Starting a new chapter in life

Aunt Qi's eyes lit up, and she lowered her voice a little: "Your family has only three people, and both of you work. How can you go hungry? You didn't even tell me about this. These days, having relatives in the company is a huge advantage. We lack everything in the city. Life is really not as good as in the company."

Chen Xinyue: "Life in the company isn't easy either. Everyone has to do physical labor. I have children at home, and Haibo is also a brainy person. We always have to make sure he gets enough to eat. Please don't let others know. Some people can't stand seeing others do well. If someone is really jealous and reports it, and they're trying to help us out, and then they get caught up in it, I'll feel really bad."

Aunt Qi nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, I know what's important. I won't go around showing off. How much are those eggs? Do I need a ticket?"

Chen Xinyue glared at her: "Why are you being so careful when asking for tickets? It's seven cents each if you don't want tickets."

Aunt Qi turned to Jing Yan and said, "Jing Yan, how many eggs does your cousin have? I also have a grandson. Could you share some with me? Don't worry, I won't make a fuss and won't cause you any trouble."

Jing Yan looked at Chen Xinyue, who nodded. "Aunt Qi can be trusted."

“Yes, my cousin brought over two hundred eggs, which the production team pooled together. It’s spring plowing season, and the men in the family are doing the heavy lifting. They want to use the eggs to exchange for some money to buy some meat or candy to nourish their families. How many do you want, Auntie?” Jingyan asked with a smile.

"Fifty of my people are coming. I'm going home to get a basket. That's your house, right? I'll knock on the door later, remember to open it for me." After saying that, he rushed home in a hurry. Judging from his gait, he didn't look like someone in his forties.

The two of them didn't dare to delay any longer and quickly went inside. Chen Xinyue explained to her, "Aunt Qi is a nice person. She doesn't like gossiping about other people's business. Plus, given the nature of her work, she's very good at keeping things confidential." She gave a thumbs up as she spoke.

Jingyan didn't dwell on it any longer and told her to go check the eggs on the cart. He Chunni was also waiting for her to come back in the yard. When she saw the two of them enter, she greeted them: "You brought two hundred eggs in total. How many do you want to keep?"

Chen Xinyue calculated, "Keep fifty, that'll be enough for more than a month." She didn't pick and choose, just rummaged through the basket, confirmed the quantity, handed He Chunni three yuan and fifty cents, and was about to leave when she heard a chirping sound. She looked curiously at the source of the sound, "When did you build a chicken coop? Oh my, you've already bought chicks?" She looked curiously at the chickens scavenging for food on the ground by the coop.

"The chicken coop was built yesterday. Sister Gao helped me find someone to help me. As soon as the coop was finished, I went to the 13th Company to get the chicks from Sister He. These eggs were delivered to me on the way. Oh, wait a minute, Sister He and I dug up a lot of wild vegetables on the hill behind the company today. I'll grab a couple of handfuls for you to make some vegetable soup to change things up." After Jing Yan finished speaking, she went to the backyard, took out the sack of dandelions, grabbed four handfuls from it, and put them on top of the basket of eggs.

Chen Xinyue was about to refuse, but when she saw the fresh and tender wild vegetables, she swallowed her words and changed her tone: "Oh, they are so fresh. Thank you. I'll head back now. Haibo will be back soon. We can cook these wild vegetables and change things up."

She turned around and went out the door with a smile, just in time to meet Aunt Qi's face at the gate. She whispered to Aunt Qi, "The eggs are quite big and fresh. I'm going back now to prepare dinner. Haibo should be home soon."

Aunt Qi glanced at the wild vegetables in Jingyan's basket but didn't say anything. She waved to her, went through the gate, and bought fifty of them for three yuan and fifty cents. Before leaving, she said to Jingyan, "If your cousin comes again next time, please let me know if it's convenient for you. If I need anything, I'll come again."

Jing Yan smiled and agreed. He Chunni was overjoyed. She hadn't expected to sell a hundred eggs so soon after arriving. It seemed this business was really viable. Jing Yan glanced at her watch and said, "Sister He, it's five o'clock now. Sister Gao should have gone home after get off work. Let's go to her house and find her." With that, she reluctantly filled a basket with more than half a basket of dandelions and placed it on the cart.

He Chunni chuckled, "Alright, don't worry about it. I'll dig up more when I have time these next few days, and I'll share them with you and Sister Gao. It'll definitely be more than what you dug this time." The two went straight to Gao Mei's house. As expected, Gao Mei kept thirty for herself and left the remaining seventy as well. She said she would tell her colleagues tomorrow, and these seventy eggs would definitely be divided up.

Sister Gao was genuinely delighted by the wild vegetables the two women brought. After a whole winter, she was finally seeing leafy greens again. She happily cleared out her basket, saying, "There aren't any fresh vegetables for a while now. Sister He, if you can dig up more wild vegetables, anything will do. You can make a little money this time of year and bring them directly to my house. My colleagues and I can easily share them."

He Chunni put the money away and nodded with a smile: "Okay, I'll go up the mountain with my mother-in-law to dig for wild vegetables these next few days, along with the kids from the company. They're really good at digging for wild vegetables, but how much should we sell them for?"

Gao Mei thought for a moment: "In season, green vegetables usually cost two cents a pound. Now that there are no vegetables in the city, five cents a pound should be no problem. If you think you can make a profit, you can really earn some income. Otherwise, in another month, the wild vegetables will be too old, and there's no need to bother with them anymore."

He Chunni agreed to go back and discuss it. She and Jing Yan hurriedly pushed the empty cart and the basket that was only filled with rice husks back home. Jing Yan made some egg pancakes and stir-fried some shredded potatoes in the kitchen. He Chunni picked the wild vegetables she had brought back today in the yard, put them in a basket, and also planted some wild garlic in a corner.

After finishing their work, the two ate potato pancakes. Seeing that it was still light out, He Chunni insisted on going home. Jing Yan tried to persuade her several times but couldn't, so she had no choice but to let her go. After all, she was still thinking about digging wild vegetables to sell for money, so she couldn't settle down. He Chunni pushed her cart away, her departing figure radiating joy. Indeed, the power of money makes people feel truly happy.

Just as Jing Yan was about to lock the door, someone knocked. She thought it was He Chunni returning, but when she opened the door, she saw Chen Xinyue standing there with Qi Qi. Qi Qi grinned brightly when she saw her and said, "Aunt Zhang, Mom said you're raising chicks. Can I come and see them?"

Jingyan smiled and opened the door to let the two in: "Come in and take a look, but don't chase after them, or you'll scare them."

"Okay, I'll watch quietly," Qi Qi replied obediently.

Chen Xinyue explained with a smile, "Haibo just came back and asked if Sister He had come over again, which is why we had eggs to buy. I casually mentioned that you also bought some chicks, and Qiqi heard that and insisted on coming to see the chicks. I had to persuade her to come over after dinner. Aren't you going to rest?"

Jingyan shook her head: "Why would we sleep so early? There's not much for kids in the city to play with. We're really curious about this little animal. We'll bring the kids here to play whenever we have time."

"Aunt Zhang, you have five chicks. Can Qiqi take one home and raise it? I promise I'll feed it carefully and bring it back to you when it's grown up, okay?" Qiqi turned her head and looked at her expectantly, her little expression melting everyone's heart.

"Qiqi, you can't ask other people for things. Didn't your mother teach you that?" Chen Xinyue's voice was cold and stern.

Jingyan grabbed her arm. "It's okay. Do you have a chicken coop? Or do you want to let them roam freely in the yard? If you really want to raise them, I can give you two. Sister Gao said that a family in the city is only allowed to raise four chickens. I was just afraid they would die on the way, so I brought back a few more. If you want them, I can give you two to play with your kids. As long as you don't mind that raising chickens is dirty."

Qiqi's head, which had been drooping a little, perked up immediately upon hearing her words: "Aunt Zhang, are you serious? You can really give me two chicks?" Then she turned to her mother and pleaded, "Mom, let's raise them, please."

Chen Xinyue was completely helpless against his coquettishness, so she could only apologize to Jing Yan and say, "Then I'll have to trouble you to part with it. You brought it back from so far away, how much was it?"

Jingyan squatted down and asked Qiqi, "Qiqi, do you want this bigger chicken or the fluffy chicken?"

Qiqi pointed to the tender yellow chicks: "Qiqi wants these small ones."

"Four cents each," she told Chen Xinyue. After taking eight cents from her, the mother and daughter each happily clutched one and went home.

After locking the front door and returning to the house, I found the water still warm from the embers of the fire after cooking. After washing up, I made sure the fire in the stove was completely extinguished before finally going to bed. I had expended a lot of energy today, so I slept soundly.

The next day, she opened her eyes to bright sunshine. She glanced at her watch; it was almost nine o'clock. She'd definitely slept quite a bit. She lingered in bed for a while, stretched, got dressed, and washed up. She washed a small plate of the dandelions she'd picked the day before and used them as a side dish to cook noodles. She also poached an egg. Actually, she really wanted some vegetables with dipping sauce, but unfortunately, the soybean paste she'd brought from her hometown was all gone. Sigh, she hoped her homemade sauce next month would be successful; otherwise, she'd have to ask the neighbors for some—she didn't want to lose face!

After breakfast, she unlocked the gate and, as she passed by the yard, she took a special look at the wild garlic she had planted yesterday. It didn't look wilted. After thinking for a moment, she went inside, filled a bucket with more than half a bucket of water, and carried it out to water the ground. The soil in the woods was moist, so the garlic must be afraid of drought. Feeling very diligent, she happily went back inside to knead dough after watering the garlic, preparing to make shepherd's purse dumplings for dinner.

After kneading the dough, it was already noon. I carried a basket, took five yuan and two jin of meat coupons to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two jin of pork belly. Just as I was about to go home, I saw the grain counter bringing out millet from the previous two years, which was mixed with grit. I asked about the price and it was five cents a jin. Wow! Last year's millet was 13 cents, and it was also inevitably mixed with grit.

The salesperson said this batch of rice was from two or three years ago. It wasn't spoiled, but it didn't smell very good when used to make rice soup, so they were having a clearance sale. Many people rushed to buy it, but not many cared about the aroma. As long as it filled their stomachs, that was enough. Jingyan also joined the rush and bought thirty jin (15 kg). She wouldn't feel bad about wasting it on feeding the chickens, and she could also make millet porridge or rice.

When she squeezed out, her hair was a little disheveled, which showed how many people were there. When she got home, she threw the bag of millet into an empty jar in the barn, scooped out a big bowlful and scattered it on the ground in the chicken coop. The chicks wriggled and clucked over and started pecking at the millet, eating quite happily.

Jingyan didn't pay any more attention to them. She spent the afternoon chopping meat, washing and cutting. And let me tell you, she dug up a lot of shepherd's purse. After blanching and squeezing out most of it, there was still a bowlful left. Then she put the pork belly in. Hmm, she divided it into two bowls to mix the filling, otherwise she was afraid it wouldn't be mixed evenly.

After rolling and wrapping the dumplings, they finally filled a large tray with plump dumplings. He Zhijun also came home from get off work, carrying two sturdy buckets made of sheet metal. Now that he was back, they could boil water and start cooking.

When the two started eating, He Zhijun was surprised: "We haven't even started planting vegetables yet, how come we already have greens? Where did you buy them?"

Jingyan grinned: "Yesterday I went to the 13th Company to buy chicks and eggs. I dug them up from the mountain with Sister He. Aren't they fresh? When you came into the yard, did you see the newly built chicken coop? There are five chicks in there. When they grow up, they can lay eggs too. We don't need many, one every two days is enough for our family."

He Zhijun nodded, "I also saw some scallions planted in the yard, and they're growing quite lushly."

Jingyan… “That’s wild garlic, dug up from the mountains.”

He Zhijun choked up: "Oh, that's garlic? I really didn't recognize it. My wife is amazing. She does so much at home and supports the family all by herself. She deserves praise." After saying that, he picked up a dumpling, dipped it in the garlic sauce, and continued eating. "It's so delicious."

Jingyan chuckled and continued eating: "There's still a pot of filling left. I'll wrap it up tomorrow, cook it, and send a portion to Battalion Commander Gao. We'll also send some to the canteen so everyone can try something new. Chef Lin's braised meat recipe is quite profitable, so we should at least show our appreciation. It's not about the price of the gift, it's about the sentiment."

"Okay, it's up to you."

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and another good night's sleep ensued.

The next day, while Jingyan was making dumplings, He Zhijun washed the tin bucket he had brought back and put it in the backyard to drain the water. He then scooped up some Chen Xiaomi'er to feed the chickens. He had never raised such animals before, and it looked quite strange to him.

The dumplings were wrapped and cooked, and it was almost lunchtime. Jingyan pulled He Zhijun out in a hurry and rushed to the Production and Construction Corps. Jingyan told He Zhijun to take the hot dumplings and go find Battalion Commander Gao first, so that they could catch up with him before he went to get lunch.

She registered at the gate before going to the cafeteria. When she entered, it wasn't mealtime yet, but everyone was already ready and waiting for people to arrive. When she saw her come in, Sister Liu was pleasantly surprised: "Jingyan, it's been almost a month, hasn't it? Why did you come today? Did you miss us?"

Jingyan, carrying an enamel basin, went over to greet you. "Sister Liu really understands me. I've really missed you all. Look, I spent the whole day picking wild vegetables in the mountains the day before yesterday, and I just finished cleaning them yesterday. Today, I've made some wild vegetable dumplings for you to try."