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

Ji Yongling, who was standing nearby, also thought that while these hand-pulled noodles were delicious, they were fine for a meal at home, but setting up a stall for them was too time-consuming and laborious.

She suddenly remembered the handmade he luo noodles she had eaten at the Northwest Grand Market before. They were also called "bed noodles," a type of noodle made using a he luo press. Locals said that they used he luo noodles to serve as a continuous feast for guests at weddings and funerals.

The noodle-making machine doesn't involve any complicated physics or difficult manufacturing process. It consists of two parts: an iron mold and a stopper. The mold has a perforated iron plate at the bottom, and the stopper has a lever. After stuffing the dough into the mold, pressing the lever squeezes the stopper, forcing the thin, round noodles through the perforated iron plate into the pot. Once the noodles are cooked, they are scooped out, topped with pre-made broth, and ready to eat. They have an incredibly chewy, smooth, and delicious texture.

Ji Yongling's mouth watered just thinking about it. Since Jia Rongkui and his wife were involved in weddings and funerals, wouldn't using this kind of noodle bed be more convenient, faster, and less strenuous than hand-pulled noodles?

However, the bed needs to be custom-made first.

She thought carefully about the structure of beds in later generations and felt that wood could be used instead, although it would be best if one had the money to make them out of iron.

The people in the courtyard were still talking.

Grandpa Ji said, "In our village, when there are events, the women help each other steam buns and roll out dough. I've never seen anyone hire someone to come and make the noodles for a feast. Sigh, people, you can't compare yourself to others; a donkey can't carry a mule."

Jia Rongkui smiled and said, "Uncle Ji, I only realized after I went out and ran around that, not to mention us farmers, even the rich can't compare to each other. In our Ningping County, the rich usually only have one or two hundred acres of land, which is considered very wealthy by us farmers. But some of the big rich people outside have at least several hundred acres of land, and some even have thousands of acres."

The people in the courtyard all looked on with envy.

Grandpa Ji nodded and said, "This is all accumulated by their ancestors over generations. They were never afraid of poverty or hunger in any era."

Ji Manqing snorted: "They're all a bunch of heartless rich bastards!"

Old Man Jia looked at the sky and said it would be better to leave early, as the sky looked like it was going to rain.

Upon hearing that it was going to rain, everyone frowned deeply. Wheat is most vulnerable to rain that causes it to fall over. If it were to rain or experience a downpour, the wheat in the field would definitely lodging, lose its grains, or sprout and mold, and the wheat would have no chance of surviving the year.

Grandpa Ji frowned and looked towards the horizon. Seeing that the sky to the south was indeed quite overcast, he felt a little relieved and said, "Don't worry, these clouds are moving from south to north, so they might not come down."

Ji Manchuan and his companions were somewhat relieved. In those days without weather forecasts, the old farmers' predictions of weather changes were quite accurate.

Jia Rongkui pushed the cart over and glanced at Ji Yong'an's forehead again to make sure the red dot was still there, because moving house meant "a red dot on the way out, a white powder on the way back." In other words, when a baby moved to her maternal grandparents' house, she had to have a red dot on her forehead, and when she returned, she had to have white powder applied to her nose, all for good luck.

In addition, Hu Xirong smeared some ash from the bottom of the pot onto Ji Yong'an's hand, and then touched Ji Yong'an's mouth with a piece of pigweed, saying that this would make the child able to eat well when he grew up, not be picky about food, and be easy to raise.

With everything prepared, Jia Rongkui placed a peach branch tied with a red thread on the cart before letting Jia Ronghua carry Ji Yong'an onto the cart, intending it to "ward off evil" on the journey.

On the other side, Yang and Jia's mother were engaged in a fierce tug-of-war, with one side saying "one doesn't want it, and the other really wants to give it!"

Yang insisted that Jia's mother take the bundle containing the meat-filled buns back with her, but Jia's mother refused. The two women pulled and shoved each other until they reached the door. Yang threw the bundle of buns onto the cart and pushed Jia Rongkui, telling him to hurry up and leave.

……

Ji Yongning moved to his uncle's house and stayed for three days before Ji Manchuan picked him up and brought him back.

Jia Ronghua had been looking rather downcast ever since she returned from her parents' home. Ji Manchuan asked, puzzled, "Mother, what's wrong? You went back to your parents' home, why do you still look so worried?"

Jia Ronghua sighed and said, "Alas, I only found out when I got back that my fifth uncle's Rongqin had been bullied beyond recognition."

"What's going on? We didn't hear a thing about it before."

Jia Ronghua's eyes were red: "Rongqin's husband got involved with a widow in the next village and wanted to divorce Rongqin, but he was afraid that our Jia family would come knocking on our door and beat us up, so he and his mother teamed up to torment Rongqin."

One minute they'd say Rongqin's cooking was raw, the next they'd say the kang (heated brick bed) she heated was cold—they kept finding fault with her, hitting and scolding her. You know Rongqin's personality; she's very gentle, and she didn't want my fifth uncle and aunt to worry, so she never said anything.”

Ji Manchuan exclaimed in surprise, "We saw Rongqin during the New Year, but there was no sign of her at all back then."

Jia Ronghua shook her head: "She's such a fool. She suffers so much mistreatment at her husband's family, and she doesn't tell her family a thing! My fifth uncle and fifth aunt didn't know either. It wasn't until last month when Rongqin's husband brought her back that our Jia family found out."

"Send them back? They have the nerve to send them back!"

Jia Ronghua was so angry that her teeth chattered. She said, "Not only did they send her back, but they also said they were breaking up with her and didn't want Rongqin anymore. They said they thought Rongqin was stupid. Rong Hong and Rong Kui gave Rongqin's husband a good beating right there and then."

"What? What? How is that possible! How could a perfectly healthy person just suddenly become a melon?" Ji Manchuan raised his voice and shouted.

Jia Ronghua wiped away her tears and said, "When we brought him back, he was such a fool. He would either laugh or cry when he saw people, he didn't know how to eat or drink, and he would hide in the pigsty from time to time. We couldn't drag him out, and he kept saying, 'Don't hit me, don't hit me!'"

Ji Manchuan clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, and said, "This family is truly a bunch of beasts! They clearly beat Rongqin up like this!"

Jia Ronghua sniffed and said, "Oh, that's right. Rongqin was such a good woman, gentle and virtuous, but that family ruined her. Fortunately, Ronghong has a conscience. He said he didn't mind his sister and even took Rongqin to the county to see a doctor."

Ji Manchuan asked, "What did the doctor say?"

Jia Ronghua sighed and said, "The doctor said that Rongqin was beaten and was traumatized. He prescribed some medicine and told her to rest at home for a while. He said she would recover slowly. Moreover, the doctor repeatedly told the family not to beat or scold Rongqin again, otherwise she might have a relapse and it would be more serious, and she might die completely."

Ji Manchuan shook his head: "What a pity. Fortunately, Ronghong's wife ran away with someone, otherwise it would have been another disaster. Given Ronghong's intolerant nature, she would definitely have kicked her sister-in-law Rongqin out."