Li Sangyue remembered a time during her childhood when she was called a “bastard” on the street. It was her Great-Aunt who had stood up for her, scolding that family before cycling her all the way back home.
Over the years, her Great-Aunt had always sent vegetables to their house. Whenever she caught fish, she would make sure to bring a few over, refusing any payment. Yesterday, Sangyue’s grandmother had called Great-Aunt to invite her to the birthday banquet, but because she didn’t want to run into Great-Aunt’s sister-in-law, she hadn’t come. Instead, she had sent a new outfit for the grandmother through another relative.
“I have food here. Besides, I don’t eat much on my own; you didn’t need to make a special trip to bring me this,” Great-Aunt Zhang Chuntao said warmly as she invited her inside.
Years of working in the fields under the sun and wind had left Zhang Chuntao’s skin dark and wrinkled. She was thin, with hardly any black hair left. The clothes she wore were old; Sangyue recognized the outfit as one her mother had bought for her Great-Aunt several years ago. The old lady was still wearing it, unable to bear throwing it away.
Opening the bag Sangyue had brought, Chuntao saw fried crispy pork, meatballs, and fried mantou slices. The portions were substantial. While happy, Zhang Chuntao couldn’t help but nag a little.
Elderly people all love to nag. Her own grandmother and great-grandmother did it plenty at home. Sangyue wondered if her mother would become just as talkative when she reached that age.
“It’s really not much, and it’s all pre-fried. I’ll put it in the fridge for you. Later, you can just get some vegetables from the field and make a big stew; it’ll be gone in a few meals. I’ll leave these fried mantou slices for your breakfast.”
“Have you eaten, Xiaoyue? I brewed some yam and millet porridge; let me get you a bowl.”
“No thanks, Great-Aunt. I already ate at home. We had millet porridge today too.”
Sangyue walked into the inner room and looked around. She noticed the plaster was peeling off the walls of the old house, and there was mold near the baseboards. One of the window panes was broken, patched up with a piece of cardboard. Things were stored right under the window; it was fine when it was dry, but if it rained, everything would get soaked.
“Great-Aunt, will you be home this afternoon? I’ll bring a piece of glass and fix that window for you.” Sangyue often visited her Great-Aunt when she had time; the elderly woman lived here all alone with no one by her side.
“No, no, it’s fine as it is. Don’t go to the trouble.”
“If we don’t fix it now, we’ll have to do it when it gets cold. Otherwise, the house will be freezing. It’s just installing a new piece of glass; it’s no trouble at all.”
Seeing how the elderly woman lived made Sangyue’s heart ache. She asked, “School has been out for summer break for a while now. Did Auntie not bring Jiajia back to see you? I remember Jiajia was supposed to take the college entrance exam this year.”
Jiajia was the daughter of Zhang Mei. She had finished her exams in June and should have finished filling out her university applications by now, but Sangyue didn’t know how she scored. She hadn’t heard Great-Aunt mention it yesterday, which was normal; Zhang Mei probably wouldn’t call the elderly woman to discuss such things.
“She called a while ago, saying she was taking Jiajia on a trip for the summer break.”
Sangyue thought, is Great-Aunt not Zhang Mei’s biological mother? How could she not even come back for a visit during the holidays? She truly didn’t know what to say.
Great-Aunt had never mistreated Zhang Mei. According to Sangyue’s mother, when Zhang Mei first started working and had a low salary but wanted to buy a house in the county seat, Great-Aunt had handed over all her savings without a second thought. Now, Zhang Mei didn’t even offer to let Great-Aunt live with her, let alone come back to visit. To treat her own mother like this, her heart was truly cold.
Sangyue only kept these thoughts to herself; she would not breathe a word of it in front of her Great-Aunt.
Since she still had to help out at the small warehouse, she didn’t stay long. Great-Aunt insisted on stuffing a few small muskmelons into her hands. They were grown by Great-Aunt herself in the plot behind the house; she had scattered seeds in the spring, and now the vines covered the trellis.
Zhang Chuntao saw her to the door and added, “Bring Taiyang over to play more often. Don’t bring any more things. Next time, I’ll go fishing for you. Those palm-sized crucian carp, you always loved fried crucian carp best.”
“Alright, I’ll bring Taiyang next time.”
She carried the muskmelons to the warehouse and shared two with Sister Tuan and Lin Yin, breaking one open to taste for herself. These striped muskmelons were very crisp, though not quite sweet enough.
There was a livestream in the morning. She appeared on camera to greet the fans and helped sell goods for a while.
The livestream had many items listed today. Besides seasonal peaches, there were farm eggs, dried beans, vermicelli, mung beans, and corn. These local products weren’t available in large quantities and sold out as soon as they were listed. Many fans who missed out asked in the comments when they would be back in stock.
Li Sangyue could only tell them that they would restock as soon as more became available. Since these came from the villagers’ own homes, they could not be mass-produced; they just had to wait. However, there were plenty of peaches, as it was now the harvest season for yellow peaches and flat peaches.
She had discussed it with Sister Tuan and Lin Yin. They would not go to the city to set up stalls for the time being. Her mother was worried about her going out, and she had her own concerns as well. Sister Tuan and Lin Yin could not manage it alone.
As noon approached, the sun grew stronger and the temperature rose. Her pheromones were becoming harder to mask. Sister Tuan and Lin Yin, worried about her health, would not let her host the second half of the stream and urged her to head home.
Thinking it was almost lunchtime and that cooking needed to be done at home, she headed back first. Once the meal was ready, she packed two portions for Sister Tuan and Lin Yin. Since it was a busy day, they would be eating at the warehouse.
When she got home, her grandmother was sitting on a small stool by the door picking beans. Taiyang was helping. She loved helping with chores; anything would do.
“Mama, Grandma and Great-Grandma went up the mountain to pick peaches, but they didn’t take me,” Taiyang said, sounding quite aggrieved.
Sangyue had forgotten her phone when she left this morning, so her mother had called Lin Yin to say they were going up the mountain to pick yellow peaches. Because they had been busy with the grandmother’s birthday celebration these past two days, their own yellow peaches had not been picked. If they did not harvest them soon, they would be overripe and hard to sell.
“Mama will take you this afternoon.” She knew Taiyang really wanted to go play on the mountain.
“Really?”
“Do you want to go?”
“Yes!” Taiyang jumped up happily.
Li Sangyue smiled and headed into the kitchen to get busy. If she took Taiyang up the mountain, her grandmother would definitely insist on watching her out of concern, which meant she would not be able to work. But her grandmother was old; it would not be good if she got too exhausted. Yet, if you did not let her work, she would be unhappy. The old lady was so stubborn that even Sangyue’s mother could not handle her, so this was the only way.
Today’s lunch was simple: a pot of mung bean porridge, a stew made from the remaining crispy pork and meatballs with some bok choy and vermicelli, a cold bean salad, two stir-fried vegetable dishes, and the remaining longevity buns were heated up. The fried mantou slices from the morning must have all been given away, as she did not see any when she returned.
She packed the food into three portions. She would drop one off at the warehouse after eating, and then take the rest up the mountain for her mother and grandmother. She had called her mother earlier, and they were not coming home for lunch.
Her mother had not wanted her to deliver food, saying they had brought something in the morning, but since it was already made, Sangyue insisted on going. It was not far; she could take Taiyang on her bike. Her grandmother stayed behind to watch the house.
Many people in Yangtoubu grew yellow peaches, and most villagers were currently on the mountains harvesting. Li Sangyue ran into several others on the road who were also delivering lunch.
She had helped the villagers sell a lot of produce through her livestreams. First the cherries and crisp peaches, and now the yellow peaches. The villagers were very grateful to her and were very warm. Knowing she was delivering food to her grandmother and mother, some even offered to take it up for her so she would not have to make the trip.
She politely declined and took Taiyang to their own orchard. The yellow peaches she had picked for Qin Nian last time were from this area. Later, Qin Nian had told her his family and friends loved them and had ordered over ten more boxes.
The sun was intense. Li Ningjun wore a sun hat that covered her neck and face. She was moving a crate of freshly picked yellow peaches to the roadside, covering them with leafy branches to prevent them from spoiling in the sun.
“Why is Taiyang here too?”
“She was clamoring to come up the mountain to play.” Sangyue placed the food in the shade.
Her mother and grandmother stopped their work and sat down to eat. There was a bowl of rice specifically for her mother, who still preferred rice for lunch and did not care much for steamed buns. Her grandmother could eat either.
“Did you both eat at home?”
“We did. Grandma wanted to come too, but I had her stay back to watch the house.”
“It is not that much work, the whole family does not need to come. Take your grandmother back in a bit; I can pick them myself. It is even more stifling in the afternoon than the morning. Your grandmother is old; she cannot stay on the mountain all day.”
Li Sangyue took a fan to fan her mother. “Alright. I will take Grandma and Taiyang home and then come back up.”
“You are not allowed back either. Your current physical condition is nothing to play around with.”
“It is fine, Mama. If I feel unwell, I will go home.”
“That won’t do.”
When her mother got serious, Sangyue could only obey. She then remembered she had told her Great-Aunt she would come by this afternoon to fix the window glass. She had almost forgotten; her brain really felt like it was functioning in fits and starts lately.
When she said she would take them home, both the grandmother and Taiyang were unwilling. It had taken Taiyang a lot of effort to get her mother to bring her up here.
“Grandma, I can help with the work!” To prove how capable she was, Taiyang had already run off to pick peaches.
Given her small height, she could not reach many even on tiptoes. Li Sangyue followed her with a small basket. Every time the child picked a peach, Sangyue helped put it in the basket. After a lot of effort, she only managed to pick four or five small ones, but she was full of a sense of achievement and happily continued scurrying under the peach trees.
“Mama, here is a bigger one! I cannot reach it, help me!”
Li Sangyue misunderstood and reached out to pick it. Taiyang immediately got anxious, jumping and stopping her. “No, no, no, Mama!”
“Huh?”
“Pick me up! I want to pick it myself!”
“Oh, okay.” Sangyue quickly set down the basket and lifted her daughter up to pick the large peach.
Li Ningjun watched while eating, her chewing gradually slowing down. Back then, she had not wanted Sangyue to keep the child. She had taken her to the hospital for the surgery, but Sangyue had been so terrified that she was shaking all over. In that psychological state, the surgery could not proceed, and so it was delayed until Taiyang was born. Seven years had passed, and the child was grown.
“Look at how good Xiaoyue and Taiyang are doing now. Don’t worry anymore; those two have blessings waiting for them.” The grandmother placed some food into Li Ningjun’s bowl, urging her to eat more.
Li Ningjun looked down and poked at her rice. “I just want Xiaoyue and Taiyang to be safe and healthy in the future.”
“The children in our family will definitely be healthy and safe,” the grandmother said with certainty. She smoothed a strand of sweat-soaked hair away from Ningjun’s forehead, cupping her thin face. Tears unconsciously welled up in her eyes. “Your father and I are old. The one we worry about most is you, Ningjun. Don’t keep everything bottled up in your heart. If you feel mistreated, tell us. Don’t carry it all alone.”
She could tell Ningjun had something on her mind these past few days, even if she would not say. The child had always been like this, keeping things to herself just so the old couple would not worry. Seeing her lose so much weight broke their hearts.
Li Ningjun’s eyes also reddened. The two elders had always treated her as their own daughter. “I am okay, Mama. Don’t worry, I am really okay.”
She did not dare tell the truth to the elders. It was best if the family never knew about Qin Nian’s identity.