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

"Meow—meow—" A child outside the courtyard gate was imitating a cat's meow.

Ji Yongning and Ji Yongzhou immediately became restless and looked towards the courtyard gate.

"Grandpa, the moxa wool is ready. Can I go out with Yongzhou for a while today?" Ji Yongning asked the old man Ji anxiously.

Seeing that everyone had been working hard for several days, and that the two young ones had been carrying firewood, pulling sieves, and grinding stone mortars every now and then, Grandpa Ji waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

Ji Yongning and Ji Yongzhou rushed out of the yard like a gust of wind, with Hu Xirong calling after them, "Have fun, don't cause trouble, or you'll get a beating when you get back!"

"I know—"

Outside the courtyard gate, Erdan sniffed and said, "Yongning, what have you two been up to these past few days? Why haven't you come out to play?"

Ji Yongning tilted his head and looked at Erdan from left to right, and said, "Is your crotch no longer itchy? And are the 'rotten heads' on your body all healed?"

Erdan grinned and said, "All better, all better, not itchy at all anymore. My dad's better too, and he asked me to pass on a message to your sister, saying, 'The miraculous healing skills of Dr. Ji Yongling, the benevolent physician Liu Lumeng, have brought life back to Huafeng, giving her a new lease on life. Words cannot express our gratitude, so we asked our son Erdan to pass on this message to show our sincerity.'"

Ji Yongning frowned: "Stop, stop. If you keep talking, you'll sound just like your father, spouting classical Chinese phrases. And if you're going to say this to my sister Ling'er, it won't work on me."

Erdan grinned and laughed.

Tie Dan glanced at the sun and said, "You two, stop chanting like monks and get going. I've already checked, no one's home at Suozi's house, let's go!"

The group of friends tucked the hem of their shirts into their waistbands and then tightened the waistbands with a straw rope, creating a ready-made large bag. They planned to put the apricots they picked into it later, which was both convenient and practical.

The group set off for Niu Suozi's house with great enthusiasm.

Because of a freezing rain when the apricot blossoms were in bloom this year, all the blossoms were frozen and fell off, so there are very few apricots in the village this year. The apricot trees in Niu Suozi's family's house, because they grew in a corner by the wall, were sheltered from some of the cold wind and cold, so some flower buds remained, which is why they produced some apricots.

The group quietly arrived at Niu Suozi's house.

Niu Suozi didn't want to live with his sons since both of them were married, so he lived alone in the old courtyard with only two cave dwellings.

The gate to Niu Suozi's house was closed, and the yard was quiet. Ji Yongning climbed up the earthen wall near the apricot tree, stepping on Erdan's shoulders. The apricots, yellowish-red, were not very big. Ji Yongning quickly plucked one from the branch, wiped it on his clothes, and put it in his mouth.

The people below the wall looked up at Ji Yongning's moving mouth and thought it tasted incredibly sweet.

Tie Dan swallowed hard and whispered, "Yongning, stop eating! Pick them quickly!"

Like a monkey, Ji Yongning ate and picked apricots at the same time, stuffing them into his clothes from his chest, soon making his chest bulge. Then he slid down the wall, and the yellow soil on the top of the wall fell down in a flurry.

Then Tie Dan climbed onto the wall, while Er Dan and Ji Yongzhou below, each holding an apricot, surrounded Ji Yongning, eating and slurping, grinning foolishly.

Just as the group was engrossed in their theft, a coughing sound suddenly came from inside the cave, followed by the faint sounds of people getting off the kang (heated brick bed).

Tie Dan whispered, "Oh no, Suozi is in the kiln! Run!" With that, he jumped off the wall, and the apricots from his clothes rolled off onto the ground.

The group ran wildly until they could no longer see Niu Suozi's house before they dared to stop.

Ji Yongning, leaning on his knees and panting heavily, said, "Tiedan, you—how did you do your reconnaissance? You said Master Suozi wasn't home, but he was right there on the kang! You—"

Tie Dan shook the apricots on his chest, reached into his neck, grabbed a handful, and gave them to Er Dan and Ji Yongzhou respectively, saying, "I clearly saw Suozi leave with his hands behind his back, close the gate, and go out. I guess he went back when Er Dan and I came to look for you."

Erdan sniffed, nodding, and said, "Perhaps."

Ji Yongzhou took a bite of an apricot, looked at Erdan, and asked, "Huh?"

Erdan mimicked his father's expression, looking down on everyone as vulgar people, and said, "Perhaps it's possible." As soon as he finished speaking, he was met with a punch from Ji Yongning.

Ji Yongning gritted his teeth, looking at him with disappointment, and said, "I told you to speak like the White Bone Demon, not like you speak human language!"

Erdan ran a finger along the base of his nose, snot immediately smearing down his cheek, and said, "My dad says, 'Without culture, how can one be considered a person? Early childhood is a precious time for intellectual development; it must be taught early, lest the opportunity be missed—'"

Before he could finish speaking, Ji Yongning and the others had already rolled their eyes and run away.

"Wait for me--"

Soon, the group finished eating the stolen apricots as they walked.

Looking at the sun, they felt it was still early and didn't want to go home, so they sat around under a tree, picking grass in their hands, looking rather bored.

Ji Yongning leaned against the tree, his hands on his knees, and spat out the foxtail grass from his mouth. He said, "It seems like no one in the village has apricots anymore. Oh dear, I wonder where else we can find them. We didn't get to eat all of the ones we picked today."

Erdan sniffled and said, "I know, there's a family in Chenhu Village next door with an apricot tree next to their gray circle, and it's bearing a lot of fruit."

Ji Yongzhou smacked his lips sheepishly and said, "Brother, I still want to eat apricots."

Ji Yongning looked at the group and asked, "Shall we go?"

With unwavering determination in his eyes and a booming voice, he declared, "Let's go! Pick them—"

So the four-person apricot-stealing team from Niujiazhuang skipped and hopped to the neighboring Chenhu Village.

"We're here, we're here. Do you see that house? Look at those branches on the top of the gray circle, there are quite a few yellow apricots." Erdan pointed to the outhouse of a house by the roadside and said.

“Look, look. There’s a big branch sticking out onto the road,” Ji Yongning said thoughtfully, looking at the apricot tree.

Tie Dan looked at Ji Yongning, seeking his opinion, and asked, "Let's go? Let's go?"

Ji Yongning nodded and said, "Okay, I'll climb over the wall to shake the tree trunks, and you guys pick apricots on the road outside. Once you're done, run—"

"I know!"

The group looked around furtively, and seeing no one on the road or in the yard, Tie Dan squatted down by the wall. Ji Yongning quickly stepped onto Tie Dan's shoulders and climbed onto the earthen wall, the soil on the wall falling off with a "whoosh" as he kicked.

Ji Yongning stood on the wall, holding onto a tree branch, and looked into the courtyard. It was completely silent, so he imitated a bird's call. Seeing that there was still no sound, he boldly grabbed the apricot tree branch by the roadside and shook it vigorously.

The yellow apricots fell to the ground with a "plop" sound, and the people below quickly picked them up into their clothes.

Seeing that the time was right, Ji Yongning jumped off the wall and prepared to leave.

“Brother, I also want to climb the tree and pick them—” Ji Yongzhou said, blinking his big eyes.

Ji Yongning frowned and gritted his teeth, saying, "This is no joke!"

Ji Yongzhou pouted, looking unhappy.

Helpless, Ji Yongning squatted down by the wall and said, "Come on, climb up, and quickly pick a few before we leave!"

Ji Yongzhou climbed the wall with a big smile. Just as he grabbed a branch, an old woman with white hair appeared under the tree in the yard. She was holding a stick that was about ten feet long and was about to poke him up.