Divorced woman with child travels through time

The sun quickly set, and Chen Wenfang put the dried meat into the new cupboard. She took it out to dry again the next day; the meat marinated in soy sauce looked so appealing, with a beautiful color. She could just cut a strip whenever she wanted to eat it—convenient and delicious.

The days passed by at a leisurely pace. Chen Wenfang hadn't gone to the market during this time. After the incident with Wang Ximao, Chen Wenfang felt somewhat tired.

Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. Chen Wenfang has been spending a lot of time running around the back mountain lately, sometimes quite deep, because she accidentally discovered a tea tree a few days ago. It was growing very well. Chen Wenfang picked half a bag of fresh tea leaves, but after processing them into tender tea, the amount was too small. So, she spent her free time searching around, hoping to find more trees to make more tea for herself to brew later.

Early in the morning, Aunt Liu brought Shi Tou and Da Zhuang over to invite Chen Wenfang to pick zongzi leaves. Uncle Liu Hai had already helped buy the glutinous rice a while ago, and Chen Wenfang, as always, bought a generous ten jin (5 kg).

As Chen Wenfang changed into her straw sandals, she asked Aunt Liu, "Where should we pick them?"

Aunt Liu said, "There's a slope on the back hill. I remember the way. I found it last year. It's not too far, but you have to go through some bushes and the grass is a bit thick. I'll take you there."

Chen Wenfang packed her things and went to the back mountain with Aunt Liu. The weather had been sunny these past few days, and although it was nearing the height of summer, it was unbearably hot and humid. It looked like it was going to rain again.

As they walked and chatted, Chen Wenfang asked, "Aunt Liu, what flavor of zongzi do you want to make?"

Before Aunt Liu could answer, Chen Xuanyu interjected, "I like to eat plain rice dumplings dipped in white sugar."

Aunt Liu asked doubtfully, "What kind of sugar is white sugar?"

Chen Wenfang glanced at Chen Xuanyu. Chen Xuanyu stuck out his tongue helplessly. He couldn't help it; he'd spoken too quickly and hadn't had time to think.

Chen Wenfang explained, "It's sugar syrup. After boiling and frying, it becomes sugar syrup. My mother used to like sweet things, so Xuanzai likes sweet things just like us."

Aunt Liu said, "Indeed, the tastes are different in every place. I usually make savory ones, with beans or peanuts inside."

The two walked and discussed how many zongzi they wanted to wrap.

Chen Wenfang said, "Let's make about a hundred. The two of us won't eat much less."

Aunt Liu said, "A hundred or so is not enough? I estimate that just a few dozen will be enough, since they don't really like them."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "I wrap them small, so one zongzi is gone in just a few bites."

Aunt Liu laughed and said, "That's more like it. My buns are big, so Shitou will only eat one at most and then stop."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "Then I must try Auntie's cooking."

Aunt Liu smiled and said, "As long as you eat, I'll pack whatever you want to eat."

Chen Wenfang laughed, "My aunt just spoils me. Haha."

Shi Tou was also discussing with Chen Xuanyu and Da Zhuang. Shi Tou asked Chen Xuanyu, "Xuanzi, is white sugar delicious? What does it taste like when dipped in zongzi?"

Chen Xuanyu said, "It tastes sweet. Have you ever eaten glutinous rice? Glutinous rice with a little sugar tastes the same, except it has the aroma of bamboo leaves added."

Stone had never tried it before and was too embarrassed to admit it, so he asked Dazhuang, "Brother, I've never tried it, have you? Is it good?"

Dazhuang was speechless. "I'm your brother. We eat the same food. Don't you know whether I've eaten it or not? If you haven't eaten it, where am I supposed to eat it?"

Chen Xuanyu said generously, "It's okay, I'll have my mom make more later, you can eat with me."

Stone said, moved, "Xuanzai is a loyal friend. I'll treat you to a meal when I have money. This time I want to eat five."

Chen Xuanyu said, "You can't eat that many. My mother said that eating too much will cause indigestion. You can only eat two. If you want to eat five, you have to wait until the next day."

Stone said, "Alright then, you have to save some for me."

Chen Xuanyu said, "I know, I'm a chivalrous hero, I'm very loyal, okay?"

Stone said, "I'm a hero too. I'll give you some rice dumplings that my mother made."

Chen Xuanyu leaned closer and said, "Is your mother's cooking good? Tell me honestly."

Stone said softly, "Actually, it should be alright. I've only eaten there once. You can ask my brother if you don't believe me."

Chen Xuanyu approached Dazhuang and asked, "Brother Dazhuang, did you hear that? How was it?"

Da Zhuang glanced at Aunt Liu and Chen Wenfang, who were a bit far away and probably couldn't hear him. He then whispered to Chen Xuanyu, "It's a bit salty, but it's edible."

Chen Xuanyu nodded knowingly and didn't ask any more questions.

After winding our way up the mountain, we came to a hillside irrigated by water flowing down from the cliff. At the foot of the hillside, the land was a vibrant green, with varying shades of emerald.

Aunt Liu pointed to the lush greenery and said, "That's it."

The children cheered and ran after them, while Chen Wenfang called out from behind, "Slow down!"

As we walked over, several children had already started picking. Dazhuang, probably taught by Aunt Liu, picked leaves that were neither too old nor too young, large and intact. The two younger ones were just messing around, plucking leaves haphazardly. Shitou, completely untrained, picked according to his own ideas, tearing the leaves as he went. Chen Xuanyu, being weak, picked only small, tender, and immature leaves.

Chen Wenfang couldn't stand it anymore. She shouted, "You two, stop ruining the leaves! You've ruined them all, they're unusable. Look at Dazhuang, he's doing the right thing. Xuanzai, don't pick them anymore, you're too weak to pick them."

Chen Xuanyu had no choice but to give up and start examining other things. Suddenly, he noticed several large footprints on the ground. He called out, "Brother Stone, come look! There are footprints here!" Stone dropped the tattered leaves he had picked and went to look. He hadn't really come here to play. The leaves used for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are actually called reed leaves, but everyone is so used to calling them zongzi leaves that they can't tell the difference.

Chen Wenfang and Aunt Liu picked three large bundles of bamboo leaves. Chen Wenfang even took a moment to look at the footprints on the ground. They were very large footprints, so she guessed that people from Wangjiazhuang had also come to pick bamboo leaves. Chen Wenfang didn't think much of it.

I found a palm tree and picked a few leaves.

Back home, Chen Wenfang washed the palm leaves and tore them into small strips to wrap the zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). She washed the leaves again and drained the soaked glutinous rice, putting it in a bowl. Chen Wenfang began wrapping the zongzi. Aunt Liu also brought some leaves home to wrap her own, but their tastes differed, so their zongzi were different too. Chen Wenfang soaked five jin (2.5 kg) of rice. She sat down by the door and slowly began wrapping the zongzi. Chen Xuanyu really wanted to learn, but his hands were too small. He couldn't hold them properly and was quite discouraged. Chen Wenfang, on the other hand, was very skillful; her fingers flew, and she wrapped one in no time. She had learned to wrap zongzi from her mother. She wondered how heartbroken her mother would be now that she was gone. Sigh...

Five skewers a skewer, plain white rice dumplings wrapped by Chen Wenfang, the kind without any filling. Chen's mother used to love making these, saying that plain rice dumplings keep longer and won't spoil if you boil them every day. Chen Wenfang does the same. She loves them, and now Chen Xuanyu loves them too.

After wrapping six skewers, Chen Wenfang started boiling water in a pot to cook the zongzi, leaving Chen Xuanyu to watch the fire while she began wrapping more.