"Dad, don't worry. I just washed my hair outside. It was so uncomfortable before, but now it finally feels fresh and clean!"
Yang Ruoqing giggled. To ease her father's concern, she even flicked the few strands of bangs on her forehead and playfully winked.
Yang Huazhong and Sun-shi were both momentarily stunned by their daughter's antics, but quickly broke into delighted smiles.
Entertaining her parents and seeing the gloom lift from their faces brought a strong sense of satisfaction to Yang Ruoqing.
"Ruoqing's father, you lie down and rest for a bit. I'll go cook dinner. Ruoqing, you must be tired from running around all afternoon. Go rest in your room. I'll call you when the meal's ready," Sun-shi said as she straightened up and hurried out.
"Dad, I'm going to give Mom a hand. You take a good rest." Yang Ruoqing spoke to Yang Huazhong, and once he nodded, she bounced off cheerfully to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, a small oil lamp flickered on the stove. In the corner near the wall, the makeshift stove that Uncle Changeng had helped build was already burning. Sun-shi had just stuffed firewood into it, and flames were starting to rise.
Sun-shi hadn't been idle all afternoon. She had scooped out about ten jin of the fifty jin of rice they received during the household split and had gone to the Changengs' house to borrow their stone mortar. She pounded over seven jin of white rice and brought back the remaining husks, which she now stacked beside the stove.
When Yang Ruoqing entered, she was already squatting by the stove, washing rice. Using the firelight from the little stove, she picked out the layer of rice husks floating on the surface of the water, scrubbed the rice two or three times, then added fresh water, covered the pot with a lid, and placed it on the stove. She tossed in a handful of pine needles to strengthen the fire.
"Ruoqing, why are you back in the kitchen again?" Sun-shi turned around to tidy up the basket Yang Ruoqing had brought, only to see her already holding it.
"I'm not tired. I came to watch you cook," Yang Ruoqing said with a beaming smile.
"Oh, there's nothing worth watching. I scooped a handful of freshly pounded white rice—we'll make some porridge tonight. Earlier today, your Aunt Guihua brought over some eggs and dried chili peppers. Once the porridge is done, I'll make some scrambled eggs with chili for you and your father to go with it," Sun-shi said.
Just hearing about the spicy chili made Yang Ruoqing's mouth water.
But she quickly shook her head. "Mom, no scrambled eggs tonight. Didn't we agree to save the eggs to boil for Dad? Plus, with his wounds, he shouldn't eat anything too spicy—it would irritate them."
Sun-shi paused in realization. "Then what should we do? Plain porridge with no flavor—how can we swallow that?"
Yang Ruoqing blinked and pushed the basket toward her. "Once the porridge starts bubbling, we can add these wild vegetables. I picked quite a lot this afternoon—enough to last us two days!"
Sun-shi took the bamboo basket from her and found a sieve to spread on the ground. With a rustling sound, she turned the basket upside down.
"Oh my goodness—shepherd's purse, dandelion greens, okra... and wow, such fresh matsutake mushrooms!" Sun-shi examined them one by one, her face lighting up with excitement and joy, especially at the sight of the plump, tender matsutake still carrying the earthy smell of soil.
Then she suddenly looked up, eyes filled with worry, and asked, "Ruoqing, did you… Go to the forest behind the hill?"
Yang Ruoqing nodded and said with a smile, "There's not even wild grass left along the field ridges, let alone wild veggies! So I tried my luck in the woods behind the village—and hey, turned out I was lucky!"
"Oh, you child!" Sun-shi was at a loss for words, her face showing clear fear. "You must not go again tomorrow!"
"Why not, Mom?"
"That forest… isn't clean! People in our village always go in groups. Even adults don't dare go alone!" Sun-shi explained.
"What's so unclean about it? At most, the forest is large and misty after rain, making it easy to get lost. That's all!" Yang Ruoqing said, puzzled. "Besides, there are so many wild veggies and fresh matsutake in there!"
"My good girl, just don't ask too much. Listen to your mother—don't go in that forest again. I would never harm you!"
Deep in that forest was an old clay kiln. It was said that over a decade ago, the kiln was still being used to fire bricks. But something happened—no one knew exactly what—and the kiln collapsed, burying several workers alive inside.
Since then, no one dared go near that place. People whispered that it was haunted.
Later on, when a child from the village died young, the body was wrapped in straw mats and tossed near the old kiln. The forest behind it stretched into Sleeping Ox Mountain, where wild animals, starving during harsh seasons, would come down to scavenge at the kiln. Over the years, the forest became even more feared.
Even strong young men from the village would only go there in groups during the day to collect pine needles and such. And even then, they dared not go too far in.
Just a few days ago, when her daughter was seriously ill and barely hanging on, the old grandmother had even said that if Ruoqing didn't make it, they'd quietly wrap her in straw and send her to the kiln through the back door…
These were things Sun-shi had sworn never to tell her daughter.
Seeing how firm her mother was, Yang Ruoqing knew she wouldn't get any more answers and didn't push it. She crouched down and helped sort the wild veggies under the firelight from the small stove.
She had already washed them in the creek earlier, so now they only needed a quick rinse before being chopped and added to the pot. It wasn't much work.
As the mother and daughter cleaned and sorted the vegetables and mushrooms, they whispered and worked together.
The shepherd's purse was a little tough and slightly bitter, so Sun-shi rinsed it again and rubbed it to remove the bitterness. Then she chopped it and spread it evenly over the sieve to dry. Once dried, the shepherd's purse could be used to make dumplings, fried patties, or simply mixed with chili sauce—it all made for a great side dish.
The fresh, tender dandelion greens were washed and chopped. Two matsutake were cleaned and sliced thin. Sun-shi tossed them all into the boiling pot, added a bit of salt, and gently stirred with a spatula before covering the pot.
Meanwhile, Yang Ruoqing was still working on the shepherd's purse and said, "Mom, this batch of shepherd's purse is about done. I'll go back to the house and get the chili sauce Aunt Dayun brought over to mix with it, okay?"
"Sure, go ahead!"
Not long after, Yang Ruoqing returned, holding a small brown earthenware jar—but her face didn't look right.
"Ruoqing, what's wrong?" Sun-shi came over, concerned.
"Mom, look at this jar." Yang Ruoqing handed it to her.
Even before Sun-shi took it, she could see dried traces of chili paste around the mouth and sides of the jar. She took it from her daughter and weighed it in her hands.
"Oh no, why is it so much lighter?"
(End of chapter)