“Madam, you’re too polite. Tomorrow morning we’ll come early and guarantee we’ll finish plowing your fields in one day.” The men patted their chests and promised.
In no time, they all dispersed.
The Xie family also began their evening meal: a bowl of fried small fish, a bowl of stir-fried dried small fish and shrimp, thick millet yam porridge, and a dish of pickled vegetables.
Xie Yuan felt that their meals were getting better and better, but upon closer inspection, they were still made of ordinary ingredients.
“Thank you for your hard work today. Once we finish the fields tomorrow, we’ll go to the sugarcane grove,” Xie Yuan said while eating.
“There’s no need to rush. You should rest at home for a day and go in a few days instead. After that, take a bath, and I’ll wash your clothes,” Zhou Xing said, noticing his fatigue.
“Alright,” Xie Yuan replied warmly.
He did not know how long it had been since he last moved forward step by step like this, through darkness and solitude.
The next morning, Lin Tie Niu and the others arrived early. After breakfast, they went to work in the fields.
Zhou Xing was surprised to find that the yeast she was cultivating had turned out quite well, producing plenty of foam. She decided to try making dough with it—and to her surprise, it worked decently.
At noon, she made steamed buns filled with lard residue and wild vegetables. Everyone ate happily and even joked that she could start selling them immediately.
Xie Yuan thought to himself that his wife was incredible—she even knew how to make buns like those sold in the city.
At night, Zhou Xing still packed each of them a portion of dry-fried small fish and shrimp as thanks for their help.
That night, the two of them lay in bed talking.
“The fields have all been plowed. When should we plant?” Zhou Xing asked.
“A few days later. The village chief’s ox has to be shared,” Xie Yuan replied. “We don’t have too much farmland, but the paddy fields also need another round of plowing.”
“Yes, shallow plowing is enough for paddy fields. Half a month later should be fine,” Zhou Xing calculated. “Once we sell the jam and things stabilize, maybe we can buy an ox.”
But she knew that was only a thought—an ox was far too expensive.
The next day, they did not rest either. Under the morning light, they set off toward the sugarcane grove.
The journey was indeed long.
Zhou Xing felt her feet almost blistering.
Still, they continued forward.
“It’s still about fifteen minutes away. Hold on a little longer,” Xie Yuan said.
The sugarcane grove was located between two mountain ridges. Few people came here. For Xie Yuan, the place he intended to find ginseng was even deeper in the mountains—far more dangerous, with wild beasts and unknown risks.
But he was prepared.
By noon, they finally arrived at the grove.
Zhou Xing looked at the vast field of sugarcane, and her exhaustion vanished instantly.
“This is green-skinned sugarcane, perfect for making sugar. Very juicy and sweet,” she said happily.
“Alright, rest here. I’ll assemble the juicing tools,” Xie Yuan said, immediately getting to work.
After examining the crude but functional device he had prepared, Zhou Xing nodded in approval.
The two of them began working immediately, testing and adjusting the sugarcane press until it finally worked smoothly.
At noon, they ate hastily and continued working without stopping. By afternoon, all the leather bags they brought were filled.
“That should be enough. Let’s go back and boil the sugar,” Zhou Xing said, exhausted.
Xie Yuan agreed.
Back home, they immediately began boiling the juice. Without a proper iron pot, they used clay pots instead, rotating them in turns.
Making sugar required patience. After three hours of careful boiling, the red sugar was finally formed.
The next morning, the Xie family had sweet sugar cakes for breakfast.
“It’s so sweet! Auntie, did you buy sugar?” Xiao Yao asked happily.
“No, I made it. From now on, you can eat as much as you want—but remember to rinse your mouth afterward, or you’ll get cavities,” Zhou Xing warned them.
The children nodded seriously.
After breakfast, she planned to take them to the mountains to pick wild fruits for jam.
“Alright!” the two children replied in unison.
Xie Yuan, however, had other matters to attend to.
“This is red sugar?” he asked while observing it in the kitchen.
“Yes. After filtering, it can even be refined into white sugar,” Zhou Xing said.
Xie Yuan nodded. “Tell me if you need anything. I’ll go check on the bows and also buy some sulfur in the city.”
“Sulfur? Why buy it in the city? I saw some in the mountains yesterday,” Zhou Xing said.
She had picked up a few pieces of sulfur stone and planned to grind them into powder to repel snakes and insects around the house.