The meager offerings were barely enough to stave off hunger, especially without staples, but they were a decent meal for Lin Wanwan and her two children.
After lunch, Xie Sui eagerly washed the dishes. The children were tired, so Lin Wanwan coaxed them into taking a nap.
Xie Sui shouldered his basket and headed back up the mountain to find more food. Dinner was still a question mark.
Lin Wanwan also grabbed her hoe and went to the fields. Since she hadn't died, life had to go on, and the weeds in the cornfield needed to be cleared.
"Wife, you rest. Let me do it."
"No, I'm afraid you'll hoe up my corn seedlings, young master Xie."
Lin Wanwan taunted him. "Young master Xie" was how the villagers jokingly referred to Xie Sui. What farmer had delicate skin and a pale complexion like a young lady? He was indeed a young master!
Xie Sui felt embarrassed, realizing he probably didn't know how.
"Then I'll go find food. Wife, you've worked hard."
Lin Wanwan rolled her eyes. His sweet talk always made her wonder what he was up to.
The afternoon's haul was meager. He didn't know how to hunt, and with his frail body, if he encountered a wild boar, who knew who would be the prey. Xie Sui only found some wild vegetables. They were fine for a meal or two, but eating them daily without any oil made his face turn green.
"Oh, Xie Sui, what are you picking wild vegetables for? Do you like eating this too?"
It was Zhang Wenfeng from the same village. He was the one who had gotten married yesterday. They were drinking buddies, and Zhang Wenfeng still felt a bit put out. Xie Sui was such a pretty boy, and his own wife had been mentioning him subtly. He felt like he was about to be cuckolded.
Xie Sui was delighted to see him, as if he were a relative. "Wenfeng, why aren't you at home with your new bride?"
"Doesn't the new bride need to be taken care of? She's working in the fields. I'm not as lucky as you, with such a good wife. Lin Wanwan is a sent-down youth, educated and beautiful. Don't be ungrateful, kid."
"I am grateful, of course, I am grateful. Brother Wenfeng, I need to discuss something. My family is starving..."
"Uh, my wedding just happened, and I'm drowning in debt. I can't help. I'm going to go weed!"
"Wait, it's not about borrowing money. Look at my new shirt. I bought it for ten yuan. You can have it for five."
Although the white shirt had some dirt on it, it was his first time wearing it, and it was still new. Zhang Wenfeng was about the same size as him and envied Xie Sui's white shirt. If he had worn a white shirt to his wedding yesterday, Xie Sui wouldn't have stolen his thunder.
"Really?"
"Wenfeng, didn't you say you wanted to be good to your wife and children? I'm going to change my ways. My family has run out of food."
"Alright, it's a deal. I'm not taking advantage of you, I'm helping you."
"I understand. You're my brother, from a different mother and father."
Xie Sui took off the white shirt and gave it to him. He wasn't bare-chested; he was wearing an old man's undershirt underneath, though it had two holes, making him feel so embarrassed he could dig an elm tree out of his feet.
"Only the surface is bright, talking about him." He couldn't believe he, in his youth, could do something so shameful!
Zhang Wenfeng happily put it on. However, his face was dark, and he looked honest and naive. He didn't look as handsome as Xie Sui did in it. Wearing the emperor's robe, he still didn't look like the crown prince.
Xie Sui twitched the corner of his mouth. As long as he was happy.
With five yuan in his pocket, and no small shop in the village, he headed to the village chief's house.
"Xie Sui, my peaches aren't ripe yet. Can you let that peach tree rest for a couple of days?"
Zhao Tiegang looked at him with mixed feelings. "Kid, can you stop harassing my tree?"
"Uncle, I didn't come to pick peaches." Xie Sui patted his pocket, thinking of offering him a cigarette, but then remembered that cigarettes were a luxury these days, unaffordable for most people, and he didn't have any.
He got straight to the point: "My family is starving. I came to buy some grain from you, Uncle. I have money!"
"No one has much grain. I'll give you ten catties of cornmeal and five catties of flour. The flour is fifty cents a catty, and the cornmeal is fifteen cents a catty."
"Thank you, Uncle."
With one yuan left, Xie Sui left happily.
The village chief still couldn't believe it. "The sun must have risen in the west. This kid actually paid!" He had been mentally prepared for Xie Sui to default on the payment. He gave him the grain out of consideration for the two children. What fine twins they were, only the size of ordinary three-year-olds at five years old. It was heartbreaking to see.
"He's really changed for the better. Lin Wanwan's life finally has hope."
...
For dinner, they still had some wild eggs. They were mixed with batter and wild vegetables to make pancakes, and they also made a pot of "geda soup." A sprinkle of chopped scallions for garnish. Without much oil, the dough lumps themselves were delicious.
With the flour this time, they ate until they were full. Only then did Lin Wanwan look at him properly. Had he truly changed?
"Brother, look at Ding Ding's belly. It's so round, doesn't it look like he's going to have a baby?"
Lin Wanwan felt a mix of laughter and tears. "You're still a baby, how can you have a baby? Only girls have babies, boys don't. It's all poop inside."
"I saw Sister Xiaofang in the village, her belly was bulging, and the aunties all said it was a baby. Can't I have a baby?" Ding Ding looked a little disappointed. Why couldn't boys have babies? He envied girls so much!
Doudou patted his silly brother's head. "Having a baby is very painful. Don't say foolish things. Let's play hide-and-seek."
"Okay, I'll hide, Brother, you find me."
"I'll count to ten. Hurry up and hide."
"One, two... eight, six, five..."
Xie Sui was speechless. "Why is he counting backward?"
Lin Wanwan said coldly, "Doudou is letting his brother have time to hide. I'll go heat water to bathe the children."
"I'll do it. Wife, you've worked hard. You rest."
Xie Sui worked diligently, making Lin Wanwan understand him even less. Even if he had ulterior motives, he was sacrificing a lot to get to this point.
"Wife, I'm going to the town tomorrow to find a way to earn some money and buy meat for the children."
"You can earn money? Oh right, where's your new shirt?"
Lin Wanwan suddenly realized his new shirt was gone. This shirt had been the last straw that broke her. He had sold their last bit of corn, completely disregarding whether she and the children would starve to death. In her despair, Lin Wanwan had done something foolish. Since they were going to die, they might as well die together. Fortunately, it hadn't led to a grave mistake. Lin Wanwan still felt a chill run down her spine, her limbs going numb.
"I sold it. I lost a bit of money, but I sold it for food. Wanwan, don't worry, I'll support this family from now on. You've worked hard all these years."
Xie Sui spoke sincerely. Lin Wanwan turned her face away. "Are you having a change of heart? I hope you mean what you say."
They washed up and went to bed. The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Xie Sui went up the mountain to pick some wild vegetables and some toon sprouts. Some people loved this vegetable, while others couldn't stand its smell. This was the season for eating toon. He filled a large snakeskin bag to the brim. He only had one yuan in his pocket and, unwilling to take a bus, walked for an hour to town.
He was almost exhausted by the time he reached the town. His body was too weak, unlike the strong body he had built through two hours of exercise every day in his previous life. He lifted his stomach. No eight-pack abs, only a pale, washboard-like physique that resembled ribs. Alas, exercising his body also needed to be put on the agenda.
"Fresh wild vegetables, fresh wild vegetables, toon sprouts! The tenderest, most fragrant toon sprouts, selling cheap!" He expertly began to attract customers, relying on these things to earn money.
"Hey, am I seeing things? Isn't this Young Master Xie? You're so refined, and you're selling vegetables?"
Several ruffians surrounded him, and the aunties who were about to sell their vegetables were scared away.