Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 53

Chapter 53

When they got home, Lin Jiangshan had already returned from the fields, carrying a hoe, and was sitting in the courtyard weaving a basket. Seeing Ye Xi, he looked up and smiled. “Was it fun preparing the bridal chamber?”

Ye Xi sat down on the chair beside him and smiled. “It was my first time, and seeing so many aunties and grannies, I was a bit nervous. After greeting everyone, I sat with Sister-in-law Ran, drinking tea, eating snacks, and chatting. The host family also gave us peach blossom cakes. I also met Mrs. Wang’s daughter, she’s marrying into Yangzhuang, quite far from our Xiushui Village. I don’t know when I’ll see her again.”

Ye Xi chattered about his experience preparing the bridal chamber.

Lin Jiangshan listened, his hands still working deftly, and soon he had finished half of the basket. He was thinking that since it was winter, every family had a lot of things to dry, so he could weave some baskets and sieves to sell in town next time.

After talking for a while, Ye Xi felt thirsty, went back inside, and brewed a pot of senna seed tea. “Have some tea when you have time, I’ll go and see what we have for dinner.”

Lin Jiangshan agreed.

Ye Xi went to the kitchen and checked the ingredients. Pumpkins harvested in autumn were piled in the corner, from his vegetable garden. He had only planted a few vines, but they yielded several baskets of pumpkins, each one large and plump.

“Husband, let’s have pumpkin and millet porridge tonight. It’s cold, some warm soup would be good, and pumpkin is also nourishing,” Ye Xi called out to Lin Jiangshan in the courtyard.

Lin Jiangshan always went along with his suggestions. “Whatever my husband wants to eat.”

Ye Xi took out the peanuts his mother gave him last time, planning to sprout some bean sprouts tonight.

He first soaked the red peanuts in water for half an hour, then drained them in a basket, covered them with a damp cloth, occasionally sprinkling some water to keep them moist, and placed them by the stove, where it was warm, so they would sprout in a couple of days, ready for stir-frying or a cold dish.

After preparing the peanuts, Ye Xi chose a smaller pumpkin, peeled it, revealing the bright yellow flesh and the pumpkin seeds inside.

He was reluctant to throw away the seeds, so he scooped them out, rinsed them clean, and spread them out to dry. After a few days, he could roast them in a wok with salt and sand, a delicious snack.

He cut the pumpkin into even pieces, put the washed millet in the pot, added the pumpkin pieces, covered the pot, and simmered it slowly. The aroma of cooked millet was different from rice, sweeter.

Lin Jiangshan finished weaving the basket, came inside, saw the pumpkins piled in the corner, and said, “We have a good harvest of pumpkins, let’s send a few to your parents’ house, they have more people, they’ll probably finish them faster than us.”

Ye Xi nodded. “My mother loves candied pumpkin with glutinous rice, but she always saves it for me, reluctant to eat much herself.”

Lin Jiangshan chose a few large pumpkins and put them in a basket to take to the Ye family tomorrow.

As darkness fell in the mountains, the pumpkin and millet porridge in the pot had thickened. Ye Xi added two pieces of rock sugar and a few goji berries, stirring evenly.

He didn’t make any other dishes for dinner, just two plates of pickles from the jar, the ones he and Lin Jiangshan made a few days ago: a plate of shredded radish with chili peppers and a plate of pickled mustard greens, both spicy and perfect for porridge.

Eating hot porridge in cold weather made one sweat, and Lin Jiangshan was sweating after two bowls. Ye Xi’s cheeks were also flushed.

After dinner, Lin Jiangshan sat under the eaves, found a whetstone, and started sharpening his axe.

Ye Xi lit the oil lamp and sat beside him, sewing shoe soles, accompanying him. The weather was cold, and Major Snow would arrive in a few days. When it snowed and the ground was covered in thick snow, shoes would easily get wet, so Ye Xi made the shoe soles thick, layering them with rice paste and sewing them carefully with hemp thread, so they would be warm and waterproof in winter.

Lin Jiangshan was good at sharpening tools, and their axes and knives were all sharp, their blades gleaming coldly.

When he finished sharpening the axe, Ye Xi had also finished sewing a shoe. “Here, try it on, I made it a bit larger, so we can add cotton filling, to keep your feet warm.”

Lin Jiangshan took off his shoes, washed his feet, and then tried on the new shoes.

“The soles are thick and soft, and they fit perfectly.”

Ye Xi smiled and took the shoes back, preparing to use the cotton filling from the old jacket.

Lin Jiangshan’s eyes were deep and distant in the lamplight, and he smiled faintly. “It’s good to have a husband, someone to care for you. I used to wear thin shoes all year round, and in winter, my feet would be numb from the cold. I didn’t dare to stop walking, afraid my toes would freeze.”

Ye Xi’s heart ached hearing this. “My husband has suffered, I’ll make sure you’re well-fed and warm from now on!”

Lin Jiangshan pulled his husband into his arms, feeling no regrets in this life, now that he had such a good husband.

Winter bamboo shoots had sprouted, peeking out from the ground, and Ye Xi planned to dig some up.

“Stewed winter bamboo shoots with cured pork leg in winter, so savory and delicious!” The thought made Ye Xi’s mouth water.

Lin Jiangshan, seeing his husband’s craving, couldn’t help but smile and followed him, carrying an axe and some rope. He was going into the forest today to chop firewood for making charcoal, to store as fuel for winter.

“Then dig more, husband, I can take them to town to sell tomorrow when I go to sell the baskets.”

Ye Xi nodded. “The early winter bamboo shoots are the most tender, delicious no matter how they’re cooked. I bet the families in town are also craving them.”

Winter bamboo shoots could be sold for three or four wen per catty in town, but they had to be peeled, only the tips kept.

Taking advantage of the sunny weather, they locked the courtyard gate and walked into the forest along the mountain path.

Ye Xi carried a small basket on his back, and Lin Jiangshan carried a shoulder pole. Their little fingers were linked, and if Lin Jiangshan walked too fast, Ye Xi would scratch his palm, and he would slow down, waiting for his husband.

After walking for about a stick of incense’s worth of time, they reached the depths of the forest. Ye Xi searched for bamboo shoots in the bamboo grove, while Lin Jiangshan found a recently dead tree, planning to chop it down and carry it home for charcoal.

The forest was quiet, occasionally a bird flying overhead. Ye Xi dug bamboo shoots, and Lin Jiangshan chopped wood. When they were tired, they rested together by a tree trunk, taking out the fruits and water they brought from home, eating and drinking to quench their thirst and hunger.

After finishing a persimmon cake, Lin Jiangshan was reluctant to eat more. These soft and sweet cakes were Ye Xi’s favorite. The persimmon harvest wasn’t good this autumn, and they only had a dozen or so dried persimmon cakes, some of which had to be saved for the New Year.

Ye Xi, having finished one with relish, was also reluctant to eat another one alone, so he broke it in half and shared it with Lin Jiangshan.

After eating his half, Lin Jiangshan fed the remaining half to Ye Xi.

“If you like them, husband, I’ll buy you more in town next time.”

Ye Xi chewed on the sweet persimmon cake and smiled. “If you keep spoiling me like this, I’ll get cavities.”

When the sun reached its zenith, Lin Jiangshan had chopped two bundles of firewood, and Ye Xi’s basket was full of winter bamboo shoots.

“Do you want to chop more? We have a whole wall of firewood at home, more than enough for the two of us.”

Lin Jiangshan wiped the sweat from his forehead, he wasn’t cold even in just a short shirt because of the physical exertion. “The weather is strange this year, no snow on Minor Snow, and it’s been sunny these past few days, no sign of snow. Major Snow is coming soon, it’s unusual, I’m afraid the snow is accumulating and will all fall at once. If that’s the case, the snow will be too thick to chop firewood, and the weather will be cold, we’ll freeze to death without firewood.”

He had traveled extensively and experienced unusual weather before, in the southwest, where it snowed continuously for three months, so cold that even the pine trees lost their leaves.

Ye Xi understood his husband’s concerns, they had to stock up. “Husband, are you thinking of selling the charcoal in town when the weather gets cold?”

Lin Jiangshan nodded. “If that happens, the price of charcoal will probably increase this year. Selling a few baskets, plus our savings, we’ll be able to buy the land and a cow next spring.”

Ye Xi’s eyes curved into crescents at the thought. “Our life is looking hopeful, we’re making it!”

Lin Jiangshan chopped wood, and Ye Xi helped tie it into bundles. They stayed in the forest until dusk, then carried the firewood home on shoulder poles.

On their way back, they encountered a few villagers, also chopping firewood, but the amount they carried was only half of what Lin Jiangshan carried.

Being from the same village, Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan exchanged polite greetings, then parted ways.

Ye Xi heard them muttering behind their backs, “That Lin fellow is wasting his effort, chopping so much firewood. This year is probably going to be a warm winter. Even if it gets cold, we can still chop firewood then, the mountain isn’t going anywhere.”

“Yes, there wasn’t even any snow on Minor Snow, and the winter sun these past few days has been warm, isn’t this what the elderly call a warm winter? I’m just chopping enough for cooking and boiling water.”

Ye Xi didn’t care what they said. If his husband said it would be cold, then it would be cold. It was always good to be prepared, so they wouldn’t panic later.

Lin Jiangshan, carrying the firewood, said to Ye Xi, “I don’t know if your family has stocked up on firewood. Remind your brother to ask Father-in-law to chop some firewood when they have time.”

Ye Xi nodded. “Alright, this is no joking matter, I’ll go home tomorrow and tell them.”