Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 56

Chapter 56

A few days later, Major Snow arrived, and Xiushui Village officially entered winter. Fewer people were out and about during the day.

Ye Xi sat in the main room, embroidering handkerchiefs. The shopkeeper at the fabric shop had asked him several times if he had any new handkerchiefs, saying that the wealthy young ladies had come looking for them, praising the beautiful patterns. Since it was winter now, and it wasn’t suitable to go out, he stayed home and embroidered, while Lin Jiangshan made charcoal in the courtyard. He wore the new cotton-padded jacket Ye Xi made for him, thickly padded and warm.

He had already made a dozen loads of charcoal from the firewood he chopped in the mountains, all stored in the cellar, enough to last until next April.

It was already mid-morning, almost noon, but the sky was still misty, no sun or snow, a disconcerting sight.

Ye Xi called out to the courtyard, “Husband, is today really Major Snow?”

Lin Jiangshan, tending the kiln, replied, “Yes, the lunar calendar hanging in the kitchen says so, today is Major Snow.”

The lunar calendar was issued by the imperial court every spring, with the imperial astronomer observing the sun, moon, and stars to determine the four seasons and the twenty-four solar terms. Farmers relied on the lunar calendar for farming, so every household had one.

“Strange, no snow on Minor Snow is one thing, but today is Major Snow, why is it so misty, only cold wind, no snow?”

Lin Jiangshan had already anticipated the unusual weather this year, which was why he had stocked up on so much firewood and charcoal. He had also asked Ye Xi to tell his family to prepare more. The unusual weather on Major Snow today suggested that this winter would be harsh.

“Maybe it’s all accumulating and will fall in a few days, probably heavy snow before Winter Solstice.”

Ye Xi finished embroidering a handkerchief, bit off the thread with his teeth, and got up from the kang. “The weather is bad, but we still have to eat. Husband, go to the bamboo grove outside and cut down a thick bamboo stalk. I’ll fill it with rice and roast it in the kiln, that will save us some trouble.”

Lin Jiangshan took a machete and went to cut bamboo.

Ye Xi went to the cellar, checked the stored sweet potatoes, potatoes, a few bags of rice, lit an oil lamp, and carefully looked around, relieved not to find any rat holes, then closed the cellar door and came out.

He went to the kitchen and washed the rice. Lin Jiangshan returned, dragging a thick bamboo stalk, as thick as a bowl, perfect for bamboo tube rice.

Lin Jiangshan, following his husband’s instructions, took a few sections from the middle, washed them, and handed them to Ye Xi.

Ye Xi washed the rice, diced a piece of cured meat, and mixed it with the rice, adding some vegetable oil, chopped carrots, dried milk-cap mushrooms from autumn, and finally, some soy sauce. He then sealed the bamboo tubes with bamboo leaves.

He took them outside for Lin Jiangshan to roast in the kiln.

While waiting, Lin Jiangshan split the remaining bamboo into thin strips with his machete, planning to weave straw on top to make a cover.

“When it gets cold and snows heavily, we can use this to cover your vegetable garden, so the snow won’t damage the plants, and we’ll still have vegetables to eat in winter.”

Ye Xi hadn’t thought of that, his husband was even more thoughtful than he was, and he smiled. “You’re so considerate, you’ve thought of everything. Do we need to add a cover to the pigsty and chicken coop too?”

Lin Jiangshan replied, “Yes, it’s cold in winter, and if there’s a draft, the poultry will get cold. We don’t have much straw left, we should ask your parents if they have any extra to spare, so we can wrap the chicken coop and pigsty with straw for insulation.”

Ye Xi remembered that they had a good rice harvest this summer and had extra straw. “Alright, let’s go to my parents’ house after dinner.”

He hadn’t seen his parents for a few days.

The charcoal in the kiln was ready, so he opened the kiln door and took out the bamboo tubes.

He spread the charcoal in the courtyard to cool, and after washing their hands, he and Lin Jiangshan went to eat. The rice in the bamboo tubes was savory, soft, and fluffy, each grain glistening with oil, the aroma of cured meat blending with the fragrance of bamboo.

Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan each took a bamboo tube, sat under the eaves, and ate the rice with chopsticks, finding it delicious.

After their meal, they stored the charcoal, and Ye Xi went to milk the goat, filling a water pouch with goat milk to take down the mountain.

After taking care of everything at home, they went to visit the Ye family.

When they arrived, only Liu Xiufeng and Li Ran were in the main room, curing meat, a large basin full.

“Did you slaughter a pig?” Ye Xi asked with a smile, entering the house with the water pouch.

Liu Xiufeng rubbed salt on the meat strips and, seeing her son, said happily, “We slaughtered one yesterday, a big one, over two hundred catties. The offal alone filled a whole basin. We were just about to ask your brother to invite you two for pork bone soup!”

Ye Xi led Lin Jiangshan inside and sat down, smiling. “Then we’re in for a treat today. Are you going to cure all of this into cured meat?”

Li Ran stirred the spices. “Didn’t you suggest that I make cured sausages and sell them in town in winter? I saw that it’s Major Snow today, so we slaughtered the pig and are curing the meat now, ready to sell in town before Winter Solstice.”

Ye Xi said, “Sister-in-law is truly efficient, already starting the preparations.”

Liu Xiufeng was a kind mother-in-law and let her daughter-in-law do as she pleased, helping out when needed. The family worked together, striving for a better life. She smiled and said, “Your sister-in-law is capable, she and your brother are planning to save money and buy a fishpond. They said after selling the fish last time, they realized our village doesn’t have a fishpond, and it’s inconvenient for the villagers to buy fish, so they’re thinking of building one.”

Ye Xi hadn’t expected his brother and sister-in-law to be so farsighted and agreed, “That’s a good idea, I didn’t even think of that. If the fish don’t sell well, we can always drain the pond and use the land for farming.”

Li Ran rubbed the pork and smiled. “Your brother might seem simple-minded, but he has good ideas. To earn more money, we have to think of ways to make money, we’ll try it in town and see how it goes.”

As soon as he entered, Ye Xi smelled the fragrant spices for curing meat, a spicy aroma with hints of star anise and cardamom, different from other families’.

“Sister-in-law, these spices smell amazing, the cured meat will definitely be delicious. I have to try some!”

Li Ran wasn’t stingy and said readily, “Take a piece home later, of course I’ll share with you!”

Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan laughed.

Ye Xi asked where his father and brother were, and Liu Xiufeng said, “Your sister-in-law slaughtered the pig herself, we borrowed a cleaver and ropes from another family, your father and brother went with them, they’re probably chopping firewood now.”

The Ye family’s best quality was their willingness to listen to advice. Liu Xiufeng often said, “Listen to advice, eat your fill, you won’t regret it.”

So, after Ye Xi relayed Lin Jiangshan’s advice about stocking up on firewood, Father Ye and Ye Shan also started doing so.

Hearing this, Lin Jiangshan stood up and went to help Ye Shan and Father Ye.

Liu Xiufeng was pleased with her son-in-law’s diligence and consideration.

With the men gone, only Ye Xi, Li Ran, and Liu Xiufeng remained in the house.

Ye Xi also rolled up his sleeves and helped rub the spices on the meat. After a while, they heard the sound of firecrackers from outside, echoing through the valley, clearly audible throughout Shanxiu Village.

Ye Xi asked, “Is there a celebration today?”

Liu Xiufeng said with a hint of annoyance, “The Lin family, their Yao-ge’er is getting married today.”

Ye Xi acknowledged, he hadn’t bothered to remember Lin Yao’s wedding date, didn’t expect it to be today.

“They’re our enemies and invited most of the village, except our family. And remembering that Mother Lin gave us ten wen as a gift for our wedding, she shamelessly came to our house and asked for a return gift. I chased her away with a broom, that shameless woman, how dare she mention it? After Yao-ge’er pulled off your veil, we didn’t even settle the score with them, and they still expect us to give them a gift! I scolded her thoroughly!”

Li Ran chuckled, remembering the incident. “You wouldn’t believe it, the Lin family asked people to prepare the bridal chamber for their son two days ago, they invited many women, but no one wanted to go, saying preparing the bridal chamber is about bringing good luck, and Yao-ge’er’s reputation is ruined, what good luck can he have? The Lin family was desperate and offered a piece of meat to everyone who went, and only then did the women agree.”

Ye Xi smiled. “The Lin family is truly generous, a piece of meat for everyone, half a pig gone.”

Liu Xiufeng didn’t care about their meat. “It would have been fine if they actually gave it, but the Lin family are hooligans. After the women finished preparing the bridal chamber, they went back on their word. Father Lin was reluctant to spend the money, so he changed his mind and said he would use the meat to make a feast for everyone tomorrow. They tricked everyone, and now they’ve offended the whole village again.”

Ye Xi hadn’t expected the Lin family to become so unscrupulous. Their feud started because they were envious of the small plot of land his family had cleared, and later, they kept encroaching on their land, stealing a few feet here and there. When they confronted them, the Lin family just said it was a field ridge and none of their business, becoming more and more like the village hooligans, the Liu Ma-zi family. Now, with their son’s wedding, they had offended everyone again.

Li Ran said, “They’re having their wedding feast today. I heard from Mrs. Yun next door that the tables weren’t even full. She went to the feast, she’ll probably come back and tell us all about it later.”