Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 79

Chapter 79

After noon, Ye Xi went to a villager’s house and bought thirty duck eggs. Li-ge’er came to find him, and they went together to the neighboring village to pick tea leaves. Along the mountain path, they met many other women and young men also going to pick tea.

Tea picking was paid by weight, four wen per catty. However, tea leaves were light, and even experienced pickers could only pick five or six catties a day, eight at most.

At the tea plantation, the manager gave each person a bamboo basket to hang around their waist. The tea mountain was lush and green, covered with tender buds.

The manager instructed them, “Pick one bud and one leaf, don’t pick too many leaves. Our Xuehanya Peak tea is sold to Sujiang Prefecture, the wealthy lords and nobles only drink the buds, too many leaves will lower the price.”

Everyone acknowledged and started picking tea. Ye Xi, with his nimble fingers from embroidery, was also quite adept at tea picking.

The other women were faster, and the sound of snapping tea leaves filled the air, no one had time for conversation.

As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow on Ye Xi’s face, he stretched his stiff neck, his fingertips sore and slightly red, but not bleeding.

The tea pickers took their baskets to the manager to be weighed and paid. Some earned over twenty wen for an afternoon’s work.

Ye Xi’s basket weighed over four catties, earning him eighteen wen.

Li-ge’er followed, had his tea weighed, and received his wages. They prepared to head home.

“Xi-ge’er, I earned fifteen wen, how about you?”

Ye Xi said, “Eighteen wen, some of the aunties earned twenty-five.”

Although the pay wasn’t much, they were still happy. No one would give them money for free at home, and picking tea for an afternoon could earn them enough for over a catty of pork.

“If we come for a few more days, we can earn a few dozen wen, or even a hundred if we’re fast,” Li-ge’er said happily.

Since he got married, Li Xi had been working hard every day, buying pigs from village to village, slaughtering them before dawn, transporting the meat to the town market, and not returning until nightfall, a tiring life.

Ye Xi said, “You’ve become so thrifty after getting married, not like before, when you were single and spent your allowance so freely.”

Li-ge’er carefully put the copper coins inside his clothes. “Li Xi’s stall at the market is rented, one hundred wen per month. He works tirelessly, and most of the money he earns goes towards the rent. We’re saving to buy our own stall, that’s the most important thing.”

Hearing their plan, Ye Xi nodded. “That’s right, it’s important to have your own assets. Although a stall is expensive, it will be yours once you buy it, you’re thinking ahead, Li-ge’er.”

Li-ge’er smiled. “But buying a stall is even more expensive than buying land, I’ve been very frugal recently, and my mother also wants to help, she’s even expanded her vegetable garden to sell more seedlings and give us the money.”

A family working together like this, what hardship couldn’t they overcome?

When they returned home, Lin Jiangshan wasn’t back yet. Ye Xi took a basket and went to the nearby wasteland to cut grass. The water celery was tender and fresh, good for both humans and livestock, so he cut some of that too.

Back home, he kneaded dough, added chopped scallions and pepper, and steamed a batch of scallion flower rolls.

The purslane he had foraged was tender and perfect for a cold dish with sesame oil. He had seen a Toona sinensis tree on the mountain yesterday and picked a handful of leaves, now perfect for stir-frying with eggs.

The aroma of scrambled eggs with Toona sinensis was mouth-watering. Lin Jiangshan, entering the courtyard, smelled it and smiled. “We’re having Toona sinensis tonight, so fragrant!”

Ye Xi was setting the table and, seeing his husband, smiled. “Yes, it’s only available this time of year, it will be gone soon. Many people in the village are looking for it, I went several times and finally found some yesterday.”

Toona sinensis was the best-selling wild vegetable, a bundle selling for five wen in town, so many people were foraging for it in the mountains. There were also bracken ferns, also popular, tender bracken ferns stir-fried with cured meat were delicious, and Ye Xi planned to find some when he had time, to dry and store them.

Lin Jiangshan led the cow back to the cowshed, gave it some grass, and then took it to the river for a bath.

After taking care of the cow, he washed his hands and came back. “The walnut tree buds look similar to Toona sinensis, I didn’t know before, so I picked some and stir-fried them, they were bitter and astringent, thankfully I only had a couple of bites, otherwise, I would have been sick.”

Ye Xi couldn’t help but laugh at his husband’s story, he was truly clueless about cooking.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t find a tree-of-heaven, those are even more bitter and astringent.”

They chatted and laughed as they ate dinner.

After their meal, Lin Jiangshan volunteered to wash the dishes. “Your fingers must be sore from picking tea leaves all day, husband, I’ll wash them.”

Ye Xi sat beside him, the oil lamp flickering, and asked, “Was the plowing smooth today?”

Lin Jiangshan nodded, scrubbing the bowls with a loofah sponge. “That family is wealthy, they have over ten acres of land, I have to go again tomorrow, they’ll pay me tomorrow.”

Ye Xi smiled. “I only earned a dozen or so wen picking tea leaves all afternoon, not as much as my husband, but every penny counts, it’s good to save more, we’ll need the money later.”

Lin Jiangshan agreed. They were both down-to-earth and good at saving, they would always have money for whatever they needed.

After soaking their feet in hot water, they went back to their room. Lin Jiangshan’s clothes had a tear, and Ye Xi sat on the bed, mending it. Lin Jiangshan, afraid he would strain his eyes, moved the oil lamp closer to provide more light.

“I went tea picking today. Such good tea leaves, the manager only let us pick the top bud and one leaf, saying the wealthy and noble people don’t like too many leaves, they find it less refined,” Ye Xi said with a sigh. They, as mountain villagers, weren’t so picky, they were content with even tea dust, and they usually drank chrysanthemum tea, wild herb tea, or bamboo leaf tea they picked from the mountains.

Lin Jiangshan, amused by his husband’s exaggerated tone, found him adorable. “We don’t know about those rich people’s ways, we’re happy with our chrysanthemum and bamboo leaf tea.”

“Yes, the storybooks say that although those rich people eat and dress well, their lives are full of hardship and danger, they could lose their heads at any moment. I think our simple life in the mountains is better, peaceful and safe.”

Lin Jiangshan, having wandered for years, cherished this simple and peaceful life even more. He hugged his husband, inhaling the fragrance of his hair. “Living with my husband is my greatest wish.”

Ye Xi blushed and pushed him away. “Don’t move yet, I haven’t put away the needle and thread, you’ll get pricked.”

After putting away his sewing, they blew out the lamp and lay down, but Lin Jiangshan’s hand restlessly reached for Ye Xi’s sash, and Ye Xi stopped him, his neck flushing as he scolded him playfully, “Aren’t you tired after working all day? Get some rest.”

Lin Jiangshan took Ye Xi’s hand and kissed his fingertips. “I’m not tired yet, I need my husband’s help.”

Ye Xi’s ears burned, and he was pulled into a passionate embrace.

For the next few days, Ye Xi and Li-ge’er continued to pick tea leaves at the plantation.

While they were working, Li-ge’er leaned closer and whispered, “I just heard that it takes five catties of fresh leaves to make one catty of tea, Xi-ge’er, guess how much it costs per catty.”

It must be very expensive, and Ye Xi guessed, “Probably a few taels?”

Li-ge’er patted his chest. “Five taels of silver per catty! A single sip of tea costs as much as an acre of land, good heavens, they’re drinking gold!”

His exaggerated expression made Ye Xi laugh. “If it weren’t expensive, how would the tea plantation survive, and how could they afford to hire so many of us to pick tea?”

Li-ge’er thought about it and agreed. “But we only pick the buds, they’re waiting for the leaves to grow. I heard they only pick the top two leaves, considered lower grade tea, and sell them to other prefectures at a lower price.”

Even at a lower price, it would still cost dozens or even a hundred wen, unaffordable for mountain villagers. Ye Xi smiled. “So they don’t want the other leaves?”

Li-ge’er shook his head. “I don’t know, I heard they prune the plants after harvesting.”

Ye Xi had an idea. If the tea plantation didn’t want the older, coarser leaves, could he buy them, process them, and make a tea-based snack with goat milk?

Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, it would be good to sell it at the market.

With this idea in mind, before leaving work, Ye Xi specifically asked the manager with the distinctive mustache about the pruned tea leaves.

The manager, seeing that he was diligent and honest, unlike some of the other tea pickers who would steal tea leaves, and also because of his good looks, softened his tone and said, “Those coarser leaves aren’t worth much, even if we send them to the tea factory to be processed into tea dust, they only sell for about ten wen per catty. If you want them, I can sell them to you for two wen per catty after pruning.”

This was a very low price, and it would be worthwhile to buy some, process them, and make tea. Ye Xi thanked him happily.

He would discuss this with his husband tonight, maybe they could even sell it and earn some money, like the candied winter melon.