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In the afternoon, Wang Qian and the others discussed going to pick soybeans. Mingcheng furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. “Big sis, you go with little sis first. Me and my brother will pick a bit more. We’ll find you after we’re done. Be careful, especially with little sis. Don’t let her fall again.”
The siblings set off together, but halfway through their journey, the four split up. Mingcheng continued with his brother, while Wang Qian and her sister began searching for soybeans in the field. There were quite a few soybeans in the field, but most had been softened by the melted snow. Some had even started sprouting, but that didn’t affect their edibility. The softened ones could be sun-dried at home, and the sprouted ones could be fried. Each sister carried a cloth bag, slowly searching along the ridges. By the end, Wang Qian estimated they had gathered about a scoop of soybeans, which wasn’t too bad. They could fill a bag with what they found in this area, so the sisters remained silent, quietly searching on the ground.
Mingcheng and Mingyuan didn’t have much luck this time. The field had already been plowed, so the brothers returned to their sisters’ area.
“Sis,” Wang Qian saw the two figures from afar and waved at them. Mingyuan hurriedly ran towards her with a big smile. “Sis, we also came to pick with you.”
Wang Qian was surprised they had returned so quickly. “Bro, did you finish picking already?”
Mingyuan explained that the field had been plowed, and the four siblings continued searching for soybeans in the field. By the afternoon, they had collected almost half a bag of soybeans, and Mingcheng was quite content with this amount.
After returning, Mingcheng continued to gather grass, otherwise there would be no fire for dinner. Meanwhile, Wang Qian and her elder sister took out the soybeans they had collected, removed the sprouted ones, and placed the undamaged ones on the kang to dry. Unfortunately, their house didn’t have a courtyard for sun-drying, and they didn’t want others to see the soybeans.
“Sis, let’s soak the sprouted soybeans in water. We’ll eat them tonight, and we have some greens to go with them,” Wang Qian was tired of eating Chinese cabbage and pickled vegetables.
“I think that’s a good idea. You go ahead and soak them, and we’ll eat them tonight,” her sister agreed.
With her sister’s approval, Wang Qian went to fetch water but realized just how short she was. The water barrel was half a head taller than her.
She arrived at the kang with the water ladle and said, “Sis, why don’t you do it? I can’t reach.”
Her sister remembered that Wang Qian was still young, so she smiled, took the ladle, and patted her head. “Little sis, when you grow taller next year, you’ll be able to reach.”
As her sister went to fetch water, Wang Qian followed behind. Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a smiling face. It was their grandfather. “Qianqian, Xuan’er, look what Grandpa has brought for you.” The old man took out a handful of dried peanuts from his pocket.
“Peanuts?” Wang Xuan was pleasantly surprised. Peanuts weren’t something they could easily get their hands on. They were usually sold for money or used to make oil in the production team.
Grandpa stuffed a handful of peanuts into each child’s coat pocket. He then embraced his granddaughter, asking affectionately, “Have you been good at home?”
“Grandpa, what’s that in your hand?” Wang Qian was curious about the object in her grandfather’s hand, a curved white wooden stick.
Wang Deshan held the tool up for his granddaughter to see. “This is a peanut shell clip. It’s specially used to clip peanut shells. It makes it easy for us to extract the nuts.” (Peanuts are also referred to as “huārén” in the local dialect, which means peanuts.)
Wang Qian tried it in her hands and found it very elastic, somewhat like a pair of pliers, but without an opening. It seemed that the wisdom of the working people was not to be underestimated. Although this tool was simple, it was labor-saving.
“Grandpa, did you all go to pick peanuts today?” Wang Xuan asked.
“Exactly, today all of us elderly folks went to pick peanuts. Your mom and the others were selecting peanut seeds. These shriveled ones were given to me by your mom.” Wang Deshan was very satisfied with his daughter-in-law, but his own wife never approved of her. Alas, he had to be careful not to get too close to his son’s family, or there would be trouble when he got back.
“Qianqian, Xuan’er, Grandpa needs to head home. It wouldn’t be good if your grandma saw me. You two stay at home and behave. Don’t play with fire, and your mom and dad will be back soon,” the old man kissed his granddaughters’ little faces, felt the large bump on the back of their heads, sighed, and walked out.
As Wang Qian watched her grandfather’s departing figure, she couldn’t help but ask, “Sis, why did Grandpa marry our grandma? I think Grandpa looks much better than Grandma. It’s a shame for Grandpa.”
Wang Xuan chuckled. Her little sister’s question was asked with a shaking head and swaying body, giving her a somewhat old lady-like appearance. “I don’t know, but I think Grandpa is not bad. He’s much better than Grandma.” Children are always sensitive; they naturally grow close to those who treat them kindly.
After bidding farewell to their grandfather, Mingcheng and the others returned from gathering hay. Before they could reach the house, Mingyuan called out from outside, “Big sis, we’re back. Come help us.”
Wang Xuan hurried out to help Mingyuan place a basket of hay outside the door, and Wang Qian followed. Seeing her brothers exhausted and out of energy, she guessed they were hungry. At their age, a meal consisting of just a small piece of flatbread the size of a palm was simply not enough. Furthermore, with no oil for cooking, it was no wonder they were hungry.
Smiling, she came over to Mingyuan and took something out of her pocket, handing it to him. “Bro, have this.”
Mingyuan didn’t know what his sister had given him. He reached out and saw that it was peanuts, his eyes immediately lighting up. “Where did you get these?”
Wang Xuan looked around and whispered, “Grandpa gave them to us. Go back inside and eat. Don’t let anyone see.”
Both children understood without a word and obediently went inside. Wang Xuan took out the peanuts from her pocket and handed them to Mingcheng.
“Bro, you must be hungry. Have some to fill up for now. We’ll cook later, and it’ll be ready for when Mom comes back,” she said.
Mingcheng felt a bit embarrassed. “Let’s eat together. You must be hungry too.” After saying that, he stuffed a peanut into his elder sister’s mouth. Wang Xuan smiled and ate one, but refused to eat another. “Bro, I’m not hungry. You eat. You’re the one who does the heavy work in the house. I’ll make something delicious for you tonight.”
Mingyuan fed peanuts to his sister, and Wang Qian only ate one before refusing to eat more. “Bro, I have to save room for dinner. You eat. When I have money, I’ll buy you delicious food every day.”
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