Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 86

Chapter 86

The rain after the Summer Solstice continued for three days, lighter during the day, with wind and thunder at night. Farm work was put on hold, and every family stayed indoors, waiting for the rain to stop.

A rooster crowed in the chicken coop. Ye Xi, looking at the misty mountains, put down his needlework.

Lin Jiangshan was weaving bamboo baskets, and seeing Ye Xi stop, he looked up. “Are you thirsty? I’ll pour you some tea.” It had been raining these past few days, a good opportunity to spend time with his husband, the thought of his child growing in Ye Xi’s belly filling him with energy.

Ye Xi shook his head. “This rain is making me restless, even the air feels damp.”

Lin Jiangshan put his arm around his husband. “It was hot a while ago, and now it’s been raining for days, the weather is strange. If you’re feeling uncomfortable staying inside, let’s go to your brother’s house and chat with your sister-in-law.”

They had been idle at home for a few days, it was good to go out for a walk while the rain wasn’t heavy.

Lin Jiangshan put on his straw raincoat, carefully held Ye Xi in his embrace, shielded him with an umbrella, and locked the courtyard gate.

Raindrops pattered on the leaves in the mountains, the path damp and muddy, with small puddles forming.

Lin Jiangshan, not wanting his husband’s shoes and socks to get dirty, squatted down and carried him on his back, while Ye Xi held the umbrella for both of them.

Raindrops from the leaves landed on the oil-paper umbrella, and Ye Xi, leaning against his husband’s broad and warm back, felt safe and secure.

“Have you carried anyone else like this before?”

Lin Jiangshan’s arms tightened around his husband’s legs, afraid of dropping him. “No, I’ve carried wooden beams and sandbags, does that count?”

Ye Xi chuckled. “You’ll be carrying our child in the future.”

Lin Jiangshan’s lips curved into a smile. “Yes, I’ll carry you, and you’ll carry our child.”

Ye Xi giggled. “That’s ridiculous, people will laugh at us, a family of fools.”

They chatted and laughed as they walked through the mountains, as if they were the only two people in the world.

Passing through a bamboo grove, Ye Xi noticed some white, umbrella-shaped things growing under the bamboo.

He pointed them out to Lin Jiangshan. “Husband, are those termite mushrooms?”

Lin Jiangshan looked closely. “Yes, it’s been raining, and the mushrooms are sprouting.”

Summer Solstice had just passed, and these were the first termite mushrooms of the year.

Ye Xi carefully picked the large mushrooms, leaving the base intact and covering it with fallen leaves so they would grow again.

Five or six large mushrooms, enough for a soup and a stir-fry. He held them carefully and smiled. “My brother and sister-in-law are in for a treat, the first mushrooms of the year.”

When they arrived at the Ye family’s house, Father Ye and the others were all inside.

Liu Xiufeng, putting down the straw sandals she was making, smiled. “What brings you here today?”

Ye Xi smiled. “We’ve been stuck inside for days because of the rain, I wanted to come and chat with Mother and Sister-in-law. We found some termite mushrooms in the forest on our way down, just in time for a treat.”

Liu Xiufeng looked at the mushrooms. “Oh, these are good, we’re in for a delicious meal today.”

Termite mushrooms were a summer delicacy, white and tender, delicious in soups, but hard to find, as they only grew after rain, and everyone would be searching for them.

Li Ran, her belly large with pregnancy, smiled from the kang. “Since Xi-ge’er brought such a treat, we have to slaughter a chicken today.”

Liu Xiufeng happily agreed. “It’s rare for everyone to be free and together because of the rain, I’ll go and catch a chicken, let’s have a good meal and dispel some of this summer dampness.”

She went out to the courtyard to catch a chicken.

Lin Jiangshan, Ye Shan, and Father Ye chatted about farm work. Fortunately, they had transplanted the rice seedlings after irrigating the fields a few days ago, otherwise, with this continuous rain, they didn’t know how long it would have been delayed.

Some villagers had been transplanting in the rain these past few days, farming was hard work, and some families couldn’t afford to delay.

Father Ye asked Lin Jiangshan about the field where they had harvested sweet potatoes, what they were planning to plant next.

Lin Jiangshan replied, “We only have enough food for Xi-ge’er and me, and after the autumn rice harvest, we’ll have enough rice for next year, so I’m thinking of planting cotton, for our own use and also to sell for some extra income.”

The imperial court had regulations on planting non-food crops, requiring tax payment. Lin Jiangshan had calculated, and it wasn’t much, about three hundred catties of cotton per acre, and after paying thirty catties as tax, they could keep the rest or sell the surplus if the market price was good.

Besides, cotton was drought-resistant, and their new land was fertile, so even if there was a drought this year, the cotton would still yield a decent harvest.

Father Ye, seeing that his son-in-law had a plan, didn’t ask any further, only reminding him to choose good quality seeds.

Ye Xi chatted with Li Ran, who was sewing tiger-head shoes for the baby, her needlework much improved now, perhaps because she was about to become a mother.

“Oh, he just kicked me,” Li Ran said, stopping and looking down at her belly with a smile.

Ye Xi placed his hand on her belly and felt the baby kick. “This child is a mischievous one.”

“He’s been very active these past two nights, I can’t sleep well. Yours must be a well-behaved one, you’re having such an easy pregnancy, better than others.”

Ye Xi smiled. “Whether mischievous or well-behaved, as long as it’s our child, we’ll love him.”

Liu Xiufeng returned with the slaughtered chicken, a bowl of blood, and the plucked feathers. “Are we making hot pot?”

“Hot pot is good for dispelling dampness in this weather, Mother, I’ll make it,” Ye Xi said.

Liu Xiufeng tried to stop him. “You’re both pregnant now, don’t overwork yourself, Mother will do it.”

But Ye Xi couldn’t stay idle, he enjoyed cooking, especially for his family.

Liu Xiufeng couldn’t dissuade him and let him take charge, tending the fire for him in the kitchen.

He cleaned the termite mushrooms and tore them into strips, half for the hot pot and half for stir-frying with meat.

He chopped the home-raised chicken and, without blanching it, added it to the pot to simmer. After a while, a layer of golden chicken oil floated to the surface, the chicken was plump and fatty.

He added goji berries and red dates, covered the pot, and simmered it slowly.

He stir-fried a piece of pork belly with dried chili peppers until the oil rendered, added the shredded termite mushrooms, and stir-fried until fragrant, just a pinch of salt needed, a simple yet delicious dish.

After simmering the chicken soup for an hour, the meat tender and falling off the bone, he added the termite mushrooms, the broth infusing the mushrooms with a rich and savory flavor.

Liu Xiufeng went to the vegetable garden and picked a handful of garlic sprouts for Ye Xi. “Stir-fried pig’s blood is delicious, but Mother’s cooking is not as good as yours.”

Ye Xi took half a bowl of dried chili peppers and sliced some fresh red chili peppers, preparing to stir-fry the pig’s blood, a spicy and flavorful dish perfect with rice.

As dusk settled, they had dinner in the main room, the aroma of termite mushrooms filling the air, the dishes on the table steaming hot.

The top layer of the chicken soup was rich with chicken oil, although a bit greasy, it was nourishing, and they served two bowls, one for Li Ran and one for Ye Xi.

Liu Xiufeng, overjoyed that both her daughter-in-law and son were pregnant, said, “You should have these nourishing foods, you’re bringing new life to our family.”

Lin Jiangshan asked Ye Shan, “Have you thought of a name for the baby? He’s almost here.”

Ye Shan smiled. “I’m a simple man, I don’t know many characters, we’ll decide after the baby is born, whether it’s a girl or a boy, we can’t name a girl Ye Zhuang (strong) or Ye Fu (rich).”

Li Ran, amused by her husband’s silliness, pinched his arm. “You fool, if you dare to choose a silly name, I’ll beat you!”

Everyone laughed.

After dinner at the Ye family’s, Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan prepared to leave, but the rain intensified, and distant thunder rumbled, the road would be difficult to navigate in the dark and heavy rain.

Ye Shan urged them to stay the night.

Liu Xiufeng smiled. “Xi-ge’er’s old room is still there, I haven’t touched anything, just a bit dusty, we can clean it up.”

For safety, Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan decided to stay.

This was Lin Jiangshan’s second time in Ye Xi’s old room, the first time being on their wedding day, when he carried Ye Xi out of this room.

“This room is bright and airy,” Lin Jiangshan said, looking around the room and then out the window at the courtyard.

Ye Xi made the bed and asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”

Lin Jiangshan turned around and smiled at him. “I remember when you hid in this room, refusing to see me, angry at me for thinking you were ugly. I would come to your house every few days, and you would never come out, were you standing here, secretly peeking at me?”

Ye Xi blushed, his secret exposed. “Who was peeking at you? Don’t be shameless.”

He had indeed peeked at him from behind the window, wanting to see him but also wanting to avoid him.

Lin Jiangshan hugged his husband. “I can sleep in my husband’s old room tonight.”

Ye Xi gently bit his arm. “My parents are here, don’t… don’t be silly.”

Ever since Ye Xi became pregnant, he had been worried about the baby and hadn’t dared to be intimate for many days. Now that the baby was stable, and they were staying in Ye Xi’s old room, he was feeling tempted.

Ye Xi’s clothes were disheveled, his eyes misty, his body soft and pliant in Lin Jiangshan’s arms, and as Lin Jiangshan was about to press him down,

A loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightning lit up the room.

Then, they heard Ye Shan’s panicked voice.

The door next door opened, and someone rushed out.