The n didn’t even wash their hands before grabbing the patties and taking a bite. The patties were pan-fried to a fragrant crisp, their spicy-and-sour filling laced with the aroma of at. Every man who ate one grinned with delight.
Although they were a bit concerned with appearances and felt a little embarrassed, they figured these were just corn patties, nothing fancy. Even if the filling was a bit more refined, it was still made with pickled vegetables. And while there were so bits of minced at, Brother Changhe was a down-to-earth guy. He’d recently started a business selling pork offal and pig’s head at, so they imagined he wouldn’t mind sparing a bit of at. Hadn’t he also given them a good deal of tofu?
So they started playfully scrambling for them.
Big Mouth Zhao, true to his na, took a huge bite that devoured half a patty. He ate fast, finishing one in two or three bites before grabbing a second—he was familiar with Juhua, after all, so he didn’t stand on ceremony. Seeing this, Li Changxing, with his mouth still full, quickly grabbed another one to hold in his hand. He furiously tried to swallow what was in his mouth, choking so hard he had to crane his neck.
This sent everyone into a roar of laughter.
Zhao San stamped his foot in regret. "If I’d known, I would’ve hidden in the kitchen to eat and not brought these out! I thought there’d be plenty, enough to take so ho for my wife and Little Shitou. But you pack of starving ghosts snatched them all up, and now there’s nothing left!"
Huang Dagunzi chuckled. "Hey, Third Brother, that’s not the right way to put it. How could you eat all by yourself? Isn’t this more fun? The day after tomorrow, when we butcher our pig, we’ll invite Brother Changhe over for pig-butchering soup. Whoa! How are they all gone? These patties really are delicious." As he spoke, he craned his neck to peek into the kitchen.
When the n saw a group of young girls in the kitchen, they all laughed again. It was just like a party. If they weren’t just eating patties, you’d think it was a wedding banquet.
Seeing this, Liu Xiaoi exclaid, "Oh no! We did all this work, and now everyone else is enjoying the fruits of our labor. I was planning to take a couple ho for tonight, but now they’re all gone. Juhua, hurry and put so away, or your brother will have nothing to eat when he gets ho tonight."
The girls found it both funny and a little distressing. They quickly gathered so of the remaining patties and stored them in the cupboard.
Outside, Zheng Changhe was still shouting, "Juhua, bring out so more patties! Your Uncle Huang hasn’t had enough yet!"
izi picked out about ten patties, placed them in a bamboo basket, and brought them out. She announced to the group, "Everyone only gets one! You can’t have too many, or there won’t be enough."
Hearing this, the crowd erupted in another round of laughter.
Those who had already eaten one or two felt a bit sheepish. The older n smiled, stood up, shouldered their loads of acorns, and left. The younger ones, however, paid no mind. Li Changxing and Big Mouth Zhao each ate another one. In the blink of an eye, the freshly brought-out basket was empty again.
Back in the kitchen, Lanzi and the other girls heard izi’s blunt, straightforward words and bent over laughing. Only soone like her would dare say that. With her innocently charming and naive nature, she just said whatever ca to mind.
It was at this mont that Zhang Huai entered the courtyard.
As soon as his lessons were over, he had hurried to Little Qing Mountain to et his father. He had to walk quite a ways before he found him. He saw Zhang Dashuan carrying a full load of acorns on a shoulder pole, while his mother, He, carried half a load. He quickly took his mother’s pole from her.
Noticing two rabbits in a basket, he smiled. "Not a bad day today. You caught two rabbits."
After a mont’s thought, he added, "Let’s give one to Qingmu’s family. We’re always eating the pork offal they give us."
Zhang Dashuan shot him a glance. "You think I need you to tell that? I was already planning on giving them one. You can take it over in a bit." The last part was directed at He.
He glanced at Zhang Huai. She had noticed her son acting strangely lately and suspected he had finally co around and developed feelings for Juhua. So she said, "I need to hurry ho and start dinner. Huai Zi, you should take it over. I’ll head back first." With that, she left ahead of them.
By the ti Zhang Huai entered the courtyard, all the patties were gone. A group of n were gathered, laughing boisterously about sothing.
He could only sll the fragrant aroma filling the courtyard. He didn’t spot Zheng Changhe in the crowd, so he carried the rabbits and went straight into the kitchen.
Juhua was just taking out the patties that Liu Xiaoi had hidden. She was counting them to see if there were enough for her brother that evening. After counting, she saw there were about ten left. ’That’s good,’ she thought. ’It’s enough for the family tonight. I can’t eat any more anyway.’
Just as she was about to hide the bamboo tray in the cupboard, Zhang Huai walked in. She froze on the spot, suddenly unsure whether she should put it away or not.
izi, Li Jinxiang, and the others saw the stunned look on Juhua’s face as she held the tray, caught in the awkward act of trying to hide it. They couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
Zhang Huai looked at the room full of girls, completely baffled. ’What’s going on?’ he wondered. Still, just like Qingmu, he was exceptionally happy to see the village girls coming over to spend ti with Juhua.
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