”After we finish writing the character ‘福’ in the middle, let’s add a few auspicious clouds to the four corners, like this…” Meng Wan roughly drew a few strokes, and a few simplified auspicious clouds appeared on the paper.
Song Tingzhou became interested, took the pen from him, and drew a couple of lines himself. “Like this?”
He has a steady hand, but his weakness is that he is used to writing, so his painting style is a bit sharp and stiff. Overall, Meng Wan’s painting looks better than his own.
He himself could see the shortcomings, and frowned, saying, “I didn’t draw well.”
This is the case for students from farming families. It is already difficult enough for them to be literate and read books. Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are all expensive things that are beyond their reach.
Meng Wan had free art classes from elementary school to high school. He could do simple sketching and drawing. In high school, he even skipped a few bamboo flute lessons with his literary classmate. He knew a little chess, but was terrible at Go. If you add all of these…
Meng Wan stroked his chin. So even if he’s only bad at the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, he can find an opportunity to learn it when he has more money in the future.
”You’ve applied too much pressure here. There needs to be a sense of continuity, a transition from thick to thin, rather than an abrupt change.” He stretched out the paper from Song Tingzhou’s pen and began to give instructions in a serious manner.
Song Tingzhou glanced at him sideways and said, “You draw, I’ll write.”
Meng Wan deflated. “Huh? But my hands are weak.”
Song Tingzhou said without changing his expression, “I will teach you how to use the brush. With your intelligence, you will be able to learn in a few days.”
Meng Wan had never been praised like this before. He touched his face with one hand, feeling his cheeks getting warm. “Really? I’ll try it then?”
The next day, Song Tingzhou went out to buy red paper. Chang Jinhua carried a basket and went to find Aunt Song Liu to keep her company while doing chores. Meng Wan practiced calligraphy alone at home. At noon, when the sun was shining, he stopped writing, stretched his back, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), and kneaded dough. He hadn’t eaten steamed buns in a long time, and today, being warmer, the dough would ferment faster.
He kneaded a large dough ball, washed the linen cloth used to cover the tofu twice with warm water, covered the dough ball with it, then covered it with a smaller wooden basin, and placed it on the kang (heated brick bed) in the main room. The kang was heated in the morning, so there was still residual heat.
He made all these preparations and went to the dry toilet in the yard to relieve himself, but was stopped halfway there.
”Wan-ge’er!” Xiao-mei called to him from the same spot on the wall.
”What are you standing on? Be careful.”
The wall between the two houses is at least 1.8 meters high, while Xiaomei is only 1.6 meters tall. Meng Wan recently felt that he had grown a bit taller, probably around 1.7 meters, which is taller than Xiaomei.
They both had to stand on something to stick their heads out of the wall. Xiaomei didn’t climb over the wall like before, because her big belly made it inconvenient. Instead, she stood on something.
”Standing on the wooden stump, it’s sturdy!”
Xiaomei shouted, “Why haven’t you been hanging out with me lately? You didn’t even invite me to your engagement!” She was straightforward and had to say what she was thinking to feel better.
”There’s been too much going on at home lately. My aunt said we shouldn’t make a fuss about the engagement, and we should keep it simple, so I didn’t tell you specifically.” Meng Wan didn’t actually like hanging out with her privately, and even if it wasn’t about Tian Xing, he didn’t have much affection for the Tian family. Zhu Ge’er’s beating didn’t happen overnight; he only found out about it from Xiao Mei, which showed that the whole family tacitly approved of it. Meng Wan didn’t want to get involved in their family affairs anymore, but his negative impression of the family was absolute.
Before, when he first arrived, he didn’t have any friends among his neighbors. Xiaomei was very outgoing, and the two of them liked to go out together. But after what happened with Tian Xing, he didn’t want to have any contact with the Tian family anymore.
Xiaomei was slightly disappointed by this explanation. “Oh, I see.”
”Xiaomei, what are you doing standing so high? What if you fall? Come down quickly!” Aunt Tian called to her youngest daughter-in-law from her own yard.
Xiao Mei shrank her head and said, “Hey, I’m just going to say a few words to Wan-ge, I’ll be right down.”
Aunt Tian was angry at her for being unreliable, but instead of talking to her, she walked two steps to the Song family’s door and called out, “Wan-ge’er, are you home?”
Isn’t that obvious? Just say what you have to say. You’re such a hypocrite.
Meng Wan thought to himself, but smiled and said, “Auntie is here. It’s a pity my aunt isn’t home, otherwise I would have invited you in to talk to her.”
Aunt Tian cursed him inwardly for only knowing how to talk big at such a young age. Her smile faded, and she said earnestly, “I won’t go in. I need to talk to you about something…”
She waited for Meng Wan to respond, but Meng Wan just stared at her blankly without saying a word.
Aunt Tian stopped beating around the bush and said, “Xiao Mei is heavily pregnant with our family’s first great-grandchild. She’s young and has a lively personality, unlike you who’s so mature. It’s best if you spend less time together in the future.”
Meng Wan asked in surprise, “Then you should have told Xiaomei, right?”
Aunt Tian’s expression was unfriendly. “I will definitely tell Xiao Mei that you are engaged now and should know your limits, otherwise people will laugh at you.”
Knowing she couldn’t gain the upper hand verbally with Meng Wan, she learned her lesson and left with a flick of her sleeve.
Just as she reached her own door, she saw Meng Wan standing on a stone, leaning against the wall, and shouting, “Xiao Mei, your mother-in-law just told me that you’re pregnant and won’t let me visit you. From now on, you shouldn’t keep calling me, or your aunt will think I’m the one who insists on visiting you.”
Xiaomei pushed open the door and stared blankly at her mother-in-law at the gate of the courtyard. “Then I understand.”
After she married into the family, her mother-in-law treated her well, which was in stark contrast to her attitude towards Zhu Ge’er. When she went back to her parents’ home, she proudly told her mother about it, but her mother always said that her mother-in-law was not easy to get along with and told her not to tell her mother-in-law everything and to keep some secrets.
She had never taken these words seriously, but today was the first time she had witnessed her mother-in-law’s hypocrisy. At home, her mother-in-law always approved of her mentioning Meng Wan, so how could she have changed her mind so suddenly?
”Xiaomei, your mother is worried about slipping in the freezing cold. You can find Wan-ge’er after you give birth, then it will be warmer.” Aunt Tian smiled on the surface, but in her heart she almost hated Meng Wan to the core.
”Oh, okay.” Xiaomei replied, whether she believed her or not, and went back into her room.
Aunt Tian’s smile vanished, and she glared fiercely at Meng Wan, who was still watching the commotion from the wall.
Meng Wan rested his chin on his hand and chuckled. Aunt Tian was such a good person. It just so happened that he couldn’t think of an excuse to distance himself from Xiao Mei.
”Why did you climb so high?” Song Tingzhou returned carrying a basket of red paper. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Meng Wan standing on a stone, clinging to the wall.
Meng Wan jumped off the rock. “You’re back! I’ll get you some hot water.”
The two went into the house together. Song Tingzhou put the basket on the ground. There was a lot of red paper, and the small room looked crowded. He put the red paper on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the main room to tidy it up.
Meng Wan handed him a bowl of hot water and asked, “How many did you buy?”
Song Tingzhou drank the water in the bowl in two gulps; he was indeed thirsty after walking for so long.
”Red paper is more expensive than white paper, 110 coins a bundle, I bought three bundles.”
One cut yields about a hundred sheets, so three cuts yield three hundred sheets. He initially priced each “Fu” character at eight coins. If all of them were sold, he would only earn two and a half taels of silver. After deducting his cost of three hundred and thirty coins, he would still not earn two taels, and would only make one thousand nine hundred coins.
Meng Wan pondered how to add more variety to the product so that it could be sold at a higher price.
Song Tingzhou took out a piece of brown cotton cloth from his pocket, and unfolded it to reveal a slender calligraphy brush. “The shopkeeper also gave me a brush, which is a bit smaller. I’m not used to using it, so it’s perfect for you to use.”
Meng Wan took the pen and examined it closely. The pen was small and slender, with a brownish-red handle, a sharp tip, and distinct bristles. The pen body was round and full. Even if he didn’t know anything about calligraphy brushes, he could tell that this was a good pen, probably more expensive than three reams of paper. How could the shopkeeper give it away for free?
Meng Wan sighed softly, “Then thank you, cousin. I’ll make steamed buns tonight. Would you like them with sauerkraut or cabbage filling?”
”Chinese cabbage.”
Song Tingzhou moved the kang table to the main room and picked up a book to read.
Meng Wan went to the cellar in the backyard and brought back a cabbage. He chopped the cabbage filling in the kitchen. After chopping a large bowl of cabbage filling, he put firewood under a small pot, heated the pot, and put in two spoonfuls of lard. Since there was too much cabbage and no meat, he could only add more lard.
Mince the scallions and ginger and fry them until fragrant. Then add a bowl of diced mushrooms. The mushrooms were soaked by Meng Wan at noon. They were wild mushrooms from the mountains in late autumn. After being soaked in warm water, they were a bit shriveled and not as thick as shiitake mushrooms, but they had a rich aroma. Meng Wan likes to use them to enhance the flavor.
Scoop the oil and mushrooms from the pan into the cabbage, add salt, and mix well. The simple version of the bun filling is now ready.
Making dumplings in the kitchen was freezing, so Meng Wan had already placed the cutting board on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) in the main room. He carried the vegetable basin into the room, and Song Tingzhou quickly put down his book to help him.
”It’s just a few steps, I can carry it.” Meng Wan was a little unaccustomed to being taken care of like this.
Song Tingzhou placed the wooden basin on the counter and said in a calm tone, “I am a man, not a dead man. Just call me next time.”
Meng Wan didn’t know how to respond to him, but agreeing would seem like he was relying on Song Tingzhou.
He doesn’t want to depend on others. Just like when he was a child, he relied entirely on his parents, but they died unexpectedly. His life seemed to collapse, and it took him a very long time to get out of that feeling that the whole world had abandoned him. This is a terrible behavior.
He could marry him, but he wouldn’t dare to depend on him.
Song Tingzhou didn’t insist that Meng Wan respond to him, and casually picked up his book again to continue reading.
When Chang Jinhua returned home, the first thing she thought about was her chickens. “Wan-ge’er, have you fed the chickens?”
”I chopped up the cabbage roots I cut earlier and mixed them with bran to feed the chickens.”
Meng Wan washed his hands and lifted the wooden basin containing the dough. The dough had fermented well, and there were already evenly distributed honeycomb-like holes inside.
He started kneading the dough to release the air. Chang Jinhua lifted the curtain and came in. The first thing she saw was her son reading in the room. She didn’t react for a moment. It wasn’t until she saw Meng Wan rolling out the dumpling wrappers that she came to her senses. That’s right.
”We’re having steamed buns tonight. Auntie will roll out the dough for you, and you can wrap them.” Chang Jinhua washed her hands in the kitchen and took the rolling pin from Meng Wan.
“I just came back and saw Zhu Ge’er. He was going back to his parents’ home with his mother-in-law. It’s really strange. Tian Xing has bad legs. It’s one thing for him to go back by himself, but why did he bring his mother-in-law back with him?” Chang Jinhua rolled out the dumpling wrappers, completely puzzled.
Meng Wan didn’t understand either, but he felt that Aunt Tian didn’t have good intentions. Perhaps he was also influenced by Chang Jinhua to gossip, so he asked while wrapping buns, “Auntie, do you know that Zhu Ge’er is being beaten by Tian Xing at home?”
Chang Jinhua sighed: “We live next door, how could we not know? Poor Zhu Ge’er is stuck with that family. A few years ago, Tian Laoda had a serious illness, and Tian Wang was still young. The family was so poor that they couldn’t even afford to eat. After several years, Tian Xing got too old and the family couldn’t afford to marry a girl. That’s why they used two bags of grain to exchange for Zhu Ge’er.”
Meng Wan couldn’t believe it. “A perfectly healthy person was traded for just two sacks of grain?”
Chang Jinhua glanced at him and said, “Do you think everyone is as valuable as you? Eight taels of silver! Even your aunt felt the pinch back then.”
Meng Wan instinctively tried to comfort her, “You really got your money’s worth buying me, I’m such a good and filial person!”
Song Tingzhou looked up from his book at him, a knowing glint in his eyes.
No wonder her mother is so good to Meng Wan; it turns out that’s how he usually coaxes people. If he were the one being coaxed…
His mother interrupted his reverie, Chang Jinhua continued, “How many wives have we gotten in our village by exchanging grain? But most of them are young men.”
The family was poor and had many children. Boys were not to be given away under any circumstances, and bride prices were high. Only gers were worthless. If a ger married out, the family would lose a mouth to feed, and they could get two bags of grain in return. It was a perfect deal. When people couldn’t even get enough to eat, family ties were also limited.
Meng Wan felt heavy-hearted. “Even if they switch places, they don’t treat each other well. What kind of husband is he then?”
Chang Jinhua also disapproved of the Tian family’s ways, which is why she previously told Meng Wan not to play with her granddaughter-in-law.
She finished rolling out all the dumpling wrappers, then went to the kitchen and brought out a tall stool to place a bamboo tray on top. She lined it with washed cabbage leaves and placed the round dumplings that Meng Wan had wrapped on it one by one.
”That’s a family skill passed down through generations, from father to son.”
Chang Jinhua said sarcastically, “Tian Xing’s grandmother was beaten to death by his grandfather before she was even forty. Your Aunt Tian was known for her silver tongue when she was young. After marrying into the Tian family, she ran back to her parents’ home three or five times, and was eventually beaten into submission by her husband. But she’s cunning and had two more sons, so she’s probably living a comfortable life these past few years.” Otherwise, why would her daughter-in-law have come to her to brag about her pregnancy two months ago?
Meng Wan was dumbfounded. My goodness, something that has been despised since ancient times has become a tradition?
”Wan-ge’er, you scoop water into the pot, I’ll go get the firewood, you don’t need to worry about the rest.”
”Okay, then I’ll cut some more shredded radish to mix with the food.” After adding water, Meng Wan put a steamer of buns into the pot and covered it with the lid.
While Chang Jinhua was tending the fire, Meng Wan prepared a sweet and sour shredded radish dish.
”Cousin, dinner’s ready.”
Meng Wan’s cooking skills are good. The steamed buns are slightly yellow because the dough has many impurities and is not dried very finely, but they are very soft and fluffy. The filling is a bit bland because there is no meat in it, but one bite is full of vegetable flavor.
Meng Wan ate four large steamed buns, his stomach was bulging, Song Tingzhou ate seven without saying a word, and even Chang Jinhua ate three.
Chang Jinhua was clearing away the dishes and said with a smile, “Your second uncle’s family is going to slaughter a pig on the 29th. I ordered half a rack of spare ribs, four catties of pork belly and two pig trotters. We’ll also make steamed buns with meat filling on the 29th of the Lunar New Year.”