The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 135: Awkward

The two brothers darted into the kitchen before Shen San could get close enough to notice their dirty state. Helping each other, they quickly patted off the dirt and dust, scooped some water, and washed their hands and faces.

They couldn’t get completely clean with just a quick pat-down, but the brothers had always been mischievous, so as long as they weren’t excessively dirty, it wasn’t unusual.

After cleaning themselves up, Shen Jin skillfully found the key to the food storage room from a corner of the cabinet. He took a bowl inside, opened the rice jar, and grabbed a tiny handful of rice.

Yes, just a few pinches, no more than thirty grains.

When he locked the door and came out, Mrs. Li was sweeping up the chicken and duck droppings in the yard.

Because Mrs. Li’s health had been poor, Shen Jin had been cooking recently. Seeing his mother outside, Shen Jin asked, “Mom, how about we make soybean porridge with milk vetch tonight?”

Shen San had just brought out a bamboo chair to rest when he heard the words “milk vetch” and “soybean porridge.” His face turned a bit green. When he saw the bowl in Shen Jin’s hand, with so few grains of rice that they barely covered the bottom, his face darkened to nearly iron-black.

The so-called soybean porridge was made by soaking a small handful of soybeans in water until soft, then pounding them in a mortar. The water used to soak the beans, along with the bean pulp, was cooked until the pulp was tender enough to chew. A few grains of rice were added, and a large bowl of chopped wild vegetables was stirred in just before taking it off the stove.

The types of wild vegetables used depended on what the children gathered that day. If they gathered a variety, they could either throw them all in or ask for preferences.

To Shen San, asking was pointless; no matter what, it always tasted like wild vegetables.

With so few beans, there was barely any bean flavor. Though salt was added, he could hardly taste it because salt had become very expensive. Shen San hadn’t been stingy about buying salt since they couldn’t produce it themselves, but they bought very little and used it sparingly.

Without any saltiness, let alone oil, the soybean porridge was bland. The local butcher had stopped selling meat because no one could afford it anymore.

Thus, the soybean porridge was a misnomer; it was mostly wild vegetables, with a few beans and a few grains of rice that were almost invisible in the mix. Finding any rice grains in the heap of vegetables was a stroke of luck.

Shen San’s face darkened, but Mrs. Li showed no expression and weakly nodded, “That’s fine, just go ahead.”

During her days of injury, the household had relied entirely on Shen Jin to manage everything.

While Mrs. Li had no objections, Shen San slammed the chair down, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest, not saying another word.

Even though he didn’t have much energy, his chair-slamming was relatively mild. Yet his demeanor was full of suppressed frustration, and it was clear he wouldn’t be able to rest even with his eyes closed.

Mrs. Li took in all his reactions, glanced at his gloomy face, and continued sweeping the yard.

After ten years of marriage, she knew Shen San very well, and yet, she didn’t know him at all.

She understood Shen San well enough to know that he would spend the family’s entire savings, making them live on wild vegetables and soup. Initially, he would be too guilty to look at the family, then he would start self-justifying and making excuses, and eventually, he would act as if nothing was wrong. He might even mock Mrs. Li if she showed any disapproval: “Why don’t you join the army? It’s not your life at stake, so it’s easy for you to talk.”

This behavior mirrored his attitude when he pushed Shen Lie to join the army and later when he heard of Shen Lie’s death.

Yet, she didn’t understand Shen San because she had always believed he would treat her and their children differently than he did his nephew.

However, reality might just be what she imagined it to be.

As she swept the yard, a cloud of dust rose from the dirt ground. Mrs. Li’s eyes began to look vacant, and she could only hope that they would at least make it to the harvest of the spring soybeans planted in mid-month.

…

In the kitchen, Shen Yin whispered to Shen Jin, “Brother, did Mom stop you from talking just now?”

Shen Jin paused in adding firewood to the stove and then nodded.

Shen Yin asked, “Why?”

Shen Jin wasn’t entirely sure, but he suddenly recalled the look his father gave him last year when they were conscripted for labor.

Earlier, their mother had seemed interested, but when their father returned, she abruptly stopped him from continuing.

Shen Jin wasn’t sure if his thoughts were correct. He pursed his lips and didn’t answer why. Instead, he glanced out the window towards the yard and then quietly instructed Shen Yin, “I don’t know. Don’t ask. Just listen to Mom. Don’t mention this at home again, and don’t tell Xiao Tie or Tian Ya either.”

Shen Yin blinked, “What about Mom?”

“I’ll tell her tomorrow.”

Shen Yin’s eyes widened in understanding. Who was it that shouldn’t hear this? He seemed to understand now.

The two brothers looked at each other in silence, adding firewood quietly.

…

While the Shen family’s third household was eating their wild vegetable and soybean porridge in Shili Village, deep in the mountains, Sang Luo and her group were also having dinner. They too had wild vegetables and soybeans, though even the wild vegetables were rehydrated dried ones from before.

On the ground, it was hard to find even a blade of wild grass, let alone wild vegetables, unless one climbed up the cliffs.

However, compared to the Shen family’s third household, the same ingredients of wild vegetables and soybeans were a completely different story here. Sang Luo soaked the soybeans until they were soft, added meat, and braised them until the dish was tender and fragrant. The soy sauce, made from soybeans, added to the flavor. When paired with meat, soybeans enhance the taste. The beans absorbed the meat’s aroma, making it impossible to stop eating.

After Sang Luo and the two children were full, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan shared the last bit of sauce, mixing it with rice.

Once again, it was a day when Chen Dashan envied Shen Lie’s good fortune. With a wife who cooked so well, no wonder he treated her so lovingly. If he had such a good wife, he would spoil her too.

Chen Dashan felt envious and decided that once peace returned, he would definitely find a wife with excellent cooking skills.

After a good meal, it was time for work. They had done half the work before eating. Now that it was completely dark, they lit a fire at the cave entrance and continued working. Shen Lie sawed wood while Chen Dashan planed the bed beams smooth. If Shen Lie was chiseling mortise and tenon joints, Chen Dashan took over the sawing.

Working together, they moved quickly. By the time the moon was high, they had finished four bed beams, seven crossbeams, and the necessary bed boards.

Many families were working late into the night, taking advantage of the firelight. The Chen and Xu families, for example, had already sawed their bed boards during the day. While they had no bedposts or beams, laying the boards on the ground with straw and bedding was still better than sleeping directly on the ground.

These families were now busy chiseling the stone walls. Unlike Shen Lie’s stone walls, which only needed narrow wooden walls and a door, the Chen and Xu families had to chisel out more stone, a task that would take several nights since they had to fetch soil during the day.

They knew that for now, there were no other people in these deep mountains, so they dared to work like this. Later, if they needed to light an oil lamp, it would be fine, but if they needed a large fire, they would have to close the cave entrance or cover it.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan quickly set up the bed. Sang Luo watched the bed being installed and thanked Chen Dashan profusely.

Chen Dashan waved her off, “Sister-in-law, no need to be so polite. I shamelessly enjoyed a good meal tonight.”

With the close friendship between him and Shen Lie, a little help was expected, but Sang Luo’s cooking was too tempting to resist. Working near the cave entrance, he couldn’t help but stay for the delicious braised soybeans and meat.

Sang Luo knew the close bond between Shen Lie and Chen Dashan and smiled, “Alright, then I won’t say thank you. If you need Shen Lie’s help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Shen Lie, hearing this, looked at Sang Luo and smiled. Turning to Chen Dashan, he nodded, “You heard her. If you need help, just ask.”

Chen Dashan, dazzled by Shen Lie’s smile, agreed, “Sure, I won’t hesitate when I need help.” Then, addressing Sang Luo more formally, he said, “I’ll head back now. I won’t disturb your cleaning up.”

Knowing they were setting up the bed, Sang Luo had not yet moved some items. The bedding and other things were still in the large cave. As she called out to Shen An and Shen Ning to help move the bedding, Shen Lie remembered something.

The bathroom was ready, but he had forgotten about the chamber pot.

He turned to look for a chisel to quickly make one, but then noticed something in the corner, out of the firelight.

Walking over, he found it was a medium-sized tree stump-like object.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a makeshift chamber pot.

Although the shape was odd, with its smoothed top, it looked like a peeled tree stump from afar.

Shen Lie suddenly recalled Sang Luo’s attempt to say something earlier in the day when she asked him to build the bathroom. He had waited for her to speak but never heard what she wanted to say. Now he understood—it was about making the chamber pot.

Before March had even arrived, Shen Lie suddenly felt his neck and face grow hot, his palms heating up quickly, and soon his entire body was burning. He exhaled deeply and shook his free hand quickly, trying to cool himself down.

When he brought the bucket into the light, he couldn’t help but laugh. It was truly impressive how she had managed to carve it so skillfully.

Shen Lie found a round chisel from the set of tools given by Shopkeeper Xu, picked up a used round stone, and sat on the doorstep to start refining the bucket. Remembering how she almost said something earlier that morning, he hesitated, then took the bucket, the tools, and the borrowed plane from the Chen family, and went elsewhere to work.

Meanwhile, Sang Luo and Shen An and Shen Ning moved the bedding and several hides that Shen Lie had hunted back to the cave in multiple trips. They didn’t see Shen Lie during these trips and assumed he was helping someone else, so they didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until the bed was made that Shen Lie returned. Sang Luo didn’t question it and called Shen Lie over to help her bring back nine earthenware jars from the big cave.

These jars were valuable items that Sang Luo had bought last year to store candied jujubes and crystallized fruits. She had bought a total of ten lidded earthenware jars, one of which, with Shen Jin and Shen Yin’s permission, was hidden in an underground hideout for the children. The other nine jars contained essentials: five were filled with salt, stored from the time they started preparing to avoid disaster. Salt keeps well, and these jars held enough for their family’s needs for the next few years, including salting meat. The other four jars were filled with medicinal herbs, each jar’s bottom lined with lime and pepper, then layered with thick paper before being packed tightly with herbs to keep out moisture and pests.

These jars had been carried out early on. Other items could wait until they built storage shelves, but these crucial supplies needed to be secured first.

By the time they finished, it was very late. Sang Luo finally took a break, scooping water from a stored water basin to wash up.

Halfway through washing, she remembered the chamber pot she had made and left in the cave. Quickly rinsing her mouth and splashing water on her face, she left the siblings to finish washing and went to fetch the bucket.

But when she reached the spot where she had left the new chamber pot, it was gone.

Sang Luo: ???

She turned stiffly to look at Shen Lie, who was laying out wolf pelts on the straw-covered ground on the other side of the cave. He noticed her tense movements when she approached the cave’s interior. Seeing her stunned expression and then turning to look at him, his hands froze as he was laying out the pelts.

“Shen Lie, did you see the bucket in the corner?”

Shen Lie: “…”

He had assumed that Sang Luo would discover it while he was moving the jars and would then see the newly placed bucket in the restroom. But he hadn’t expected her to be so busy until now that she only just remembered it and directly went to the cave corner to get it, while he happened to be in the cave.

His expression stiffened, and he thumbed toward the cave entrance. “I… just moved it to the restroom.”

There was a moment of silence in the cave before Sang Luo responded with an “Oh,” and then carried the oil lamp out.

In the restroom, she found a bucket that looked nothing like the one she had made. This one looked like an actual bucket, not a carved tree stump. The interior was smooth, not jagged like hers.

She lightly knocked her fist against her forehead several times in frustration.

In hindsight, she should have just straightforwardly asked Shen Lie to make it from the beginning. Why did she hesitate to ask and end up doing it herself, only for Shen Lie to have to fix it anyway?

She had made things more complicated and now felt truly embarrassed.

This was mortifying.