"Sister, we're back." While Li Menglan and her father Li Dazhu were talking, Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao walked in as well, each carrying two half-filled sacks, huffing and puffing.
"Sister, look." After setting down his load, Li Zhihao came before Li Menglan to show off his find. "Today, Second Brother found another wild beehive."
Li Zhihao took out the wild beehive he had placed behind his back, and a faint sweet fragrance of honey began to permeate the air.
"Big Brother, Second Brother, drink some water and rest first!" Li Menglan looked at her two brothers, their faces exhausted yet smiling with curved brows and eyes, and a flash of heartache flickered through her gaze.
"Sister, you have no idea—today, Big Brother and I discovered several chestnut trees in the mountains. We could go picking for several days." Li Zhihao downed the water Li Menglan handed him in one breath, blinking at her repeatedly.
"Big Brother, is what Second Brother said true?" Li Menglan had been worrying just moments ago; the money earned from selling sugar-fried chestnuts today had already been spent almost entirely. She hadn't expected that an unexpected surprise was still waiting for her here.
"That's right, Sister." Li Zhiming nodded as well and said, "It's just a bit far, deep into Crooked Neck Mountain." What Li Zhiming meant by "deep into Crooked Neck Mountain" was the inner reaches of the mountains that almost no one dared to enter.
"Eldest, Second—you two children are courting death!" Sure enough, the moment Zhang Yuniang heard Li Zhihao's words, she flew into a rage. "Remember, you are strictly forbidden from entering the deep mountains from now on. Even if there's gold in there to pick up... you are not allowed to go."
Zhang Yuniang shouted at Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao with a fierce expression. With their mother angry, the two brothers, though quite defiant at heart, obediently shut their mouths.
"Mother, do we have any old jars at home?" Li Menglan suddenly remembered something. "Broken or dirty ones are both fine."
Before Li Menglan had transmigrated, she remembered once seeing such a thing in the rural countryside of the great southwest. Some households there still maintained traditional cooking stoves, and it was customary in those homes to place a worn-out jar at the stove's opening. After cooking, they would place the red-hot embers inside to smother them, allowing the embers to form a kind of dry charcoal for heating in the winter.
Li Menglan saw that her own stove chamber contained many bright, gleaming embers. Upholding the principle of never wasting a single needle or thread, she felt this method was actually quite good and quite suitable for her family's present situation.
"A broken old jar? There's one behind the house. What do you want it for?" Zhang Yuniang looked utterly confused, not knowing what her daughter had thought of now.
"Father, could you help me bring in the jar from behind the house?" Li Menglan didn't answer Zhang Yuniang's question. Instead, she turned to Li Dazhu and spoke.
"Alright, daughter, wait here! Father will be right back." Seeing his daughter speak, Li Dazhu didn't hesitate and immediately went out the door.
"Good granddaughter, what do you want your father to bring that broken jar for?" Li Fujin had also grown somewhat interested due to Li Menglan's strange behavior.
"Grandfather, Grandmother, Mother, it's like this..." Li Menglan slowly explained the discovery and plan she had just made. Finally, she said, "Grandfather, this way, right? In the future, our family might gradually accumulate a lot of charcoal. When the weather turns cold, no one will have to freeze."
"Sister, you're so clever. How did you think of such a good method?" Li Zhihao's gaze toward Li Menglan was full of adoration as he said with an amazed expression.
"Second Brother, you're also very clever!" Li Menglan discovered that she seemed to be growing more and more fond of this impoverished family, and said with a smile, "Big Brother, Second Brother, hurry up and wash up. Once Father returns in a bit, we can eat dinner. Today, Mother made stir-fried pork belly with chili peppers—it smells amazing." Li Menglan smacked her lips. Uh... her stomach really did seem to be quite hungry!
Under the dim yellow oil lamp, the Li family's shadows were stretched long. On the table was a large basin of stir-fried cabbage, a large bowl of stir-fried pork belly with chili peppers, and a basin of braised eggplant. Though it was only three simple dishes, there was a large bowl of pork belly among them. For the Li family, living in poverty, this already made one feel extremely blessed.
Actually, happiness could also be very simple. Sometimes, being able to be with one's family—this was a kind of happiness. Sometimes, being able to eat one's fill and dress warmly—this was also a kind of happiness.
At this very moment, Li Menglan felt extremely happy.
Li Menglan had even already begun secretly calculating how much silver would be needed to build a new house. "Father, if our family wanted to build a house, how much silver would we need?"
As soon as Li Menglan spoke, everyone in the Li family froze. "Daughter, why would you ask about this?" A bitter smile appeared on Li Dazhu's honest face as he asked dryly.
Zhang Yuniang casually picked up a piece of pork belly and placed it in Li Menglan's bowl. "Daughter, aren't you hungry? Here, eat more."
"Father, Mother, what are you doing? Wasn't I just asking casually?" Li Menglan bit into the pork belly fiercely as if venting, and said angrily.
"Good granddaughter, you really want to know." Li Fujin had always felt that the Li family had fallen to their present state because his old bones had dragged everyone down. His face showed heartache and sorrow.
"That's right, Grandfather." Li Menglan nodded vigorously. She very much wanted to know how much longer she would need to earn money before she could build a new house.
"Not much; an ordinary house would be about seven or eight taels. A better one? Probably around ten taels or so." Li Fujin's words were filled with a sense of worldly hardship as he said powerlessly.
This amount of silver might not mean much to other families, but to their own impoverished household, it was an astronomical figure.
Li Menglan thought that she had already earned more than two taels of silver from the sugar-fried chestnuts today. Then, seeing the chestnuts her big brother and second brother had brought back today, Li Menglan already had a plan in her heart. Perhaps her family really could manage to build the house before winter arrived.
"Mother, why don't we let Father, Big Brother, and Second Brother go pick chestnuts again tomorrow?" Li Menglan picked up a chopstick of stir-fried pork belly with chili peppers and placed it in Zhang Yuniang's bowl, saying with curved brows and a fawning expression.
"Daughter, the deep mountains are no joking matter. Mother won't allow you father and sons to mess around recklessly." Zhang Yuniang's face was stern, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation. "Daughter, Mother doesn't care what ideas or plans you have. You'd best drop them all entirely."
"Oh... I understand, Mother." Li Menglan responded listlessly. However, thinking of the persimmons, she felt somewhat less anxious. Since her mother didn't agree, then so be it for now. She would see how much she still lacked after selling the sugar-fried chestnuts before deciding.
"Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, Big Brother, Second Brother—everyone, eat meat." Li Menglan picked up a chopstick of stir-fried pork belly with chili peppers and placed it in her grandmother's bowl.
Grandma Lin—Lin Sanniang—was a woman of few words who often made people feel as if she had no presence.
"Mm, you father and sons hurry up and eat. After eating, wash up and sleep. There's still much to do at home tomorrow." Zhang Yuniang also urged Li Dazhu, Li Zhiming, and Li Zhihao on.