Chapter 91
Several autumn rains had fallen, but they couldn’t alleviate the drought. Fortunately, Shanxiu Village, nestled in the valley, benefited from temperature differences that created dew, saving more than half of their rice seedlings. Other villages weren’t so lucky, some even losing their entire crop to the drought.
Wild vegetables were in high demand this year, even older, tougher shepherd’s purse and purslane were being picked, people wanting to stock up for winter to save on food expenses.
While foraging for wild sour dates on the mountain, Ye Xi ran into many women from the village, all rushing to gather food before winter arrived. The men who had mocked Lin Jiangshan for stocking up on firewood last year were now diligently chopping wood themselves, afraid that this winter would be as harsh as the last, and the price of firewood and charcoal would skyrocket again.
Ye Xi carried a basket, planning to collect some sour dates, and when the three He children saw him, they offered to help, using a bamboo pole to knock down the dates from the higher branches.
Sour dates were a common autumn fruit in the village, but few people ate them, even during this year’s drought.
Ye Xi peeled a sour date, revealing the thin layer of slightly sour flesh around a large pit, with just a hint of sweetness.
He warned the children to be careful, watching nervously as Little He climbed up the tree, urging him to come down.
“Xi-ge’er?”
Ye Xi turned around and saw Grandma Wang, who had given them the kitten. He smiled. “Grandma Wang, what are you doing here? Collecting fruits too?”
Grandma Wang’s basket was half full of wild vegetables and various fruits. “I came to collect chestnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, and other things to store for snacks, but the mountain has been picked clean, I searched for a long time and couldn’t even find any wild persimmons or kiwi fruits.”
Ye Xi nodded. “It’s a severe drought this year, I heard many places are experiencing famine, so everyone is collecting food. Does your family have enough grain, Grandma?”
Grandma Wang sighed. “We sold most of our winter wheat because the price was high, only keeping enough until the autumn harvest, thinking we could store more after the rice harvest. Who knew it would be such a drought? If we can even harvest half of our crops, that would be good, barely enough for our family, nothing left to sell.”
Ye Xi comforted her, “It’s already good that we have food to eat, I heard other places have lost their entire harvest. I’m afraid the price of grain will increase further after the autumn harvest, before winter, I don’t even know if there will be riots.”
Grandma Wang thought about it and agreed, at least they had food for winter. “Whether there are riots or not, the government will provide relief grain, I won’t be so greedy and sell our grain for money again! I should have listened to you, Xi-ge’er!”
Ye Xi chatted with her for a few more words, and Grandma Wang, noticing his larger belly, commented, “Such a round belly, and your complexion is so good, you must be carrying a little ge’er.”
Ye Xi smiled, touching his belly. “Little ge’ers are more considerate.”
Villagers preferred sons, strong boys for farm work, a large family of sons was a sign of prosperity and good fortune, they would walk with their heads held high.
Grandma Wang, afraid of upsetting Ye Xi, quickly added, “You and Lin lad are still young, and he’s strong and healthy, you’ll have many sons eventually.”
Ye Xi smiled, not worried about not having sons. “As long as it’s our child, we’ll be happy, even if it’s our only one.”
Other young men who married out wouldn’t dare to say such things, they would be scolded by their husbands or parents-in-law, so it was clear that Ye Xi was living a good life, no in-laws to deal with, a loving and capable husband, and they were even planning to buy more land.
Grandma Wang felt a pang of envy and hoped that her own son would find a good husband like Ye Xi.
After a few more words, Grandma Wang, eager to collect more wild vegetables, said goodbye. Ye Xi offered her some sour dates, but she refused.
“Those things make my teeth ache, and with so little food at home, they’ll only make me crave more.”
Ye Xi had collected a whole basket of sour dates with the help of the three children. He smiled. “That’s enough, go home, I’ll make sour date cakes for you.”
The three children cheered, Pretty Uncle was skillful and always made delicious treats for them.
Ye Xi returned to the courtyard with the basket of sour dates, washed them, and steamed them. Little He volunteered to tend the fire.
Big Brother He and Xiu-guniang went to herd the cow, cut grass, and clean the rabbit hutch and chicken coop. They never took anything from Ye Xi for free, always wanting to earn it, and Ye Xi understood their pride and self-respect, so he didn’t stop them.
Hunger was worse than hard work, and he would always share their food with them.
As the steam from the steamer rose, the aroma of sour dates filled the air. Ye Xi took out some glutinous rice flour and kneaded it into a dough.
Big Brother He ran excitedly into the kitchen. “Pretty uncle, the cow’s belly is bigger, is she pregnant?”
Ye Xi smiled. “Yes, we’ll have a calf next year, and you can help herd two cows then!”
Lin Jiangshan had paid someone to breed the cow a while ago, and it had been successful.
“Then I’ll find more tender grass for her!” Big Brother He said happily and ran out.
The steamed sour dates were soft, and Ye Xi, with the children’s help, peeled and pitted them, then mashed them in a basin with a rolling pin, adding cane sugar and stirring until it formed a paste, which he then spread out on a tray to dry, to be cut into sour date cakes later.
He then made small cakes with the glutinous rice dough, filling them with his homemade brown sugar and date paste, and deep-fried them until golden brown and crispy, the sweet filling oozing out, he used plenty of oil, and their fingers were greasy after just one bite.
The children enjoyed the treat, two sweet rice cakes each, and also some sour date cakes to take home.
After finishing the chores, Ye Xi spread the remaining sour dates to dry, to be ground into powder later for making sour date tea, good for preventing colds and promoting sleep in winter.
That night, Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan discussed, “It’s autumn now, winter is coming soon, the price of grain is good, I’ll take half of the sweet potatoes and potatoes in the cellar to town and sell them.”
He had been waiting for the right time, and now, with the prices reasonable, he wanted to sell them before it got colder, the autumn harvest failed, and the price of grain skyrocketed, causing chaos and potential riots.
Ye Xi agreed and helped Lin Jiangshan load a cart full of sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Early in the morning, before the autumn mist had dispersed, Lin Jiangshan set off for town with the ox cart. He asked Ye Shan and Li Xi to go with him, for safety, in these uncertain times, it was good to have strong men around.
Ye Xi made scallion pancakes for them, gave them a few instructions, and watched as they disappeared down the mountain path.
With the men gone, Ye Xi checked the vegetable garden and harvested the autumn vegetables, drying those that wouldn’t keep for long.
Time flew by, he and Lin Jiangshan had been married for almost a year, and winter was approaching again, time to think about winter food storage.
The ginger plants in the garden had sprouted flower buds at their roots, like small red bamboo shoots, a rare vegetable, not commonly grown. Ye Xi had found them in a damp area in the mountains and transplanted a dozen or so to a corner of his garden. They had thrived, and he now picked half a basketful.
He took some to Li-ge’er and his sister-in-law.
Li-ge’er was changing the bedsheets, and Ye Xi called out to him from the courtyard gate. He wiped his hands and came out, seeing the basket in Ye Xi’s hand, knowing he must have brought something for him.
“What treat did you bring me today?”
Ye Xi shook the basket. “The ginger flowers in our garden are ready, I brought you some.”
“Oh, I haven’t had these in years, thanks to you, we even have some meat at home, I’ll stir-fry them for Li Xi tonight.”
Ye Xi said, “I haven’t finished the offal you gave us last time, meat is expensive these days, and you keep giving us offal, our meals are always so flavorful now.”
Li-ge’er, always generous, said, “Those are not worth much, and we have plenty, why can’t I share with you?”
They chatted for a while, and Li-ge’er shared some news from town, especially about Yao-ge’er. “That Cao Bin is truly despicable. He stopped going to the private school after failing the Xiucai exam, always spending time in brothels and taverns. Yao-ge’er tried to stop him many times, but it was useless. A while ago, he caught a disease from a courtesan, his whole body covered in sores, they carried him home, and even after months of medicine, it’s not working, I heard he’s dying.”
Ye Xi looked up. “It’s his retribution, he deserves it!”
“He’s the Cao family’s only son, and now that he’s dying, their only heir is the son Yao-ge’er gave birth to, a little ge’er, but he can still marry into a family later. The Cao family listens to Yao-ge’er now, they don’t dare to offend him. Although he’s a widower now, he controls the entire Cao family, his life isn’t bad.”