Wang Ying had gotten the news from Old Dog, but she didn’t go directly to the hospital to ask Dr. Wu more questions.
After the information Dr. Wu gave her last time, she knew it would be inappropriate to keep pressing him. She would have to investigate slowly in secret.
It was springtime now, and Wang Ying often went up the mountain.
The wild pond in the mountains hadn’t been discovered yet, so she could go catch a fish there from time to time. But even so, she didn’t eat much of the fish lately.
There was just so much to eat in the spring.
All kinds of wild vegetables in the mountains were fresh and tender. Recently, Wang Ying had become obsessed with shepherd’s purse.
Locals called it white flower vegetable or ground vegetable. After picking and washing it, she mixed it with ground meat to make wontons. At the end, she’d put some scallions and sesame oil at the bottom of the bowl—it made the soup especially rich and flavorful.
Wang Ying was slightly regretful: “If only we had dried shrimp and seaweed.”
In her previous life, her favorite food in college was “knock-wontons” (a local street style).
Every evening, there would be a little food cart with a big pot on top. Pinkish meat wontons were dropped into the boiling pot, while the bottom of the bowl was filled with scallions, seaweed, dried shrimp, sesame oil, and pickled mustard greens. The boiled wontons were ladled on top with broth, and finally, a bit of minced meat was cooked and added on top.
Just the smell alone made Wang Ying eat two bowls.
Besides that, there were also shrimp wontons—each containing a big shrimp. The springy shrimp paired with the rich pork filling made for a heavenly flavor.
As Wang Ying talked to Xu Shuang about all kinds of wontons, she successfully got him interested too.
Shrimp was out of the question for now—even the county town might not have it—but dried shrimp was something they could work on.
Xu Shuang brought another basket of fish to his master in town, and a few days later returned with a big bag of dried shrimp and a small packet of high-quality dried sea shrimp.
Wang Ying was overjoyed hugging the dried shrimp. It wasn’t until she transmigrated that she truly realized how hard it was to get seafood now.
Offshore fishing and shrimping were still underdeveloped, and aquaculture was just getting started. Dried seafood was mostly reserved for big cities. In a small county like Nanshao, only a few families could afford it.
Wang Ying finally got to eat shepherd’s purse wontons that tasted close to what she remembered. Xu Shuang even made her a dish of boiled dried tofu shreds with dried sea shrimp.
Tofu shreds were blanched in chicken broth and cooked with the dried shrimp. The broth base included lard and a spoonful of yellow rice wine. At the end, fresh pea shoots were added.
Wang Ying took one bite and exclaimed, “Is this da zhu gan si (great boiled tofu shreds)?”
Xu Shuang nodded. Strictly speaking, it didn’t quite count as authentic since there was no ham for flavor, and the ingredients weren’t fully traditional.
But Wang Ying still ate with great satisfaction: “Delicious! The tofu shreds are cooked perfectly, and the sea shrimp flavor makes up for the missing shrimp.”
Xu Shuang had previously learned to make da zhu gan si from his martial uncle and had even worked in a provincial city kitchen for two months. He had some understanding of Huaiyang cuisine. Though this version lacked full ingredients, the flavor wasn’t lacking.
Xu Shuang said, “Give it some time, and I’ll ask my martial uncle if he can help find us a ham.”
Wang Ying had already drooled over the yan du xian (ham and bamboo shoot stew) recipe several times. Xu Shuang was now doing his best to meet all of Wang Ying’s requests.
But Wang Ying still shook her head: “Let’s hold off. That would be so expensive!”
She was in charge of all household expenses. Although they weren’t tight on money, there were plenty of places that needed spending.
Right now, the household savings were a bit over three hundred yuan. Xu Shuang had a monthly salary of thirty-five yuan, Wang Ying received a two-yuan subsidy from the team, and she earned about ten yuan a month from selling medicinal herbs. Altogether, their regular monthly income was forty-seven yuan.
Xu Shuang’s trips to the county with mountain goods were unpredictable, but on average, they brought in about twenty yuan and some ration coupons each month.
Wang Ying calculated it all out—the household income each month was around sixty to seventy yuan.
That sounded like a lot, but there were many expenses.
First, she planned to buy a sewing machine and a radio. The sewing machine was for Granny Xu—she sewed all the family’s clothes by hand, which was tiring. Wang Ying felt Granny Xu genuinely enjoyed embroidery and sewing too.
Since she and Xu Shuang were always busy, she wanted to make Granny Xu a little happier.
As for the radio—Wang Ying had realized that once winter came, the mountain would be sealed off by snow for a long time. Without a hobby, it would be unbearable.
Reading wasn’t very practical at this time of year either, so buying a radio seemed like a good idea.
Just these two big items would cost nearly three hundred yuan.
A sewing machine costs 160 yuan, and that’s not even counting the ration coupon—it’s said that sewing machine coupons are even harder to get than those for bicycles. Even Chen Dong said he could only ask around in the county, and whether they could get one or not depended entirely on luck.
But no matter what, they had to set aside that money first.
Wang Ying sighed, “If only we could get the money for the wild ginseng.”
Three hundred yuan! That would solve all their problems at once.
Wang Ying had recently been going to the back mountain from time to time, hoping to find wild ginseng quickly. Unfortunately, things didn’t go her way. She had combed through several places without any luck.
Watching those 300 yuan slip through her fingers, Wang Ying couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Xu Shuang comforted her: “Worst case, I’ll ask Master if I can sell more fish.”
The fish in the wild pond were large—some over ten jin (approx. 5 kg). Chen Dong was selling them for five yuan each, which was considered a very high price.
Wang Ying shook her head. “We can’t rely on the fish pond for everything. If we fish it clean now, there’ll be nothing left to eat later.”
She was intentionally controlling how much fish they took out. With the pond, they could have a steady source of fish in the future. If they drained it now, what would they do later?
Wang Ying said, “I’ll go search again.”
Then she asked, “Are all the supplies for your older brother ready? Should we add anything else?”
This was another thing Wang Ying was worried about. After the New Year, she and Xu Shuang began preparing care packages for Xu Ming.
Although Grandma Xu was afraid Wang Ying would be upset about it, Wang Ying didn’t mind.
The money she was using was what Xu Shuang had saved earlier. Spending money couldn’t only be about their small family. Xu Ming had been dragged into misfortune because of Wang Lingling, and Xu Shuang still owed him. Sending supplies was only right.
Xu Shuang said, “It’s about ready. Since it’s the first time, let’s not send too much. We can add more later.”
She had prepared a big sack of roasted flour made from white wheat flour, sesame, and crushed peanuts—ready to eat by just adding water. She also packed dried fish and rabbit meat. Ten jin of flour, ten jin of fish and meat.
Wang Ying had originally wanted to send some sugar, but Xu Shuang stopped her. “It’s best if we only send wild goods.”
Wang Ying understood immediately. Xu Shuang was worried Xu Ming might be watched. Sending sugar could make others suspect his family had money and bring unnecessary trouble. But wild goods and foodstuffs wouldn’t raise any red flags.
Wang Ying said, “Alright, then we’ll send the package tomorrow. In the afternoon, I’ll go to the commune health clinic.”
She had been recommended by the brigade leader to become a barefoot doctor, but hadn’t been assessed yet. This time, she was going to attend training at the clinic.
After a month of training, she would take an exam. If she passed, she would receive a one-yuan subsidy from the clinic, and they’d regularly supply her with medicine.
Wang Ying thought it was a good opportunity and planned to go the next day.
Xu Shuang said, “Then I’ll leave the bicycle for you.”
The two of them only had one bicycle between them, but for now they could still take turns using it. Wang Ying used it more often than Xu Shuang. Xu Shuang was already thinking they’d need to buy another one sooner or later.
After snuggling for a bit, Wang Ying hurriedly got up. “I promised to go check on Qian Juhua’s pigs today.”
She had told Qian Juhua before that raising pigs would inevitably come with issues and asked her to have her check them every two weeks so problems could be caught early.
Qian Juhua was fully dedicated to her pigsty now and took it very seriously. She even came to remind Wang Ying when the time came.
Wang Ying no longer needed to bring anything with her when she visited Qian Juhua and Cheng Shufen. Ever since Cheng Yu started herding goats in the mountains, their households had been eating well.
Cheng Yu often brought back wild rabbits or pheasants from the mountains, and wild vegetables were even easier to find.
Sure enough, Qian Juhua’s eldest and second daughters had both plumped up from following Cheng Yu around.
Especially the second daughter—her once oval face had become round and cute.
Wang Ying checked the pigs and added a little spring water from the spiritual spring.
“They’re doing great. Looks like they’re starting to put on fat.”
Qian Juhua proudly puffed out her chest. Ever since she started raising pigs, she had been diligent, working from morning till night. She followed everything Wang Ying taught her: how to cook pig feed, how to keep the pen clean.
It hadn’t taken long for the pigs to grow rapidly, like they’d been inflated.
The eldest daughter came over to help by the pigsty. The little girl had been eating well and growing fast. In just a few days, her pants had become too short.
Wang Ying noticed she no longer looked as gloomy or withdrawn as before. Now, she smiled often, looking completely different from the first time they’d met.
The eldest daughter said, “Sister Wang Ying, Sister Cheng Yu said not to leave yet. She’s bringing you some wild berries from the mountain.”
Cheng Yu had become more capable in the mountains than even the kids who grew up there. As long as she confirmed a wild fruit was edible, she’d bring it back.
The eldest daughter couldn’t help but swallow. “Those wild berries are really tasty.”
Wang Ying smiled and patted her head. “You guys enjoy them. No need to save any for me.”
These kids lacked sugar the most right now. Qian Juhua had some money, but she didn’t dare spend it recklessly. She didn’t know if her pigs would turn out well. If they failed, she’d have to go back to farm work, and they’d have to survive off what she had saved.
As for Cheng Shufen, there was even less to say. Even Cheng Yu cherished the sugar Wang Ying had given her.
Wang Ying firmly decided not to take any and left early.
As soon as she stepped out, she ran into a few older women from the brigade.
Because of Wang Ying’s medical skills and her good relationship with Grandma Xu, the elderly folks in the brigade had a positive opinion of her.
One of them immediately called out to her, “New educated youths have arrived. I heard quite a few came this time. Aren’t you going to take a look?”
