Wenhan glanced at the basket on his back and pressed down forcefully with his hand, "Let's break off some more, after pressing down like this, there's still space." So they broke off some more, and then it was done. The three of them headed back, crossing over the mountain, and saw their home in sight.
"Zixuan, are you going to sell the tender shoots this afternoon?" Wenhan asked.
"No, I didn't break off much, not as much as you guys did, so I won't be selling them. There's barely enough for our family to eat. Alright, let's part ways here, I'm heading home." Zixuan's home was also by the river, at the east end. In the entire Donggang Village, there were only about a hundred households, so each was quite far from the others.
After the three separated, Wenhan led Jinghan home. Jinghan's apron was still filled with a bean's worth of tender shoots, and the basket was brimming. Jinghan looked quite happy with this sight. Upon reaching home, Jinghan asked Wenhan to first put away the tender shoots from the basket, leaving only those in her own apron—about four or five pounds. Entering the house, "Grandma, we broke off some tender shoots to bring back, let's stir-fry them and eat," she said.
Mrs. Chen was also very pleased, "Every year, we've got to eat this thing at least once. The wild vegetables from the mountain are just fresher than those from home, unique in their short-lived season, available only for a few days." Mrs. Chen quickly found a basin and put the tender shoots inside. "Oh, that's quite a lot. Your apron really holds a lot," she said.
"Grandma, big brother and I broke off quite a lot of tender shoots in the forest, and I thought I'd go to town this afternoon to see if I could sell them," Jinghan felt she should inform her family.
"Alright, if you really can sell them, that would be wonderful. Our Jinghan is growing up, and it would be good to have some coins saved up," said Mrs. Chen with a smile.
"Grandma, don't I have to give you the money I make?" Jinghan asked curiously, since the family hadn't split up, wasn't the money one earned supposed to be handed over to the grandparents?
"Why give it to me? In our family, aside from the yearly grain and the money from selling ginseng that you give to me, the rest of the money is for you to keep. What do I need it for? How much you can earn is a testament to your own ability," Mrs. Chen laughed. Although the family hadn't divided the household, she wasn't one to skimp on the daughters-in-law regarding money—just as long as the money from the ginseng was handed to her. If the daughters-in-law wanted to make some money by sewing or doing similar work, she didn't care. The money was still within the family, where else could it go?
"What about a few days ago when you mentioned picking lady fern?" Jinghan was confused.
"The money from selling lady fern is kept by each household, isn't that right? When I mentioned it, it was just to remind everyone of the chance to make some money. Our forest here has everything. All sorts of medicinal materials, jujubes in summer, wild grapes, pine nuts, walnuts in autumn—people come to buy them. Normally, kids your age like going to the mountains to collect some and sell them, helping supplement the household expenses. Some buy tasty treats. Our kids are rarely greedy, it seems like every year your big brother saves up to buy some paper and ink. If you like doing this, you can ask your big brother to take you. After selling what you collected, you can buy some pretty hair accessories. You're gradually getting older and should start looking like a girl." Mrs. Chen patted Jinghan's head, as the girl was always outside, barely looking the part of a girl.
Now Jinghan understood—it turned out that if she openly saved money, no one would complain. This didn't quite match her impression of ancient times. Where had her understanding gone wrong? Never mind, better not to think about it. "Grandma, I'll go back to my room for a bit and then come out to help with cooking." Saying this, she ran back inside the house.
For lunch, naturally, there were tender shoots—one of the rare occasions throughout the year. Mrs. Chen wrapped the tender shoots in dough and then fried them until cooked. As the dish was brought to the table, Jinghan couldn't help but salivate. She loved it so much. Everyone enjoyed the meal, and though the pancakes were still a bit tough, Jinghan ate her fill.
After lunch, Jinghan went with Wenhan to the town. Donggang Village wasn't far from town; walking briskly, it was only a bit more than half an hour away. Both were regular mountain goers, so they hardly minded the distance, and by the end of the noon hour, they had reached the town. In the town center, there was a small market where many people sat selling goods. The siblings found a spot to put down their basket, then set the scale to one side, waiting for people to come and buy vegetables.
Jinghan saw there were quite a few people passing by but not many looking their way, so she started to call out, "Come have a look, fresh and tender shoots here! Come on over and take a look, freshly picked tender shoots!" Her voice was crisp and youthful, and with her shout, indeed people started looking over.
"Young girl, how much for these tender shoots?" a woman in her thirties approached.
"Auntie, these tender shoots are seven coins a pound. Look how plump they are—fry them up, and they're delicious," Jinghan quickly quoted the price.
"Seven coins is a bit pricey. How about this: I'll take five pounds, and you charge me six coins per pound?" the woman asked. The new tender shoots were typically sold for about seven coins each year.
"Sure, why not? Here, let me weigh the vegetables for you." Jinghan hurried to have Wenhan weigh the five pounds of vegetables and then pour them into the woman's basket. The woman took out thirty coins to give to Jinghan. "Young girl, make sure to hold on to the money tightly, don't drop it." The woman walked on, carrying her basket.
Jinghan, delightedly holding the money, said, "Brother, look, we've earned some money." This was the first money she had earned since arriving here.