Chapter 54: Sense of Crisis

In the early morning, while the sky was still shrouded in darkness, both of them woke up.

Shen Zhuo quietly headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, while Ye Xin grabbed a flashlight and made her way to the chicken coop. Ever since she had first discovered eggs, her enthusiasm for feeding the chickens had increased. Each morning, she made it a ritual to check for any new eggs. The number of eggs in the nest was steadily rising; some days there were two, and other days there were even three. After careful observation, she realized that all four hens were laying eggs now.

As she shone her flashlight into the coop, she noticed the hens barely stirred; they were still asleep. Apart from the rooster, the four hens were nestled in their respective nests, keeping their eggs warm.

Ye Xin couldn’t help but reach in, gently nudging each hen aside as she counted the warm eggs beneath them. To her delight, she found that each nest had an additional egg, meaning today’s total was +4 eggs!

“That’s fantastic!” she exclaimed softly, a smile breaking across her face.

With this many eggs, they certainly wouldn’t go hungry! If they grew tired of eating them, they could always save some up to sell!

However, before eating or selling, she needed to check if any of the eggs had chicks inside. Ye Xin reached in again, carefully lifting each egg and holding it up to the flashlight. As she peered inside, she noticed some of the eggs contained dark shapes with a network of blood vessels—a sign of fertilization and that the chicks were developing.

Eggs without such blood vessels were either unfertilized or hadn’t developed yet. After all, these hens had only started laying eggs on the eighteenth of the last lunar month, and it took about a week to determine if they were fertilized. Today was the twenty-sixth, so most of the eggs were still too young to show any signs of life.

Giddy with excitement, she examined each egg, satisfied to find that five or six contained developing chicks. In the end, she only took the four freshly laid eggs, placing the others back for the hens to continue incubating.

She affectionately stroked the feathers of the hens, saying, “You all better do a good job hatching these eggs; the entire flock depends on you!” Finally, she withdrew her hands, deciding not to disturb them any longer.

The hens settled back down, quietly resuming their incubation, eyes closed, drifting back to sleep.

With the freshly laid eggs in hand, Ye Xin returned to the kitchen and said to Shen Zhuo, “Once you finish cooking, please boil these eggs!”

Shen Zhuo took the eggs, nodding as he replied, “Okay,” while getting a pot of water ready.

Ye Xin washed her hands and then headed to the vegetable patch behind the house. First, she stepped into the space where she had planned to harvest the vegetables from the night before, filling a basket with them. After emerging, she found that she had nearly finished pulling out the cabbages and bok choy from the garden; there weren’t many left, as they were heavy and took up a lot of space. She carried them back to the front yard, portioning them out and filling a cloth bag with some dried vegetables.

Once done, she returned to the kitchen, where Shen Zhuo had already stir-fried some vegetables. He casually asked, “Boiled eggs don’t have much flavor; should I fry them for you instead?”

Ye Xin shook her head, “Don’t waste time. Just boil them; we’ll take them with us.”

Shen Zhuo added half a spoonful of water to the pot, dropped in the four eggs, covered the pot, and let them cook on residual heat.

As they sat down for breakfast, Shen Zhuo remembered her plans for the day and suggested, “How about you take your time selling vegetables in the morning? I’ll come out and help you buy New Year’s goods at noon. Just wait for me, and we can head back together in the evening.”

Ye Xin shook her head, “Don’t be silly. I can walk back faster than waiting for you! Plus, I’ve already arranged to walk back with Wang Xiaowei.”

Shen Zhuo felt uneasy about her growing friendship with the youth from the countryside, but he didn’t voice his concerns, simply furrowing his brow as he replied, “But you’ll be carrying a lot of stuff back. It’ll be tiring.”

Ye Xin flashed him a bright smile, “Thanks for the reminder! I’ll just drop off my things at your place after shopping, and you can carry them back tonight.”

Shen Zhuo thought this was a good plan, so he reluctantly agreed. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his participation in the training program was causing him to miss out on important moments with Ye Xin, especially when it came to preparing for the New Year. A sense of melancholy washed over him.

After finishing breakfast, the boiled eggs were ready. Ye Xin couldn’t find anything suitable to hold them in, so she suggested, “Just put them in your cloth bag!”

With everything gathered, they slung two baskets of vegetables over their shoulders and set off, their spirits high.

Navigating the familiar path to the agricultural market, they could see that the locals were out in droves, eager to sell their goods. It was the second-to-last market day before the New Year, and the atmosphere was bustling even before dawn. Luckily, they had arrived early and didn’t have to scramble for a good spot.

Ye Xin wasted no time. As soon as they unloaded their goods, she turned to Shen Zhuo and said, “I’ll take a basket over to the Chen family courtyard first. It’s still early, so I’ll buy and sell what I can before the crowd arrives.”

Shen Zhuo knew better than to argue with her, so he simply nodded, cautioning, “Just be careful.”

Ye Xin acknowledged him with a smile and set off with her basket. This time, she decided against carrying rice and opted only for a basket of vegetables as she knocked on the Chen family’s door.

The towering Chen Er opened the door upon seeing her and welcomed her in with a grin. After closing the door, he couldn’t help but yawn and said, “Why are you up so early? The sun hasn’t even risen yet!”

Ye Xin chuckled, “The early bird catches the worm! If you want to make money, you have to rise with the dawn!”

Chen Er laughed heartily and led her toward the main room. Indeed, it was still early; the Chen brothers were just getting out of bed, bustling around to prepare their goods. Upon seeing Ye Xin, they couldn’t help but gather around her.

“Hey! You’re back!” one exclaimed.

“We were just wondering when you’d show up!” another added.

“What kind of vegetables did you bring this time?” someone asked eagerly.

Ye Xin unloaded her basket and smiled, saying, “This is the last batch before the New Year; I’ve picked everything!”

The brothers nodded in understanding. They knew that vegetable farming in greenhouses at this time of year wasn’t extensive, and the few batches she had managed to bring were quite impressive.

Chen Da wasted no time lifting the straw off the top of her basket. His eyes widened at the sight of the fresh, vibrant green vegetables beneath. After pulling out the leafy greens, he was even more impressed by the plump cucumbers, eggplants, and tomatoes, nodding in approval.

Each time she brought vegetables, they were not only of high quality but also varied—always a pleasant surprise. Although she hadn’t brought rice this time, they didn’t mind. They had plenty of their own stored up; her contribution would simply be a nice bonus. The most crucial items for them were the out-of-season vegetables she offered.

Ye Xin’s prices remained consistent—still ten yuan for the basket, just like before. Seeing her straightforward approach, the brothers decided to gift her a pound of cured meat when she returned to buy supplies, marking a mutual show of goodwill for their partnership.

Ye Xin bought several pounds of various cured meats and dried goods, including sausages, wild mushrooms, black fungus, brown sugar, shrimp, seaweed, candies, dried fruit, rice noodles, and vegetable oil. She didn’t need to purchase flour this time since they had harvested enough grains to mill their own. While she earned ten yuan, she ended up spending twenty-eight.

As she left with smiles from Chen Er and Chen San, Ye Xin couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—earning money was tough, but spending it seemed all too easy!

By the time she returned to the agricultural market, the sun was fully up, and the crowd had thickened, the lively chatter filling the air.

At the vegetable stall, Shen Zhuo was busy weighing out produce for a chatty auntie. She was quick with her words, asking, “I see your vegetables are particularly fresh and vibrant! I remember buying from you twice before, and they were so delicious! But I thought a little girl was selling them. Why are you here today? Are you working with her?”

Shen Zhuo, who was never particularly articulate, felt his scalp tingle under the weight of the question. He could only nod and mumble, “Yes, we’re together.”

The chatty auntie continued, “Are you siblings? Where’s your sister today? Is she at home?”

Seeing Shen Zhuo struggling to respond as he focused on weighing vegetables, Ye Xin stepped in with a bright smile. “Auntie, I’m right here! I just went to buy some things while it was still early.”

The auntie beamed at the charming girl, her mood lifting. “Ah, there you are! I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you! This time of year, it gets crowded quickly, so it’s best to buy while you can. I’m here before the supply store opens to grab some veggies too; I still need to squeeze in a trip to the butcher and the supply store later!”

Ye Xin placed her basket down and bundled the weighed vegetables with straw. She chimed in, “It’s tough managing meals for a whole family, isn’t it?”

The auntie instantly felt understood, and her words flowed even more freely. After finishing the payment and receiving her vegetables, she lingered for a moment, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “You’re such a lovely girl, hardworking and eloquent—so much better than your brother! How old are you? Are you already engaged?”

Ye Xin’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Um…”

Really? She was trying to play matchmaker right in front of Shen Zhuo? They barely knew each other beyond the realm of business!

At that moment, Shen Zhuo could no longer remain silent. “We’re not siblings,” he interjected firmly.

The auntie looked taken aback. “Oh? Not siblings? Then why are you together?”

Ye Xin maintained her sweet smile, doing her best to keep the atmosphere light.

The auntie glanced from the charming girl to the handsome but somewhat stoic young man standing beside her, and a light bulb seemed to go off in her head. “Oh, I see! You two are a couple! My bad for assuming! I thought you were just young and hadn’t tied the knot yet!”

As she spoke, she sighed, grabbing a head of cabbage with a newfound energy and heading off.

Ye Xin rubbed her forehead in exasperation. They hadn’t even gotten married! But whatever—she didn’t have the energy to explain the nuances of their relationship while grocery shopping.

Turning around, she met Shen Zhuo’s contemplative gaze.

He asked, “Do the aunties usually try to set you up when you sell vegetables?”

Ye Xin quickly clarified, “Not usually, just today with this one!”

Shen Zhuo looked skeptical. “Aren’t they here to buy vegetables? How come they’re so familiar with you?”

Ye Xin shrugged. “They’re regular customers. After a few visits, you get to know them. I might not recognize all of them, but they recognize me. It’s like how we can identify the shopkeepers but they might not remember us. Don’t overthink it!”

Shen Zhuo found her explanation reasonable, but a sense of unease crept in. He spoke earnestly, “Next time something like this happens, you should quickly mention that you’re already engaged.”

Ye Xin rolled her eyes, “I got it.”

Feeling annoyed at his intense scrutiny, she urged him, “You should hurry and take the cart to Dr. Xu. It’s close to the New Year, so he’s probably opening up early. We wouldn’t want you to be rushing around later!”

Although Shen Zhuo wanted to add a few more words, he realized the crowd was thickening, making it harder to move. He relented and went to stow the cart.