Seeing the spry old woman, Juhua said softly, "Grandma's here!"
'An impression of her grandmother, Mrs. Wang, appeared in her mind. The old woman doted on her, too. She had gone out of her way to find many folk remedies for her face, though none of them had worked.'
"Grandma!" Qingmu called out, a smile appearing on his face as well.
"Aye!" the old woman answered warmly, then smiled kindly at Juhua. "Hua, you've grown taller again! Come, come to Grandma. What were you and your brother doing on the mountain?"
Juhua smiled, pursing her lips. "We went to gather some acorns to feed the pigs." She walked over to the old woman and squatted down beside her.
Mrs. Wang stroked her head. Her heart ached as she recalled what Mrs. Yang had just told her—that this granddaughter of hers had nearly died!
Although the old lady was over sixty, she was hale and hearty. She had a plump, round face that looked quite prosperous, not shriveled like other elderly people. Her eyes always seemed to be smiling, her hair was combed immaculately, her gray cloth clothes were still fairly new, and she was tidy and neat from head to toe.
After hearing what Juhua said, she looked up in surprise and asked, "Aren't acorns bitter? Will the pigs eat them?"
Mrs. Yang also gave Juhua a strange look. 'Could it be that her daughter, seeing how much the pigs ate, had gotten desperate and was trying to use these acorns to stretch their feed?'
Juhua said softly to her grandmother and mother, "I'm planning to boil them in water to see if I can get rid of the bitter taste."
'She knew that all you really had to do was soak the acorns in water for over ten days, then take them out to dry, crack the shells to get the kernels, and then crush or grind the kernels and soak them in fresh water for two days, changing the water several times to rinse them. Then they could be fed to pigs. Even humans could eat them.'
'But she couldn't appear so knowledgeable. She had to "discover" this method through trial and error so her family wouldn't get suspicious. Therefore, she planned to boil them once first, then after shelling them, soak the kernels for a few days, rinsing them a few times before feeding them to the pigs. Later, she would find an excuse to suggest the method of just soaking the acorns in water.'
Mrs. Yang asked uncertainly, "Will that work?"
Juhua said softly, "Ma, how will we know if we don't try? If it works, then our pigs will have food, won't they?"
Mrs. Wang immediately said, "Then you have to try! If it works, all these acorns on the mountain will be a treasure."
Hearing her mother's words and seeing how sensible her daughter was, Mrs. Yang quickly replied, "Then let's try it! Just dump them straight into the pot to boil?"
Juhua replied, "Yes, let's boil one pot first to see. Ma, are these the chicks Grandma hatched for us?"
Mrs. Wang answered with a broad smile, "These are the ones I hatched first. The eggs your mother sent over haven't hatched yet! I figured I'd bring these chicks to your family first, and when the ones at my place hatch, I'll just keep those."
Juhua looked at the little yellow chicks, absolutely delighted! 'She wasn't worried about raising more chickens, because the earthworms were growing so well. She could just mix up some more chicken feed, and they wouldn't go hungry.'
"Juhua, how many acorns should I boil?" Qingmu asked, turning to Juhua after placing the two bags of acorns in the kitchen.
Juhua walked into the kitchen and said to Qingmu, "Let's boil one pot first, to make them easier to shell. After shelling, we'll crush the kernels and rinse them with water."
Qingmu frowned. "It's that much trouble? The trouble is a small matter, but it uses up firewood and takes a lot of time. How can we manage that?"
Juhua smiled and comforted him, "I'm just trying it out first. If the pigs will eat it, I'll switch to an easier method."
Qingmu saw no other choice, so he helped feed the fire, and soon a pot of acorns was boiling. Juhua quickly scooped them out, put them into a large Lanzi, and propped it against the side of the pot to drain.
Qingmu asked, "Is that enough time? Just boiling them for a moment?"
Juhua replied, "Not yet. Blanching them in boiling water like this just makes them easier to shell. After they're shelled and crushed, we still have to soak them in water."
Qingmu carried the large Lanzi of acorns into the yard and poured them onto the ground. He also brought over a small hammer and a wooden board. Juhua brought out two small stools and a pair of scissors, in case some were too difficult to peel and needed to be cut open.
The two of them sat down to shell the acorns. When Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Wang saw them, they came over to help.
Qingmu placed an acorn on the wooden board, gently tapped it open with the hammer, and tossed it aside. Juhua, Mrs. Yang, and her grandmother were in charge of peeling them. Working together, they made quick work of the task.
As they worked, Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Wang chatted idly.
"If we can raise these three pigs well, we'll get a few more next year." Mrs. Yang was very hopeful about the future.
Mrs. Wang laughed. "Isn't that the truth! You can earn good money raising pigs! In our village, there's Liu Fugui—his daughter is very capable. She got three pigs at the end of last year, and they're all over a hundred catties now. By the last month of the year, they'll probably be close to two hundred catties. Pork prices are about twenty cents a catty now, so one pig could probably sell for three or four taels of Silver!"
Mrs. Yang clicked her tongue in amazement. "That much? What do they feed their pigs?"
Mrs. Wang said admiringly, "Why else would I say his daughter is so capable! That girl works from dawn till dusk. She puts down her hoe and picks up her needle. She gathers pigweed, clears land to plant sweet potatoes and Huangdou, and then she chops up the sweet potato vines and Huangdou stalks with a fodder knife and mixes them with rice bran to feed the pigs. Liu Fugui and his wife are the type who wouldn't fart if you hit them with a club three times—the whole household depends on that daughter to run things!"
Mrs. Yang's interest was piqued. She asked, "Ma, how old is his daughter?"
Mrs. Wang glanced at Qingmu, who was busy with his head down, and understood what Mrs. Yang was getting at. She explained in detail, "She turned fifteen this year. She's pretty, too, and has a very gentle and considerate nature. She always greets people with a smile. She's also filial and always rushes to do the work, afraid of tiring out her parents. She's truly got a silver tongue and a pair of skilled hands! Everyone in the village praises her. The matchmakers who come to propose marriage have to form a line. But Liu Fugui refuses to budge, saying he can't bear to part with her and wants to keep her for a few more years. It's understandable. If that girl gets married off, his family's fortunes will be cut in half. His son has been spoiled rotten by his wife and doesn't have half his sister's ability. He's not someone who can support the family. Tell me, how can two children from the same womb be so different?"
Mrs. Yang was exceptionally tempted, but then she thought about her own family's poor situation and wondered if the other family would look down on them. So, she asked, "Does their family have any requirements? For example, regarding family status or the betrothal gift."
Mrs. Wang replied, "Although that Liu Fugui is a simple and honest man, he truly dotes on his daughter and isn't looking to trade her for money. He said that as long as the boy is good and his daughter takes a liking to him, it's fine." In truth, this was the very reason Mrs. Wang had come today. She wanted to arrange a match between this fine girl and her own grandson, so she was dropping hints for her daughter.
Just as expected, Mrs. Yang was delighted to hear this and secretly resolved to ask a matchmaker to go and propose a match. She was very confident. When it came to a person's quality, who could compare to her son? But then she glanced at Juhua, who was looking down, and her heart softened. She shot her mother a meaningful look.
Mrs. Wang quickly fell silent, silently blaming herself for being careless. 'She should have avoided talking about things like marriage and looks in front of her granddaughter—this was just twisting a knife in her heart!'
Juhua, however, seemed oblivious and was listening with great interest. She glanced at her brother and saw that the tips of his ears were red. She couldn't help but lower her head and hide a smile. 'She wondered if Liu Fugui's daughter was really as wonderful as her grandmother described.'
Qingmu, for his part, secretly glanced at Juhua and made a firm resolution in his heart: 'No matter whose daughter she is, if she looks down on my sister, I don't want her, no matter how capable or pretty she is.'
To keep Juhua from feeling upset, Mrs. Wang changed the subject to her own sons and daughters-in-law. She said to Mrs. Yang, "Your eldest brother is preparing to send Laifu to learn carpentry. He'll be apprenticed to Wang Jinhua of Old Wang Village, and they'll perform the kowtow and present the apprenticeship gift in a few days. He and Laixi also want to open a general store in Xiatang Market, mainly selling things woven from bamboo strips and some items from the local kilns—things like rice baskets, bamboo hampers, dustpans, sieves, and washing baskets. Basically, anything woven from bamboo. They've already contacted the bamboo weavers to supply them."
Mrs. Yang said quickly, "Oh, you'll have to have a big celebration for the grand opening. Have they set a date?"
Mrs. Wang sighed. "How could it be that fast! They have to find a storefront, and after they find one, they have to stock it. It'll take some time. They're a bit tight on Silver Coin too. They had originally arranged to borrow some Silver from your second brother, but for some reason, your second sister-in-law is dead set against it. She says they need to send Laicai to school, so the money can't be touched!"
Mrs. Yang grumbled, "She just doesn't want to lend it! It's not like you pay for all the years of school at once. You just pay the tuition one year at a time!" Then she added, ashamed, "My family's situation is so wretched, otherwise we could have helped Eldest Brother out."
Mrs. Wang said, "Look at you, what's the use in overthinking it? Who stays poor forever? Qingmu and Juhua are grown up now, and they're both obedient. As long as you all work hard for a couple of years, life will surely get better."
She continued, "Truth is, your second sister-in-law is just petty. She doesn't stop to think, if your eldest brother's store does well, would he not help his own brother? School is a good thing, of course. It's always good to be literate. But she doesn't even consider whether Laicai is cut out for it. If you ask me, among all the children of our younger generation, besides Qingmu and Juhua, none of the others are suited for studying."
Hearing their grandmother praise them, Qingmu and Juhua couldn't help but look at each other and smile.
Mrs. Yang felt even more ashamed. She said somberly, "It's all because their father and I are useless. We don't have the money to send the children to school."
An idea sparked in Juhua's mind, and she interjected, "Ma, after we sell the pigs next year, let's have Brother go to school. It's a bit late, but it's not like we need him to become a Champion Scholar. It's just so he can become literate and broaden his horizons. Besides, he's not that old."
'Once Qingmu becomes literate, she could become literate too. She could find some books to read and wouldn't have to pretend to be a simple-minded girl anymore. To this day, she still hadn't even figured out what kind of place this was! Ancient China? A Different Space-Time? The villagers didn't even know who the Emperor was, and she didn't dare to ask.'
Qingmu looked at his sister in astonishment. 'I'm already this old, and she says I'm not that old? What's there to study? Besides, how could the family manage without me?'