“I appreciate your concern, Uncle, but it truly can’t be changed.” Shen Yaoqing added amiably, “Please come to the full-moon celebration. Eat and drink well, consider it my thanks for your care.”
Wei Lanxiang spat on the ground. Everyone knew the Shen Shunde family looked down on poor relatives, fearing they’d leech off them, sometimes even mocking them. Today’s interference was just another nuisance.
Lu Gu, kneading dough in the kitchen, heard Wei Lanxiang’s grumbling but stayed silent, focusing on his task.
Shen Yaoqing recounted the incident to Ji Qiuyue, unbothered. The name Shen Wenzhao had indeed been chosen by his father, no one could change that.
Troublesome people were fleeting. Whether cursed or scorned, their own happiness was what mattered.
The night was enchanting, the moon full as a plate.
In the moonlit courtyard, an incense table and candlesticks were set up, laden with offerings: mooncakes, fruits, and freshly picked mountain flowers. The bright moonlight illuminated everything, the blossoms adding vibrant color.
Shen Yan was very happy, she helped Lu Gu carry out plates of fruits, pastries, wine, and dishes, her apricot eyes smiling, her voice buoyant with joy.
Her happiness came from the silver-beaded hairpins dangling from her bun. It was small but genuine silver, a gift from Wei Lanxiang.
“Brother Gu Zi, I’ve brought everything. No need to go back inside.” She placed a warmed jug of wine on the table.
Stir-fried river snails, steamed crabs, stewed tofu, sautéed wild greens, cold tofu salad, mooncakes, plum blossom pastries, green autumn pears, wild grapes, and steamed fish—ten dishes in total. Six were foraged or caught, saving money.
Two jugs of wine, one warm and one chilled, osmanthus wine bought by Shen Xuanqing in town.
This was Lu Gu’s first Mid-Autumn feast. Last year, he just arrived at the Shen family and unfamiliar, they’d only eaten mooncakes.
This year, with the new baby, the celebration surpassed even New Year’s. Without realizing it, they’d prepared more dishes.
Ji Qiuyue joined them after putting the baby to sleep. The family ate and drank under the moon, lively until midnight, when they retired to their rooms.
The next day, Shen Xuanqing packed and left for the mountains with the dogs. Lu Gu prepared five days’ worth of rations. With wild vegetables and garden plots on the mountain, he’d manage on simple meals until returning to better fare.
In his absence, Lu Gu’s workload would increase.
The ten breeding rabbits had given birth, with all of them mating around the same time, although the deliveries were spaced out over a few days. In total, there were 56 baby rabbits, with one female rabbit having an impressive litter of seven.
The cooler weather proved beneficial, and for the first time, all fifty-six kits survived.
The first five female rabbits had already birthed two litters. The second litter of twenty would soon be weaned and separated. The earlier twenty-two had already been moved.
Rabbits bred quickly, one month gestation, one month nursing. Two months per litter.
To increase efficiency, they planned to breed the female rabbits in sync, with ten at a time, aiming to produce 40-50 baby rabbits per cycle for bulk sales. The original ten female rabbits would mate again soon.
With twenty breeding adult rabbits and 117 baby rabbits, including nineteen nearing market age in three months, space had become scarce. In the end Shen Yaoqing had constructed two additional rows of hutches.
Work never ended. Mornings and afternoons, Lu Gu herded cows and ducks, cut grass by the river with Shen Yan for the goats, chickens, and rabbits.
Shen Yaoqing and Wei Lanxiang weeded the fields.
In a month, autumn peanuts and beans would be ready, followed by winter wheat. Half a month after that, rice harvest would begin.
Life had once felt bleak and labor a dull grind, but now chatting and laughing with Shen Yan while cutting grass, and watching the calf graze and occasionally nuzzle them, made even exhaustion feel worthwhile.
The calf, with its love for mud, would often chase Shen Yan, who would shriek with laughter, fearing the calf's dirty coat would stain her new clothes - made from last year's cloth, which was still considered fresh by rural standards.
The playful calf, like a mischievous child, pretended to chase her, stopping just before contact.
Lu Gu, accustomed to Guaizi’s nudges, was unfazed. Sometimes he laughed at the spectacle, earning mock complaints from Shen Yan: “You’ve learned from brother Erqing to enjoy others’ distress! No longer my good brother Gu Zi!”
She was confident the calf wouldn't hurt her - it always stopped just short - but the mud was a different story, and that was a genuine concern.
Mountain life was peaceful, with Shen Xuanqing’s daily presence. But village life, with its neighborly interactions, was livelier.
Besides, Shen Xuanqing’s hunts never lasted more than six or seven days. A short wait, and he’d return.
This time was no different. On the sixth day, he descended with a female goat and her kid. Hunting and trekking were exhausting, but he’d rest at home for a month.
As the sun dipped, Shen Xuanqing sat drinking water while the others admired the goats. Even Ji Qiuyue, bundled up, emerged to see.
“Sister-in-law, is Zhao’er asleep?” Shen Xuanqing asked.
Ji Qiuyue smiled. “Yes, since noon. Eats and sleeps well.”
Wei Lanxiang praised, “Our Erqing is truly capable, capturing a live doe and kid!”
Shen Xuanqing explained, “The kid’s from another doe (female goat). Da Hui caught it, so I brought both.”
Shen Yaoqing added, “After a month of taming, we’ll pen her with the buck (male goat). By next year, she might bear kids.”
“The little one we’ll raise longer, more meat that way,” Wei Lanxiang said.
Lu Gu, though silent, listened happily.
"I ran into Master Hui Tong while he was gathering herbs," Shen Xuanqing said, biting into a bun from the kitchen. "Good thing I was there, or he would've ended up sleeping outdoors."
Seeing him hungry, Lu Gu hurried to cook.
“I told him if I’m not there, and the gate’s locked, just climb the wall.” Shen Xuanqing sat back down. “Hiding keys under rocks risks animals or birds taking them. Wind and rain make climbing safer.”
Shen Yaoqing nodded in agreement. "Master Hui Tong is a pragmatic person. If the host allows it, he prioritizes survival over dignity."
Shen Xuanqing nodded. “He agreed readily. As a former martial monk, walls are no obstacle.”
No comments:
Post a Comment