After watching Sister-in-law Yao leave, Xia Tian went inside, found the water buckets and carrying pole, and prepared to fetch two buckets of water.
Following the directions Sister-in-law Yao had given, she found the place without much trouble. It was mid-afternoon, so there was hardly anyone around.
The well was under a rather large thatched shed. The sun couldn't shine in at this time, so it was quite cool.
Above the well was a wooden windlass. Xia Tian had seen one on TV before; it made drawing water easier.
The mouth of the well was lined with bluestone, and it had a wooden cover. It was probably to prevent things from falling in and contaminating the water source, and the cover could also stop playing children from falling in.
Xia Tian lifted the cover and peered into the well. The water was clear, reflecting her shadow distinctly.
She hooked the wooden bucket onto the rope, gripped the windlass handle with both hands, and slowly lowered it into the well to fill it. Then, she turned the windlass in the opposite direction to lift the bucket. The wooden bucket was a bit heavy, but fortunately, the original owner of her body had worked year-round and possessed a good deal of strength.
Once both buckets were full, Xia Tian hoisted the pole onto her shoulder and headed home. The road wasn't long, but she still had to rest twice before she made it back.
She went inside, poured the water into the large ceramic vat, and sat on a stool for a while to recover her strength.
It was so tiring.
Xia Tian thought that once she had money, she would definitely have a well dug in the courtyard. Otherwise, if she had to rely on herself to fetch water every day, she would be exhausted to death sooner or later.
She drank a bowl of water and rested until she felt mostly recovered.
Remembering she still had clothes to wash, she headed to the river.
Life in the countryside truly offered no moment of rest.
The river on the east side of Liu Jia Village wasn't very wide, only about ten meters or so. It was likely the same river that flowed through Xia Family Village.
However, Liu Jia Village was downstream from Xia Family Village. The villagers usually used the river water for irrigating their fields and washing their clothes.
The river water was quite clear at this time, and the willow trees on the banks had sprouted, looking lush and green.
Xia Tian found a shady spot where there happened to be a clean, relatively flat boulder. The villagers probably washed their clothes here often.
Xia Tian walked over, set down the basin, took out the clothes, and soaked them in the river. She then placed them on the stone and began to beat them with a laundry mallet.
People here washed clothes by soaking them in Zaojia water and then beating them with a mallet.
Zaojia were the fruit of the Zaojia tree. When washing clothes, one would smash them open with a stone or something hard and soak them in a basin of water, which would produce foam like laundry detergent, making the clothes cleaner after scrubbing.
Xia Tian hadn't found any Zaojia at home earlier, so she could only make do with the mallet. Fortunately, Shen Nian hadn't done any strenuous work, so his clothes were relatively clean.
By the time she finished washing and hanging the clothes to dry, it was already time to make dinner.
She had bought a Chinese cabbage today, so she decided to make some dumplings with a cabbage and egg filling. It was a pity there was no meat; otherwise, a pickled cabbage and pork filling would have been delicious!
Putting her thoughts into action, Xia Tian first mixed the dough and let it rest, then prepared the filling.
She chopped up a head of Chinese cabbage, put it in a basin, sprinkled it with salt, and set it aside to draw out the water.
Xia Tian then lit the fire and stir-fried the scrambled eggs.
When the cabbage had released enough water, Xia Tian took a new basin, squeezed the excess water from the cabbage, added the scrambled eggs and seasonings, and mixed the filling well.
She rolled out the wrappers and filled the dumplings. By the time she finished and started boiling them, the sky was already growing dim.
The table she had moved out during the day was still in the courtyard. Xia Tian moved it closer to the kitchen, brought out the dumplings, and then called Shen Nian out to eat.
After Shen Nian came out and sat down, Xia Tian mixed a dipping sauce with soy sauce and vinegar. Asking if Shen Nian ate spicy food, she added a bit of the Duojiao she had gotten from Sister-in-law Yao's house.
Seeing that Shen Nian was eating well, Xia Tian also picked up a dumpling, took a bite, and savored it before saying, "The cabbage and egg filling is still missing something. It would taste much better with meat."
Xia Tian didn't care if Shen Nian was listening. "Brother Shen, how is it? Is the taste okay? My cooking skills are excellent, but unfortunately, the limited ingredients are holding me back. Otherwise, I'd make you delicious food every day, and then you'd have a different kind of problem!"
As she spoke, Xia Tian burst into laughter, her mind picturing what a chubby Shen Nian would look like, and she couldn't stop chuckling.
Shen Nian glanced at Xia Tian but didn't reply.
After laughing her fill, Xia Tian grinned and continued, "The problem of having to lose weight because you've gotten fat!"
Hearing this, Shen Nian's chopsticks paused for a moment before he resumed eating.
Xia Tian couldn't stop her wide grin.
Amidst Xia Tian's laughter, Shen Nian calmly finished all the dumplings and even drank a bowl of the dumpling water that Xia Tian had poured for him, calling it by the fancy name "letting the original soup digest the original food."
After dinner, Shen Nian didn't go back inside but sat in the courtyard to let his food settle.
After washing the dishes, Xia Tian first boiled a large pot of water for them to wash up with later.
She then thought about going up the mountain tomorrow and wondered how long a round trip would take here.
She would need to prepare some dry rations to take with her. Besides, if she couldn't make it back in time to cook lunch, she also needed to prepare something for Shen Nian to eat.
Xia Tian took out a larger wooden basin, scooped in two bowls of white flour, thought for a moment, and then added a bowl of cornmeal. In this era, farming families rarely had the chance to eat pure white flour; even pure cornmeal was uncommon.
After the grain was harvested from the fields and taxes were paid, everyone would basically trade their fine grains for coarse grains. Firstly, with many mouths to feed at home, fine grains were too scarce and wouldn't last. Secondly, crop yields were low, so trading for coarse grains meant they could eat their fill for a longer period.
If she were seen eating steamed buns made of pure white flour every day, it could easily attract trouble, not to mention invite envy. It was better to keep a low profile in front of outsiders.
Farming families all followed the principle of "eating thin porridge during leisure and dry rations during busy times." The spring planting had just ended, so it was a slack season for farming. Especially during this lean period between harvests, any family eating dry rations every day would definitely attract everyone's attention.
Too much attention was definitely not a good thing.
She kneaded the dough well and let it rise overnight. She could steam the buns directly in the morning.
After mixing hot water for washing, the two of them washed up and returned to their respective rooms to rest.
After a bustling day, Xia Tian fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Even the coughing from the next room didn't affect her in the slightest.
The next day, Xia Tian woke up early. She had slept soundly until dawn without even a single dream and now felt incredibly refreshed.
Hearing no movement from Shen Nian's room, Xia Tian hummed a tune as she went to the kitchen to steam the buns.
By the time breakfast was all ready, Shen Nian was also up. She got him water to wash up and then called him to eat quickly.
"Brother Shen, I'm going up the mountain with Sister-in-law Yao today to gather some firewood. If I can't make it back for lunch, just light the fire in the stove to heat up the food. I've already prepared it and left it warming in the pot for you," Xia Tian instructed as she ate.
"Mm," Shen Nian nodded.
"Brother Shen, you must heat up the food. The weather isn't too hot yet, and eating cold food will upset your stomach. Also, when you have nothing to do, come out for some fresh air more often. Don't always stay cooped up in the room; it's not good for your health.
Also, just put your dirty clothes aside, and I'll wash them when I get back." Shen Nian ate in silence, listening to Xia Tian's constant chatter. Surprisingly, he didn't find it long-winded.
Perhaps this simple and quiet life was quite good, if he could live…