Chapter 31

Jiang Mi’s loud reaction alerted everyone in the house. Pei’s mother, cooking in the kitchen, almost dropped her bowl from excitement, while Mr. Pei blushed, thinking about how much his daughter-in-law must love his son.

Jiang Mi was upset about her new homework after getting in trouble. She was just too excited to think straight.

She had hoped her eldest sister would buy delicious food in town and that she could get some if she finished her homework and made her sister happy.

Jiang Xi came out sternly, and Jiang Mi, frightened, went back to finish her homework obediently, forgetting about the food.

Jiang Xi, after calming down, took a big drink of cold water and touched her warm ears. She realized she should lock the door next time but worried it might look suspicious.

Jiang Xi was about to complain but then Pei’s mother came over with food. She handed over the meat and bones she had exchanged with the system: “Mom, I’m going to be busy. Can I use these to make stew tonight? Can we eat this braised pig’s trotter?”

Pei’s mother felt embarrassed and tried to ignore what happened earlier. She wasn’t good at pretending and was worried about her daughter-in-law feeling awkward. As she thought about what to say, she ended up with just a bunch of meat and bones.

She managed to say: “Why is there so much meat? And it’s top-quality pork belly. Oh my God, where did you buy it?! It’s so scary. Don’t go there again!”

The only place to get such good meat at this time is the black market.

The black market is scary. Even though there are good things there and their family is wealthy, it’s risky to go there. If caught, it could be a big disaster!

Mother Pei was frightened, but seeing her daughter-in-law safe made her feel a bit better.

Jiang Xi smiled and said, “I know, I just wanted to make up for you. I’m the only one at home not working, so I don’t want you to suffer.”

Mother Pei said seriously, “Don’t be embarrassed. You have to care for the third child at home, which is very tiring. Turning him over and massaging him makes you sweat, and there’s also washing clothes and cleaning his body. It’s just as hard.”

Jiang Xi laughed. It wasn’t quite the same, but Mother Pei kept insisting she was also very tired to avoid Jiang Xi feeling bad. After talking for a while, Mother Pei’s mouth was dry, so she went to the kitchen with the meat, bones, and pig’s trotters.

In the kitchen, she continued to talk to Pei’s father.

Jiang Xi didn’t mind the nagging and actually found it quite interesting. It’s often said that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are naturally at odds, but Jiang Xi felt lucky to have such a kind mother-in-law.

Since the meat was bought a bit late, dinner was just ordinary dishes. Father Pei also told Jiang Xi to avoid the black market for food due to its dangers.

Mother Pei agreed and almost added more warnings.

Jiang Xi focused on her meal, not daring to look up.

She started making the bone soup she brought back. She put water, ginger, and other seasonings into a pot and simmered it over low heat overnight. For the pig’s trotters, she used the same method but just put the pot on the stove to simmer.

This way, the smell won’t spread.

Mother Pei salted the remaining pork and put it in well water to keep it fresh for a while.

Jiang Xi didn’t let Jiang Mi eat dinner. She believed that Jiang Yu and Jiang Mi should at least finish high school, so Jiang Mi, who had fallen behind, needed to be treated seriously.

Jiang Mi felt very upset about not being allowed to eat and cried in her room.

Mother Pei felt sorry hearing the faint crying and wanted to ask Jiang Xi to relent, but Jiang Xi firmly refused.

Mother Pei realized that although Jiang Xi seemed gentle, she was quite principled and wouldn’t give in.

Just like when Jiang Xi wanted them to buy a cart, and the money was given.

Mother Pei didn’t argue further. After dinner, she quickly left. She felt distressed staying at home and couldn’t solve the problem, so she decided to hide away.

_

After dinner, it wasn’t completely dark yet.

People would visit familiar neighbors, chat about recent events, like someone’s chicken being stolen. They’d sit at the village entrance and gossip, but it turned out the thief was their own son, who was now being punished at home.

Everyone sighed. One person joked about Pei’s mother, saying, “Oh, you came out today? I called you several times before, but you didn’t come out. You stayed at home to help your daughter-in-law.”

These were just light-hearted jokes.

People who didn’t care wouldn’t take it seriously, and those who did might feel uncomfortable.

Mother Pei didn’t think much of it and said with a smile, “I was busy at home before. We start harvesting tomorrow, so I’ll rest now.”

Others nodded, as they needed rest before starting work.

But some people thought differently. Mrs. Zhang in the corner muttered, “They say a family can’t afford too many children. Don’t you have two more? I heard you haven’t sent much food to your grandchildren lately. What’s wrong? Do you really think those two children are your granddaughters?”

Mother Pei’s face fell, and she responded unhappily, “What’s wrong? Did you see whether I sent food or not? Are you watching my house all day?”

Mrs. Zhang laughed and said, “How could that be? I just heard your daughter-in-law complaining. They say you really favor the girl your daughter-in-law brought and don’t care about your own grandson. If I were you, I’d be confused. Are you really good at being a relative?”

The people chatting looked around. Some frowned in disapproval, while others agreed, though they thought Mrs. Zhang was going too far. “It does make sense, Sister Guizhi. Don’t be so confused. You’ll regret it when you’re old.”

Mother Pei sneered, “I am old now, but I don’t regret it. With these three children, I’m living a much better life than before. My husband and I used to work hard taking care of the third child and got nothing in return. Now, things are different. The third child is well cared for. The two little ones help with small tasks at home. They wash the dishes. If I’m unwell, my daughter-in-law takes my pulse. There’s a little brown sugar water at home that she makes for me daily. You know so much about what my grandson and son give me. Why don’t you share that?”

Everyone: “…”

Isn’t this really stirring up trouble?

Mrs. Zhang hesitated and stayed silent, while others said, “I envy you. My son isn’t great, but my daughter-in-law is wonderful. She gave me a grandson, works hard, and keeps the house in order. She’s much better than my son.”

“That’s right. My daughter-in-law is really kind. Madam Jiang is very nice. When I twisted my back, she massaged it for me and didn’t ask for more money. She even gave me two eggs, so I made dumplings and sent her a bowl.”

“If you ask me, her medical skills are impressive. I haven’t felt well since giving birth to my eldest son, and she gave me medicine for two days. I’m feeling better now.”

“Yes, my husband couldn’t poop earlier, so he used some movements Dr. Jiang taught him to rub his stomach. Now he doesn’t have to sit in the toilet for half an hour anymore.”

“Oh, you’re so rude. Be careful, or your man might get angry when he gets home.”

The woman laughed loudly: “He dares?!”

Everyone laughed, and someone added, “Dr. Jiang is really good at helping people. My mother-in-law saw him right away. Now she looks much younger, has fewer gray hairs, and has recovered from insomnia, constipation, and bad breath.”

Mother Pei was initially unhappy, but hearing everyone praise Jiang Xi made her mood better. She didn’t interrupt until she was mentioned. Then she said proudly, “She is really good at this.”

“Just be happy in secret!” someone said enviously.

Mother Pei smiled and didn’t mind, but she would confront Mrs. Zhang if she spoke up.

It was very late, and everyone went to bed.

Only then did Mother Pei feel unsatisfied.

She hadn’t been out for a long time and didn’t realize Xiaoxi’s reputation was so good. It’s a pity that this village somewhat buries her talent. It would be great if she could go to a more impressive place.

She sighed and returned home.

The old man must have returned a long time ago, and the house was quiet. She closed the door and was about to enter when she heard the sound of a little mouse gnawing on something in the children’s room.

She worried that the snacks hadn’t been put away properly and had been eaten by mice.

Then she heard Jiang Yu whisper, “Eat slowly, elder sister bought a lot. It’s enough for us.”

Jiang Mi mumbled, “Wa–, I’m hungry. These cookies are delicious. How can you buy so many with 80 cents?”

Jiang Yu smiled: “It’s probably because elder sister bought a bit extra, thinking of you. She wants to make sure you have enough, so don’t be unhappy.”

“I know,” Jiang Mi said, biting another cookie and choking. She hurriedly asked, “Water, Second Sister, I want water!”

Jiang Yu quickly handed her the water.

After listening for a while, Mother Pei understood. Although her daughter-in-law seemed cold-hearted, she actually cared about Jiang Mi. She bought extra cookies, probably because she was worried Jiang Mi would eat all the treats.

She looked at the darkness in the room, shook her head and smiled, then went into her room.

_

Late July

Rice is mostly ready for harvest, and due to worries about rain, each brigade has begun organizing the harvest.

It was still dark, just after five o’clock. The loudspeaker in the center of the village began announcing, “Assemble, assemble—”

Jiang Xi was woken up and heard Pei’s parents getting up quietly outside.

Late July is very hot, and without a thermometer, Jiang Xi felt the temperature at noon was at least 39 degrees Celsius. Going out early is cooler and less hot than going out at noon, but it means getting up earlier.

Jiang Xi couldn’t do much yet but was too embarrassed to continue sleeping, so she got up as well.

When Pei’s father saw her, he frowned and asked, “Why are you up so early?”

Mother Pei was also surprised and wanted to push her back to bed: “Why did you get up? Go back to sleep. I guess you didn’t rest well after taking care of the third child at night.”

Jiang Xi smiled and said, “It’s okay. I slept early last night and am awake now. Dad and Mom, you go ahead. I’ll make breakfast.”

They would come back for breakfast around eight o’clock.

“Why so early?”

Pei’s mother complained, but seeing Jiang Xi really wanted to help, she gave up.

People outside were rushing to gather. This wasn’t like later times where people needed to put on makeup. We had to gather in five or six minutes. If we went to play, we’d have to walk a long way and might not get a good spot.

The two of them said a few words quickly and left.

Jiang Xi yawned as she soaked the mung beans. She planned to make mung bean soup for after breakfast and put it in well water. This way, she could drink the cool soup at noon, which was very refreshing.

Pei’s parents were busy outside and couldn’t handle household chores.

Cleaning, watering the vegetable garden, weeding, and similar tasks had to be done by the three of them. Jiang Xi was not very familiar with this, and the original owner had never done it before. The two younger sisters did some of it with Pei’s parents’ help, so the outside tasks were left to them.

The three of them worked hard to keep the house in order, so Pei’s parents could have dinner when they came back around eight in the morning.

For breakfast, they had dough dumplings.

Jiang Xi initially planned to make hand-rolled noodles, but she overestimated her skills and didn’t knead the noodles well. So, she made them into lumps, boiled them, and added seasonings like lard and soy sauce. Overall, it tasted quite good.

Pei’s parents felt sorry for the food.

Who wastes white flour like this?

Especially after taking two bites, they found pieces of braised pig’s trotters at the bottom of the bowl.

The pig’s trotters, which had been braised overnight, were soft, tender, salty, and fragrant. They were easily divided into pieces, with three pieces placed at the bottom of each person’s bowl. The family enjoyed the delicious flavor, and the taste of the braised pig’s trotters lingered even after a long time.

After resting, the two went back to work. They each took a pot of sweet mung bean water, which helped relieve their fatigue.

Jiang Xi thought no one would visit the clinic for treatment in the next few days since work points were high at this time, making her reluctant to see patients.

But that afternoon, two people came. They were educated youth, a man and a woman. They came to the village last fall and were experiencing their first summer harvest. They were sent here because they had heatstroke.

Jiang Xi had prepared summer soup earlier, so she gave it to Pei’s parents, along with Jiang Yu and Jiang Mi at noon. There was some left, which was just enough for the two of them.

Over the next two days, more people came with heatstroke.

However, most of them were from Zhoujia Village, where there was a regular team doctor. Only those living in Peijia Village were sent to her. The two educated youth on the first day were sent here because they were working near Peijia Village.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the cultivated area was huge, and without mechanized planting, even a whole family working together wasn’t enough during harvest season.

On the third day of the rush to harvest, the team leader and several squadron leaders used a loudspeaker to announce that everyone needed to work overtime in the evening because the weather forecast predicted rain in the next two days.

The rice was ripe, with each grain full. If harvested quickly, a lot of rice would be collected. If it rained, much of the food would be lost. So, no one in the village complained, and everyone worked hard to harvest the rice before the rain arrived.

The empty warehouse gradually filled up, and more people suffered from heatstroke. However, at the critical moment, no one took a rest. They just drank heat-relief soup and continued working. Only a female educated youth who was on her menstrual period stayed in the small clinic a bit longer.

Jiang Xi naturally stayed with her and used medicinal herbs she collected and bought to make a whitening cream. Honey, provided by a villager who had received medical treatment, was also added. This honey was pure and natural, unlike the real and fake honey of later generations.

Jiang Xi made more of the cream so her two younger sisters would be clean and fair once the harvest was over.

The female educated youth noticed there were only two people in the room and felt uncomfortable. To break the silence, she said, “I didn’t expect there to be such a great doctor like Dr. Jiang in such a remote place.”

Feeling embarrassed, she quickly added, “Sorry, I’m not good at talking and might come off as unlikable.”

Jiang Xi smiled and shook his head, saying, “It’s okay; it’s true this place is more remote than the city.”

Even without electric light, Jiang Xi found the village much better than the future city, with its simplicity and warmth. Unfortunately, it hasn’t developed yet, but soon the country’s development will accelerate.

Seeing Jiang Xi’s kindness, Mu Wan felt relieved. As an educated youth, she was an outsider here. The village was relatively good, not too far from the town and not very xenophobic^[1]means having a fear or dislike of people from other countries or cultures., unlike the area where her eldest brother was sent, which was very unfriendly.

Mu Wan had been here for three years and often complained about the lack of a doctor and the need to buy mosquito repellent from town. During the harvest rush, she was sent to the clinic for heatstroke and bought some insect repellent powder, which was effective and cheaper than in town.

Mu Wan wanted to build a good relationship with Jiang Xi. She said, “Although it’s a bit remote, it’s much better with you here. I had heatstroke the other day and the team doctor’s medicine was terrible, costing 50 cents a bowl. It made me feel sick and I couldn’t eat.”

Jiang Xi thought for a moment and said, “He might have used too much medicine. Too much can be as bad as too little, but it’s not a big deal.”

Mu Wan wanted to change the topic and noticed Jiang Xi was applying a brown paste on her hand. She asked curiously, “What are you doing? I saw you added honey. Why are you applying it on your hand?”

Jiang Xi replied casually, “This is a whitening and scar-removal cream. I’m trying it out.”

Since dressing up wasn’t popular, Jiang Xi didn’t want to attract attention with her skin-whitening cream. 

Mu Wan, who had a dark complexion from working in the countryside, eagerly asked, “Does it really whiten skin?”

Jiang Xi vaguely replied, “Probably.”

Mu Wan quickly asked to buy it, “How much is it?”

Jiang Xi hesitated but agreed to sell it, “Two yuan a box. It lasts three months. Come back when I’m done.”

Mu Wan agreed, but suddenly a loud shout interrupted them: “Sister-in-law, Dad’s leg is broken, come and take a look!”

***

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