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After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the sweltering heat finally faded away, leaving the weather noticeably cooler. The mornings and evenings were crisp, while the afternoons still retained some warmth, making extra clothing unnecessary. Everyone wore long sleeves, which was just right, especially since working outdoors often left them sweating; the cooler air was actually quite refreshing.
Ye Xin took out the duck eggs she had bought, which totaled around thirty from two trips. They sat neatly in a bamboo basket, untouched as she had been saving them to pickle into salty duck eggs.
Duck eggs had a stronger taste compared to chicken eggs, making them less enjoyable when fried or boiled. The only preparation method she was familiar with was pickling them, which resulted in rich, oily yolks. She loved that flavor but had never pickled eggs herself.
Turning to Shen Zhuo, she asked, “Do you know how to pickle duck eggs?”
Shen Zhuo shook his head. “I’ve never pickled before.”
Ye Xin didn’t feel disappointed. “That’s okay; I can just ask an auntie for help. They know everything!”
Shen Zhuo admired her resourcefulness. He often felt too shy to ask for help himself, but the aunties they worked with had clearly become her life mentors, eager to share their knowledge.
During work, Ye Xin intentionally approached Lin Meihua and Wu Lili, inquiring about the pickling process. As soon as she asked, the aunties eagerly began to share their wisdom, filling the air with lively chatter.
Lin Meihua explained, “First, make sure the duck eggs are fresh—not boiled, not spoiled, and definitely not cracked. Wash them thoroughly and then leave them in the sun to dry!”
Ye Xin immediately asked, “Why do we need to dry them in the sun?”
Wu Lili chimed in, “Drying helps the eggs release oil. When they’re properly pickled, the yolk will be rich and oily, which is what makes them delicious! You can skip drying, but then you won’t get as much oil.”
Ye Xin opted for the sun drying; she wanted that rich yolk. “How long do they need to dry?”
Wu Lili replied, “It depends on the weather. If it’s hot like it was before, half an hour is enough. Now that it’s cooler, you can leave them out a bit longer, but don’t go over an hour since the midday sun can be pretty harsh.”
Ye Xin nodded, noting down the information. “What comes next after drying?”
Lin Meihua took over, “After drying, you can start pickling! Boil some water with salt, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, and bay leaves. You don’t need a lot of spices; it’s mainly about making them salty. Just use plenty of salt! Place the duck eggs in a clean jar, pour in the cooled brine, and add a splash of white liquor until the eggs are submerged.”
Curious, Ye Xin asked, “Why add white liquor?”
Lin Meihua paused, caught off guard by the question. “I’m not entirely sure. I’ve just always seen it done this way at home. I haven’t pickled since I got married.”
Wu Lili filled in the gap, “It helps the oiliness, too.” While she understood it was beneficial, she couldn’t quite explain how.
Ye Xin picked up on the fact that the two aunties knew the method but lacked the deeper understanding of the process. She redirected her question, “How long until we can eat them?”
Lin Meihua answered, “Store the sealed jar in a cool, dark place for a month. After that, they’re ready to boil and eat! Just don’t leave them too long; they’ll get saltier over time.”
Ye Xin nodded eagerly. “Got it! Thank you both so much!”
Lin Meihua waved her hand dismissively. “It’s nothing, really. Just sharing some tips.”
Wu Lili smiled, “You’re always asking us; it makes us feel knowledgeable! Otherwise, we’re just simple housewives without much to offer.”
Ye Xin quickly replied, “The practical skills you aunties share are the real knowledge for living well! There’s a saying I learned in school: ‘Knowledge gained from books is shallow; true understanding comes from practice.’ It means that some things can’t just be learned from reading; you have to experience them to truly know. If I hadn’t gone to the countryside to help out, I’d be just another bookworm. Now, I’ve learned so much from you all!”
Her heartfelt words resonated with the women, leaving them feeling appreciated, while those nearby turned to glance at the bright young woman, noting how she was becoming more eloquent by the day.
Wu Lili chuckled, “No wonder you’re a youth worker; you speak more knowledgeably than us!”
Lin Meihua’s curiosity piqued, she asked, “Ye, did you buy duck eggs?”
Ye Xin explained, “I went to the market before the Mid-Autumn Festival and realized it had been a while since I’d eaten meat. I was really craving it, but meat is so expensive, and I didn’t have any tickets. Then I saw some fellow villagers selling duck eggs, so I bought about ten. I haven’t pickled them yet.”
Lin Meihua was satisfied with the information. “That’s not too surprising, just a few dozen duck eggs. They’ll be great pickled, and you can enjoy them next month.”
Their lively conversation attracted the attention of others nearby, including a few young women who listened intently from start to finish.
Liu Hongxia sighed with envy, “She’s already eating salted duck eggs! Her life just keeps getting better.”
Zheng Wenwen shot her a glance. “What’s the big deal? They’re just salted duck eggs. If you want something good, we should eat meat!”
Jiang Jingyu added, “I heard Shen Zhuo is going up the mountain to gather herbs to sell. That might be where the money is coming from.”
Wang Xiaowei sighed, “I still have some meat tickets. Maybe I’ll use them soon, and we can improve our meals a bit.”
When noon arrived, Ye Xin barely had time to eat before she took the duck eggs out to wash.
Shen Zhuo, who had been listening in the morning, offered, “I’ll help.”
“Great! Grab a loofah sponge, and we can wash them together while it’s still noon,” Ye Xin replied.
Shen Zhuo fetched a loofah sponge. This sponge didn’t require planting; there were plenty of them around the village, and people typically saved them for washing dishes, making them quite useful.
Together, they scrubbed the duck eggs clean in the courtyard before laying them out to dry. Afterward, they settled for a quick meal, opting for the leftover mooncakes and fruits since it wasn’t a busy time in the fields.
After their brief lunch, they didn’t have time to pickle the eggs yet, so they put them away for later. It wasn’t until evening, after work, that they finally pickled the eggs, placing them in a large glass jar Ye Xin had bought before and storing it in the corner of the living room.
That evening, Ye Xin entered her special space to continue her tasks.
The vegetable garden was thriving with an abundance of produce that she couldn’t possibly consume alone. There was no need for her to work hard at planting for now. Without any weeds to manage, she could simply harvest what was ripe, dry it, or pickle it. She had thoughts of making tomato sauce but realized it would be too troublesome. Instead, she decided to enjoy the tomatoes as fruit.
The rice she had planted was growing strong and healthy.
Now, she prepared to plant corn. Previously, when the production team was growing corn and sweet potatoes, she had secretly brought three of each back, and they had matured, though she hadn’t had time to harvest them before. Now that she had some free time, she dug up the sweet potatoes and harvested the corn.
Surprisingly, three sweet potato vines yielded a whole basket of plump, reddish tubers. She planned to store them in the granary and only take some out to eat when she wanted. She didn’t intend to plant sweet potatoes again since Shen Zhuo had already grown a patch in the outdoor garden, which was more than enough.
Sweet potatoes were best when roasted, though these weren’t the sweet varieties that were easy to get tired of. She suspected that the widely popular sweet potato varieties hadn’t been cultivated yet.
She harvested six ears of corn, which were all mature enough to be used as seed. Young corn was delicious, and grinding it into flour for pancakes was equally tasty; she planned to plant a larger patch.
However, corn wouldn’t be her main food source; she still preferred rice as her staple. Instead, she intended to use it for animal feed.
She envisioned raising poultry and livestock, such as chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and pigs.
The experience of selling vegetables had taught her that to make money, she needed to produce items with higher economic value; otherwise, it would be difficult to earn enough to cover daily expenses. Raising chickens and ducks would not only satisfy her hunger but also save some money.
However, raising livestock required a substantial amount of feed, so she chose a portion of her remaining land to plant corn—half for corn and half for raising small animals like chickens and ducks. Thus, her fifth plot of land was planned out accordingly.
The next morning at breakfast, Ye Xin asked Shen Zhuo, “Can we raise chickens and ducks now?”
Shen Zhuo looked a bit surprised. “Yes, but not too many for each household.”
“What are the regulations? Tell me about them, along with the rules for raising cattle, sheep, and pigs,” Ye Xin pressed.
Shen Zhuo shared what he knew. Currently, families could still raise small poultry, depending on the household size. Generally, the limit was ten birds per household; more than that counted as large-scale farming, which only farms could do. In their village, chickens were the most common, followed by ducks, while geese were rare and rabbits were almost nonexistent.
As for cows, sheep, and pigs, those were still collectively raised; individual families did not keep them.
He explained that besides the regulations, there was also the issue of feed. Most families still struggled to fill their stomachs, and if there were too many poultry or livestock, it would become a burden rather than a benefit.
After his explanation, Shen Zhuo asked, “Are you planning to raise chickens and ducks?”
Ye Xin nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Raising a few will be easy.”
Shen Zhuo thought about the size of their backyard garden and nodded in agreement. “Since we grow a lot of vegetables, we can feed a few.”
Ye Xin smiled and asked, “Let’s start with some chicks. Where do we get them?”
“There’s an old lady in the village, Grandma Wu. She usually hatches chicks, and anyone who wants them buys from her,” Shen Zhuo replied.
“Let’s go check with her after work today. If she has some, we should buy them early. How do we pay?” Ye Xin asked.
“You can pay with cash or trade for grains,” Shen Zhuo said.
After work that day, they headed to Grandma Wu’s house. She lived at the east end of the village, and her home was quite crowded. When they arrived, they saw her holding a basket of eggs up to the light, inspecting them for fertilization.
They approached her and quickly explained their purpose.
Grandma Wu, with her white hair and over sixty years of life experience, was still very lively and well-kept. After hearing their request, she shook her head. “I don’t have any available right now; this batch has all been reserved. If you want some, you’ll have to wait until next month.”
Ye Xin was taken aback by how popular the chicks were; they were gone even before hatching. But considering how difficult it was to get meat and eggs these days, it made sense that people would prefer to trade locally.
She quickly replied, “We’ll take five.” She had already learned that two people could raise up to five chickens.
Grandma Wu gave her a knowing look. “If you want them, I’ll give you one rooster and four hens. When they hatch next month, you can trade five pounds of rice for them.”
Ye Xin found this arrangement acceptable and nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you so much!”
Grandma Wu waved them off. “Just come back when they’re ready, and I’ll let you know.”
The two of them walked back up the hill, feeling lighter on their feet.
As they made their way home, Ye Xin calculated that by next month, their corn would also be ready, so they wouldn’t have to worry about feeding the chicks. The thought of collecting eggs made her heart race with excitement, lifting her spirits and quickening her steps.
Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but feel uplifted by her enthusiasm as well.