Chapter 8: Multiple Vegetables

Shen Zhuo had originally planned to leave now and return before nightfall, hoping to gather as many herbs as possible. They had no dry food at home, but he thought that if they got hungry, they’d just have to endure it for a while.

However, when he saw Ye Xin preparing to go with him, he was momentarily caught off guard.

Ye Xin quickly grabbed a basket. His family had two or three of them, all still in usable condition, though a bit worn. There was only one hoe, so she decided to leave that behind. After taking a few quick gulps of water, she hurried up to him, saying, “Let’s go!”

Shen Zhuo sighed inwardly, thinking, Fine, if she gets hungry, we’ll just head back early.

After locking the gate, he led her through the vegetable garden behind the house, making their way up the small mountain path.

This path was the one his father had previously carved to the mountain. It had been over a month since they last used it, and the summer grass and vegetation had grown so wildly that it was almost unrecognizable.

Shen Zhuo took out a machete from his basket, preparing to cut back the new growth. If he didn’t trim it now, the plants would only grow thicker in time.

Ye Xin took the initiative and grabbed the hoe. She glanced at his basket, noticing a sickle in there too—his tools were well-prepared.

They made their way slowly, clearing the path as they went. The new branches were easy to manage, and they didn’t take much effort to clear.

When she saw that he wasn’t busy, Ye Xin spoke up, “In the future, can you let me know when you’re going out?”

Shen Zhuo remained silent, walking ahead without responding.

Ye Xin frowned, feeling frustrated. “We live in the same courtyard. Is it too much to ask that we tell each other when we’re going somewhere? If someone comes asking, I wouldn’t even know where you’ve gone. That’s strange, don’t you think?”

Only after hearing her did Shen Zhuo grunt in response, “I got it.”

The truth was, he hadn’t wanted her to know he was going to gather herbs, which is why he hadn’t said anything.

Now that she knew and had come along, there was no real point in keeping it a secret. A simple heads-up wouldn’t hurt.

They walked up the slope and down into a valley. The forest here was thick, with the towering trees blocking out the sun, though the air was still hot and humid.

Ye Xin wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and noticed Shen Zhuo stop ahead of her, studying a plant with long, slender leaves.

She hurried forward, dragging the hoe along, and asked curiously, “Did you find a medicinal herb?”

“Mm,” Shen Zhuo answered, taking the hoe from her hands and starting to dig.

“What’s it called?” Ye Xin asked, stepping back a little, her curiosity piqued. “Teach me, I want to learn too.”

Shen Zhuo quickly dug up the herb, shaking off the soil before holding it up. He looked at her eager expression and finally explained, “This is Bai Qian, also known as Shui Liu. Its root is used in medicine to stop coughing.”

Ye Xin immediately repeated the information in her mind and carefully examined the plant, trying to memorize it.

This was knowledge—knowledge she could use to make money! She was determined to learn.

She hadn’t expected Shen Zhuo to be so familiar with finding and harvesting herbs. It seemed like he must have grown up learning it from his father. She wondered if he’d be interested in studying more. When the college entrance exams resumed, it might not be a bad idea for him to pursue a degree in traditional medicine.

Shen Zhuo tossed the Bai Qian into his basket and continued forward, and Ye Xin hurried to keep up.

A little later, they came across a plant with pink flowers and jagged-edged leaves. Shen Zhuo stopped again.

“This is a medicinal herb too, isn’t it? What’s it called?” Ye Xin asked.

“Bu Gu Zhi,” Shen Zhuo answered.

Ye Xin reached out to touch it, but Shen Zhuo quickly stopped her. “Only the fruit of Bu Gu Zhi is used in medicine. The flowers just bloomed, so we’ll have to wait a few months before we can harvest it.”

“Oh,” Ye Xin muttered, retracting her hand reluctantly.

They encountered a vine plant next, and Shen Zhuo pulled out his sickle to cut the vine, coiling it into a circle and placing it in the basket.

“What’s this one?” Ye Xin asked.

“Ding Gong Vine,” Shen Zhuo explained. “It’s used to treat rheumatism and numbness. You can make it into a medicinal wine mixed with other herbs…”

Ye Xin asked question after question, like a thirsty student eager to learn, and by the time they were done, she had absorbed a wealth of knowledge about medicinal herbs. Shen Zhuo, for his part, shared everything he knew, gradually filling his basket with herbs.

They rested under a tree for a while.

Ye Xin rubbed her stomach, feeling hungry. But the sun was still high in the sky, so she guessed it was still early. She asked, “Are there no wild fruits on the mountain?”

Shen Zhuo knew she was hungry, and honestly, he was hungry too. He said, “Let’s head back.”

Ye Xin hesitated, “It’s still early. Why don’t we gather a few more herbs?”

Shen Zhuo shook his head. “It’s getting late. We’ve walked quite far, and it’ll take us a while to get back.”

Ye Xin sighed and gave up on the idea. With renewed enthusiasm, she said, “Let’s go! Let’s head back and stir-fry the meat!”

As they walked back, the sun started to set, casting a golden-red glow over everything. Ye Xin’s stomach growled loudly, and she hurried to pick up her pace.

When they reached the courtyard, Shen Zhuo first took out a large basket and spread the herbs out to dry on top of a pile of firewood in the corner, where there was still a bit of sunlight.

Ye Xin, meanwhile, went to get the meat. It was nice and cool, and after checking it with a sniff, she confirmed it was still good.

Shen Zhuo went to fetch water to wash up, his face and hands covered in dirt from the day’s work.

Ye Xin was craving meat, but she didn’t want to handle it, not wanting to get her hands greasy. So, she casually handed him the entire basket. “You cut the meat,” she said.

Shen Zhuo didn’t refuse. He fetched a bucket of water for her to use, then took the basket and headed toward the kitchen.

Ye Xin slowly washed her face and hands. The mountain was full of mosquitoes, and those pesky branches and leaves kept scratching her skin, leaving thin red lines that burned when sweat trickled over them.

She looked at her rough hands and sun-darkened skin, and couldn’t help but sigh.

Forget it, forget it. In hard times like these, who cares about being fair-skinned? The important thing is to get enough to eat!

She walked into the kitchen and saw the meat still sitting on the table, uncut. Shen Zhuo had started the fire and was washing rice, with two familiar sweet potatoes nearby.

Ye Xin’s eyes lit up, and she hurried forward, “I think tonight we should have dry rice!”

Shen Zhuo hesitated, “We don’t have enough grains…”

Ye Xin shook her head and retorted, “We were never going to have enough, no matter how much we try to save. So why not enjoy a good meal? We’ve got meat, so no need to cook porridge!”

She added, “Once we eat, we’ll figure it out. The production team won’t just watch us starve to death, right? And we’ve been up the mountain gathering herbs today—we’re bound to make some money!”

With that, she tossed the two sweet potatoes back into the sack in the corner of the room.

Enough of that! Out of sight, out of mind!

Shen Zhuo finally gave in. He washed the rice and put it into the pot, adding extra water.

Ye Xin widened her eyes, “Aren’t we not making porridge anymore? Why are you adding so much water?”

Shen Zhuo was momentarily confused, but then he remembered she wasn’t from the area. He pointed to a mesh strainer hanging on the wall and explained, “We need more water to scoop it out.”

Ye Xin blinked for a moment. She understood now. The strainer was clearly used to separate the food from the broth, much like a sieve.

It felt a bit surreal to her. Her mind kept going back to the days when cooking was as simple as using an electric rice cooker, and now… well, the difference was like being transported to another era.

She nodded. “Alright, but you remember to cut the meat. I’ll go pick some oil-leaf lettuce from the garden out back.”

In the backyard, aside from sweet potato leaves, the only thing that could be harvested was oil-leaf lettuce.

As she picked the leaves, she suddenly remembered she had meant to buy some garlic. But, well… who would spend money on garlic in the countryside? It made more sense to grow it herself. Maybe she could ask one of the older women in the village if they had extra. Though, thinking about it, nobody really liked her these days. Asking for favors might be difficult.

After picking and washing the vegetables, she returned to the kitchen to find Shen Zhuo had already cut the meat. There was a whole plateful—quite a lot.

She couldn’t wait to eat the meat, but the rice wasn’t ready yet. So she settled in to wait patiently.

While waiting, she suggested, “We finished early today. After we eat, let’s go till the vegetable garden. We should plant some seeds, or else there won’t be anything to harvest in a few months.”

Shen Zhuo simply nodded.

Soon, the rice was done, and Ye Xin eagerly watched how it was scooped. It was exactly what she had expected: using the strainer to scoop the rice out of the pot, separating the fluffy white grains from the water. Once the water had drained, they transferred the rice to a smaller pot used for porridge.

After scooping out the rice, they saved the leftover rice water in another pot, which could be drunk as a broth—or simply discarded if they didn’t want it.

Finally, it was time for the exciting part: frying the meat!

Sizzle, sizzle… The pork belly still had a good amount of fat, so they needed to cook out the oil first. The delicious aroma quickly filled the air, but it also splattered grease everywhere, which was a little dangerous.

Shen Zhuo said the oil splattering was because of the pigskin.

Ye Xin couldn’t help but remind him to be careful. She then rushed into the main room, grabbed the small ceramic jar she had bought that morning, and used it to collect the rendered pork fat.

Surprisingly, the jar was half full. It looked like they had enough fat to fry a few more dishes.

The sizzling, golden-brown pork belly was fragrant beyond words. If their house weren’t on a slope with no neighbors nearby, she was sure the kids next door would be drooling.

Even the simple oil-leaf lettuce, fried with the pork fat, looked bright and glossy. It was a far cry from the overcooked, bland version they’d had before—it actually looked appetizing.

As for the rice, it had a slightly different texture than what she remembered from an electric rice cooker—lighter and fluffier. Ye Xin thought it was quite good.

After so many days here, they finally had a proper meal, and Ye Xin felt tears of gratitude welling up in her eyes.

She ate happily, but didn’t forget to encourage Shen Zhuo to eat as well, saying, “You drove me to buy the meat, you reminded me to buy it, and you cooked it—so you deserve to eat more!”

Though he had originally intended not to indulge, Shen Zhuo ended up eating quite a bit.

By the end of the meal, both of them were completely satisfied—and a little too full.

It was the perfect time to head out to the garden and loosen the soil, burning off some of that fullness.

In those days, there were strict rules about personal plots of land, with each person only getting a small portion. Shen Zhuo’s family’s plot wasn’t even big enough to meet their needs. Since they lived on the hillside, the land was hard to cultivate, and it was barren and unproductive. His father and he hadn’t been very skilled at farming, so things had always been a bit haphazard.

They spent some time loosening the soil in a small section of the garden. By the time they finished, it was almost dark. They decided not to plant anything tonight but to let the soil dry out, and plant the seeds tomorrow or the day after.

Afterward, they went inside to wash up.

Ye Xin had decided to make the most of the space in the backyard, planting a variety of vegetables. If they couldn’t eat them all, they could take them to the town and sell them. It would be a good way to make use of the land—and could even serve as a cover for other activities.

She hadn’t started planting yet, but she was already planning ahead!