Leave everything to us.
They told us what they ate to stave off hunger when they were fighting alongside the army and there was no food. They also told us how to preserve these dishes and what cooking methods would make them taste bad.
Hearing these things, we truly felt how fortunate we were.
Especially for myself, I only heard my grandfather mention it when I was a child, but when he joined the army, the whole country was about to be liberated. What I heard most was about how we survived the three years of natural disasters.
I remember that my grandfather's family had seven brothers and a sister, so there were probably more than eleven or twelve people in the family. That only includes the adults, not the children. If you include them, there were more than twenty people. They lived on my grandfather's demobilization allowance, and no one was left behind.
However, many families in the village still lost elderly people or girls during that difficult time.
It's terrifying to think about. In the last two years, I've started to put a tight rein on them, telling them that if they don't want to go hungry, they should find something to eat and bring home anything edible and non-toxic.
The key is that they listen. Children of this era know the value of food and the feeling of going hungry. In addition, they eat more and expend more energy than ordinary people because they practice martial arts. So, whenever they have time, they go out to dig for wild vegetables, hunt, or find fruit to eat. After a few days, we know about two miles into the nearby mountains and forests, and we know what is in each place.
Actually, it's not just a few of us who wander up the mountain every afternoon; the kids from the nearby villages also wander up the mountain. However, when they see that we are dressed better than them, are from a military compound, and are good at fighting, they don't really come up to us. This makes us uneasy, and we really don't know how to talk to them about it.
Besides, it wouldn't be good to say too much, whether it's about military affairs or what's in their baskets. So, if we saw anyone ahead or elsewhere, we quickly made our way away.
Tomorrow is October 1st, National Day. Sitting in the classroom, I heard many classmates saying they wanted to go see the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. We spent our time in the mountains discussing this. My third brother wanted to go, but he was afraid he was too young and his parents wouldn't agree. Judging from his expression, he planned to sneak off early tomorrow morning.
Just then, I spotted a large patch of yams ahead and said, "Third Brother, I'm afraid your plan is going to fail before it even begins."
"What do you mean, Mianmian? I didn't say anything, how did you know?"
We know that too.
"You all know that, right? Okay, okay, I won't say anymore. I won't go, alright? But Mianmian, what did you mean by 'stillborn'?"
"Look, what's that?"
The three people saw what the place I was pointing to was.
"Come quickly and look, these are yam beans!"
"We know that, haven't we eaten it before?"
"Mianmian, do you mean this patch of vines is yam?" Sister Nan asked.
“No, these aren’t. I’ve heard Grandpa Wang mention them before; yams grow underground.”
"What are you waiting for? Let's dig!" Fourth Brother said.
"Yes, dig quickly!"
And so, we dug and discussed it there.
"Mianmian, tell me, how long would it take to dig up all these yams?"
"I don't know, but tomorrow and the day after are holidays. We'll eat breakfast here and then bring some back after Mom and the others get off work in the afternoon. We can dig for the rest ourselves."
"It's feasible, but I'm worried about being discovered," the third brother said anxiously.
"That's easy."
"When Mom and the others go to work in the morning, they come over and take some to put in the yard in the city," the fourth brother said.
"Fourth Brother is right. This way we can dig up more without worrying about being discovered," he thought for a moment and agreed.
"But how do we save this?" Sister Nan asked.
"This is simple, it's just a bit complicated," I said.
"Mianmian, just tell me how to do it. It's better to be lazy than to go hungry," said Sister Nan.
"Yes, Mianmian," Third Brother also said.
"It involves peeling the skin, slicing it, and drying it in the sun."
"Isn't this simple?" Fourth Brother said.
"You haven't finished telling me yet. Grandpa Wang said that when you peel this yam, there's a sticky layer of glue that makes your hands really itchy after you touch it."
"What should we do then?" Fourth Brother asked quickly.
"That's simple. We can just sew it together with a piece of cloth and slip it over our hands," Sister Nan said after thinking for a moment.
"Sister Nan's idea is great!"
So, seeing that it was getting late, we quickly gathered some food and put it in our baskets, topped them with firewood, and headed back. The soldiers standing at the door never seemed to mind, and besides, we were all acquaintances.
Recently, Dad and Uncle Shen have been away on missions, leaving only Mom at home. When Mom came back, I quickly whispered about finding the yams.
"Okay, I got it. I'll take a few sacks over first thing tomorrow morning, tie them to the back seat, and leave them in the yard next to the hospital. When we're free at noon, we can peel and dry the skins."
"No need, Mom. Let's do it on Sunday."
“If you all go, what will happen to the house? We can’t keep storing it in the woodshed or cellar forever. Besides, it’s not just you few who recognize this as a yam.”
After thinking about it, I realized it made sense, so I said, "Okay."
It took us ten days of continuous work to finish digging up all the yams.
"Mianmian, what are you doing?" Fourth Brother asked when he saw me digging a hole.
"Fourth Brother, I'm planting yam beans."
"Why?" Third Brother also asked.
"We can save it for next year or two, or let other people come and dig it out."
“Mianmian is right. We’ve dug so much already, we should leave some for others,” Sister Nan said.
"Alright," the third brother said, and went over to dig a hole, while the fourth brother followed behind to plant the seeds.
After planting, I saw that there were still quite a few yam beans left, so I said, "Let's pick these yam beans too, and cook them when we get home."
"Yes, this is all grain; we can't just leave it here."
In ten days, we harvested 10,000 jin (5,000 kg) of yams alone. We almost ran out of storage space at home. After thinking for a moment, I said, "I need to quickly peel and dry the thicker yams. Leaving them at home will cause trouble sooner or later."
"Mianmian is right," said Sister Nan.
"Then we won't go into the mountains after school tomorrow afternoon."
"No, if we suddenly stop going into the mountains, everyone will definitely have something to say," Third Brother said.
"What should we do then?" Fourth Brother asked.
"Let's do it tonight. After breakfast in the morning, when the weather is good, we can dry the yams. After school in the afternoon, we can put them indoors," I said.
"This method will work."
"And so, for another ten days or so, I worked two hours every night. Even when my dad and the others came home, I joined in."
10,000 jin of yams, and in the end only 4,000 jin of yams remained.
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