“Xiao Wu, didn’t you say you wanted to go behind the mountain to pick mushrooms at noon?”
Shen Wanzhi had just walked out of the main house when she saw her fourth brother, Shen Yujing, returning from cutting pig feed grass. He tossed the grass from his back next to the pigsty, used one hand to take off the straw hat from his head, and the other to pull up his undershirt to wipe the sweat from his face, then called out towards the room.
“Youngest brother, do you want to come with me?” Shen Wanzhi asked, simultaneously standing on tiptoes, preparing to take down a bamboo basket hanging on the wall.
In the southern countryside during the 1970s, houses were typically built with walls made of mud mixed with millet stalks. With many people in the family and limited rooms, space was precious. Nails hammered into the walls under the eaves served as hooks, from which many bamboo baskets hung.
Everything that could be hung was hung on the walls; if it couldn’t be hung directly, ropes were strung up to hang things from.
Among Shen Wanzhi’s family of five siblings, including their parents, everyone in the village was considered tall. Only Shen Wanzhi barely scraped past 1.60 meters. Compared to people in the South, she wasn’t short, but within her own family, she wasn’t considered tall.
Father Shen Jianguo feared that if the nails for hanging bamboo baskets were too low, they might scratch family members, so he hammered them quite high. The others could reach them with a slight stretch, but it was a struggle for Shen Wanzhi.
Every time, she had to stand on tiptoes just to reach.
Shen Yujing put down the pig feed grass and stepped closer, standing behind his sister, then reached out and took down the bamboo basket.
“Xiao Wu, tell me, we all eat the same food, so why did your height stop growing back in middle school?”
Shen Yujing and Shen Wanzhi were twins; they had been together since their mother’s womb. He was born more than ten minutes before his sister, taking on the role of older brother.
Shen Wanzhi turned around, realizing that looking straight ahead, she could only see her youngest brother’s chest. When she looked up, she saw a flash of white teeth bared in a grin.
Both were 18, yet her youngest brother was significantly taller than her.
The young man had handsome features, and the simple undershirt he wore couldn’t conceal the strong muscles on his arms. He looked even more robust than an imagined 18-year-old.
“Mom… youngest brother is calling me short.” Shen Wanzhi bared her teeth at her youngest brother, then, catching sight of Mother Zhu Chunru emerging from the kitchen, she snatched the bamboo basket from her youngest brother’s hand and ran towards her mother, complaining as she went.
Zhu Chunru was carrying freshly chopped red chili peppers, preparing to take them to the main house. Hearing her youngest daughter complain, she glared at her son: “You’re an older brother, shouldn’t you yield to your sister? You’re so grown up, why do you still like to tease her?”
Shen Yujing watched his sister, who was hiding behind their mother, make a face at him, and he mimed flicking her forehead from afar.
Shen Wanzhi then said, “Mom, youngest brother is hitting me again.”
Shen Yujing: “…”
Zhu Chunru raised her hand as if to hit her son. Shen Yujing continuously retreated a few steps, pleading for mercy: “Mom, I was wrong! Xiao Wu, let’s hurry and pick mushrooms. If we go late, Zhao Erwa next door will pick them all clean!”
Hearing about mushrooms, Shen Wanzhi then said to her mother, “Mom, youngest brother and I are going behind the mountain to pick mushrooms. Can we have mushroom soup with chicken eggs for dinner tonight?”
Zhu Chunru looked at her two children and said exasperatedly, “Go pick them first, then we’ll talk! Do you think the mushrooms are just waiting for you?”
It was currently August, the hottest time of the year. There was little work in the fields. Dayan Village was a large village, with a big river at its entrance and two large mountains at its back.
Although the current conditions for each household were much better than during the lean years, they still had to exchange labor for work points to get food.
More and more children were born into the family, there was a shortage of able-bodied laborers, and life was a matter of tightening one's belt.
There wasn't much work this summer, and it was just when the children were on summer break. After a rain, mushrooms grew abundantly in the mountains.
In the southwest of Dayan Village, where the four seasons were distinct, there were many kinds of mushrooms in the forest. But there were also many villagers, so whether one could pick them depended not only on luck but also on who could run faster.
In the mountains at this time of year, the most fragrant were termite mushrooms, which the locals called "doujun." In this era lacking meat and oil, these termite mushrooms, tender as silk with a crisp yet soft texture, became excellent mountain products that improved the flavor of their impoverished lives.
But these mushrooms would shrink when stir-fried, and a day's harvest wouldn't be enough for a family of several mouths. If cooked into a soup, however, it could make a large pot. And if two eggs were fried and dipped in a little oil, the aroma would spread, truly mouth-watering.
Shen Wanzhi, however, disagreed: "Mom, just you wait and see, my luck is excellent. Today I'm sure to pick a lot of mushrooms. You just worry about preparing the eggs." Eggs were also a rare commodity in these times; even two eggs had to be carefully considered before daring to eat them.
After she finished speaking, she called out to Shen Yucheng: "Youngest Brother, let's go."
Zhu Chunru looked at her daughter's excited demeanor, not knowing what had happened. About a year ago, her daughter had suffered a high fever. Fortunately, the fever hadn't burned her out; on the contrary, after recovering, her personality had suddenly become much livelier. It was just that prolonged fever; a month ago, her husband had found a doctor somewhere, and after taking medicine a few times for nearly half a month, her body had recovered.
She looked much brighter overall.
Her personality was becoming more and more endearing. Before, except for going to school, when would she ever brave the strong sun to pick mushrooms like this? At home, she didn't like to talk much; if there was nothing to do, she'd rather look in the mirror and braid her hair than exchange a few words with family members.
It must be because she had grown up; this year she was also graduating from high school. It was good for a grown daughter to be a bit livelier; if she was too quiet and sullen, she wouldn't know how to speak up if bullied outside.
Zhu Chunru looked at her 18-year-old daughter, who was like a delicate flower, having grown up to be like the fairies described in books. It wasn't that she was boasting, but no girl in this village or the neighboring ones was as beautiful as her Yaomei. Her eyes were large and bright, her body healthy, her skin fair with a hint of pink, and a head of thick, silky black hair was tied into a braid. Which family's daughter wouldn't envy her? Even the educated youths who came down from big cities weren't as beautiful as her Yaomei.
How could such a good girl be born in the countryside? Zhu Chunru couldn't help but sigh. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like she was meant for a life of comfort.
They all said that emperors favored their eldest sons, while common folk favored their youngest children. Zhu Chunru was good to all her children, but her three elder daughters had all married off. The fourth child was a son, and the youngest was a daughter, so of course, she doted on her youngest daughter a little more.
Leaving aside other things, in her heart, she was certainly a little more worried about her.