Chapter 3
After exchanging their intentions, Shu Wanxiu and her companion, as the new owners of the thatched cottage, had no choice but to change direction and become the leaders.
The indigenous people of Wupai Village followed in an orderly fashion, but their voices gradually became softer.
As the saying goes, going up a mountain is easy, but going down is hard. But for Shu Wanxiu and her niece, it became that going down the mountain was hard, and going up the mountain was hard too.
Shu Wanxiu had been fleeing famine for a long time, and her body was severely depleted. Not only did her regular menstrual flow stop every month, but when she stayed in the refugee shed outside Fangyuan County, she was also weak every day. She would always feel drowsy after drinking the relief porridge and would spend most of the day sleeping in a corner with Shu Shouyi.
Having not eaten for most of the day and having traveled a long distance, my legs were weak going downhill, but at least it was easier to move them. Now, half-leading and half-carrying Shu Shouyi uphill, I was panting heavily.
Therefore, when he led the group to the thatched hut, only a sliver of light remained in the sky.
The villagers lit torches in advance to light their way as they prepared to return home. After inspecting the two houses, the women accompanying them asked the men to fetch water. There were no basins or buckets in the houses, but Chen Sanhe, the wife of the village chief, had thoughtfully brought all the necessary cleaning tools.
There were no wells on the mountain, so the men went together to fetch water from the stream at the foot of the mountain.
The others found their own tasks, some sweeping the house roughly to remove cobwebs, others pulling weeds from under the eaves and around the house by the light of torches.
Chen Sanhe looked around the house, inside and out, then took some wild grass, made a bundle, and used it to wipe away the ashes from the partially collapsed stove. He then called Shu Wanxiu and Shu Shouyi over to eat.
She was a rather plump woman, but she worked very efficiently and effectively.
He carefully placed the bamboo basket he had been carrying on the stove, lifted the bamboo lid, and inside were two bowls of dry rice and a dish of pickled vegetables to accompany the rice.
Farmers cook according to the usual amount of food for each family member, neither too much nor too little.
The Pang family's dinner today naturally didn't include two extra bowls of rice. Chen Sanhe had his daughter-in-law cook the rice again later. There wasn't time to prepare any side dishes, so they simply took some pickled vegetables from the jar and stir-fried them.
Shu Wanxiu looked at the plate.
Pickled vegetables, I used to eat them often at home, but I haven't had them for a long time since we fled the famine.
In the refugee shacks outside Fangyuan County, they only had two meals of thin porridge a day, enough to keep them alive, but without any extra flavor. Just looking at the color of that dish of pickled vegetables made their mouths water and their mouths water.
Although Shu Wanxiu was not married, she was already clear that she was no longer the little girl who could rely on her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law. After settling down in Wupai Village, she had to take charge of her own interactions with others and social relationships.
Now that the imperial court has settled them, they not only have houses to live in, but they can also go to the county every month to receive a relief grain issued by the imperial court until next autumn harvest.
Shu Wanxiu didn't know if Chief Pang had told her family that they could receive government relief grain, but she had no intention of pretending not to know.
So she took Shu Shouyi's hand and forcibly suppressed her appetite with reason, saying, "We have already troubled Village Chief Pang and Auntie so much today, how can we accept such a good meal from Auntie for nothing?"
“We haven’t had our evening meal yet, but thanks to the court’s compassion, we have received relief grain. Wanxiu originally planned to start a fire to cook our evening meal, but we didn’t have any cooking utensils. Just now, I led Shouyi down the mountain intending to shamelessly ask my aunt’s house to borrow a small pot or an iron urn.”
After saying this, she tasted it herself and felt that something was amiss, so she quickly added, "I wonder if Auntie has any spare cookware? If so, Wanxiu will only need to borrow it for three days."
Chen Sanhe smiled and looked at Shu Wanxiu.
"I have a small pot at home, you can go and get it."
"But it's so late today, why are you leaving the food I brought uneaten and insisting on going up and down the mountain on empty stomachs? Are you just asking for trouble?"
Shu Wanxiu felt embarrassed by the gaze and lowered her head somewhat helplessly.
Chen Sanhe stepped forward and straightened her straw-like hair, tucking it behind her ears. Then he took her hand and led her to the stove.
"Hurry up and take your nephew out for dinner."
"Good girl, come to my house to get the pot again tomorrow."
With the food delivered right to her side, Shu Wanxiu, who had been hesitant and struggling, could no longer maintain her composure.
She lost count of how many times she had experienced extreme hunger during her escape from famine, and one particular incident left a shadow in her heart.
That time, they went two days without getting a single bite to eat, and the whole family was starving.
As night fell, they finally managed to get half a pancake from an old man, and the family each shared a small piece.
She couldn't bear to eat it all at once. Even though she was very hungry, she only ate a small bite and carefully tucked the rest of the pancake into her bosom.
Little did she know that the action of tucking the cake into her bosom was seen by another group of refugees traveling with her. When she was off guard, a boy suddenly rushed out and shoved her hard to the ground, snatched the small piece of cake, and ate it on the spot.
What can be done in this situation? Even if her father and brothers beat that boy up, what he's swallowed is something he'll never vomit up, no matter what.
So later she always had a sense of crisis when eating.
Eat! Eat quickly, because only what's in your stomach is safe.
At that moment, Shu Wanxiu and Shu Shouyi buried their heads and wolfed down their food, no longer caring about anything else.
Delicious! The pickled vegetables are so well-made; they are definitely the best pickled vegetables she has ever eaten in her life.
The rice tasted amazing, it was so satisfying. I usually can't feel as full as one bowl of rice even after drinking two or three bowls of porridge.
She savored the meal with a sense of happiness, finishing every last grain of rice in her bowl. But then, she belatedly realized that her table manners were quite unsightly.
She felt extremely embarrassed for her rudeness, but when she finally looked up, she realized that Chen Sanhe was no longer nearby and had gone elsewhere to help with the cleaning.
Her flushed face gradually cooled down as the mountain breeze blew. She put the dishes and chopsticks in the basket, told Shu Shouyi to stay at the door and not to wander off, and then went to find some work to do herself.
With a large number of people, most of whom were skilled cooks, the two small rooms were quickly set up and ready to be used.
The women came up with a clever idea: they used a few thick pieces of firewood to prop up the bed when the legs broke.
The aunties said that there was an old carpenter in the village, and they could ask him to help fix it.
Shu Wanxiu nodded obediently on the surface, but in fact, the happiness brought by her recent meal was fading rapidly.
If you can't afford to pay someone, how can you ask them to help repair bed legs and stool legs?
She thought that using firewood to prop up the bed legs was a good idea; at least she could make do with it and not having a stool to sit on wasn't too much of a problem.
It seems that the roof needs repairing more than the bed or the stool!
During the day, I can see at least four or five places where the roof is leaking, right? I can't live in a leaky house forever.
But... on the other hand, the roof repair had to be put on hold, since they didn't even have a pot for cooking or a basin for fetching water.
Since we agreed to only borrow Aunt Chen's pot for three days, what will we use to cook after three days?
The more I think about it, the more trouble I feel.
After tidying up the house, the neighbors didn't linger any longer. Shu Wanxiu suppressed her sorrow and saw them off.
"Thank you so much, village chief, aunties and uncles. I am so sorry that you have helped me tidy up for so long today. I am ashamed that I couldn't even bring you a bowl of water to quench your thirst. I am really sorry."
"What are you saying? You've just arrived in the village and haven't settled in yet. It's nothing for neighbors to lend a hand. There's a long road ahead! It's just a bowl of water; you can owe it to them!"
Chen Sanhe spoke loudly, and at the end he laughed heartily.
The people behind her heard this and burst out laughing.
Shu Wanxiu's brows relaxed, and she readily agreed, "Okay, next time your aunts and uncles go up the mountain to chop firewood or pass by, you can always stop by for a rest. I will definitely treat you well."
After watching everyone descend the mountain, Shu Wanxiu was still in a good mood.
Having witnessed too many dangers during her escape from famine, she was quite alarmed when she first saw so many people coming up the mountain, but she managed to suppress her fear.
After spending a few hours with them, I felt that most of the villagers in Wupai Village were warm and simple, and that most of them were not difficult to get along with.
She stood there for a long time, and even the cold wind made her feel refreshed.
"Come on, Shouyi, let's go start a fire with your aunt."
They had originally planned to go down the mountain to borrow a flint, but unexpectedly, everyone left them a torch.
Now that we have a source of fire, there's no need to ask them again.
Shu Wanxiu carried the torch to the half-collapsed wooden shed, chose a soft spot, dug a pit with a stick, lit the leaves with the torch to start the fire, and then added large pieces of firewood to continue burning.
As the fire gradually ignited, she carefully placed the earthenware pot on it.
Her two uncles had previously carried water up the mountain in wooden buckets, and she took the opportunity to wash the earthenware pot clean and leave one pot of water.
Just before starting the fire, he turned over the medicinal herbs hidden at the bottom of the grain bag and added them to the earthenware pot.
Half an hour later, the medicine in the earthenware pot was ready, and there was a lot of ash in the pit. Shu Wanxiu took the pot off, covered the ash with soil, and then used a thin wooden stick to pry open a small hole in the pit to let air in.
This huge pile of ash won't go out overnight. When you need fire the next day, just dig up the soil on top, put some dry leaves or pine needles on the ash, blow on it, and it will reignite.
Why not do it inside the stove? Because there's no more ash in the stove.
Ash can be used as fertilizer, and like many other things in this house, it was probably taken away by the villagers after the death of Uncle Pang, the village chief's eighth uncle.
Instead of lighting a fire in the stove and then digging some soil over to cover it, it's better to dig a small pit directly in the dry ground.
Having preserved the embers of the fire, Shu Wanxiu felt relieved. After watching Shu Shouyi finish his medicine, she led him back to his bedroom.
On their first night in their new home, she told Shu Shouyi to sleep on the inside of the bed, placed the rice bag between them, extinguished the torch, and covered them with the thin blanket that Aunt Chen had given them. She felt content and happy.
She stayed up all night with the rice bag and her nephew, and slept soundly.
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