Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 60

Chapter 60

Night fell early, and the snow intensified. Lin Jiangshan returned, carrying a basket and a hoe. Ye Xi had just made sweet fermented rice balls with wolfberries, and he brought a steaming bowl for Lin Jiangshan.

After a cold afternoon of work, the warm and sweet rice wine was comforting to his stomach, and the soft and chewy glutinous rice balls even more so.

“Where did you get the fermented rice?” He remembered his husband’s batch wasn’t ready yet.

Ye Xi sat beside him, watching him eat, his chin resting on his hand. “Li-ge’er came this afternoon, his mother made it and asked him to bring a jar for us and my brother’s family. She makes good fermented rice, very fragrant and mellow, so I added some glutinous rice balls and made sweet fermented rice balls soup.”

Lin Jiangshan finished the soup in one gulp, feeling warmth spreading through his body. Ye Xi then asked about the crops in the field. “How’s our winter wheat doing? And my parents’?”

Lin Jiangshan replied, “Our winter wheat is growing well, the leaves are broad. If we have a good snow cover this winter, we’ll have a good harvest next year. Your parents’ wheat is also doing well, your father and brother are skilled farmers, and they’ve been working hard, even adding wood ash to the fields as fertilizer. The three of us cleared the furrows and snow in the fields, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Reassured, Ye Xi told him about the rising prices in town.

Lin Jiangshan said, “I’ll go to town with your brother tomorrow, if it sells well, we’ll have a prosperous New Year.”

The winter wind howled as they sat under the eaves, enjoying the warm sweet fermented rice balls, their eyes meeting with smiles, full of hope for a good future.

Since they were going to town to sell charcoal, Lin Jiangshan got up before dawn. Ye Xi, half asleep, felt the warmth beside him disappear and opened his eyes to see Lin Jiangshan getting dressed.

The sky was still dark, a single oil lamp lit the room, casting Lin Jiangshan’s shadow on the wall. Ye Xi, like a child, scooted closer and hugged his husband’s broad back from behind.

Lin Jiangshan turned his head to look at him. “Did I wake you? Go back to sleep, it’s still early. Since it’s snowing, you have nothing to do, sleep a bit longer.”

Ye Xi felt sorry for him having to go to town in such heavy snow and insisted on getting up to make him breakfast.

Lin Jiangshan couldn’t refuse, so he warmed his clothes under the quilt before handing them to Ye Xi.

Outside, it was pitch dark, the snow falling even more heavily. The goat and fawn were huddled together in their small wooden shed under the eaves, sleeping soundly. Ye Xi lit the oil lamp, illuminating the kitchen.

He had to eat something warm to withstand the cold on the road, so Ye Xi quickly fried some eggs in lard, added water to make egg drop soup, diced some pork, and added small meatballs to the soup.

“Noodles aren’t as filling as dough drop soup, how about dough drop soup?” Ye Xi called out.

Lin Jiangshan, loading charcoal in the courtyard, replied, “Alright, a bowl of that will keep me full until noon!”

Ye Xi took out the dough he kneaded last night, pinched off small pieces, flattened them into small circles, and added them to the pot, cooking them with the meatballs.

He added some tender greens, chopped scallions, and a few drops of sesame oil before serving.

A large and filling bowl of soup. Lin Jiangshan felt warmth spreading through his body as he ate, his forehead even sweating slightly. Ye Xi ate half a bowl and then brought a plate of spicy pickled mustard green stems for him.

A full stomach brought strength, enough to withstand the heavy snow. Lin Jiangshan picked up a load of charcoal on his shoulder pole.

Ye Xi put a piece of cotton cloth in his arms. “If the wind and snow are too strong, use this to cover your face, so you don’t get frostbite.”

Lin Jiangshan agreed and bent down to kiss his husband’s cheek.

Ye Xi punched his shoulder playfully and scolded, “Be serious, remember what I said. Be careful on the road in this heavy snow. Even if the charcoal doesn’t sell well, come back after noon, it gets dark early, and the road isn’t safe. Don’t be stingy and have a bowl of warm lamb soup with my brother at the stall, you need to keep warm, we’re not that short of money.”

Lin Jiangshan nodded. “I know, don’t worry, husband.”

Ye Xi saw him off at the courtyard gate, watching as Lin Jiangshan’s figure gradually disappeared into the pre-dawn snowstorm, his heart filled with worry.

With such heavy snow and thick accumulation on the ground, carrying the charcoal on a shoulder pole was impossible, so Lin Jiangshan and Ye Shan rented an ox from Second Master Liu in the village, hitched it to a cart, and loaded the charcoal, cured meat, and sausages Li Ran made onto it.

The snowy roads were difficult to navigate, so they had to leave before dawn. The two men drove the cart towards town, hoping to earn some money in this snowy weather.

After Lin Jiangshan left, Ye Xi went back to bed but couldn’t sleep, so he got up and checked the chicken coop and pigsty. The chickens and ducks were huddled together for warmth, and there were no drafts.

He then went to the vegetable garden, brushed the snow off the straw mats, revealing the vibrant green cabbages and radishes beneath, a welcome sight in the bleak winter landscape.

He picked two large cabbages for a spicy and sour cabbage dish tonight, gave the outer leaves to the fawn and goat, and then went to the cellar to get a large winter melon.

Before winter, there was still a patch of empty land in the vegetable garden. After much thought, not wanting to leave the land fallow, Ye Xi had planted a few winter melon seedlings, not expecting much, just scattering some wood ash twice as fertilizer. To his surprise, the vines grew vigorously, and he harvested seven or eight large winter melons.

After giving two to Liu Xiufeng, he used a smaller one to make winter melon and pork rib soup. Now, with the largest ones left, he and Lin Jiangshan couldn’t possibly finish them, and they would rot if they cut them open and couldn’t finish them in time.

He was thinking of making some snacks with them, and since he was going to town to sell charcoal anyway, he might as well try selling them. If they sold well, then good, if not, they could eat them themselves, they would keep well in winter.

He peeled and deseeded the winter melon, cut it into long strips, added rock sugar to a basin, and rubbed the sugar onto the winter melon strips.

After marinating for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the winter melon released a lot of juice, and Ye Xi lit the fire, added the winter melon strips and the juice to the wok, and cooked them until the juice boiled, then reduced the heat and simmered for a while, before pouring them back into the basin to cool.

While waiting, Ye Xi took a hoe and a basket and went out.

The snow on the ground was ankle-deep, making it difficult to walk, the grass completely covered, and only the bamboo in the grove remained green.

Ye Xi dug around with his hoe and found a few newly sprouted bamboo shoots under the snow, thinking of digging a couple to take home for stew.

The ground was frozen, and the hoe hitting the ground made his hands numb. He had to stop and rest every now and then. He was sweating even in this cold weather. Finally, he dug up three bamboo shoots.

He exhaled, his breath forming a white cloud, the fawn following him closely. Ye Xi cleared a patch of snow with his hoe, revealing some moss and snow vegetable sprouts beneath, hardy plants that could grow under the snow.

The fawn, finding a treat, started nibbling on them, and Ye Xi peeled the bamboo shoots.

On his way back, he collected a basket of snow from the forest to melt for the stew.

The winter melon strips in the kitchen had cooled, the sugar syrup absorbed. Ye Xi stir-fried them in a wok over high heat until the water evaporated and the sugar crystallized, coating the winter melon strips in a white frost.

They were ready. Ye Xi filled a winnowing basket with them, took a piece and tasted it, fragrant, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth.

The goat came and nudged against his leg, and Ye Xi gave it a piece, which it ate obediently.

After noon, the snow lessened, and Ye Xi took some candied winter melon to his mother and sister-in-law. Li Ran was dozing on the kang, and she was delighted to receive the treat. “My aunt also loves making these snacks, and Xi-ge’er’s skills are just as good, even better than the ones from the pastry shop.”

Ye Xi had been thinking of selling them, so he said, “I’m planning to make some to sell at the New Year’s market. We grew the winter melons ourselves, only the sugar cost money. If we sell them for three wen for two pieces in town, it should be profitable.”

Pastries and candies from the shops were expensive, ordinary families couldn’t afford them, a small package costing over a dozen or twenty wen. But with the New Year approaching, villagers, after a year of hard work, would be more willing to spend a few wen on treats for their children.

Li Ran smiled. “Go ahead and sell them, they’ll definitely sell well. If I’m wrong, you can come back and beat me.”

Ye Xi gave her a large bowl, and when he returned later, it was already empty. Li Ran was still craving more. “My mouth has been tasteless these days, and these candied winter melons are just what I needed.”

Ye Xi smiled. “We still have plenty of winter melons at home, I’ll bring you more later.”

After staying at the Ye family’s house for a while, Ye Xi returned home. The snow had melted, and he washed and sliced the bamboo shoots.

He cut the last piece of streaky cured meat into even pieces, soaked it in melted snow water in a clay pot, and simmered it slowly on the clay stove.

The savory aroma filled the air, and Ye Xi leaned against the stove, watching the sky darken, the snow intensifying, wondering why his husband hadn’t returned yet.

When the cured meat was tender and melt-in-your-mouth, a small figure finally appeared on the snow-covered mountain path outside the courtyard gate. Ye Xi’s eyes lit up, and he hurried out to greet him.

Lin Jiangshan smelled the aroma of meat soup before even entering the courtyard and took a deep breath. “What delicious food did my husband make? It’s making my mouth water.”

Ye Xi took his things and smiled. “Stewed bamboo shoots with cured meat, a perfect winter dish.”

“Delicious!”