Chapter 7 Sprout Soup

Jiang Fubao didn't want to go out.

I stayed in the yard and admired the beautiful scenery of the countryside.

Until it gets dark.

The Jiang family talents have returned.

They went back to their rooms and prepared to go to bed.

In ancient times, people seldom washed at night except in summer. At the beginning of spring, the weather was still a little cool, so it was inconvenient to boil water.

The villagers basically go to bed without washing their faces or feet. After all, if they get frozen, a cold could be fatal.

In addition, there has been little rain in the past two years, and there has been drought, so washing is a waste of water.

Jiang Fubao was a little uncomfortable.

As far as I can remember, the last time I took a bath was half a month ago.

Because she fell into the river, she was soaked, sweating profusely, and her body was sticky.

But she had no choice but to adapt to the local customs and try to accept it.

Listening to the breathing of her two brothers beside her, her eyelids became heavier and heavier, and soon she fell asleep.

At this moment, there are two bamboo baskets in the corner of the kitchen.

A basket of eggs and a basket of quail eggs, both lying there quietly.

Farmers can't afford candles, let alone oil lamps.

They are reluctant to even consume the oil, so how can they use it for lighting? Therefore, once it gets dark, it is time for farmers to go to bed.

The temperature in spring is not as cold as in winter.

Hibernating animals come out to look for food, and birds become active. Occasionally, a few cries can be heard at night, which are a bit scary, like a baby crying.

The entire Jiangjia Village became unusually quiet.

Until the hour of Yin.

Jiang Fubao was half asleep when she heard some noises coming from the door. She was a light sleeper and was woken up immediately, but she couldn't help but wake up because the body was still that of a child.

I just turned over and continued to sleep.

When I woke up, the sun had already risen.

The morning glow in the east exudes a light golden hue, and it looks like a sunny day today.

But for farmers, this is not worth being happy about.

People say spring rain is as precious as oil, but since the beginning of spring there has been no rain at all.

Jiang Fubao put on his clothes and shoes and got out of bed.

The two brothers had already woken up.

She walked out of the house.

Just like yesterday.

Under the violent treatment of grandma.

Wash your face thoroughly.

This morning I had brown rice porridge as usual.

Nothing new.

Time always passes quickly when you are daydreaming. In the blink of an eye, it was noon and the three people who were digging wild vegetables came back from outside carrying bamboo baskets.

"From today on, we will have three meals a day. At noon, Yamato and his friends are doing odd jobs in town and can't come back, so we can just have some sprout soup. We can cook the brown rice porridge in the evening. There's no need to eat so much since we don't have to do any heavy work in the fields."

Zhang Jinlan saw her two daughters-in-law coming back.

Said quickly.

"I understand, mother. Let's choose the vegetables now," said Zhu Yingqiu.

"Mom, we've dug a full basket. When the sprout soup is ready, I'm going to have a big bowl of it." The gluttonous Sun Pingmei slurped her saliva.

Only Zhang Yanzi smiled tenderly.

remain silent.

The three of them squatted on the ground and began to choose dishes.

Everyone works efficiently.

In a short while, the basket full of sprouts was ready.

At noon, there were only eleven people sitting at the table in the main hall.

There was a bowl of green sprout soup in front of everyone.

There was not a drop of oil at all, just some crushed salt, cooked it, and then served.

"It's really strange, why do I feel like there's a little more salt in the salt tank?" Zhu Yingqiu, who has been in the kitchen all year round, also noticed something was wrong.

But no one believed her.

"Sister-in-law, you must have remembered it wrongly. Who would add salt to our salt tank? Only a foolish spendthrift would do such a stupid thing. You must have remembered it wrongly. Eat it quickly. After eating, the three of us will go to the mountain again in the afternoon to see if we can be as lucky as Fubao and pick up bird eggs."

Sun Pingmei picked up the bowl and started eating.

Although the sprouts are bitter, they are much tastier than the bark.

A few years ago, Qixi County also suffered a disaster. At that time, Sun Pingmei was not married yet and was only seven or eight years old. Because she was a girl, she had no food at home and was hungry every day.

But there were no wild vegetables or mushrooms, not even weeds to be found on the mountain, so Sun Pingmei could only eat tree bark to survive.

Therefore, she is not picky about anything and enjoys eating sprouts.

After the first try, the prodigal Jiang Fubao quickly accepted the sprout soup.

Compared to stir-frying, boiled sprouts are less bitter.

She ate in small bites and drank soup from time to time.

Originally, her lunch was egg custard.

But Jiang Fubao didn't want to eat alone.

She took the initiative to ask to eat the same food as the Jiang family.

I can't beat her.

Zhang Jinlan had no choice but to serve her half a bowl of sprout soup.

"After the autumn harvest this year, I will find a wife for Tongjin after selling the grain. He is already fifteen years old. If he stays in Zhangjia Village, the child should be born by the end of the year."

In a poor family, there is no such rule as not talking while eating or sleeping.

Zhang Jinlan spoke slowly while chewing some sprouts.

She was from Zhangjia Village. If her parents had not died early and she had no brothers to help her, she would not have married into the poorest Jiangjia Village. Fortunately, the old man treated her well, and although her life was poor, she lived a happy life.

The son is filial, the daughter-in-law is hardworking, and the grandchildren are sensible.

Speaking of Zhangjia Village, her younger daughter-in-law, Zhang Yanzi, Fubao's mother, is closely related to her and is a close relative within the third degree of mourning.

Zhang Yanzi was also an only child. Her father died of illness and her widowed mother passed away after raising her. Because her family was too poor and her parents had died, and she had a tough life, no one in Zhangjia Village was willing to marry her.

Zhang Jinlan, who returned home to visit her relatives, took the initiative to arrange this marriage for her son.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law get along like real mother and daughter.

"Who says it's not? If you want to blame someone, blame the weather these past two years. It never rains, and the sun is scorching every day. Not only have we been exhausted, but we can't grow rice either. After the brown rice harvest, it was only 50% of the yield. Sigh, who doesn't have a hard life? And then there's the conscription. We're out of food and money."

Zhu Yingqiu put down his bowl and sighed.

Tongjin is her eldest son, so of course she cares about his marriage.

But there was no money at home, what could she do?

During last year's conscription, each family had to provide three able-bodied men over the age of fourteen.

Otherwise you will have to pay a fine.

Two taels per person.

How could she bear to let her son go to the border to fight? Nine out of ten times he would never come back.

What's the difference between this and committing suicide?

Therefore, the Jiang family paid a fine of six taels of silver.

The family savings were emptied.

This makes the already poor family even worse off.

"Okay, let's just eat. Why are you sighing? Old woman, starting tomorrow, you take the three daughters-in-law to the mountains to dig up more sprouts. It's spring now, and wild vegetables and mushrooms are about to sprout. Pay more attention. Although the dried mushrooms we sold last year didn't make much money, it still brought the family some extra income. As for the work in the fields, I can take the three boys with me."

Seeing that his family was in a bad mood, Jiang Shoujia knocked on the table with his hand.

He turned his head and said to Zhang Jinlan.

"You are right, old man. We have to get by no matter how hard life is. I don't know if it will rain this year, but there is an old saying that goes, 'Prepare for a rainy day.' It is always a good idea to save more money. This year we can get more dried mushrooms to sell. Even if the harvest is poor, we can still get by. If we can pick up some bird eggs like Fubao did, we won't have to worry about not having enough to eat this year."