Chapter 13
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Jiang Li finished loading both their baskets, lifted them up to help A Ning put hers on, then crouched down to carry her own.
A Ning, carrying her basket, walked behind her. “Mother, let me help push you from behind.”
Jiang Li knew she was worried she couldn’t carry it herself, but this basket of thatch wasn’t as heavy as the wild boar from earlier. The basket was small; even if she packed it well, it wouldn’t hold much.
“No need, stand back a bit—don’t bump into me.”
A Ning obediently stepped aside. Jiang Li effortlessly hoisted the large basket of thatch onto her back.
Watching her, A Ning looked tense, but Jiang Li seemed to carry it with ease.
“Mother, how do you have so much strength?”
Jiang Li smiled. How was she supposed to answer that?
“Maybe I was born with divine strength.”
“Mother, I want divine strength too.”
“Then eat more and grow up faster.”
After a few days together, A Ning had become more talkative, no longer shy like the first couple of days. Listening to her chatter along the way was quite amusing.
Jiang Li planned to cut more thatch today. After two trips, there was still time to go once more, but A Ning had already done two trips and looked flushed and tired.
Jiang Li told her to stay home with her brother, but she insisted on coming along.
So they went again.
This time, after cutting the thatch, Jiang Li loaded it onto a basket and left it in place for A Ning to watch. She wanted to explore nearby—not only to see how others were digging for wild vegetables but also to look for any chili or Sichuan pepper plants.
“Mother, don’t go too far.”
A Ning watched with concern as Jiang Li walked off with a knife, afraid she might get lost.
Jiang Li smiled. “I can find my way out of the mountain; don’t worry about me. Just wait here.”
Hearing this, A Ning smiled shyly.
“Then come back early, Mother.”
“Got it.”
Ahead was a small valley—not very deep, with low vegetation. People digging wild vegetables in the forest appeared and disappeared.
Jiang Li walked down, occasionally seeing overturned soil by her feet. She bent down to carefully search for familiar wild vegetables but couldn’t find a single one.
“Is that Mrs. Jiang down there?”
Jiang Li looked toward the unfamiliar voice. It was Grandma Zhao from the Zhao family’s river hamlet and two women. The old lady smiled warmly upon recognizing Jiang Li.
“Mrs. Jiang, it really is you. I thought you looked familiar. You’re here digging wild vegetables too?”
“Yes, I brought A Ning to cut some thatch and thought I might find some wild vegetables to take home.”
“We’ve checked all around here; you can’t find any at the foot of the mountain anymore.”
Seeing none of them were venturing into the valley, Jiang Li asked, “So the valley has been searched too?”
“You mean inside the valley?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a patch of thorny bushes. You won’t find any wild vegetables there, and you might get scratched. You should come with us.”
Jiang Li declined the old lady’s invitation.
“I want to explore the valley. It’s my first time here.”
The old lady didn’t insist, smiling as she reminded her, “Be careful then.”
After parting ways, Jiang Li didn’t linger on the path and headed straight toward the valley. The downhill was not long, and in a short while, she reached the valley.
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Just as the old lady said, there was a vast thicket of thorns.
Jiang Li approached, looking at the familiar gray branches. Each tree trunk was about two fingers thick, covered in thorns. Many branches split off, each bearing a pale green bud.
She picked one from a lower branch and sniffed it.
It was indeed thorn dragon buds.
Because of their low yield, these buds were very expensive. They were highly nutritious, rich in proteins, fats, vitamins, and carotene. By late summer, they would mature and become inedible.
Jiang Li cut a branch to make a hook, but her half-shirt-sized pouch was already full. Seeing no one had picked these thorn dragon buds in the valley, and not worrying about them being all taken, she filled her pouch and headed back.
A Ning, bored waiting for Jiang Li, found some stones and squatted by the basket playing alone.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw A Li, her face immediately relaxing into a smile.
“Mother, you’re back.”
“Mm, bring your basket here. Let’s pack it.”
A Ning carried her basket over. “Mother, did you find wild vegetables? What kind?”
She leaned over to look, but upon seeing the buds, she shouted for Jiang Li to throw them away and swatted the tender buds from Jiang Li’s garment onto the ground.
Jiang Li was confused by her alarmed reaction.
“What’s wrong?”
A Ning looked up, on the verge of tears. “Mother, you can’t eat or touch this. It will cause red rashes all over your body.”
Jiang Li frowned. “I touched it and nothing happened.”
“Really? Let me see.” A Ning grabbed Jiang Li’s hand and found it unharmed. She sighed with relief but remained puzzled.
“Maybe it’s harmless then.”
She squatted and picked up the green buds, holding them for a long time without issue.
Jiang Li gathered the scattered thorn dragon buds and said, “Maybe they misidentified it?”
“Mother, you picked these in the valley, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s strange. Someone in the village once picked these buds in the valley and took them home to eat. Before eating, their whole body turned red and swollen. It was itchy and painful. So the adults say these can’t be eaten.”
Listening to A Ning, Jiang Li confirmed the plant was the same thorn dragon bud she knew but still felt uneasy. She told A Ning to wait and ran back to the valley to verify.
After nearly half an hour searching the valley, she finally found the answer.
The tree trunks looked similar, and the green buds were alike, but these trunks had no thorns. The buds were spread out. The only curious thing was the skinny trunk. Jiang Li poked the leaves with a branch and confirmed it was a lacquer tree.
The villager must have picked lacquer leaves by mistake.
Satisfied, Jiang Li returned.
A Ning looked at Jiang Li’s smiling face with bright, expectant eyes.
“I found the thing that causes red swelling. This one’s safe to eat. Next time, I’ll teach you how to tell them apart.”
With the mystery solved, Jiang Li filled her basket with thatch, and the two carried it home.
Those digging wild vegetables carried bamboo baskets home. After half a day, their haul was still less than the thorn dragon buds Jiang Li had picked—not because she was selfish, but because she didn’t dare say thorn dragon buds were edible. If villagers mistakenly picked lacquer leaves like that person before, severe allergic reactions could be fatal.
She couldn’t take that risk.
A Ning watched Jiang Li’s carefulness and said nothing extra.
By the time they reached home, the sun was about to set. Jiang Li neatly piled the thatch in a corner and carried the basket of thorn dragon buds indoors.
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Xue Man’s reaction to the buds was similar to A Ning’s. Jiang Li explained again, and Xue Man was skeptical.
“If you don’t believe me, we’ll cook two stalks and eat them soon.”
Xue Man pursed his lips. “Mother, how are you sure these are edible?”
Jiang Li paused.
“I read about it in a book.”
Both siblings looked at her with delight. “You can read?”
“Yes. Our family once hired a teacher, and I learned along with the boys.”
Originally, the household had a tutor mainly for the male children of the clan. Jiang Li had joined in and learned a bit.
Seeing their admiring eyes, Jiang Li smiled, “If we’re rich someday, I’ll hire a teacher for you too.”
The siblings smiled but said nothing more. Jiang Li called Xue Man to start a fire and prepare dinner.
Jiang Li wanted rice. She washed some white rice and put it in a clay pot to cook. To keep the fire gentle, she reduced the wood and asked A Ning to watch the pot.
She called Xue Man to wash some thorn dragon buds, then took out some pork lard, cleaned and chopped it. Seeing the rice wasn’t cooked yet, she cleaned and dried the new clay pot to store the lard.
With such conditions, waiting for food made Jiang Li anxious. She longed for a big stove, a steamer, and an iron pot, but with the wall about to collapse, she could only dream for now.
When the rice finished cooking, the fragrant aroma filled the house, making their stomachs rumble instantly.
Looking at the two little ones, Jiang Li hesitated and asked, “Shall we cook the vegetables first? Then we can render the lard.”
Xue Man glanced at the lard on the board and the steaming rice in the clay pot, then made up his mind.
“Okay.”
Jiang Li placed the pot on the fire, scooped some water in, and boiled a handful of thorn dragon buds with a pinch of salt. She drained the water and waited for the pot to dry. Then she added three slices of lard and dry-fried them until oil was rendered. When the cracklings turned yellow, she added cold water.
She finely chopped some plantain leaves and threw them in once the water boiled. The leaves quickly changed color. Jiang Li cracked an egg into a clay bowl, added a little cold water, and stirred it for later use.
Seeing the plantain leaves cooked, she seasoned with salt, stirred with one hand, and poured in the egg mixture with the other.
She moved with practiced ease, as if she had done this many times.
After a while, the egg and leaves melded together, forming curds.
Xue Man and A Ning stared in surprise. In this pot were pork lard and eggs, cooking wild vegetables. Such ingredients felt too precious to waste.
Yet the aroma was irresistible.
When the egg flower had formed, Jiang Li told the two to fetch bowls for rice.
While they served, she tasted a thorn dragon bud. It was crisp with a faint, fresh fragrance—the same flavor she remembered.
She planned to pick more tomorrow.
Xue Man handed Jiang Li a bowl of rice. Jiang Li scooped half a ladle of cooked plantain leaves into her bowl, adding some broth over the rice.
The siblings imitated her and did the same.
The three ate noisily.
Jiang Li suddenly wanted to laugh.
“How is it? Do you like these wild vegetables?”
With mouths full, Xue Man and A Ning couldn’t answer right away.
After swallowing, they smiled. “Mother, I feel like the wild vegetables we had for lunch and dinner weren’t really wild vegetables—they’re just too delicious.”
“Maybe it’s the eggs and pork lard.”
Xue Man shook his head vigorously like a rattle. “It’s because Mother knows how to cook. One egg is shared among the three of us, but wrapped with these vegetables, there’s no bitterness at all. I want more.”