Lotus Root: I’d rather have only one blanket.
When such a thing happened, the village and commune officials gathered for a meeting, discussing how to handle the situation.
Although the intention was to take revenge on Sister Shun, the fact that Jin Lao San (Old 3rd Jin) set fire to village property was serious. If he had succeeded, the consequences would have been disastrous.
“This must be handled sternly!!!”
However, the Jin family refused to agree, saying, “What if they are framing Jin Lao San together?”
“We’ve already asked around at the commune. The alcohol was indeed bought by your Lao San. Do you still want to deny it?”
“We absolutely cannot let him off easily!”
“Arguments between villagers happen all the time. They fight over matches, over fetching water, and we’ve seen plenty of brawls, but it’s usually just minor injuries. But look at this now, is arson a small matter?”
“Today he burns their house, tomorrow it could be yours. Are you willing to be burned alive?”
…
After the discussion, the village officials decided to send Jin Lao San and Wang Tongqian to the commune’s labour camp. No matter how much Qin Houying cried and protested, it was no use. Now that her husband was sent to the labour camp, and her son had injured his head, she was filled with rage and ready for a final, destructive showdown with her enemies.
But the elders of the Jin family stopped her.
“Qin Houying, if you dare cause more trouble, you’ll be sent back to your mother’s home.”
“As an elder of the Jin family, I declare your marriage to Jin Lao San annulled.”
“You have no sense of decency and bring disaster to the family. The Jin family must have had bad luck for eight generations to have married someone like you.”
…
The situation with the Jin family eventually settled down, and no one sympathized with Qin Houying. Her son, Jin Jiabao, was also disliked, and he hadn’t caused any more trouble for other families recently.
Since no one had died in the incident, the Jin family was left to suffer the consequences of their actions, and the whole matter soon became a topic of idle gossip at mealtimes.
Sister Shun, however, was troubled to the point that she gained a few grey hairs, despite Su Xiaoman’s efforts to console her.
“Sister Shun, you’re not the one in the wrong.”
Sister Shun sighed, “I need to change my ways. The harvests between the village groups cannot be too disparate. We must help those who fall behind, or it will lead to trouble.”
Su Xiaoman nodded, then shook her head, thinking to herself that in a society based on personal connections, rural folks value face more than life itself. Jealousy and disputes are inevitable.
You need to stay vigilant.
She couldn’t help but think of Xie Mingtu and was grateful he had known about this matter in advance. Otherwise, the losses would have been huge.
What a sharp dog-like radar he was.
To thank him, Sister Shun gifted the couple a silk quilt. Su Xiaoman didn’t want to accept it at first, but Sister Shun insisted.
“Take it. If a fire had burned everything, it all would’ve been destroyed.”
“We’re fated to know each other, so it’s only right for me to give this to you.”
“This silk quilt is my wish for you two to have a long and happy marriage.”
Xie Mingtu was quite pleased when he heard this. He happily carried the quilt back to the Zhou household. But ironically, now that they had an extra quilt, he and Su Xiaoman could each sleep under their own.
…Each with their own quilt???!!!
Su Xiaoman put a cover on the silk quilt. It was made from top-quality silk and felt soft and warm, making it hard to let go. Sleeping under such a quilt would surely be a comfortable experience.
She pretended to be generous, pushing the quilt toward Xie Mingtu, and pulled over the old cotton one from the Zhou family. “Sister Shun gave this as thanks to you, so you should use it tonight.”
Xie’s heart ached as if it were bleeding. Holding back his pain, he pushed the quilt back toward her and muttered, “Manman should use it.”
Su Xiaoman didn’t argue further and, with a shameless grin, accepted the luxurious quilt, wrapping herself in its soft folds.
Compared to the heavy cotton quilt, the light and dry silk one was much more comfortable.
For now, she would enjoy it.
She turned to Xie Mingtu and said, “In the future, I’ll make you a silk quilt too!”
That was a promise on credit.
Su Xiaoman thought to herself that she would definitely repay that debt.
Xie Mingtu lay on his side in bed, covered with a cold, stiff cotton quilt. He didn’t feel comforted at all; instead, he felt even more dejected.
He didn’t want Manman to make him so many quilts.
He would rather have just one quilt.
“They’re harvesting lotus roots! Lotus root harvest!”
“Great harvest!”
Harvesting lotus roots was always a lively time in the village. During such times, the village cooperatively planted and harvested, and no matter what the product was, everyone in the village celebrated together. Whether it was picking persimmons, gathering jujubes, harvesting lotus roots, or dividing pumpkins, on the day of the harvest, everyone could enjoy a hearty meal.
Su Xiaoman, along with a group of people, followed the villagers to dig lotus roots. At times like this, it was a village-wide mobilization, and most people came. In this group, there were Su Xiaoman, Zhao Qingqing, He Liang, Jiang Yantang, Grandpa Chen, Zhang Lili, and Tang Jianqiang, but only Xie Mingtu was absent.
Xie Mingtu was in the county helping with transportation, expanding his small savings. Su Xiaoman wasn’t quite sure how much money he had made recently.
“Watch out for leeches,” Zhao Qingqing warned as she rolled up her pant legs to her knees and stepped into the water. After taking a few steps, she realized rolling them up was pointless; it was better to just let them get soaked in the lotus pond.
“There are loaches, fish, and crabs! Oh my gosh!”
“I can’t catch them!”
“Dig out the lotus roots!”
“Ahhh! Leeches! Leeches!!!”
Zhao Qingqing had been living a good life these days, finding it much easier than working in the Qinghe Brigade. Though she was busy collecting mulberry leaves and feeding silkworms and fish, it was still more comfortable than doing farm labour.
She envied the female educated youth here for not having to do much hard labour.
“Why isn’t that Xie kid here?” He Liang grumbled, feeling resentful. He wanted to join in the transportation work, but they wouldn’t take him.
He Liang couldn’t stand the fact that a poor kid he looked down on was doing better than him in everything. Now that Xie didn’t even have to dig lotus roots, driving around in style, He Liang was even more annoyed.
He glanced disdainfully at the lotus pond, unwilling to go in, so he wandered around nearby and picked up a clean lotus root, taking a big bite.
Jiang Yantang focused on the task at hand, piling the dug-up lotus roots on the shore. Zhang Lili, standing by the shore, called out to him, “Comrade Jiang, do you want some water?”
Jiang Yantang shook his head.
Zhang Lili’s face lit up with excitement. These past few days, she had been living at the educated youth point with Jiang Yantang. The educated youth here were cultured, and life was refined. They knew how to enjoy themselves better than ordinary villagers, organizing activities, telling stories, reciting poetry, giving speeches, and singing songs.
During these activities, Zhang Lili had grown much closer to Jiang Yantang, often seeking his guidance in her studies.
Looking back, Zhang Lili realized she had been blind to ever like He Liang. She had been a naive country girl, tricked by a scumbag like him.
Now, she found He Liang utterly unworthy of her attention.
Since her rebirth, the more Zhang Lili interacted with Jiang Yantang, the more she admired his knowledge. He was truly an outstanding and charismatic person. No wonder Su Xiaoman had tried so hard to cling to him.
Luckily, this time, Su Xiaoman didn’t succeed.
What puzzled Zhang Lili was that ever since Su Xiaoman married Xie Mingtu, she seemed to have changed a lot. She no longer had feelings for Comrade Jiang and even declared publicly that she intended to live a good life with Xie Mingtu.
Zhang Lili initially suspected that Su Xiaoman was hiding something. How could she sincerely settle down with someone like Xie Mingtu, a poor kid she had always despised? Surely, she would continue to pester Jiang Yantang…
But that wasn’t the case at all. To make things more surprising, just a few days ago, Xie Mingtu, after cutting his hair and shaving his beard, looked shockingly different!!!
— Xie Mingtu turned out to be incredibly handsome!
Both Zhang Lili and Zhao Qingqing now felt they understood the reason for Su Xiaoman’s change.
Su Xiaoman must like good-looking men. Say what you will about Xie Mingtu, but in terms of appearance… he was indeed better looking than Comrade Jiang.
Aside from his looks, though, Xie Mingtu couldn’t compare to Jiang Yantang at all!
Comrade Jiang came from a good family, had excellent knowledge, and was outstanding in every way. Compared to him, Xie Mingtu they are like heaven and earth. Even if Xie Mingtu was more handsome, how could someone choose a partner based on looks alone?
Su Xiaoman was so shallow.
She belonged with someone like Xie Mingtu, making a typical rural couple.
Zhang Lili had already made up her mind. She would take the college entrance exams, become a public school teacher, and live as a city person with a secure government job and guaranteed food.
Su Xiaoman wore a straw hat borrowed from Zhou Xiaofeng, with a beige ribbon tied around the brim. Her leg had healed, and she rolled up her pant legs, stepping into the lotus pond with Zhou Xiaofeng to dig for lotus roots.
The water in the lotus pond shimmered and reflected her delicate features.
She stepped barefoot into the mud. The soft silt beneath her feet sank about ten centimeters with each step, feeling squishy and yielding. Occasionally, a small fish darted mischievously around her calves.
“Be careful, don’t fall. If you do, you’ll be covered in mud,” Zhou Xiaofeng, who was wearing another straw hat, reminded her as she bent over and dug out a mud-covered lotus root, cleaned it, broke it apart, and pulled out the glistening lotus threads. The snow-white, crispy lotus root was juicy and refreshing.
“This one is crispy, and the ones over there are starchy, better for soup.”
Su Xiaoman, with her sharp eyes, spotted a bit of red on Zhou Xiaofeng’s wrist. “There’s a leech on your hand!”
Zhou Xiaofeng remained calm and casually grabbed the leech by its tail, pulling it out alive.
Su Xiaoman: “…”
She figured there was nothing for her to worry about anymore.
She lowered her head and continued working alongside Zhou Xiaofeng. The autumn sun was still blazing, but being in the water softened the heat of the autumn sun, also known as the “autumn tiger.”
Su Xiaoman found digging up lotus roots to be very interesting.
Especially since it was free.
She thought of how, decades later, city people would pay to go to the countryside to experience farm life, with all kinds of activities. They’d pay 20 yuan to plant rice, or 50 yuan for a day of fishing…
If people from this era knew someone would pay 20 yuan just to plant rice, they would surely think that person was out of their mind.
“The kids over there are smoking out rats from the haystacks. Xiaoman, do you want to go see?”
In these times, even rats were considered meat. Catch one, and it’s a win.
Su Xiaoman shook her head, uninterested in watching the kids chase after rats.
Jiang Yantang set down his work, feeling a bit tired after working for over an hour. He washed the mud off his wrists in the lotus pond, pulled out his notebook, and couldn’t resist picking up his pen to scribble something down.
Zhang Lili quietly peeked over to see what he was writing, only to find a sketch of Su Xiaoman’s profile in his notebook.
The drawing showed her wearing a straw hat, with a slight smile on her face, as if she were talking to someone.
Zhang Lili’s expression immediately changed.
Jiang Yantang quickly put away his notebook, unwilling to let anyone see it. He tucked it aside and went back to digging lotus roots.
Zhao Qingqing happened to witness this scene and couldn’t help but laugh, teasing from the side, “Looks like Comrade Jiang has someone in his heart. I’m truly happy for him.”
Zhang Lili’s face turned even darker.
Zhao Qingqing had long noticed that Zhang Lili had a thing for Comrade Jiang, but unfortunately for her, Comrade Jiang wasn’t interested. Yet, Zhang Lili still hovered around like a fly drawn to dung, buzzing incessantly.
Zhao Qingqing didn’t think much of Zhang Lili. After all, she used to be sweet on He Liang, exchanging vows in private, only for Zhao Qingqing to catch them in the act. Now, she had moved on and set her sights on Jiang Yantang.
Zhao Qingqing figured that back then, Zhang Lili probably thought she couldn’t compete with Su Xiaoman, who was passionately pursuing Jiang Yantang, so she settled for He Liang among the educated youth. But after Su Xiaoman was forced to marry Xie Mingtu and seemed to accept her fate, Zhang Lili suddenly shifted her focus to Jiang Yantang. What a shameless woman.
Zhao Qingqing used to look down on Su Xiaoman for chasing after Jiang Yantang, but now that Su Xiaoman was sincerely trying to live a good life with ie Mingtu, Zhao Qingqing had gained some respect for her.
As for… He Liang.
Zhao Qingqing had no time for that jerk. Not too long ago, he acted as if he was deeply in love with Zhang Lili, but these past couple of days, he had been thriving in the village.
He Liang had met a beautiful girl named Zhou Xiaohong, who was said to be the most beautiful girl in the village, delicate and lovely, and a member of the Zhou family. Ever since meeting her, He Liang had been smitten, openly showing off in front of her, playing the harmonica, and reciting pretentious poems while Zhou Xiaohong gazed at him with admiration.
The sight made Zhao Qingqing sick to her stomach.
Zhao Qingqing had tried asking around about Zhou Xiaohong, but when the other educated youth heard her name, they only gave her knowing looks, refusing to say more.
She then asked the villagers, who simply said, “Xiaohong is a pretty, gentle girl.”
But the way they said it made Zhao Qingqing feel uneasy, as if they weren’t telling the whole truth.
Something was definitely off.
Out of concern and a love for gossip, Zhao Qingqing warned He Liang to be cautious and not get too caught up in the relationship.
But He Liang, with his heart ablaze, declared without hesitation, “After spending these past days together, I’ve fallen in love with the pure and kind Xiaohong.”
“She is my muse.”
“Zhao Qingqing, don’t be jealous of her just because she’s prettier than you.”
“In my eyes, she has no flaws.”
Zhao Qingqing: “…”
After seeing this much of the spectacle, Zhao Qingqing felt she couldn’t watch any longer. She quietly stayed on the side-lines, waiting to see how this relationship between the two would end.
Would Zhou Xiaohong agree to marry He Liang and leave with him? Or would He Liang stay here and become a live-in son-in-law? Or maybe the two would eventually break up and go their separate ways.
But watching He Liang and Zhou Xiaohong interact, flattering each other back and forth, it seemed these two were a perfect match.
“They really seem made for each other,” thought Zhao Qingqing.
Zhou Xiaofeng couldn’t resist asking Su Xiaoman about it, “It looks like Zhou Xiaohong is getting close to your comrade He Liang… What do you think of him?”
Su Xiaoman replied, “I don’t really know him well. I just heard he used to be close with Zhang Lili, but then they split up.”
“Really?”
They didn’t talk much more about it. After helping with the lotus root harvest, they took Zhou’s family share back home. Zhou Heqiang had already brought some ribs in advance and told Zhou Xiaofeng to make lotus root and rib soup.
Su Xiaoman followed her into the kitchen. She had already decided to cook today. After freeloading at the Zhou family’s house for a while, she couldn’t keep troubling them. She planned to cook a full meal to thank them.
“I’ve been eating Sister Zhou’s lotus root dishes for over ten years, and I’m tired of them. Let’s try your cooking, Xiaoman.”
She had planned this in advance, and the necessary seasonings and ingredients had already been purchased by Xie Mingtu for her.
Su Xiaoman also asked Xie Mingtu about driving without a license. Apparently, they managed to issue him a temporary driving permit through the transport company. In this era, getting a proper driving license was difficult; you needed connections, an experienced driver to vouch for you, and a nomination. However, with a shortage of drivers, temporary permits became a solution. With an experienced driver’s guarantee, these permits were enough for county-level transport, though driving beyond that required a formal license.
Su Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaofeng got busy in the kitchen. Su Xiaoman was already familiar with the Zhou family’s kitchen and very comfortable using the traditional rural stove. Interestingly, the spoiled young ladies in TV dramas always seemed to struggle miserably with such tasks, ending up covered in soot and loathing the rough work.
But for Su Xiaoman, ever since she was a child, she had always been fascinated by the idea of cooking with firewood, despite her privileged background.
Or perhaps… as a child, she simply had a fascination with “playing with fire.” She used to watch TV shows featuring bonfire parties and read novels like Robinson Crusoe, dreaming of the experience of collecting wood and cooking over a fire.
Of course, her parents, would never allow her to do something so unbecoming of her status.
Now she finally got to fulfil that childhood dream. After trying it out, she realized it wasn’t that big of a deal, but cooking with fire still brought her a sense of joy, perhaps a remnant of her childish spirit. She didn’t find it tiring at all.
The people around here could handle spicy food, and no one had any dietary restrictions. Su Xiaoman prepared several dishes: stir-fried lotus root with pork, spicy and sour lotus root salad, sweet and sour lotus root, deep-fried lotus root fritters, and pan-fried lotus root cakes. She also made a big pot of stewed lotus root slices.
Using the leftover ingredients from the salad, she whipped up a fragrant and spicy cold noodle dish with shredded peppers. The colourful noodles were topped with red chili shreds, green onions, and cilantro. The white part of the green onions gave off a wonderful aroma, and the whole dish made everyone’s mouth water.
The catch from the lotus pond—crabs, shrimp, loaches, and snails—were also put to good use. She made garlic-scented crab and shrimp, loach tofu soup, and soaked the snails for a day to remove the mud.
By the time she finished, the rib and lotus root soup, which had been simmering for most of the day, was ready. The soup was rich and fragrant, and the soft, starchy lotus root pieces pulled apart easily, releasing thin strands of fibre.
She had made a lot of food tonight. Su Xiaoman invited Grandpa Chen, Zhao Qingqing, and Tang Jianqiang to join them, but didn’t invite too many people since it wouldn’t be appropriate to overcrowd the Zhou family’s house.
The Zhou family members all tasted her cooking and couldn’t stop praising her.
“Our Xiaofeng should learn how to cook from you.”
“Xiaoman, if you stayed here and became my daughter, how wonderful that would be.”
“After eating your cooking, nothing else will taste good…”
Yang Changgui and Xie Mingtu returned just in time. Normally, at this hour, it wouldn’t have been appropriate for Yang Changgui to join them for dinner at the Zhou household, but the aroma of the food was too tempting.
“When I got here, I couldn’t move my feet. They just wouldn’t listen to me,” Yang Changgui said, swallowing his saliva. Unable to resist the temptation, he found himself at the Zhou family’s door. “Wow, the food smells too good today!”
“Come in, grab some chopsticks. There’s plenty of food tonight; one more set of chopsticks won’t make a difference.”
“Start with the lotus root soup.”
“We sent some to the village and commune officials.”
“Women, take it easy on the soup, or you won’t have room for the dishes.”
With the addition of Xie Mingtu and Yang Changgui, the dinner situation quickly escalated. What had been a slow, leisurely meal turned into a sandstorm of consumption. These two, like hungry beasts, devoured one dish after another.
Knowing that Su Xiaoman had cooked everything herself, Xie Mingtu ate with extra focus and enthusiasm. Su Xiaoman watched him with a complicated expression, wondering if he would get fat if he kept eating like this…
Xie Mingtu had always been skinny, and he still was. For now, there were no signs of him gaining weight.
Su Xiaoman smiled to herself, thinking that watching people enjoy her food was actually quite rewarding.
“Manman?” Xie Mingtu paused in the middle of his feast, looking at Su Xiaoman with confusion.
“Just keep eating.”
Across from them, Zhao Qingqing found the scene amusing. She had always enjoyed observing the interactions between men and women around her. Previously, it was Jiang Yantang who caught her attention, but now she found Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu to be quite an interesting pair.
Maybe it was because both of them were good-looking.
She thought to herself that she was definitely someone who judged people by their appearance.
Among all the dishes Su Xiaoman prepared, the most popular ones were the spicy and sour lotus root slices and the braised lotus root. Su Xiaoman ended up making another batch so that others could take some home.
Zhao Qingqing packed a bowl to bring back to the other people at the educated youth station. Zhang Lili, Jiang Yantang, and others had also harvested lotus roots today and were having a meal together at the station. When Zhao Qingqing arrived, someone teased her, “You missed out on a feast tonight, feeling regretful?”
“Not at all. I ate somewhere else and even brought back some lotus root slices. Want some?” Thinking about the sumptuous meal she had earlier, Zhao Qingqing didn’t feel a bit of regret. Compared to others, Su Xiaoman was a master cook—generous with oil and salt. And it wasn’t just the lotus root; the shrimp, crabs, and fish today had really satisfied her.
When they heard this, the person quickly waved their hand, “I just had a whole pot of lotus roots. I’m so full I feel like I’m going to be sick. No, no, give it to—”
Just as they were saying this, they caught a whiff of the enticing spicy and sour aroma. The same mouth that had just claimed to be full began to water.
“Let me try a piece or two.” A crunchy lotus root slice entered their mouth, and the spicy and sour flavour soothed their taste buds. The crispness was refreshing, and the more they chewed, the better it tasted.
“This is good. Let me have a few more.”
Zhao Qingqing slapped their hand away, “Everyone can try some. Comrade Jiang, do you want some?”
Jiang Yantang shook his head. He wasn’t particularly fond of strong flavours like spicy and sour, and he was already full.
“Who made it?”
“Su Xiaoman did. You know, the prettiest one in our brigade.”
“Ah, her. She’s quite the cook. And she’s so beautiful—whoever marries her will be really lucky!!”
Jiang Yantang’s expression grew complicated as he watched everyone enjoying the lotus root slices. He suddenly found the scene in front of him strangely familiar. In the past, Su Xiaoman often made delicious food and brought it to the educated youth station…
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