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

"Shh—" Hu Xirong's older brother put his finger to his lips, glanced behind him again, and seeing that his parents did not move, he continued, "Your sister-in-law and I couldn't bear to see it, so we brought Mom here to see a doctor."

“You know my situation. I have many children and many mouths to feed. My father was also sick before, and we really couldn’t afford a single penny. So when we brought my mother over, we thought we could also take over her land and sell it to pay for her medical treatment. In the end, my younger brother and I got into a fight, and we didn’t get the land. We could only sell a few acres of my own land.”

"God of Heaven, what kind of mess is this! How could I do things like this! Why didn't you say so last time? You sold that land with the crops on it? Ugh—" Ji Manqing rolled up his sleeves angrily, looking like he was about to start a fight, and said, "I'll go and beat him to a pulp!"

Ji Manchuan quickly grabbed him and said, "Who are you going to beat up? Who do you think you are? What right do you have?"

“Manqing, don’t be angry. Things are already like this. Parents have said they will never acknowledge him again and will treat him as if he was never born. I haven’t told Xirong about this, and you shouldn’t either. Xirong raised my younger brother. She has a quick temper, so don’t make things worse by getting angry.” Hu Xirong’s older brother also pulled Ji Manqing aside and said.

Ji Manchuan looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already hanging in the west. He then bid farewell to Brother Hu Xirong and left with Ji Manqing.

On the way back, Ji Manqing was still grumbling angrily, but Ji Manchuan ignored him until a "gurgle" came from Ji Manqing's stomach.

"Whoa—" Ji Manchuan reined in the mule, took something out of his pocket, and threw it to Ji Manqing.

Ji Manqing looked down and saw a square object wrapped in dry leaves. As he opened it, he asked, "What's this?"

"Eat! Eat slowly." After saying that, Ji Manchuan continued driving.

Ji Manqing took out the thing from the leaf and saw that it was a piece of something that looked like a large, dried potato. He put it under his nose and smelled it. He thought it had a fragrance, so he stuffed it into his mouth with a "whoosh".

His eyes widened instantly, and he turned to look at Ji Manchuan. He wanted to say that it was delicious, but he could only make a "woo-woo" sound.

Ji Manchuan didn't look back and kept driving forward.

Ji Manqing stretched his neck, his face turning red, one hand gripping his neck, the other pounding his chest.

"Hiss—" Ji Manqing finally took a deep breath before saying, "My goodness, I almost met my maker. Third brother, why didn't you care about me? I was about to choke to death, and you didn't even turn around to look at me. What kind of brother are you?"

"What, choked to death?" Ji Manchuan turned to Ji Manqing, bewildered, and asked, "What did you do that would make you choke to death? You ate everything I just gave you?"

"What's wrong? It was just a tiny piece, you could finish it in one bite, not even enough to fill a tooth gap. I didn't even taste what it was like, I was just busy pounding my chest. Damn it, I almost choked to death or beat myself to death." Ji Manqing glared at him in dissatisfaction.

"Is your tooth gap like a lotus river? It's not even enough to fill your tooth gap. Do you know how rare this thing is? If you eat one of these, it will keep you full for a whole day, and you won't even feel hungry!" Ji Manchuan said through gritted teeth, exasperated.

"What? That's so good? Third Brother, how come you've learned to hide good things? You've really changed. I thought you were still the same Third Brother I used to know." Ji Manqing exclaimed, "When we were little, you'd steal a soybean to roast, or a corn to boil, and I always got a bite. Now, you're hiding such good things away. Would you even give them to me if I wasn't starving?"

Ji Manchuan sneered and said, "How old is your kid already? Still nagging like a woman, humph—"

"Third Brother, who's making those sissy noises?"

"Hurry up and get going. That was given to you by Ling'er. I don't know where it came from. Don't say anything or ask anything. Just eat whatever you can! Keep your mouth shut and don't let it get loose like a cotton waistband."

"Who's so loose-lipped? Third Brother, what's that stick-like thing you're carrying around your waist when you go out? And why are you so mysterious, wrapping it in a straw tube? Let me see it."

Ji Manchuan ignored Ji Manqing's shouts behind him and gently touched the telescopic baton at his waist.

At this moment, the old courtyard of the Ji family was also very lively.

Under the apple tree, several young women were quickly sewing, needles and thread in hand, chatting amongst themselves.

Ji Yongling stood behind them, watching them carefully as they worked on their needlework, occasionally saying a word or two.

Soon, the women finished making the medicine pouches in their hands.

Ji Yongling looked through them one by one and nodded with satisfaction: "The skills of all the aunties are really good. Every step of the process is done very well. No wonder my mother and my fourth aunt recommended some of them. Now, let's see how the aunties want to take on the work."

Niu Lao Er's daughter-in-law, Gou Chunlan, said, "We'll take whatever work you give us. It's not easy to find work and earn a little money, so who would be picky?"

"That's right, I used to embroider handkerchiefs for shops in the county. The shopkeeper always complained that we country folk's wives had rough hands, that we'd fray his cloth and embroidery, and that he'd drive the price down. If I argued with him, he'd say he wouldn't accept it. Can you believe it!" Hou Manfang, Shuanzhu's wife, trembled with anger.

Ji Yongling patted Hou Manfang on the shoulder and said, "Auntie, don't be angry. From now on, we'll make it ourselves and sell it ourselves!"

Hou Manfang waved her hand and said, "Hey, so much time has passed, I'm not angry anymore. We farmers are used to city people looking down on us."

"I make this medicine pouch for two and a half coins each. The more I make, the more I earn. But I have to guarantee that the goods delivered are the same as today's sample. If they are bad, not only will I not get paid, but I will also deduct two and a half coins for the fabric and needlework. Now it depends on everyone's opinion, how much are you willing to take?"

After listening, the women exchanged a few words with each other.

Wu Qiaoxia, the eldest daughter-in-law of the village head, said first: "This is what I think. Although you only found a few of us, we all have mothers-in-law or sisters-in-law at home, so we want to take more back. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable for us to take back jobs to earn money and leave the work at home to our mothers-in-law or sisters-in-law."

Hengsheng's wife quickly added, "That's right, this way the family can earn more money. Of course, don't worry, it will definitely be made exactly the same as today's sample, I won't make it shoddy, otherwise you'll deduct money."

Ji Yongling nodded. She understood. Things were different now compared to later generations, where everyone lived their own lives, each with their own door closed. Now, everyone was struggling to make ends meet. Those who had the means could dig a few small cave dwellings and live separately as a family, while those who didn't could make do by sharing a courtyard. With more people working together, life was a little easier.

Ji Yongling agreed, "Okay, as long as the quality is guaranteed, otherwise I will compensate you at the original price and I won't be lenient."

Gou Chunlan laughed heartily, "Don't worry about that, I guarantee I'll do a good job for you. Who would dare to throw away money that's already in their hands? The aunties are hoping that your Ji family can collect more herbs and take on more of these medicine bag jobs. It's really hard for us farmers to earn a little money. Several families were running out of food and eating elm bark every day. Fortunately, your family has been collecting mugwort and herbs recently, so you can have a few more copper coins to buy some food to survive."