Chapter 10
The two of them chatted for a long while, sharing embarrassing stories from their childhoods, amusing anecdotes from He Qiming’s time in the army, and the difficult yet happy trivialities of Ye Qingzhi’s life raising two children alone.
Before they knew it, the sun was directly overhead. He Qiming checked the time; it was already past eleven.
He took out the snacks he had prepared and handed them to Ye Qingzhi, along with a military canteen filled with sugar water.
“I’ve washed this canteen. Drink this if you’re thirsty.”
“Thank you.” Ye Qingzhi took two eggs from her pocket and gave one to He Qiming. “Have an egg.”
She had boiled four eggs that morning, putting one in each of the boys’ pockets. She had brought the remaining two to share with He Qiming.
“Thanks.” He Qiming didn’t refuse. He peeled the egg and finished it in two bites. “A little further up, there are wood ears and mushrooms. Want to go pick some?”
Ye Qingzhi’s eyes lit up. “Yes!” she exclaimed.
Her favorite videos to watch were of people foraging for mushrooms. She found it incredibly therapeutic and wished she could be there herself.
“Let’s go. The sooner we pick them, the sooner we can head back. My two boys will worry if I’m late,” Ye Qingzhi said, patting the ground. Just as she was about to get up, a large, well-defined hand appeared before her.
Ye Qingzhi smiled faintly, took his hand, and used his strength to stand up. She patted the dirt off her bottom and went with him to find the wood ears and mushrooms.
After climbing for about ten minutes, near the top of the mountain, Ye Qingzhi finally saw wood ears. There was a small patch on an old tree stump. She let out a cry of surprise and ran over.
He Qiming stood there, watching her with a smile. He had seen the wood ears when he was chasing the rabbits and had planned to bring her here to pick them, giving them more time to spend together.
There weren’t many mushrooms, but they still found some. There were, however, plenty of wood ears; they picked half a basketful.
“It’s getting late. Let’s head back.” Just as Ye Qingzhi was about to lift her basket, He Qiming beat her to it and hoisted it onto his own back.
He handed her a stick. “The path down is steep. Be careful.”
“Mm.” Ye Qingzhi gave him a shy glance, then looked at the small mushrooms on the ground. “Are you free tomorrow? I want to come back and pick more mushrooms, but I don’t dare come up here alone.”
“I am. What time tomorrow?” He Qiming immediately agreed.
“Same time as today.” Ye Qingzhi planned to make some mushroom sauce for him to take back to the base.
Halfway down the mountain, He Qiming stopped and put all the milk candies from his pocket into Ye Qingzhi’s basket.
“For the two children. There are people below. You go first; I’ll go down later.” He Qiming handed the basket back to her and watched her descend the mountain.
Ye Qingzhi checked all the places where the boys usually cut pig feed and asked some villagers. After confirming that they had already gone home, she finally went back, relieved.
“Oh, Qingzhi, you found so many wild vegetables again today?” Auntie Li asked, peeking into her basket with envy.
“I went a bit farther,” Ye Qingzhi said, pointing towards a bamboo forest. “There’s a pond in that direction with a lot of water celery. I picked a big bunch. It’s very tender. You can still make it if you go now.”
Unlike other wild vegetables, water celery didn’t keep well, and it wasn’t good when dried. It was better to share the information and earn some goodwill.
“Really? Sister Li, are you going? If you are, let’s go together,” Auntie Wang said, coming over.
Ye Qingzhi turned to show them the green and tender water celery in her basket.
“It’s true. It’s not too late. You can pick some for an extra dish tonight,” she said with a smile.
Watching them go off together to pick the water celery, Ye Qingzhi waved and headed home.
“Mama, you’re back! I’ve cooked potatoes,” Wei Anmin said, trying to take the basket from her.
“No need, it’s a bit heavy. Mama can do it.” Ye Qingzhi took his small hand and gave it a squeeze.
She removed the water celery and wild vegetables from the top, revealing the mushrooms and wood ears underneath, along with a package wrapped in leaves.
Wei Anjie curiously opened it. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Ye Qingzhi in shock. “Mama, milk candies?”
He had seen Wei Zhiqiang eating them before. Wei Zhiqiang had even bragged about how delicious they were. The other children had all gone home to ask their parents for some. He and his brother had wanted some too, but they knew their mother couldn’t afford them, so they had never asked.
“Mama, did that soldier uncle give them to you?” Wei Anmin was the first to realize.
Ye Qingzhi unwrapped a candy and gave one to each of them.
“Yes. His surname is He. You can call him Uncle He,” she said as she put things away. “So far, Mama is very satisfied with him. In a couple of days, I’ll let you meet him. You can get to know him and help Mama check him out.”
Giving them a sense of involvement would reduce their resistance and help them integrate into the new family more quickly.
The same went for He Qiming’s children. She would talk to him about it tomorrow. The older ones could meet first to give the children some mental preparation, and then all four of them could meet and slowly get used to each other.
“Okay, Mama. I’ll be very thorough,” Wei Anjie said, puffing out his little chest seriously.
Beside him, Wei Anmin nodded. When he first heard his mother say that Uncle He was a good person, he had felt a little sad. But when he heard that she wanted them to help check him out, he immediately felt a great sense of responsibility. His mother was so wonderful; they couldn’t let a bad person deceive her—although a PLA uncle wouldn’t be a deceiver.
“Mama… hiss.” Wei Anjie sucked in a mouthful of saliva. It was hard to talk with the candy in his mouth, so he unwrapped one and gave it to Ye Qingzhi. “Hiss, Mama, you eat too. It’s so delicious.”
Ye Qingzhi didn’t refuse. She opened her mouth and took the candy, saying with a smile, “It is delicious. But you can only eat them secretly at home. You can’t tell anyone, understand?”
The two boys nodded vigorously. They wouldn’t be show-offs like Wei Zhiqiang. Good things should be hidden and eaten in secret.
“You can’t tell anyone about Uncle He either.” After taking out the wood ears, Ye Qingzhi pulled out a rabbit. “Uncle He caught this. He’s even caught a wild boar before. In the future… when you’re a little older, Mama can ask him to take you and Uncle He’s children hunting together.”
No boy could refuse that. As expected, the two of them nodded enthusiastically.
Looking at the rabbit, Ye Qingzhi felt a bit troubled. First, she didn’t know how to butcher it. Second, if the smell of meat came from their house, the neighbors would surely smell it and who knows what they would gossip about.
After thinking for a moment, she put the rabbit back in the basket, covered it with a layer of wood ears, took a handful of water celery, and led the two children to Auntie Ye’s house.
“Qingzhi? Did you just get back from the mountain?” Auntie Ye was hanging laundry. Seeing Ye Qingzhi arrive with the two boys, she called her younger daughter, Wei Juzi, out of the house to take over while she led them inside.
“Sister-in-law Qingzhi,” Wei Juzi greeted her before going to hang the laundry.
Ye Qingzhi smiled and called out, “Juzi.” She told the two boys to play in the yard while she went inside with Auntie Ye. She took out the water celery and wood ears, revealing the rabbit underneath.
“Qiming caught it. I don’t know how to prepare it, and it wouldn’t be right for me to cook it at my house. Auntie, let’s eat it together tonight,” she said with a smile.
“Oh my, such a plump rabbit! No, this is too valuable. How about this: I’ll have your Uncle Youfu butcher it for you, then I’ll cook it, and you can take it home to eat.” Of course, Auntie Ye was also craving meat, but no matter how much she craved it, it belonged to someone else.
“Auntie, you’re being a stranger. You just gave me a block of tofu yesterday. Besides, this rabbit is so big, the two boys and I can’t possibly finish it. And it won’t keep in this weather. That’s settled. We’ll add some potatoes and have a good meal tonight,” Ye Qingzhi said decisively.
Auntie Ye didn’t refuse again. To do so would be to truly treat her as an outsider.
Just then, Wei Youfu and his son returned from the fields. When Wei Lizi saw the rabbit, he circled it excitedly. Learning that Ye Qingzhi had brought it, he was quite surprised. Sister-in-law Qingzhi has this kind of skill?
“Don’t ask. Just shut up and eat. And don’t tell anyone, you hear?” Auntie Ye slapped her foolish son on the head.
Wei Lizi pouted. How can I eat if I shut my mouth? His mother’s temper was really getting worse.
Auntie Ye didn’t cook the whole thing. She saved half, rubbed it with salt, and planned to have Ye Qingzhi take it back. She could cut off a small piece and throw it in with the rice when she cooked, and the whole pot would become delicious.
The butchered rabbit weighed about four catties, so half was two catties. With the potatoes and the tofu Auntie Ye added, it was a huge pot, and everyone ate until they were stuffed.
After the meal, Ye Qingzhi helped Auntie Ye with the dishes. Auntie Ye didn’t stop her; she wanted to ask about how their meeting had gone today.
“Lizi and the others were here just now, so I couldn’t ask. Hurry up and tell me, how did it go today?”
“We’ve already confirmed our relationship. Qiming said he’ll submit the marriage report after my hundred-day mourning period is over,” Ye Qingzhi said shyly.
“Good, good, good.” Auntie Ye was so happy she said “good” three times. “Qingzhi, if you marry Qiming, you’ll have someone to rely on for the rest of your life. Let me tell you, after you get married, you must treat his two children the same as your own. Whatever Anmin and Anjie have, they must have, and even better. Also, hurry up and have a child of your own. A relationship isn’t secure without a child of your own blood.”
Auntie Ye was right, but Ye Qingzhi wouldn’t wrong her own children to please her stepsons. Of course, she would treat them all equally. As for having children, she had no plans for that at the moment. Maybe that would change in the future, but she would deal with it then.
After cleaning up, Ye Qingzhi washed her hands and prepared to take the two boys home.
Auntie Ye walked them to the gate and whispered, “While Qiming is home, spend more time together and cultivate your feelings. Who knows when he’ll be back next time.”
“I know. Goodbye, Auntie.” Ye Qingzhi shouldered her basket, felt that the weight was off, and looked inside to see half a cured rabbit.
The next day, Ye Qingzhi went into the mountains again. He Qiming was already waiting for her. They chatted for a while, then went to the same spot as yesterday to pick mushrooms.
In one morning, they filled a whole basket. Ye Qingzhi planned to head back early; just processing all these mushrooms would take half a day.
“Are you coming to pick mushrooms again tomorrow?” He Qiming asked.
“I want to go to the city tomorrow,” she replied.
She had saved up a lot of Gastrodia. It had been air-drying, and due to moisture loss, the original ten catties had become six or seven. She wondered if the purchasing station would give her a better price for it.
“I happen to have some business in the city. Let’s go together,” He Qiming said, looking at her expectantly.
“Alright.” Ye Qingzhi nodded and dug up a few Rehmannia roots. “Remember what I told you!”
“I remember. Tell the children about the blind date, let them set a time to meet, and tell them you want them to help check me out. Did I repeat that correctly?” he asked with a smile.
“Correct. Whether our relationship works out in the future all depends on your performance,” she joked.
“I will definitely complete the mission,” He Qiming said with a serious expression.
Today, Ye Qingzhi wasn’t going up the mountain. She was heading to the city with the Gastrodia and Rehmannia. She had gotten the permission slip the night before. After telling Anmin and the others to take care of themselves, she set off as the sky was just beginning to lighten and the roads were empty, walking quickly towards the bus station in Dayang Village.
Not long after leaving her village, she saw He Qiming waiting by the side of the road and looked at him in surprise.
“When did you get here?”
“Not long. Give me the basket.” He Qiming took the basket and slung it over his back as if it weighed nothing.
The two of them walked one after the other. The surroundings were so quiet that they could almost hear each other’s heartbeats.
“Have you had breakfast?” Ye Qingzhi asked softly.
“I had a few biscuits to tide me over. I’ll eat when we get to the city,” He Qiming said, turning his head to smile.
Ye Qingzhi took two eggs from her pocket and stuffed them into his hand. “A few biscuits aren’t enough. Eat.”
“You haven’t eaten either, have you?” He Qiming peeled one and handed it to her. “Let’s eat together.”
Ye Qingzhi agreed. When they reached a more populated area, they stopped talking and walked one after the other, at least forty or fifty meters apart.
The early bus was at five-ten. They arrived at five. Ye Qingzhi got on first, and He Qiming deliberately waited a moment before choosing the seat behind her.
Meanwhile, He Yongyao rushed to the station, only to see the bus pulling away. He sighed in regret and silently turned to go home.
“Hey? Aren’t you Wei Youliang’s daughter-in-law from Houxi Village? We met last time, on the oxcart home. Remember?” Auntie Liu asked excitedly when she saw Ye Qingzhi.
“I remember. Are you going to the city today too, Auntie?” Ye Qingzhi replied politely.
“Oh, it must be fate! Qingzhi, has it been forty-nine days since your husband died?” Auntie Liu suddenly asked.
“Not yet. It’s only been the fifth seven-day period,” Ye Qingzhi said, feeling that these people really had no sense of boundaries.
“Well, that’s soon. After the forty-nine days are over, Qingzhi, Auntie will introduce you to someone,” Auntie Liu said enthusiastically.
Ye Qingzhi shook her head directly. “Auntie, I’m not looking for anyone right now.”
“You’re still young. Are you planning to be a widow for your husband? He had another woman. What’s the point of being a widow for him? I’m serious, I’ll introduce you to someone. He’s a relative of mine, twenty-seven this year, tall and handsome, and a hard worker. It’s just that his parents passed away early and there was no one to arrange things for him, so he’s been delayed until now. If his parents were still around, he would have been married with children long ago.” The more Auntie Liu looked at her, the more she thought they were a perfect match.
“Really, there’s no need. We can talk about this after the hundred-day mourning period is over,” Ye Qingzhi said seriously.
After getting off the bus and leaving the station, Ye Qingzhi saw that He Qiming’s expression was not good. She knew it was because of Auntie Liu’s matchmaking attempt.
“I didn’t agree, did I? He Qiming, I’m not a fickle person. Once I’ve chosen someone, I will be with them wholeheartedly,” Ye Qingzhi said with a serious expression.
“I’m not angry. I was just worried… I’m sorry. I should trust you.” Realizing his mistake, He Qiming immediately apologized.
The purchasing station wasn’t open yet, so the two of them went to have breakfast first, then slowly made their way over.
“Master, please take a look at mine.” Ye Qingzhi waited for the person in front of her to leave, then quickly pushed her things in front of the grader.
The grader had a sharp eye. He could spot any insect holes or blemishes at a glance. He set aside the first batch she had dug, which was already half-dry.
“Two catties and one liang of special grade, sixteen catties of first grade, thirty-seven catties of second grade. Special grade is ten cents, first grade is eight cents, second grade is five cents. That’s a total of three yuan and thirty-four cents. The Rehmannia… your processing is too rough, it can only be considered second grade. Ninety cents a catty… so that’s four yuan and twenty-four cents.” The cashier clacked away on his abacus, counted out four yuan and twenty-four cents, and handed it to Ye Qingzhi.
Although she had only earned a little over four yuan after so many days of hard work, Ye Qingzhi was very satisfied.
One had to know that in the countryside, if a family of six worked hard for a whole year, after deducting for their own food and required payments, they would be considered very well-off if they had fifty yuan left over.
If the villagers found out about this, the mountain would surely be plowed over.
“You know medicinal herbs?” He Qiming asked curiously.
Ye Qingzhi shook her head. “I only know these two. I saw someone else digging them when I was little and remembered. I didn’t expect them to be so valuable. If I had known, I would have started digging earlier.”
“You’re already very capable.” He Qiming looked at a nearby park. “It’s still early. Do you want to take a walk in the park?”
She had left in a hurry last time. This was a good opportunity to explore the current county town.
At the small park, they hadn’t walked far when Ye Qingzhi grabbed He Qiming and pulled him behind a large rock.
“Did you see someone you know?” He Qiming looked up and saw an older man and woman. They were not young, yet they were holding hands, even more affectionate than he and Qingzhi.
“My stepmother-in-law,” Ye Qingzhi said softly.
Only stepmother-in-law? That meant the man wasn’t her father-in-law.
He Qiming felt like he had just discovered something extraordinary.