Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s
Chapter 56 - 056 Qingming

Chapter 56: 056 Qingming

The man suspected of being a kidnapper got off the bus early, and Jianguo released a sigh of relief in secret. Perhaps he had been overthinking it just now. Before long, they also reached the village entrance where Tian Sisi and her younger brothers got off, so as not to have Zhong Fugao drive an extra distance and waste fuel.

Zhong Fugao saw the children carrying a full basket of things, so he parked the tractor, carried the basket on his back, and delivered Tian Sisi and her siblings to their doorstep. Granny Zhao was sunning clothes in the yard. Seeing Zhong Fugao bringing the kids home, she hurriedly invited him inside for a sit and a cup of tea. But Zhong Fugao declined as he had to go back and reconcile accounts with the accountant; the money from the dried mushroom sales had to be sorted out quickly and distributed to the villagers.

Tian Sisi didn’t mind the stuff in the basket. She took out the battery and headed indoors straight away because the Old Man’s radio was nearly out of battery. Just a couple of days ago, the Old Man was complaining that the radio wasn’t loud enough and had wanted Tian Manjin to buy a new one.

The Old Man was weeding the vegetable garden in the backyard. After several spring rains, the grass had sprung up green and vibrant. Tian Sisi installed the new battery, turned on the radio, cranked the volume to the max, and held it up high, showing off to the Old Man with a proud face.

"Ah Nan, have you just returned from town?" The Old Man was pleased, his granddaughter had remembered this old fellow in her heart.

"Mm, I went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to shop. Grandpa, I also bought some meat buns. They’ll be ready to steam tonight so you can eat them."

"Good, we’ll eat meat buns tonight." The Old Man spat twice into his palm and quickened his pace in weeding, working vigorously. Ever since drinking the Immortal Wine given by the white ape, the Old Man felt his body had become much more agile. Doing a small task like weeding was almost too easy.

"By the way, did you mail the letter Grandpa asked you to?" The Old Man suddenly remembered and asked.

"I did, Grandpa. Do you still have friends in Beijing?"

The Old Man had been a bit mysterious lately, often sending her or Tian Xinhua to town to mail letters. Sometimes he himself would ride to town, and who knows what for?

"Mm, I have a few good friends. I wonder how they’re doing now?" The Old Man’s expression turned melancholic. He had finally reconnected with an old comrade not long ago, and learned that the brothers who had suffered hardships with him were not doing well, living quite down and out, with two still missing, whereabouts unknown...

Seeing the Old Man’s spirit sink, Tian Sisi regretted broaching the topic and hastily diverted with a smile, "Oh dear, Grandpa, you’ve thrown out all the good stuff. Look at all this shepherd’s purse and malan heads in the weeds! Oh, and there’s amaranth, too. I need to pick them out so Granny can stir-fry them for dinner tonight."

Tian Sisi intended to change the subject, but sure enough, she did spot quite a lot of wild vegetables, which piqued her interest. She took up the scissors and started picking them one by one, placing them in the basket.

The happiness of his granddaughter rubbed off on the Old Man, alleviating some of his sorrow. Lately, he had been making various contacts, and if nothing went wrong, he should be able to bring an old brother here for recuperation. Sigh, he no longer had his former position, so his abilities were limited. If it had been in the past, getting someone out would not have required so much effort. But then again, if he still held his old post, perhaps he would have ended up just like those old friends.

Days still passed by one after another, and the weather gradually warmed up. Yuequan Mountain was teeming with vibrant life. Although it wasn’t yet the peak bloom of all flowers, the peach, apricot and plum trees on the mountain were blooming brilliantly. Tian Sisi had made several trips to the mountain to cut branches with flowers to decorate the rooms of the house. Each room had several vases with the vibrant branches, adding a touch of spring to the simple farmhouse. Her and Tian Xinhua’s wine brewing business was proceeding in an orderly fashion, not only filling the pockets of both families but also their personal savings were growing steadily.

Today was March 25th, another Saturday, and classes were not held in the afternoon. At this time, weekends were only one and a half days long—with only a half-day off on Saturday and a full day on Sunday. The work in the fields was mostly finished, and the villagers were not as busy as usual. Since Tian Bajin’s family had received quite a sum of money during this period, they stopped making Tian Xinhua and the younger ones work in the fields to earn work points, letting them take their younger brothers and sisters out to play instead.

After lunch, Tian Sisi took a basket and was ready to go to the mountain to pick Qingming grass. Mugwort, scientifically known as Artemisia annua, is similar in appearance to the mugwort that is hung up during the Dragon Boat and Chongyang festivals. However, Qingming grass isn’t mugwort but an edible wild green. Every year, just before Qingming, when spring starts, this grass is at its tenderest. The people from Sui City would pick the tender stems and leaves of this grass and make Qingming Cake with it.

There are three types of Qingming Cakes. One type is the salty cake with fluted edges like dumplings, filled with a mixture of pickled vegetables, old tofu (tofu made with brine), winter bamboo shoots, and pork belly, all stir-fried together — incredibly delicious. Another type is the white cake, which is just made with pure rice flour, also a salty variety, shaped like dumplings. Then there’s the type called Snowballs, which involves shaping Qingming Cake dough into a little nest, filling it with a sweet bean paste or jujube paste, and then molding it into a round shape. The outside is then coated with glutinous rice that has been soaked in water. Once steamed, the green cakes with their translucent glutinous rice grains look like dotted snowflakes, hence the name Snowballs.

Tian Sisi did not like sweet fillings but was very fond of the appearance of Snowballs. In her previous life, she created a version of Snowballs with a savory filling, which led many friends and relatives to follow suit to the point where Tian Sisi regretted not applying for a patent for what could have been called "Sisi Brand Qingming Cake."

The last time she went up the mountain to cut peach branches, Tian Sisi noticed that the Qingming grass on the ground had grown as long as half a palm and was lush green, indicating the best time for its fragrance. Thinking of the fresh and soft Qingming Cakes, Tian Sisi decided to invite Zhong Meiying to go to the mountain with her to pick Qingming grass. Others from Zhongjia Bay joined them, including Zhong Juying, Zhong Anmei, and several other girls, with Zhong Yuying among them. However, she only walked at the back, hardly noticeable unless one paid close attention. There was also Zhong Fugao’s daughter, Zhong Wan Hua, a 12-year-old girl who was somewhat dark and thin, but very capable, the kind of daughter-in-law the older generation was most satisfied with.

When Tian Xinhua saw so many girls going together, he felt relieved, but he still repeatedly warned Tian Sisi not to talk to Zhong Yuying and not to get too close to her. Tian Sisi, impatient, waved her hand dismissively. She was no child to be bullied by a 12-year-old girl. But Tian Sisi was probably pleased too soon.

The group made their way up the mountain in high spirits. The sun had been particularly strong in the past few days, making the Qingming grass more vibrant and fragrant after being bathed in sunlight. Although Tian Sisi was not afraid of Zhong Yuying, she still preferred not to stick too close to her, so she grouped with Zhong Meiying, Zhong Juying, Zhong Anmei, and Zhong Wan Hua to cut the tender stems and leaves of Qingming grass with scissors.

Zhong Juying, due to being dressed more warmly lately and occasionally receiving food brought secretly by Tian Sisi, had been eating better than before; her complexion improved significantly, and her hair was neatly tied. She looked quite pretty now. It was no surprise, given both Zhao Manxiu and Zhong Shigen were not bad-looking, so their daughters wouldn’t be too far off either.

Zhong Shouliang was a person who remembered kindness and sought to repay it. He would often sneak over to their courtyard at night, either leaving a basin of eels and loaches, or bringing snails or silver-side fish—delicacies that the Old Man greatly enjoyed. Even if Zhong Shouliang hadn’t brought them, the Old Man would have asked Tian Manjin to go get some. Now that they had some readily available, it was even better. However, in private, he instructed Tian Sisi to send more food to Zhong Shouliang’s family, treating it as an exchange for the fish. Tian Sisi, of course, had no objection, resulting in one party giving more and more grain and the other giving more and more eels and loaches. The happiest of them all was the Old Man, who was always smiling.

Zhong Meiying, having been to the mountain several times with Tian Sisi to cut peach blossoms, had gotten a lot more familiar with her. Seeing Tian Sisi’s fair hands stained with the green juice of the grass, Zhong Meiying suggested, "Sisi, why don’t you take a rest over there? Look at your hands, all green from the grass. We’ll pick some extra for you."

The others agreed, and Zhong Anmei teased, "Yeah, your hands clearly aren’t used to work. Look, you’ve only cut a few stalks in all this time. You might as well take a break."

Though Zhong Anmei’s family was previously a landlord, to tell the truth, she hardly ever enjoyed the benefits of being a landlord’s daughter. The land had been confiscated not long after she was born, and she grew up doing chores just like any other farmer’s daughter.

PS: Thanks to Fat Girl 0915! Thanks to Xingyu Feng Qiwu! Thanks to ’I Love Myself XX,’ ’123 Listen,’ ’Youzi is so handsome’ and other dear readers!