Chapter 19: Wild Vegetables

Chapter 19: Wild Vegetables

A misty morning after a spring rain made the signs of spring even more apparent.

The fields had thawed, and it was time for everyone to turn over the soil and plow. At this hour, the fields were already bustling with voices.

People shouted and laughed, one starting a work chant, and others quickly joining in.

On the way to the Gu family's fields.

Ten-year-old Yin Hongxue carried a basket and followed behind Chen Youyan, his other hand holding the hand of six-year-old Gu Muan.

Through the thin morning mist, a cheerful voice rang out from a hazy figure.

"Dawen's missus! Taking Xue Geer and An Geer to deliver food to Dawen and the others?"

He knew that voice without even looking. Chen Youyan replied just as loudly, "Sure am, Guihua! You heading over too?"

Hearing his dad talking to someone, Gu Muan quickly sneaked a look at Yin Hongxue.

"Brother Xue, are we going to dig for wild vegetables later?"

A couple of days ago, Gu Lvliu, a little boy who was good friends with Gu Muan, had mentioned that his family had made buns with fresh wild vegetables and pork belly—so good you can't even describe it.

For Gu Muan, who had been eating dried vegetables for a long time, this was huge for him. He'd been thinking about it ever since.

But without an adult's approval, Yin Hongxue didn't dare agree outright. He gave a quick, careful look at Chen Youyan, then at An Geer, who was looking at him with eager eyes.

"Only if Dad says it's okay."

Hearing this, Chen Youyan slightly turned his head and glanced at Gu Muan.

He remembered why Gu Muan had been asking.

Honestly, Chen Youyan was also tired of dried vegetables and felt bad for the little guy who wanted it so bad. But spring was busy, and he just hadn't had the time.

And it wasn't just them; everyone else was busy too. Without an adult to accompany them, and with few other families out digging wild vegetables, Chen Youyan just couldn't feel good about letting the kids go alone.

But keeping the kids cooped up all the time made him feel bad, especially since Gu Muan had brought up digging wild vegetables for buns more than once over the past two days.

He thought for a second and said, "We still have one more plot to plow. Later, when your dad and the others are plowing, I'll take you two over there to dig. Just don't hold up your dad's work."

In spring, even fields that haven't been plowed will have wild greens, but since it was just the start of the season, the cold meant there weren't many greens. You had to search carefully to find any wild veggies this time of year.

But all the family's fields were urgently waiting to be plowed and seeded—there was no time to let people pick through them first.

Today, the two plots happened to be close to each other, and the work was nearly done. He could help with the work here while keeping an eye on the children at the other plot, then head over with them afterward.

No time lost either way.

Hearing his dad's words, Gu Muan, who had been about to pout, lit up right away.

The little boy beamed with joy, his happy shout cutting through the misty morning air: "Thank you, Dad!"

Yin Hongxue was just as thrilled. "Thank you, Dad!"

Seeing the kids so happy, Chen Youyan couldn't help but smile.

The three were already not far from the field's edge. Gu Muan's happy voice carried loud and clear, and Gu Wen, working in the field, straightened up. "Alright, let's take a break. I hear Little An—Brother Yan's here with the food."

At that, the hired hands—Hao Youfu, Chen Tiedan, and Zhang Dafu—all straightened up at the same time, wiping the sweat off their foreheads with the towels around their necks, smiles spreading across their faces.

The three of them worked for the Gu family regularly. The family treated them well—they ate the same food as the family.

As they made their way to the edge of the field, Chen Youyan was already taking things out of the basket.

Breakfast was simple: three steamed buns each, a salted duck egg, pickled veggies with hot oil on top, and tea made from wild mountain leaves.

Chen Youyan had wanted to stir-fry something fresh, but in early spring, even wild greens were hard to come by, let alone fresh ones.

That was partly why he'd agreed to let the kids dig for wild veggies today.

Chen Youyan's basket had the buns and pickled veggies; the duck eggs were in Yin Hongxue's basket.

Gu Muan squatted down and helped Yin Hongxue pick out the salted duck eggs.

He looked up and saw his big brother and his dad standing right there.

"Brother! Dad!" Gu Muan jumped up, the little guy bursting with excitement. "Dad hasn't even called you yet—how come you're already here?"

Hearing that, Gu Wen and Gu Chaoning both laughed at once.

Chen Youyan was a little surprised at first, but the second he saw them both laughing, he got it right away.

Sure enough, Gu Wen said with a grin: "Don't even get me started. I was bent over hoeing, and all of a sudden I hear our Little An's—"

He took a breath, pitched his voice high, and mimicked what Gu Muan had said: "Thank you, Dad!"

Talk about a real dad—he did a pretty good impression.

Everyone there cracked up at Gu Wen's act, including Gu Muan himself.

But the little guy only laughed a couple times, got over it, and then his face changed.

"Ah, Dad, look what Daddy did!" Gu Muan stomped his foot, all mad. His eyes swept around and landed on Gu Daniu, who was standing behind Hao Laifu. "Grandpa! You gotta do something about my daddy!"

"Alright, alright, just watch, Little An—Grandpa's gonna give your daddy a whipping right now!"

While all that ruckus was going on over there, Yin Hongxue stepped up, pulled out his handkerchief, and wiped the sweat off Gu Chaoning's forehead.

"Brother Chaoning, are you tired?"

Twelve-year-old Gu Chaoning was already standing tall like a young man—straight back, broad shoulders, long legs. Even in his plain work clothes, you could tell he was a scholar.

This was already Gu Chaoning's second year working the fields with the older men in the family.

He'd been clumsy and green at first, but now he could hold his own—almost half a full-grown laborer.

Gu Chaoning kept his head down, waiting for Yin Hongxue to finish wiping his sweat before he straightened up. "Not really tired—just a little thirsty."

Hearing that, Yin Hongxue knew exactly what he meant.

He grabbed a bowl from the basket, poured some tea, and held it right up to Gu Chaoning's lips.

This clearly wasn't the first time this had happened. Chen Youyan, watching from the side, looked away with a look of disgust.

After all, there was more trouble coming his way.

Sure enough, after Gu Chaoning took his sweet time finishing his drink, Gu Muan scurried over like a little puppy, carrying a bamboo tube full of water.

"Brother, wash your hands~"

Gu Chaoning nodded calmly and approvingly. "Mm, Xue Geer and An Geer both did very well today. You can skip two pages of character practice."

At this, Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan both jumped up at once: "Yay! Thanks, brother / Thanks, Chaoning Ge!"

What a couple of show-offs! Who taught them that?

It wasn't him—it had to be Gu Wen!

It's all Gu Wen's fault!

The moment Chen Youyan picked up the bamboo tube to pour water for Gu Wen to wash his hands, he gave Gu Wen's shoulder a firm slap.

Gu Wen looked up in confusion, met his husband's annoyed look, and immediately lowered his head again in silence.

Though he didn't know what he'd done wrong, keeping his head down and shutting up was the safest bet.

Seeing everyone had already started eating, Chen Youyan, with Gu Muan looking at him expectantly, instructed Gu Chaoning to put away the bowls and dishes after eating, then headed with the two little boys toward the unplowed field not far away.

The wild vegetables in the field weren't as varied as those in the mountains—mostly bitter herbs, along with shepherd's purse and purslane, which grew just about anywhere.

But even bitter herbs, shepherd's purse, and purslane were a real treat for farm families who'd been eating dried veggies all winter.

Gu Muan was young and couldn't always tell the inedible weeds from the edible greens, so he'd dig them up and run them over to Chen Youyan or Yin Hongxue to check.

But running back and forth was a pain. Purslane was the easiest to spot and grew in big patches, so before he knew it, Gu Muan was just digging that.

Yin Hongxue kicked aside a hard clump of dirt, and sure enough, a tender shepherd's purse was nestled underneath.

He jabbed a twig into the dirt and pried it up, making a little mound rise under the shepherd's purse.

Once the soil was loose, it was easy to pull the shepherd's purse out by hand. He yanked it free, shook off the dirt from the roots, and tossed it in the basket.

They worked this way bit by bit, and by the time Gu Wen showed up with the mule and iron plow, they'd already filled two baskets.

Gu Muan's little hands were covered in dirt, but he didn't care in the slightest. His face lit up as he stared at the veggies in the basket, imagining meat buns already waving at him.

Bowls were precious in farm households—leave them at the edge of the field and someone passing by might snatch them. So when they came over, Gu Chaoning had brought the basket with the bowls and clay pot.

Chen Youyan picked up the basket. "Wen Ge, I'll take the kids home and be right back."

Yin Hongxue was already ten and could go back alone, but the basket was heavy with bowls and pots—if a kid dropped it and broke something, it wouldn't be worth it.

The field work was almost done anyway, so one extra trip wouldn't hurt.

But Gu Wen suddenly stopped him. "No need to come back after you get home. We'll have the rest done by noon."

Gu Wen knew what Chen Youyan was worried about.

In the busy spring plowing season, a full laborer ran eighty wen a day. Finishing before noon would save forty wen.

This plot was exactly two mu. A mule wasn't as fast as an ox, but if they pushed hard, they could finish by midday.

Hearing that, Chen Youyan did some quick math in his head and nodded.

Still, a little encouragement couldn't hurt.

Chen Youyan called out to Hao Youfu and the others: "Brothers, push it this morning and work extra hard—at noon, we're having meat buns!"

Hao Laifu and the others gave Chen Youyan a warm smile and said, "Don't worry, husband, we'll get it done by noon!"

Saying more would just make it a big deal. Chen Youyan shot Gu Wen a look, picked up the basket, and headed back down the path with the two kids.

Gu Wen caught his husband's look, hollered a few words, and got to work.

Meanwhile, Chen Youyan walked the two kids home, had a quick word with Wang Xiuxiu, and pocketed some copper coins to go buy meat.

It was the last day, so he'd make a proper feast.

The two baskets of wild veggies were set by the stove as soon as they got in, and Yin Hongxue pulled Gu Muan over to wash and prep them.

But the well water was still cold this time of year—too chilly on the hands. Yin Hongxue lifted the pot lid and saw warm water inside, which put his mind at ease.