Translated by Coke
Edited by Sienz
Later on, Miao He looked into the original host’s memories and found out that this man, called Miao Qiang, was Yang Dalang’s childhood friend whom he had grown up with.
Miao Qiang’s mother, Shi Ruqing, and Yang Dalang’s mother, Shi Yu, were both from the neighbouring village of the Miaojia Village, the Shijia Village. Both women seemed to have had close relations before they got married. Not long after Miao Qiang’s mother married into the Miaojia Village, Yang Dalang’s A-niang also followed suit. Due to this connection, the relationship between the two best friends solidified into a strong bond and also affected their relationships with each other’s children. Yang Dalang, consequently, experienced his early childhood with Miao Qiang by his side, also calling the latter’s mother as Aunt Qing. Moreover, Dabai was the kitten of the mother cat in Miao Qiang’s household.
Of course, it’s only natural that as long as Yang Dalang’s relatives and friends were involved, it’s unlikely that Miao He would be pleasing to their eyes.
As soon as Miao He reached the front yard, Miao Qiang’s face immediately turned into a hostile expression, and said “What are you doing?” When he visited his friend previously, this little ger would hide within the courtyard and not let his presence be known to anyone. Today, however, what’s the reason for this unusual behavior?
Miao He looked at Miao Qiang and greeted Yang Dalang. “You’re back, and there’s also a guest.”
Before Yang Dalang could reply, Miao Qiang already sneered mockingly beside him. “You’re back? Guest? It’s ridiculous, really. You actually have the face to consider yourself as a master of this courtyard, and also unexpectedly didn’t think about the big disgraceful affair that you created previously!”
Yang Dalang tugged down Miao Qiang’s arm slung on his shoulders and frowned at him, “Qiang. Don’t be like this.”
He unknowingly forgot about Miao Qiang’s attitude towards Miao He and thought that maybe he shouldn’t take this person home anymore.
“What did you say? Don’t be like this?” Miao Qiang thought his ears must be playing with him.
“I said, don’t do this,” emphasizing what he just said, Yang Dalang looked at him more sternly in the eye.
“But before…“ Miao Qiang was taken aback, and he looked so lost. He couldn’t seem to find his voice as his mouth gaped open and closed a few times. He had never held back a single word of mockery, nor did he ever choked on it when he was condescendingly berating Miao He previously. Moreover, he had damned the ger multiple times in front of Yang Dalang, but he had never, not even slightly, seen Yang Dalang speaking up for this lowly person. But did he just?!
“Not in the future,” Yang Dalang said, expressing his seriousness in his tone.
Hearing that, Miao Qiang became dazed and stared blankly at him. The next moment, he unexpectedly threw himself onto Yang Dalang and pulled the man’s cheeks with both hands. “Dalang, is that you?! Really!? Are you really Dalang?!”
Upon seeing this, Miao He’s eyes became a pair of round saucers. When he came here into this world, he hadn’t seen such an intimate interaction among men. Yang Dalang also appeared to be accustomed to it though, as he nonchalantly held Miao Qiang’s hands using his own hand and naturally single-handedly passed over the exchanged bingzi to Miao He.
“You go in first. I’ll just talk about some things with Qiangzi.”
Miao He blinked and obediently followed as he was told, not before letting out a timid sigh, “Oh.”
When Miao He returned to the room and closed the door, Miao Qiang immediately barraged him with endless meticulous questions. “What’s the matter? What’s going on!? You, didn’t you marry him solely because of your mother’s wishes? Yet your actions today, are you finally willing to recognize him as your fu lang?!” After rapidly spitting out those words, Miao Qiang was a little flustered and exasperated.
Yang Dalang glanced at him, and as if he felt it was too noisy, Dalang walked out of the yard and replied, “He’s fine now.”
“Okay? What’s so good about being fine now? He had no other option but to put up a facade to cover his mistakes and mind you, he’s merely doing it because he’s all selfish and unruly through and through! When you said that you’re fascinated by him, just how could you say that!”
“If there’s a mistake, then just correct it.”
“Can he change, though? If he wants to correct his mistakes, then he should’ve done so the moment you guys married, and he should have known what to do and what not to do!! Otherwise, he could have run off to town and gotten entangled with Miao Yuan again! Can you stop him from sneaking the money with him and fleeing away while you’re out of the house?! Now that you said he’s changed, you tell me, how exactly!”
Yang Dalang didn’t want to prolong this conversation, so he simply replied, “It’s okay. I have eyes, it can’t go wrong.”
When he heard this, Miao Qiang was fuming mad and thought that this whole deal was ridiculous. In the past, he always believed that Yang Dalang was straightforward, uncomplicated, and attentive enough to talk about opinions and points with. Now, however, there were neither strong opinions nor details that could be evaluated on his point, so how could he, Miao Qiang, believe it!! Dalang said that he had his eyes on and was observing the ger, but one could never be certain that eyes wouldn’t be obscured and didn’t have any faults!!
“You! Go back with me now, see if you’re confident enough to tell this to my mother!”
Yang Dalang actually had the impudence to shake his head and respond, “Not today. “
“And why is that?!”
‘The little ger had been greatly frightened and a bit traumatized by it. I dread that he’d feel uncomfortable being alone for the night.’
Dalang took a quick look at the door once more and said, “It’s too late.
However, Miao Qiang, who had known Dalang since the day they were born, how could he miss the apparent affectionate look that flashed on his friend’s eyes. Suddenly, Miao Qiang noticed a feeling of discomfort in his heart, as if his best brother was robbed away from him. His face immediately sank, as he knew that Dalang was about to make a resolute decision and that decision would be difficult to change.
Miao Qiang suppressed his irritation and said, “Then, tomorrow! I just want to tell you that my family is going to plant rice seedlings, so you better come tomorrow! At first light! Don’t forget!!”
“Yep.”
Seeing that Yang Dalang promised without the least hesitation, Miao Qiao finally calmed down his ire and left.
Later on, when Miao He learned that Yang Dalang would be away for the entire day tomorrow to help his friend’s household plant seedlings. He noticed that there was a faint uneasy feeling lingering on his heart, so he quickly brushed it off. After patronizing this foreign feeling, Miao He began plotting the time he’d be having for the following days. How many dangshen could he grow by then!
A smile was plastered on Miao He’s lips for the whole night, and Yang Dalang gazed at him several times, yet Miao He didn’t seem to notice it at all.
Early the next morning, Miao He happily waved his hand as he sent Yang Dalang for work, then he returned back to the backyard. He then harvested the seeds of dangshen he had planted in the soil yesterday and dug it up. The first dig scared Miao He out of his wits. The roots of the plant were already near bursting out of the surface, as its size was three times larger than those plants in the woods!!
‘This… is this really okay to sell?’
Miao He was distressed for a moment upon seeing the extraordinary size of the dangshen, then he remembered that Yang Dalang informed him that dangshen’s rhizome needed to be sliced in pieces and dried in the sun. Otherwise, he’d have to slice the ones that were too big and let them dry under the sun. Although it was a pity as it is an extraordinary resource, everything was still safe and secure. After planting another batch of dangshen, he paid more attention to the time it would take to grow so as not to let it grow too big like the previous batch.
Next, Miao He took out the green onion seeds. After days of strenuous work, the seeds he had stored were finally buried in the living soil for its first round of planting. Same state as the improved breed of green onion seeds, as they were also planted buried into the vegetable field. The remaining seeds were reserved for their own consumption.
When he first came here, Miao He lacked the opportunity to eat the vegetables grown in Xirang. Now that there was an ostentatious gap in his and Yang Dalangs time of work, he decided to enrich the vegetables first, followed by numerous replanting of the dangshens over and over again.
He picked the green onion seeds and planted the vegetable first. While waiting, he turned around and resolutely cleaned the fowl shed. As he passed by, he also grabbed the leaves of various plants that couldn’t be used for concocting medicine by the pharmacists. Then he tore the leaves into shreds and fed them to the chickens. Dabai, who stumbled as he followed along wherever his beloved person went, also meowly asked for a portion of the shredded leaves.
In the middle of cleaning the chicken shed, Miao He was pleased to find that there were eggs laid at last!! Three hens had produced four eggs! Sure enough, feeding the animals with vegetable leaves picked from the living soil was definitely nutritious and brought impressive output. Miao He didn’t leave an egg to hatch. He was really ravenous and swiftly decided to eat them all for lunch!
Feeling content, he returned to the edge of the soil and spotted the entire section of green onions that had already budded new leaves. This time, he didn’t need to wait for the seeds, as he mainly plucked the green onion leaves purposely. The progress of harvesting was incredibly fast. It didn’t take too long for him to finally fill up a whole basket with plucked leaves. At last, when the dangshen seeds were replanted once more, Miao He went into the house to cook.
Because of the presence of eggs, the midday menu was soon determined to add scallion pancakes with eggs!
Just a short while ago, he finished reconciling the dough according to the previous method, and he let it rest for a period of time. In the middle of doing so, Miao He went to check the poor man’s ginseng he just planted a few moments ago. A thin small leaf could be seen sprouting in the plant. Miao He internally calculated the time. Approximately half an hour would pass, he should plant another seed.
The most troublesome process of growing dangshen was that its roots were the ones that needed to be harvested, which was basically just uprooting the whole plant. Its characteristics couldn’t be compared to fruits nor could it be treated like a fruit. When the fruits were picked off the branch, they would grow instantly without doing anything more than just plucking. Instead, dangshens must be replanted one by one. Even with its inconvenient process of planting, Miao He was still willing to give it a try and didn’t consider it as a nuisance because of its good commercial price.
When he finished inspecting the plants, before he returned to the stove, he first degassed the dough by pressing its surface and smearing a thin layer of oil on top. Miao He didn’t apply the usual practice here back in his original world, as he always minded saving more fuel and he couldn’t bear to use it excessively. Moreover, the seedlings had been just planted in the backyard, so it would be better to toss them for now. After spreading the oil, he sprinkled a thick layer of green onions, seasoned it with salt, and then rolled the dough like how the modern Chinese steamed twisted bread roll was made. When it was entirely rolled, it was cut into small sections, then twisted like a mahua once more, and pressed the helix-shaped dough flat. Finally, the crust was finished.
{T/N: 1. 花卷 huājuǎn – Chinese steamed twisted bread roll || 2. 麻花 máhuā – fried dough twist}
The crust only required to be fried for one session. When the surface of the pancake turned golden brown, an egg was beaten and placed on top. This was exactly the scallion pancake Miao He used to consume with eggs back in the day!
Miao He managed to make four cakes without breaking a sweat. He ate one by himself, and the flavour instantly melded on his tongue like crazy. The smell of the green onion pancakes mixed with the egg scent invaded both his nostrils and taste buds, to the point that Miao He almost bit his tongue due to its savoury taste.
The remaining pieces were set aside for Yang Dalang once he finally returned home to eat. The cakes were made with oil, salt, and white flour. Miao He involuntarily lodged a guilty conscience for using those ingredients without letting him know about it. Besides, when Yang Dalang is finished with his busy work, he planned to ask Yang Dalang to take him to town.
By that time, he should have gathered and stored a lot of dangshen in hand. The unsold dangshen would probably be the inferior quality dangshen, and he must find an opportunity to get in touch with the pharmacy in the town to get the silver money secured in a bag. He already had a concrete plan in dealing with things, but he still lacked the chance to be able to enter the town.
Furthermore, Miao He knew that he had a reputation similar to a criminal record. So if he asked Yang Dalang to not go with him, he might secretly run away again for fear that he’d end up under a plum tree once more. Thus, at this time, Yang Dalang’s consent was very important.
Merely that on the same evening, Yang Dalang came back awfully late. Miao He’s pancakes had already gone lumpy cold after sessions of reheating, anticipating for the time Dalang came back. He was almost convinced that the man would not return home for dinner.
Inside the seemingly desolate and deserted room, a silhouette of a person could hardly be seen. Total blackness surrounded both the other parts of the house and the exterior. And only a flickering light coming from the oil lamp settled upon the table was illuminating the room. However, it provided little to no help, as it was still dim and cold.
Miao He was waiting for the person to come, and even though he was hugging Dabai in his arms, he still felt a little uneasy. Uncomfortable. Except for hunting, there was never a time that Yang Dalang came home so late. Today, he went to Miao Qiang’s house to help their family plant rice seedlings. ‘Maybe they invited him to stay for dinner?’
‘But in any case, he could come back and say that he’d be staying away for the night,’ Miao He grumbled a little. In addition to the scallion egg pancake on the table, he actually made lots of them just for Yang Dalang.
‘He takes care of me so much, so I want to make something delicious for him to eat. Who wouldn’t have known that he won’t be back tonight?’
‘So is it Miao Qiang? The person in Yang Dalang’s heart…however, it seems that Miao Qiang is a bit too enthusiastic, not quite like…’
When Yang Dalang arrived home, he saw the little ger sitting in front of the oil lamp with three cakes placed before his figure, waiting for him with a black kitten in his arms.
Noticing his presence, Miao He glanced at the tall man standing before his eyes, “You’re back. Have you eaten?”
Unexpectedly, Yang Dalang shook his head, “Not yet.”
Miao He looked blankly, blinked. He then put the cat away, picked up the tray, and stood up. “Then I’ll heat it up for you.”
A hand suddenly grabbed his arm, stopping him, and said “no need”, then Dalang took a piece of the cake and bit into it. The cakes were filled with oil and eggs, and it was greasier when they’re gone cold. But, this person still said “delicious” to Miao He’s surprise.
For no specific reason, Miao He felt happy. ‘It feels like the room isn’t so dark and cold anymore.’
Several days had passed, Miao He was in the backyard filled with planted dangshen, and he carried a large bundle of accumulated ginseng on hand. He also tried his best to hide it in his sole dowry chest. For the convenience of selling, Miao He finally sliced the roots of dangsheng and basked it under the sun. In this way, it’d be easy to hide, and it’d also be readily available when he went to the pharmacy in the future.
As for the food, in addition to the scallion pancakes last time, Miao He also tried out cooking cabbage scrambled eggs with rice, small rapeseed bacon with fried noodles, etc. During those days, all of his vegetable ingredients were entirely produced from Xirang! The cabbage was sweet and crisp, and it tasted exceptionally good. Moreover, the small rapeseed wasn’t bitter unlike the ordinary ones, and its fillings were tender and juicy.
Originally, Miao He was waiting for Yang Dalang to confront him where he got all those vegetables. And now that the vegetables have grown new leaves, who’d have thought the Yang Dalang paid no attention to this matter. And he just ate the dishes in an earnest manner, without asking anything.
Seeing Yang Dalang still eating enthusiastically until this night, Miao He picked up small tender rapeseed with his chopsticks and placed it on the bowl of Dalang. “Is it delicious?”
“En.”
“But the oil in the kitchen is almost used up, and so is the white flour,” Miao He said innocently. “How many more days will you be busy? When you’re finished with your affairs, can we go to town?”.
Yang Dalang abruptly paused on his movements and leveled his eyes to look at Miao He’s.
Miao He became a little nervous, “The last time I picked up dangsheng, I followed the process you told me. The slices were already sundried, and it still has yet to be exchanged for money. There are also raspberries and yellow celery, say, does the pharmacy also accept them? Last time when we came back from the mountains, I immediately planted them and now they all bloom healthily. Tell me about it, so that I could visit the town tomorrow, and sell it altogether.”
Yang Dalang remained silent.
“We’re also short of oil, vinegar, and sugar at home. If you have oil, then you don’t need lard. Rapeseed oil is fine though. If we have soy sauce, then it’s even better. Let’s go and buy together so that I won’t miss out on the things we need.” Miao He noticed that the man hadn’t spoken after listening to him, and his voice gradually became meek. “I won’t run around, I’ll follow you.”
“Okay,” Yang Dalang said suddenly and then resumed eating again.
“Ah?”
“Let’s go the day after tomorrow.”
Miao He’s face immediately brightened. “Really?”
Yang Dalang only focused on his food and stayed taciturn. In contrast to his silent exterior, his mind was noisily replaying every word Aunt Qing had said.
『Da Lang, Aunt Qing always feels sorry for you. If it wasn’t for that year that your mother firmly insisted on taking you to listen to the monk’s lecture about you and your bloodline, then you’d not be able to hear about your fortune. About how your father would die and your mother too due to serious illnesses. And you, abstaining from having a wife and children and becoming all alone for life. Now that so many years have passed, Aunt Qing thinks that you, this man, granted that the will of heaven’s decline you of a companion as your path in life, is there only one way to go?』
『Qiangzi’s father died early, leaving only Qiangzi with me. He asked me to heed the monk’s fortune-telling, and I supposed it also resembles yours. But Dalang, even so, Aunt Qing still thinks the monk was right with Qiangzi’s father. Even if he was a short-lived person, I don’t want to marry another person besides him. In our journey, some people can walk willingly, while others can only walk and complain. 』
『Your mother used to worry about abandoning you, and she was so aggrieved that there won’t be anyone to accompany you in marriage. But in the end, she figured it out. Be it accompanied by someone, it’s still different. So, she chose Brother He, presumably the intention in it, you’ll be able to guess it yourself.』
『That day, Qiangzi came back and said that you thought that Brother He was good, in which Aunt Qing is glad to finally hear it. Rather than being afraid and succumbing to yourself to slave on your fate, you faced it. Just like your mother’s illness. But life must be lived, and it’s not all because of self-knowledge for the joys and tribulations you must face. It’s because of you not regretting everything in the end.』
Translated by Coke
Edited by Sienz
Later on, Miao He looked into the original host’s memories and found out that this man, called Miao Qiang, was Yang Dalang’s childhood friend whom he had grown up with.
Miao Qiang’s mother, Shi Ruqing, and Yang Dalang’s mother, Shi Yu, were both from the neighbouring village of the Miaojia Village, the Shijia Village. Both women seemed to have had close relations before they got married. Not long after Miao Qiang’s mother married into the Miaojia Village, Yang Dalang’s A-niang also followed suit. Due to this connection, the relationship between the two best friends solidified into a strong bond and also affected their relationships with each other’s children. Yang Dalang, consequently, experienced his early childhood with Miao Qiang by his side, also calling the latter’s mother as Aunt Qing. Moreover, Dabai was the kitten of the mother cat in Miao Qiang’s household.
Of course, it’s only natural that as long as Yang Dalang’s relatives and friends were involved, it’s unlikely that Miao He would be pleasing to their eyes.
As soon as Miao He reached the front yard, Miao Qiang’s face immediately turned into a hostile expression, and said “What are you doing?” When he visited his friend previously, this little ger would hide within the courtyard and not let his presence be known to anyone. Today, however, what’s the reason for this unusual behavior?
Miao He looked at Miao Qiang and greeted Yang Dalang. “You’re back, and there’s also a guest.”
Before Yang Dalang could reply, Miao Qiang already sneered mockingly beside him. “You’re back? Guest? It’s ridiculous, really. You actually have the face to consider yourself as a master of this courtyard, and also unexpectedly didn’t think about the big disgraceful affair that you created previously!”
Yang Dalang tugged down Miao Qiang’s arm slung on his shoulders and frowned at him, “Qiang. Don’t be like this.”
He unknowingly forgot about Miao Qiang’s attitude towards Miao He and thought that maybe he shouldn’t take this person home anymore.
“What did you say? Don’t be like this?” Miao Qiang thought his ears must be playing with him.
“I said, don’t do this,” emphasizing what he just said, Yang Dalang looked at him more sternly in the eye.
“But before…“ Miao Qiang was taken aback, and he looked so lost. He couldn’t seem to find his voice as his mouth gaped open and closed a few times. He had never held back a single word of mockery, nor did he ever choked on it when he was condescendingly berating Miao He previously. Moreover, he had damned the ger multiple times in front of Yang Dalang, but he had never, not even slightly, seen Yang Dalang speaking up for this lowly person. But did he just?!
“Not in the future,” Yang Dalang said, expressing his seriousness in his tone.
Hearing that, Miao Qiang became dazed and stared blankly at him. The next moment, he unexpectedly threw himself onto Yang Dalang and pulled the man’s cheeks with both hands. “Dalang, is that you?! Really!? Are you really Dalang?!”
Upon seeing this, Miao He’s eyes became a pair of round saucers. When he came here into this world, he hadn’t seen such an intimate interaction among men. Yang Dalang also appeared to be accustomed to it though, as he nonchalantly held Miao Qiang’s hands using his own hand and naturally single-handedly passed over the exchanged bingzi to Miao He.
“You go in first. I’ll just talk about some things with Qiangzi.”
Miao He blinked and obediently followed as he was told, not before letting out a timid sigh, “Oh.”
When Miao He returned to the room and closed the door, Miao Qiang immediately barraged him with endless meticulous questions. “What’s the matter? What’s going on!? You, didn’t you marry him solely because of your mother’s wishes? Yet your actions today, are you finally willing to recognize him as your fu lang?!” After rapidly spitting out those words, Miao Qiang was a little flustered and exasperated.
Yang Dalang glanced at him, and as if he felt it was too noisy, Dalang walked out of the yard and replied, “He’s fine now.”
“Okay? What’s so good about being fine now? He had no other option but to put up a facade to cover his mistakes and mind you, he’s merely doing it because he’s all selfish and unruly through and through! When you said that you’re fascinated by him, just how could you say that!”
“If there’s a mistake, then just correct it.”
“Can he change, though? If he wants to correct his mistakes, then he should’ve done so the moment you guys married, and he should have known what to do and what not to do!! Otherwise, he could have run off to town and gotten entangled with Miao Yuan again! Can you stop him from sneaking the money with him and fleeing away while you’re out of the house?! Now that you said he’s changed, you tell me, how exactly!”
Yang Dalang didn’t want to prolong this conversation, so he simply replied, “It’s okay. I have eyes, it can’t go wrong.”
When he heard this, Miao Qiang was fuming mad and thought that this whole deal was ridiculous. In the past, he always believed that Yang Dalang was straightforward, uncomplicated, and attentive enough to talk about opinions and points with. Now, however, there were neither strong opinions nor details that could be evaluated on his point, so how could he, Miao Qiang, believe it!! Dalang said that he had his eyes on and was observing the ger, but one could never be certain that eyes wouldn’t be obscured and didn’t have any faults!!
“You! Go back with me now, see if you’re confident enough to tell this to my mother!”
Yang Dalang actually had the impudence to shake his head and respond, “Not today. “
“And why is that?!”
‘The little ger had been greatly frightened and a bit traumatized by it. I dread that he’d feel uncomfortable being alone for the night.’
Dalang took a quick look at the door once more and said, “It’s too late.
However, Miao Qiang, who had known Dalang since the day they were born, how could he miss the apparent affectionate look that flashed on his friend’s eyes. Suddenly, Miao Qiang noticed a feeling of discomfort in his heart, as if his best brother was robbed away from him. His face immediately sank, as he knew that Dalang was about to make a resolute decision and that decision would be difficult to change.
Miao Qiang suppressed his irritation and said, “Then, tomorrow! I just want to tell you that my family is going to plant rice seedlings, so you better come tomorrow! At first light! Don’t forget!!”
“Yep.”
Seeing that Yang Dalang promised without the least hesitation, Miao Qiao finally calmed down his ire and left.
Later on, when Miao He learned that Yang Dalang would be away for the entire day tomorrow to help his friend’s household plant seedlings. He noticed that there was a faint uneasy feeling lingering on his heart, so he quickly brushed it off. After patronizing this foreign feeling, Miao He began plotting the time he’d be having for the following days. How many dangshen could he grow by then!
A smile was plastered on Miao He’s lips for the whole night, and Yang Dalang gazed at him several times, yet Miao He didn’t seem to notice it at all.
Early the next morning, Miao He happily waved his hand as he sent Yang Dalang for work, then he returned back to the backyard. He then harvested the seeds of dangshen he had planted in the soil yesterday and dug it up. The first dig scared Miao He out of his wits. The roots of the plant were already near bursting out of the surface, as its size was three times larger than those plants in the woods!!
‘This… is this really okay to sell?’
Miao He was distressed for a moment upon seeing the extraordinary size of the dangshen, then he remembered that Yang Dalang informed him that dangshen’s rhizome needed to be sliced in pieces and dried in the sun. Otherwise, he’d have to slice the ones that were too big and let them dry under the sun. Although it was a pity as it is an extraordinary resource, everything was still safe and secure. After planting another batch of dangshen, he paid more attention to the time it would take to grow so as not to let it grow too big like the previous batch.
Next, Miao He took out the green onion seeds. After days of strenuous work, the seeds he had stored were finally buried in the living soil for its first round of planting. Same state as the improved breed of green onion seeds, as they were also planted buried into the vegetable field. The remaining seeds were reserved for their own consumption.
When he first came here, Miao He lacked the opportunity to eat the vegetables grown in Xirang. Now that there was an ostentatious gap in his and Yang Dalangs time of work, he decided to enrich the vegetables first, followed by numerous replanting of the dangshens over and over again.
He picked the green onion seeds and planted the vegetable first. While waiting, he turned around and resolutely cleaned the fowl shed. As he passed by, he also grabbed the leaves of various plants that couldn’t be used for concocting medicine by the pharmacists. Then he tore the leaves into shreds and fed them to the chickens. Dabai, who stumbled as he followed along wherever his beloved person went, also meowly asked for a portion of the shredded leaves.
In the middle of cleaning the chicken shed, Miao He was pleased to find that there were eggs laid at last!! Three hens had produced four eggs! Sure enough, feeding the animals with vegetable leaves picked from the living soil was definitely nutritious and brought impressive output. Miao He didn’t leave an egg to hatch. He was really ravenous and swiftly decided to eat them all for lunch!
Feeling content, he returned to the edge of the soil and spotted the entire section of green onions that had already budded new leaves. This time, he didn’t need to wait for the seeds, as he mainly plucked the green onion leaves purposely. The progress of harvesting was incredibly fast. It didn’t take too long for him to finally fill up a whole basket with plucked leaves. At last, when the dangshen seeds were replanted once more, Miao He went into the house to cook.
Because of the presence of eggs, the midday menu was soon determined to add scallion pancakes with eggs!
Just a short while ago, he finished reconciling the dough according to the previous method, and he let it rest for a period of time. In the middle of doing so, Miao He went to check the poor man’s ginseng he just planted a few moments ago. A thin small leaf could be seen sprouting in the plant. Miao He internally calculated the time. Approximately half an hour would pass, he should plant another seed.
The most troublesome process of growing dangshen was that its roots were the ones that needed to be harvested, which was basically just uprooting the whole plant. Its characteristics couldn’t be compared to fruits nor could it be treated like a fruit. When the fruits were picked off the branch, they would grow instantly without doing anything more than just plucking. Instead, dangshens must be replanted one by one. Even with its inconvenient process of planting, Miao He was still willing to give it a try and didn’t consider it as a nuisance because of its good commercial price.
When he finished inspecting the plants, before he returned to the stove, he first degassed the dough by pressing its surface and smearing a thin layer of oil on top. Miao He didn’t apply the usual practice here back in his original world, as he always minded saving more fuel and he couldn’t bear to use it excessively. Moreover, the seedlings had been just planted in the backyard, so it would be better to toss them for now. After spreading the oil, he sprinkled a thick layer of green onions, seasoned it with salt, and then rolled the dough like how the modern Chinese steamed twisted bread roll was made. When it was entirely rolled, it was cut into small sections, then twisted like a mahua once more, and pressed the helix-shaped dough flat. Finally, the crust was finished.
{T/N: 1. 花卷 huājuǎn – Chinese steamed twisted bread roll || 2. 麻花 máhuā – fried dough twist}
The crust only required to be fried for one session. When the surface of the pancake turned golden brown, an egg was beaten and placed on top. This was exactly the scallion pancake Miao He used to consume with eggs back in the day!
Miao He managed to make four cakes without breaking a sweat. He ate one by himself, and the flavour instantly melded on his tongue like crazy. The smell of the green onion pancakes mixed with the egg scent invaded both his nostrils and taste buds, to the point that Miao He almost bit his tongue due to its savoury taste.
The remaining pieces were set aside for Yang Dalang once he finally returned home to eat. The cakes were made with oil, salt, and white flour. Miao He involuntarily lodged a guilty conscience for using those ingredients without letting him know about it. Besides, when Yang Dalang is finished with his busy work, he planned to ask Yang Dalang to take him to town.
By that time, he should have gathered and stored a lot of dangshen in hand. The unsold dangshen would probably be the inferior quality dangshen, and he must find an opportunity to get in touch with the pharmacy in the town to get the silver money secured in a bag. He already had a concrete plan in dealing with things, but he still lacked the chance to be able to enter the town.
Furthermore, Miao He knew that he had a reputation similar to a criminal record. So if he asked Yang Dalang to not go with him, he might secretly run away again for fear that he’d end up under a plum tree once more. Thus, at this time, Yang Dalang’s consent was very important.
Merely that on the same evening, Yang Dalang came back awfully late. Miao He’s pancakes had already gone lumpy cold after sessions of reheating, anticipating for the time Dalang came back. He was almost convinced that the man would not return home for dinner.
Inside the seemingly desolate and deserted room, a silhouette of a person could hardly be seen. Total blackness surrounded both the other parts of the house and the exterior. And only a flickering light coming from the oil lamp settled upon the table was illuminating the room. However, it provided little to no help, as it was still dim and cold.
Miao He was waiting for the person to come, and even though he was hugging Dabai in his arms, he still felt a little uneasy. Uncomfortable. Except for hunting, there was never a time that Yang Dalang came home so late. Today, he went to Miao Qiang’s house to help their family plant rice seedlings. ‘Maybe they invited him to stay for dinner?’
‘But in any case, he could come back and say that he’d be staying away for the night,’ Miao He grumbled a little. In addition to the scallion egg pancake on the table, he actually made lots of them just for Yang Dalang.
‘He takes care of me so much, so I want to make something delicious for him to eat. Who wouldn’t have known that he won’t be back tonight?’
‘So is it Miao Qiang? The person in Yang Dalang’s heart…however, it seems that Miao Qiang is a bit too enthusiastic, not quite like…’
When Yang Dalang arrived home, he saw the little ger sitting in front of the oil lamp with three cakes placed before his figure, waiting for him with a black kitten in his arms.
Noticing his presence, Miao He glanced at the tall man standing before his eyes, “You’re back. Have you eaten?”
Unexpectedly, Yang Dalang shook his head, “Not yet.”
Miao He looked blankly, blinked. He then put the cat away, picked up the tray, and stood up. “Then I’ll heat it up for you.”
A hand suddenly grabbed his arm, stopping him, and said “no need”, then Dalang took a piece of the cake and bit into it. The cakes were filled with oil and eggs, and it was greasier when they’re gone cold. But, this person still said “delicious” to Miao He’s surprise.
For no specific reason, Miao He felt happy. ‘It feels like the room isn’t so dark and cold anymore.’
Several days had passed, Miao He was in the backyard filled with planted dangshen, and he carried a large bundle of accumulated ginseng on hand. He also tried his best to hide it in his sole dowry chest. For the convenience of selling, Miao He finally sliced the roots of dangsheng and basked it under the sun. In this way, it’d be easy to hide, and it’d also be readily available when he went to the pharmacy in the future.
As for the food, in addition to the scallion pancakes last time, Miao He also tried out cooking cabbage scrambled eggs with rice, small rapeseed bacon with fried noodles, etc. During those days, all of his vegetable ingredients were entirely produced from Xirang! The cabbage was sweet and crisp, and it tasted exceptionally good. Moreover, the small rapeseed wasn’t bitter unlike the ordinary ones, and its fillings were tender and juicy.
Originally, Miao He was waiting for Yang Dalang to confront him where he got all those vegetables. And now that the vegetables have grown new leaves, who’d have thought the Yang Dalang paid no attention to this matter. And he just ate the dishes in an earnest manner, without asking anything.
Seeing Yang Dalang still eating enthusiastically until this night, Miao He picked up small tender rapeseed with his chopsticks and placed it on the bowl of Dalang. “Is it delicious?”
“En.”
“But the oil in the kitchen is almost used up, and so is the white flour,” Miao He said innocently. “How many more days will you be busy? When you’re finished with your affairs, can we go to town?”.
Yang Dalang abruptly paused on his movements and leveled his eyes to look at Miao He’s.
Miao He became a little nervous, “The last time I picked up dangsheng, I followed the process you told me. The slices were already sundried, and it still has yet to be exchanged for money. There are also raspberries and yellow celery, say, does the pharmacy also accept them? Last time when we came back from the mountains, I immediately planted them and now they all bloom healthily. Tell me about it, so that I could visit the town tomorrow, and sell it altogether.”
Yang Dalang remained silent.
“We’re also short of oil, vinegar, and sugar at home. If you have oil, then you don’t need lard. Rapeseed oil is fine though. If we have soy sauce, then it’s even better. Let’s go and buy together so that I won’t miss out on the things we need.” Miao He noticed that the man hadn’t spoken after listening to him, and his voice gradually became meek. “I won’t run around, I’ll follow you.”
“Okay,” Yang Dalang said suddenly and then resumed eating again.
“Ah?”
“Let’s go the day after tomorrow.”
Miao He’s face immediately brightened. “Really?”
Yang Dalang only focused on his food and stayed taciturn. In contrast to his silent exterior, his mind was noisily replaying every word Aunt Qing had said.
『Da Lang, Aunt Qing always feels sorry for you. If it wasn’t for that year that your mother firmly insisted on taking you to listen to the monk’s lecture about you and your bloodline, then you’d not be able to hear about your fortune. About how your father would die and your mother too due to serious illnesses. And you, abstaining from having a wife and children and becoming all alone for life. Now that so many years have passed, Aunt Qing thinks that you, this man, granted that the will of heaven’s decline you of a companion as your path in life, is there only one way to go?』
『Qiangzi’s father died early, leaving only Qiangzi with me. He asked me to heed the monk’s fortune-telling, and I supposed it also resembles yours. But Dalang, even so, Aunt Qing still thinks the monk was right with Qiangzi’s father. Even if he was a short-lived person, I don’t want to marry another person besides him. In our journey, some people can walk willingly, while others can only walk and complain. 』
『Your mother used to worry about abandoning you, and she was so aggrieved that there won’t be anyone to accompany you in marriage. But in the end, she figured it out. Be it accompanied by someone, it’s still different. So, she chose Brother He, presumably the intention in it, you’ll be able to guess it yourself.』
『That day, Qiangzi came back and said that you thought that Brother He was good, in which Aunt Qing is glad to finally hear it. Rather than being afraid and succumbing to yourself to slave on your fate, you faced it. Just like your mother’s illness. But life must be lived, and it’s not all because of self-knowledge for the joys and tribulations you must face. It’s because of you not regretting everything in the end.』
