The next morning, Qiaoyun was cooking at home when Jiangzhi took out the cold noodles she had made the day before and packed them in a small basket along with the seasonings.
Xiaoman and Errui were building the kang (heated brick bed) and walls yesterday, and she wanted to check on how it was going and bring them some food.
Everyone sought refuge in the mountains. With no harvest from the land, the existing food supplies would not last long. In order to survive, they shared whatever other means they could find.
There are plenty of oak trees on the mountain, and as soon as the temperature rises and spring rains fall, the grass and trees on the mountain will sprout, and there will be more food to eat.
Although the soil here is thin, the area is large enough, with miscellaneous trees and shrubs everywhere. The crops that grow here may not be enough to support the entire village of over a hundred people, but they are enough to support two families.
When the mother and son arrived at Xiaoman's house, Xiaoman's family was eating. Nini was holding a bowl and sipping her congee, while Xiaoman's grandfather was chewing on a blackened bamboo pipe, frowning and looking miserable.
Xiaoman was in the corner of the shed, wiping the face and washing the hands of the person in bed.
Upon seeing the two, Grandma Xiaoman quickly came over and invited them to have dinner together.
Xiaoman's family didn't bring any furniture, but Xiaoman's grandfather made tables and chairs out of stones and wooden stakes.
At this moment, there were several bowls of thin porridge on the table, so thin that one could see their reflection in it, and in the middle was a bowl of dark, murky pickled vegetables.
Jiang Zhi has a keen eye and can tell at a glance that the porridge contains only a few grains of millet, and mostly finely chopped grass roots.
They really dug up grass roots and mixed them with coarse grains to eat!
Alas! This whole family, young and old, is now scrimping and saving on food and eating grass roots. How can they possibly survive this long?
Jiang Zhi placed the small basket she had brought on the table and took out two large bowls of sliced and seasoned cold noodles: "Auntie, these are the Qinggang cold noodles I made. The ingredients are already prepared. I brought them here especially for you to try."
Grandma Xiaoman looked at the two large bowls full of food. Regardless of what "Qinggang Liangfen" meant, the fact that it was smooth and edible like tofu made her eyes light up. She was a little embarrassed to accept the food and declined, saying, "Auntie, you...you're all short of food. One bowl is enough..."
Errui chuckled foolishly: "Grandma, you can eat without worry!"
My mother made too much oak powder; we couldn't finish it all. Xiaoman saw it too; the puddle was already full of it.
Xiaoman's face was completely bewildered: "What's all soaked? Are they all edible?"
Beside him, Grandpa Xiaoman also turned around, his brows furrowing even more as he looked at the dark jelly.
He has bad teeth; no matter how finely the grass roots at home are chopped, he can't chew them properly.
If he didn't eat, he would go hungry. Apart from drinking some clear soup to fill his stomach, Xiaoman could only swallow grass roots whole, which made his throat ache.
Xiaoman, who was in the corner of the shed, heard Errui talking. She quickly wiped her older brother clean and came over. She peeked at the table and her eyes widened. Pointing at the two large bowls, she asked in confusion, "Aunt Jiang, is this what you made by soaking oak seeds? Is it really edible?"
During his few days at Jiang Zhi's house, he naturally saw the glossy black oak seeds soaking in the pit. He asked them about them and they said they were for eating. He even chuckled for a while, saying that eating them was bitter and astringent and would cause poisoning. He never expected that they would actually be made into tofu blocks.
"Xiaoman, you'll know once you try it, it's delicious!" Seeing that the family was afraid, Xu Errui earnestly persuaded them.
He had just eaten a large bowl of piping hot food before leaving home, and he still wanted to eat more now.
Beside him, Grandpa Xiaoman said in a deep voice, "Auntie, thank you so much for bringing us food. I, this old man, appreciate it. Grandma Xiaoman, please share it with everyone, we'll eat!"
If someone offers something to you with such kindness, you should accept it regardless of whether it's poisonous or not, bitter or astringent.
After saying this, Xiaomanye, with a look of grim determination, first brought a bowl to his face, then picked up a piece with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
It's spicy, salty, and savory with a hint of sourness, and not bitter at all; the taste is really good.
Compared to coarse and hard-to-swallow grass roots, this slippery and chewy jelly is simply a precious delicacy.
Grandpa Xiaoman took a bite and put it down. His brows, which had been furrowed tightly just moments before, relaxed, and he exclaimed, "Delicious, really delicious! Grandma Xiaoman, give some to Dazhu."
With Grandpa Xiaoman's assessment, Xiaoman and the others were immediately delighted, and each of them tasted it.
Nini, like a little mouse, hid by the table, carefully picked up a piece of meat with her hand, and put it in her mouth to suck the juice.
Grandma Xiaoman didn't have time to thank Jiang Zhi. She picked up a bowl of Qinggang jelly and hurriedly walked to the corner of the shed. She said to her eldest grandson, who was lying motionless in bed, "Zhuzi, this is a good dish made by your Aunt Jiang. If you don't like it, have a bite."
As she spoke, she lifted the corner of the blanket, revealing the person inside.
Jiang Zhi has been here twice, but each time she has only seen the bed lying motionless and has never seen the real person.
At this moment, if one did not know beforehand that there were people inside, even if one had seen more patients in the hospital than the average person, one would be greatly startled.
Dazhuzi was paralyzed after a fall a year after his marriage. He is only in his early twenties now. His pale face and emaciated body show that he is severely malnourished.
Because she had been in bed the whole time, her eyes seemed to be afraid of the light and were tightly closed. She said weakly, "I'm not hungry lying down, I don't want to eat anything, I'll leave it for Grandpa and Grandma!"
Eating a lot leads to a lot of pooping, while eating less can save food for the family.
To avoid troubling his elderly grandmother, he only drinks one bowl of congee a day to keep himself alive.
Grandma Xiaoman said eagerly, "My dear grandson, just have one more bite! Your Aunt Jiang gave us a lot, so we have food, and Nini has food too."
The grandmother and granddaughter were pushing each other back and forth over a bite of food, which made Jiang Zhi feel a pang of sadness.
Misfortune never comes singly, and a broken boat is met with a headwind; this unlucky kid has never had a single happy moment in his life.
In this era of material scarcity, to be tormented by illness is truly the worst luck imaginable.
Jiang Zhi took a few steps closer: "Dazhu, just eat it! This isn't anything special. I'll bring some more over tomorrow."
The muscle weakness caused by malnutrition prevented Xu Dazhu from showing a surprised expression.
Having grown up in the village, Xu Dazhu had a deep impression of Aunt Jiang.
Every day, he either has a gloomy face and ignores everyone, or he cries and makes a scene. Whenever he is unhappy, he walks around the village cursing people. Nobody dares to mess with him.
They might still be friendly at this moment, but they could turn hostile at the next word.
Grandpa Xiaoman also spoke up: "Dazhu, you eat! If we have a bite to eat, you have a bite. When there's nothing left to eat, we'll starve to death together."
If you starve yourself to death now, you'll be driving our whole family to our deaths with anger.
Xiaoman didn't say anything, but she put down the bowl she had been enjoying her food on just moments before.
Xu Dazhu wanted to express his gratitude but didn't have the strength. He could only nod slightly and whisper, "Grandma! I'll eat!"
Xiaoman quickly fed him a spoonful: "That's right, you need to eat even if you're lying down."
Nini, who had been at the table just moments before, also came over with her bowl, nestled beside the blankets, and said softly, "Daddy, eat more. Nini isn't hungry."
Qiaoyun was still cooking at home. Jiang Zhi only stood there for a short while before leaving. The atmosphere in the shed was so oppressive that she felt uncomfortable.
Fortunately, there is still true love in the world. Although Xu Dazhu was sick, his family did not give up on him.
Instead of just lamenting the futility of life, let's do something practical.
The kang (heated brick bed) and heated wall in Xiaoman's house haven't been built yet. Xu Errui and Xiaoman were busy all day yesterday, and they have already collected slabs of stone and dug up yellow mud to pile in the corner of the shed.
Judging from this family's situation, they really need a heated earthen bed.
Although Xiaoman's shed, built with walls made of mountain rocks and cliffs, was sturdy, it was extremely cold and damp inside.
It wasn't a problem when we were piling up charcoal, but now that the whole family lives there, it won't be long before everyone gets chilled and damp.
When people develop rheumatism or rheumatoid arthritis, even healthy people who are not paralyzed will become paralyzed.
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