Chapter 21: Digging for Wild Vegetables

Wang Xiuxiang was quite confident: “Leave this to me, you just wait and see. I’ll definitely make sure her reputation is spread far and wide! Within a month, no one will dare to come to her door.”

“But, I’ll handle this, Little Moon, don’t go around saying anything. She’s your mother-in-law, it’s not appropriate for you to talk.”

Lin Yue nodded happily in agreement.

Liu Jianhua, hearing their discussion, was also a little excited and said, “Count me in, I can help spread the word too.”

Wang Xiuxiang laughed and pushed her, then stood up and said, “Alright, I have to go home quickly and tell my mother-in-law to keep this quiet. Don’t let her spread it around.”

Lin Yue thought about Mrs. Su’s attitude yesterday and hesitated, “Will your mother-in-law agree? Maybe we should just do it secretly, don’t let her know.”

Wang Xiuxiang laughed, “We’re not reporting it to the police, nor are we making a big deal out of it. My mother-in-law won’t care. Just wait for my news!”

Lin Yue readily agreed.

Wang Xiuxiang was still being conservative. Within half a month, the whole village was spreading the news about Sun Hongmei stealing things. The rumors were detailed and specific, with five or six eyewitnesses and several families claiming to have been robbed.

But no one could say for sure which family was robbed or what was stolen.

Sun Hongmei initially didn’t know, and no one bothered to ask her if she had actually stolen anything.

Until one day, she got into an argument with someone, and the other person used this incident to insult her. Only then did she realize how she was being portrayed.

But by then, the rumors had spread far and wide, and it was too late for her to explain.

She couldn’t say that she went to her daughter-in-law’s house, because people would say, “So you even steal from your own daughter-in-law’s house?”

It would be a self-incriminating confession.

Sun Hongmei was so angry that she stayed in bed for several days. She wanted to go find trouble with Lin Yue, but she knew she was in the wrong and couldn’t catch Lin Yue’s handle.

Moreover, she was now in a difficult position herself and didn’t have the energy to bother Lin Yue anymore. Even Zhang Xiaoxi stopped coming to rummage through things.

Lin Yue didn’t feel guilty at all. They were telling the truth. Sun Hongmei did come to steal, and Lin Yue hadn’t wronged her at all.

She had gotten her revenge and felt happy about it. She invited Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua to her house and jokingly said, “You two sisters-in-law have worked hard during the busy year. Don’t leave for lunch today. Just stay here and eat. Consider it my way of showing respect.”

Liu Jianhua scoffed, “I’m still young, why would you need to show respect to me! But you should thank Xiuxiang sister-in-law. I’m not leaving either today. I’m going to stay and take advantage of this opportunity to taste your cooking.” She nudged Wang Xiuxiang across from her, “You can’t leave, otherwise, I won’t have anything to eat.”

Lin Yue quickly said, “I’m serious, I’m not joking. You two can’t leave today! I’ll go make it now!”

Wang Xiuxiang held back her laughter and sat up straight, pretending to be serious, “Of course I won’t leave. I’m waiting for your respect!” After saying that, the three of them burst into laughter.

Lin Yue entrusted the children to the two of them to look after and went to the kitchen to work.

She had a lot of things in her space, but most of them were not suitable for taking out.

She asked about their tastes and decided to make a spicy and sour noodle soup, something delicious but not too formal.

Lin Yue had previously planted chives, cilantro, garlic, and other seasonings in broken clay pots in the house, keeping them on the windowsill to deceive people. When needed, she would take them out from her space without attracting attention.

She pulled a few chives and cilantro, took a head of garlic from the wall, washed and chopped them separately into three bowls, added some chili powder and sesame seeds, poured hot oil over them, and finally seasoned them with soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and sugar.

She boiled water in a pot, and when the water boiled, she added the sweet potato noodles and cooked them until soft, then scooped them into bowls. She then ladled some soup from the pot, added some five-spice peanuts, and the spicy and sour noodle soup was ready.

The two of them had already come out smelling the aroma. Lin Yue called them over to eat.

The three of them sat on the kang by the bed, each holding a bowl, eating around the two little ones.

The two little ones opened their mouths wide, stretched out their little hands, then put them in their mouths and sucked, as if they were craving something. It made Lin Yue and the others laugh.

They were careful while eating, afraid of splashing it on the children.

But women probably have a special fondness for spicy and sour noodle soup. Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua ate heartily, and their bowls were soon empty.

The three of them took a long breath. Eating a bowl of hot spicy and sour noodle soup in the cold winter was truly comfortable.

Liu Jianhua finished all the soup, rubbed her warm stomach and said, “I didn’t know you had this skill. How did you make this? Teach your sister-in-law!”

The method for making spicy and sour noodle soup was very simple. Lin Yue told the two of them the steps, and Wang Xiuxiang said she would make it at home tonight.

Liu Jianhua was reluctant, “You’re so generous. You used good sweet potatoes to make noodles. That’s a lot of waste!” Wang Xiuxiang’s family lived a comfortable life and didn’t lack food, so she hadn’t thought about this.

She also worried, “Yes, it’s still early before we get our grain rations. You can’t waste food like this. Haven’t you seen how our village…”

## Chapter 21: Digging for Wild Vegetables

Wang Xiuxiang was quite confident: “Leave this to me, you just wait and see. I’ll definitely make sure her reputation is spread far and wide! Within a month, no one will dare to come to her door.”

“But, I’ll handle this, Little Moon, don’t go around saying anything. She’s your mother-in-law, it’s not appropriate for you to talk.”

Lin Yue nodded happily in agreement.

Liu Jianhua, hearing their discussion, was also a little excited and said, “Count me in, I can help spread the word too.”

Wang Xiuxiang laughed and pushed her, then stood up and said, “Alright, I have to go home quickly and tell my mother-in-law to keep this quiet. Don’t let her spread it around.”

Lin Yue thought about Mrs. Su’s attitude yesterday and hesitated, “Will your mother-in-law agree? Maybe we should just do it secretly, don’t let her know.”

Wang Xiuxiang laughed, “We’re not reporting it to the police, nor are we making a big deal out of it. My mother-in-law won’t care. Just wait for my news!”

Lin Yue readily agreed.

Wang Xiuxiang was still being conservative. Within half a month, the whole village was spreading the news about Sun Hongmei stealing things. The rumors were detailed and specific, with five or six eyewitnesses and several families claiming to have been robbed.

But no one could say for sure which family was robbed or what was stolen.

Sun Hongmei initially didn’t know, and no one bothered to ask her if she had actually stolen anything.

Until one day, she got into an argument with someone, and the other person used this incident to insult her. Only then did she realize how she was being portrayed.

But by then, the rumors had spread far and wide, and it was too late for her to explain.

She couldn’t say that she went to her daughter-in-law’s house, because people would say, “So you even steal from your own daughter-in-law’s house?”

It would be a self-incriminating confession.

Sun Hongmei was so angry that she stayed in bed for several days. She wanted to go find trouble with Lin Yue, but she knew she was in the wrong and couldn’t catch Lin Yue’s handle.

Moreover, she was now in a difficult position herself and didn’t have the energy to bother Lin Yue anymore. Even Zhang Xiaoxi stopped coming to rummage through things.

Lin Yue didn’t feel guilty at all. They were telling the truth. Sun Hongmei did come to steal, and Lin Yue hadn’t wronged her at all.

She had gotten her revenge and felt happy about it. She invited Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua to her house and jokingly said, “You two sisters-in-law have worked hard during the busy year. Don’t leave for lunch today. Just stay here and eat. Consider it my way of showing respect.”

Liu Jianhua scoffed, “I’m still young, why would you need to show respect to me! But you should thank Xiuxiang sister-in-law. I’m not leaving either today. I’m going to stay and take advantage of this opportunity to taste your cooking.” She nudged Wang Xiuxiang across from her, “You can’t leave, otherwise, I won’t have anything to eat.”

Lin Yue quickly said, “I’m serious, I’m not joking. You two can’t leave today! I’ll go make it now!”

Wang Xiuxiang held back her laughter and sat up straight, pretending to be serious, “Of course I won’t leave. I’m waiting for your respect!” After saying that, the three of them burst into laughter.

Lin Yue entrusted the children to the two of them to look after and went to the kitchen to work.

She had a lot of things in her space, but most of them were not suitable for taking out.

She asked about their tastes and decided to make a spicy and sour noodle soup, something delicious but not too formal.

Lin Yue had previously planted chives, cilantro, garlic, and other seasonings in broken clay pots in the house, keeping them on the windowsill to deceive people. When needed, she would take them out from her space without attracting attention.

She pulled a few chives and cilantro, took a head of garlic from the wall, washed and chopped them separately into three bowls, added some chili powder and sesame seeds, poured hot oil over them, and finally seasoned them with soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and sugar.

She boiled water in a pot, and when the water boiled, she added the sweet potato noodles and cooked them until soft, then scooped them into bowls. She then ladled some soup from the pot, added some five-spice peanuts, and the spicy and sour noodle soup was ready.

The two of them had already come out smelling the aroma. Lin Yue called them over to eat.

The three of them sat on the kang by the bed, each holding a bowl, eating around the two little ones.

The two little ones opened their mouths wide, stretched out their little hands, then put them in their mouths and sucked, as if they were craving something. It made Lin Yue and the others laugh.

They were careful while eating, afraid of splashing it on the children.

But women probably have a special fondness for spicy and sour noodle soup. Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua ate heartily, and their bowls were soon empty.

The three of them took a long breath. Eating a bowl of hot spicy and sour noodle soup in the cold winter was truly comfortable.

Liu Jianhua finished all the soup, rubbed her warm stomach and said, “I didn’t know you had this skill. How did you make this? Teach your sister-in-law!”

The method for making spicy and sour noodle soup was very simple. Lin Yue told the two of them the steps, and Wang Xiuxiang said she would make it at home tonight.

Liu Jianhua was reluctant, “You’re so generous. You used good sweet potatoes to make noodles. That’s a lot of waste!” Wang Xiuxiang’s family lived a comfortable life and didn’t lack food, so she hadn’t thought about this.

She also worried, “Yes, it’s still early before we get our grain rations. You can’t waste food like this. Haven’t you seen how our village…”

Wang Xiuxiang was quite confident: “Leave this to me, you just wait and see. I’ll definitely make sure her reputation is spread far and wide! Within a month, no one will dare to come to her door.”

“But, I’ll handle this, Little Moon, don’t go around saying anything. She’s your mother-in-law, it’s not appropriate for you to talk.”

Lin Yue nodded happily in agreement.

Liu Jianhua, hearing their discussion, was also a little excited and said, “Count me in, I can help spread the word too.”

Wang Xiuxiang laughed and pushed her, then stood up and said, “Alright, I have to go home quickly and tell my mother-in-law to keep this quiet. Don’t let her spread it around.”

Lin Yue thought about Mrs. Su’s attitude yesterday and hesitated, “Will your mother-in-law agree? Maybe we should just do it secretly, don’t let her know.”

Wang Xiuxiang laughed, “We’re not reporting it to the police, nor are we making a big deal out of it. My mother-in-law won’t care. Just wait for my news!”

Lin Yue readily agreed.

Wang Xiuxiang was still being conservative. Within half a month, the whole village was spreading the news about Sun Hongmei stealing things. The rumors were detailed and specific, with five or six eyewitnesses and several families claiming to have been robbed.

But no one could say for sure which family was robbed or what was stolen.

Sun Hongmei initially didn’t know, and no one bothered to ask her if she had actually stolen anything.

Until one day, she got into an argument with someone, and the other person used this incident to insult her. Only then did she realize how she was being portrayed.

But by then, the rumors had spread far and wide, and it was too late for her to explain.

She couldn’t say that she went to her daughter-in-law’s house, because people would say, “So you even steal from your own daughter-in-law’s house?”

It would be a self-incriminating confession.

Sun Hongmei was so angry that she stayed in bed for several days. She wanted to go find trouble with Lin Yue, but she knew she was in the wrong and couldn’t catch Lin Yue’s handle.

Moreover, she was now in a difficult position herself and didn’t have the energy to bother Lin Yue anymore. Even Zhang Xiaoxi stopped coming to rummage through things.

Lin Yue didn’t feel guilty at all. They were telling the truth. Sun Hongmei did come to steal, and Lin Yue hadn’t wronged her at all.

She had gotten her revenge and felt happy about it. She invited Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua to her house and jokingly said, “You two sisters-in-law have worked hard during the busy year. Don’t leave for lunch today. Just stay here and eat. Consider it my way of showing respect.”

Liu Jianhua scoffed, “I’m still young, why would you need to show respect to me! But you should thank Xiuxiang sister-in-law. I’m not leaving either today. I’m going to stay and take advantage of this opportunity to taste your cooking.” She nudged Wang Xiuxiang across from her, “You can’t leave, otherwise, I won’t have anything to eat.”

Lin Yue quickly said, “I’m serious, I’m not joking. You two can’t leave today! I’ll go make it now!”

Wang Xiuxiang held back her laughter and sat up straight, pretending to be serious, “Of course I won’t leave. I’m waiting for your respect!” After saying that, the three of them burst into laughter.

Lin Yue entrusted the children to the two of them to look after and went to the kitchen to work.

She had a lot of things in her space, but most of them were not suitable for taking out.

She asked about their tastes and decided to make a spicy and sour noodle soup, something delicious but not too formal.

Lin Yue had previously planted chives, cilantro, garlic, and other seasonings in broken clay pots in the house, keeping them on the windowsill to deceive people. When needed, she would take them out from her space without attracting attention.

She pulled a few chives and cilantro, took a head of garlic from the wall, washed and chopped them separately into three bowls, added some chili powder and sesame seeds, poured hot oil over them, and finally seasoned them with soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and sugar.

She boiled water in a pot, and when the water boiled, she added the sweet potato noodles and cooked them until soft, then scooped them into bowls. She then ladled some soup from the pot, added some five-spice peanuts, and the spicy and sour noodle soup was ready.

The two of them had already come out smelling the aroma. Lin Yue called them over to eat.

The three of them sat on the kang by the bed, each holding a bowl, eating around the two little ones.

The two little ones opened their mouths wide, stretched out their little hands, then put them in their mouths and sucked, as if they were craving something. It made Lin Yue and the others laugh.

They were careful while eating, afraid of splashing it on the children.

But women probably have a special fondness for spicy and sour noodle soup. Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua ate heartily, and their bowls were soon empty.

The three of them took a long breath. Eating a bowl of hot spicy and sour noodle soup in the cold winter was truly comfortable.

Liu Jianhua finished all the soup, rubbed her warm stomach and said, “I didn’t know you had this skill. How did you make this? Teach your sister-in-law!”

The method for making spicy and sour noodle soup was very simple. Lin Yue told the two of them the steps, and Wang Xiuxiang said she would make it at home tonight.

Liu Jianhua was reluctant, “You’re so generous. You used good sweet potatoes to make noodles. That’s a lot of waste!” Wang Xiuxiang’s family lived a comfortable life and didn’t lack food, so she hadn’t thought about this.

She also worried, “Yes, it’s still early before we get our grain rations. You can’t waste food like this. Haven’t you seen how our village…”

“There are several families in the village who are already scraping the bottom of the barrel!”

Lin Yue quickly pleaded for mercy: “Sister-in-law, don’t wrong me. I was afraid the sweet potatoes at home would go bad, so I made them into noodles. I still have a lot of grain at home, don’t worry.”

Wang Xiuxiang advised her: “When the weather warms up, be sure to plant potatoes in the vegetable garden first. They can be both a vegetable and a filling food. Then, plant vegetables in the corners and edges. Although they won’t fill you up, they grow quickly and are a good source of food. Otherwise, you won’t make it to June.”

Lin Yue quickly agreed.

She had the original owner’s memories and knew they were speaking from the heart.

In recent years, the village hadn’t really stopped having children born, but they hadn’t survived. During the famine, even the adults couldn’t eat enough, and babies born wouldn’t survive. Everyone knew this, so even though Liu Jianhua’s family wanted a grandson so much, they hadn’t pressured her to have children in these past few years.

Lin Yue also knew how difficult it was to live without enough food, so she had never stopped planting in her space. Even if she couldn’t eat it all herself, she wanted to stock up for a rainy day.

However, she soon realized that she had underestimated the severity of the famine.

After the Lantern Festival, Lin Yue went to the market and found an old carpenter in Xiaowu Village to make a spinning wheel and a loom, as well as a simple hand-cranked cotton gin to press cotton seeds.

She took advantage of the free time in January to learn weaving from Sun Meifeng.

Spinning cotton into cloth was a very time-consuming and laborious task. Sun Meifeng was willing to teach her, but cotton was too rare. Lin Yue didn’t dare to use the cotton she bought, so she could only learn the basics.

The old carpenter recognized her as the young girl who had bought a lot of furniture last time. He was convinced that Lin Yue was a “speculator” and overcharged her. He didn’t want money, he demanded grain in exchange.

Fortunately, Lin Yue didn’t lack grain. Even so, she was still angry at the shameless old man.

As the weather got warmer, Sun Meifeng didn’t have time to teach her anymore.

It should be said that everyone started to get busy after the Awakening of Insects.

Spring was a time of renewal. The snow hadn’t melted completely, but there were already many signs of green emerging from the soil. Wild vegetables in the fields were also starting to sprout.

They didn’t have much left of the grain they had harvested in autumn. Before spring plowing began, everyone from the elderly in their sixties and seventies to children as young as four or five years old went out to find wild vegetables. Sometimes, the men were lucky and could catch a rabbit or a pheasant.

No one would say things like “The things on the mountain belong to the collective, you can’t go up the mountain without permission.”

People were starving to death, and even digging for wild vegetables would be criticized. Who would be happy about that?

Lin Yue was also dragged by Sun Meifeng to go up the mountain to find wild vegetables.

She put her two little ones in the backpack and even used bamboo strips to weave a cover to shield them from the sun.

The weather was still cold, so the shepherd’s purse wasn’t very big. They might only get enough to make soup in a whole morning.

Lin Yue had done it for a few days and had enough. These wild vegetables weren’t as good as the ones in her space, and she really didn’t lack food.

But no one believed Lin Yue’s words. Not only Sun Meifeng, but Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua also urged her to go dig for wild vegetables every day.

Every day, she was woken up before dawn, and she wasn’t allowed to go home until it was dark and she couldn’t see the road.

Lin Yue was alone, but they were three. They always had someone to accompany her, no matter what time it was. She couldn’t even steal a moment of rest. She spent all her time in the mountains day after day, which was truly agonizing.

She couldn’t imagine how Wang Baochuan persevered for eighteen years. She couldn’t take it after only three days of digging.

A few days later, Mrs. Su informed Lin Yue that they needed to build her courtyard wall before spring plowing.

At this time, hiring people to build houses didn’t require money, and building a rammed earth wall didn’t require any materials. Lin Yue only needed to serve tea and a meal.

Wang Xiuxiang came over early in the morning to help Lin Yue prepare the food. She discussed with Lin Yue: “This job should be done in a day. We need to make the food presentable. Although the brigade assigned the workers to you, how well they do the job depends on their mood.”

Lin Yue agreed, asking: “Sister-in-law, what do you think we should prepare? It’s not market day these days, and we only have a few vegetables at home. Should we kill one of the two young hens we have left and make a stew?”

Wang Xiuxiang said: “No need to kill a chicken. Before the wheat harvest, everyone is drinking thin porridge. It’s good enough if you can make some dry rice. Take me to the cellar, let me see what you have, and we can figure it out.”

Lin Yue nodded repeatedly and took Wang Xiuxiang to see the food she had stored outside her space.

Wang Xiuxiang pointed at a small piece of bacon in the basket: “Do you still have the sauerkraut you sent to my house last time? Use this bacon and sauerkraut to make a stew, and add some noodles. It’s much better than pork and cabbage stew with noodles.”

Then she pointed at the wild vegetables Lin Yue had just dug this morning: “Make a soup with this. You still have so many potatoes, stir-fry some potato shreds. These two dishes and a soup are enough.”

She had everything planned out. Lin Yue just nodded in agreement. After deciding on the dishes, she asked: “What about the rice? I only have sweet potato flour and sorghum flour left. I’ve used up all the corn flour.”