Hua Wanxi had learned about Jiang Ergou from the book.
When the female lead Jiang Wenwan’s grandmother died during a natural disaster, Jiang Ergou happened to pass by and once went inside to pay his respects. He kept that kindness in his heart. During the refugee journey later on, he protected her twice—otherwise, she would not have been the last of her family to die.
Jiang Ergou was someone who repaid kindness. His character should not be bad. Hua Wanxi thought of asking him to help her gather firewood. In any case, he was already collecting it to sell, so selling it to her would save him the trip to town.
The first pot of white rice had just finished cooking. Hua Wanxi transferred the rice into a large vat and began cooking a second batch.
After adding firewood to the stove and timing everything, she placed the two babies in the bathtub space to lie down, then prepared to go find Jiang Ergou.
His house was not far from hers—she could even see it from her doorway—but it was already dark, and she couldn’t tell whether anyone was inside.
Under the moonlight, she walked over and saw firelight glowing from his kitchen. He was likely cooking dinner.
She didn’t go in directly and instead called from the doorway, “Jiang Ergou… cough, are you home?”
It was the first time she had said that name out loud—it sounded almost like she was insulting someone, and she felt a little uncomfortable.
Inside, she heard his grandmother calling him. A few seconds later, Jiang Ergou came out of the kitchen. He looked surprised to see her.
“Auntie, do you need something?”
They had never interacted before. He only knew she lived nearby. Over a month ago, he had even heard her screams when she gave birth at night.
Jiang Ergou was not someone who liked to meddle in other people’s affairs. He didn’t have the time or energy for it—his time was all spent working.
Hua Wanxi observed him. He was about thirteen or fourteen, tall and thin, with an expression of indifference completely unlike other boys his age.
She got straight to the point.
“I want to buy firewood from you. The price will be the same as in town. You’ll deliver it directly to my kitchen.”
“Alright. How much do you want?” he asked.
There was no excitement at the chance to earn money, nor any special enthusiasm toward her as a customer. His tone was calm, almost like a worn-down adult.
Hua Wanxi was satisfied with his attitude. The best kind of business was clean exchange—no favors, no unnecessary talk.
“Deliver one cartload every two days.”
“Alright. Three copper coins.”
“Good. Start tomorrow,” she said. The price he gave was the cheapest he could offer—truly a good kid, she thought.
She took out two candies and handed them to him.
“This is for you. One for you and one for your grandmother.”
Jiang Ergou opened his hand and accepted them.
Seeing him take the candy, Hua Wanxi didn’t stay any longer. She turned and left, not noticing that he still stood at the doorway, palm open, staring at her with an unreadable gaze.
She didn’t know that this was the first time in his life he had ever received candy.
The next morning, Jiang Ergou delivered the firewood to her kitchen. Hua Wanxi gave him three copper coins, and he left.
“Why is this load of firewood so much?” she muttered. It almost filled up her entire cooking space.
She didn’t think much of it and decided that from today onward, she would fully focus on cooking.
She moved the children into the bathroom space, closed the kitchen door, and got to work.
She took out several chickens, blanched them, and started making chicken soup. After adding a large tree root as firewood, she went back into the bathroom space.
She needed to prepare all the vegetables in advance.
Wearing gloves, she got to work.
She now had dozens of plastic buckets and basins. When not in use, they were stacked together, but now she spread them out across the limited space.
She washed radishes, peeled them, and chopped them.
She sorted vegetables, washed them, and cut them.
She washed meat and sliced it.
An hour later, she checked the stove. The chicken soup was about ready, so she added a basin of white radish and let it simmer for another four or five minutes with a bit of salt. The radish chicken soup was done.
She poured it into a large vat and immediately started another pot, since there were still ingredients left to process.
Another hour later, the second pot of chicken soup was finished. After washing the pot, she began stir-frying.
She was currently breastfeeding, so she couldn’t eat spicy food—no Sichuan pepper or dried pepper.
She had plenty of meat in her storage, so she paired it with vegetables to balance the richness. She made a large pot of stir-fried cabbage, a large pot of minced pork with eggplant, and a large pot of green beans.
By the time she finished, it was already noon. Her arms were sore.
After feeding the baby, she ate a bowl of rice with the three dishes, then took a nap. When she woke up in the afternoon, she continued working.
Suddenly, she slapped her forehead.
She had forgotten to make soap again.
There were already several boxes of soap scraps piling up.
She needed help.
She went to open the door—and just then, Jiang Ergou happened to be walking out of his house, unsure whether he was heading to the mountains or the fields. She waved him over.
He paused, then walked toward her.
“Auntie, what is it?”
“I have something I want you and your grandmother to help with.”
Jiang Ergou immediately refused.
“My grandmother’s eyesight is poor. She probably can’t help you much.”
“It’s fine. Come take a look first. If you think it’s unsuitable, I won’t ask you.”
He followed her inside.
Hua Wanxi sat on a small stool and explained, “This is a small business I’m running. I have to take care of the children, so I don’t have much time. I’ll show you first. If you think it’s doable, I’ll pay you 20 copper coins a day.”
She actually wanted to offer more, but she worried others might think she was foolishly rich and target her, so she stuck to market rates.
As she worked, she explained:
“This is ‘soap’—used for washing clothes, hands, and face. Before making it, your hands must be clean. Don’t add too much water. At first, you won’t know the right amount, so add it slowly, a little at a time. Once it becomes a fairly dry paste, you put it into this mold. Each time, about this much—press it in, push it firmly, then tap it out gently. Like this.”
She lifted a freshly molded bar.
“This is how it looks. It’s still soft at this stage, so you need to let it dry in a clean place before bringing it back to me.”
Seeing that Jiang Ergou was listening intently, staring at the tools, she let him observe without interruption.