On the way back, Shen Yuan and Wang Sanhu kept traveling in groups with the others.
The times were troubled. Everyone was short of clothing and food. Although the authorities did apprehend those who robbed homes and waylaid travelers, the results were negligible.
There simply was not enough manpower.
Those serving in the Yamen all had family connections and influential backgrounds. No one was willing to risk their life.
They only wanted to eat from the public coffers, wear an official uniform, and use their privileges to improve life for their families.
Nothing else was within their consideration.
Those sent to handle dangerous tasks like suppressing bandits were selected from among the common people. Even then, they had to pay the authorities silver to buy the position.
Because of the prolonged warfare, the number of junior clerk positions in the Yamen had also sharply decreased. Anyone without connections had been conscripted into the army.
Things had been more stable these past two years, so the authorities recruited some people from below to fill the ranks of knife officers who specifically kept an eye on such matters.
In the earlier years, there had been far more people robbing homes and waylaying travelers.
Families with daughters did not even dare let them leave the house. Every household kept its gates tightly shut, and people slept with their hoes beside their pillows.
Shen Yuan had the original body’s memories, and the original Shen Yuan had been robbed more than once.
Once, more than a dozen of them had traveled together, but they still failed to protect their coins and the things they had bought. Those robbers were all ferocious beyond belief. Since they ate their fill, they were strong as well. They even had knives and swords in their hands. Barehanded, the group had not stood a chance.
The robbers wanted money, not lives, so all they could do was abandon their wealth to preserve their lives.
Dashu Village was considered lucky. The neighboring village had even been looted. Anything in the homes that could be used had been taken, and the women had been carried off as well. Countless villagers had been killed or injured.
It was precisely because that incident had been so atrocious that the authorities could no longer refuse to intervene. They had begun recruiting knife officers again to prevent those people from growing stronger.
They arrived safely at the village, and Shen Yuan and Wang Sanhu both let out a sigh of relief.
Shen Yuan’s home was farther away, so they split up midway.
Shen Yuan carried grain in one hand and a fish in the other, with a sesame flatbread tucked against his chest.
He hurried to the gate of his home and called out to Shen Dong and Shen Xi, who were squatting in the yard by the fence and carefully cleaning wild greens. “Dongdong! Xixi! Big Brother’s back!”
At the sound of his voice, Shen Xi lifted his little face, dropped the wild greens in his hands, and ran outside, calling sweetly, “Big Brother, Big Brother! You’re finally back!”
Shen Yuan wanted to raise a hand and pat the little one’s head, but both his hands were full, so he had to give up. “Look what Big Brother bought to eat.”
“A fish! Big Brother, can we eat fish tonight?” Shen Xi’s eyes lit up when he saw the fish. He had not eaten meat in a very, very, very long time.
“That’s right. Big Brother will stew fish soup for you tonight.” There were hardly any seasonings at home, only coarse salt. They did not even have oil. If they wanted the fish to be edible, they could only make soup with it. Anything else would have no flavor.
When Shen Xi heard that there would be fish soup that evening, he could imagine how delicious it would be even though he had never tasted fish soup before. How could meat not be delicious? It would definitely be much, much, much tastier than corn porridge.
He tore his eyes away from the fish and reached out to help Shen Yuan carry things. Shen Yuan handed him the pound of corn.
Shen Dong happened to come out as well. Without a word, he reached out and took the sack of wheat bran flour from Shen Yuan.
He had also heard Big Brother say they would be having fish soup that night. He had never tasted it, but he imagined it would be very good.
Anticipation rose in Shen Dong’s heart, and he was happy too.
How wonderful. Not only was Big Brother safe, they were even going to eat meat! His life was truly going too well.
With one hand free, Shen Yuan casually reached out and gave Shen Nan, who was standing at the gate holding Xiao Beibei and watching them, a gentle pinch.
“Nannan, you worked hard taking care of your sister today. Did you miss Big Brother?”
Shen Nan froze when his cheek was lightly pinched. Then he immediately lowered his head, his ears bright red. He nodded slightly, his voice so soft it was nearly inaudible. “It wasn’t hard. I missed you.”
Shen Yuan knew Shen Nan was excessively introverted. Judging by the circumstances of this family, it was probably because he was desperately lacking a sense of security.
Shen Dong and Shen Xi were the same, actually.
It was merely that the three children expressed their insecurity in different ways.
Shen Yuan smiled. “Big Brother missed Nannan very much.” Then he looked at Shen Dong, who was gazing at him silently with wide eyes, and Shen Xi, who seemed eager to ask something. “I missed Dongdong and Xixi very much too.”
The two little boys revealed satisfied smiles. They did not know why, but their hearts felt incredibly sweet.
“Ah-ah.” Shen Bei, in Shen Nan’s arms, babbled at Shen Yuan. The smile on Shen Yuan’s face deepened. “And our Xiao Beibei too. Big Brother missed all of you so much while he was away.”
Shen Xi took Shen Yuan’s hand and looked up at him, his eyes practically sparkling. As he led Big Brother along, he chattered endlessly about everything he had done that day.
“Big Brother, I did lots of things at home. In the morning, I went to dig wild greens. At noon, I took over for Third Brother and fed Fourth Sister. In the afternoon, I swept the floor and sorted a whole lot of wild greens.”
Shen Yuan listened attentively and answered him gently. “Xixi worked hard all day. Once we’ve eaten and washed up, we’ll get a good rest and take care of our bodies. Dongdong and Nannan too. Everyone worked hard and is tired after a full day. In a little while, you all need to eat until you’re nice and full to replenish your strength, understand?”
All three children nodded obediently, their mouths lifted in happy smiles. They did the same chores every day and were used to them, so they had not felt particularly tired. But hearing Big Brother say this made them very happy, as if the weariness had vanished from their bodies.
Shen Dong and Shen Xi felt they could still dig wild greens for another four hours, while Shen Nan felt he could carry his sister and sort wild greens for a long time yet. They were not tired. They had endless energy!
……
Shen Dong had already put wild greens and wheat bran mush on to boil in the kitchen. Shen Yuan took out the sesame flatbread and told the younger children to eat it with the wild-greens-and-wheat-bran mush first, but Shen Dong refused.
“Big Brother, let’s eat the sesame flatbread tomorrow. Aren’t we still making fish soup tonight? There’ll be too much, and we won’t be able to finish it.”
How could they finish all the good things in a single day?
To be honest, the way Big Brother had been acting frightened him a little. Just as Second Brother had said yesterday, Big Brother now always gave him the feeling that he did not intend to live past tomorrow.
Once food entered his stomach, his belly might no longer be hungry, but Shen Dong’s heart remained just as unsettled.
He was afraid that if they ate it today, there would be nothing left to eat tomorrow.
Shen Yuan thought about it and realized Shen Dong had a point. There was too much to finish, so he set the sesame flatbread aside for the moment. He ladled the wild-greens-and-wheat-bran mush into a clay basin, quickly cleaned the fish, then had Shen Dong tend the fire while he made the fish soup.
Shen Dong put some half-burned firewood into the stove. “Big Brother, when Second Brother and I came back today, there were quite a lot of wild greens in the yard. I don’t know who left them there, but I sorted them and put them in the baskets.”
“Aunt Ping also gave me quite a lot of wild greens this morning,”
The hand holding the wooden spoon paused. Shen Yuan turned toward the baskets. Both were piled high with wild greens. The lines of his face softened considerably. “Keep them all. They’re everyone’s goodwill.”
The fish soup would still need some time, so Shen Yuan covered the pot with its woven-grass lid and had Shen Dong turn the fire down low to let it simmer.
They ate the wild-greens-and-wheat-bran mush first.
The wild greens were slightly bitter, there was little wheat bran flour, and even the coarse salt tasted bitter and harsh. To be honest, the mush was truly awful.
There was nothing about it that Shen Yuan could accept, from the texture to the flavor.
Still, it was food. No matter how unpleasant it was, food could not be wasted.
Having something to eat at all was already not easy.
Shen Dong and the others ate with great gusto. Normally, they only ate a little of this. There were no adults at home, and children could not lease and farm fields. Shen Yuan could lease land, but leased plots started at ten mu, and one person could not manage that much alone. They could only go out and find odd jobs. Where would they get enough silver to buy food?
They had never been able to eat an entire bowl of food until they were full, the way they had last night and today.
Shen Xi ate the fastest. After finishing his bowl, he licked it clean as usual.
Seeing this, Shen Yuan immediately added another spoonful. “If you want more, eat more.”
Shen Xi stared at the mush in his bowl and pushed it forward. “Big Brother, let’s save this for tomorrow.”
Yesterday, when Shen Yuan had told the children to keep eating, they would rather die than eat more. They wanted to save it for the next day.
Today they had bought new food. No matter what, Shen Yuan had to let the children eat one full meal.
Shen Yuan pushed the clay bowl back in front of Shen Xi. “None of you need to worry about running out and hold back. If you’re still hungry after eating, keep eating. Once it’s gone, Big Brother will go out and earn more. It’s nothing to worry about. But you can only eat two bowls today at most. There’s still fish soup in the pot, so you need to leave room for a bowl of that, understand?”
Shen Dong and the others still hesitated, reluctant to eat. They were already used to it. Eating a little less at one meal was nothing, and it could save quite a bit of food.
Shen Yuan let out a quiet sigh. “Big Brother met a benefactor today, and he introduced me to a job. I’ll go take a look tomorrow. Eat without worrying. It’s all right.”
The three children looked at one another. After a moment of silence, Shen Dong said, “But Big Brother, we want you to have an easier time too.”
Shen Xi immediately added, “If we eat less, Big Brother won’t have to work as hard.”
Shen Nan still held Shen Bei without saying anything, but his attitude was obvious. He wanted Big Brother to have an easier time and not exhaust himself because of them.
“You children really are something.” Shen Yuan’s nose stung. He blinked rapidly twice to keep himself from losing control in front of them. “Be good and listen. Our days will definitely get better and better from now on. You don’t need to scrimp like this. If you don’t eat, then Big Brother won’t eat either.”
How could Shen Dong and the others bear hearing that? Ever since Shen Yuan had nearly starved to death yesterday, the children had formed one final line of defense in their hearts.
Big Brother had to eat his fill.
“I’ll eat, I’ll eat! Big Brother, don’t stop eating!” Shen Xi was genuinely frightened. He loved Big Brother so much. He did not want Big Brother to stop eating and die.
Shen Dong’s little face had gone deathly pale. Tears welled in Shen Nan’s eyes as he silently ate and silently asked for more, proving through his actions that he was continuing to eat instead of saving the food.
Seeing the children’s reactions, Shen Yuan realized that his words about not eating had frightened them.
The original Shen Yuan had died of starvation, after all. It was no wonder the children were terrified when he said something like that.
Shen Yuan patted each of his brothers on the head. “I’m sorry. Big Brother shouldn’t have said that. No matter what happens, Big Brother will live properly. I’ll stay with you until you grow up, and until we’re all old and our teeth have fallen out. Don’t be afraid. Big Brother won’t say that again.”
Shen Dong looked up at Shen Yuan with red-rimmed eyes and nodded silently.
Shen Xi and Shen Nan had already begun to cry. They were truly, terribly afraid that Big Brother would abandon them and leave.
……
There was no wild-greens-and-wheat-bran mush left. They had not cooked very much to begin with.
The clay bowls were small as well, so even after eating two bowls each, they were not full.
Once they finished the mush, the fish soup had also finished simmering.
When Shen Yuan lifted the woven-grass lid from the pot, a cloud of steaming white vapor rose up. It struck their faces and hands, causing a slight stinging heat.
What followed was the delicious, savory aroma of fish soup. Slices of fish cut by Shen Yuan floated in the milky-white broth.
The children wanted meat, and this way they could eat the meat and drink the soup too.
Shen Yuan had the children take their clay bowls and line up. He ladled a bowl of fish soup and three slices of fish for each of them.
They had just eaten two bowls of mush each, so a bowl of soup and three slices of fish was about enough. Eating too much all at once would burden their stomachs and intestines, giving them diarrhea and stomach pains.
The children had never tasted fish soup before. The milky, savory soup had only a little coarse salt for seasoning, but it was enough to make them squint with happiness as they smacked their lips and savored the rich, fragrant broth and the delicate, smooth fish.
Seeing the children take tiny, careful sips as though they were savoring some rare delicacy, Shen Yuan’s heart softened. Yet whenever their eyes met, they kept trying to offer him the fish soup in their hands. He gently told them to drink it themselves first.
Shen Yuan placed the sesame flatbread in a bamboo basket and hung it from the ceiling beam, which would effectively keep mice from stealing it.
Along with the remaining fish soup, it would be the children’s food for tomorrow.
He specifically emphasized to Shen Dong that the sesame flatbread, fish soup, and fish meat all had to be eaten by the time he returned tomorrow. There was only one flatbread, and the fish, including its head and bones, weighed just two pounds, with some already eaten. Even if the three children ate everything together, it still would not be enough to fill them. Shen Yuan was truly afraid they would try to save even this small amount of food.
Shen Dong had thought they could make it last three days, but Big Brother said it all had to be eaten in one day.
He hesitated for a long while before reluctantly nodding.
“Got it, Big Brother.”
Shen Yuan nodded in satisfaction and rubbed his little brother’s head. “Good boy.”
Afterward, Shen Yuan rubbed his fingertips together. The children needed to bathe and wash their hair.
Bathing in ancient times was troublesome. In winter, people avoided catching colds and also tried to save firewood and water, so ordinary families did not bathe.
After enduring an entire winter, it was easy to imagine how filthy they were.
He needed to wash as well.
Although the original Shen Yuan had wiped himself down with water, he had only cleaned the surface. It had treated the symptoms, not the root of the problem.
Fortunately, spring had arrived and the weather had warmed considerably. He would go to the teahouse in the county tomorrow to see how things stood. If he returned early, he would heat some water and bathe.