August…
In the early August morning when the sky was still dark, the Su family had already risen. The lives of the poor seemed to require little rest. Su Laotou, who had gotten up early, went to the river to gather river mussels. When Su Li woke up, she saw her grandfather squatting in the yard, opening the mussels. Meanwhile, Wu Pozi and Chen Shi were feeding the chickens and cooking breakfast.
The smoke from the cooking fire rose, mingling with the shouts of feeding the chickens under the rising sun, creating an indescribable feeling of vibrant life—an experience Su Li had never known before.
“You two are up? There’s hot water in the pot,” Chen Shi said as she walked through the fence gate, carrying a bucket for feeding the chickens. The Su family kept their chickens in the bamboo grove outside the gate, enclosed by a fence, which was cleaner than keeping them inside the house—at least it didn’t stink.
Su Tao rubbed her eyes and voiced the question Su Li also wanted to ask, “Mom, why did Grandpa go get the river mussels so early?” Weren’t they supposed to gather them today?
Chen Shi replied impatiently, “If we waited for you two lazybones to get up, the sun would be high in the sky.”
Originally, Chen Shi had planned to take Su Tao and Su Li to gather the river mussels this morning, but Su Laotou stopped her. “They’ve finally had a good night’s sleep after so many days. Let them sleep.”
Not to mention the children, even the adults were exhausted after so many tiring days. When Su Laotou woke up this morning, he even felt a bit tired himself, but he was used to it and didn’t think much of it.
Su Tao and Su Li both felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this. “Grandpa, let us help you.”
“Enough, go wash up quickly. Your grandpa is almost done,” Chen Shi said, placing the chicken-feeding bucket in the yard and rinsing it with water.
Su Li still felt guilty and wanted to go help her grandfather, but she was stopped again.
“What are you coming over for? It’s almost done.”
Su Li looked over and saw that almost all the mussels in the large basin had been processed. Reluctantly, she gave up but still helped by fetching water to clean up.
After everything was taken care of, Su Li went to wash up.
Washing up, in this case, meant merely washing her face and rinsing her mouth with clean water. Although Su Li had been transported to this world for almost a week, she still hadn’t quite gotten used to not brushing her teeth. The feeling of discomfort in her mouth without brushing was hard to ignore. But the Su family was too poor—they hadn’t even solved their basic needs for food and warmth, so buying tooth powder and a toothbrush was out of the question.
Sighing inwardly, Su Li resolved that once she earned money in the future, her first purchase would be a toothbrush and tooth powder.
Besides that, she wanted to buy toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper. Just thinking about using corn leaves to wipe herself these days made her shudder. And that foul-smelling maoce—she didn’t even dare to think about it. The mere thought was enough to ruin her appetite.
“What are you dawdling for? It’s time to eat,” Chen Shi said, noticing her younger daughter taking too long to wash up and even using bamboo leaves to clean her teeth.
“Coming,” Su Li quickly spat out the water in her mouth and headed back inside.
The Su family’s breakfast was still porridge and pickles, but today’s porridge was unusually thin. Compared to the porridge from previous days, there was much less rice.
Su Li was puzzled. Hadn’t they just harvested the rice?
“There’s no rice, just water…” Su Tao complained quietly.
“Be grateful you have anything to eat at all, or I’ll sew your mouth shut with rice,” Chen Shi teased, and Su Tao immediately fell silent.
Wu Pozi suddenly spoke up from the side, “The rice is a bit scarce. Let’s continue with yesterday’s portion from now on.”
“Mother…” Chen Shi hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to add more rice, but they truly needed to ration the newly harvested grain carefully, or the whole family would go hungry.
“A little extra won’t make much difference.” Wu Pozi knew they had to save food, but if they didn’t eat enough, they wouldn’t have the strength to work. If their health deteriorated further, it would only make matters worse.
For instance, wasn’t Fifth Girl’s severe chill this time partly due to their usual lack of nutritious food? That day, holding Fifth Girl’s frail body, Wu Pozi felt regret. They had always scrimped and saved, but what good had it brought them?
Not only had they spent money, but her granddaughter’s health was ruined. It would have been better to spend that silver earlier—at least they would have gotten some nourishment from it.
Chen Shi didn’t understand why her mother-in-law had suddenly abandoned her usual frugality. Though she had some reservations, she didn’t dare voice them.
Having lived to this age, Wu Pozi could easily read her daughter-in-law’s thoughts. After a moment’s consideration, she added, “Health should always come first. It’s not worth ruining our bodies just to save a little.”
Chen Shi was taken aback by these words. So that was what her mother-in-law meant. She thought about her youngest daughter’s recent illness and realized the truth in it—nothing was more important than health.
“You’re right, Mother.”
Chen Shi was completely convinced.
Su Li observed the conversation between her mother Chen Shi and her grandmother Wu Pozi, thinking to herself that it was no wonder her mother had never argued with Wu Pozi all these years. Communication was truly important—unlike in her own family, where her parents never communicated, keeping everything bottled up only to bring it all out later in a heap of accusations.
Meanwhile, “I’m finished eating,” Su Laotou said, setting down his chopsticks.
Seeing this, Wu Pozi quickly took a large gulp of porridge. “You go ahead. I’ll be right there.”
“Alright. You and Qingshan’s mother don’t need to rush. Take your time.”
“Then I’m off.” With that, Su Laotou pushed back his stool and left.
Today, they were going to weave bamboo stools, which first required cutting bamboo.
Due to its unique geographical location, Qingshui County was mountainous and richly forested, with bamboo being the most abundant plant. Nearly every household in Xiaoxi Village had a bamboo grove by their door.
The Su family naturally had a large bamboo grove right outside their home, so they didn’t need to go far to find what they needed.
Bamboo was incredibly resilient—it grew back quickly after being cut, and a spring rain could bring forth a surge of shoots. Every year, Su Laotou cut plenty of bamboo to make baskets or stools. The baskets he wove were renowned throughout the neighboring villages for their durability, and people often came to him for custom work. However, these items weren’t worth much; Su Laotou usually only asked for a few eggs or some rice in return.
Earlier that morning, he had discussed with Wu Pozi and decided to postpone making brooms. Instead, they would focus on weaving more bamboo stools and some fish traps, which should sell better. With autumn approaching, the fish in the river were growing plump, and there would always be someone in need of traps.
Not long after Su Laotou left, Wu Pozi and Chen Shi finished their meal. Before heading out, they specifically reminded Su Tao and Su Li of their tasks for the day.
It was nothing complicated—just cooking lunch at home and then delivering it to their father and two older brothers.
This had been agreed upon last night. Even if Chen Shi and Nanny Wu Pozi hadn’t mentioned it, Su Li would have remembered.
“Fifth Sister, you cook, and I’ll tend the fire for you.” Su Tao grew particularly excited at the thought of soon enjoying the delicious stir-fried river mussels with chili again. Honestly, she hadn’t eaten much last night!!! She’d even dreamed about it!
“Alright, then I’ll go pick the vegetables first.” The vegetables eaten at home were always freshly picked for each meal, and last night’s batch had already been finished.
“No need, just tell me what you need, and I’ll pick them for you.” Driven by her craving for good food, Su Tao shed her usual laziness and became entirely proactive.
Su Li had no choice but to tell Su Tao everything she needed.
Upon hearing this, Su Tao immediately picked up a basket and headed out.
This gave Su Li time to prepare the river mussel meat.
By the time Su Tao returned, everything was ready.
Let’s get started!
With one tending the fire and the other stir-frying, smoke soon rose from the kitchen, accompanied by a rich, aromatic blend of fragrance and spiciness.
Not far away, in the Wang household, Wang Tie Zhu paused while using his bamboo rake and asked, “Whose family is cooking? It smells so good!”
His son, Wang Ergou, holding a bowl, took a deep breath of the aroma and then shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth. He couldn’t help but feel frustrated—even though there was meat in his bowl, why did it taste so awful?!
“I smelled it last night too, but you didn’t believe me.”
Wang Tie Zhu, hardly acting like a proper father, chuckled, “Well, I didn’t catch the scent then, did I?”
“I think it’s coming from the Su family.” After all, most other families in the village were out working, and only the Su household had smoke rising from their kitchen.
“Seems like it.” Wang Ergou also looked up.
But could the Su family’s cooking really be this fragrant?
“What if we ask them to cook for us whenever we hunt something in the future?” Tired of his father’s unpalatable cooking, Wang Ergou couldn’t resist suggesting.
“I’m afraid that might not be appropriate.” They had never interacted before, and it would be awkward to trouble them out of the blue.
Wang Ergou realized this too. Although their family hadn’t looked down on the Su family like others in the village, they had never been close either. Asking for favors just for a good meal would seem rather shameless.
Thinking this, Wang Ergou dismissed the idea, though he still felt a bit regretful…
Oh well, next time they bagged a big catch, they could just go to Xiang Man Lou and feast to their heart’s content.
Naturally, Su Li and the others were unaware of this conversation.
“Ah! So delicious!” The moment the dish was ready, Su Tao grabbed a piece with her hand and stuffed it into her mouth, sighing with bliss.
“Mmm, it’s so good! How can it be this delicious!”
Seeing Su Tao use her hands again, Su Li was at a loss for words. When would this habit ever change?
“Fourth Sister, use chopsticks…”
“Hehe, it’s just too delicious—I couldn’t help it!” Su Tao swallowed the river mussel meat, grinning like a mischievous cat that had successfully snatched a treat.
Using hands was unhygienic—so many germs! Su Li had a whole lecture prepared to educate Su Tao, but then she remembered this was ancient times, and talking about hygiene would likely go over her head.
So, she deliberately put on a stern face and said, “If you use your hands again, I won’t make any more delicious food for you.”
This proved far more effective than any hygiene talk. Su Tao immediately grew anxious and said, “Alright, Fifth Sister, I was wrong. I’ll wash my hands and use chopsticks from now on, okay?”
This is definitely not her being timid! Who could blame her when Fifth Sister’s cooking is just so delicious!!!
After saying that, to show her determination, Su Tao quickly ran to scoop water to wash her hands clean, then grabbed a pair of bamboo chopsticks.
Today, her grandpa Su Laotou had deliberately gathered many extra river mussels, which were stir-fried into a huge bowl. Su Li had even specially added extra green chili peppers to it. The mix of red and green looked especially appetizing—just the sight of it made you want to eat more. And taking a bite? There was nothing more satisfying.