Chapter 19

Zhao Qingzhu chuckled and teased Jiang Li, telling her to fatten herself up before daring to see her again.

The two walked into the village chatting and laughing, but since their paths diverged after entering, they parted ways. When Jiang Li reached home, Xue Man and Xue Ning were jumping excitedly around two water buckets.

"Xiao Man, where did these buckets come from?"

Hearing her voice, Xue Man ran up to her, took the bamboo basket, and replied, "Mother, Fourth Aunt brought them over. She said Fourth Uncle made them for us."

"Did she say anything else?" Jiang Li asked.

Xue Man shook his head. "She only said they were for us; nothing else."

Jiang Li figured Xue Chengwen must have felt sorry for the children and made them without asking for payment. She inspected the new buckets; the craftsmanship was meticulous, the wood smoothed to an incredibly fine finish, and they were surprisingly light. Curious about the type of wood used, she made a mental note to ask about the price and pay him later.

Since she couldn't finish all the wild angelica buds she had picked in a meal or two, she poured them into a winnowing basket and sprinkled them with a little water to keep them fresh for a couple more days. There wasn't enough to dry them for storage, and since they had no other vegetables at home, they would be consumed quickly.

Taking advantage of the good weather, she laid out the thatch to dry in front of the house. She climbed onto the roof to inspect how the original thatch had been laid, then set about patching it. It was her first time doing such work; while it looked simple, it was far from easy. Xue Man and Xue Ning stood below, their faces filled with anxiety.

The village women who had followed Jiang Li and Zhao Qingzhu to pick wild angelica buds had shared Jiang Li’s instructions with the rest of the village. After everyone who ate them remained healthy, more people began heading to the valley, and within days, it was picked clean. Everyone started to think that Jiang Li must know about many other wild greens, hoping to follow her whenever she went into the mountains. However, for several days, they only saw her busy with her thatch. Eventually, they saw her climbing onto the roof.

Watching her struggle to patch the roof, the women would sigh, lamenting that a household couldn't function without a man. Though they thought about offering to help, they felt that if she needed assistance, she would have asked, and they didn't want to overstep. Thus, the matter faded away.

Zhao Dachun, who happened to pass by, saw Jiang Li on the roof and, with a show of kindness, shouted, "Lady Jiang, do you know how to patch a roof? I do—let me help you."

Jiang Li, crouched on the roof, looked down and saw Zhao Dachun standing on the ridge. Her expression darkened, and she snapped, "Get lost!"

The shameless Zhao Dachun felt aggrieved by her harshness. "I was only trying to be kind. If you don't want it, fine, but why the insults?"

Xue Man, already nervous about his mother being on the roof, was angered by Zhao Dachun's interference. "Go away! Don't disturb my mother. Be careful or I’ll tell Grandma Zhao!"

Zhao Dachun huffed and walked away, grumbling, "Just a brat—thinks he’s something special now that he has someone backing him."

Two days later, Xue Man grew brave enough to climb the bamboo ladder to hand thatch to Jiang Li, which sped up her progress. She had been working on the gaps on both sides of the roof for several days. When Zhao Qingzhu came to visit and saw her struggling on the roof, she offered to bring her brothers over to help, but Jiang Li declined. She wanted to finish it slowly on her own, finding a sense of accomplishment in doing it herself.

Zhao Qingzhu didn’t quite understand why this brought her joy, but she respected her wish. "My mother said to come over when you're free to pick out some chicks. You can take the ones that are left after you've made your choice to sell in town."

"Alright," Jiang Li replied from the roof. "I'll go as soon as I finish the roof."

The villagers watched for days as Jiang Li and the two children finally finished the roof. They gossiped about how, for a lady from a wealthy family, she was surprisingly more capable at manual labor than the village girls. But no matter how they talked, there was no clear answer. For Jiang Li, though the work was slow, it brought her a great sense of achievement.

After finishing the roof, Jiang Li cut some bamboo to make a simple chicken coop. She worked late into the night, by which time the children had already fallen asleep. Once they were sound asleep, she dug out the copper coins from the corner of the wall, counted out ninety, strung them together with a piece of straw, and tucked them under her straw mat to sleep on.

The next morning, the siblings woke up early, eager to join Jiang Li to pick out the chicks. However, Jiang Li didn't want to leave the house unattended, so Xue Man volunteered to stay and keep watch. Jiang Li took Ning with her.

The Zhao courtyard was quiet, with only Grandma Zhao and Zhao Qingzhu up. The old woman immediately led her to the coop. Jiang Li asked curiously, "Grandma, you have so many chickens—do you spend all your time in the mountains cutting grass to feed them?"

The old woman looked at her quietly for a long moment; this was not the "Lady Jiang" she had imagined. She chuckled, realizing that while books might talk about feeding chickens with grass or earthworms, this was the countryside—chickens were meant to roam and forage for themselves. "No need to cut grass. Since your place is near the mountain, just let them roam outside during the day and catch them back into the coop at dusk."

Jiang Li knew about free-range farming, but in these times of famine, she worried about thieves. "Won't they be stolen?"

Grandma Zhao said firmly, "No. Every household in this village raises chickens for the eggs, which they save to sell for a bit of money. Our village is decent; there are no thieves or scoundrels here. You can let them roam without worry."

Jiang Li nodded, smiling. "I've been worrying for days. If I had known, I would have come to you for advice sooner."

Grandma Zhao beamed. "Is this your first time raising chicks, Lady Jiang?"

"Yes."

"They can find their own food, but you must give them water every day—boiled water that has been cooled."

"I understand."

Zhao Qingzhu urged them to start choosing. The old woman pointed to the coop: "The ones with white or brown down are hens, and those with red down are roosters."

Jiang Li pulled Ning close. "Ning, pick two hens—one for yourself and one for your brother."

Ning’s eyes sparkled. She clearly wanted to choose, but replied, "Mother, you choose."

Jiang Li smiled. "You choose your own, and you must help your brother choose his."

"Alright then."

Ning crouched by the coop, agonizing over the decision. Jiang Li pointed out a rooster and a beige-colored hen. Ning, still looking conflicted, eventually selected two brown-colored ones.

Grandma Zhao pulled the four chicks out and tied their feet with vines. "Chicks are sold by the head. In town, roosters go for seventeen copper coins and hens for twenty-four. I'll charge you eighty."

Jiang Li smiled. "Grandma, your math is off."

Grandma Zhao laughed. "If I sold them to you at the same price as strangers, what kind of person would that make me?"

"Exactly," Zhao Qingzhu echoed.

Jiang Li didn't refuse. In her struggling household, every coin was precious, and she valued the kindness—it would be a foundation for a good relationship between them. She took out the ninety coins, counted out eighty, and handed them to Grandma Zhao.

"It's correct," Grandma Zhao said, tucking the money away. "Leave the chicks in the yard and come inside for breakfast."

Jiang Li politely declined. "Next time. Little Man is waiting at home; he wanted to come so badly, but I left him behind. I must get back before he gets anxious."

"Alright, if the boy is waiting, I won't keep you."

As Jiang Li walked away, she called out, "Grandma, do come visit when you and Qingzhu are free."

"I will!"

Jiang Li carried her two, and Ning carried the other two, their faces full of irrepressible smiles. "Can you handle them? Let me take one if it's too heavy."

"No, I’m fine, they aren't heavy."

"They're just chicks now, but they'll grow big after we raise them for a while."

Ning walked for a long time, still feeling dazed. They had chickens now! Once they started laying eggs, they could have eggs to eat every day. Though she thought about how they might need to save them to sell, she knew that either way, selling them would bring in money for food, and they would eventually earn back the eighty coins spent today.

Xue Man was indeed waiting anxiously. When he saw them returning from afar, he waved frantically. Seeing the four chicks, he asked, "Mother, did you get them on credit?"

Ning laughed. "No credit! Eighty coins, Mother paid for them."

Xue Man gasped. "Mother, where did you get the money?"

"From what was left over after selling the wild boar."

Xue Man patted his chest, relieved. "Oh, I see. I thought we were going to be in debt."

He didn't pry further, and Jiang Li didn't elaborate. Ning handed Xue Man his chick. "Brother, this one is yours."

Jiang Li instructed the two children, "You must take care of your own chickens, put them in the coop at night, and give them water every day. When they start laying, we'll keep the eggs to eat."

"Mother, aren't we going to save the eggs to sell for money?" Xue Man asked.

Jiang Li turned to put the chicks in the coop and replied, "We'll see when we get tired of eating them."

Xue Man thought to himself, *That will never happen. Can one ever get tired of eating eggs?*