Chapter 73: Radish Dumpling Soup, Time to Go Home!

Before long, they arrived at the construction site.

The snowfall had made the work even more difficult. Everyone hunched their shoulders against the cold, their hands trembling as they shoveled dirt through the snow.

Each shovel dug up a mix of half soil, half snow, quickly turning into muddy slush.

Huang Dalian struggled to make out faces in the wind and snow. After a moment, she finally spotted the people from Liujiawan Village.

“Laifu! Laifu! Stop working! Get everyone to come and have something warm to drink!”

Liu Laifu was shoveling dirt, slipping with every step. In a daze, he thought he heard his wife’s voice. Looking around, he saw four figures pushing through the wind and snow.

“Dalian is here! My wife is here! Everyone, stop working! She brought us hot tea!”

The villagers from Liujiawan immediately put down their tools and gathered around.

Huang Dalian glared at her husband, whose hair was dusted white with snow, and her anger flared.

“You fool! Where’s your hat?! In this freezing weather, are you trying to lose your head to frostbite?!”

Liu Laifu shrank back at her scolding. “Well, it’s just that… that new educated youth, Cai Mingcheng, his ears and face got frostbitten. I felt bad for him…”

Huang Dalian turned and saw Cai Mingcheng among the crowd. The sheepskin hat on his head clearly belonged to her husband.

Hearing the conversation, Cai Mingcheng immediately apologized, “I’m sorry! I’ll return it to Big Brother right away!”

Huang Dalian took one look at his frostbitten red nose and pale face, then sighed. She pressed down on his hands, stopping him from removing the hat.

“Don’t take it off. The sudden change from cold to warm will just make you sick.”

Cai Mingcheng’s eyes turned red as he nodded, touched by her kindness.

Liu Guoqiang organized everyone into a line to receive their ginger tea.

Ming Dai had Zhou Sinian place the clay jar inside the charcoal basin. As she lifted the lid, a surge of hot steam rose, turning into a white mist that quickly dissolved into the cold air.

Holding a steaming bowl of ginger tea in their hands, the workers sighed in relief even before taking a sip—it was just so comforting!

The moment they took their first mouthful, the heat spread all the way down to their stomachs, warming their entire bodies from the inside out.

There was nothing better than a bowl of hot ginger tea in the middle of a freezing, snow-covered worksite!

Before long, the clay jar was empty. The revolutionary ‘warriors’ of Liujiawan, now warmed and refreshed, grabbed their tools and returned to their battle against the wind and snow.

Amid envious glances from others, the four of them carried the empty jar back.

Once they reached the hut, Huang Dalian pulled a spare red headscarf from her bundle and, with her usual fiery energy, rushed back to the worksite.

Not long after, Liujiawan’s second man wearing a red headscarf appeared.

Thinking about the harsh weather outside, Ming Dai brought out the dried medicinal herbs she had prepared earlier. She carefully measured and mixed them before placing them into the clay jar to brew.

Then, along with Zhou Sinian, she dug through the snow-covered radish pit, pulling out fresh radishes. Using the surrounding snow, they scrubbed off the dirt before washing them thoroughly in warm water.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Huang Dalian used their limited supply of broken rice to cook a pot of fragrant rice.

On the small stove, Ming Dai stir-fried the frozen cabbage that had been stored ahead of time. It took three full rounds to cook all of it, and she had to add oil three times.

Luckily, they would be heading home in just two days—just enough time to finish everything off.

The cooked rice was placed into a large iron basin and covered tightly, while the stir-fried cabbage was kept warm on the stove.

Finally, Ming Dai began preparing the radish soup.

She scooped a ladleful of oil into the pot, heated it until sizzling, then tossed in the chopped peanuts, frying them until fragrant. Next, she added the shredded radish, stir-frying briefly before pouring in water to bring it to a boil.

Once the radish softened, she took a large bowl of prepared dough pieces and dropped them into the pot, one by one.

This was the last of their mixed-grain flour—just the right amount to finish before heading home.

The fire roared beneath the pot, sending steam billowing into the air. Before long, a pot of steaming radish dumpling soup was ready.

Ming Dai banked the remaining fire, then, along with the three others, carried bundles of firewood to the neighboring huts.

Soon, each hut had a warm fire burning inside, driving away the bone-chilling cold. These tiny shelters, barely enough to withstand the winter’s cruelty, now became small havens of warmth.

As the end-of-shift bell rang, Ming Dai brought out the food. People lined up in an orderly fashion while she and Huang Dalian worked efficiently—one scooping rice, the other serving the dishes—ensuring that every bowl was filled with steaming-hot food as quickly as possible.

Once everyone had their share, they returned to their huts. The moment they stepped inside, waves of warmth rushed to meet them.

Gathered around the fire, they ate their rice with stir-fried cabbage, relishing every bite.

A thin, dark-skinned man sighed with nostalgia. “I can’t even remember what year it was—maybe when we were digging the reservoir. The snow was just as heavy. We ate our meals outside, and the snowflakes kept falling right into our bowls. By the time we got a bite to our mouths, the rice had already turned into ice. We had to melt it in our mouths before we could even swallow. Who would’ve thought we’d have a day like this, sitting by the fire, eating a steaming-hot meal?”

(This was a story passed down to the author by her grandmother. She recounted the hardships of digging the canal in those days. It’s hard to imagine now, but that canal, large enough for cargo boats, was entirely dug by hand. Life was unbearably difficult back then. The author’s grandmother said they were often starving—at night, they would sneak into the fields to steal raw beans to eat, too afraid to cook them.)

Those who had lived through those hard years nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with memories.

They turned to express their gratitude to the four people who had prepared the meal.

Seeing that most had finished eating, Ming Dai scooped the radish dumpling soup into a bucket. Carrying it carefully, she made her way to each hut, ensuring everyone received a warm bowl to end their meal.

After finishing their meal, the people of Liujiawan would drink a bowl of dough drop soup, feeling as if they could work for another two hours.

As it was almost time to start work, Ming Dai gave each person a bowl of medicinal soup. After drinking it, everyone felt warm from the inside out.

By the end of the day, people from other villages either collapsed from exhaustion or fell ill from the cold. Meanwhile, the people of Liujiawan sat around a warm fire, drinking bean sprout soup and laughing cheerfully.

That night, Ming Dai checked the remaining communal grain and discussed the next two days’ breakfast plans with Huang Dalian.

Huang Dalian was surprised to see that there was still so much food left and gladly agreed. Their family would never think of taking even a single grain of the communal supply for themselves.

The next morning, the people of Liujiawan each had a thick bowl of mixed grain porridge, accompanied by Ming Dai’s pickled garlic. After slurping it down, they grabbed their tools and marched off to work with high spirits.

People from other villages watched them in disbelief, thinking they were absolutely insane.

Ming Dai managed everything well. By the last two days, all the food had been completely consumed—radishes, cabbage, lard, and salt were used up to the very last bit. Nothing was wasted.

The only thing that remained was the dried field rats. However, instead of eating them, everyone decided to take their share home.

There were sixty people in Liujiawan, each receiving two dried rats. The remaining two were given to Zhou Sinian under Liu Guoqiang’s decision, and no one objected.

After verifying everything, Liu Guoqiang recorded the final accounts, and Ming Dai officially completed her last task.

The next morning, everyone began packing their belongings. Ming Dai had the most to carry—several large sacks of dried medicinal herbs and a considerable amount of charcoal that had been properly processed.

The familiar sound of horse hooves echoed in the distance. Soon, Liu Laosan, bundled up like a bear, reappeared before everyone’s eyes.

Before setting out, Liu Laosan had been quite anxious. Another year of heavy snow had fallen, and he worried about the state of the people in Liujiawan. How many of them had become too weak to move? Would his cart even be able to carry them all?

When Liu Laosan arrived at the camp and saw everyone, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Why was everyone smiling? In previous years, as soon as the horse-drawn carriage arrived to pick them up, they would all cry for a while first!

Just as he was thinking this, wailing sounds came from the shelter area of the neighboring village.

Liu Laosan muttered, “Now that is the normal reaction! What the hell is wrong with you all?!”

Unfortunately, no one had time to answer him. Everyone was eager to go home.

With many hands working together, they quickly filled the carriage with their belongings. Liu Guoqiang noticed Liu Laosan standing there in a daze and reminded him, “Grandpa Laosan, let’s go!”

Only then did Liu Laosan snap back to reality. Instinctively, he pulled the horse’s reins and turned the carriage. As he looked at the fully loaded cart, he exclaimed in surprise, “You all saved this much this year? Didn’t even finish everything?”

Liu Guoqiang chuckled. “That’s not leftover grain. It’s the medicinal herbs collected by Xiao Ming, the educated youth.”

Hearing this, Liu Laosan glanced at the cart. “Whoa, are all these sacks filled with herbs?! Wait a minute, how does an educated youth like Xiao Ming even know how to gather medicine?”

Liu Guoqiang patiently explained everything to him. From time to time, Liu Laosan let out surprised exclamations in response.

Finally, he rubbed his drafty, tooth-gapped mouth and muttered, “I wonder if Xiao Ming knows how to fix teeth?”

Liu Guoqiang laughed and shook his head. “You’ll have to ask her once she starts practicing medicine. But honestly, Grandpa Liu, your missing front tooth doesn’t stop you from eating or drinking. Why bother fixing it?”

Liu Laosan shot him an annoyed glare. It wasn’t about eating! Ever since his tooth fell out, people in the village had stopped calling him Old Bachelor Uncle or Old Bachelor Grandpa and started calling him Gap-Toothed Uncle or Gap-Toothed Grandpa!

How awful that sounded!

He still preferred being called Old Bachelor!