It wasn’t the vegetables she was worried about, nor the compost. The twenty-fourth of each month was the day to collect grain rations from the county town, now less than two days away.

Given the current situation, by ration collection day either the heavy snow wouldn’t have stopped, or the accumulated snow on the roads wouldn’t have melted. Neither scenario boded well.

Shu Wanxiu finished her morning meal while frowning at the heavy snowfall outside. Before she could devise a solution, her Paternal Uncle arrived with his son Shu Chenglin.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time her Paternal Uncle had visited Shu Wanxiu’s new home.

Although he had frequently escorted Shu Wanxiu home during their business trips, they had always parted ways at the village entrance.

Despite their hurried visit this time, they hadn’t forgotten courtesy. Her Paternal Uncle brought a smoked salted fish and two pairs of reed catkins shoes, while Shu Chenglin carried six golden-skinned stinky peel citrus fruits.

The salted fish needed no explanation, but both the reed catkins shoes and stinky peel citrus surprised Shu Wanxiu.

She only knew how to make straw shoes, a skill she had learned from villagers earlier this year. Reed catkins shoes were more troublesome and time-consuming to make than straw shoes, but their advantage was obvious – they provided better warmth.

Previously, Shu Wanxiu had been too embarrassed to ask the villagers to teach her how to make reed catkins shoes again, and too frugal to spend money buying new pairs in the county town. Having heard that southern winters were warmer than northern ones, she had held onto some hope that she might get through the winter wearing just straw shoes.

Unexpectedly… southern winters were still cold. Even more unexpectedly… her aunt had woven reed catkins shoes for them like delivering charcoal in snowy weather.

Shu Yanrong brushed the snow off his shoulders and handed her the shoes, saying: “Ting girl is about your age and height. The longer pair was made by your aunt according to her foot length, while Shouyi’s pair was estimated. Try them on later – they can be adjusted if they’re too long or short.”

Shu Wanxiu turned the shoes over in her hands admiringly before asking Shu Chenglin where he had obtained the stinky peel citrus.

Shu Chenglin straightened unconsciously and chuckled evasively: “I was wandering deep in the mountains and accidentally found a stinky peel citrus tree, so I picked several dozen. They’re quite sour – you can eat them to pass the time when you’re bored.”

“Deep mountains?”

“Why did you go deep into the mountains?” Shu Wanxiu was truly astonished.

The deep mountains were dangerous, home to all kinds of wild animals. Although it was winter, some creatures might still be active outdoors. Knowing each other’s families well, Shu Wanxiu was aware that Shu Chenglin lacked hunting skills, so she couldn’t understand why he would wander deep into the mountains.

“Well…” The tall man grew completely uncomfortable under Shu Wanxiu’s questioning, rubbing the back of his head and sneaking glances at Shu Yanrong’s expression. After this series of fidgeting movements, he answered quietly: “I went to gather firewood… and strayed in by mistake.”

Shu Yanrong, who had remained expressionless until now, flew into a rage at this lie. “You foolish boy! Nobody would have exposed you if you hadn’t brought it up yourself, but you’re still lying when your cousin asks?”

“I… ah!” Shu Chenglin’s face slowly turned deep purple. While Shu Wanxiu watched in confusion, he bowed his head and slapped his lips twice as apology, then truthfully explained his purpose for entering the mountains.

It turned out he had heard about how Shu Wanxiu obtained the rabbit meat she brought them during her first visit to Five Li Village, and wanted to try his luck in the mountains to see if he could catch some game.

“Hmph!” That was putting it mildly she hadn’t mentioned how utterly wretched their day in the mountains had been.

Shu Yanrong was exasperated that a grown man and father could still be so irresponsible in both words and actions, so he took over the conversation without sparing him any face.

“This isn’t your fault,” he first reassured Shu Wanxiu, then said, “He was foolish enough to think rabbits would just drop dead in the mountains every day, itching to take advantage. After a whole day in the mountains, all he had to show for it was half a bag of Stinky Peel Citrus not a single other thing to speak of. On top of that, he accidentally kicked a rock, tumbled into a thorny thicket, nearly broke his leg when it hit a stone, and got scratched all over by sharp thorns until there wasn’t a patch of unmarked skin left.”

Shu Wanxiu listened to this convoluted tale with her jaw dropped and eyes wide in disbelief.

She had noticed earlier that her eldest cousin was walking a bit strangely but assumed it was just the snowy path making things difficult. Who would have guessed such a perilous ordeal lay behind it?

“When did this happen? Did you see a doctor?”

After expressing concern for Shu Chenglin’s injuries, Shu Wanxiu poured each of them a bowl of hot water to warm themselves and subtly shifted the topic elsewhere.

Speaking of this heavy snowfall, it was enough to make all the famine refugees sigh in despair.

Ever since learning that the relief grain would be distributed in tiers from now on, every refugee had likely made the same decision to queue up earlier on the next distribution day.

This sudden heavy snow had undoubtedly dashed everyone’s plans.

“If it snows for another day and night, the snow will be knee-deep.”

Having grown up in the northern regions, they were accustomed to heavy snow since childhood. In the past, knee-deep snow wouldn’t have been a big deal at all.

But as the old saying goes, times have changed.

If they went to collect grain and had to camp overnight at the base of the county city walls in such deep snow, it would be no different from seeking death.

“Does that mean we can only set out early the day after tomorrow?”

Then they would have no advantage, just like during the last grain distribution. Five Li Village and Five Tablet Village weren’t exactly close to the county seat.

They debated back and forth but couldn’t settle on a plan. The cozy warmth of the fire was making their minds sluggish.

As noon approached, Shu Wanxiu asked them to check the depth of the newly dug compost pit behind the house. Meanwhile, she quietly scooped some rice, washed it, started cooking porridge, and steamed half a fish.

The heavy snow had blanketed everything. By the time Shu Yanrong and his son cleared the snow from the top of the compost pit and checked its depth, the porridge was already half-cooked over the high heat.

“You foolish child, why are you so bad at managing the household?!” Shu Yanrong’s expression turned grim.

He was both angry that she didn’t know how to ration their food and annoyed at himself for not anticipating that Shu Wanxiu would pull such a stunt.

Though scolded, Shu Wanxiu didn’t feel the slightest bit wronged. Instead, she grinned cheekily and promised, “Just this once! I swear I won’t do it again.”

“No.” Shu Yanrong still refused to eat, arguing that in this weather, cooked food could last a day or two without spoiling.

Shu Wanxiu’s expression shifted subtly, and she discreetly signaled to Shu Shouyi.

They had agreed on this while the others were out back.

“Uncle, don’t go! Please stay and eat with us!” Without warning, Shu Shouyi lunged forward and clung tightly to Shu Yanrong’s leg.

He whined about how boring it was to eat with only his aunt every day, how delighted he was to see his uncle, and how much he wanted him to stay and share the meal…

Faced with a child clinging to him so pitifully and pleading, Shu Yanrong found himself unable to move or harden his heart enough to refuse.

Shu Wanxiu pushed her luck and cheerfully added a boiled Napa Cabbage dish and a boiled Pumpkin dish.

During the meal, noticing how restrained they were while serving themselves, she couldn’t help but refill their porridge bowls and add more vegetables to their plates.

After the meal, it was finally time to decide on the hour for collecting the grain provisions.

After long consideration, Shu Yanrong said, “In winter, the county town opens its gates at the end of the Yin hour. How about this: tomorrow afternoon, I’ll bring both of you to stay overnight at Five Li Village. Then, at the end of the Zi hour or the beginning of the Chou hour the day after, we’ll set out with torches.”

Staying overnight at Five Li Village a day in advance, though somewhat troublesome for Paternal Uncle’s family, was indeed safer and more convenient for Shu Shouyi and Shu Wanxiu.

“Alright,” Shu Wanxiu agreed, understanding that there were times when one shouldn’t insist on being tough.

Author’s Note:

———————-

Stinky Peel Citrus: Scientific name Citrus aurantium, also known as bitter orange or trifoliate orange, belongs to the citrus family.

I ate this fruit as a child. From what I recall, it’s slightly larger than a regular mandarin but smaller than a pomelo, with a hard peel and a sour, slightly bitter taste.