Spring scenery in the fields

I lay in bed bored for a long time when I heard some noise coming from next door. After a while, I heard the sound of a door opening.

The two brothers went to the kitchen to cook and boil medicine.

Ji Wenhe put on his clothes, wrapped himself in a quilt and sat up, listening to the footsteps coming in, and asked, "Do you need my help?"

"Sister-in-law. Your illness hasn't healed yet, and there's not much work to do at home. It's fine if we come here. You can rest assured and recuperate."

Shen Yuanshan picked up the washbasin and looked towards the doorway.

"Sister-in-law, are you up? I'll bring you hot water to wash up later."

"Yeah, it's up."

She had already put on her clothes, and if she wasn't still so weak, she would have been able to get out of bed and walk around.

"Okay, sister-in-law, wait a moment."

Ji Wenhe responded indifferently. The two brothers were good-tempered and did not have any strong aversion to her.

Looking inside the house, I thought to myself that this family was really too poor.

"Sister-in-law, I'm going in."

"Well, come in."

After saying this, Ji Wenhe threw back the quilt and got out of bed. The cotton shoes on his feet were very worn out, the soles were badly worn, and there were two patches on the uppers.

It is not warm enough to wear on your feet, and the cotton inside is very hard. If the weather is nice and you put it in the sun, it should be much warmer.

Shen Yuanshan put the hot water on the floor. The table was missing a corner and was unstable. "Sister-in-law, wash up first. I'll serve you the meal when it's ready."

"By the way, Yuanshan, what is your brother doing at the market, and when will he be back?"

"We're almost out of brown rice at home. My eldest brother is going to buy some. It'll take a whole day to go back and forth. I estimate he'll be home in the evening."

It takes a whole day to get to the market; it's too far.

Ji Wenhe soaked his hands in hot water, feeling very comfortable.

“Is there no bullock cart in the village?”

Shen Yuanshan was outside picking up things on the ground: "No, there is one in the next village, but we rarely get to sit there. We always go out before dawn and come back at night."

Put away the clutter.

"Sister-in-law, I'm going to the kitchen."

"Well, let's go."

After Ji Wenhe washed up, he took the water and poured it outside, then hurried into the house and closed the door.

It’s cold. It’s really cold.

It’s still warm in bed.

I scratched my scalp and it was itchy. I don’t know how long it has been since I last washed my hair.

I'm sick now and can't wash my hair. I have to bear it for a few days.

"Sister-in-law, it's time to eat."

It’s Shen Wenshan.

He was holding a bowl of brown rice porridge, the same as last night.

Ji Wenhe took the bowl, looked at the dish in it, and asked curiously, "Wenshan, what is this dish? I see there are no vegetables planted in the vegetable garden in the yard."

In this dynasty, there probably wasn't the technology to grow crops in greenhouses.

Even if there were, given our family's situation, vegetables are expensive in winter and we wouldn't be able to afford them.

"They are dried wild vegetables. They are picked in the summer and dried. They are not affected by moisture and can be preserved for a long time. We can save them for winter."

Shen Wenshan lowered his head embarrassedly, very shy.

"I dried a lot last year, but I didn't store them properly, so they got damp, and I threw a lot away."

It's his fault. It's already humid in the mountains, and he didn't collect the crops in time when it rained, so a lot of them were wasted. I feel so sorry for him.

Ji Wenhe said gently: "It's okay, we'll do it again this year, go and have dinner."

Shen Wenshan nodded: "Hey, sister-in-law, put the bowl here after you finish eating, I'll come and get it later."

Back in the kitchen, Shen Yuanshan served his meal and placed it opposite him: "Sister-in-law, have you eaten?"

"Yes, she has taken it. I will send the medicine to her after she finishes eating."

Looking at the egg still in the cupboard, I asked him hesitantly.

"Yuanshan, there is an egg left. Do you want to make some for my sister-in-law?"

My eldest brother has already given one to my eldest sister-in-law, so the rest should also be for her.

"I don't know. Wait until my eldest brother comes back to ask. My sister-in-law is too weak. Didn't the doctor tell her to eat more good food so that she can get better quickly?"

They haven't eaten eggs for a long time. They would be lying if they said they didn't crave them, but compared to them, my sister-in-law needed them more.

Shen Yuanshan held the bowl and said, "Brother, you can twist the hemp rope at home later. I will go and collect some firewood."

There must be someone at home.

"Okay, the sun is shining today, I'll clear the snow from the yard."

He remembered what his elder brother had said last night.

"Yuanshan, have you brought the quilt to my sister-in-law? My brother said that my sister-in-law seems to be afraid of the cold, so let's get up and bring the quilt to my sister-in-law."

Shen Yuanshan slapped his head and said, "Oh, I forgot."

He brought her some water and was thinking of giving her the quilt, but he forgot about it when he spoke.

No wonder he felt like he had forgotten something.

He quickly got up and went into the house.

As soon as he entered the door, he said, "Sister-in-law, my brother asked us to bring the quilt to you, but we forgot about it just now."

Ji Wenhe raised his head and poured the last grain of rice in the bowl into his mouth: "I see the sun is coming out outside, so I'll take the quilt out to dry in the sun, so I can cover myself with it to keep warm at night."

"Then sister-in-law, aren't you cold?" Shen Yuanshan held the quilt and placed it at the end of the bed, then took the empty bowl from her hand.

"It's better during the day, not as cold as at night. Please take my bed out to dry in the sun, please."

"It's not a bother, sister-in-law, don't mind. Use this quilt to cover your feet. I'll take your quilt out to dry in the sun."

My eldest brother has told my sister-in-law not to catch a cold or freeze again. If it happens again, she might not be able to survive.

"We soak our feet every night, so there is no odor. We also often dry our quilts, so there is no strange smell."

Ji Wenhe didn't mind. Compared to being frozen and worsening his condition, he could tolerate some minor mysophobia.

Shen Yuanshan went out with the quilt and hung it out to dry in the sun.

"Yuanshan, let's dry the quilt."

A man walked up from not far outside the yard.

"Yes, Aunt Lan, the sun is shining brightly today."

Shen Wenshan came out of the kitchen and called out, "Aunt Lan, have you eaten?"

"After eating, I came to check on your sister-in-law. I heard from Rongshan that she woke up."

"Sister-in-law is in the room and cannot be exposed to the wind." Shen Yuanshan greeted the people into the room and shouted inside, "Sister-in-law, Aunt Lan is here."

Ji Wenhe hesitated whether to get out of bed. His feet had just been warmed up. Thinking that it would be inconvenient to stay in bed since someone had come to see him, he prepared to get out of bed and put on his shoes.

"Don't get up. Just lie down."

The people who came in stepped forward to stop her.

"You are sick, don't get out of bed, take good care of yourself."

She is Aunt Lan, Lan Qiuhua, who often takes care of the two brothers.

He is in his thirties, wearing a patched coarse cotton jacket. Perhaps because he has been working in the fields for many years, his skin is slightly dark, and he has a dimple when he smiles, which makes him very approachable.

"Aunt Lan, please sit down." Ji Wenhe patted the bedside, "Brother Shen went to the market and will be back in the evening."

"I know. I came here to see you. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, it's better, but I still feel a little weak and can't lift my strength."

Lan Qiuhua took her left hand and placed it in hers, and covered the back of her hand with her right hand: "Child, since you have come to our Shenjia Village, live a good life with Rongshan."

"Rongshan has been a smart kid since he was young and he can endure hardships. If he hadn't been taken away as a soldier three years ago, his family would have lived a better life than they do now."

Ji Wenhe understood that she was there to say nice things and was afraid that he would regret it after waking up, so she tried to enlighten her.