CH 23

Chapter 23 – Preparing For Winter

People should never make comparisons.  Once a comparison is made, they will feel dispirited.

Shuangming, who was looking up with his head raised, refused to accept the fact or to be outdone.  However, the contrast between the both of them, one adult and one child, was so obvious that he had to admit that he was the ‘small’ one.

How much must he eat before he can grow taller?

“Don’t tease the child, he is still young and will take your words as the truth.”

A pungent fermented sour smell floated over together with the voice.

“Let me help you.”

Xiao Jingfeng put down the axe in his hand and straightened up to take over the urn that was quite heavy.  Dirty water swirled in the urn as the suffocating sour smell rushed into the nostrils.

“Mother……”  Shuangming called out with pursed lips.

“Good boy, go and play with your sisters.”  The little boy lost again.

He lifted his smiling face.  “I want to help Mother.”

“There’s not much work today.  Mother bought a brush and paper, so you can learn to write.  Practicing calligraphy can help to calm the mind and improve self-cultivation.  We won’t aim to become soldiers but we must strive to be top literary scholars to suppress those who are soldiers.”

Government officials hold high ranks and their ranks are on the same level as Military Commanders.  It is better to use one’s brain than to use force.

Suppress?  Suppress what?  His father is now a commander and after a few more missions, he will have a thousand men under him and it is hereditary!

In the current dynasty, military rank is inherited and passed on from generation to generation.  Casualties are heavy on the battlefields and a son has to replace his father if his father is injured or dead.  The commanders holding the 6th and 7th official ranks would not be sent to the imperial capital, instead, they are placed under the local Garrison General’s command.  Only the commanders holding the 5th rank and above have to meet the Emperor to receive imperial instructions.

“Alright, I’ll become the top literary scholar for my mother.”

He did not know the duties of a top literary scholar but was sure it would be better than being a soldier.  Shuangming grinned proudly at Xiao Jingfeng and completely forgot about the crushing defeat he suffered just a moment ago.  He thought that as long as he studied and gained experience, his mother would belong to him alone.

The wind in the afternoon was very pleasant and cool but not cold.  The two little ones were sleepy and fell sound asleep with their heads stuck together.

After getting tired from playing, they always have to rest for a while.  A child’s physical strength is limited and whenever he feels sleepy, he will fall asleep as soon as he lies down and will not wake up even if there is a din created by beating drums and gongs.

However, a large black cloud was floating in the sky and it looked like it was going to rain soon.  The work at hand must be completed quickly otherwise if there is any delay, it is not known how long it would take for the work to be completed.

“Jing Niang, the water in the urn is giving out a terrible smell, do you want to throw it away?”

The smell was so bad that it was hard to imagine the food inside would taste delicious.

“Throw it away.”  The pigs would not eat it even if they were fed with it.

Xiao Jingfeng poured the urn of acidic water into the ravine and the blowing mountain wind scattered the acidic water into droplets.

“And then?”

“Have you never done any household chores before?  There are still 7 to 8 more urns of different sizes inside.  Wash them after the water is thrown away so that they can be reused.”

The marinades made last year have been eaten and new ones have to be made this year.

“Do you have to do so much work all by yourself?”  He frowned and could not help but feel distressed.

A woman with three children had to prepare all the food stocks and marinades……how can she manage with so much work?

The apologetic Xiao Jingfeng blamed himself for this.  It is a man’s job to support and raise his family, but she was forced to leave her home to make a living for herself.

No wonder she harbors resentment and refuses to be the daughter-in-law of the Xiao Family.

While she wiped away the sweat, there was a satisfied expression on her face.

“There won’t be food if I don’t work.  Can it be that you hope the chipmunks will send food to you?”

At this time last year, she was worried that the quilts would not be warm enough.  She hunted for snakes all over the place, caught them, and prepared thick clothes to survive the severe winter.  After a year of hard work, not only did she set up the stone house but also accumulated surplus food stocks.  With more than a hundred silver taels in hand and the children close to her, there was nothing more she wants.

Li Jing’er has always longed to live a secluded life as described in martial arts novels.  A secret valley isolated from the outside world, self-sufficient and independent.  Planting rice, raising fish and flocks of chicken and duck, and growing herbs all over the place with children running barefoot and playing in the rapeseed fields.

However, all those are wistful thinking and there is a huge gap between reality and dreams.  She, who loves the mountains and the forests, is already very satisfied that she can live in a stone house set up by herself.  She can look at the mountains and water all day long and even the Gods are not as happy as her.

And in this place, she found the tranquility that she wanted.

If only someone did not exist……..

“What I mean is that I’ll do the heavy lifting and you can watch at the side.”

The big and small urns were washed diligently with water from the spring.

“Is it alright for you not to return to the base for so many days?”

Her words sounded like she was driving him away.

“Are you concerned for me?”  There was a smile in his eyes.

Li Jing’er tilted her head and ignored his charming enticing smile.

“Military punishment is difficult to endure.  Deserters will be beheaded.  It’s better for your head to be attached to your body.”

No one wants someone they know to die, especially him, since he is her child’s father.  It is better if he can stay alive, and there is no need to curse him to an early death.

“Jing Niang, you still have me in your heart…….”

Although she did not say it aloud, she still cares a little bit for him.  One night as husband and wife, a hundred days of affection*.  She is a soft-hearted person.

(One night as husband and wife, a hundred days of affection literary means a night spent as husband and wife equals to a hundred days of affection but the actual meaning of ‘days’ is a lifetime. It is an encouragement for a couple to stay together in times of difficulties or when their marriage is on the rocks.)

She let out a cough and interrupted his narcissism.  “Stop flattering yourself.  Why shouldn’t I make use of free labor when it is available?  You just happen to be a laborer.”

The person who was treated as a laborer chuckled softly.

“It’s good that I can do something and did not incur your disdain.  Two days ago, I spotted a patch of wild Panax ginseng* growing on the left side of the mountain.  According to the size of the patch, the yield can reach about 10,000 catties.  After exploring the place, I found the mountain terrain is very steep and difficult to climb so ropes are needed to scale the face of the mountain.  In a few days after the preparations are ready, about a hundred soldiers will be coming to help gather them…….”

(Panax ginseng is a medicinal herb that is good for reducing swelling, pain relief, dissipating blood stasis, and promoting blood circulation.)

It means that he will be leading the men and can stay for another month.

“Isn’t the peace talk completed?”  Then there should not be any more war.

Xiao Jingfeng’s smile faded.

“It’s good to be prepared.  Grind the ginseng into a powder so it can be kept longer.  Nothing is certain in war and even if the peace talk was successful, the deal can still renege.”

“So that was the reason you were transferred to the Sanhe Base.”

When two countries fight, the ones who suffer are the common people.  Once the war begins, the conscription of soldiers and food will increase.  Many people would be left without food and their families ruined.

He paused.  “Jing Niang, I can’t answer you.”

Military secrets.

Actually, Li Jing’er did not want to know.  She deliberately hid in the mountains to avoid being affected by the spread of war.  When two armies fight their battles, they would be concentrated in the city and would not spread to the sparsely populated mountains.

“Go to the vegetable field to pull out the cabbages.  Pull them all out and just leave about 5 to 6 heads of cabbages behind.”

The priority now is food.  They have to first fill their tummies before any further discussions.  To her, the war is too far away and the most important task at hand is to take care of the present since winter is approaching.

“Pull out all of them?”  That is a lot.

With the dense fog in the mountain, a suitable climate, and fertile ground, every head of the fresh green Chinese cabbage grew extremely huge.  They were a size bigger than the normal Chinese cabbages grown by the villagers on their farms at the foot of the mountains.

Xiao Jingfeng bent down from the waist to feel around and had to use a lot of strength to pull up a cabbage.  Then he bent down again to pull the next one.  The soil at the side where he pulled out the first head of cabbage had loosened and a gap had appeared, so it was not difficult to pull out the next one.

He could only carry about 3 heads of cabbage at a time because they were huge, so he had to move back and forth before the work was finally completed because a small vegetable plot could yield 6 to 7 heads of cabbages.

Korean kimchi is not difficult to make since the main ingredient is only the sauce mix.  Li Jing’er had prepared the sauce the night before using rice water, peppercorns, star anises, coarse salt, etc., and left it to cool down overnight.

The roots of the cabbages were cut off before they were washed in the spring to clear away the dirt and then placed on the stone to drain the water and to let them dry.

“Watch how I do it.  First of all, spread the sauce on the outermost leaves of the cabbage and then spread it evenly on the underside of the leaves as well.  Then smear the sauce on the next layer of leaves and stuff the pickled small onions in between the leaves……..repeat this with every layer of leaves and after marinating them for about half a month to a month, the cabbages can be eaten.”

She watched the Korean variety show ‘Three Meals A Day’ and this method was taught in the program and a whole package of bright red chili powder was added to the sauce.  Korea is truly a nation of spicy food eaters.

""

After the Korean-style pickled cabbages were done, Japanese-style pickled vegetables were also prepared.  The radishes, cucumbers, eggplants, shallots, and cowpeas in the vegetable fields were all collected.  After Xiao Jingfeng worked like a whirlwind, there was nothing much left in the fields and they were almost empty.

“It’s time to plant winter wheat!”

It was a peaceful and harmonious period.

You wash the vegetables and I will marinate them……..you move the jars and I will sort them……just like a young couple quietly dealing with work at hand during the idle season.

When the work at hand was completed, a crow called out as a reminder that the sky had darkened, the sun in the west had set and the tired birds had returned to their nests while the smoke from cooking was curling up into the sky from the foot of the mountain.

“Ah!  It’s so late……..”  Time to cook.

Before Li Jing’er finished speaking, a silver dragon streaked across the horizon followed by a loud boom of thunder and suddenly without any warning, there was a heavy downpour……..

“It’s raining……..”

“Yes, it’s raining……..you……..”    She hesitated and was thinking about whether to let him enter the house to take shelter from the rain.  The torrential rain was indeed shocking.

Upon seeing her hesitation, Xiao Jingfeng did not want to force her or make it difficult for her, so with a smile, he turned around and ran back to the hay shack through the rain.  Then he waved at her and gestured for her to hurry into the house to avoid catching a cold.