"Chapter 20"

"The same type of earthenware pot as the Chen family's was priced at thirty-six wen each in the store. Sang Luo haggled persistently, managing to get the storekeeper to reduce the price by two wen."

"Sang Luo purchased a ceramic pot and two and a half sheng (approximately 2.5 liters) of grain. The fifty-two copper coins in her sleeve, which hadn't even warmed up yet, were quickly spent, leaving not a single coin."

"However, once she held the newly bought pot and the grain inside it, her feeling of regret vanished, replaced by a sense of contentment and satisfaction."

"Finally, she had some grain and possessions of her own."

"Shen An and Shen Ning also crowded around, touching the pot and the grain, filled with immense satisfaction."

"'Sister-in-law, let me carry it.'"

"'I want to carry it.'"

"The siblings eagerly vied to carry the pot."

"Seeing this, Chen Youtian's solemn face broke into a smile, 'Why carry it and tire your hands? Put it in the bucket. It’s easier to carry that way.'"

"But Shen An shook his head, grinning foolishly, 'Uncle Youtian, it’s not heavy. If I get tired, you can help me carry it then.'"

"Shen Ning quickly added, 'And me too! If big brother gets tired, I'm here. Let's take turns carrying it, big brother.'"

"In a back-and-forth exchange, the siblings had already decided who would carry the pot first and who would take over later."

"Sang Luo watched them amusingly and let them be, handing the ceramic pot to Shen An. Her gaze then fell on the pork stall across from the general store."

"It seemed like a long time since the original owner's body had any meat. Just the sight of the pork stall triggered an intense craving and hunger."

"Sang Luo, recalling the lone jar of salt in her grass hut as her only seasoning, found herself uncontrollably salivating at the sight of the pork."

"It appeared that since fleeing famine, the original owner hadn’t tasted meat, and the mere thought of it made her stomach churn uncomfortably."

"Tomorrow, she resolved, she would definitely find a way to earn some more money."

"With this in mind, Sang Luo asked Chen Youtian, 'Uncle Youtian, does the pork stall sell meat even on non-market days?'"

"Hearing her question, Chen Youtian glanced over and saw Sang Luo gazing longingly at the pork stall, her eyes almost green with desire."

"He paused, then nodded, 'Yes, they do. It’s the only pork stall serving dozens of surrounding villages, and they sell meat every day.'"

"Shen An and Shen Ning, hugging the pot filled with rice grain as if it was a treasure, finally diverted their attention from their new possessions and grain at the mention of the pork stall, following Sang Luo’s gaze to the stall across the street."

"An audible gulp, they both clearly swallowed hard."

"'Sister-in-law, do we still have money?' The siblings, not yet able to count, understood that the pot and the grain they held were expensive."

"Sang Luo shook her head decisively, 'No, we don’t have any left. But we can still earn more.'"

"Shen An, a bit dazed, glanced at the meat stall and then at the grains in his arms, swallowing twice before saying, 'Big sister, meat is expensive. Even if we have more money, it’s better to buy grains.'"

"He was truly afraid of hunger."

"Having experienced the fear of eating chaff and then having no chaff at all, only grains could provide him with a sense of security."

"Yet, the mere thought of meat made his mouth water uncontrollably, creating a tantalizing and hungering turmoil in his stomach."

"Shen An awkwardly shifted his gaze away, fixing his eyes on the grains in the clay pot, continuously reassuring himself: 'Grains are good, grains are the best, there's nothing better than grains!'"

"Shen Ning, even more than her elder brother, couldn't take her eyes off the meat counter across from them, swallowing her saliva repeatedly."

"Sang Luo patted the two little ones: 'We'll buy grains and eat meat too, but take it slow. Eating lots of meat at once isn’t good, but buying some fat to render oil is necessary.'"

"Eating wild vegetables all year round without any fats or oils, it’s no wonder their bodies are breaking down."

"You can tell just by looking at the kids’ dry and rough hair."

"'Let’s go. Next time I earn enough, I'll buy some and you can have the rendered fat to eat.'"

"Chen Youtian, who initially thought Sang Luo was being too extravagant in wanting to buy meat, realized he was mistaken upon seeing the emaciated appearance of the three, looking like they had hardly enough to survive."

"Right, since Shen Lie left for military service, the children’s lives had noticeably worsened, and now with Shen Lie gone and them cast out with Sang Luo, they probably couldn't even afford a drop of oil."

"Watching the two kids walk beside Sang Luo, swallowing saliva while talking happily to their big sister and then turning to call him, Chen Youtian responded and silently followed with his load."

"As he walked, Chen Youtian's thoughts turned to his eldest son, who, like Shen Lie, had been conscripted to the front lines and never returned. He thought it was a long-forgotten grief, but in this moment, the dam of his suppressed sadness suddenly burst, overwhelming him."

"Taking a few steps with his load, he quickly lifted his hand from the carrying pole, pressing his palms against his eyes to stifle the pain. After a moment, his vision cleared, and he continued forward."

……

"As they approached Shili Village around mid-morning, still a distance from the village entrance, Sang Luo suddenly stopped."

"Pointing at a small path leading into the mountains, she said, 'Uncle Youtian, I’ll take this path home. We can part ways here. Thank you for today. Please take the bucket back yourself, and I’ll deliver the other pot to your home later.'"

"Chen Youtian hesitated, thinking the mountain path was a longer route, but quickly understanding her intent, nodded in agreement, 'Alright.'"

"Setting down his load, he took out the wooden spoon and bamboo tubes that belonged to Sang Luo and handed them to her before they parted ways."

"Shen Ning, puzzled, waited until Chen Youtian was a bit farther away before asking softly, 'Sister-in-law, why are we taking the mountain path?'"

"Sang Luo glanced at her and instead asked Shen An, 'What do you think, Shen An?'"

"Shen Ning then looked towards her older brother."

"Shen An, holding the ceramic pot, guessed, 'Sister-in-law doesn’t want the villagers to see we have enough money to buy grain, right?'"

"Sang Luo smiled, her lips curving."

"This child is truly clever."

"Seeing his sister-in-law's reaction, Shen An knew he was right and couldn’t help but smile, still just a child at heart."

"Though Shen Ning wasn’t as thoughtful or observant as Shen An, she wasn’t slow to understand, especially after her brother’s recent reminder. She looked around cautiously and whispered, 'Sister-in-law, we can’t let the villagers know we’re making money from Fairy Tofu, can we?'"

"Clever little thing."

"Sang Luo found this amusing and pinched Shen Ning’s nose, 'You’re really smart!'"

"As she picked up a tree branch to use for sweeping along the path, she led the siblings down a trail into the mountains, explaining, 'Our house is too small, without even a proper yard. It’s best to avoid drawing attention to ourselves as much as possible.'"

"Upon hearing this, the smiles on the siblings’ faces gradually turned to looks of concern."

"Seeing their reaction, Sang Luo laughed lightly and comforted, 'Don’t worry too much. Our village is small, and few go to the market. The market is held every five days, so it’s not easy to run into someone. Even if we do, they won’t easily figure out what we’re doing. It's just that being watched can be troublesome. We'll have to be more discreet in our actions, unlike now.'"

"The siblings thought about how their sister-in-law added ash water to the leaf juice, indeed, a secret step unlikely to be guessed by ordinary people."

"Their worried expressions eased, and they nodded in unison, 'Sister-in-law, we’ll be careful.'"

"As they walked deeper into the mountains, Sang Luo took the opportunity to pick leaves from the Fairy Tree."

"Seeing his sister-in-law gathering leaves, Shen An looked around and found a spot to set down the ceramic pot he’d been holding. He and his sister then began helping to pick leaves, wondering aloud, 'Are we going to eat this for lunch?'"

"Sang Luo shook her head, 'We just ate it this morning; we can’t have it for every meal. For lunch, we’ll cook sunflower green porridge.'"

"With their current living standard, eating plain white rice was unaffordable; porridge was more realistic."

"Shen Ning glanced at the basket on the ground and ventured, 'Sister-in-law, can we eat stewed eggplant?'"

"The siblings had eaten eggplant before, but that was several months ago. Eggplant wasn’t a rarity; every household in Shili Village grew it, except for theirs."

"Now that they had eggplants, it was natural to crave some."

"Sang Luo looked at Shen Ning with a smile, 'Is Ah Ning craving eggplant?'"

"Shen Ning nodded vigorously, 'It’s been so long since we had it, stewed eggplant is so fragrant.'"

"She said this while swallowing her saliva."

"Sang Luo laughed out loud at this, seeing Shen Ning’s flushed face, and said, 'I’m craving it too, but stewed eggplant is fragrant with oil and sauce. If we only have salt, it becomes more like boiled eggplant, and that would waste these few eggplants.'"

"So, we won’t have eggplant today."

"Seeing the visible disappointment on the little girl's face, Sang Luo smiled, 'Wait until I buy some meat. We’ll use the fat to make oil, cut some lean meat into mince, and then stew the eggplant with it. We can also add some perilla or mint leaves, and it’ll be so delicious you’d want to swallow your own tongue.'"

"Just hearing about it, Shen An and Shen Ning were already salivating at the thought."

"Considering the hot weather and the perishability of vegetables, they wondered if their sister-in-law would buy meat in the next few days?"

"The siblings exchanged glances, neither daring to voice their thoughts, fearful of misunderstanding and adding pressure to their sister-in-law."

"Shen An changed the subject, 'Sister-in-law, why are we picking these leaves?'"

"Sang Luo noticed their expressions and decided not to elaborate, answering Shen An's question with a smile, 'We’re going to make some Fairy Tofu and take it to Chen family’s grandparents this evening as thanks to Uncle Youtian for carrying our loads twice today. We can’t let him do all that work for nothing.'"

"The siblings nodded vigorously, acknowledging that without the Chen family’s pot and bucket, they wouldn’t have been able to set up their stall and earn money to buy a pot and more than two sheng of grain, along with eggs, hemp cloth, and various vegetables."

"Thinking of vegetables naturally led them back to the thought of Sang Luo’s description of minced meat with eggplant, causing their mouths to water again, overcome with craving."

"Sang Luo found their reactions amusing but didn’t tease them further, 'Besides, we’re going to the market again tomorrow. Let’s see if we can earn enough to buy the meat.'"

"The siblings looked up at Sang Luo almost simultaneously, their eyes sparkling with excitement. Shen Ning, barely containing her joy, said, 'But sister-in-law, tomorrow is not a market day.'"

"Sang Luo nodded, 'That’s why we won’t make much, just twelve pieces. We’ll put them in the ceramic pot and carry it in the basket to sell in Sanli Village, just to earn enough for meat and sauce.'"

"'I know, like a peddler!' Shen An’s voice was filled with excitement, 'Sanli Village is much wealthier than our village. We sold so much tofu in just an hour today, and many people still don’t know about it.'"

"Shen An felt confident that even though it wasn't a market day, they could still sell out."

"With this in mind, he quickened his leaf-picking, discussing with Sang Luo: 'Big sister, why don’t we make more, like sixteen pieces? Just like two clay pots – you carry one, and Ning and I will take turns carrying the other, just like today.'"

"Eager to earn money for meat, Shen Ning nodded vigorously: 'Right, right, I can carry it.'"

"Sang Luo looked at the two bright-eyed kids and then at the clay pots they had carried all the way home today, realizing they were even more capable than she had thought."

"Sang Luo raised her eyebrows, thinking... perhaps it could work?"

"If the kids really couldn’t carry it, she could manage to carry an extra pot for a while."

"She nodded in agreement."

"The two little ones were so excited they almost jumped up, but remembering Sang Luo’s instructions to earn the money quietly without letting others know, they suppressed the cheers on the tip of their tongues and happily bounced on the spot."

"Shen Ning, being close to Sang Luo, especially wanted to snuggle up to her big sister at this moment."

"Big sister is really great!"