The seeds were sorted into small cloth bags, then all the bags were packed into a larger sack.
Xia Qingyue recognized rice, peanut, and cowpea seeds, as well as chili, eggplant, cucumber, cabbage, and radish seeds. There were also soybean and pea seeds, though these were fewer in number.
Now was the perfect time to plant most of these seeds, especially rice and peanuts—the former for staple food, the latter for oil.
Xia Qingyue already had her spring planting plans in mind. She sorted through the rice seeds, removing any damaged or hollow ones, then soaked the good seeds in water.
The aroma of stewed wild chicken with mixed mushrooms filled the air, its savory scent making Xia Qingyue’s stomach rumble incessantly. She was truly starving.
The sweet potatoes were steamed to perfection. The chicken, stewed for nearly an hour, was seasoned with coarse salt just before serving. Xia Qingyue tasted the broth—aside from a slight bitterness, it was exceptionally flavorful.
The wild chicken had weighed over four pounds dressed, yielding more than three pounds of meat after plucking. Combined with the mushrooms, even the largest sea bowl couldn’t contain it all, leaving some in the pot.
The freshly stewed chicken steamed invitingly, its broth glistening with oil. The mushrooms, plump and succulent, had absorbed the rich broth.
With trembling hands, Xia Qingyue picked up a piece of chicken and savored it.
Her eyes narrowed in contentment.
Mmm~, the meat was firm yet tender, the skin soft and chewy, its richness amplified by the mushrooms’ earthy flavors—a symphony of freshness.
Another bite of the mushrooms released a burst of savory broth in her mouth, their texture complex and satisfying.
“This is absolutely delicious!”
Xia Qingyue felt utterly satisfied. She picked up a meaty piece of chicken and called to Heihei, who was lounging nearby, “Heihei, come eat some chicken!”
Heihei didn’t budge.
“Come on, it smells amazing!”
Seeing Heihei still unmoved, Xia Qingyue remembered Huanghuang, the yellow dog her grandma had kept in her previous life.
Like Heihei, Huanghuang was a countryside mongrel. It would only eat food dropped on the ground by its owner or poured into its bowl, never daring to snatch food from its owner’s hand, let alone climb onto the table.
With a flick of her chopsticks, she sent the chicken flying. “Heihei, eat!”
This time, Heihei reacted, rushing over to gulp down the piece of chicken in a single bite.
“Have some more, you worked so hard catching the wild chicken.” Xia Qingyue scooped some chicken and broth into Heihei’s chipped bowl.
Man and dog began eating together.
Paired with the soft, sweet sweet potato, Xia Qingyue ate with gusto.
After eating until she was about eighty percent full, she stopped herself from overindulging. Eating too much at once wasn’t good.
Some food remained in the large bowl. She scooped up the leftovers from the iron pot and added them to the bowl, then heated water to wash the dishes.
Without dish soap, warm water mixed with a bit of wood ash worked just as well.
After tidying up the kitchen, Xia Qingyue retrieved the soaked bamboo shoots and spread them on a large, round winnowing basket to sun-dry at the bottom of the sinkhole.
Yesterday’s medicinal dressing needed changing. Xia Qingyue unwrapped the cloth from her head, gently cleansed the wound area with warm water, then crushed the tender willow buds she’d gathered that morning and applied the paste to the injury.
She wrapped it securely with a fresh bandage.
After a morning of tending to these tasks, she felt a bit weary and decided to take a midday nap, even though the sun was blazing overhead.
She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
When she awoke, she felt groggy, her head throbbing slightly. Xia Qingyue splashed her face with cold water and glanced at the sky, estimating she’d slept for about an hour. It must be around two in the afternoon now.
Grabbing her hoe, she headed to the vegetable garden to till the soil. She uprooted the weeds, tossing them aside to wither under the sun.
Pull the weeds by the roots, or the spring wind will bring them back to life.
The garden’s soil was black, loose, and surprisingly fertile, thanks to the dried poultry manure and rice straw ash her predecessor’s father had worked into it the previous year.
Last year, when her father was still alive, he had built a bamboo enclosure to raise eighteen wild chickens and thirteen wild ducks. They laid eggs daily, and he also kept twenty wild rabbits, meticulously collecting all their manure.
Later, after the original owner’s parents passed away and the wild chickens, ducks, and rabbits had been eaten, Xia Qingyue still wanted to raise some small, safe domestic poultry—partly for her own consumption and partly to collect their manure as fertilizer.
She’d considered raising larger animals like wild boars, but with her small frame, she couldn’t manage them alone—she might even end up being killed by one.
After digging tirelessly until she was sweating and panting heavily, Xia Qingyue stopped to rest. She glanced around and realized she’d been digging for over two hours.
She’d turned over about two-thirds of the field. Tomorrow, she’d start dry-sprouting rice seedlings here and plant cucumbers, cowpeas, and peanuts.
She’d finish digging the remaining third tomorrow. With her injury, she needed to balance work with rest.
Night fell early, so she had to finish dinner and wash up before it got dark, or she’d be fumbling in the dark.
Dinner consisted of two steamed sweet potatoes and leftovers—a quick and simple meal.
She divided half of the mushroom-stewed chicken and the sweet potatoes into Heihei’s dark bowl.
The woman and her dog finished their dinner in companionable silence.
After washing the dishes, Xia Qingyue heated a large pot of water for a proper bath. She wanted to wash her hair, but the injury on her forehead made it risky.
The original owner’s family had been quite fastidious, keeping both themselves and the cave meticulously clean. Xia Qingyue didn’t need to do any cleaning at all.
She poured the bathwater into the largest wooden bucket and carried it to a clearing near the kitchen. After a warm bath, her pores felt open and refreshed, washing away much of her fatigue.
She changed into a patched sky-blue set of clothes; the sleeves and pant legs now fell noticeably short, indicating they were too small.
As night descended, darkness enveloped the sinkhole. The small trees and wild grasses clinging to the stone walls cast eerie shadows, making Xia Qingyue uneasy. She called Heihei and groped her way into the room.
She didn’t feel safe without Heihei by her side.
Lying in bed, she stared up into the pitch-black above, reflecting on the day’s simple yet fulfilling tasks.
Though seemingly insignificant, she felt she had accomplished much, living a life of contentment and joy.
Back in her previous life, working felt like enduring an eternity each day, time dragging on relentlessly. She’d think hours had passed, only to glance at the clock and realize it had barely been twenty minutes.
This was the life she had always dreamed of, the one she truly wanted to live.
Xia Qingyue turned over, silent tears streaming down her face. Grandma, I’m so happy now. Please don’t worry about me…
She drifted off to sleep. When she awoke, Xia Qingyue felt revitalized, though the bed’s excessive softness was a minor discomfort.
The beds here had been crafted by the original owner’s father, who had felled trees himself. Two beds stood in the room, layered with dried straw, a thin mattress, and a simple sheet.
Looking out the window, it was still dark. With no daylight to work by, Xia Qingyue decided to linger in bed.
After lying there for a while, a faint dawn began to break. Heihei, her dog, padded over and nudged her hand, eager to go outside.
Xia Qingyue sprang out of bed.
The two of them first took care of their respective bodily needs.
Since it was still early, she boiled half a pot of water, drank the warm water on an empty stomach, then shouldered her hoe and went to till the soil.
The vegetable patch was located not far from the bottom of the sinkhole, where the sunlight was better and she could see clearly.
With a rhythmic huff and heave, she finished tilling the unworked soil from yesterday. She left one plot empty for rice seedlings, and punched holes in the rest for planting.
She planted twenty holes each with cucumber, cowpeas, and chili peppers.
The remaining space was all used for peanuts.
Fetching a wooden bucket, she watered the newly planted seeds.
If only I had rapeseed seeds, she thought. Rapeseed oil has such a rich flavor.
By the time she finished, the sky was fully bright, and birdsong filled the air.
Xia Qingyue’s stomach growled fiercely.
She quickly steamed four sweet potatoes, rendered a bit of chicken fat she had saved from yesterday, and scrambled three eggs, setting them aside.
Then she stir-fried some mixed mushrooms in the remaining oil, tossing in the scrambled eggs at the end.
Breakfast was ready: a single dish to eat with the sweet potatoes.
After eating, she gathered her carrying basket, vegetable basket, and other tools, and headed out of the sinkhole.