Chapter 5: Rice Noodles

Children around the age of four or five love to sleep. Li Damao and Li Ermao lay beside Li Qingzhi and called out for their father. Gradually, they fell asleep unconsciously.

Li Qingzhi’s body was very weak, and he also needed sleep. In a daze, he fell asleep too.

Seeing that the three of them were asleep, Jin Xiaoye closed the door and started to get busy.

There was rice that had been pounded previously in the house. She made a fire and fried the rice in an iron pot.

As she was frying, Li Laogen came out from the next room.

It was noon now, and the sun was scorching. Li Laogen didn’t want to go out to the field to be exposed to the sun.

It was very hot, so Li Laogen, like Li Damao and Li Ermao, didn’t wear a shirt, only a pair of shorts.

He glanced at the tightly closed door and lowered his voice. “Xiaoye, how’s Ah Qing?”

“I think he’s much better now, he should be able to make it.” Before, the elders in the village said that Li Qingzhi would definitely not survive. Not only that, the doctor she had invited also implied that Li Qingzhi wouldn’t make it. That doctor didn’t even prescribe much medicine!

A few days ago, when Li Qingzhi’s breathing was weak, Jin Xiaoye also thought he probably wouldn’t survive. But just now, Li Qingzhi woke up and even ate a bowl of noodles. Perhaps he could survive after all.

Upon hearing this, Li Laogen’s face showed bitterness. “He can make it… What are we going to do then?”

Jin Xiaoye felt something was wrong with his words. “Isn’t it a good thing that he can make it?!”

Li Laogen sighed. “With his condition, he definitely won’t be able to work in the future. We’ve just added another mouth to feed at home.” Their food was already insufficient, and now there was someone else who could only eat without working. They would probably have to drink rice soup every day in the future!

According to Li Laogen’s thoughts, Li Qingzhi didn’t need to see a doctor or take medicine back then, it would have been a waste of money.

Jin Xiaoye raised the bamboo shovel. “Aren’t you also someone who just eats without working? The money you earn is not as much as what you lose in gambling! If one day you can’t work anymore, should I let you starve to death?”

“It’s my loose lips, don’t take me seriously,” Li Laogen picked up the nearby water bucket and ran, “I’ll go water the vegetables.”

Jin Xiaoye saw Li Laogen run away and continued to fry the rice.

Li Laogen was actually much better now.

While she was grinding the rice flour, many people came to inquire about Li Qingzhi’s condition.

Li Qingzhi suddenly returned, looking like he was on the verge of death… These days, the people in Miaoqian Village had been talking about him.

Jin Xiaoye knew that these people were asking for information to spread around, but she still briefly explained the situation at home. She also mentioned the fact that Li Qingzhi hadn’t run away but had been taken away by someone to dig stones, to prevent people in the village from saying that Li Qingzhi was a fraud.

After being comforted by these people, Jin Xiaoye satisfied their curiosity and they left to tell others about the Li family’s situation.

They couldn’t help but talk about how pitiful Jin Xiaoye was. After waiting so long for her husband to come back, he returned with a weakened body. He probably wouldn’t be able to work much in the future.

But the fact that Li Qingzhi could wake up… was really remarkable!

In Miaoqian Village, it was customary for relatives and friends to give gifts when someone in a family was celebrating or mourning, and also to visit and give gifts when someone was seriously ill.

However, the gifts for visiting the sick would be relatively small, usually just two or three eggs. The flour that Jin Xiaoye made for Li Qingzhi today was given to her by her parents when they came to visit.

After grinding and frying the rice, Jin Xiaoye returned home. She glanced and saw that Li Damao and Li Ermao had already woken up and were catching insects in the field.

They had a hen and three ducks in their family, all free-range. Jin Xiaoye wanted to raise more, but letting the chickens and ducks find food on their own wasn’t enough. They needed to be fed some grains, but their family’s food was already insufficient, so they couldn’t raise more.

But now it was summer, and Li Laogen would come back from the river every day with snails to feed the ducks. The ducks not only grew fast but also didn’t need to eat grains. As for the hen… Li Damao and Li Ermao would catch insects for it when they saw them, and they would even dig up earthworms specifically for it to eat.

“Mom!” Seeing Jin Xiaoye, the two little rascals ran over, then eagerly looked at the fried rice flour she was carrying.

Jin Xiaoye said, “Damao, you go get firewood, Ermao, you go fetch water. Mom will soak rice flour for you to eat.”

Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately got busy.

Jin Xiaoye kept the food in her own room, but the firewood was kept in Li Laogen’s room. Li Damao brought the firewood, and Jin Xiaoye borrowed fire from the neighboring house and started to boil water.

After the water boiled, she scooped out some to soak three bowls of rice flour. The portions for Li Damao and Li Ermao were very small, just for them to taste, while Li Qingzhi’s portion was relatively larger.

Then, she added a bowl of rice to the pot and covered it.

During this time, she went to the side of the house and picked a handful of cowpeas. After opening the pot, she broke them into pieces and threw them in, along with a little salt. Finally, she took two eggs from the house, cracked them into the bowl, and placed the bowl on a steaming rack.

Jin Xiaoye’s hands and feet were very fast, and she quickly prepared lunch. When the rice flour cooled down, she carried it to Li Qingzhi.

Fried rice flour made from coarse rice flour naturally didn’t have the delicate texture of rice flour made from white rice.

But when Li Qingzhi tasted a mouthful of rice flour, he already felt like his heart was floating to the clouds.

The slightly charred flavor of the rice flour touched his tongue, and the taste of starch spread in his mouth…

This bowl of rice flour didn’t have any sugar added, but Li Qingzhi could taste the sweetness. He even felt that the energy brought by the rice was nourishing his body.

This rice flour was really delicious!

Seeing Li Qingzhi’s intoxicated expression, Li Damao and Li Ermao felt that the rice flour in their hands was much more fragrant than what they had eaten before.

Jin Xiaoye couldn’t help but ask, “Is it really that delicious?”

Li Qingzhi said, “Xiaoye, for the past few years, I’ve been eating rice bran and soybean dregs every day, worse than a pig…”

After the soybeans were pressed for oil, they could still be used to make tofu, and the remaining soybean dregs were usually used to feed pigs. But in the end, it became the original owner’s food.

Even eating soybean dregs was considered good. The original owner often could only eat rice bran…

But compared to him, the original owner’s diet was considered good.

The contaminated land couldn’t produce grains. What he had eaten in the last few years were things produced before the end of the world, like canned food. Not only were these foods expired and rotten, but they were also contaminated, and the taste was really terrible.

Jin Xiaoye felt even more sympathetic to her husband.

The villagers thought that Li Qingzhi, with his poor education, was a fraud, but Jin Xiaoye didn’t think Li Qingzhi was deceiving anyone.

Although he wasn’t well-educated, Li Qingzhi had indeed studied books and could read.

Moreover, when they first got married, she noticed that Li Qingzhi didn’t have calluses on his hands and feet… Before Li Qingzhi, he should have lived quite well.

Indeed, Li Qingzhi was very particular in his daily life, unlike the villagers.

However, after not seeing him for a few years, the once meticulous Li Qingzhi had become like this…

After Li Qingzhi finished the rice flour, Jin Xiaoye went out with the bowl, not giving Li Qingzhi a chance to lick the bottom of the bowl.

Shortly after, Jin Xiaoye came back with a bowl of porridge. Since the two children didn’t eat enough rice flour, she added some porridge to their bowls and sat on a small stool beside the bed to eat.

Li Qingzhi glanced and found that they were eating cowpea porridge, which was cowpeas cooked with coarse rice.

Oh right, the people in Miaoqian Village called cowpeas crony beans.

Cowpeas! This was a vegetable!

Li Qingzhi watched Jin Xiaoye eat eagerly.

Unable to resist, Jin Xiaoye asked, “Are you still hungry?”

“I want to taste some cowpeas,” Li Qingzhi said.

Hearing this, Jin Xiaoye picked up a cowpea from her own bowl and brought it to Li Qingzhi’s mouth.

Cowpeas boiled directly in water didn’t have much flavor, but the original taste of the plant itself was already delicious!

This was a vegetable!

Li Qingzhi slowly savored it, then realized that the brown rice he ate with it was very hard, indicating it wasn’t cooked through.

He was about to ask Jin Xiaoye why she didn’t cook it longer when he quickly realized the reason.

Miaoqian Village was located in a plain area with no forests, not even a grove of trees.

The only things that farmers could use as firewood were rice straw and mulberry branches, which weren’t enough for burning. Everyone had to conserve firewood.

Ancient farmers really had a tough life.

Li Qingzhi thought so, and Li Damao came over, also picked up a string bean and fed it to him.

Li Qingzhi ate it and praised, “Damao is really obedient.”

Li Ermao immediately also picked up a string bean and gave it to Li Qingzhi, saying, “Dad, you eat!”

Li Qingzhi immediately said, “Ermao is obedient too!”

Jin Xiaoye was busy with the family’s livelihood all day long and didn’t praise the children much. Li Damao and Li Ermao were especially excited to receive praise. They held their bowls, wishing they could feed all the food in their bowls to Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi quickly said, “Dad is full and can’t eat anymore.” He couldn’t compete with the two children for food.

“You’re full? Then save these two eggs for when you’re hungry again.” Jin Xiaoye handed two steamed eggs to Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi’s mouth was watering… He wasn’t full, he could still eat!