeing him like a child, Lin Jiangshan smiled, carried the deer by its front legs, and entered the courtyard. “If you like it, we can keep it in the courtyard for a while, for you to play with.”

He tied the deer under the eaves. Ye Xi found a broken basket, added some leaves and straw as a temporary nest, and gave it a bowl of water.

Lin Jiangshan said, “I caught it this afternoon, it must be hungry, give it something to eat.”

Ye Xi went to the kitchen, cut half a pumpkin, and brought it to feed the deer.

Deer, after being captured, were usually reluctant to eat and needed time to adjust. Ye Xi squatted under the eaves, watching the deer, the more he looked, the more beautiful and intelligent it seemed.

Lin Jiangshan wiped his body with water in the courtyard, and seeing Ye Xi acting like a child, guarding the deer and trying to feed it pumpkin, he smiled and said, “It won’t eat now. It will only start eating after a day or two of hunger. Some stubborn ones even starve themselves to death.”

Ye Xi asked, “Can you tell how old it is?”

Lin Jiangshan replied, “Not old, less than a year old, its antlers haven’t fully grown.”

“So it’s still a fawn.” Ye Xi reached out and gently touched its antlers, soft and furry.

Lin Jiangshan took out his backpack, which contained other things. “The hazel mushrooms in the mountains are growing well, in clusters. I picked half a basketful, we can sell them in town later. The wild kiwi fruits are ripe recently, sweet and sour, I brought you some.”

He had stumbled upon the deer while picking kiwi fruits.

Ye Xi took two kiwi fruits, peeled them, and tasted them. They were a bit hard and needed to ripen for a couple of days, but the taste was good, sweet and slightly sour. He peeled one and offered it to Lin Jiangshan.

Lin Jiangshan took a bite from Ye Xi’s hand. “If you like them, I’ll bring you more next time I go to the mountains, as a snack.”

Ye Xi threw another kiwi fruit in front of the deer, then stood up. “My mother is going to Xiushui Village tomorrow to deliver the betrothal gifts for my brother, and she asked me to go with her. We can also bring back the piglets. I’m thinking, since it’s my first time meeting my future sister-in-law, I’ll bring a basket of hazel mushrooms and kiwi fruits as a small gift.”

Lin Jiangshan nodded. “Good, you’re always so thoughtful. I’ll listen to you.”

Ye Xi smiled and went into the kitchen to cook.