Crossing Over to Yamada Love

“Aunt Erdan, did anyone inform our family before Uncle Dazhu died from being bitten by grasshoppers? We only found out after he was gone. Even if my grandma had the greatest abilities, she couldn’t bring him back to life. We’re not gods. Since you’re so unhappy that we tried to save him, Aunt Erdan, please pray to the Bodhisattva to protect you from snakes, insects, and rats when you go up the mountain. What if you get bitten…” Mo Lan’s words had barely stopped there.

Aunt Erdan yelled and cursed at Molan, "What are you saying, you wretched girl! How dare you curse me to be bitten! You motherfucker, how could you be so despicable, a whole bunch of despicable and heartless bastards!"

With a "smack," Qiu rushed up and slapped Aunt Erdan across the face. Pointing to the door, she said sternly, "Get out! Last time you bullied my father-in-law and my daughter, I wanted to tear your stinking mouth apart. Today you come here to spew filth. What? You want to fight? If you don't get out, I'll tear you apart and see if you keep spewing stench!"

Aunt Erdan covered her face. She wanted to fight back, but then she remembered how Qiu had looked with the kitchen knife earlier, and glanced at the cold-faced Wang and Liu. She thought to herself: This family is crazy. They fight to the death. Even that yellow-haired girl dares to use things in a fight. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. I should retreat first and settle accounts with Cui from the second branch of the family later. If it weren't for her, how could I have paid so much money? What problems haven't been resolved after that fight with Cui? No way! I have to go and extort some money from Cui.

Once Aunt Erdan had made up her mind, she started muttering, "Fine, I'll leave then. Do you think your house is some kind of VIP? I don't even want to stay here. I won't come even if you invite me again!" She then backed out the door while shouting.

Seeing that there was nothing exciting to see, everyone left one after another. However, after this incident, everyone's attitude towards the Mo family improved a lot, because the Mo family knew how to control weeds. Since everyone had to go up the mountain, if someone got bitten, they would have to ask the Mo family for help. Therefore, it was important to maintain good relations with them.

Liu Dagou and his brothers left with profuse thanks, and as they left, they really said they would send over any mushrooms they picked in the future, without asking for money. The Mo family members smiled, how could they possibly accept other people's things for free?

Two days had passed since the grasshopper incident. At noon that day, the Mo family tidied up the backyard. Everyone was dressed warmly, with scarves wrapped around their heads and necks, thick cloth clothes, and thick-soled shoes. Wang Shi and Xiao San'er were left to watch the house. Led by Mo Quan, the group set off in a grand procession towards the cornfield.

When they arrived at the cornfield, Mo Lan looked up and saw that many of the corn stalks had changed color, and the corn ears were mostly split open, with golden corn kernels sprouting out from inside, topped with brownish-red fuzz.

It was autumn harvest time! Looking at the ears of corn, the Mo family members were filled with enthusiasm. With a cheer, they rushed into the field and began to pick the corn.

The Mohists were numerous, each occupying a row. They would break off ears of corn and throw them between two rows. People in both rows would then throw their own ears of corn in that same spot until they were too far away to reach, at which point they would throw another pile of corn.

The adults would break the corn, while Mo Lan and Mo Mei would be responsible for picking corn into bamboo baskets. Once they had filled a basket, they would carry it to a cart and empty it. When the cart was full, Mo Quan or Mo Changhe would pull it back, and then they would come back to load it onto the cart again.

The truck was loaded and left. Mo Lan was gathering the piles of corn. She didn't try to break them up because she couldn't reach them. Even if she stood on tiptoe, she wouldn't have the strength to break them down. Besides, the corn leaves were very sharp and could easily pull on your hands, leaving tiny cuts. Luckily, her head and neck were covered, otherwise, those cuts would have looked terrible.

Mo Lan wandered around the field when she had nothing to do. Crickets and grasshoppers would occasionally jump over the ground. She tried to catch them twice but failed. She was too embarrassed to ask the adults for help. Although roasted grasshoppers smelled delicious, the Mo family didn't lack food. So, after failing twice, Mo Lan gave up.

"Huh? These are morning glories! They're twining around in many parts of the cornfield, their flowers blooming so vibrantly—white, pink, purple—each one looking just like a tiny trumpet." Mo Lan plucked a pink one and put it in her hair, then started looking for the morning glory seeds. She pulled the vines down, took out a handkerchief, and collected the seeds. In the local dialect, these seeds are called "qianqianzi" (牵牵籽). They turn black when ripe, and are small, but they can cure indigestion. If someone has indigestion, eating a dozen or so seeds will usually make them feel better.

Just as Mo Lan finished packing the seeds, Mo Changhe returned with an empty truck. She hurriedly ran over to help Mo Mei continue loading the truck.

They worked until dusk, and the Mo family pushed the last cart of corn back home. Mo Lan was too weak to even rub her arms; they felt as heavy as lead, and her hands were covered in red welts from the bamboo baskets.

Back in the backyard, the adults unloaded corn together and let Mo Lan and the others sit down to rest.

After washing their hands and faces, the Mo family members all breathed a sigh of relief and sat down.

Dinner was set out in the yard: a pot of braised pork with green beans, glistening with oil, and a plate of braised eggplant. Speaking of braised eggplant, it's not easy for most people to make well. You need to first put plenty of oil in the pot, then wash the eggplant, dry it, and place it whole in the pot. The heat shouldn't be too high, or it will burn; nor should it be too low, or it won't cook through. Let it simmer for a while, until one side softens, then flip it over, continuing until the whole eggplant is soft. Then add some meat, and once the meat changes color, add various seasonings and water. Once the water has evaporated, it's ready to be served. The resulting flavor is savory and delicious, perfect with rice.

There was also a large plate of scrambled eggs, the eggs were golden brown and smelled delicious, a bowl of white steamed buns, and another large bowl of cornmeal porridge.

Wang served everyone porridge. Mo Lan picked it up and took a sip, then tried to pick up some green beans with her chopsticks. She couldn't get any green beans, and she realized that her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She tried to grab her hands tightly to stop them, but they wouldn't listen to her and kept trembling slightly.

Everyone looked at Mo Lan's hands with heartache in their eyes. The adults were used to doing these kinds of work, and although they were tired, they could not do it to the extent that Mo Lan did.

"Lan'er, don't go tomorrow. Stay home with your grandma and look after the house," Mo Quan said softly, looking at his trembling granddaughter.

Wang took an empty bowl, put the food into it, and gave Molan a spoon so she could eat with it.

Tears welled up in Qiu's eyes. She put down her chopsticks, took Mo Lan's bowl, and said, "Lan'er, let me feed you."

"Mom's fine, I can eat, don't worry. I'll be fine after a night's sleep, and I promise I'll be bouncing around again by tomorrow." Mo Lan smiled and tried to make everyone laugh, feeling warmed by the caring looks from her family.

"I won't go to the private school tomorrow. I'll help finish picking the corn first." Erlang watched his younger sister scoop vegetables into her mouth with a spoon, and he felt guilty. Ever since he started going to the private school, he had rarely participated in household chores. He felt so useless, unable to help with anything.

"Erlang, go to the private school and focus on your studies. You don't need to worry about things at home. Just study hard and you'll not only bring glory to the family, but you'll also learn some principles of being a good person." Madam Wang put some food on her grandson's plate and told him to go to the private school with peace of mind.

Erlang nodded heavily, secretly vowing to himself that he would study hard, pass the imperial examinations, and then never let his family be bullied again.

The next day, after selling all the steamed buns and tidying up the backyard, the Mo family members went to the fields to harvest corn. Mo Lan and Wang Shi each sat on a small stool and began to harvest corn.

It was quite laborious to remove all the corn husks, peeling them layer by layer. Mo Lan noticed that each ear of corn that had been broken off had a long stem. She first forcefully snapped the stem off, then shook it off, and the corn inside fell out, leaving only the innermost little bit of husk.

The bad corn was all husked and thrown into a pile to dry in the yard. The good corn was left with some leaves, which were then neatly arranged and woven into long strings that were hung on the wall in the yard. The strings looked very appealing and signified a bountiful harvest.

Mo Lan wove a few and happily picked them up, but before she could show them to Wang Shi, the corn scattered with a whoosh and fell to the ground.

“Girl, you’re still young and don’t have much strength in your hands. You’ll have to twist this a lot to keep it from falling apart. You can just peel the corn husks.” Wang smiled gently as she looked at her granddaughter’s pouting lips.

"Alright, then I'll just peel the leaves." Mo Lan knew she didn't have the strength in her hands right now, so she didn't force herself and started peeling the corn leaves.

"By the way, girl, you said you wanted to make some special snacks. What kind of special snacks are there? When do we start making them?" Wang asked her granddaughter while weaving corn.

"I've been so busy with other things that I haven't had time to make these snacks. I'm planning to make beef stew with bread, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and liangpi (cold skin noodles). These are three kinds of snacks that we don't have here, and they suit everyone's taste. I think they'll definitely be popular." Mo Lan slapped her forehead. She'd been too busy lately and hadn't had time to think about these snacks.

"Paomo? Roujiamo? Liangpi? How are these made?" Mrs. Wang frowned slightly, showing some curiosity about the snacks her granddaughter was talking about.

"The bread used for this paomo is that kind of flatbread, broken into pieces by hand, and then cooked in a rich broth. You can put in large chunks of beef and mutton, but we don't have much mutton here, so beef will do. Later, when we make the vermicelli, we can add some thin vermicelli. Sprinkle some chopped green onions, and serve with chili sauce and pickled garlic. It's really delicious." Xiao Molan licked her lips after saying this, making Wang Shi laugh.

"You little glutton. What about the roujiamo? Is it a bun with meat inside?" Wang asked after laughing.

"Yes, it's a kind of flatbread similar to paomo (pita bread soaked in mutton soup). The meat is braised pork, chopped into small pieces and stuffed into the flatbread. The meat isn't fatty or greasy, and when you bite into it, your mouth is full of oil, it's so fragrant. You can also make a flatbread with beef inside. This one has big chunks of beef inside, it's not only fragrant but also very satisfying." Mo Lan felt her mouth watering just thinking about these two dishes.