Early that morning, the people of Hedong Village received word to gather at the clan elder’s house to discuss matters.
When they arrived, the former clan elder Lin Youwang had already set up a chair, leisurely sipping wild tea he had gathered from the mountain. Behind him stood Lin Xiaoman and Lin Erhu, munching on something and occasionally feeding a bite to Lin Xiniu, the five-year-old grandson of the Lin family.
Lin Daqiang stood on the steps in front of the house. When most of the crowd had gathered, he made a gesture, and the murmuring gradually subsided.
“Everyone knows that Xiaoman and Erhu haven’t had it easy. They were trying to find something to eat in the mountains to get through the winter.”
As he spoke, his gaze swept over Old Man Lin’s family. The villagers followed his lead and looked in that direction as well.
The faces of Old Man Lin’s household were grim. Old Madam Lin’s expression was especially sour. “Clan Elder, did you call us all here this morning just to drag up old grudges? When the family split yesterday, you and your father were there. We gave them everything they were owed. You’re the head of this clan—you can’t let your heart be crooked.”
Lin Daqiang let out a cold snort. “If you haven’t done anything shameful, you have nothing to fear. Did I mention your family even once?”
Seeing Old Madam Lin purse her lips and fall silent, Lin Daqiang snorted before continuing. “Xiaoman and Erhu gathered some spiky husks in the mountains and brought them to me last night after frying them. They said it was something their mother used to make when she was alive. I tried them, and they’re quite good. Most importantly, they’re filling.”
The crowd immediately erupted in murmurs.
After last year’s earthquake, most villagers had exhausted their savings rebuilding their collapsed homes. Then this year’s drought had hit. For most households, the remaining grain wouldn’t even last the winter. Everyone was worrying about how they would get by.
Discovering a new edible food at a time like this was nothing short of a lifeline.
“Clan Elder, are you talking about those spiky things that hurt like crazy when you touch them? Last year, one of those things fell from a tree and hit me on the head—it was so painful! Are they really edible?”
Lin Daqiang looked toward Lin Xiaoman, who was eating with relish. The villagers followed his gaze. They saw the siblings pinch something, pop it into their mouths, and spit out the shells. Sure enough, the shells looked exactly like what grew inside those spiky husks.
Aunt Fugui from the village called out, “Erhu, give your auntie one to try.”
With a reluctant expression, Lin Erhu tossed one over. Aunt Fugui mimicked the siblings, giving it a gentle squeeze. The shell cracked open, revealing the golden, soft flesh inside.
She popped it into her mouth, and her eyes went wide. “It’s sweet! Really sweet!”
Lin Erhu tilted his chin up proudly. “Of course it’s sweet—it’s fried with sugar and oil! Would your family be willing to use sugar and oil to fry it?”
“Definitely not!” Aunt Fugui’s expression immediately fell. But after a moment’s thought, she realized it was still edible without the sugar and oil.
She turned to Lin Daqiang and said, “What are we waiting for? I’m going home right now to get a basket.”
Although the others hadn’t tasted the spiky husk fruit, knowing it was edible filled them with determination.
“That’s right, Clan Elder! Let’s go up the mountain and gather them before people from other villages catch wind of it and take them all!”
“Hold on. Let me finish,” Lin Daqiang said, raising his hand to quiet the excited chatter. “I was thinking, aside from the families with able-bodied men, this time, we should send the women and children up the mountain too, so we can gather all the spiky husks as quickly as possible. As for the families without any able-bodied laborers, we can’t just stand by and let them starve. Take Er Lai and his mother, for example—his mother is old and can’t walk well, and Er Lai broke his leg last year. They can’t go up the mountain. Or Er Gou’s widow—she’s alone with young children and can’t carry much even if she goes. I was thinking that those who can’t go up the mountain can stay behind and prepare the food. Everyone else will go up together. No matter how much we gather, we’ll pool it all together and then divide it equally among everyone by headcount. What do you all think?”
Most of the villagers expressed their agreement. A few who grumbled about why they should share were silenced by a single glance from Lin Daqiang.
“Xiaoman and Erhu discovered that these spiky husks are edible. Why didn’t they keep it to themselves and secretly enjoy them? It was so everyone in the village could have enough to eat! Yet here you grown men are, fussing and complaining. Aren’t you afraid that one day, when your own families face trouble, others will turn a blind eye?”
Immediately, several people started scolding those who had complained. Heads bowed, and no one dared to make another sound.
In these times, with natural disasters striking one after another, no one could be sure they would always be safe from misfortune.
Seeing that the village had reached a consensus, Lin Daqiang told everyone to go home and dress in thick clothing to protect themselves from the spiky husks. He also instructed them to wrap thick cloth strips around their hands and be careful when gathering.
Almost every able-bodied person in the village went up the mountain. Those who had gone ahead had already found a patch of chestnut trees and stopped to gather, while those at the foot of the mountain hadn’t even started climbing yet.
The siblings followed Lin Daqiang at the front. When they reached the first chestnut grove, they stopped and had everyone collect the freshly fallen nuts from the ground and load them into baskets to be carried to the side.
There, women and children with less strength used stones to gently crack the husks and pick out the nuts inside. As soon as a basket was full, it was carried down the mountain.
After gathering the fallen ones, a few people were tasked with holding baskets over their heads while others used long poles to knock the nuts from the trees.
After leaving some people behind to continue working, the group moved further up the mountain.
From morning to night, baskets upon baskets of shelled chestnuts were carried down the mountain. Every face wore a smile, and everyone had kind words for Xiaoman and her brother.
By the time Lin Daqiang led the group back to the village at dusk, the scent of fried chestnuts filled the air.
Those who had stayed in the village all day hadn’t cooked a single meal. When hungry, they simply grabbed a handful of fried chestnuts to munch on.
In the afternoon, Lin Xiaoman had stopped going up the mountain. Instead, she taught the village women all the ways to prepare chestnuts that she had learned. Even without sugar frying, the chestnuts themselves were sweet, soft, and glutinous—far better than millet or coarse grains.
Each person who had gone up the mountain received half a bag of fried chestnuts. In addition to their evening meal, they could take the rest to eat on the mountain the next day.
That night, most villagers no longer worried about having enough food for the winter and finally enjoyed a good night’s sleep.
In contrast, Old Man Lin’s household lay awake the entire night.
Old Man Lin sat by the bed, puffing on his pipe. Old Madam Lin, choked by the smoke, moved to the foot of the bed. “Smoking from dawn till dusk—why don’t you just smoke yourself to death?”
Old Man Lin dared not retort. He tapped the pipe bowl against his shoe sole.
Old Madam Lin turned over. “What do you think those two little brats, Xiaoman and Erhu, are up to? They didn’t say a word about those spiky husks being edible before the family split, but the moment they’re out, they run to the clan elder to curry favor. Isn’t that just showing everyone they don’t see us as their grandparents? Didn’t you hear how nasty people in the village were being?”
“If it’s nasty, don’t listen!” Old Man Lin took off his shoes and lay down. His mind was filled with the villagers’ mocking words, and for once, he found the courage to talk back to Old Madam Lin.
In the past, Old Madam Lin would have exploded, but today, she seemed like a different person. After a long silence, she nudged Old Man Lin. “Do you think those two little brats know how their mother died?”
Old Man Lin shuddered, any drowsiness instantly vanishing. “What nonsense are you talking about in the middle of the night? That day, only the two of us and Second Son and his wife were in that room. Second Son is dead. How could they possibly know that you caused Second Daughter-in-law’s death?”