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Listening to the children’s descriptions and speculations, Zhang Lan could discern the general situation. It was clear that her elder sister must be hiding something from them to come and ask for grain. Nonetheless, it was no longer their concern. With over 200 catties of grain, taking out 30 catties, they would likely only be able to have porridge every day until autumn. They wouldn’t have the energy to work and earn their share.
“Children, let’s not worry about this matter for now. We’ll talk about it after we finish digging up the Chinese yams.”
The mother and her children carried their tools and iron shovels as they headed towards the mountains. Along the way, they chatted and laughed. With their mother’s company, the journey felt much lighter for the children. “Mom, there are many pine on the mountain. It’s just a shame they are far from our home. Otherwise, it would be better to pick some pine to use for firewood,” one of the children remarked.
Zhang Lan understood what the children wanted to do. “It’s okay. When we have a cart, we can come over to pick grass. Pine are much better for burning than dry grass, and they don’t clog the chimney. Let’s keep this in mind for the future.”
When they arrived at the location they had marked earlier before, Zhang Lan recognized the vines and confirmed that they were indeed Chinese yams.
Mingyuan was curious. “Mom, how do you know about this?”
Zhang Lan gently touched her child’s hand. “When I was young, our family was even poorer. It was your grandmother who took me to dig wild vegetables in the mountains, and that’s how I learned about Chinese yams. You wouldn’t know about it. The mountain is so far from here, and hardly anyone comes to this mid-hill area. But Qianqian, how did you know about it?”
The other children were also unfamiliar with it, so they were equally curious, just like Zhang Lan.
When the conversation turned to her, Wang Qian’s big eyes darted around. “Mom, it was Hongmei’s mother who told us. It’s a pity they moved away, otherwise, I would know more,” she replied.
Hongmei was a friend of the original owner, and her mother loved to read, often telling the children stories. Wang Qian shifted the focus to her, knowing that the person had already moved away, and there was no way to verify the truth.
Zhang Lan couldn’t help but express her feelings, “Scholars really know a lot. If you go to school in the future, make sure to study hard.”
The children nodded in agreement. Mother and children started digging up the Chinese yams. The roots were deep, and it was a bit difficult to dig them up, but for the sake of the family’s sustenance, they paid little attention to the hardship. Mingcheng and his elder sister dug together, while Wang Qian and her younger brother couldn’t help much, so they wandered around, hoping to find something else they could eat.
Looking up, Zhang Lan saw the two children heading up the mountain and reminded them, “Don’t go too far.”
Seeing the two children wave back, she continued digging the Chinese yams with peace of mind.
The siblings explored around, picking up dried wood ears and mushrooms. Whenever they found something edible, they didn’t miss the opportunity. Wang Qian stumbled over a rock, and, annoyed, picked it up to vent her frustration. However, upon closer inspection, she laughed. It turned out to be a large walnut.
It seemed there were walnut trees in this area. “Brother, what is this?” she asked.
Mingyuan, seeing his sister holding a dark object, hurried over. “Sister, what are you holding? It’s black and looks like a stone.”
Mingyuan had never eaten walnuts before and didn’t recognize the item. The presence of walnut trees in the area was already rare. Seeing Mingyuan’s expression, Wang Qian knew he had never seen or tasted one before. Feeling a bit sentimental, she said, “Brother, I’ll let you taste the flavor of this later.”
Afterward, she found a stone to crack the walnut open, revealing the brown flesh inside. She took out the flesh and put it into Mingyuan’s mouth. “Brother, taste it and see if it’s delicious.”
Mingyuan puffed out his cheeks, resembling a little squirrel as he moved his jaw, “Sister, it’s really tasty. What is this called?”
“This is called a walnut, not only is it delicious, but it’s also very good for our health. If we don’t have oil at home, eating more of these can help supplement it,” explained Mingyuan.
Upon hearing this, Wang Qian’s eyes lit up. “Sister, let’s quickly go find the walnuts.”
Grabbing Wang Qian’s hand, they began searching on the ground. By the time they had searched all around, a small mountain of walnuts had piled up behind them, likely totaling over a hundred catties.
“Sister, stay here and watch these. I’ll go inform Mom and the others. Don’t wander off,” Mingyuan was afraid someone might steal their things. He left his sister in place and walked towards Zhang Lan and the others, holding a few walnuts. If Wang Qian had joined him on the way, Mingyuan was sure his sister would have run ahead.
“Mom, look what we found, Walnut!” Mingyuan called out.
The three, working hard and sweating profusely, stopped when they heard Mingyuan’s call. Zhang Lan wiped the sweat from her forehead, looked at what her son had brought over, and, though unfamiliar with it, suddenly remembered something. Two years ago, the commune had planted a batch of trees from the south on this mountain, said to be capable of bearing walnuts. However, they all died in the end. No one had ever seen what these walnuts actually looked like. Could it be that the fruit her son brought was from one of the surviving trees?
“Mingyuan, is this really a walnut?” Zhang Lan tentatively asked.
“Mom, you’re really smart. I didn’t even know what this was called. It was sister who told me. Here, let me get some walnuts for you to eat,” Mingyuan said.
Mingyuan imitated his sister, using a stone to crack open a walnut for each person, then handed the flesh to everyone. “Try it. It’s really delicious. Mom, we’ve picked a lot of walnuts, but we can’t carry them all. Sister is watching over them.”
Mingyuan’s words excited Mingcheng and the others. The walnuts were delicious, and now they had another food to eat at home. “Mom, I’m going with sister to get more. You stay here,” Mingyuan said.
Mingcheng and Wang Xuan brought baskets and joined Mingyuan in the area where they were collecting walnuts. They found Wang Qian crouched down, her little bottom perched on the ground, busily picking something up.
The pile of walnuts was so large that Mingcheng and his sister couldn’t transport them all at once. They hadn’t expected the two little ones to collect so many.
After carrying half a basket down, the siblings went back and forth to transport the walnuts. When Zhang Lan saw the abundance of walnuts, even she felt excited.
“So many! These two kids really know how to work. But we can’t take all of this at once,” she exclaimed.
While the bounty was exciting, transportation presented a major problem.
Mingcheng, however, confidently stated, “Mom, don’t worry. There are a few households at the foot of the mountain. We can leave them there for now and come back to pick them up later.”
With no better solution, Zhang Lan had to defer to her son’s idea.