Chapter 13
One of the two traps was empty, but the other held a muntjac, still breathing its last. He Qiming quickly dispatched it and put it in his basket.
“I’ll take these back to process. I’ll send them over to you after they’re butchered.”
“No need. Just give me one pheasant. I can’t cook any more than that anyway,” Ye Qingzhi said, waving her hand.
“It won’t smell too much if you don’t stir-fry it. You can dry it and make soup. You and the two children are too thin.” When He Qiming had held the two boys earlier, he had felt how light they were, with no meat on their bones.
Ye Qingzhi glanced at her two children. They were a little better than when she had first arrived, but still thin.
She had already accepted the betrothal gifts; a little more wouldn’t make a difference. “Then I won’t be polite.”
Next, He Qiming taught the two boys how to set traps, how to climb trees, and how to escape from danger.
During this time, he hit a pheasant with a stone, which made the two boys’ eyes sparkle. They followed him around, calling him “Uncle” this and “Uncle” that.
It wasn’t until three in the afternoon that He Qiming, seeing it was getting late, packed up to go home. The two children were still reluctant to leave.
“Let’s go. We’ll have Uncle He take you hunting again next time,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
Halfway down the mountain, He Qiming, as usual, watched Ye Qingzhi leave first. Only after their figures had disappeared from sight did he turn and take another path back.
“You can’t tell anyone about Uncle He, understand?” Ye Qingzhi reminded them again.
Wei Anmin nodded. Wei Anjie tugged on her clothes and asked in a low voice, “Is Uncle He going to be our papa from now on?”
Ye Qingzhi saw the expectant look in his eyes. Although Wei Anmin wasn’t as obvious as his younger brother, his tightly clenched fists showed that he cared too.
“If all goes well, he will be your papa. After spending time with him, what do you think? Are you willing to have him as your papa?” Seeing someone working in the distance, she patted the boys’ heads. “You two think about it carefully. Don’t say anything yet. Tell me when we get home.”
The two children knew that their mother finding a new papa was a secret, so they didn’t continue the topic. They wanted to talk about catching the rabbits, but that also seemed to be a secret. They exchanged a look and could only trudge on in silence.
Back at home, Ye Qingzhi put her things away and prepared to boil water for a bath. After a day in the forest, she felt sticky. The two rascals could just use cold water, but she couldn’t stand it.
When she came out after changing, the two boys had already bathed. They were wearing only shorts, barefoot, and were feeding the little rabbit with vegetable leaves.
“Mama, why isn’t it eating?” Wei Anjie asked, waving the leaf in his hand and looking at her in confusion.
“Wild rabbits are very stubborn. They’d rather starve than eat. This one, which has just been weaned, might be better. You can try for a while,” she said, glancing at it before turning to the kitchen to cook.
For lunch, they had only had an egg and a few pastries. Her stomach was already growling.
She made potatoes with green beans, and when the potatoes were almost done, she stuck some cornmeal pancakes to the side of the pot. In the middle, she placed a bowl of steamed egg. One pot with vegetables, a staple, and an egg—perfect.
The two brothers watched their mother busy at the stove and thought of the biological father they had never really known.
Not only did he never come home, but he also had another woman and gave all his wages to her. He might even have had children with her, having long forgotten about them.
Then they thought of the tall Uncle He, who would stand in front of them, take care of their mother, and teach them so many things.
If their mother was with him, she wouldn’t have to work so hard and would be very happy, right?
Of course, they also wanted a responsible and capable father like him.
“Mama, I’ve thought about it. I want Uncle He to be my papa,” Wei Anmin said seriously.
Behind him, Wei Anjie nodded vigorously. “I also think this papa is very good.”
Thinking of He Qiming’s strong arms, Wei Anjie blushed slightly. He wanted to be held again.
Ye Qingzhi squatted down to be at eye level with them and said solemnly, “Don’t worry. Even if Mama gets married, I will still be your mother. That will never change.”
The two brothers hugged her from either side. “Mama, when are you getting married? After you get married, will we have to move to Dayang Village? Will the grandpa and grandma there like us?”
“We’ll get married after the hundred-day mourning period for your father is over. As for whether we’ll move, we’ll talk about that then. Uncle He has already split from his family, so you don’t have to worry about his parents not liking you. We won’t be living with them anyway,” she said, not telling them about joining him at the base.
The two children already understood what splitting the family meant. In other words, even if their mother remarried, their lives wouldn’t be much different, except they would have two more brothers.
“Are Uncle He’s children easy to get along with?” Wei Anmin asked with some concern.
“I’m not sure. We’ll know when we meet them tomorrow.” Knowing what they were worried about, she said with a smile, “Your Uncle He is very sincere. He’s willing to give eighty-eight yuan as a bride price, and the betrothal gifts are also very generous. He also bought a lot of cloth for me to make clothes for you, and he said that after we get married, he will give me his entire salary.”
Hearing that his salary would be managed by Ye Qingzhi, all their worries instantly vanished.
After dinner, Ye Qingzhi washed the clothes and hung them to dry. She was about to pickle some bottle gourds for the next day when Auntie Ye came in with a large basket.
“Auntie, what brings you here so late?” Ye Qingzhi brought a stool for her and poured her a glass of cool boiled water.
“It’s not me who wanted to come. Someone asked me to bring you something.” Auntie Ye lifted the floral cloth covering the basket, revealing a butchered pheasant and rabbit. “Did He Qiming take you hunting today?”
“Our situation is different from others. After all, it’s a second marriage, and we both have children. It’s not enough for just the two of us to like each other; we have to consider the children’s feelings too. So, I took the children to meet Qiming. And as it turns out, both of them like him very much,” Ye Qingzhi said with a shy smile.
This made Auntie Ye grin from ear to ear. After all, she was the matchmaker. Ye Qingzhi being satisfied with He Qiming meant she had good judgment.
They had caught a total of three pheasants, five rabbits, one muntjac, and seventeen wild eggs that day. They had brought back one small rabbit and the eggs; the rest had been taken back by He Qiming to be processed.
In the basket were two pheasants, two rabbits, and half a muntjac. He had sent most of it to her.
“It’s good that the children like him too. Alright, the things have been delivered. I’ll be going now,” Auntie Ye said cheerfully.
“Wait.” Ye Qingzhi took out a pheasant to give to her. “Auntie, thank you for making this trip so late at night.”
“No need. Your man has already paid me for the trouble,” Auntie Ye said, pushing it back.
Ye Qingzhi’s face instantly turned red. “We’re not married yet.”
“It’s as good as settled. Oh my, are you blushing already? Alright, you all get some rest. I’m leaving now,” Auntie Ye said, waving her hand and leaving with the basket.
“Mama, so much meat,” Wei Anmin said, swallowing hard at the sight of it.
Ye Qingzhi chopped off a piece of muntjac meat, put it in the pot with some salt and ginger, and let it simmer.
She rubbed salt on the rest and would put it out to dry the next day. With the current sun, it would be ready in two or three days.
The next day, Ye Qingzhi made breakfast, gave the two boys a few instructions, and headed towards Dayang Village with her basket.
“Qingzhi, where are you going?” Auntie Lin asked curiously, seeing her walking out of the village on her way back from the latrine.
“I’ve been having a toothache recently. I heard that eating Sarcandra glabra root is good for it. I’m going to the mountain behind Dayang Village to look for some.” This was the excuse she had come up with last night.
“Is Sarcandra glabra root good for a toothache? Really?” Auntie Lin asked, holding onto her.
“I don’t know. I just heard it from someone else. I’ll try it first. If it works, I’ll let you know,” Ye Qingzhi said. She had heard it from her grandmother, who said it was very effective.
Because of this delay, she was a bit late arriving at Dayang Village. Many people saw her going up the mountain, and those who knew the original owner would stop to greet her.
It was her first time on the mountain behind Dayang Village. He Qiming had said he would be behind a large chinquapin tree.
After climbing for about ten minutes, she finally saw a chinquapin tree, but it wasn’t very big, and He Qiming was nowhere in sight. She probably had to climb higher.
It was a good thing the original owner was used to farm work. If it had been her own body, she would have been exhausted by now.
After another ten minutes of climbing, she finally saw a very large chinquapin tree. Behind it was a flat path. After walking for about two or three minutes and rounding a bend, she saw He Qiming and his two sons digging something.
“Qiming!” she called out. Seeing the two boys look over, she immediately smiled and waved at them.
The younger one was very cute and waved his little hand back with a bright smile. The older one was very cool; he just nodded at her and went back to digging.
He Qiming picked up a canteen and handed it to her, smiling. “You must be exhausted. Sit down and rest for a while.”
“Thank you.” She took the canteen and took a few small sips. It was brown sugar water. She remembered telling him she was anemic. Was that why he had switched to brown sugar?
She was touched by his thoughtfulness. She took a few more sips and asked, “What are you digging?”
“A kind of herb for clearing heat and detoxifying. You needed an excuse to come to the mountain behind Dayang Village,” he explained with a smile, then pointed to the older boy. “This is my older son, He Jingyan, and this is He Jingyang. Jingyan, Yangyang, this is the Auntie Ye I told you about. Greet her.”
“Hello, Auntie Ye.”
“Hello to you too.” Ye Qingzhi looked at the small pile of herbs. So, they were digging here for her sake?
She wanted to take the hoe from He Jingyan, but he dodged her.
“No need. This is a man’s work,” he said flatly.
What does that mean? Digging is a man’s work, so she doesn’t have to do it?
Ye Qingzhi looked him up and down. He was at most 1.3 meters tall. How could he call himself a man?
She held back a laugh, not wanting to hurt this little man’s pride.
From this one sentence, she could tell that although He Jingyan wasn’t overly enthusiastic, he wasn’t a difficult person to get along with.
“Let me do it. I’m someone who can earn ten work-points,” she said, reaching for the hoe again, only to be stopped.
This time, it was He Qiming who stopped her. “I’ll just dig a little more, and that will be enough. Have you had breakfast? I brought some wheat cakes. My mother’s cakes are the best. You’ll definitely like them.”
The wheat cakes were made with white flour and filled with pickled vegetables and meat. In this era of scarcity, with both fine grain and meat, even a five-out-of-ten cooking skill would become a ten.
“I ate before I came. I’m not hungry now. I’ll eat later.” Ye Qingzhi keenly noticed He Jingyang’s disappointment and guessed he wanted a cake. She smiled and said, “Does Yangyang want some? I can break off a piece for you.”
“Don’t give him any. He had half a one this morning and also had porridge. His belly is still full. He’ll get a stomachache if he eats more,” He Qiming said, patting his younger son’s head.
Seeing He Jingyang’s head droop like a little puppy’s, Ye Qingzhi was struck by his cuteness. She immediately picked him up and ruffled his soft hair.
“Oh, so Yangyang is already full. Let Auntie feel your little tummy.” She felt his belly. It was round and full, just as He Qiming had said. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh my, it’s still full. Let’s wait until your little tummy is hungry before we eat, okay?”
Suddenly being held in her arms, He Jingyang smelled the faint, clean scent of soap on her and felt warm all over.
He nodded obediently. “Yangyang is full. Yangyang won’t eat. I’ll eat later.”
“That’s right. If you eat now, you’ll get a stomachache. We’ll eat when we’re hungry,” she said gently, ruffling his little head.
“Don’t hold him anymore. This boy is heavy. You’ll tire out your arms,” He Qiming said, throwing the herbs into her basket and dusting off his hands, wanting to take his son.
“No need, he’s not that heavy.” Ye Qingzhi dodged his outstretched hands and looked around. “Let’s find a place to sit first.”
He Qiming was clearly very familiar with the mountain behind Dayang Village. He led her around two bends and found a cave.
It was a bit cold to go in now, so they sat at the entrance. When the sun rose higher, they could go inside to cool off.
“There’s a cave here? Are there any wild animals inside?” she asked, peeking in. It was dark. If she were alone, she would never dare to go in.
“No. When I was a mischievous kid, I used to come here to play with the other village kids. We never ran into any wild animals. There’s a spring inside. The water is very sweet. I’ll get some for you to try later.” Seeing his younger son sitting obediently on her lap, his head resting on her full chest, He Qiming swallowed and quickly looked away. “There aren’t as many animals here as on Niutou Ridge. Otherwise, we could have caught a few more pheasants.”
“Speaking of which, why did you give me so much? Your family has more people; you should have kept more.” Seeing He Jingyan scratching his hand, she asked, “Did you get bitten by an insect?”
He Jingyan was clearly taken aback, perhaps not expecting her to notice him.
After a moment’s hesitation, he shook his head. “I’m fine.”
Ye Qingzhi went over to look. It was a red patch, not like a mosquito bite.
“Qiming, come and see. What kind of insect bite is this? Why is it so red?” she beckoned to him.
“I’m not sure. Does it hurt?” he asked quickly.
“It’s alright,” He Jingyan said, pressing his lips together and covering the red spot.
This child isn’t difficult to get along with, but he’s not easy to communicate with either. Ye Qingzhi felt that he must have suffered something in the past to have developed such a personality. She would have to ask He Qiming about it later.
“Didn’t we dig up some herbs for clearing heat and detoxifying? Crush some and apply it for a while. It should feel better,” she said. It was difficult for her to do anything while holding He Jingyang, so she directed He Qiming.
After applying the herbs, He Jingyan’s brow indeed relaxed a little. Seeing that He Qiming was about to lecture him, she stopped him.
“Qiming, tell us about your time in the army. The children would love to hear about it,” she said with a smile.
After talking for a while, the weather grew hotter, and they all went into the cave. He Jingyang was very curious and squirmed to get down. Ye Qingzhi was tired of holding him anyway, so she patted his little bottom and let him go play.
Around noon, the four of them shared the wheat cakes. After playing with He Jingyang for a while, she saw him rubbing his eyes. He was clearly sleepy but refused to sleep. She sighed inwardly. Just like her own two children who lacked a father’s love, this was a child who lacked a mother’s love and longed for it desperately.
She gently patted his back. After he fell asleep, she prepared to go down the mountain.
“I’m leaving now. You two should head back early too,” she said, waving to the father and son before turning to leave.
Watching her walk away, He Qiming asked softly, “Is it alright if Auntie Ye becomes your mother?”
“As long as Yangyang likes her,” He Jingyan said flatly, gathering their things.
“She will be your mother too. Of course, you have to like her as well,” He Qiming said with a frown.
He Jingyan nodded. “She’s alright.”
Seeing that he wouldn’t say any more, He Qiming sighed and followed behind him, carrying the sleeping child.
Meanwhile, Ye Qingzhi returned to Houxi Village from Dayang Village. She hadn’t walked far when she heard a piercing scream.
What’s going on? What happened?
“Qingzhi, what are you doing here? Your stepmother-in-law was having an affair, and now the other man’s daughter-in-law has come to make a scene! It’s so exciting! Come on, let’s go watch!”
The other man? Old Niu the Third?
Oh my god, Old Niu’s daughter-in-law is here to cause trouble?
This is too good! I have to go see.