Chapter 115 - Selling Vegetables (1/2)
The beautiful spring sun had already leaped out of the horizon at which the sky and the water was merged. Thousands of red clouds overflowed and blended with the morning mist rising slowly from the top of the mountains and turned into a multicolored halo.
Today was a rare sunny day. The sun was warm and cozy, so it felt comfortable to be caressed by its big, warm hands. It had only been five days, but Yu Hang already felt that he was close to recovering from his injury. He only occasionally felt a sore pain around the chest area, where his ribs were broken.
From the window, he saw his youngest sister’s busy figure in the courtyard. He slowly sat up from the kang bed and carefully supported himself against the wall. He put on his shoes and slowly walked out the door.
Yu Xiaocao, who was in the vegetable garden in the yard, lifted the straw thatches that were used to keep the vegetables warm, and revealed the green, tender seedlings. About seventy or eighty percent of the land in the courtyard was used as a vegetable garden. Leafy greens with short growth periods were planted in the garden in the yard. In addition, the mystic-stone water definitely had a role in accelerating the growth of the crops. Thus, in less than half a month, the greens, spinach, and leaf lettuce were all ready to be harvested. They appeared verdant and lush under the morning spring sun.
“Older Brother, you haven’t recovered from your injuries yet. Why did you come out?” Yu Xiaocao was the first to notice the movement at the door of the main room. She hastily wiped her hands and ran over to help her older brother walk over the threshold.
She found a place in the courtyard where the sun would shine on and brought over a recliner that her father had made in his spare time. After that, she laid a thick mattress on top before she allowed her older brother to lie down.
Yu Hang watched as his youngest sister moved the chair and went into the room to find the mattress. She was bustling about like a happy little bee. He had an apologetic smile on his face as he said, “Little Sister, you should go back to what you were doing! As your older brother, even though I can’t help much, but I don’t want to give you more trouble…”
“Older Brother! The most important thing for you to do right now is to recover from your injuries. Wouldn’t you be able to help out when you’re healed? Look, the vegetables in our garden are already ready to be sold. We also can’t disregard our business at the docks! You must cooperate well with the recuperation process, so that you don’t end up with alingering illness!”
Yu Hang looked at the vibrant vegetables in the garden, and the distress in his heart seemed to be dispelled by the greenery. He sighed with a smile, “Youngest Sister, this method is really good! At this time, other people have just planted their seeds, but we can already start selling our vegetables! If we take them to town, those noble masters and madams will love them so much!”
In this era, there wasn’t any advanced techniques like greenhouse farming. The high officials and noble lords in the capital, who had some hot spring resorts, were able to eat some fresh vegetables in the winter. However, there weren’t any geothermal resources around areas like Tanggu Town. Thus, it was very difficult for them to eat fresh vegetables during winter and early spring!
Yu Xiaocao covered his leg with a quilt, and then began to harvest the vegetables. She carefully dug out the greens one by one. After that, she asked Madam Liu, who had just finished tidying the kitchen, to help wash them with clean water, shake them dry, and neatly stack them inside the bamboo basket. The droplets of water on the bok choy made it look so fresh and juicy that she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva after gnawing on radishes and cabbages for the entire winter.
“Mother, should we eat hotpot this evening?” She could buy a chunk of pork bone to make a thick soup, and also a few pieces of soft tofu. There were homegrown bean sprouts in the pot and several big fish in the water vat. They also had fresh and tender greens… Ai-ya, she couldn’t think about it anymore, or she would start drooling!
“Hotpot?” Madam Liu and her eldest son looked at each other and knew that the little lass had come up with a new dish. However, Madam Liu felt somewhat reluctant since their one-of-a-kind vegetables would certainly sell for a good price.
Xiaocao was aware of her mother’s thoughts and explained, “Mother, why do we work from dusk to dawn to make braised food and earn money? Aren’t we doing this so that we can live a good life? If we make money but are unwilling to spend it on our own family, then isn’t that the same as being a money-grubber?”
“This child, who are you calling a money-grubber?” Madam Liu rebuked Xiaocao with a glare. But Madam Liu had a sudden realization after hearing her daughter’s words. Her daughter was right. Weren’t they earning money to ensure that their family could eat well and wear warm clothes and get out of the hard times? If they weren’t even willing to let their own children eat their own homegrown vegetables, then what was the point of them working so hard to earn money?
While the mother-daughter pair engaged in small talk, they were also busily working with their hands. After a while, they had filled several bamboo baskets with vegetables.
At this time, Yu Hai came from the backyard with a basket full of fish. He laughed, “Though the pond behind our house isn’t very big, there’s quite a lot of fish in there! I’ve been fishing there for over half a month, but there’s still a lot of fish. Cao’er, what did you put in the baits? All the big and small fish were crazily fighting for them. It was so gratifying to watch!”
“Quickly put the fish down! You go to town with Cao’er. How can she handle so much vegetables by herself? Fortunately, Xiaolian took the ox cart from the neighboring village to the docks this morning, otherwise it would be inconvenient for you two to go to town!” Madam Liu said as she helped load a basket of vegetables onto the donkey cart.
The donkey named ‘Little Gray’ had recovered from its illness already. After being nourished by the mystic-stone water, it looked sleek and lively. It was nearly impossible to tell that it was as thin as sticks and barely breathing just half a month ago.
Everyone who had seen the Yu Family’s donkey all praised it for being very clever. It didn’t need anyone to guide it and would obediently walk along the road by itself. When it encountered pits and holes, it even knew to avoid them. It seriously saved people so much energy and effort!
People who were close to Yu Hai all knew that the donkey was half-dead when they first bought it. They all praised Yu Hai for being an excellent animal breeder. To be able to raise a dying animal until it was plump and strong, wasn’t that already the best proof?
Later, because of this, there were people who would persistently request Yu Hai to treat their sick livestock. Fortunately, he had Yu Xiaocao as a secret weapon, so they were able to cure all of the sick animals.
Such sorrow! Ever since Doctor You came back, there wasn’t a single person who came to seek Xiaocao for medical treatment! Although Doctor You repeatedly claimed that his little disciple, Yu Xiaocao, had already surpassed her teacher, she was still too young after all. There was a saying: ‘Young people can’t be trusted with important tasks.’ Thus, most people still believed that the white-bearded Doctor You seemed more reliable.
After saving a few animals, Yu Xiaocao suddenly ended up becoming a vet. Moreover, her fame spread far and wide. Even her maternal grandmother on the other side of the mountains had heard about her reputation. Xiaocao seriously felt speechless at how things turned out! However, the reason she studied medicine was merely to hide her secret weapon, the mystic-stone water. She didn’t care whether other people believed her, as long as it could benefit her family!
“The sun is winking at me,
The birds are singing for me.
I’m a hardworking and non-clingy little demon.