Chapter 25
It's not that I'm worried about vegetables or compost; it's that the 24th of each month is the day I go to the county town to collect my grain rations, and that's less than two days away.
Judging by this trend, the day we receive our rations will either be filled with snow that hasn't stopped or the snow on the roads won't have melted; either way, it won't be a good day.
Shu Wanxiu frowned as she finished her breakfast in the snow. She hadn't come up with a solution yet, but then her uncle and cousin Shu Chenglin arrived.
Strictly speaking, this was the first time that Shu Wanxiu's uncle and his family had visited her new home.
Although they had driven Shu Wanxiu home many times while doing business, they always left after dropping her off at the village entrance.
They didn't forget etiquette this time, even though they came in a hurry. The eldest uncle brought a smoked salted fish and two pairs of reed shoes, while the eldest cousin carried six golden-yellow tangerines.
Needless to say, the salted fish, the reed shoes, and the stinky tangerines all surprised Shu Wanxiu.
She only knows how to make straw sandals, a skill she learned this year from the villagers. Reed sandals are more troublesome and time-consuming to make than straw sandals, but the advantages are obvious: they are warmer.
Previously, Shu Wanxiu was too embarrassed to ask the villagers to teach her how to make reed shoes again, and she was also reluctant to spend money to buy two new pairs of shoes in the county. She happened to find out that winters in the south were warmer than winters in the north, so she took a chance and wanted to see if she could get through the winter wearing straw sandals.
Unexpectedly... the winters in the South are also cold, and even more unexpectedly... my aunt made them reed shoes as a timely help.
Shu Yanrong brushed the snow off his shoulder and handed the shoes to her, saying, "Ting is about the same age and height as you. This pair was made for you by your aunt according to her foot length. Shouyi's pair was estimated by her. You can try them on later. If they are too long or too short, they can be altered."
Shu Wanxiu examined the tangerines with great interest for a while before asking Shu Chenglin where he had gotten them.
Shu Chenglin unconsciously straightened up a bit, chuckled, and downplayed the issue, saying, "I was wandering around in the deep mountains and accidentally found a tangerine tree, so I picked a few dozen. They're really sour, you can eat them to relieve your boredom."
"Deep in the mountains?"
"Why did you go to the deep mountains?" Shu Wanxiu was really surprised.
The deep mountains are dangerous, teeming with all sorts of wild animals. Although it's winter, some of these animals might still be out and about. The two families know each other well, and Shu Wanxiu knows that Shu Chenglin has no hunting skills, so she really doesn't understand why he would wander aimlessly into the deep mountains.
"Hmm..." The tall man's expression became completely unnatural after Shu Wanxiu pressed him for answers. He scratched the back of his head and stole glances at Shu Yanrong's face. After a series of small movements, he answered in a low voice, "I was picking firewood... and wandered in by mistake."
Shu Yanrong, who had been expressionless until now, suddenly flew into a rage upon hearing this lie. "You brat! If you hadn't brought this up in the first place, no one would have exposed your past, but now that your sister has asked, you're still lying?"
"I... sigh!" Shu Chenglin's face slowly turned from red to purple. While Shu Wanxiu was at a loss, he lowered his head, patted his lips twice as an apology, and began to explain the purpose of his trip into the mountains.
It turned out that they had heard about the origin of the rabbit meat that Shu Wanxiu brought to Wuli Village on her first visit, so they wanted to try their luck in the mountains to see if they could catch some prey.
"Hmph!" This was still a tactful way of putting it, without mentioning how miserable the day in the mountains had been.
Shu Yanrong was angry that a father like him was still so irresponsible in his words and actions, so he took over the conversation without giving him any face.
“It’s not your fault,” he said, first comforting Shu Wanxiu, then continued, “He was so stupid that he thought rabbits died in the mountains every day, and he was so eager to go and pick up some bargains. As a result, he spent the whole day in the mountains, and apart from picking half a bag of tangerines, he didn’t see anything else. Not to mention, he accidentally kicked a rock and rolled into the bushes, almost breaking his leg on a rock, and his whole body was scratched by thorns.”
Shu Wanxiu was speechless and dumbfounded when she heard about this tortuous experience.
I noticed my older cousin was walking a bit strangely, and I just assumed it was because the snowy road was difficult to walk on. Who would have thought there was such a dangerous reason behind it?
"This happened a few days ago? Have you seen a doctor?"
After inquiring about Shu Chenglin's injuries, Shu Wanxiu poured each of them a bowl of hot water to warm them up, and then changed the subject.
Speaking of this heavy snow, it was enough to make all the refugees who had fled the famine sigh.
Knowing that relief food will be divided into different grades in the future, I believe all refugees will make a decision—to line up earlier on the next day to receive food.
The sudden heavy snowfall undoubtedly ruined everyone's plans.
"If it snows for another day and night, the snow will be knee-deep."
They were born in the north and were used to heavy snow. In the past, snow up to their knees was not a big deal.
But as the old saying goes, times have changed.
If you were to go to collect grain rations, squatting under the county town wall the night before in such deep snow, it would be no different from courting death.
"Does this mean we have no choice but to set off early the day after tomorrow?"
Then, just like last time when we received grain, we would have no advantage. Wuli Village and Wupai Village are not close to the county seat.
After much discussion, they still couldn't make up their minds; the warm fire made their brains sluggish.
As noon approached, Shu Wanxiu asked them to help check if the newly dug compost pit behind the house was deep enough. She then quietly scooped up some rice, washed it, cooked porridge, and steamed half a fish.
The heavy snow covered everything. Shu Yanrong and his son removed the snow from the top of the compost pit, checked the depth of the pit, and returned. The fire had already cooked the porridge halfway through.
"You child, how can you be so incompetent at managing a household?!" Shu Yanrong's face was very unpleasant.
He was angry that she wouldn't save food, and also angry that he hadn't anticipated that Shu Wanxiu would pull this stunt.
Shu Wanxiu didn't feel wronged at all after being scolded. Instead, she acted like a shameless rascal and promised with a grin, "This is the only time. I promise I won't do it again next time."
"No." Shu Yanrong still refused to eat, arguing that cooked food wouldn't spoil in this kind of weather, even if left for a day or two.
Shu Wanxiu's expression changed, and she subtly gave Shu Shouyi a wink.
This was arranged while they were in the back.
"Uncle, don't go! Please stay and have dinner!" Without warning, Shu Shouyi grabbed Shu Yanrong's leg tightly.
He lamented how boring it was to eat with only his aunt every day, how happy he was to see his uncle, and how much he wanted his uncle to stay and eat with him...
The little girl pretended to be reluctant to let him go, clinging to him and begging him on. Shu Yanrong simply couldn't bring himself to do it and couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Shu Wanxiu, taking advantage of the situation, happily added another dish of boiled cabbage and another of boiled pumpkin.
During the meal, Shu Wanxiu noticed that they were very restrained in picking at their food, so she couldn't help but add more porridge and vegetables to their plates.
After the meal, it was finally time to set the time for collecting the grain.
After careful consideration, Shu Yanrong said, "In winter, the county town gates don't open until late in the morning. How about I come and take you two to Wuli Village tomorrow afternoon to stay for the night? Then, we can set off with torches at late in the morning or early in the evening."
Sleeping in Wuli Village the night before was a bit of a hassle for Uncle's family, but it was definitely safer and more convenient for Shu Shouyi and Shu Wanxiu.
"Okay." Shu Wanxiu understood that she shouldn't be stubborn when she shouldn't be.
A note from the author:
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Sour orange: scientific name is sour orange, also called trifoliate orange, which belongs to the citrus family.
I ate this fruit when I was a child. In my memory, it was a little bigger than a regular orange but smaller than a grapefruit. The peel was hard, and it tasted sour with a hint of bitterness.
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