When Qingmu got home, he saw Zhao San, his wife, and Little Shitou sitting in his family's courtyard, talking with his parents.
When Zhao San saw Qingmu, he greeted him enthusiastically, "Qingmu! Where've you been?"
Qingmu smiled and replied, "Just into the village." His gaze then swept over Zhao San and his wife with a questioning look. 'Why is their whole family here? Did something happen?'
Seeing his confusion, Zhao San grinned. "Shi Tou's mother and I brought the boy over to thank Juhua. If it weren't for her that day, our Shi Tou would've been a goner. It took us a few days to come by because we had a lot going on at home, and Shi Tou got sick again after he went back."
Qingmu finally understood. Seeing his father twisting hemp rope, he grabbed a small stool, sat down to help, and listened as they all chatted.
Yang Family was stitching a shoe sole while making small talk with Little Shitou's mother.
Meanwhile, Little Shitou timidly sidled up to Juhua, who was sorting peanuts. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Elder Sister Juhua, what are you doing with these peanuts?"
'Hm! An improvement. He didn't call me "scabby girl" this time. Looks like his parents gave him quite the lecture at home.'
Juhua glanced at him and said, "I'm picking out the big, plump ones to sell and to use as seeds. The small, shriveled ones we'll roast and eat."
"Oh!" After hearing her explanation, Little Shitou started helping her sort them.
He then remembered what his parents had told him at home. Looking up at Juhua, he said, "Elder Sister Juhua, thank you for saving me the other day. I dried those fish myself! I dried them on a sieve, so they didn't get any dust on them. I made sure they were all very clean."
Zhao San's family had indeed brought ten catties of dried fish, along with some honey and pastries.
Juhua saw his sturdy, boyish look and his bright, darting eyes, and couldn't help but find him endearing. After a moment's thought, she got up, went to the kitchen, and came back out holding two coarse pottery jars. She then took a woven bamboo plate, scooped out some of the fragrant crispy rice she had baked from one jar, and some braised peanuts from the other. She arranged them on the plate and handed it to Little Shitou.
Little Shitou had been staring, unblinking, from the moment she came out with the jars. When Juhua opened them and the aroma of the crispy rice and braised peanuts wafted out, his mouth began to water uncontrollably.
Now, seeing Juhua hand him the plate, his little face—for the first time ever—turned red. He squirmed a bit, but he couldn't resist the fragrance of the two snacks. Taking the plate, he gave Juhua a shy, silly grin. "Thank you, Elder Sister Juhua!"
As Little Shitou eagerly munched on the crispy rice, CRUNCH, CRUNCH, occasionally popping a peanut into his mouth and eating with great delight, the rich aroma also drew the attention of the adults.
"Oh, my! What is this? Why does it smell so good?" Little Shitou's mother asked, sniffing the air curiously. Seeing her son chewing away, she couldn't resist reaching out to pick up a piece of crispy rice and popping it into her mouth.
The moment Little Shitou saw this, he quickly turned, bent over, and hugged the plate to his chest, not letting his mother take any more.
'We have crispy rice at home, but Elder Sister Juhua's is clearly different. I don't know what she put in it, but it's savory and so, so crispy. The peanuts are incredibly fragrant, too. I can't let anyone else eat them, there's not much left on the plate!'
His actions made everyone laugh. Kids are always so protective of their food!
Zhao San deliberately called out in a loud voice, "Shi Tou, what're you eating? Not even letting your dad have a taste? What's the point of raising you!"
Little Shitou, still chewing, darted his eyes around. He very reluctantly took a small piece of crispy rice, ran over to his father, and handed it to him, saying, "Elder Sister Juhua gave this to me. It's for kids. It's not good for adults to eat!"
"Hahaha..." Everyone burst out laughing, and even Juhua couldn't help but smile, pressing her lips together.
"Don't eat too much! If you eat a lot of this, you'll have to drink a lot of water, and you might even get a stomachache. I'll pack some for you to take home later. You can eat it slowly, but not too much at once!" Juhua warned Little Shitou, afraid he would get sick, which would turn a good deed into a bad one.
When Little Shitou heard he could take some home, his eyes immediately lit up. He obediently agreed and slowed the pace of his chewing.
Little Shitou's mother clicked her tongue in amazement and asked Yang Family, "How do you make this crispy rice? Why is it so fragrant?"
Yang Family glanced lovingly at Juhua and said, "It's all Juhua. She grinds up dried shrimp, simmers it into a sauce, and brushes a layer on the rice crisps when she bakes them. Of course it's fragrant! And the peanuts are braised in leftover bone broth with star anise, dried chilies, dried shrimp, and dried chrysanthemum. My poor Juhua can't eat any of it herself. She goes through all that trouble, and we end up eating it all. Her father loves it! When Juhua cooks well, he insists on drinking more wine. It's such a waste of money!"
At first, Yang Family looked at Juhua with pride, but her heart ached with regret. 'If it weren't for her face, how many suitors would my daughter have?' Then, she shot a resentful glance at her husband. 'When our daughter's cooking is good, he drinks more often. Isn't that just a waste of money!'
Zheng Changhe just grinned happily. 'Juhua's cooking skills are getting better and better. I've been eating more at every meal and craving wine more often. No wonder the kid's mother is upset!'
Seeing the look on Yang Family's face, Little Shitou's mother understood her feelings and offered some comfort. "Juhua is so capable, she's sure to have a good future." Then she asked, "But why can't Juhua eat these delicious things?"
Yang Family sighed and changed the subject back to the sauce. "If Juhua eats the shrimp, her face hurts, and she can't have too much salty or spicy food either. I'll scoop some of this sauce for you to take home later. You can make crispy rice for Shi Tou just like I said, or use it for cooking fish!"
Before Little Shitou's mother could say a word, Zhao San's booming voice rang out, "Yes, pack some up! Pack some up! No need to be so polite with Changhe's wife! This stuff tastes great, and I want more, but my son won't let me. If we make some at home, we can make a bigger batch. Then Shi Tou won't have to fight his dad for it, right?"
Everyone laughed again.
The crispy rice Little Shitou had eaten was now beginning to expand in his stomach. As the saying goes, "one bowl of crispy rice is like three bowls of regular rice," meaning that when rehydrated, it triples in volume. The snack was incredibly filling, and Little Shitou was starting to feel bloated.
He trotted over to Zhao San, THUMP THUMP, shoved the bamboo plate into his arms, and said, "Here, you eat it!"
His gaze was full of disdain. 'Imagine a grown-up being so greedy!'
Zhao San handed a piece of crispy rice to Zheng Changhe while eating one himself, then passed the plate to Qingmu. He asked with a laugh, "Why so generous all of a sudden?"
Little Shitou's mother chuckled. "His stomach's full. You think he'd give it to you otherwise?"
Little Shitou squatted down in front of Juhua again. "Elder Sister Juhua, I'm going to start school in a couple of days. The village has even found a teacher!" He felt much closer to Juhua now and wasn't as afraid of her face anymore.
Zheng Changhe overheard this and remembered Qingmu had gone to the village chief's house. He quickly asked Qingmu, "Did you ask the village chief about it? Is it true? How much is the tuition?"
Qingmu then relayed what the village chief had said to his parents and Juhua, adding that he was going to help repair the ancestral hall first thing in the morning.
Hearing this, Zhao San guessed that Qingmu was also going to attend school. "Ah, the kids in the village are really in luck. We never had such a good opportunity when we were young. Qingmu, study hard. Maybe you'll even become a Scholar!"
When Little Shitou heard that, he quickly said to Qingmu, "Brother Qingmu, I'll sit with you then."
Qingmu was already embarrassed, and after hearing Little Shitou's words, his face turned red again. He was mortified at the thought of sitting among a group of "Little Shitous"!
Zheng Changhe said at once, "Go tomorrow, I'll take care of things at home! Hmm, in a few days, we'll go to the market and buy some paper and brushes. You can't study without writing supplies."
Meanwhile, Yang Family was mentally calculating the costs: how much for tuition, how much for brushes, ink, and paper, and how much money the family had left to spend. They also needed to hire a matchmaker to go to Liujiatang and sound out that Liu Fugui... 'Sigh, everything costs money!'
Little Shitou's mother said she also needed to go to the market for writing supplies. She and Yang Family agreed on a time, and then she got up to leave.
Yang Family did indeed scoop a small jar of sauce for her to take. Juhua then packed the remaining crispy rice and peanuts into a clean cloth bag and gave it to Little Shitou.
The boy was overjoyed to receive the snacks. As he was leaving, he shouted to Juhua, "Elder Sister Juhua, I'll come play with you again when I have time!"
'Play with me?' Juhua thought, amused. 'There's such a big age gap between us, what would we play? He probably just wants to come back and see what other tasty things there are to eat!'
She glanced back at the plate next to Qingmu and felt a wave of misfortune. 'I put all this effort into making these little snacks, but I can't even eat them myself. Our family is poor, ingredients are limited, and there isn't much room for me to practice my skills.'
'Sigh!' Staring at the golden-yellow crispy rice, she swallowed hard, wishing she could just throw caution to the wind and eat her fill. But then she thought of her face and gave up the idea. 'It's already horrifying enough. If it started bleeding and oozing pus again, even my own family would be too scared to look at me.'
Little Shitou's mother held Yang Family's hand as they walked a fair distance. Then, she whispered to her, "Sister-in-law, don't be so anxious. Juhua is still young! I'll quietly keep an ear out. If I hear of any families with an honest heart who don't care about looks, I'll ask someone to act as a matchmaker. A girl as capable as Juhua will definitely find a good family."
Because Juhua had saved her son, she now saw only good things in the girl and felt it was a great injustice that fate had dealt her such a hand.
Yang Family replied gratefully, "Then I must thank you, my dear sister. Of course, it would be wonderful if we could find an honest family for her to marry into. But if a family looks down on my Juhua, I wouldn't want her to marry them anyway! Her father and I can't bear the thought of her being mistreated. We feel that if she can't find a good family, then she won't marry at all. We'll just live our lives with our daughter by our side."
Little Shitou's mother felt a pang in her heart. She was also a mother who cared deeply for her children. "That won't happen, it won't!" she said repeatedly, offering Yang Family a few more words of comfort before hurrying off to catch up with her husband and son ahead.