He came out wearing a clean, plain linen shirt, but it wasn’t tied shut. Water droplets still clung to his skin as he walked toward the table with his chest exposed.
Black lines filled Jiang He’s forehead.
She instinctively looked away.
Completely oblivious, Xie Zhao fanned himself as he grumbled about how unbearable the weather was.
Unable to take it anymore, Jiang He said,
“No matter how hot it is, you should at least be mindful that there’s a woman in the house. Hurry up and put your clothes on properly.”
Xie Zhao stopped complaining and burst into laughter.
“So you can’t bear to look at me? I am wearing something. Go out on the streets and you’ll see plenty of men working shirtless.”
Jiang He: “…”
He wasn’t wrong.
But seeing him dressed like that in the house still made her uncomfortable.
…Maybe that was just her own problem.
“Do whatever you want.”
She pushed the freshly bought pickled vegetables toward him.
“I just bought these from Aunt Zhang’s house. She said that once the weather cools down, she’ll start making pickled vegetables again and invited me to learn from her.”
“Mhm. Do you like pickled vegetables?”
Jiang He thought to herself, Who actually likes this stuff?
But with their current circumstances, they ate plain rice porridge every day. Even when they cooked noodles, they were bland and flavorless. Without something salty, her mouth felt as though all taste had disappeared.
“They’re pretty good with plain rice.”
She said it as much to comfort herself as to answer him.
“Then go ahead and learn. As for the money…”
Fearing he’d only put more pressure on himself and risk taking another life-threatening job, Jiang He quickly interrupted.
“We still have some money. Besides, we can grow our own vegetables, can’t we? Look how big this yard is.”
The garden hadn’t been tended in ages and was completely overrun with weeds.
Jiang He glanced out the window.
Looking at the neglected garden, she couldn’t even force a smile.
She’d spoken without thinking…
But how exactly were they supposed to do it?
“You know how to grow vegetables?”
Xie Zhao looked at her skeptically.
Of course Jiang He didn’t.
Back in the modern world, she’d even believed an advertisement claiming peanuts grew on trees. If she hadn’t later seen the company’s public apology, she’d still think peanuts didn’t grow underground.
“I… can learn.”
Xie Zhao lowered his head and thought seriously for a moment.
“It is a waste to leave such a large yard sitting empty. We really should make use of it. If we grow vegetables for ourselves, we’ll save money on buying them.”
“Exactly.”
Jiang He smiled.
“I’ll ask Aunt Zhang another day.”
“No need.”
Xie Zhao shook his head.
“Aunt Zhang’s family has lived in the city for generations. She knows how to brew wine, but how would she know anything about growing vegetables?”
Her family did, after all, make their living selling wine.
“How about this? I’ll ask Lu Changgeng to come help. His family are farmers. He definitely knows.”
“But didn’t you say he was a scholar?”
“So what if he’s a scholar?”
Xie Zhao laughed.
“He isn’t the son of a wealthy family. His family’s poor, so he still has to work in the fields.”
“That works.”
“Oh, right.”
Xie Zhao suddenly remembered something.
“I made plans with Lu Changgeng. We’re going hiking tomorrow.”
…What?
Hiking?
Jiang He slowly set down her bowl and turned to look at the blazing sun outside.
Are you out of your mind?
Is work really not tiring enough for you?
“Why are you going hiking? It’s this hot outside. You finally have a day off—wouldn’t it be better to rest at home?”
“Lu Changgeng said there are wild fruits in the mountains. We agreed to go pick some. Jiang He, do you want any?”
She had almost forgotten what fresh fruit tasted like.
Of course she wanted some.
She wanted them desperately.
“I do… but wild fruit can’t be that easy to find, can it?”
“If he says there are some, he’ll definitely find them. Come with us tomorrow.”
“I’m not going.”
Jiang He refused without even thinking.
She couldn’t handle that kind of hardship.
Even back in the modern world, she hated the heat in summer and the cold in winter. During scorching summers like this, she’d hide indoors with the air conditioner running.
Asking her to climb a mountain under a cloudless blazing sky?
That was practically asking for her life.
She’d have to be crazy to agree.
Xie Zhao merely smiled.
He didn’t press the issue.
She’s delicate.
He blamed himself instead for not thinking it through.
It really wasn’t suitable to take her hiking in weather like this.
“All right. Then stay home. I’ll bring back some wild fruit.”
“Okay.”
The next day, he apologized to Lu Changgeng and explained that Jiang He wouldn’t be coming.
“So the hiking trip with her fell through,” Lu Changgeng said. “But I have another opportunity for you instead. Why don’t I come to your house tomorrow and help you plant vegetables?”
Lu Changgeng blinked.
“Plant vegetables?”
“Yeah. Ever since all the servants left, our yard has been abandoned. It’s completely covered in weeds. I figured if we grew some vegetables ourselves, we’d save money on groceries. But neither of us knows how. You’re my only friend from the countryside, so I wanted to ask for your help.”
“Well…”
“If it’s too much trouble, then forget it.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Lu Changgeng shook his head.
“It’s no trouble. It’s just… this isn’t the right season to plant vegetables. It’s so hot that even many families in town are running short of water. Your household probably doesn’t have much water left either. In weather like this, even heat-tolerant vegetables need watering every day just to survive.”
“I see.”
Xie Zhao scratched his head.
“I didn’t know.”
Lu Changgeng thought for a moment.
“How about this? I’ll come tomorrow and help clear all the weeds in your yard first, then till the soil. Once it rains, the ground will be ready for planting.”
“That sounds good. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
As they chatted, they gradually climbed farther into the mountains.
Following behind Lu Changgeng, Xie Zhao passed through dense woods before entering a narrow stream valley.
Without hesitation, Lu Changgeng took off his shoes and stepped into the creek.
He grabbed several vines growing nearby and began constructing something.
As he worked, he explained,
“We’ll block the water here. When we come back later, there should be fish trapped inside.”
Xie Zhao had never seen anything like it before.
It all seemed fascinating.
After finishing, the two of them began searching the surrounding area.
Before long, they actually found plenty of wild fruit.
“There really are some!”
Xie Zhao exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Changgeng grinned.
“I stumbled across this place by accident. Every year these vines grow lots of maohuazi.”
“Maohuazi?”
“Yeah. Kiwiberries. Around here, that’s what we call them.”
The two of them picked fruit until both cloth bags they had brought were completely full.
Afterward, Lu Changgeng led Xie Zhao back to the stream.
Sure enough, quite a few fish had become trapped behind the vines.
The smallest were about as long as a finger.
The biggest were about the size of a palm.
None of them were particularly large.
According to Lu Changgeng, that species simply didn’t grow any bigger.
In weather this hot, carrying fish all the way home would normally leave them spoiled.
Fortunately, Lu Changgeng had his own method of keeping them fresh.
He threaded strips of tree bark through the fishes’ gills, then buried them inside a pile of freshly pulled grass beside the stream.
The grass stayed cool and damp.
As long as they got home quickly enough, the fish might still be alive.
Along the way, Lu Changgeng shared countless bits of practical knowledge that only ordinary country folk knew.
Xie Zhao listened attentively.
The more he listened, the more convinced he became that he’d made the right friend.
On the way back, Lu Changgeng added,
“When autumn comes, we can head into the mountains to gather firewood and hunt.”
“You know how to hunt too?”
Xie Zhao asked in surprise.
Lu Changgeng smiled sheepishly.
“I’m nowhere near as skilled as real hunters. I only know the basics. Setting snares, mostly. It depends on luck, but every now and then I catch a rabbit or a pheasant.”
It had been so long since Xie Zhao had eaten meat that the mere mention of rabbits and pheasants made his mouth water.