"Sister-in-law, can you ask around if there’s any other vegetables?"
"Around here, it’s mostly cabbage, radishes, potatoes, squash, nothing else. Every household has sauerkraut, but I’ll try to ask for you tomorrow.
You know it’s so cold here, even cabbage freezes if you keep it for long. There should be radish shreds, dried radishes."
"Anything will do, we need so vegetables to eat. I wonder if anyone sells vegetables at our village market?"
"Probably not, and there aren’t many vendors at the market either."
Jiang Xinyu thanked the village chief’s wife again before leaving.
"Xiao Jiang, we have plenty of pickled vegetables at ho."
Jiang Xinyu sighed, "We can’t eat pickles all the ti, the kids are too young, it’s not good for them."
Thinking about it, if she hadn’t co, would the kids be eating pickles all winter?
Back ho, Wei Kaiyun saw his wife’s downcast face and knew she hadn’t found any.
"No worries, Old Yang will co over on the twenty-eighth with his car, and if needed, you can drive to the city to buy them."
"The city? It’s not much better than the countryside; everything is rationed. Plus, with this temperature, no one would store cabbage, right?
Next year, after the thaw, we’ll get soone to dig a deeper cellar to store so greens, then it won’t be so difficult." He sighed again after speaking.
"Alright, we’ll do as you say."
Suddenly, Jiang Xinyu’s eyes widened, "I brought mung beans, I can sprout so beans. That’s also a green vegetable."
She spoke and rushed off.
Wei Kaiyun watched his wife bustling around and smiled helplessly; they’re already at ho, why the rush?
Jiang Xinyu ca out of the storeroom carrying twenty pounds of mung beans. She poured out about two pounds and soaked them in warm water.
In truth, she didn’t know how to sprout beans, only roughly how it was done. She thought to soak them in warm water until they’re plump, then put them in a basin, cover with a wet towel, and make sure the temperature is right.
Thinking for a while, she decided to place the basin at the head of the kang, as no other place had guaranteed warmth.
Finally, she covered it with a coat for added insulation.
"Wife, you know how to sprout mung beans?"
"I don’t, just working on the assumption that it should be done this way: soak them until plump, then put them in a waterless basin to sprout. I’ll give it a try."
Before night fell, the village chief’s wife ca by, "Xiao Jiang, I found so. Zhuzi’s family has cabbage, and Uncle Li’s family has radishes. They can dig them out of the radish pit, and they’re digging right now. Let’s go, I’ll take you."
"Great, thank you so much, Sister-in-law!"
"No need to be so polite. You’re new to the village; as ti goes on, it’ll get better. Also, make sure to plant more cabbage next year. We shouldn’t have to buy vegetables."
"Got it, I’ll definitely plant more next year. My family is large, we consu a lot of vegetables.
Sister-in-law, which house shall we go to first? We’ll bring baskets."
"Let’s go to Zhuzi’s house for cabbage first. Digging out the radishes will take so ti."
Sister-in-law Liu followed them, carrying a basket, and headed to Zhuzi’s house.
The village chief’s wife introduced them to each other.
"Sister, how much cabbage can you sell to ? I’ll be straight, I don’t mind a lot, even if you sell two hundred heads."
"Sis, there isn’t that much, maybe fifty heads. We also need to keep so at ho."
Jiang Xinyu was delighted to hear fifty heads were available. "Fifty heads are fine. I’ll need your help asking around in the future, because I’ll still need to buy cabbage."
"My younger brother’s household has more. I’ll get the kids to call my sister-in-law over."
"Xiao Jiang, if you’re buying fifty heads of cabbage, I think you’ll need to use a cart; it’s too tiring to carry them."
"We have a cart at ho, we’ll have the man of the house bring it to you later."
"That’s great, sis, you’re so kind. By the way, do you have any extra scallions?"
"We do, I’ll give you two bundles."
In the end, Jiang Xinyu spent only four yuan to buy fifty heads of cabbage and two large bundles of scallions.
Jiang Xinyu had Sister-in-law Liu follow Zhuzi back to place the cabbages in their living quarters, as there was nowhere else to store them; otherwise, they’d freeze.
The two of them then went to Uncle Li’s house. The radishes hadn’t been dug up yet but were almost ready.
"Auntie, your family sure is capable. This radish pit is dug deep; they surely haven’t frozen."
"Your uncle keeps busy whenever he can, just keeps digging."
Jiang Xinyu laughed and called her Auntie, thinking about buying more later to make fried radish shred balls for the kids, or using them for radish shredded stuffing in buns or dumplings.
The fifty-so-year-old man was Uncle Li, clearly a reliable and honest person, just smiled and kept working.
"Alright, I see sand; below it are the radishes. Xiao Jiang, do you want green radishes or red radishes?"
"Auntie, are green radishes purple inside?"
"Yes."
"Then give twenty green radishes and fifty red radishes."
"You want so many?"
"Auntie, my family is large. If you have extra, do give more."
"There’s no more, I only kept thirty green radishes, and there are a hundred red radishes. But we also need to keep so for New Year’s.
Darling, Xiao Jiang wants a lot, let’s get all the radishes today."
Uncle Li nodded, "Alright, go get the basket."
Jiang Xinyu saw this family was ticulous in living, and spotted potatoes, making her happy.
"Auntie, could you sell so potatoes too?"
"Xiao Jiang, the potatoes are only one basket, I can sell you half."
"Great, Auntie. If you have dried radish shreds, I’ll take so too. Scallions, squash, I’ll take any kind of vegetable."
"I have dried radish shreds and radish cubes, not charging you, take so to eat."
"That won’t do, I won’t accept without paying. Auntie, please just sell so; my family just moved here, we have nothing."
In the end, Jiang Xinyu spent five yuan buying the radishes, potatoes, and half a bag of dried radish shreds and cubes she wanted.
She was happy; at least there was no worry of running out of vegetables during the New Year.
Wei Kaiyun sat on the kang, watching his cheerful wife arrange the vegetables in the room. He knew she was particular about cleanliness; he hadn’t expected her to place vegetables in the living quarters.
Sister-in-law Liu was making porridge in the kitchen at the ti, and the village chief’s wife brought over two straw mats on a cart, "Xiao Jiang, cover the vegetables with these, it’ll help a bit."
"Sister-in-law, thank you so much. I was worried, thinking of using my own cotton coat to cover them."
"Why ruin your things? Just use these straw mats."
The village chief’s wife, a warm-hearted person, helped Jiang Xinyu cover the cabbages.
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