Although Lin Yuhe's candy sales encountered some issues on the first day, the income was still quite promising, bringing smiles to the entire family's faces.
Yesterday, Uncle Lin returned disappointed, having failed to buy sugar powder. Now that the family saw that making candy could earn copper coins, they sent Uncle Lin to town early in the morning.
After breakfast, Grandma Lin tidied up and washed the pots in the kitchen, while Mother Lin went to the small vegetable garden behind the house to tend to the vegetable patch, refusing to let Lin Yuhe help.
With everyone busy, Lin Yuhe, feeling bored, stepped out of the fenced courtyard. Grandma Lin watched her granddaughter leave and called out, "Changan, Changan! Hurry and follow your sister. She’s gone out. Make sure she doesn’t go near the river!"
The thought of her granddaughter’s attempted drowning sent a chill down Grandma Lin’s spine, even in the heat of summer.
"Got it, Grandma. I’ll keep an eye on her," Lin Changan said, dashing outside, with Lin Changping close behind.
The Lin family lived in the eastern part of the village. Just beyond their courtyard lay vast fields. Their house was on the very edge, with no neighbors in sight.
The village was called Lianhua Gou because of the many streams and ditches surrounding it. At this time of year, the scent of lotus filled the air along the waterways.
Lin Yuhe walked aimlessly forward, gazing at the distant cornfields and thinking about the place where she would now live.
She wandered to the riverbank—the very river where she had tried to end her life. Looking at the lotus leaves covering the water, she sighed softly. Since the original Lin Yuhe’s life ended here, she, as Lin Yuhe, would begin anew from this very spot.
"Sis, sis!" Two voices called from behind, making Lin Yuhe turn around. "Why are you two here?"
"Sis, the river is deep. Be careful," Changping and Changan each grabbed one of Lin Yuhe’s arms and pulled her several steps back.
"Sis, let’s go home. Stay away from the water from now on. Don’t ever think of doing something like that again. We’ll stand by you—no one will ever bully you again."
When the two brothers had learned about Lin Yuhe’s attempted drowning, they had been ready to confront the Zhang family. Thankfully, she had woken up afterward.
"Changping, Changan, do you think I’m trying to harm myself? Don’t worry. I’ve already died once. I won’t think of doing it again."
The Lin family’s love and care had given her a warmth she hadn’t felt in a long time. She had no intention of leaving them now.
"What are you three doing standing by the river?" Grandpa Lin and Father Lin, returning from the fields, spotted the three children from afar.
"Dad! Grandpa!"
Seeing Father Lin carrying a bucket, Lin Yuhe hurried over to help. "Dad, what’s in there? Let me carry it for you."
"My daughter, this is too heavy for you. It’s snails I gathered from the ditch to feed the ducks."
Grandma Lin kept five or six ducks in the backyard. Every day, the ducks would find their way out through a hole in the fenced courtyard, waddle to the river to forage, and return home in the evening, full and swaying.
Father Lin refused Lin Yuhe’s help, switching the bucket from his left hand to his right. Lin Yuhe circled from his left to his right, following the bucket.
"You two boys, what are you standing there for? Come and help carry this!" Father Lin scolded, giving each of his sons a light kick for standing idle.
"Dad, wait. Put the bucket down for a moment. Are there many of these snails in the ditch?" If Lin Yuhe wasn’t mistaken, these were field snails—delicious when stir-fried.
"The snails you mentioned are found in ditches and fields, mainly because we have plenty of water and rivers here."
Father Lin set the bucket on the ground, letting her look as she pleased.
Lin Yuhe reached into the bucket and pulled out a handful of snails. "Dad, the meat inside these snails is edible and delicious. Where did you find them? Let’s go gather some more."
"Daughter, are you craving meat? In a couple of days, I’ll go out and find work to earn money to buy you some meat. These shells are too hard to chew—they’re not edible. Let’s not eat them."
Father Lin, who had never comforted his daughter before, could only say no.
Grandpa Lin, seeing the problem, lifted his leg and kicked his son Lin Hai. "Ouch, that hurts! Dad, why did you kick me?" Father Lin even brushed off his patched-up trousers, which were layered with mends.
Father Lin’s words nearly made Grandpa Lin faint with anger. "I’m your father—I can kick you if I want." He thought of his two sons: Lin Yuzhang, the eldest, was almost too honest for his own good, while the second son’s mind was sharp as a tack.
"Changping, hurry and take the bucket home. Bring two more buckets back, and tell your grandma not to feed the snails to the ducks."
With that, he turned and retraced his steps. "Yuhe, I know where there are more of these things. I’ll take you there."
After being kicked and scorned, Father Lin learned his lesson and muttered quietly to himself, "These things seem to be in every ditch and field—there’s no shortage anywhere."
Thinking no one had heard him, Father Lin instinctively clamped his mouth shut when he saw Grandpa Lin glaring at him.
"Dad, just say less! Otherwise, you’ll get kicked by Grandpa again," Lin Chang’an kindly reminded his father.
"You little rascal, you just like watching your dad make a fool of himself, don’t you? Believe it or not, I’ll give you a kick too!"
Father Lin, unable to stand up to his elder, took it out on the younger one.
"Go ahead and try," Grandpa Lin’s words finally silenced Father Lin.
Trying not to laugh for fear of embarrassing Father Lin, Lin Yuhe’s face flushed bright red.
Soon, they arrived at the edge of a field. "Yuhe, your dad gathered the snails around here."
Lin Yuhe saw that the water in the ditch was about ankle-deep—just the right depth for gathering snails, though the muddy bottom was a drawback.
"Daughter, it’s muddy and wet down there. You stay up here—Chang’an and I will go down to gather them." As they spoke, father and son took off their straw sandals.
"Dad, put your shoes back on! There might be stones or something in the mud that could cut your feet," Lin Yuhe called out, but the two had already descended into the ditch.
"It’s fine, daughter. You stay up there and don’t get your clothes dirty."
Since her brother Chang’an hadn’t yet brought something to hold the snails, Lin Yuhe spotted large lotus leaves not far away. She picked several and placed the snails on them.
She herself circled the nearby lotus roots several times. "Yuhe, what are you looking at? Those aren’t edible."
Grandpa Lin watched her for a while. Their village had plenty of these in rivers and streams, but they were useless—only the flowers were pretty.
Every year when the lotus flowers bloomed, villagers who could swim would dive into the river to pick them and sell them in town. With so many sellers, the price was never high. His own wife had sold them before.
Grandpa Lin picked a large lotus leaf and placed it on Lin Yuhe’s head. "Hmm, good—big ones are better. You’re a girl—can’t let yourself get sunburned."
"Thank you, Grandpa," Lin Yuhe could only chuckle. Wearing a green "lid" on her head would have been laughable in modern times.
Grandpa Lin paid no further attention and began placing the snails Lin Chang’an had gathered into the bucket Changping had brought.
Lin Yuhe dug downward along the lotus leaf with her hands, but it was no use—she had no idea how deep it was. She would still need to use a tool.
"Grandpa Lin, give me the hoe. I need to dig out whatever's underneath here."
By the time Grandpa Lin came over, he realized that in the blink of an eye, his granddaughter's shoes and pant legs were already caked in mud.