Because of all the excitement from the night before, coupled with everything that had happened during the day, Liu Xu’er slept extremely well that nigh. She was only woken by the neighborhood roosters crowing. She quickly pulled on her cotton jacket and pants before heading to her parents’ room.
She had just gone in when she saw He shi shifting herself toward the edge of the kang. Liu Xu’er immediately glared. “What are you doing mum?!”
He shi was startled by her sudden bellow. When she recovered, she laughed and said, “I’m just going to wash my hands….”
“I’ll bring a basin over. You and dad can stay on the kang to wash up!” Liu Xu’er said as she went to bring it over.
However He shi called for her to stop. After pausing for a moment, she smiled and said, “ Mum should also go and check on the fire in the stove, as well as see what we can eat for breakfast….”
“I can make the meal!” Liu Xu’er said loudly. Right at this moment, Liu Shu returned to the room after having swept the courtyard. Liu Xu’er immediately instructed, “Dage, help dad and mum wash up. I’m going to make the meal!”
Liu Shu agreed, and went with her to the kitchen to bring out some water. After entering the kitchen, Liu Shu asked softly, “Xu’er do you really know how to make the meal? If it’s steaming buns or cooking noodles, I can also do it, but we cannot keep doing that. If this continues, our grain won’t last very long[1]….”
Liu Xu’er nodded her head. “I know that too, but right now, mum and dad are both hurt. They need to have good meals, so that they can recover quickly. Otherwise, their injuries won’t get better. Also, Shi Cheng mentioned before that in winter, it isn’t easy for even a small wound to get better! Dad and mum’s injuries look pretty bad, so the room should be kept warm. Dage, from tonight onwards, let’s heat up their kang?”
Liu Shu hesitated. “How can the firewood supply keep up?”
Liu Xu’er nodded. “Actually I was thinking about this yesterday. It’s true that our grain, our firewood, everything we have right now is not enough for us. But dage, think about it this way, even if we ration everything carefully, there still won’t be enough for us. And if we skimp and save, dad and mum’s injuries won’t recover as quickly. They will get anxious, and insist on getting off the kang, worsening their injuries. Wouldn’t that be worse? Since either way there will not be enough, then let’s make sure that we get our fill up to the New Year. We should aim for their injuries to recover by then, so that they can go back to providing for our family. “
Liu Shu thought about it for a while. Meimei’s words did make a lot of sense, so he nodded. “That’s true…. Alright, then let’s do that.”
After the two siblings had finished their discussion, they both busied themselves. Although they had agreed, they couldn’t really continue to deplete their stocks of grain by using it heavily for every meal. So this morning, Liu Xu’er made a wild vegetable soup with dough dumplings. She scooped a ladle of buckwheat flour, mixed it with water before pouring it into the pot. She added lots of vegetables, before beating an egg into the mix.
Once Liu Xu’er brought out the two bowls into the room, Liu Changgeng and He shi were truly surprised. Then unease started to grow on their faces.
Their five and seven-year-old children were busy with all the work in and around the house, while they, the adults, stayed on the kang waiting to be fed. Could they feel comfortable? He shi’s eyes reddened again.
Liu Xu’er busily moved around, heading back and forth twice, before managing to bring the other four bowls out. Laughingly, she said to He shi, “Mum, taste it and see how it is?”
He shi brought the bowl to her lips for a taste. Chokingly, she said, “Tastes good….”
Liu Xu’er smiled, “Again? Mum, have you become a crybaby?”
He shi let out a “chi”, before giving her a stare.
In the end, Liu Changgeng was a man. Although he was upset, he quickly gained control of his emotions and said “Let me try the meal my daughter made!” Saying this, he scooped a mouthful, before saying in surprise, “It’s really good! How did you learn to do this?”
Liu Xu’er blinked, “I’ve seen mum make it many times. You just have to scoop out a bit of flour before mixing it with water and then putting it into the pot along with vegetables and so on….” She gave a silly smile. “I’m just being greedy – I wanted to eat an egg, so I added one in.”
When Liu Shu heard that, he raised his head to give her a look.
He shi was amused, “Let me see if I can taste it. You’ve put some salt, a bit of vinegar as well as some dogwood herb?”
Liu Xu’er laughed and nodded. “That’s right. I don’t know what else I can add.”
“There’s a little spiciness that is unusual. Their mother, I know – it must be because of the dogwood!” Liu Changgeng smiled and said.
Liu Shu and Liu Sen really enjoyed these types of meals. Although the wild vegetables were a bit bitter, the egg helped to suppress the bitterness, transforming it into a delicious dish.
He shi wanted to say something, but after a glance from Liu Changgeng, she soundlessly sighed, nodded and started eating.
Liu Xu’er knew that her mother was feeling heartache over the egg. In total there were over 50 eggs. They were the sum total of what was given by ye and an, what jiujiu brought over, as well as the eggs their own hens had laid in the past few days. Under normal circumstances, He shi would definitely have saved them, either to present them as gifts to others or to sell.
Using all the eggs for their family’s consumption was something that He shi would never consider.
However, that was what Liu Xu’er was planning to do. The entire family was obviously malnourished. Even little Liu Sen was so skinny, you could see his ribs. Only his hands were slightly plump. This could not continue – their bodies could not handle it.
A healthy body is the basis of wealth. If you want to accomplish anything, your body must first be strong and healthy. Liu Xu’er had already thought things through. From now till the New Year, she would be the one in charge of the kitchen, so she would make sure to properly nurture everyone’s bodies. If she could go into town again before the New Year, it would be good. She would buy another pair of rabbits, as well as some chicks.
Of course, all this required money. With mum and dad’s injury, their family had no savings, and definitely would need to borrow more. Since they needed to borrow money, they may as well borrow enough money to buy everything, completing step one of her plans. After all, more debt wouldn’t increase one’s stress!
Once Liu Xu’er had thought of this, her mood improved. Smiling merrily, she finished her meal and brought back the empty dishes to wash.
There was a complete role reversal happening at home now. Liu Shu brought Liu Lin out to look for firewood and dried wheat stalks, Liu Xu’er busied herself in the kitchen, while Liu Changgeng and He shi accompanied Liu Sen playing.
Liu Xu’er had just tidied up the kitchen, fed the rabbits and released the two chickens into the courtyard when she saw a few people walking in through the courtyard. “Xu’er!”
“Jiujiu!” Surprised, Liu Xu’er called out and went to welcome them in. It was only then she saw that behind her three jiujiu was a young girl dressed in a cotton jacket. She carried a basket with her. Even more surprised, Liu Xu’er called out, “Xiaoyi[2]!”
This young girl was He shi’s youngest sister called He Ruyu. She was only 13 this year.
Her jiujiu’s faces were all grave. He Ruyu had just responded with a “Xu’er!” when He Wenyu moved to carry Liu Xu’er. Instead of his usual habit of tossing her in the air, he directly asked, “Where are your parents?”
“In the room!”
In the room, He shi had already heard the commotion and called out, “Who’s here? Is it Wenqing?”
“It’s us, jie!” He Wenqing answered even as he walked toward the house. Seeing his sister and jiefu sitting atop the kang, his already gloomy face turned even gloomier. He quickly asked, “So how are things? Is it serious? What did the doctor say? Jiefu…. Have you broken a bone?” The source of this chapter is g.com.
Liu Changgeng smiled and told them to take a seat before scratching his head sheepishly. “You see, your jiefu is so useless. We haven’t been separated for that long, but you have already had to make two trips out to see us….”
He Wenqing and company had no time to respond when He shi said tearfully, “Why do you say that?! If it wasn’t because you tried to rescue me….” She lifted her head and told her brothers, “It was I who first twisted my ankle and started to slip down the ravine. When he tried to rescue me, your jiefu was pulled down instead. When we fell, he even cushioned my fall. I’m fine, but his leg was broken….”
Liu Changgeng was embarrassed that his wife was telling this to her family. His dark face turned slightly red and he said, “Why do you have to say all this! Quickly, have a seat! Xu’er go and pour your jiujiu and xiaoyi some water.”
Liu Xu’er agreed, and quickly went to get the water. Once she had brought the jug and cups to the main room, her jiujiu and xiaoyi had already sat down and were listening to He shi explain what had happened during their fall.
“Then, how is your ankle now? If it was just a simple sprain, there’s no need to wrap it like this right?” He Wenhui asked.
“There was a big cut.” Liu Changgeng gestured. “Her ankle didn’t bleed too much, but they said that it nearly cut a ligament, which is a frightening thought.”
He shi’s brothers were shocked, He Wenqing said, “You must take care of it! Both you and jiefu! This kind of wound is not easy to handle. If it isn’t cared for well…. In any case, don’t you move around!”
He shi agreed, “Everyone has said the same thing, it’s just the children…. Ai, the children are all so sensible, but it’s been so hard on them.”
It was only now that He Wenyu looked at Liu Xu’er. “Xu’er, where are your two ge?”
“They went to get firewood…. Don’t worry! Dage won’t bring erge to the ravine. They will only look for firewood at the sides of the ravine!” Liu Xu’er saw that He shi had become alarmed at what she was saying, so she quickly offered a clarification.
He shi was still worried. She anxiously said to He Wenqing, “Wenqing! Go and look for them. Tell them not to go near the ravine….”
He Wenqing quickly agreed but He Wenyu was faster. He ran out and said, “I’ll go and look!”
He had just reached the door when He Wenyu suddenly exclaimed. “Oh my!”
That scared everyone in the house. The already panicked He shi kept asking, “What is it, what happened?”
Liu Xu’er had also run to the doorway to look, before yelling back. “Sishu carried back an entire tree!” Before running out again.
At first light, Liu Changshi had gone into the deepest part of the ravine and found a tree that had toppled over. Throwing caution to the wind, he had tugged, pulled and dragged it out of the ravine depths.
At this time, Liu Changshi’s entire body was covered with rotten leaves and mud. Added to that, twigs had scratched his face, so he looked rather bedraggled. But this tree was enough for his erge’s family to use for an entire winter, so Liu Changshi was delighted, grinning from ear to ear.
He Wenyu quickly went to help him carry the tree in, placing it, for now, at the side of the wall. Liu Shu and Liu Lin followed from behind, each carrying armfuls of twigs that had fallen along the sides of the roads.
“Jiejie, jiefu! Now there’s no need to worry! Fourth has helped you bring back a tree!” He Wenhui updated the bedbound Liu Changgeng and He shi.
[1] Buns and noodles would consume more flour and grain compared to gruel.
[2] 小姨/ xiaoyi – 姨/ yi refers to one’s mother’s sister. In this case, specifically her youngest sister.