Chapter 23: Learning to Make Clothes

“What did you buy in all those bags?” Fang Mingyan circled around Wen Jiajia twice, surprised. It was more than what her mother brought back from ten trips to her grandmother’s house.

Wen Jiajia was exhausted, collapsed on the donkey cart, and waved her hand: “Just some daily necessities.”

Some?

Come on, even a whole cart of things bought by an aunt combined might not be as much as what you buy.

Wen Jiajia snorted and gasped. She really thought she had only bought a few things; after all, the 30 yuan hadn’t been spent.

Who knew 30 yuan could go so far? She bought everything she wanted and still had 5 yuan and eight cents left in her pocket.

If it were the Wen family’s money, she wouldn’t have spent it like this. After all, making money wasn’t easy, and she wasn’t a Wen family member. She couldn’t spend their money extravagantly.

However, the 30 yuan was earned by herself, and she had to vent her frustration from being suffocated by the word “poor.” Otherwise, there was no meaning in living a boring life.

It was also because there was an archaeological team stationed in the nearest village that the public security officers came every now and then, and the militia hung around the entrance of the village all day long, that she dared to show her wealth in this way. Otherwise, even if she were given 100 yuan, she wouldn’t dare spend it like this.

At noon, Fang Mingyan took Wen Jiajia to eat noodles.

“This noodle is so delicious. I ate it when I was a kid, and her family only makes it when it’s a big set. It’s a pity that we finally came to Daji, and we didn’t eat a bowl of noodles.”

Fang Mingyan took Wen Jiajia through the crowd, and when she arrived at the noodle stall, she immediately sat down when she saw a vacant seat, and actually took out two bowls from her bag.

Wen Jiajia was stunned.

Fang Mingyan took out two pairs of chopsticks as well, with an expression of “why are you so ignorant?” “If you want to eat noodles from this stall, you have to bring your own dishes and chopsticks. Otherwise, you have to wait for at least half an hour. Learn a little.”

Just like earlier, stupidly standing in line.

What’s the point of standing in line? Just squeeze in and sit down when you see a vacant seat.

Wen Jiajia showed a “lesson learned” expression on her face, took the chopsticks and bowl, and waited for Fang Mingyan to order noodles.

“What do you want to eat? Their mixed noodles are the most delicious,” Fang Mingyan said. “Of course, they also have mixed noodles with powder ball soup.”

Wen Jiajia was puzzled: “No toppings?”

“Toppings?” Fang Mingyan was puzzled for a moment. “Oh, you’re talking about ingredients. No, it’s just mixed noodles. They might sprinkle some chopped green onions for you.”

Okay, then I’ll have the mixed noodles and add a bowl of powder ball soup.

Wen Jiajia thought to herself, She should eat Shaxian^[1]Shaxian” refers to Shaxian snacks (沙县小吃), which are a variety of traditional Chinese snacks originating from Shaxian County.

But when she tasted the noodles, she realized she had underestimated them.

The noodles were very smooth, coated with oil, and slipped into her mouth with a gentle suck.

The noodles were also very fragrant, probably made from the new wheat of this year, plus a marinade and lard she couldn’t identify. It beat all the noodles she had eaten in her previous life.

Wen Jiajia chewed, stunned.

Fang Mingyan said happily, “Finally, I’m eating this again. Delicious, right? I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”

Wen Jiajia nodded and continued to eat without looking up.

The sellers at this time are quite honest. When they say the price is 40 yuan, they really mean it. The noodle soup was also very good.

The flour was rice flour, and after cooking, it was cut into small pieces.

Wen Jiajia found shiitake mushrooms and ginger inside and then chewed on something a little chewy but not very fragrant.

What is it? It was lard residue. Wen Jiajia tasted it carefully and ate it.

She thought this food was very ingenious. A little lard residue made the flour balls more fragrant than the meatballs.

Wen Jiajia regretted not bringing a lunch box. Otherwise, she would have packed two portions to take away.

A few days ago, she synthesized a lunch box and exchanged three of them, all of which were hidden at home.

After lunch, the villagers finished shopping.

Wen Jiajia flicked her whip, and there was another “driving” sound, and they returned with a full load.

Fuyang Brigade.

Perhaps because many people went to the market, the people who stayed in the village kept looking in the direction of the village entrance.

When Wen Jiajia appeared at the village entrance in a car, many people gathered around.

Wen Jiajia escaped from the encirclement very flexibly.

Just kidding, she had a big bag, and if she really got stuck inside, it would be easy to lose things.

So she hurried home non-stop, and after putting everything away, she came out to appease Daqiang and led him to the cowshed.

“Auntie, what did you buy?”

When she got home, she saw Wen Chun and Wen Xuan squatting in the hall, staring at her pile of things.

Wen Jiajia didn’t tell them.

No matter how sensible the two girls were, they were only three-year-old children. No matter how tight-lipped they were, they couldn’t resist being coaxed by adults.

If they told others, it would be troublesome.

So she used her ultimate trick and took out two big buns from the paper bag, stuffing them with buns: “Eat quickly, the kuay teow in the pot at noon is not enough, and now it’s just right to eat steamed buns.”

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan jumped up excitedly, their little faces flushed, and they held the buns, sniffing hard.

The two of them hurriedly sat down on a small bench and began to eat, even pouring themselves a glass of water to go with it.

Wen Jiajia started tidying up the things.

At that moment, she felt the joy of unpacking a parcel for the first time in a long while.

First of all, pork. Pork was raised in a village in Hongji Commune. Wen Jiajia bought two catties of fine pork belly, intending to make braised pork.

Then there was mutton. Wen Jiajia quickly grabbed a catty, just enough to stew with radish.

After frosting, the radish is sweet and perfect for stewing mutton.

Wen Jiajia thought about it and carried the pork and mutton to the kitchen, put the pork in the cupboard, and soaked the mutton in water.

Then she heated the stove and poured the mutton and water into the pot to boil.

The mutton could stew for a long time to absorb the flavors, and it would be ready to eat by evening.

Wen Jiajia continued to clean up.

She took out a bag of old noodles and a bag of peach cakes. Fortunately, the two girls were eating steamed buns, or they would have been very excited to see these.

The pastry and peach cakes were locked in the cupboard in the original owner’s parents’ room. The door to their room wasn’t always open, which effectively prevented rats from entering.

She continued to pull things out of the bag.

In fact, the vegetables for winter had already been planted. She was buying seeds for next spring.

Wen Jiajia also bought balsamic vinegar, rapeseed oil, kerosene, a few candles, and some red beans.

The balsamic vinegar from Hongji Commune was very famous. Since the vinegar at home was almost finished, she bought some to try.

After the first bag was sorted out, Wen Jiajia put everything in place and began to sort out the second bag.

When she opened the bag, the first thing she saw was some spices: star anise, cinnamon, and peppercorns.

Under the spices was flour. Eight catties of flour were enough for her to eat until the Chinese New Year.

And then there were the apples.

The apples were imported from other places, and she bought eight, each only about the size of her fist and quite small.

But now, who could be picky? It was a blessing to have something to eat.

In this way, half a bag was filled.

What’s in the last half of the bag?

There was brown sugar, the authentic brown sugar made from the first sugar cane of the year. There was white sugar, two catties of it, which would last until next year.

There were also paper and pencils, rat poison, dried kelp, shrimp skins, and half a pound of dried shrimp.

Oh, and there were two live ducks tied to a bamboo basket; she planned to raise them until Chinese New Year to eat.

After everything was done, Wen Jiajia straightened up and clapped her hands with satisfaction.

Lo and behold, the house was suddenly full.

Evening.

The blanched mutton had been stewed in a casserole, and the meat was now very tender.

As for the white radish, it had been added an hour ago. The sweet flavor of the radish slowly seeped into the soup, perfectly neutralizing the greasy taste of the lamb. Wen Jiajia tasted it, and the mutton soup was fresh and sweet.

Tonight, they would have mutton soup with steamed buns.

The remaining buns were put on the bamboo steamer to be heated, and Wen Chun and Wen Xuan waited beside it.

“You like buns so much?” Wen Jiajia pinched their fleshy faces.

They had been living with her for so long, eating eggs every day and meat more often than usual, so they were naturally chubbier than before.

Wen Chun smiled, showing her little teeth. “I like it. The buns are delicious.”

Okay, you’ll eat every day when we have money.

It was getting dark.

The back door was not closed, and the evening breeze blew through it into the kitchen. The chickens had already been driven into the coop and made only a few muffled noises. However, the newly arrived ducks were still jumping up and down in the pig shed, unwilling to be tied up.

The temperature plummeted. Wen Jiajia put on a cotton jacket and washed her hands with hot water before starting to eat.

The hot mutton soup warmed her stomach. Accompanied by the soft mutton, Wen Jiajia felt the coldness in her bones dissipate.

The mutton had been stewed for a long time, so she could easily suck out the bone marrow. Wen Jiajia stopped after eating four pieces of mutton and turned her attention to the radish.

The radish was tender, like freshly boiled radish in oden. When she bit into it, sweet juice bubbled out.

The two girls clearly preferred meat over vegetables, but Wen Jiajia couldn’t let them have only meat. She put a piece of radish in their bowls, and they ate it happily.

As the moon rose above the treetops, the steamed buns were served with mutton soup. After a long time, their stomachs felt satisfied, and their entire bodies were warm, even Wen Jiajia’s feet, when she went to bed that night.

___

Winter was approaching.

One day, Wen Jiajia received a reply from Wei Dai.

According to the villagers, this winter will probably be very cold. So, Wen Jiajia went to the commune distillery last week to find Feng An.

It was about Wei Dai’s explanation to him, and before Wen Jiajia could say anything, he sent her half a cart of charcoal.

With half a cart of charcoal, Wen Jiajia tried many times and finally synthesized a stove. It was not in vain that she personally went to the county town to buy two rounds of iron.

Once she had a stove, she could retire the stone pit in the backyard. The casserole also began to work daily, usually cooking porridge and soup, boiling corn whisker water, or sweet soup.

As the weather got colder, farm work in the village gradually decreased.

The paulownia tree was the first to lose its leaves, followed by the persimmon tree at the door, but the bamboo forest remained green, making the winter less depressing.

This year, the village did not organize autumn and winter hunts because there wasn’t much game left in the mountains.

Instead, the village planned to slaughter several pigs they had raised, which, compared to wild boar meat, the villagers found less rare.

The village began arranging for the sowing of rapeseed, and Wen Jiajia understood why rapeseed could be bought at the big market recently.

In addition to this, there was the work of clearing the mountains, clearing weeds, cutting down trees, and going to the commune to build a river dam.

These jobs were voluntary, but many people were willing to do them to earn a little. After saving for a few years, they could build a room for their family.

Since the work was voluntary, Wen Jiajia was reluctant to go, preferring to release the ducks every day.

Although the amount of work was not much, she wondered if she should marry Wei Dai after her birthday.

After reading Wei Dai’s reply, Wen Jiajia fell into deep thought.