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

Grandpa Ji was so angry at Grandma Ji's words that he almost fainted, but he knew that Grandma Ji was in a state of extreme grief and anger, and that what she said was irrational. He could only swallow his anger for the time being, thinking that he would try to persuade her after she calmed down a bit.

However, Old Lady Ji intensified her torment of Ji Laowu's wife. After only two days, Ji Laowu's wife could no longer bear it and jumped into a ravine in the middle of the night.

Time did not diminish Old Master Ji's pain and hatred; on the contrary, the marks on his heart grew deeper and deeper.

He often dreamed of Ji Laowu, dreaming that he was standing there with his new wife, smiling and waving to him, as if telling him that everything was in the past and he should stop dwelling on the pain of the past.

However, Old Master Ji knew he couldn't get over it; he couldn't forgive himself.

However, the county magistrate from back then had already gone to serve as an official elsewhere, and his brother-in-law had also risen to prominence and left with him.

He could neither seek justice for Ji Laowu's death nor avenge him, nor protect Ji Laowu's wife. He didn't know if Ji Laowu's spirit could rest in peace. He only knew that every time he thought of him, he felt a deep sense of self-reproach and pain.

The night was deep, and the stars twinkled.

Grandpa Ji had finished his pipe of tobacco. He gently placed the pipe aside, and the smoke slowly dissipated into the air, leaving only a faint smell of tobacco.

He gathered his thoughts, sighed deeply, patted Ji Manchuan on the shoulder, and stood up, saying, "Go to sleep. Come with me to offer incense to your fifth uncle another day."

When Grandpa Ji entered the cave dwelling, he saw that Madam Yang was still awake, sitting alone in the darkness. He asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Madam Yang sighed deeply: "I can't sleep. I'm thinking of having Manchuan and Manqing go to their eldest and second eldest sisters' houses tomorrow to collect some medicinal herbs and get some medicine pouches for them to make, so they can earn some pocket money."

Grandpa Ji sat sideways on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking out through the straw curtain into the courtyard. He sighed and said, "Let's go. The village's medicinal herbs have almost all been harvested. Many people from nearby villages have brought their own herbs. With me, and my second son and his family, it'll be enough."

“Look at you, what kind of families did you find for Shuicao and Shuihua back then! One was so far away, living in a deep ravine in a river. It would take a whole day to go back to her parents’ home or to the county. The other one wasn’t too far away, but what kind of people were they? The man was a bad influence and died young. The mother-in-law always acted like a rich family and liked to torment her daughter-in-law!” After saying this, Yang began to sob softly.

Grandpa Ji sighed again: "Alright, the babies of Shuicao and Shuihua are all so big now, why bother with this? Go to bed early, and tomorrow morning have Manchuan and Manqing drive the mule cart. If we leave early, we can easily make a round trip in one day."

Yang turned over and lay down, her back to Old Master Ji. After a long while, she whispered, "Why is life so bitter for us women? We are not free to be born, we are not free to get married, and once we start a family, we have to live at the mercy of our husband's family. We can't even go back to our parents' home."

Old Master Ji also had his back to Madam Yang, his eyes wide open, but he didn't say a word. He knew his wife was upset that he hadn't agreed to their second daughter Shuihua's request for a divorce back then.

He also clearly remembered that when he opened the courtyard gate that year, his second daughter, her head and clothes covered in dew, was carrying a bundle and quietly squatting under the walnut tree at the gate. The first thing she said to him when she got up was, "Dad, I want a divorce."

What did he say back then? He seemed to have cursed Shuihua: "You bastard, how can we farmers get divorced? That's something only city people do! We farmers get married for life. Once you marry into the Tian family, you're a member of the Tian family for life, unless Tian Lao Er dies!"

But now that Tian Lao Er is dead, can his daughter Shui Hua come back? And if she does, where can she go? This courtyard?

The three cave dwellings in his courtyard were dug by his father and his brothers, who worked during the day and dug at night. It took them three years to dig them out. The same was true for the sixth brother's family.

Besides, once a daughter gets married, her parents' home is no longer her home. The courtyard where she grew up has become her brothers' home. When a married daughter comes back, she can only be a guest. This is the case in every family, not just in the Ji family.

........

The next day, before the rooster crowed, Grandpa Ji and his wife got up to pack their things, giving each of their two daughters a small bag of cornmeal and a small bag of beans; they couldn't take any more than that.

Ji Manqing yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes. When he saw the two elders packing grain, he was startled and exclaimed, "Father, Mother, are we going to flee famine?"

"Look at your idiot face! It's a good thing your mouth isn't blessed, otherwise how many people would you have killed with your foul mouth!" Ji Manchuan said as he walked around from the back of the mule cart.

Ji Manqing scratched his head and said, "Third Brother, if I get old and become a fool, you'll be the one to scold me! I didn't have time to unload the mule cart last night because I was helping with the birth of the calf. I was thinking I'd get up early this morning to unload it. Look how diligent you are, getting up so early and finishing all the work. I don't even have anything to do."

Ji Manchuan carried down the last bundle of medicinal herbs and said irritably, "Wait until you unload the mule cart? The Kitchen God will probably starve to death! Hurry up and wipe the sleep from your eyes and come sweep the cart."

"Hey, hey, I know, you're not that old, but you have a short temper—" Ji Manqing scurried over to get the broom.

When Ji Yongling opened the door and came out, Grandpa Ji and the others had already put the things in the car. Grandpa Ji said, "Today we're going to your two aunts' house. Your grandma said to give some medicine pouches to your two aunts to make. Please pack them up."

"Yes, I know, sir."

Yesterday evening, Yang had already discussed with Ji Yongling that her two aunts should make some medicine pouches to earn some pocket money. So she had already divided and tied up the pieces of cloth for her two aunts, and had also brought samples.

Yesterday, when Yang told Ji Yongling, she wanted to go to her aunt's house, but Yang said it was too far, and her eldest aunt's house was in a mountain valley. After harvesting the medicinal herbs, they would have to push the cart up a hill. Her father and fourth uncle had to go, so she gave up.

Ji Manchuan and his companion, carrying dry rations, set off in a mule cart, shouting as they went.

After Grandpa Ji finished practicing his stick fighting with the children, he was about to leave when Niu Gensheng arrived at his door carrying a dozen or so eggs in a small basket.

"Brother Ji, let's go down to the fields," Niu Gensheng said with a smile.

"Hmm, go check on the fields. Is the calf alright?" Grandpa Ji asked.

Niu Gensheng, his face flushed, said, "He's very lively. It's all thanks to your help last night, brother and Brother Ji Liu. Otherwise, this little guy would have been in trouble."

Grandpa Ji said nonchalantly, "That's because you're lucky. We just happened to lend a hand."

Niu Gensheng said seriously, "No! That's not how it works. If it weren't for your help, this calf might not have been born. Oh right, I was in such a hurry last night that I was so stressed. Then I remembered that Yongling went to the cow's water gate to check on the calf last night?"