Liu Sitian found no fun on her own, so she followed her grandmother’s heels, going wherever the old lady went.
Her little mouth babbled on without stopping.
“Grandma, this cucumber is so thick, and its skin has turned yellow. Are you planning to save it for seeds, or are you going to make old cucumber soup?”
If it were made into old cucumber soup, it would be wonderfully tart, and with a little chopped green onion and soybean paste mixed in, it would definitely taste delicious.
“Grandma, didn’t you say that once Autumn Begins, the green beans would soon be gone? Why are ours still growing so thick? They’re hanging in dense clusters, more than we can ever finish eating.”
The space water hadn’t been poured in vain.
“Grandma, look at these stalks of corn growing so vigorously. On just one stalk, there are one, two, three, five—a total of five ears of corn!”
Skipping the number four; pretending to be a child was a skillful craft indeed!
Liu Sitian sighed in her heart.
But seeing Grandma Liu’s eyes crinkle up with laughter until they practically disappeared, she felt happy too.
Continuing to play dumb, she asked, “Grandma, are you going to dig up potatoes? I’ll hold the soil basket for you.”
“No need for my darling to carry it. The soil basket is terribly heavy and covered in dirt, Grandma can carry it herself. In a little while, when we stew the fish, Grandma will tell your mom to add plenty of potatoes. Tiantian must eat a lot of them.”
Small river fish had little meat and many bones; adults would eat them meat and bones together, but a young child couldn’t do that.
It was better for her to eat potatoes.
Speaking of potatoes, Grandma Liu grew cheerful again.
Some time ago, when the potatoes became ready to eat, she had wanted to dig some up to steam and eat. But when she started digging, she was utterly shocked—how could they have grown so much!
Pulling up a single potato plant yielded nearly a whole basket of potatoes.
The potatoes were incredibly floury and starchy, and they ate far more of them than usual when steamed, which was exceptionally consuming of their food supply.
Especially those four boys, each one more voracious than the last. Even the youngest, Liu Siwei, could devour six or seven all by himself.
The other three had to have theirs measured by the basin.
One had to understand that these potatoes weren’t small at all; each one weighed at least half a jin.
Sometimes she worried anxiously that in another two years, this bunch of boys would be able to eat even more, and no amount of food would be enough to fill them.
“Oh my…”
Grandma Liu gasped in surprise!
Immediately following, another voice rang out, “It’s so big! Grandma, it’s huge!”
“You little brat, what are you shouting for?”
Seeing her precious granddaughter give a start from the sudden shout of her youngest grandson, Grandma Liu wished nothing more than to give him a slap on the back of his neck.
She quickly pulled her granddaughter into her arms to call back her spirit.
“Stroke the hair, no more scares; tug the ear, the spirit is here. Tiantian has come home, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid!”
Liu Sitian: “…” Grandma, your hands are covered in dirt.
Liu Siwei: “…” Why is she so cowardly!
Could she have secretly eaten something behind his back?
Thinking this way, he edged closer to take a look.
“Holy crap!!”
Is this a potato?
At this moment, Li Sufen, who was waiting to put the potatoes into the pot, was getting helpless. Her mother-in-law had gone to dig up potatoes ages ago and hadn’t come back, so she sent the fourth boy to check, but he hadn’t returned either.
What on earth were they doing?
Helplessly, Li Sufen wiped her hands on her apron, preparing to go into the vegetable garden to find them.
She didn’t dare send any of her other sons, fearing they would get stuck there too.
As soon as she walked in, she saw the grandmother and her two grandchildren sticking their bottoms in the air, grunting and straining to dig something up.
Li Sufen walked over and asked in confusion, “Mom, what are you all doing?”
So mysterious.
“What? Did you dig up a gold nugget?”
“I think you look like a gold nugget,” Grandma Liu patted her chest, having been startled yet again. This mother and son were taking shifts to scare her.
To say Grandma Liu was not a cowardly person would be an understatement; on the contrary, she was very brave. In the past, she was someone who had made shoes for the Red Army.
She had even crossed paths with the Japanese during the occupation, so her courage was definitely not small.
But who could help it if the thing encountered today was a bit uncanny? Grandma Liu glanced at her daughter-in-law. “Our family isn’t some wealthy landlord, how could there be a gold nugget in the garden?”
What blind nonsense was she imagining!
An even bigger dreamer than her!
Liu Sitian, who was just thinking about whether she should take this opportunity to bury a small gold bar: “…”
“Wen’s mother, look at this potato.”
What was there to look at with a potato?
Li Sufen was puzzled, but she still stepped into the furrow, nudged the obstructive Liu Siwei to the side, squatted down, and looked where the old lady was pointing.
“Oh my mother!”
Is… this a potato?
She thought it, and she asked it out loud.
Grandma Liu replied, “Exactly. I’ve lived to this age and I’ve never seen such a huge potato. I was afraid of damaging it, so I’ve been digging with my hands. I’ve been digging for ages and still haven’t completely gotten it out.”
Once this potato was dug up, it absolutely couldn’t be eaten. Eating it would be a total waste.
It would be best to keep it for next year’s seeds.
“Mom, let me do it.” Li Sufen was no longer in a hurry to cook. She rolled up her sleeves and began reaching down to dig.
She started from both sides first, digging away the soil on either side before moving toward the middle. While digging, the half-jin potatoes she cleared away filled up a whole soil basket.
After digging for a good while, the full appearance of the massive potato was finally revealed.
The four of them were already so shocked they couldn’t speak.
Liu Sitian: This should be fine, right?
In her past life, she had seen potatoes weighing over 22 kilograms on the internet; this one wasn’t nearly that big.
She continuously comforted herself in her heart.
Whether it was because she had been squatting for too long and her legs were numb, or because her legs had gone weak from fright, Li Sufen plopped right down onto the ground.
Liu Siwei let out a sharp howl, and just as he realized and was about to shout, Grandma Liu slapped a hand over his mouth while her other hand gave his waist a sharp pinch.
Liu Siwei: “Mmm-mmm… let go, I can’t breathe, I’m dying.”
Why was he always the one getting hurt?
“Grandma, hurry and let go, Fourth Brother can’t breathe,” Liu Sitian noticed and shouted out.
Grandma Liu let go as a reflex. Having regained his freedom, Liu Siwei gasped heavily for air. After a good while, he spat repeatedly, “Phooey, phooey, phooey! Grandma, your hands are covered in dirt, you stuffed a mouthful of it into me.”
His grandma’s grip was incredibly strong.
Looking at her own hand, then looking at her grandson’s flushed face, which was now smeared black around his mouth, the old lady felt a tiny bit awkward.
“Ahem…”
Giving a light cough, she was just about to say something.
When she heard Liu Siwei exclaim wildly, “Grandma, you couldn’t be holding a grudge because I eat too much and wanted to suffocate me to death, right?”
“Grandma, am I still your most beloved grandson? I don’t even eat as much as my Eldest Brother and Second Brother!”
The underlying meaning being…
“My wounded soul must be comforted by a meal of white-flour dumplings.”
This was his real objective!
Liu Siwen, who had just walked to the entrance: “…”
Grandma Liu, Li Sufen, Liu Sitian: “…”
What an idiot, a fool.
“Fine, next time school is on break, we’ll wrap them. Pork and celery filling, pure white flour,” Grandma Liu promised.
Contented, Liu Siwei carried a soil basket full of potatoes out of the garden.
Seeing Liu Siwen, he even greeted him cheerfully, “Eldest Brother, Grandma said she’ll wrap meat dumplings for us to eat in a few days.”
In return, he received a cold glance from Liu Siwen. “Idiot.”
Having said that, he walked ahead.
Liu Siwei: “…”
What now? What is wrong with him, not even happy about eating dumplings.
The others watched, stifling their laughter. Li Sufen quickly stood up, stretched her legs, and cradled the super-sized potato in her arms.
Tiantian blinked her eyes, sensing that something was amiss. Looking at Grandma Liu, she said, “Grandma, won’t my brothers be on break for the festival next time anyway?”
Grandma had said a few days ago that they were going to wrap dumplings for the Mid-Autumn Festival. She clearly remembered her Fourth Brother hearing it at the time.
Did he forget? Did it not click for him?
Her Fourth Brother was truly silly, so easy to fool.
Grandma Liu pursed her lips, smiling silently.