Chapter 88: Wild Honey, Old Astragalus, and the Sweet Woven Sugar That Touches the Heart

Aunt Huang spoke quietly and briefly explained the changes in Zhou Sinian after Ming Dai came, which helped the Huang family relax.

Although they were far away and hadn’t been beaten, they still remembered the image of their brother-in-law/uncle’s pig-head face from those years.

After they finished chatting, Aunt Huang began setting up her stall on the vacant space next to Uncle Huang.

They had brought quite a bit of cabbage, radishes, and some corn, planning to exchange them for dried meat and smoked bacon for the New Year.

Ming Dai’s bean sprouts were also placed on her stall.

“Xiao Ming, you girls can go around. If there’s anything you’d like to trade, I’ll trade it for you.”

Ming Dai nodded. “Aunt, just go ahead and pick. Dried meat and vegetable strips will be fine. If you have any wild mushrooms or wood ear mushrooms from the mountains, that would be even better. Dried fruit is good too.”

Aunt Huang nodded. “Okay, go on. Keep an eye on him. There are a lot of outsiders today.”

Ming Dai glanced at the curious Zhou Sinian, nodded, and led him away.

They looked around, and it was clear that the mountain people’s stalls were easy to identify.

Most of the people running the stalls were men, all wearing sheepskin coats. The goods they sold were mostly mountain products, with dried meats packed in burlap sacks. Some half-open bags allowed people to pick and choose, giving it a very rustic, rich feel.

Ming Dai held onto Zhou Sinian’s military coat sleeve, worried that he might run off or suddenly act aggressively.

Luckily, he seemed to be in good spirits, obediently following her around, glancing at things without showing any impatience.

Ming Dai focused on medicinal herbs and items she didn’t have in her space.

After walking just a few steps, she spotted something great.

A large piece of raw honeycomb!

Ming Dai pulled Zhou Sinian over. There were quite a few people at the stall, looking at the honeycomb. After inquiring about the price, they shook their heads and walked away.

The honeycomb was large, about half a meter long and 30 centimeters wide. It had been cut whole and weighed around 20+ jin. Due to the weather, it had already crystallized, but it was real wild honey.

“Uncle, how much is this?”

The middle-aged man at the stall glanced at Zhou Sinian and then sized up the two of them before speaking. “Girl, honest price, 20 yuan.”

Now, honey was selling for about one yuan per jin, and this honeycomb likely weighed around 24 or 25 jin. Though some weight had to be accounted for due to the beeswax, it still seemed like a fair deal.

Moreover, she could use the beeswax for making medicine balls.

She took another look at his stall and spotted a bundle of dried old astragalus.

“How much for this?”

The man rubbed his hands together. “Give me three yuan.”

He hesitated slightly, feeling a bit awkward. But it had taken him several trips across the mountains to find this much, so selling it for less would be a pity.

Ming Dai calculated in her mind and decided it was reasonable. “I’ll take both of these. Can you throw in some mushrooms as well?”

The man was absolutely delighted and nodded eagerly. “Sure! I’ll pack it for you. Girl, this honey is a good thing. I’ve kept it for quite a while, couldn’t bear to sell it. There’s ginseng in the mountains, so this might even be ginseng honey!”

Ming Dai smiled but didn’t correct him. It definitely wasn’t ginseng honey, but it was certainly wildflower honey.

The man was so happy that he gave her nearly half a basket of dried mushrooms, which were very dry and perfect for making soup or stewing chicken.

Ming Dai placed the astragalus in Zhou Sinian’s backpack and carried the honey herself.

Seeing Zhou Sinian frequently glance at his own basket, she peeled off a small piece of honey from the block wrapped in oil paper and handed it to him.

“Chew it slowly, don’t swallow it right away. If it loses flavor, spit it out, okay?”

Zhou Sinian grinned, showing his big white teeth, nodded, and took the honeycomb. He licked it once, and his eyes immediately sparkled with delight.

The two of them wandered around a bit longer and came across a large piece of He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum). Though not extremely aged, it was still of good quality. They also picked up a small bag of high-grade goji berries—perfect for preparing medicinal food for Zhou Sinian. Without hesitation, they bought both.

The rest of the stalls carried mostly common herbs, many of which Ming Dai had already stocked up on in her space, so there was no need to buy more.

With that, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian began buying food items.

The most common items at the stalls were fruits, such as dark, frozen mountain pears and bright red persimmons, with plenty of persimmon cakes as well.

Ming Dai bought a little of everything and asked Zhou Sinian to carry them. As for the dried meats, she noticed that most of them were smoked, and after buying two dried rabbits, she decided to stop.

As they walked near Aunt Huang’s stall, Ming Dai spotted Huang Dalian standing with a woman who appeared to be around Aunt Huang’s age.

The moment Huang Dalian saw Ming Dai, she waved excitedly. “Xiao Ming, come over!”

Ming Dai nodded and led Zhou Sinian over. “Sister Dalian.”

Huang Dalian beamed at her maternal relatives and introduced them warmly. “This is my mother. Mom, this is Xiao Ming, a new educated youth from our village. She’s really nice and even gave me lots of candy.”

Her mother shot her a disapproving look. A grown woman with two children, still fussing over sweets? If she hadn’t already married off, that kind of habit would’ve been a real headache.

She turned to Ming Dai with a kind smile. “Good girl, don’t mind her. She can be a bit absent-minded sometimes, so don’t take small things to heart. When we head back later, let her bring you some fruit—you should try the flavors of our mountains.”

Ming Dai returned the smile. “Sister Dalian has always been kind to me. You’re too polite—the fruit we bought is more than enough.”

Huang Dalian finally noticed the things that Zhou Sinian was carrying and jokingly scolded him, “I told you not to buy them, but you still bought them.”

Ming Dai just smiled and didn’t argue. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she led Zhou Sinian away.

The two of them then bought some mountain walnuts and finished browsing the small market. When they returned to Aunt Huang’s stall, most of her goods had sold quickly, and the cabbage was nearly half gone.

The two burlap sacks of bean sprouts were also almost gone, clearly a hit.

“You’re back! Xiao Ming, your bean sprouts are so popular! Not only did the mountain people buy them, but people from the surrounding villages came as well. Even some educated youths stopped by to grab some! You’ve traded quite a lot, and we even made three mao!”

Ming Dai didn’t expect them to be so popular. “Maybe next year I should bring more to sell.”

Aunt Huang nodded. “Put everything on the cart. Carrying it is tiring. My mom is watching the cart, so it won’t get lost.”

Since it was crowded now, Ming Dai replied loudly and led Zhou Sinian to the back to the cart.

Grandma Huang, being older and a bit slow to react, took some time to recognize her, though she did remember Zhou Sinian.

“You two must be tired, sit down for a bit.”

Ming Dai held back her laughter, placed the items on the cart, then reached into her crossbody bag and took out a small package of woven sugar.

It was just four pieces in a small pack. Ming Dai handed one piece to Zhou Sinian, popped one into her own mouth, and gave the remaining two pieces to Grandma Huang.

Grandma Huang, a bit confused, took the sugar, looking at it with a smile, not knowing what to do with it.

Ming Dai gently pinched off a small piece and placed it in her mouth. “Grandma, it’s sweet. Try it.”

As soon as Grandma Huang tasted the sweetness, she quickly started chewing with her gums. “Sweet, really sweet!”

Ming Dai smiled and, with Zhou Sinian in tow, walked away. She had spotted someone selling sweet potatoes earlier and planned to buy a few to try.

After they left, Grandma Huang carefully rewrapped the oil paper around the sugar, her hands trembling slightly. She then tucked it securely into the diagonal opening of her cotton jacket, pressing it close to her chest with both hands.

When Aunt Huang finished tending to customers and came over to check on her mother, Grandma Huang eagerly pulled out the small paper package. “Hong, have some candy, have some candy.”

Aunt Huang immediately recognized the familiar woven sugar and knew at once that it must have been from Xiao Ming.

Her mother still remembered how much she loved sweets. Even though she couldn’t bring herself to eat it, she had kept it safe for her daughter.

Aunt Huang’s eyes reddened. Gently taking the candy, she placed a piece into Grandma Huang’s mouth, where most of her teeth were already missing.

“Mom, you eat it. I’ve had mine.”

Grandma Huang smiled and gently pressed her lips together. “So sweet!”

Aunt Huang wiped away the tears that had started to fall. This year, she would make sure to bring more fine grain for her mother. She was getting older, with no teeth left, and could no longer eat much else.