Chapter 32

In the side kitchen, Ruan Jie sat behind the stove, tending the fire.

Liu Xinghua took a small piece of lean meat, scooped some water to wash it clean, and placed it on the cutting board. She held the knife, sliced the lean meat into thin pieces, put the meat slices in a bowl, and added pepper, soy sauce, and other seasonings to marinate. Garlic cloves were crushed under the knife into scattered pieces and then chopped a few times to become minced garlic. She set the minced garlic aside, and she chopped a handful of green onions, followed by a handful of bright red dried chili peppers.

The pot was heated, and oil was poured in. The dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and minced garlic were added to the hot oil with a sizzling sound, releasing a burst of fragrant, spicy aroma. Homemade fermented bean paste and chili paste were added to the pot and stir-fried until red oil emerged. Half a basin of water was added, creating a layer of bright red on the surface.

Ruan Jie took a deep breath behind the stove and said with emotion, “New Year is really great.”

Because they were inviting the tailor to make clothes at home, they could eat meat twice a day. The taste of the twice-cooked pork they had for lunch was still lingering on their tongues, and now they could eat boiled meat slices again.

Liu Xinghua poured the pre-washed vegetables, bean sprouts, and tofu skin into the pot, stirred them with a spoon, and said, “This time, there’s not much meat. Everyone can have a little to taste; the main thing is to eat the vegetables.”

Ruan Jie smiled and said, “The flavor is enough.”

The water in the pot boiled, and Liu Xinghua added salt, MSG, and pepper to it. When the vegetables were almost cooked, she scooped them out and placed them in a deep white porcelain bowl. Then, she added the meat slices to the pot, briefly blanched them, and put them on top of the vegetables. The thin meat slices were blanched to a tender, fresh texture, and the bright red broth was poured over them. A handful of dried chili peppers, chopped green onions, and minced garlic were added, followed by a little hot oil, and the aroma wafted up.

Liu Xinghua placed the large porcelain bowl in the middle of the table, quickly stir-fried a few vegetarian dishes, and after setting everything on the table, asked Ruan Jie to invite the old tailor to eat. As the old tailor was invited, Ruan Xi, Ruan Cuizhi, Ruan Zhigao, and Ruan Changsheng naturally came as well.

Seven people sat around the table in order of age, filling it completely.

The old tailor was the most comfortable, sitting alone on one side of the table without anyone crowding him. Since he was making clothes for Ruan Xi’s family today, he naturally stayed at her house for meals and to sleep. He didn’t like socializing, especially not during meals.

As everyone gradually sat down, their attention was on the food, and they temporarily had no other thoughts.

Ruan Changsheng waited for the old tailor and Ruan Zhigao to take a bite of meat before he reached out with his chopsticks to grab some for himself. The tender meat slices, with a bit of green onion and minced garlic, first tasted spicy and numbing, then revealed a soft, tender meat flavor as he chewed.

Ruan Changsheng ate and smiled, looking quite content, saying, “It’s really delicious.”

Everyone else also reached out with their chopsticks to grab some meat, savoring the flavor on their tongues before starting to eat the vegetables below.

After finishing the meat, Ruan Changsheng looked at Ruan Xi and said, “Niece, tell your fifth uncle how you suddenly became so skilled. You made those clothes effortlessly.”

Ruan Xi smiled and made up a story, “One day, I had a dream, and in the dream, an old man with a white beard gave me a needle. He said that as long as I had that needle, I could make the most beautiful clothes in the world…”

Before she could finish, Ruan Changsheng rolled his eyes at her, “Do I look like a child?”

Seeing him talk like that, everyone in the family laughed, and Ruan Xi’s smile grew even brighter, “Why would I lie to you? It’s true.”

Ruan Changsheng, not wanting to argue with her, said, “It’s excellent. Keep learning and working hard.”

After saying that, he teased the old tailor, “Uncle Song, how about my niece?”

The old tailor glanced at him, “Compared to you, she’s much better.”

Ruan Changsheng’s smile froze instantly—hey, this old man!

Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie saw his expression and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

As people from Fengming Mountain, anyone who hasn’t been mocked by the old tailor a few times hasn’t lived a complete life.

Since they had to accommodate the old tailor, Liu Xinghua squeezed into Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie’s bed at night, making do with Ruan Cuizhi. The old tailor naturally slept in her room with Ruan Zhigao. The four of them were squeezed to death, with Ruan Xi pressed against the wall. But having slept in worse places, this bit of difficulty was nothing to Ruan Xi. She tilted her head, shoulder to shoulder with Ruan Jie, head to head.

Liu Xinghua and Ruan Cuizhi were also shoulder-to-shoulder at the other end. Mother and daughter rarely slept together, and the quiet night was perfect for chatting. Liu Xinghua whispered to Ruan Cuizhi, “Did you see the four kids when you went to town to buy New Year’s goods the other day?”

Ruan Cuizhi took a deep breath, the sound of her inhaling unusually clear in the quiet environment.

After exhaling, she said, “Mom, let’s not talk about it.”

Liu Xinghua turned her head to look at her, “Was it Liu Xiong who didn’t let you see them? Or did they not want to see you?”

Ruan Cuizhi blinked and remained silent for a moment, then said, “I saw them, but they didn’t want the things I bought. They just asked if I was coming back. I said I wouldn’t go back, and Da Ni took her younger siblings and left.”

After hearing this, Liu Xinghua was also silent for a moment, then said, “Four heartless kids.”

Ruan Cuizhi sighed, “It’s true that I don’t want them anymore.”

Liu Xinghua was displeased, “What do you mean you don’t want them anymore? If you don’t want them, why did you go see them? At home, you think about them every day, worried they won’t eat well or stay warm. But what about them? They only care if you’ll go back and be their mother. Do they miss you? No, they want you to go back to cook and wash clothes for them! If you don’t go back, you’re not their mother anymore? After all these years of raising them, it was all for nothing?”

Ruan Cuizhi took a deep breath, “Forget it.”

Liu Xinghua’s tone was harsh, “Then forget it. Don’t go see them anymore. Didn’t you say you don’t want them? Then really don’t want them. Next time you see them, they might not even see you.”

Ruan Cuizhi blinked and said nothing more, feeling her life was a complete mess. She had thought she could have a happy and fulfilling life, but now she had no home and no children, becoming completely destitute. Then she thought again, realizing she still had her parents, brother, and two lovely nieces. She took another deep breath, hearing Liu Xinghua fall asleep beside her, and she closed her eyes to sleep as well.

Making clothes during the New Year was different from usual. If it was a normal time, making clothes for someone could be done leisurely. But during the New Year, many families needed clothes, so it was a rush, with no time to rest except for eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom.

The next day, Ruan Xi and the old tailor made clothes for Ruan Changgui’s family of four. After getting paid and finding someone to move the sewing machine, they hurried to the next house.

Ruan Xi followed the old tailor from house to house, naturally not returning home. She ate and drank at the homes where they made clothes. But since it was close, she still went home to sleep after finishing work at night.

After finishing the work in their village, she and the old tailor went to the next village together.

So, for the next period, there was always a scene on some mountain path in Fengming Mountain—a sedan chair carried by two men, with an old man smoking a pipe sitting on it. Beside the sedan chair was a little girl wearing a floral cotton jacket and a red scarf covering half her face, revealing lively eyes. Behind them were two men carrying a sewing machine.

During this period, Ruan Xi followed the old tailor around all the villages on Fengming Mountain, eating at many people’s homes. Better-off families could afford more meat, while poorer families could at least have a few eggs. Naturally, there were also families too poor to afford new clothes, usually because they had too many children and too many mouths to feed.

Ruan Xi became well-known on Fengming Mountain, and now everyone affectionately called her “Little Tailor.”

On the afternoon before New Year’s Eve, Ruan Xi returned home with her backpack, exhausted to the point of feeling like she would fall apart. However, she was in a good mood and called Liu Xinghua into the house, pulling out a large handful of money from her bag and handing it to her.

This year, while traveling to make clothes, the old tailor hardly did any work, only drawing some paper patterns. Most of the work was done by Ruan Xi, and every time they moved to a new village, she had to walk the mountain roads, making it quite tiring. Because she took on most of the hard work, the old tailor gave her a larger share of the money than before.

Liu Xinghua’s eyes widened when she saw the money and whispered, “You earned this much?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “You should keep it.”

Liu Xinghua smiled and began counting the money, “I’ll keep it safe for you. This will be your dowry in the future.”

Ruan Xi smiled, “Let’s get Uncle married first.”

Liu Xinghua said, “Nonsense, no uncle gets married with money earned by his niece.”

Ruan Xi said nothing more, leaning against Liu Xinghua and softly saying, “I’ve grown another year older.”

After tomorrow, she would be fifteen years old.

On the first day of the New Year, fifteen-year-old Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie visited various families to exchange New Year’s greetings.

Ruan Xi thought the old tailor would be lonely spending the New Year alone, with no one to accompany him on New Year’s Eve, so she planned to visit him first to pay her respects and then go to Ling Yao’s house to greet their family.

So, after breakfast on the first day of the New Year, she took some food and, along with Ruan Jie, headed to Jinguang Village. The two of them were not in a hurry. Wearing the new clothes they had made before the New Year, they walked leisurely along the mountain path. By the time they arrived at the old tailor’s house, the sun was already high, but it was still closed.

Ruan Xi stood outside the courtyard gate, raised her hand, and knocked a few times, calling inside, “Master, I’m here to wish you a Happy New Year.”

After calling, there was no response from inside, so she continued knocking and calling a few more times.

This time, there was some movement inside. Da Mi jumped onto the wall and meowed at Ruan Xi a few times.

Seeing that the old tailor still hadn’t responded, Ruan Jie speculated, “Did he go out?”

After all, the main activities during the New Year are eating, drinking, and visiting relatives and friends. Maybe the old tailor went to someone else’s house.

Ruan Xi thought this was possible, so she stopped knocking and planned to return to the village and come back in the afternoon. But as she turned to leave, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

It wasn’t that she thought the old tailor was too reclusive to have any friends or relatives to visit, but she noticed that the door to the old tailor’s house wasn’t locked. If the door wasn’t locked from the outside but couldn’t be opened, it must have been bolted from the inside.

So, the old tailor must be at home. But why wasn’t he coming to open the door?

If the old tailor was still sleeping, that didn’t seem likely either. Older people generally have short sleep durations and usually wake up very early in the morning. With the sun already high, if he hadn’t gotten up yet, there must be a problem. Thinking of this, Ruan Xi immediately turned back and continued knocking and calling a few more times.

Ruan Jie didn’t understand what she meant and curiously asked, “Aren’t we going back?”

Ruan Xi, while knocking, said to her, “He’s definitely at home.”

After knocking for a while with no response and no one coming to open the door, Ruan Xi decisively turned around, handed the food she was holding to Ruan Jie, found a suitably sized stone nearby, moved it to the outside of the courtyard wall and climbed over the wall using the stone.

After jumping down from the wall, she immediately opened the courtyard gate and headed straight to the main house.

No one was in the main room or the adjacent rooms, where a sewing machine and some clothes and fabrics were placed.

Just as Ruan Xi was about to turn and leave, she heard Ruan Jie shout, “Sister, come quickly!”

Ruan Jie’s voice came from the nearby kitchen, so Ruan Xi hurried out of the main room and ran to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, she saw the old tailor lying motionless on the ground by the water tank, his mouth open, gasping for breath.

Seeing this, Ruan Xi’s nerves tightened, and she quickly bent down and called to Ruan Jie, “Help me lift him up.”

Ruan Jie quickly put the food she was holding on the stove and went over to help Ruan Xi lift the old tailor from the ground. Although the old tailor was a man and quite thin, he was still heavy, and it took Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie a lot of effort.

They struggled to get the old tailor to the main room and lay him on the bed. Ruan Xi then told Ruan Jie, “I’ll stay here and watch him. You hurry to the stilt house and find Ling Yao’s mother, ask her to come quickly.”

Ruan Jie nodded and ran off, sprinting towards Fengyan Village. She ran until she was exhausted, then walked a few steps, rested, and continued running. When she reached Ling’s stilt house, she saw Zhou Xueyun coming out of the house, so she ran up, panting, and said, “Doctor Zhou, please come to Jinguang Village.”

Zhou Xueyun followed Ruan Jie, jogging all the way to Jinguang Village.

Ling Yao jogged behind them, carrying Zhou Xueyun’s medical kit.

Zhou Xueyun, catching her breath, asked Ruan Jie, “Did he fall at home? Did he hit anything? Did he lose consciousness?”

Ruan Jie shook her head. “He didn’t lose consciousness; he could still blink and breathe, but it seems like he can’t speak.”

Zhou Xueyun didn’t ask any more questions and followed Ruan Jie all the way to the old tailor’s house. The three of them entered the courtyard and went to the main house, where they saw Ruan Xi sitting by the old tailor’s bed.

Zhou Xueyun entered the room and asked Ruan Xi, “How is he now?”

Ruan Xi stood up from the stool, “I gave him some warm water, and he seems a bit better.”

Zhou Xueyun went up to check the old tailor’s body. After examining him, she said, “His ribs are injured, but I can’t determine the extent of the injury. If the bones are hurt, he needs to rest in bed. The kit has some medicine to promote blood circulation and reduce bruising.”

Ruan Xi looked at the old tailor and asked, “How do you feel now?”

The old tailor felt a bit of chest tightness, but he shook his head and weakly said, “I’m fine.”

Even if something was wrong, there wasn’t much that could be done. He was old, and his bones were already fragile, so this wasn’t an unexpected situation. Although Zhou Xueyun could treat illnesses, her resources were limited, and she could only handle minor injuries and illnesses.

If he were to go to a proper hospital for a check-up, he would need to be carried out of the mountains, which wasn’t worth it. Even if he went down to the town, the medical conditions there were poor, and what could they find out?

At his age, bumps and falls were normal, and no one would make a fuss over it.

Seeing him like this, Ruan Xi gave him medicine to promote blood circulation and reduce bruising.

After giving him the medicine and letting him rest, Ruan Xi, Zhou Xueyun, Ruan Jie, and Ling Yao went to the courtyard.

Ruan Xi asked Zhou Xueyun, “What would happen if it’s serious?”

Zhou Xueyun replied, “The worst case is internal organ damage.” She didn’t say the rest, but if the internal organs were damaged and there were no conditions for treatment, the outcome would be obvious. But she quickly added, “But it shouldn’t be that serious.”

After all, he just slipped and fell, which might cause rib fractures but shouldn’t damage internal organs. And judging by his condition earlier, it wasn’t that bad.

Ruan Xi took a deep breath, “Then we can only ensure he rests and lets the bones heal on their own.”

Going to a big city for medical treatment was almost impossible for people in the mountains. Going to the local town or county for treatment didn’t make much sense either, as the medical conditions there were poor and couldn’t be treated much.

Zhou Xueyun nodded, “Apply a hot towel occasionally, keep his diet light, and give him easily digestible food. He’s old, and bone healing will take a very long time.”

Ruan Xi nodded to her, quickly took out some money, and intended to give it to her for the medicine.

Zhou Xueyun naturally didn’t take the money and asked Ling Yao as she was leaving, “Yao Yao, are you going back?”

Ling Yao handed the medicine box to Zhou Xueyun and said, “I’ll stay here for a while.”

Zhou Xueyun knew he wanted to stay, so she left with the medicine box.

The old tailor lay in the house resting, and Ruan Xi, Ruan Jie, and Ling Yao sat in the courtyard basking in the sun, not wanting to disturb him.

Ruan Xi lay in the rocking chair like an old lady while Ruan Jie and Ling Yao sat on the bench beside her. In front of them was a higher stool with a white porcelain plate filled with sunflower seeds and peanuts.

On the morning of the first day of the New Year, the three of them spent half the day basking in the sun, eating sunflower seeds and peanuts, and chatting.

Every now and then, Ruan Xi would get up from the rocking chair to check if the old tailor was sleeping. If he wasn’t, she would ask if he needed anything, like water or food.

The old tailor said he needed to use the bathroom, so Ruan Xi and Ling Yao carefully helped him up and out. Since the injury was to the upper body, his legs were unaffected. The old tailor was careful when getting out of bed, avoiding large movements of the upper body, and despite the chest pain, he could still manage to use the bathroom. After using the bathroom, he lay down again, occasionally groaning in pain. As he rested and regained some energy, he weakly said, “This year might not be smooth.”

It was only the first day of the New Year, and he had already fallen and injured his bones in the morning. It didn’t seem like a good omen. He hadn’t even started experiencing the new year’s atmosphere, and he was already bedridden.

Ruan Xi wasn’t superstitious but didn’t like hearing such talk, so she said, “Master, it’s not fashionable to be superstitious these days.”

The old tailor grunted, “I’m already lying here. Who can still drag me out for criticism?”

Seeing him talk like this, Ruan Xi thought his injury might not be serious. But she didn’t leave the tailor shop. Instead, she stayed to take care of the old tailor all day, right up until bedtime. With Ling Yao’s help, she helped him wash up before locking his door and heading home.

Ruan Xi and Ling Yao spent the whole day at the tailor shop, but she didn’t make Ruan Jie stay too.

To ease Liu Xinghua’s worries, Ruan Xi sent Ruan Jie home at noon.

There was no moon that night, and it was pitch black outside when they left the old tailor’s house. Ruan Xi locked the courtyard gate and turned around, blinking to find she couldn’t see anything. She slowly moved forward, feeling her way with her foot.

Seeing her like this, Ling Yao smiled and reached out his hand, “Shall I hold your hand?”

Ruan Xi couldn’t see his face in the dark and blinked, asking, “Can you see clearly?”

Ling Yao nodded, “I can see a little.”

Since they hadn’t brought a flashlight, Ruan Xi took Ling Yao’s hand. Then, just like their previous trip to the commune, they walked hand in hand, feeling their way along the mountain path back home.

Ling Yao led Ruan Xi, constantly informing her of the road conditions.

Ruan Xi couldn’t help but laugh, thinking he was like a navigator. He did a good job, guiding her without any stumbles along the way.

As they walked halfway, they saw a beam of flashlight light sweeping towards them.

Ruan Xi and Ling Yao squinted against the light, and when it fell to the ground, they saw it was Ruan Changsheng.

Ruan Changsheng approached with the flashlight, and at a glance, he saw the two kids holding hands. He instinctively cleared his throat, suddenly feeling that he wasn’t doing as well as this little fool.