Chapter 14

The three of them finished every bit of the egg and wild vegetable soup. Xue Man and A-Ning each tasted the aralia shoots.

Jiang Li watched their expressions and asked, "How is it?"

"Mother, you only put in a tiny bit of salt, yet it’s surprisingly delicious. There’s no bitterness at all."

Jiang Li smiled. "It would be even better if cooked with eggs. Let’s go pick some more tomorrow."

After the evening meal, Xue Man went to wash the bowls. Jiang Li cleaned the pot, placed it over the fire, and added all the sliced pork fat, pouring in cold water just until it barely covered the fat.

A-Ning crouched nearby, watching Jiang Li add the water, her small face filled with confusion.

"Mother, can you really render oil like this?"

"Take a guess."

Watching Jiang Li’s smile, she felt it must work, because Jiang Li was very capable—she could hunt and identify wild vegetables. However, she had seen her grandmother render lard before, always by tossing it directly into the pan to stir-fry without adding cold water. The little girl pondered this, finally concluding that Jiang Li’s method must be better.

Jiang Li told her to watch the fire while she washed the pork belly and cut it into small strips. There were no refrigerators, and since it was summer, she couldn't make cured meat. The best method was to deep-fry the meat in the oil and store it in a jar, taking out a piece to stir-fry whenever they needed it.

Xue Man returned from washing the bowls. The water in the pot was boiling, and the fat bubbled with a rhythmic sound. He looked at the water-boiled fat with the same expression as A-Ning.

Jiang Li explained, "Adding a little water makes the lard very white, and the cracklings won't burn as easily."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? Just wait and see."

As the amount of oil in the pot increased and the water evaporated, the white fat shrank into golden cracklings. Xue Man and A-Ning forgot all about whether the lard was white; they just kept swallowing their saliva. Even though they had just eaten pheasant and eggs, the rich, savory aroma of the cracklings made them drool.

Even Jiang Li’s own appetite was piqued by the fragrance. She removed two logs from the fire to lower the heat, letting it simmer slowly so the cracklings would become crisp and not burn.

After about fifteen minutes, the cracklings turned golden. Jiang Li used a spatula to lift out three pieces. She handed one to each of them, and before they even had time to cool, she ate hers. A mouthful of rich, crispy fragrance filled her—if only she had some five-spice chili powder, she could probably finish half a bowl in one go.

Xue Man and A-Ning held their pieces and nibbled slowly. Jiang Li frowned and said, "If you eat them like that, you won't taste them properly. Just put the whole thing in your mouth and chew."

The siblings were still hesitant, so Jiang Li raised an eyebrow. "There's more in the pot; we can each have two pieces tonight."

With her permission, they popped the whole piece in and closed their eyes in bliss. When A-Ning opened her eyes again, they were red-rimmed. She looked as if she were about to cry. She glanced at Jiang Li, and seeing she hadn't noticed, she turned away to wipe the falling tears.

"Mother, do you need more firewood? I'll go get some."

"Go ahead."

As A-Ning left, Xue Man looked at the open door, knowing his sister had cried. "After my mother died and was buried, Grandmother sold A-Ning. She wouldn't leave, so they lured her with cracklings. My father chased them halfway and brought her back. Because of that incident, Grandmother has always hated us."

"Was the family already poor when your mother passed away?"

Xue Man shook his head. "No, it was because that family in town was wealthy and had a sickly son. They wanted to buy a child bride, and A-Ning was chosen because she was pretty."

Jiang Li listened, asking no further questions.

When A-Ning returned with firewood, Jiang Li took the pot off the fire and scooped out the cracklings. Once the oil cooled slightly, she poured most of it into a pottery jar, then added the pork belly to fry.

It was late into the night by the time she finished. Jiang Li pushed open the door; the whole village was silent. She wasn't tired yet. She washed the large, clean bone, split it in half, tossed it into the pottery jar, and set it to simmer over a low fire.

Thinking that the house lacked even a bamboo basket for vegetables, she dragged the remaining bamboo from in front of the door inside, split it into thin, fine strips, and wove two small winnowing baskets for washing and holding vegetables. She also wove a rough bamboo basket—it wasn't pretty, but it was functional.

The siblings sat by the fire, keeping her company and occasionally handing her water. By the time she finished, they were yawning uncontrollably, their eyelids drooping.

"I'm done. Go wash up and get some sleep."

With permission, the two stood up to fetch water for washing. They hadn't noticed while working, but once finished, they realized their hands were full of bamboo splinters, causing a numb, aching pain. There were no needles in the house, and the firelight wasn't bright enough, so they would have to wait until daylight to borrow a needle and remove the splinters.

Because she went to bed late, Jiang Li slept in the next day. It was nearly noon when she woke up. She saw the fire was just as it had been the day before.

"Xiao Man, didn't you cook breakfast?"

"Mother, we aren't hungry."

"I'm hungry, and you're not?"

Xue Man smiled sheepishly. "Mother, it’s fine if we just eat lunch and dinner. Skipping breakfast saves food."

Jiang Li yawned. A-Ning added, "It's already very good that we have lunch and dinner. Many families only eat one meal to save rations."

Jiang Li knew times were hard and frugality was necessary, but one worked to have food to eat. As long as her hands could earn a living, she didn't want to skimp on meals. She’d rather go without clothes than go hungry.

"Alright, light the fire and cook lunch. After eating, we'll go cut thatch and pick wild vegetables."

Jiang Li was hungry. Thinking that rice would take too long, and seeing they still had aralia shoots and the newly bought flour, she decided on aralia shoot pancakes. She quickly poured out the bone broth, cleared the pot, and mixed the dough. She washed and chopped the aralia shoots, stirred them into the flour with a pinch of salt, and tasted the batter—it was salty enough, so she added no more.

Using chopsticks, she took a small piece of solidified lard from the jar, swirled it around the hot pot, then poured in the batter, spreading it thin. She fried it over low heat, flipping it until both sides were golden.

The first pancake came out, the golden dough mottled with green—it looked wonderful. Xue Man and A-Ning stared at the pancake in amazement. It was a wild vegetable pancake, yet it looked nothing like the ones they had eaten before.

"Mother, can we have a small piece first?"

Jiang Li was already spreading the next one. She glanced at Xue Man, who was pursing his lips, his eyes fixed on the pancake.

"You can eat. Wait for it to cool; it's very hot."

"Okay."

He started fanning it with his hand, which made Jiang Li want to laugh. "This is just a wild vegetable pancake, not meat."

A-Ning smiled at her. "Mother, we've never eaten wild vegetable pancakes like this before."

Jiang Li thought of the half-pancake she had eaten when she first woke up—it had been steamed with wheat bran and wild vegetables, purely to keep from starving.

Xue Man touched the edge of the pancake, and finding it cool enough, he broke off three pieces. He handed one to Jiang Li, then one to A-Ning. He took a bite of his own, and the crunching sound echoed as crumbs fell; he hurriedly reached out to catch them.

Before he had even swallowed, he praised, "Mother, this pancake is so delicious!"

"Is it really that good?" Jiang Li popped her piece into her mouth. The crispy texture, combined with the fresh, herbal scent of the aralia, was indeed excellent.

However, Jiang Li decided to make only a few crispy ones and keep the rest softer, like egg pancakes. If they ate too many of the crispy ones, they would likely get internal heat.

After frying a few crispy ones, she made the rest soft. While they weren't as refreshing, the fusion of the wheat aroma and the wild vegetables was still delicious. The bone broth had been simmering for half the night and was flavorful. She split the bone into three sections and used chopsticks to place a piece in each of their bowls.

"This bone may not have meat on the outside, but there’s marrow inside. It’s delicious if you suck it out."

As Jiang Li spoke, the two little ones did as she said, eating with blissful expressions.

After lunch, Jiang Li put on her basket, took the bamboo basket she had woven the night before, and led A-Ning toward the place where they had cut thatch yesterday. Having eaten well and gained some energy, A-Ning looked much more spirited, perhaps because she was in a good mood. On the way, there was no one around, and she skipped and hopped around Jiang Li.

As they neared their destination, more people appeared, and she returned to her quiet, obedient self, walking silently behind Jiang Li. Most people coming to these mountains were from Houqiu Village, and most knew Jiang Li—though only for her hunting and her tendency to hit people.

Jiang Li wasn't one for forced familiarity, so unless someone greeted her, she wouldn't actively try to build relationships. The two walked in silence through the gazes of the crowd.

Today, Jiang Li planned to pick a basket of aralia shoots before cutting thatch, so A-Ning could help her. They headed straight for the valley. Once there, Jiang Li cut two branches to use as hooks and taught A-Ning how to pick the shoots.

"Be careful of the thorns. Don't pick the ones high up yet; just get what you can reach. And stay close to me, pick the ones next to me."

Jiang Li was worried she might accidentally pick poison ivy.

Grandma Zhao, who was in the mountains with her daughter Zhao Qingzhu looking for herbs, rarely saw anyone in this valley. Suddenly spotting two figures, she asked, "Qingzhu, look, is that A-Ning? Why is she picking those poisonous leaves?"

Zhao Qingzhu looked closely. "It seems to be."

Hearing her daughter's words and watching the two of them busily picking the "poisonous leaves," Grandma Zhao sighed deeply. "Oh, heavens! The children don't know any better, and neither does the adult."

Zhao Qingzhu remarked, "They say that Jiang woman was a lady from a wealthy family, so it's normal that she wouldn't know wild vegetables."

The old woman ignored her daughter and, leaning on her cane, hurried down the hillside.