Chapter 5: Bad News

Time flew by, and Jinghan had been in this place for almost a month. She gradually got used to the life here, and from the memories of her predecessor, she knew that the place was called Donggang Village, a small village known for its cultivation of ginseng. Hearing this name, Jinghan was almost shocked. Wasn't this the Donggang Town of her previous life? It was her home, where she had lived since childhood, never leaving it. Could it be that her time travel only involved a change in time, not space? Jinghan's head hurt from thinking but she couldn't figure it out, so she decided to stop pondering it and just treat it as a fresh start.

It was now April, and thanks to the efforts of her father, fifth uncle, and grandfather, the ginseng sheds had all been built.

This season was perfect for planting crops. The family had a little over ten acres of land, which was not enough to feed a family of thirteen. The rest of their livelihood depended on the money earned from growing ginseng. Each year, they could make about thirty to fifty taels from it, which had to cover the food and living expenses for over ten people. They even had to support two scholars, the fourth and fifth uncles, along with a younger aunt who frequently needed medicine. No wonder they were so poor. Fortunately, the family was united, and although the second aunt caused some trouble now and then, overall they managed to get by. The grandparents were reasonable people and usually didn't pick faults with their daughters-in-law.

The Xu family lived at the southern end of the village, not far from their home was a small river, with mountains just beyond it. The Xu family's fields were located on the southern side of the river, at the foot of the mountain, and most of the villagers' fields were also nearby.

Jinghan and Jingya were both carrying baskets and strolling through the fields. This season, shepherd's purse and dandelion were sprouting. Digging them up and dipping them in soybean paste made for a very tasty dish. Northeasterners loved dipping vegetables in soybean paste, and they could make a satisfying meal just by having a vegetable to dip. Jinghan held a small shovel, and whenever she saw shepherd's purse, she'd use the shovel to cut its root from underneath.

"Big sister, we've dug up quite a lot of shepherd's purse. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could make shepherd's purse dumplings for a meal?" Jinghan said while digging vegetables into her basket.

"Wishful thinking, where would we get so much flour for your amusement? Dreaming of eating dumplings when it's neither New Year's nor a festival? No way," Jingya said with a laugh.

"Ah, how great would it be if our family could make dumplings whenever we wanted. Sister, I'm craving dumplings," Jinghan lamented. In her previous life, every time this season came around, shepherd's purse dumplings were a must, followed by another batch with celery once it was in season. The flavor of wild vegetables and those grown at home was incomparable; the freshness made Jinghan's mouth water just thinking about it.

"You, you're just a glutton. Before, when our brother and Brother Lin took you fishing and bird-hunting, you never wanted to eat the tasty things they caught, saving them just for you," Jingya looked up at her sister. "I thought you would be less greedy now that you've grown up, but it seems nothing has changed, you're still a greedy cat."

"Big sister, go ahead and tease me, I admit it, I am greedy, so what?" Jinghan kept her head down as she searched for shepherd's purse.

As the sisters picked vegetables and bantered with each other, their baskets were quickly filled. "Let's go home, we still need to pick through and wash these before they're ready," Jingya said, seeing that the baskets were full, and led Jinghan back home.

Back at home, Mrs. Xue was about to start cooking. Seeing her daughters return, she said, "Perfect timing, I'm about to cook. Jingya, help me start the fire, and Jinghan, you can pick through the vegetables." Jingya stepped forward to help with the fire.

To say they were cooking meant nothing more than sticking a pancake onto the pan and boiling a pot of grits porridge. At this time of the year, with no vegetables to eat, they had to make do with last year's pickles, chopping up a plateful to count as a dish. Luckily, they had brought back shepherd's purse today and for the next while, wild vegetables would reign supreme, which was better than having no vegetables at all. Jinghan bowed her head, sorted the harvested shepherd's purse and dandelion, removing any dead leaves on top.

Once the task was done, she scooped up some water from the jar to rinse the wild vegetables clean, and they were ready to eat. Just then, Zhixin and the old man came back from working in the fields, and Wenhan and Wencheng, who were studying in the village, also returned. Everyone washed their hands, preparing to eat. Mrs. Chen came out of the house and saw the wild vegetables the girls had dug up, and couldn't help but nod and smile, "Girls are really something, thinking of digging up vegetables from the fields at this time. Those boys ran off somewhere long ago. Jinghan, grandma has made you a new pair of shoes, try them on later, your current ones are showing your toes."