Chapter 3: Chapter 2 Gratitude

Translator: 549690339

Jinghan and her sister sat in the room, with Jingya keeping her company with chit-chat. From outside came their mother's voice, "Child's father, how far did you go? Why are you only back now? Oh, you've brought back quite a haul today, wild chickens, rabbits, and even a roe deer. This is great, aside from what we'll eat, that roe deer could be sold for a good sum." Mrs. Xue was very happy.

"We've hunted everything near our village, I had to go far to get these. Is dinner ready? I'm really hungry," said Jinghan's father.

"The eldest is back, dinner's all ready. Let's eat quickly; you must be starved after a whole day," Jinghan's grandmother saw her son return and was very worried, quickly urging everyone to eat. "Daughter-in-law of the second son, what are you dawdling around for? Hurry up and bring the kids over for dinner. Eldest daughter-in-law, call out Jinghan and Jingya as well. I think Jinghan is fine now; it's more lively with everyone together."

"Alright, mum, I'll call them now," Mrs. Xue went into the room, "Jingya, Jinghan, come and eat. Jingya, help your sister, she's just getting over her illness."

Jingya got down from the bed first and then extended her hand to help Jinghan put on her shoes. Both of them arrived in the east room, where two tables were set up, one on the bed and one on the floor. An old man, presumably Jinghan's grandfather, was sitting on the bed, as well as the old lady. There was also a woman, about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, she was not bad-looking, but her expression always seemed to suggest that everyone owed her money; this was the second aunt. There was also a man, probably in his thirties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and upturned corners of his mouth that made him seem to be smiling even when he was silent. This was Jinghan's father, Xu Zhixin.

There were two other people, Jinghan's fifth uncle and her younger aunt, who looked frail with a pale and bloodless complexion.

At the table on the floor sat the sisters Jinghan, along with two boys, who were the sons of the second uncle.

On the table, there was a small pot of stewed dried beans, a dish of pickled mustard greens cut into pieces, and the main food was corn pancakes. In front of Jinghan, there was also a small pot of chicken soup.

"Alright, let's eat. Eldest daughter-in-law, sit wherever you like. Hurry up and eat," said the old lady. "Jinghan, drink the chicken soup, your illness wasn't minor; you need to nourish yourself well."

Jinghan poured a little bowl for herself and had her sister help bring the rest to the table on the bed, "Grandpa, Grandma, have some as well, and Little Aunt, her health is not good. I am almost better; I'll be fine in a couple of days." She was still new here, and although she had some memories of the original owner, it was still best to be cautious with some things. The family seemed pretty harmonious, and currying favor with the elders probably wasn't a mistake.

Grandmother placed the chicken soup in front of the younger aunt, "Hui Xin, you have some too. This is from your niece's goodwill. Jinghan has always been close to you. She hasn't wasted your affection." The daughter's health had always been poor ever since she was born, getting minor illnesses every now and then, which everyone had gotten used to.

"Auntie, big brother has brought back quite a bit today, can we make something delicious tomorrow?" Mrs. Wei, the second aunt, said while looking at the chicken soup.

"Eat, eat, eat, that's all you think about. We still need to get a wife for the fifth, and this autumn he has to take the rural examination. Which part doesn't require money? If we eat it all, what will we use to make money?" The old lady gave the second daughter-in-law a look, and then said to her eldest son, "Eldest, sell that roe deer tomorrow, keep the rabbit and chicken. Tomb-Sweeping Day is coming; the third and fourth will be coming back, and then we can make some food. It's been some days since we've had anything greasy; time to make some decent food."

"Alright, mum, I know. The ginseng also need sheds built soon; in a few days fifth brother will have to help me get those done. It's lucky we set the posts last year; we just need to nail the top on," said Xu Zhixin taking a bite of the pancake.

"Eldest, I'll go with you guys in a few days. We have a lot of spring work to do; we need to get on with it. Besides the ginseng field, we also need to plant crops, and the corn stubs in the field need to be dug up," the old man spoke up as well.

Jinghan quietly finished her chicken soup and then ate some pancake. The corn pancake was too coarse and almost scratched her throat. After swallowing the pancake with effort, she quickly ate some dried beans. The original owner was just an eight-year-old girl who didn't understand many things, and her memories were only of the people at home; the rest was unclear. Having heard her father's words just now, Jinghan realized this place cultivated ginseng. In local dialect, ginseng was referred to as "ginseng field." It seemed that they had already started planting ginseng, which dynasty could this be? Judging by the clothes, it didn't seem to be the Qing Dynasty; could it be the Ming Dynasty? This question would need further study. The food on the table indicated that the family's life wasn't easy. According to the original owner's memory, she had two uncles, one teaching at a school and the other apprenticing at a drug store in the county town, which should have been quite decent. It was quite odd.

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