After the arrival of spring, Fire Knife Village beca even livelier.
Because they were busy with spring farming, villagers who normally didn’t eat breakfast stead a pot of mixed flour buns or fried a couple of baskets of wheat pancakes the night before. Upon waking up the next morning, they only needed to heat them on the stove and pair them with thick vegetable porridge and homade pickles, enabling them to eat heartily and then head to the fields full of energy to work.
The noise from the fields continued from dawn until dusk. People who depended on the weather for their livelihoods worked while talking and laughing loudly, their sweat glistening in the warm sunshine, creating a powerful infectiousness that even re spectators couldn’t help but feel overflowing joy in their hearts.
Jing Taihe and Hua Erniang didn’t own any fields, just a small vegetable patch behind their house, so the bustling scenes of busy spring had little to do with them. However, with more people working in the fields, farm tools broke more frequently, which also boosted the blacksmith business. Every day, Jing Taihe went to the shop early to work, while Hua Erniang stayed at ho to manage household affairs and occasionally helped Hua Xiaomai, who was busy making sauces.
Early one morning, upon waking up, Hua Xiaomai didn’t see Hua Erniang anywhere but found a bowl of suspiciously colored scallion oil noodles still steaming on the table.
She knew the noodles were specifically made for her by Hua Erniang, walked over to sll the bowl, and imdiately felt that eating such a bowl of noodles would require imnse courage. Weighing the pros and cons, she decided it was more important to save her life, so she ultimately put the bowl back exactly as it was, then went around to the back of the house to foolishly grin at the chili seedlings, before heading back to the courtyard to check each of the large jars storing various sauces.
About making these sauces, the busiest tis were indeed the first few days. Handling the ingredients and seasoning were of utmost importance. Once the sauces were in the jars, life beca much easier, consisting only of occasional checks to ensure no contaminants had spoiled the sauces, and then one could rest easy just waiting for the sauces to be ready.
The Jing Family’s small courtyard was now mostly occupied by large and small sauce jars, making it appear much more cramped. Hua Xiaomai had so difficulty navigating through them, tasting each type of sauce and nodding with satisfaction. At that mont, Hua Erniang’s sharp, clear voice drifted in from outside the courtyard.
"Co on now, why so formal? It’s nothing fancy, not worth much money, just take it ho and try the flavor. If you like it, feel free to co back and ask for more!"
Hua Xiaomai turned her head away from the sauce jars, and looked up to see her elder sister, happy and cheerful, stepping into the courtyard with two other young wives, one plump and one skinny, each carrying a small food box in the crook of their arms.
The two young wives also had smiles on their faces, consistently saying, "Oh, even a mosquito’s leg is at, a copper coin is still money, how can we accept this..."
"Look at what you’re saying, we’re so close, do you still think you can quarrel with about this?" Hua Erniang half-jokingly scowled and pulled the two of them into the yard.
Having lived in Fire Knife Village for a long ti, Hua Xiaomai had gradually gotten to know everyone quite well. She knew these two young wives; the plumper one was Chun Xi, who had just given birth to a big, chubby boy over two months ago, and the thinner one was La i, who had married into Fire Knife Village just half a year ago.
The two young wives always had a close relationship with Hua Erniang and got along well. Seeing them arrive now, Hua Xiaomai smiled and went up to greet them warmly.
"Xiaomai, you’re at ho?" The plump Chun Xi, who was straightforward and quick-spoken, grabbed her as soon as she saw her, looked around with a chuckle, "Tsk tsk, look at all these jars of sauce in your courtyard, did you arrange all these? Erqiao, ever since your sister ca, you really got a treasure. The silver must be flowing into your arms, and all we can do is watch enviously!"
"What silver? It’s just a bit more comfortable than before. My sister, not to boast, truly is capable, but every now and then she does sothing mischievous, never letting one have peace!" Hua Erniang, while proud, didn’t forget to be humble, half-jokingly glanced at Hua Xiaomai, "We just made lots of pickles recently, right? And there’s also the cabbage preserved in mustard. Go pick so of each, and let your sisters-in-law take them ho to try."
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