The originally cramped kitchen was now even more crowded, filled with so many things that it felt even tighter.
They had no choice but to move the mushrooms and bamboo mats into the bedroom. After all that rushing around, the sky still hadn’t fully brightened.
Because of the overcast rain, dawn came later than usual, and the room remained dim. The siblings climbed back onto the bed and lay down again.
Since it was raining and they couldn’t go up the mountain, they weren’t in a hurry to get up and instead chatted in bed.
Qingyi said worriedly, “Sis, will this roof leak?”
Qingyou chimed in, “Sis, the house we used to live in at the old home leaked too, and no one ever helped fix it.”
“This thatched roof is newly repaired. It shouldn’t leak. After the rain stops and a couple of days pass, we can dig bamboo shoots. And mushrooms will grow more after the rain—those are all delicious things.”
“Sis, bamboo shoots don’t taste good. They’re bitter and astringent. No one in our village eats them,” Qingyi said with a pout.
“Yeah, sis, don’t you remember when we were starving and dug bamboo shoots to eat? They were awful. We’d be better off eating wild vegetables,” Qingyou added, frowning at the memory.
“Hehe, did you two forget what your sister can do now? I’ve learned a lot. I have a way to make bamboo shoots not bitter or astringent. The stir-fried bamboo slices will definitely make you praise them endlessly,” Liu Qingyan said confidently with a smile.
The two younger ones suddenly remembered that their sister had been “touched by immortals,” so they wisely said nothing more.
After a while, the sky finally began to brighten. The siblings could no longer stay in bed and got up quickly to prepare food.
The kitchen was packed full of firewood, so crowded that if the three of them had been just a little fatter, they would barely have been able to turn around.
Liu Qingyan carefully checked her treasured sprouts. They were growing very well.
She planned that in a day or two, once the rain stopped, she could take them to town and sell them to earn some money for the family.
Fine rain fell like delicate cow hair, drifting down gently, each drop carrying the tenderness of spring.
Unhurried and calm, it seeped into the soil, nourishing every inch of the earth’s skin, feeding all things that had slept through the winter, quietly awakening the hope of life.
The siblings, like the vibrant spring after the rain, were full of energy and hope for the future.
With nothing to do at home, Liu Qingyan suddenly had an idea. She thought that she had never seen children here play anything fun—so she decided to sew a small pouch for her younger siblings as a toy.
She immediately got to work, gathering colorful scraps of fabric and carefully stitching them together.
Soon, a small square pouch was finished—a sandbag.
She filled it with a handful of coarse rice and carefully stitched the opening shut.
Qingyou curiously leaned over and asked, “Sis, what is this? Why did you put rice inside it?”
Smiling, Liu Qingyan patted her head and said, “Qingyou, Qingyi, come on, I’ll teach you how to play.”
She picked up the sandbag and tried kicking it a few times herself. (Sandbag illustration)
In truth, she had never really played it before—she had only seen it in old TV dramas, where children from the 70s and 80s played with sandbags, so she remembered it.
After a couple of tries, she found it quite fun.
Qingyi, being older, naturally let his younger sister Qingyou go first.
Qingyou imitated her sister and kicked it a few times clumsily, also finding it very enjoyable. Soon the three siblings were excitedly competing to see who could keep it going the longest.
The rule was that the sandbag couldn’t touch the ground and had to be kicked continuously. After an intense round, Qingyi actually won.
He had excellent coordination and quick learning ability.
After playing, their faces were all flushed red like ripe apples, and their bodies felt warm and full of energy.
Excited, Qingyi said, “When the rain stops tomorrow, I’ll take this sandbag to teach Tie Niu how to play.”
Liu Qingyan nodded. “Sure. And Xiaoyu too. We can all compete and see who can kick the most. I’ll make another one for Tie Niu and Xiaoyu.”
The colorful scrap-fabric sandbags turned out quite pretty.
Outside, the rain was still falling steadily. When the three siblings went out to the latrine and came back, they were all slightly wet from the rain.
Liu Qingyan thought to herself that they didn’t even have rain gear like straw capes, bamboo hats, or umbrellas. It was really inconvenient to go out in the rain.
Next time they went to town, they had to buy some, or they wouldn’t be able to go out whenever it rained.
The rain grew heavier, pounding loudly against the roof.
With nothing else to do, Liu Qingyan came up with new sandbag games.
That day, the siblings had a truly enjoyable time—they had never played so happily before in their lives.
Back in the old household, there had always been endless farm work, leaving no time for play.
Seeing the bright smiles on her younger siblings’ faces filled Liu Qingyan with warmth. She was determined to make up for all the happiness they had missed in childhood.
The rain lasted for two days, and the siblings happily stayed home and played the entire time.
They had enough wild vegetables and food stored at home, so there was no worry about eating.
At night, Liu Qingyan was worried the roof might leak, so she didn’t enter the space for two consecutive nights.
On the morning of the third day, the weather finally cleared.
After breakfast, the sun slowly rose, dispersing the post-rain gloom.
Fresh air filled everything, carrying the fragrance of wet earth and making one feel refreshed.
In the distance, the trees on the mountains had quietly begun to sprout. A faint layer of new green spread across the branches, full of life and vitality.
Xiaoyu and Tie Niu ran over excitedly, shouting, “Qingyan! These past two days of rain were so boring—we were stuck at home the whole time!
My mom said the roads are slippery after rain, so we shouldn’t go up the mountain yet. So we had no choice but to come to your house to play!”
“Xiaoyu, Tie Niu, you came at just the right time—I was just about to go find you!” Liu Qingyan replied with a smile.
Xiaoyu asked curiously, “Qingyan, what did you want us for?”
“Nothing big. I was bored these past two days and came up with something fun. I even made one for you two. Look—this sandbag! We’ll just play this at home for now. It’s really fun!”
Liu Qingyi quickly said, “Xiaoyu sis, Tie Niu, watch—I’ll show you how to play.”