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

Ji Yongling carefully looked around and, after confirming that there was no trace of the herb, took the pig feed and returned home.

Jia Ronghua was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), peeking out through the window every now and then to see if her daughter had returned. She was still frightened by what had happened last time, so she had been on tenterhooks ever since she heard Ji Yongling calling outside to cut pig feed that morning.

When Ji Yongling returned with a full basket of pig feed, Yang Shi and Hu Xirong were each picking lice off a black head in the yard.

Ji Yongzhou covered his frizzy hair with one hand, swaying from side to side, trying to avoid Yang's comb.

Yang remained seated on the threshold of the cave dwelling, squeezed her legs together tightly, grabbed Ji Yongzhou's hair and pulled it back, causing Ji Yongzhou's eyes to roll upwards.

Hu Xirong sat on a stool, with Ji Yongning standing between her legs. Instead of using a comb, she used her hands to separate Ji Yongning's hair into strands and search for lice on his scalp.

When Yang saw Ji Yongling return, she tapped the comb on the ground, causing the nits on it to fall to the ground in a white heap. She glared at Ji Yongling and said, "You child, running so fast, was there a wolf chasing you behind the ditch? Look at Yongzhou and Yongning, they know to pick the lice off their heads, but you, a girl, don't know how?"

Ji Yongling put down the cage, stepped forward and handed the Bai Bu (a type of herb) to Yang Shi, and said with a smile, "Grandma, I don't need to catch lice, I'll go find some herbs to get rid of them."

Yang glanced at the grass leaves in Ji Yongling's hand and rolled her eyes in annoyance: "Isn't this just a straw? Can it get rid of lice? You're probably just trying to fool this old woman again."

When Ji Yongzhou heard Ji Yongling say that there was medicine to get rid of lice, he struggled and cried out, "Grandma, my sister has already found medicine to get rid of lice! Hurry up, I'm not catching lice anymore, just tie my hair up quickly."

Yang slapped Ji Yongzhou on the back, tying his hair up while yelling, "You shit-crawling cow moving house, get the hell out of here!"

Ji Yongzhou waved the leaves of the herb in his hand and asked, "Grandma, do you recognize this herb? It's rarely seen around here. Where did you see this herb?"

Yang's gaze fell on the herb in Ji Yongling's hand, and she said with some nostalgia, "Only some older people recognize this herb. I remember it used to grow along the banks of the Lotus River. Back then, when there was a temple fair in the Lotus River, the sorceresses would dig up the roots of this herb, carve a boy or a girl, and offer it to the river god. I haven't been to the Lotus River temple fair for many years now, and I've heard that the sorceresses don't carve boys or girls anymore; they just have dolls dress up as boys and girls. I guess this herb is becoming rare."

Ji Yongling knew about the Lianhua River Temple Fair, which was held every year on the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month. Its main purpose was to pray for rain. Wealthy people in the county would also pay for opera troupes to perform. When she was a child, she had gone to see an opera performance with Yang and others.

She was only four or five years old at the time. She would carry a small stool, walk a part by herself, and then be carried by an adult for a part. She would walk more than twenty miles back and forth just to see a big show.

Ji Yongling was somewhat disappointed and said, "This one plant of *Papua javanica* is not enough at all. I wonder if the pharmacy has any?"

"What's not enough?" Ji Yongning appeared out of nowhere.

"My goodness! Did a dog chew your hair?" Yang exclaimed.

Ji Yongling turned around and saw that Ji Yongning's swollen face had gradually subsided, but his hair, which could be tied up in a topknot, had become a dog-chewed mess with gaps here and there. Coupled with his clothes full of patches and the sleeves and trousers being half-short, he looked exactly like a little beggar.

Ji Yongning scratched his head and said, "Grandma, my hair has grown so long, it's hot and sticky, it's so uncomfortable. I don't want to keep my hair long, and I don't want to keep picking lice. I want to shave my head, so I just tried to shave it myself with a sickle, but I didn't do a good job."

Yang jumped up quickly, grabbed Ji Yongning's ear, and scolded, "You're peeing on a corn stalk, are you saying your balls are too long? If you don't grow your head properly, how will you go to school next year? Look at your eyebrows and eyes now, you don't need to eat, just drag a date stalk and a broken bowl, you can go begging for food!"

Ji Yongning grinned and said, "Grandma, Grandma, let go, it'll grow longer next year—"

Ji Yongling glanced at the kitchen, silently wishing Ji Yongning well. Although she also wanted to cut her hair, she simply didn't have Ji Yongning's drive. One moment he was catching lice for Hu Xirong, and the next he had his hair cut off.

Yang released Ji Yongning and sat back down on the doorstep angrily: "You wait until your mother comes out and deals with you. You're just like that old monk's wooden fish, born to be beaten. You never learn from your mistakes. Your mother just finished disciplining you yesterday, and you're already itching for a beating again today."

Ji Yongning smiled ingratiatingly, "Grandma, why don't you shave it for me again, just like before? Anyway, it's already like this now."

Yang turned her head away from him and said, "I don't care, your mother will punish me too."

Ji Yongning clung to Madam Yang's arm and said coquettishly, "Grandma, my mother wouldn't dare to act so arrogantly in front of you. You are the Emperor Emeritus, the Empress Dowager, the Jade Emperor—"

Yang rolled her eyes: "Doesn't your grandma look like a melon seed? Isn't she easy to coax?"

Ji Yongning turned her head and looked at Ji Yongling pleadingly: "Sister Ling'er, you're the best—"

Ji Yongling looked at his cousin, whose face was still red and swollen and whose hair was disheveled, and found it somewhat amusing. He waved the herb in his hand and teased him, "If you can help me find this herb, I will not only shave your head, but also treat you to get rid of your lice."

Ji Yongning rolled his eyes around and asked, "Aren't you going to coax me?"

Ji Yongling glanced at the cave dwelling in the kitchen: "If you can really help me find the Papuzi grass, I will not only shave your head and get rid of your lice, but I will also let your fourth aunt beat you."

Ji Yongning asked suspiciously, "Really?"

Ji Yongling nodded: "Absolutely, a promise is a promise."

Ji Yongning glanced cautiously at the kitchen door and said, "You keep your word? Let me tell you, there's a patch of this kind of grass on a small riverbank near Chenhu Village, but Tiedan's grandma said that this grass can't be dug up or eaten, or it will kill you."

Yang slapped her thigh: "Oh, I remember now, the older generation did say that this kind of grass can't be eaten, even during a famine. It doesn't grow here, how could I forget! You can't go dig up this grass."

Ji Yongling smiled and said, "Grandma, we won't eat it, but I have a use for it. I'm going to make medicine to get rid of lice. Don't you believe me?"

Madam Yang frowned: "You want to use a poison to kill the lice?"

Ji Yongling choked for a moment before saying, "Grandma, this understanding doesn't seem wrong."

Madam Yang smiled smugly: "Your grandma isn't an old fool, how could she not understand this? Otherwise, she would have lived in vain."

"Ling'er, call Yongning and Yongzhou over to wash their hands and serve the food—" Hu Xining's voice came from the kitchen.

Ji Yongning shuddered and tugged at Ji Yongling's sleeve: "Sister, my dear sister, you have to help me—"

Ji Yongling gave him a reassuring look.