Chapter 12: Wild Mountain Ginseng
Breakfast was leftover dark flour buns from the night before and savory soy milk. They had some soy milk left from making tofu, but since they were out of sugar, Yu Juanfang made it savory, adding chopped scallions, pickled mustard greens, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Tangtang ate a bun, savoring the solid taste of the grain, then took a sip of the soy milk. It was delicious too—rich with the fragrance of soy, fresh, and salty. She could even dip her bun in it. After finishing a bowl, her whole body felt warm.
They ate quickly, and without even having time to clean up, Yu Juanfang shouldered her hoe and went to work.
It wasn’t until she returned that evening, after dinner, that she finally had time to count the money from selling tofu.
They had made forty catties of tofu that day, for a total income of four yuan and eighty cents. After subtracting the cost of the beans (one yuan, eighty cents) and giving twenty percent of the profit (sixty cents) to Old Madam Zhu, the remaining money was split between Yu Juanfang and Yu Yahong. That came to one yuan and twenty cents each. After subtracting the ten cents for the tea egg, she had one yuan and ten cents.
One yuan and ten cents!
Yu Juanfang felt an irrepressible excitement. The profit was even better than she had imagined.
A full day’s work in the production team earned her eight work points, which translated to about twenty-four cents. But one morning of making tofu had earned her over a yuan.
At this rate, she only needed to sell tofu at the black market thirty times to pay back the thirty yuan she owed Old Madam Zhu. Even at twelve cents a catty, the profit margin was huge.
Yu Yahong clutched the warm one-yuan note, unsure of where to keep it. In the past, all the money was held by Old Madam Zhu. Now, she could manage her own finances. She first tried stuffing it in a cabinet but felt it wasn’t secure. After much thought, she found one of the children’s old textbooks, neatly tucked the money inside, and then locked the drawer. That felt much safer.
Yu Yahong had already made plans. Once she saved enough, she would make a new set of clothes for herself, a dress for Wani, and a new pair of army-green trousers for each of her three boys. When winter came, she would sew a new cloak for her husband.
It was her own money, to be spent however she pleased!
…
The black market was held every three days, so they made tofu every three days. They earned a profit of over ten yuan a month and managed to pay back the thirty yuan to Old Madam Zhu before December.
As winter set in, the days grew shorter, and it was still pitch black at six or seven in the morning. A layer of frost on the ground also made cycling dangerous, so they temporarily put the tofu business on hold, planning to resume next spring.
After repaying the debt, Yu Juanfang still had a few yuan left. With the winter solstice approaching, she had Su Huimin buy a few catties of meat. She minced it, mixed it with cabbage, and made dumplings. The filling, a mix of savory meat and fresh cabbage, was bursting with hot, flavorful juices. The wrappers, made from fine white flour, were smooth and chewy. With each bite, you’d want to swallow your own tongue. The entire Su family ate until they were fit to burst, completely and utterly satisfied.
…
There was still some time before the school holidays. After school, Tangtang and the other children would go to the mountains to gather firewood and cut a basket of pig feed. The tender leaves of paper mulberry trees and the weeds under hickory trees were all favorites of the pig. After winter arrived, the vegetation at the foot of the mountain thinned out, so they had to venture deeper to find enough feed.
But the children of Yuhuai Village had been roaming these mountains since they were small and weren’t afraid. Further in, the vegetation was clearly much denser. Tangtang was carrying a bundle of firewood in her arms, her back basket full of pig feed, when she missed her step and nearly fell into a large pit.
“Oof!”
Luckily, she managed to grab onto the weeds at the edge of the pit, saving herself from falling in completely.
Her older brother, Su Juesheng, heard the noise and rushed over, scrambling to pull her back onto solid ground. “Tangtang, are you okay?!”
The fall had knocked her for a loop. She took a moment to recover. Her arm ached from being pulled, and a branch had scraped her ribs, but thankfully, she wasn’t seriously injured. She shook her head. “I’m okay, Brother Juesheng.”
They looked at the pit. It was over a meter deep, possibly an old hunting trap. There was no telling what might be inside.
Su Juesheng was still shaken. “As long as you’re okay. Let’s not go this deep next time.”
Tangtang noticed that where she had fallen, the disturbed soil had revealed a white root, looking just like a radish.
“Brother Juesheng, look, what’s this?”
“Looks like a radish? But not quite…”
Tangtang thought hard and came to a conclusion she was fairly certain of. “Maybe because this radish grew in the mountains, it looks different from the ones in the fields.”
They thought of the sweet, juicy winter radishes they ate at home, which were delicious whether stir-fried or in a soup.
She swallowed. “Let’s dig this radish up and take it home for Mom to put in a stew.”
“Okay, no problem!”
The two of them got to work immediately. They found a stick and dug out the “radish.” It was a palm-sized white root. Perhaps due to a lack of nutrients, it was much smaller than the radishes they grew. Tangtang sniffed it; it had a strong, earthy smell.
…
When they returned home with their full baskets, they saw Yu Juanfang trying to chop a large pork leg bone. She had been hacking at it for a while to no avail. She sharpened the knife on a whetstone and tried again.
The bone had been stripped clean of meat. She had bought it cheap at noon. Stewed with plenty of carrots and potatoes, it would be a rare meat dish for the family.
Tangtang took off her basket and presented the “radish” she had dug up. “Mom, my brother and I found a radish in the mountains today. You can put it in the stew with the bone.”
The two children didn’t know what it was, but Yu Juanfang certainly did. She examined it carefully and confirmed that it was, without a doubt, wild mountain ginseng. Her eyes widened in a mixture of shock and joy. “Tangtang… you’re saying you two found this in the mountains?!”
…
The kerosene lamp was lit in the south room. The children were already asleep. Su Huimin had been at the commune for a meeting all afternoon and was only now getting to his grading.
He took a sip of hot water and warmed his numb hands by the lamp. The rural children had a weak foundation, but they were willing to learn. After finishing the homework, he took out a new study document. Just then, he saw his wife walk towards him.
In her hand were six “Big Unity” notes. Su Huimin’s eyes flew open, and he found it difficult to breathe. After a long moment, he lowered his voice. “Where did this money come from?”
Yu Juanfang could hardly contain her excitement; her hands and feet were trembling. “Tangtang and Juesheng dug it up in the mountains yesterday. Today was market day, so I took it to sell. I was thinking it would be great if it sold for twenty or thirty yuan. I never imagined it would sell for a full sixty yuan!”
She was thirty-two years old and had been married into the Su family for ten years. This was the first time she had ever seen so much money.
She couldn’t help but gently stroke Tangtang’s smooth cheek, her eyes moist. Ever since this girl had come into her life, she had brought nothing but good luck.
Su Huimin glanced at the sleeping children. “So, when are you planning to give the money to Mother?”
Yu Juanfang frowned. “Why should I give it to her? Tangtang and Juesheng were the ones who found the ginseng…”
When she first identified the ginseng, she had specifically told the two children not to tell anyone.
“That may be so, but we are one family. It’s one thing to keep the few cents from the tofu business, but this is sixty yuan. Everyone is eating bran and wild vegetables. Wouldn’t it be better to use this money to improve the whole family’s life?”
“Third Brother Su!”
Yu Juanfang let out a bitter laugh, her voice sharp. “On what grounds? Why? If any of the other branches had gotten this money, I don’t believe for a second they would obediently hand it over. You think this is one big, happy family, but who doesn’t have their own schemes? Who isn’t biased towards their own branch? They would all love for you to burn yourself out for the sake of this family!”
“If it were anything else, fine. But that ginseng was found by Tangtang and Juesheng and given to me, their mother. I will not agree to hand this money over!”
With that, she slammed the money into a small box and locked it, shooting him a venomous glare before lying down.
How had she married such an elmwood block!
Su Huimin was angry too. He couldn’t accept his wife’s actions. He pulled the covers over his head. In his mind, his mother, Old Madam Zhu, was the core of the family. A family should share its blessings and its hardships.
…
Rain pattered on the eaves, dripping into small puddles on the ground. The winter day was already cold, and the rain made it even more so.
Yu Juanfang combed her frizzy hair with a bit of pomade, put on a protective blue and white floral apron over her padded jacket, and rubbed some face cream onto her cheeks. As she stepped outside, she saw Su Huimin chopping wood in the courtyard. He had clearly been at it for a while; a neat pile of firewood was stacked beside him, and his forehead was beaded with sweat.
She glanced at him. Although she was still angry, she couldn’t help but worry. “You don’t need to chop that much. Be careful you don’t catch a cold.”
Su Huimin had a weak constitution and was prone to catching colds in the winter from the sudden changes in temperature.
He sullenly ignored her, wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel, and continued chopping.
Her kind words were met with a cold shoulder. She snorted. “No good deed goes unpunished!”
With that, she went into the kitchen, not sparing him another glance.
And so, the couple began a cold war, not speaking a single word to each other. For several days, the children were enveloped in the heavy atmosphere, too afraid to even ask what was wrong.