Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

In fact, Ji Mancang is the epitome of the "big brother" of this era. He has a sense of responsibility as the eldest brother to take care of his younger brothers and sisters. Therefore, Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing listen to this big brother very much, but they are also afraid of him.

However, in the last two years, Mancang took his family to the county to make a living, instead of staying in the village. In addition, his wife, Yue Shuixian, was always afraid that the relatives would get involved with her family, so the relationship between the brothers was not as close as before. But whenever there was anything going on at home, he would always run around and do his best to help.

Today, he brought a piece of red cloth and a pastry to Ji Yong'an, as well as a small packet of tea and a small bundle of dried seaweed to Old Master Ji and Madam Yang.

Grandpa Ji quickly waved his hand, telling him to take the tea and seaweed back, saying, "I just had Yongsong bring things back a few days ago, and now you're bringing more! You're not a rich man, how much money do you have to spend? Save the money for Yongsong's education."

Ji Mancang smiled and pointed to the things in his hand, saying, "Dad, this is a gift from the master, so please keep it! Especially this dark seaweed, which he said was fished out of the sea in the south. We don't produce it here, and it doesn't sell well in the shop, so the master gave some to everyone. My wife tried it and found that it can be used to make soup. Let my mother make it for the children to try."

Old Jia smiled and said, "Brother, your son is quite successful. He's showing you his filial piety; please accept it."

Grandpa Ji took the tea leaves but not the dried seaweed, saying, "This stuff is all dark and unappetizing; we probably can't stomach it. You take it back and eat it."

"Sir, save that one for me, I want it, I want it!"

Ji Yongling, who was originally squatting in the corner acting as the leader of the children, glanced over unintentionally and saw seaweed. So, ignoring the group of kids, she rushed over like a hurdle.

Grandpa Ji looked at him with some disdain and said, "You child, you're usually so obedient, why are you so rude today?"

Ji Mancang smiled and said, "I haven't seen Yongling for several months, and she's grown so tall. I heard she's been very capable lately, and she's been taking care of all the harvesting of medicinal herbs at home?"

Grandpa Ji smiled with narrowed eyes: "This kid has some luck. He'll be able to do some small business in the future. It's just that he can be stubborn sometimes. Once he's made up his mind about something, he has to try it and do it. We can't persuade him otherwise."

Ignoring the two men's opinions of him, Ji Yongling took the bundle of seaweed with shining eyes.

She never expected to see seaweed in this remote ancient Northwest. She was so excited that she almost cried. In her eyes, seaweed was not just food, but more importantly, it was a source of iodine.

Iodine, she couldn't help but raise her hand and touch her thyroid gland.

Seeing this, Grandpa Ji explained to Ji Mancang and the others, "The child has never seen this before and treasures it. Please don't laugh at him."

"It's my own child, what are you making fun of!" Old Jia said with a smile.

Ji Mancang found it amusing, yet also thoughtful, that Ji Yongling was holding a bundle of seaweed and grinning like it was a gold ingot.

Did my niece know that seaweed could be used as medicine besides being eaten? After all, I had heard that my niece had learned some medical skills, so I asked, "Yongling, does seaweed have any other uses? If so, I'll buy all the seaweed from the landlord."

How should I answer that? It has other uses, but it's only useful to her, however...

"Uncle, if the price isn't too high, you should buy them all. These things keep well if stored properly."

Ji Mancang nodded to himself, deciding to go back and buy it all from his boss.

After greeting the elders, Ji Mancang's wife, Yue Shuixian, took her daughter, Ji Yongfang, to help in the kitchen. The women in the cave dwelling were so surprised that they kept pushing them out.

“You and Yongfang are city people now, you can’t come into this smoky cave dwelling, or you’ll get your clothes dirty.”

Yue Shuixian rolled up her sleeves, smiled, and said, "What city people? We're just beggars! Besides, as your aunt, how could I just stand by and watch you all busy yourselves?" After saying that, she went to help scoop out the noodles.

Ji Yongfang also consciously prepared the dishes and arranged the plates.

When Jia Ronghua came out of the kitchen, Old Man Jia was chatting intimately with Old Master Ji about the rapeseed harvest and the upcoming wheat harvest. When Granny Jia saw her daughter come out, she quickly got up and pulled her daughter to see Ji Yong'an.

There were so many children in the yard today, running around and shouting all over the place. Ji Yongling thought it was too noisy, so she offered to tell them a story.

So now she's become the leader of the kids, and under the intense gazes of a group of children, she can only repeatedly search her mind for children's stories.

But she hadn't touched a storybook in a long time, and after searching high and low, it seemed that she could only tell stories from "Journey to the West".

So the group of children quickly became obsessed with the monkey's adventures: the monkey went to heaven, the monkey came down, the monkey fought monsters, the monkey saved its master, the monkey got scolded by its master, the pig was greedy again, the pig stirred up trouble again, the pig was lustful again...

Finally, Ji Yongling was so tired from talking that she said she needed to rest, but the group of children wouldn't let her go.

She swallowed hard, looking at the group of noisy children, and felt that she was not cut out to take care of children. She thought that it would be better not to raise children in the future. Children are such a lovely species, it's better to watch others raise them.

Granny Jia took Jia Ronghua's hand and entered the cave dwelling. The two sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at the sleeping Ji Yong'an, and whispered sweet nothings to each other.

“I see you’ve had a good postpartum period this time, unlike some women who have to go back to work just three days after giving birth. Oh, you’ve found the right family to marry into. Your mother-in-law is virtuous, and your sisters-in-law are easygoing. You’re also very down-to-earth in your family life. The only thing you’re missing is a son.”

"Mother, children are destined to be born. Perhaps I am not destined to have a son."

"What nonsense are you talking about? You're still young, you can have another child later."

"Manchuan said he wants to find a son-in-law for Ling'er or Yong'an in the future, and told me not to worry about not having a son."

"You really have to be careful when choosing a son-in-law. You wouldn't dare hire a lazy bum. Oh, by the way, why did you hire an accountant today? Is that guy from your village?"

“Oh, Mother, you mean the one by the door? His name is Liu Lü, and he’s a good man. His wife passed away a couple of years ago, leaving behind a son. Liu Lü didn’t look for anyone else; he raised the child all by himself, acting as both father and mother.”

"That's wonderful! Any girl who marries him will be blessed."

As the two were talking, Ji Yong'an woke up, and Jia Ronghua quickly carried him off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Ji Shuicao came with her eldest son and two daughters, bringing gifts from herself and Ji Shuihua. They had prepared a small set of clothes and a pair of shoes for Ji Yong'an, because in Ningping County there is a saying: "The aunt makes the shoes, the maternal aunt makes the socks, the aunt puts them on and the maternal aunt carries them, and he will live to ninety-nine."

When Yang heard that Ji Shuihua hadn't come in person and had only sent Ji Shuicao with gifts, she felt a little disappointed, but she quickly masked it and continued to linger around the stove.

As they were talking, Ji Laoliu and Shuanzhu also came over. The old people were in groups of old people, the men in groups of men, and the children in groups of children. The women were all gathered in the kitchen. Fortunately, the cave dwelling was spacious and the courtyard was large, so it did not feel crowded with so many people.

The courtyard was filled with laughter and chatter, brimming with joy and happiness.