That night, Shen Yunfang finally enjoyed the long-missed taste of a rice meal.
However, it was her first time cooking rice in such a large pot, and she hadn't mastered the measurement yet. She accidentally cooked too much because her eyes were bigger than her stomach, and she was not used to having enough food. Looking at the large bowl of leftover white rice, an idea struck her, and she tucked both the rice and the bowl into her space. It was the perfect opportunity to test whether the space could retain heat.
She had already tested its preservative abilities the day before when she collected some wild vegetables from the mountains. After a night in the space, they still looked as fresh and vibrant as before, not wilted at all.
After eating, Shen Yunfang was still thinking about the sweet potatoes in the family plot. So, she picked up her hoe and headed to the field as soon as she put down her bowl and chopsticks.
Before she had even reached the spot, she saw three figures busily working in the field. Shen Yunfang hurried over and discovered that it was her elder uncle's two sons and Wang Da Nang's Brother Dashuan.
Elder uncle's eldest son Wang Zhijie was thirty-two years old that year. His wife, Wang Li, also thirty-two, and they had three children together. Their oldest son, Shen Ninghao, was fourteen, the second boy, Shen Ninglin, was ten, and their youngest boy, Shen Ningchen, was four years old. The second elder brother, Wang Zhiwen, was thirty years old. His wife, Shuxin, was twenty-eight years old and they had two children. The oldest daughter, Shen Jingyu, was eight, and their second child, a boy named Shen Ningtao, was just two years old.
The day Shen Yunfang went to Shen Yeqing's house for a meal, Shen Zhiwen's family of four had just returned to his wife's maternal home, so she had not encountered them.
Then there was Brother Dashuan, younger than the two cousins from the elder uncle's family. He seemed to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight and was courting a girl named Xiaojuan. He had a good wife, who, along with Brother Dashuan, was kind and filial, earning the envy of the elders and neighbors in Gaijiatun.
"Brother Zhijie, Brother Zhiwen, why are you here?" Shen Yunfang asked curiously.
Shen Zhijie's face showed slight displeasure as he glanced sideways at his cousin and then continued working without a word.
Shen Zhiwen, on the other hand, cracked a simple smile and said a tad shyly, "Dad told us to come over after he got home. He said you couldn't handle this work on your own."
Shen Yunfang raised an eyebrow, guessing that her elder uncle had seen the freshly dug sweet potatoes in her yard and knew she was digging them up, so he had sent over her two cousins.
"Hehe, I really can't do it all by myself," Shen Yunfang didn't argue. She was already behind schedule in digging up sweet potatoes. If she were to rely on herself, she had no idea when she would finish. But with these strong young men helping out, the work would take mere an hour.
"I'll come with you to gather some firewood early tomorrow morning," Zhiwen said, relaying another instruction from his father.
"Mhm, thanks, Brother Zhiwen." This was perfect, as Shen Yunfang wasn't familiar with the mountainous environs and didn't dare to wander carelessly. With a familiar face to accompany her, there was nothing to fear.
After greeting them, Shen Yunfang hoisted her hoe and went down to the field to join in the work—after all, even though she could not contribute much, she had to show the right attitude as the others worked hard to help her.
But unexpectedly, Shen Zhiwen, seeing her come down too, hurriedly said, "Yunfang, you don't need to dig. Just gather the sweet potatoes we've dug up, that's all." He didn't have the heart to say outright, "Don't get in the way," as everyone knew that his cousin, the delicate young lady of the Shen family, was not adept at such work.
Shen Yunfang was only too happy to be spared the effort. Seeing no objections from the others, she gladly agreed.
After a little over an hour, the three able-bodied adults had thoroughly turned over Shen Yunfang's nine-part plot. Shen Yunfang had not stopped crouching the whole time, busily picking sweet potatoes into the basket and even feeling around in the soil to make sure none were missed.
Since there was only one large basket, it was clear they could have used more. Every time a basket was filled, it had to be carried back to her place by Brother Zhiwen, then emptied before being carried back to continue harvesting sweet potatoes.
So by dusk, when they had dug up all the sweet potatoes in the field, Brothers Zhijie and Zhiwen went home. It was left to Brother Dashuan, who lived closest to Shen Yunfang, to carry the last basket of sweet potatoes to her home.
By the time Brother Dashuan had emptied the last basket in the yard, Shen Yunfang had already brought over a bowl of water.
"Brother Dashuan, you've worked hard. Have some water," she said warmly, offering him the bowl.
The family was so poor that they didn't even have a single cup, only a bowl from which to eat their meals.
Perhaps truly thirsty, Dashuan didn't stand on ceremony and gulped down the water from the bowl in one go, wiped his mouth, and handed the empty bowl to Shen Yunfang, saying, "Let me know when you're ready to move these sweet potatoes into the cellar, and I'll come over to lend a hand."
Shen Yunfang was moved by this gesture, regardless of whether his offer was sincere or not. Having heard those words, she felt grateful, "No need, Brother Dashuan, I'm not in a hurry. I can handle it slowly on my own."
Dashuan glanced at Shen Yunfang and didn't insist further, simply saying, "Alright, just call out if you need anything," before striding out of the courtyard.
Shen Yunfang watched as he disappeared from view before letting out a sigh. In these times, there were still many good people.
There was no time for idle thoughts, as the sky darkened to the point where she could no longer see clearly. She hurried to close the courtyard door, then, using the last bit of light, began to gather the sweet potatoes that lay in the courtyard.
Thinking of the stack of coupons the elder had given her last time, which included several pounds of kerosene coupons, she planned to make a trip to the county in a day or two, to buy all the necessary supplies for the house. It was not a matter of one or two days; one couldn't just muddle through life like this.
In the end, Shen Yunfang managed to store a third of the sweet potatoes in the cellar, leaving them there without moving them, as she dared not venture into the cellar in the dark, waiting for daylight to shift them properly. She was very cautious, knowing that if someone visited her home the next morning and found the sweet potatoes on the ground gone, they would surely be suspicious. With her weak hands and frail body, it was unrealistic to have moved so many sweet potatoes into the cellar overnight anyhow.
By the time Shen Yunfang lay on the kang bed, her body was exhausted from the day's physical labor. This had been a real test of strength for her feeble body, proving just how unsuitable she was for a rural girl's life. She really did fit her second aunt's description of having the body of a young lady but the fate of a servant girl.
As she lay there, she slowly drifted off to sleep while thinking about what she needed to buy.
The next day, Shen Yunfang got up early as usual, took care of her personal hygiene, fed the chickens, and considering that it was time to harvest the cabbages, potatoes, and radishes in the backyard garden, she decided to start with the cabbages. Thinking it over, she took the only sharp knife from the house, intending to harvest the cabbages first.
Once harvested, the cabbages would be sun-dried and ready to be pickled, an essential dish on the Northeastern winter dining table.
Because she lacked strength and the kitchen knife wasn't very sharp, each cabbage took several chops to cut. By the time she had chopped down all twenty-three cabbages in the backyard, her hand that held the knife was trembling.
She moved the cabbages to a spot under the eaves of the front courtyard where the morning sun could reach them.
Only then did she lock the courtyard gate and head off to work.
When she arrived at the production team, she saw Shen Zhiwen waiting for her, holding a long-handled sickle.
"Brother Zhiwen, you're up early," Shen Yunfang said, surprised.
"Not that early, my dad has been here for a while," Shen Zhiwen replied with a smile.
"Uncle is really dedicated," Shen Yunfang commented.
Without Zhiwen's help, Shen Yunfang drove the sheep out of the pen, and the two chatted as they walked behind them.
After reaching the slope, Shen Yunfang tied the lead sheep to a small tree and then followed Brother Zhiwen up the hill.
The next moment, Shen Yunfang understood what the long-handled sickle in Brother Zhiwen's hand was for.
She watched as Shen Zhiwen approached a large tree, grabbed one end of the sickle and extended its bladed end to the tree's branches overhead. With a bit of force from his hand, the branches above were severed and fell.