Chapter 14: The Present Dilemma

Wen Jiajia slept deeply that night. When she woke up, it was already afternoon, and she heard the sound of the team members working outside the house.

The sun fell on the patio, so she took out the quilt to dry. After the sun warmed it, she beat it vigorously with a wooden stick to make it comfortable to sleep in.

Maybe because she had slept well, her mood wasn’t so low, and she finally felt better and had the heart to think about eating.

The yellow eel caught a few days ago was still alive. To be precise, it was half-dead, lacking spirit, so it had to be killed and eaten quickly.

How to make yellow eel easy and delicious?

Cooking porridge, of course.

She loved making soup and porridge and was familiar with many porridge recipes.

Yellow eel porridge wasn’t difficult to make well. As long as the eel was fresh, it would be hard to mess up.

Wen Jiajia took out the casserole she had just bought, cleaned it several times, and then put it on the charcoal fire.

The simple stone stove in the backyard had not been dismantled yet, so it was just enough to install the casserole there.

After killing the eel, she washed it, added salt and ginger, and marinated it in yellow wine. She washed the rice twice more and soaked it in clean water.

In the past, she would add salt and cooking oil to the rice, but now the conditions were simple, so she naturally kept it simple.

The freshly slaughtered eel would still move at this time, and Wen Jiajia suddenly remembered that the last time she had eel was at a hot pot restaurant. She couldn’t help but feel greedy and swallowed her saliva.

Living here, it was distressing to think that she wouldn’t have a chance with hot butter hot pot for the next ten years. She missed the packets of hot pot ingredients in her refrigerator.

The sun shifted and gradually left the backyard.

When the charcoal fire was in full swing, the eel was also marinated. She scooped a spoonful of oil into the casserole, and when the oil was hot, she put the eel in and fried it.

Boiling water should be poured in next.

However, there was no thermos at home, so Wen Jiajia could only scoop some hot water from the pot and pour it in.

The water boiled, the eel was removed, and the soaked rice and shredded ginger were added to the pot. The rice used to cook the porridge was important, and it was best to use japonica rice.

This kind of rice was mostly produced in the north, and in her previous life, she would ask someone to buy rice from the rice-producing base to cook porridge. She had tried rice from several regions and finally felt that the northeast side was the best.

But locally, they grew indica rice. Indica rice is long and not as sticky as japonica rice. It makes delicious dry rice but average porridge.

The conditions were limited, so she didn’t pick and choose.

When the rice was in the pot, the porridge was more than half done.

The sunlight completely withdrew from the backyard, and the wilted weeds seemed to be slowly perking up. Even the wind blowing from the distant mountains carried a hint of coolness.

Wen Jiajia sat on a chair and slowly picked off the meat from the eel’s body.

After picking, she went to the vegetable field to gather some vegetables and, by the way, picked and washed all the vegetables for tomorrow morning.

The water from the mountain wall kept seeping out. It was cold and biting, so she didn’t dare to wash it too much, and she finished after washing twice.

Wen Jiajia pondered that her current top priority was to find a way to get some medicine and solve the menstrual pain in this body.

If not completely solved, at least half of it needed to be managed. Otherwise, what was the meaning of life?

Time flew quickly. Birds returned to the forest, and the sunset arrived as scheduled.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan came back earlier today. When they returned, they went straight to the kitchen and were relieved to see Wen Jiajia in the backyard.

Wen Jiajia felt funny and beckoned to them. “What kind of expression do you have? Afraid I’ll eat you?”

Wen Chun walked over boldly, her voice soft. “Auntie, do you still want to cry?”

Wen Jiajia glared and said, “Don’t talk nonsense, when did I cry?” Just kidding, she was a steel girl. Even if she cried, she wouldn’t do it in front of people.

Wen Chun’s tense little face finally relaxed. Knowing that Wen Jiajia was in a good mood at the moment, she boldly moved closer to her.

Wen Jiajia felt her heart soften and beckoned Wen Xuan to come over too, then kneaded the faces of the two girls.

Last night and today, the two little ones must have been very scared.

Wen Xuan seemed genuinely worried about her. She didn’t even care about the hot porridge bubbling in front of her. She lay on Wen Jiajia’s body and said seriously, “Auntie, don’t leave like our mother. If you don’t cry, I will cry.”

Wen Jiajia nodded, feeling a mix of anger, humor, and sadness well up in her throat.

She was speechless and choked up.

Children can understand death, seeing it as someone “gone” and never to be seen again.

But isn’t it true? Death is just not seeing each other again.

When the porridge finished cooking, it was thicker than porridge cooked in an iron pot.

Wen Jiajia mashed the eel meat and poured it into the pot, added the chopped vegetables, and a little salt, and waited for the vegetables to simmer before serving.

As it grew dark, she could occasionally hear village aunts calling their children back to eat.

Wen Jiajia took out the steamed buns she had prepped earlier, intending to eat them with the porridge.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were visibly excited, exclaiming in unison, “Auntie, buns!”

Wen Jiajia was surprised, “You two know about steamed buns? Have you eaten them before?”

Wen Chun nodded, holding her bowl tightly with both hands. “Grandma made steamed buns for us.”

Wen Xuan added, “With bamboo shoots!”

Wen Jiajia understood. The original owner’s mother had made bamboo shoot-stuffed buns not long ago.

However, it wasn’t the season for fresh bamboo shoots, so the buns were probably made with dried bamboo shoots. She did find a sack of dried bamboo shoots in the attic.

Bamboo forests were abundant locally, so bamboo shoots were plentiful.

In the county town and many communes, bamboo factories or bamboo shoot factories had been established. It was said that the bamboo shoot factory in the county had more than 200 workers.

For a bamboo shoot factory, 200 workers was already considered large scale. The products could be sold not only to nearby counties and cities but also to provincial capitals. This made it easier for locals to earn extra money.

Every bamboo shoot season, people from the village would go up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots, then sell them to buyers who came to the countryside. In a year, they could earn more than ten yuan just from bamboo shoots.

Of course, more than ten yuan was the income of an entire family. It was still an income only a family with a strong workforce could achieve.

For a family like Wen Jiajia’s now, it was impossible to earn that money. It was better to hope for more food at the end of the year.

Because of the buns, the eel porridge wasn’t as attractive to the two children.

Wen Jiajia thought they didn’t know how to appreciate good food, but she couldn’t resist eating a bun herself.

The bun was the size of an adult’s fist, and the two girls ate them up quickly, even drinking a small half bowl of porridge.

Wen Jiajia felt worried when she touched their round stomachs, concerned they might suffer indigestion overnight. She found a small half jar of hawthorn cake in the original owner’s parents’ room and let them eat a few pieces to help digestion.

It’s hard to keep secrets in the countryside.

Whoever drilled the straw stack, who stole the neighbor’s chicken, who talked to whom—these things couldn’t be hidden from the team members.

Since the day of the fight, the brigade and commune people seemed to know about Wei Dai sending her back.

This was normal. After all, everyone was working at the time, and there were fields on both sides of the road with no place to hide.

But because of this, people didn’t say that Wen San and Wei Dai were a couple. Now, they didn’t pay much attention to such matters.

Like a few old intellectuals, when they first came to the village six years ago, there was no educated youth academy, and they slept in old houses at the end of the village.

That year, there was heavy snow, and one house collapsed in the middle of the night. Because it was dark and the snowy roads were dangerous, the educated youths didn’t report to the village cadres. Men and women lived together that night, calling it revolutionary friendship.

If someone carried a journey, what could this be?

—

The fourth day of the seventh lunar month marked the beginning of autumn.

As the saying goes, with the arrival of autumn comes a cool breeze and chirping cicadas.

The leaves of the paulownia trees by the road began to turn yellow, and the trees gradually filled out. If any naughty child picked them, they would be scolded by adults.

Wen Jiajia was also teaching Wen Chun and Wen Xuan. She pointed to the paulownia tree at their door and said, “You are three years old now, big kids. You must not eat wild fruits outside. Understand? Especially the fruit from that tree. If you bite it, you’ll have to go to the hospital! Your stomach will hurt, and you won’t be able to eat meat or sweets.”

Wen Chun frowned, touched her stomach, and promised, “I definitely won’t eat it.”

Wen Xuan, feeling a bit guilty, grabbed her sister’s hand and nodded eagerly, “I’m the same as my sister.”

She didn’t eat it either.

Of course, she still had to eat fried in August.

And the little hairy peaches too.

Wen Jiajia felt slightly relieved. Paulownia seeds are very poisonous. In her previous life, she had seen a child who ate them and had to go to the hospital for stomach pumping. It was bitter and painful.

“Jingle bell—”

A bicycle bell rang.

Wen Jiajia looked up and saw Wei Dai.

She was stunned for a moment, blinked, stood up, and went to the door. “Why did you come to our Fuyang Brigade?”

Wei Dai sighed, “To deliver fish.”

Wen Jiajia understood instantly. Because of the nearby river, Hegou Township could catch a lot of fish each year.

These fish were not only kept for themselves but also traded with nearby communes.

Wen Jiajia smiled, “Then the commune supply and marketing cooperatives have sold fish recently.” Thinking of something, her face changed, and she felt discouraged. There were fish, but she didn’t have a ticket to buy any.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan also ran out at this time, staring at the bicycle with wide eyes.

This bike, they had seen Xiaogang touch it.

They wanted to touch it too, but Xiaogang wouldn’t let them.

“Are these your two nieces?” Wei Dai asked, looking at the two girls. “They look a bit like you.”

Wen Jiajia nodded, “That’s normal. But did you have something to ask me?”

Wei Dai immediately said, “Yes, I wanted to ask if you could spare a few catties of bitter trees.”

Wen Jiajia frowned, puzzled. “Bitter trees? Do I have them at home? I don’t know what they are.”

Wei Dai explained, “It’s Kuzhuzi. An aunt in your village told me your family has it. She said your mother picked a lot last year. If it’s convenient, I’d like to ask you for some.”

Wen Jiajia gestured for him to come in. “Why don’t you come in and find it yourself? I don’t know what that is.”

The dry goods were all stored in the attic, and there was indeed a lot of food she hadn’t seen before.

Wei Dai thought for a moment and then went in.

The house was very clean. The hall floor was covered with stone slabs, and there wasn’t even any dust in the cracks.

There was a bamboo chair next to the hall and a small wooden table beside it, with two newspapers and a pen on top.

Wei Dai suddenly remembered what he had just heard from the commune: Wen Jiajia was a high school student.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Are you looking for a job?”

Wen Jiajia led the way, taking him up the stairs. She turned around and spread her hands after hearing his question. “I said, Comrade Wei, how difficult it is to find a job now. It’s not something I can find just because I’m ready to look for it.”

The attic was dark until Wen Jiajia pushed open the door to the small room. Wei Dai said, “There are very few high school students in the commune. If you target the commune, there should be a suitable job.”

Wen Jiajia corrected him, “There are very few middle and high school students in the commune.”

There weren’t many high school students in those positions in the commune.

The Ministry of Communes had an establishment, and in a few decades, it would be a county government civil servant. Nowadays, the lowest-ranked cadres were high school students, many were secondary school students, and even some were college students.

The broadcasting room, health center, and animal husbandry station under the Ministry of Commune required technical skills.

She might be able to get a job in the broadcasting room, but the announcers there were already highly qualified, and the positions were full. Even the temporary workers were eager to become permanent.

The most likely job for her now was at the commune school. But as far as she knew, the school wouldn’t recruit new teachers until the year after, and the competition would include educated youths from various brigades.

Wen Jiajia wasn’t a normal student, and she wasn’t confident about standing out in a talent-filled progressive commune.

The small room had the only glass window in the house. Sunlight from the terrace shone through, making the room very bright.

There were large and small bags and bamboo baskets piled up on the floor. Wen Jiajia began to search based on Wei Dai’s description.

“As soon as you said it looked like a chestnut, I had a little impression.” She buried her head and said, “I was wondering if such a small thing was meant to string bracelets. It turns out it’s bitter oak.”

She hadn’t eaten it before, so she decided to try it later.

Wei Dai helped her search, and they soon found the sack full of bitter oak.

Wen Jiajia dusted off her hands. “Take as much as you want. It’ll offset the buns from a few days ago.”

Wei Dai wasn’t polite. He scooped out five scoops with a bamboo scoop, which weighed about five or six catties. Then he put the other sacks back in place and went downstairs with Wen Jiajia.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were still playing in the yard, running around the bicycle.

Seeing Wei Dai, the sisters stopped and didn’t dare move, a little nervous, fearing he would know they had just touched the bicycle.

Wei Dai smiled, took out a handful of candy from his pocket, and gave it to Wen Chun. “Share it with your sister.”

Wen Chun swallowed her saliva but didn’t dare take it, looking at Wen Jiajia for approval. After Wen Jiajia nodded, she happily took it and whispered, “Thank you, uncle.”

Wen Jiajia saw him off and asked suspiciously, “How did you know they are my nieces?”

Wei Dai touched his nose. He couldn’t say he had watched her educate them before entering the door.

Wen Jiajia saw he didn’t speak and didn’t know what to say, so she said, “Well… goodbye?”

She put her hands in her pockets, as if waiting for him to leave.

Wei Dai pursed his lips, got on the bike, but didn’t pedal. He turned his head to look at her and said, “Is it convenient to ask you a question?”

Wen Jiajia was stunned, looked around, and nodded when she saw no one. “Convenient.”

Wei Dai hesitated for a moment and said, “Do you want to go on a blind date with me or…?”

“Oh no, uh, wait…” Wen Jiajia’s expression was complicated, and she controlled herself from covering her face. “I just don’t think it’s suitable to talk about marriage right now.”

She knew it!

She knew Aunt Tian had mentioned this to Wei Dai!