In the days that followed, Li Xianglu was bedridden on the traditional Kang bed for an entire week. During this time, a handsome middle-aged uncle came to apply medicine on her back. He was said to be the one who had stitched her up and the very person who had doused her wound with alcohol.
Despite having cursed the doctor to death during the excruciating pain back then, she now truly felt grateful. Her injuries were not severe, having been impaled by a diagonally positioned corn stalk on her back. Because she had fallen with great force, a seven-centimeter-long laceration was torn open. Under the current medical and transportation conditions, it would have taken her at least four hours to be transported to the county town. In those four hours, her wound would probably have become infected, and without care, she could easily have developed a high fever that turned into irreparable brain damage.
Over the past few days, taking anti-inflammatory medication every four hours and being fed glucose injections had led to a speedy recovery. Hence, she was now able to sit up and eat meals.
However, Ge Sanmei didn't show much of a pleasant demeanor at the dining table, whether out of guilt or awkwardness—she always had a gloomy expression and occasionally vented her anger on the pigs, chickens, and ducks.
Li Xianglu had never had much affection for her biological mother to begin with, and the beating that nearly cost her life only deteriorated their relationship. Indifferently, she decided not to engage—after all, if she couldn't provoke her, she could at least avoid her.
By October, all the work assigned by the production brigade had been completed, even the private plots allocated to each family had been harvested. The busy farming seasons had concluded, and the weather in Guanzhong was gradually getting colder. Li Xianglu's back had healed quite well after the stitches were removed, so she started helping with chores around the house again.
Ever since Li Xianglu had caught a rabbit, Li Jianqing became crazily fond of hunting and setting up traps. Surprisingly, he proved to be adept at it, understanding the techniques after observing only a few times. He dug numerous traps in the nearby mountains and forests, and indeed managed to catch several rabbits.
Li Xianglu buried the skinned rabbit pelts in the family vegetable garden. Without the proper tools for selling pelts here, she had to resort to traditional methods instead. Burying them in the earth, utilizing the alkalinity of the loess to naturally dispel any odors and greasiness, Li Xianglu planned to make a pair of cotton shoes lined with rabbit fur for herself when winter came.
Due to her injury, Li Dafu's youngest daughter, Li Xiangwei, often brought over some porridge made by her grandmother. This allowed the two girls to become familiar with each other. Li Xiangwei was one year older than Li Xianglu and slightly taller and more developed due to her better diet. The two seemed to have quite an age difference when they were together.
Li Xiangwei had excellent needlework skills and unlike Li Xianglu, she didn't work in the fields but stayed home cooking three meals a day and helping her sister-in-law with the children. She was, therefore, seen as a more coddled young lady, with a face not as sharp-featured as Li Xianglu's but rather plump and rosy.
After watching Li Xiangwei for a few days, Li Xianglu also intended to make a pair of shoes for herself. She checked and realized she didn't even own a decent pair of cotton shoes. The thought of wearing the one-piece fur snow boots from the space was out of the question, unless she covered them with a layer of tattered cloth to disguise them.
The weather was turning colder, and today the brigade was distributing food rations. After breakfast, Li Erfu and his wife Ge Sanmei, along with their eldest son, took their household register to the brigade office to collect their food supply.
It was now past breakfast time, and Li Jianhong had yet to wake up, while Li Xianglu was carrying a large basket, intending to pick all the frosted vegetables from her front-yard garden. She planned to dry those that could be air-dried, and wash the rest in preparation for Ge Sanmei to pickle them as salted vegetables.
After picking half of the crops, Li Xianglu wiped the sweat from her forehead, sat down at the west end of the enclosed vegetable garden, and sneakily took out a few milk candies from her space to enjoy. Unable to resist, she also grabbed a bottle of cola and took a satisfying gulp, letting out a loud belch before placing the cola back into her space with a smile, like a cat that got the cream. She then left the vegetable garden.
At this time, Li Jianhong had woken up hungry. She was in the kitchen, chowing down on corn pancakes. The pancakes were alright when hot, but once cooled, they were tough on the throat and choking hazards. Hungry and impatient, Li Jianhong quickly turned around and got startled by Li Xianglu standing at the doorway, choking on her food. In a hurry, she scooped up water from a jar with a gourd ladle and gulped it down.
Li Xianglu frowned at the sight of the gourd ladle, making a mental note to wash it well later.
Li Jianhong was the eldest daughter from Li Erfu's house, now twenty-four years old. She married into the Yuan family of the neighboring Jishui Village. Because she lived close by, she frequently came back to her parental home to stay and eat. Her personality was much like Ge Sanmei's, both equally irritating.
Ignoring Li Jianhong's unbearable behavior, Xianglu crouched down, struck a match, and set fire to some corn silk and kindling, swiftly getting a fire started to boil water.
Li Jianhong threw the water ladle onto the jar lid and continued to stand there devouring corn pancakes, biting greedily into the pickles. Li Xianglu displayed a look of disgust; it was as if she had reincarnated from a starving ghost. Granted, food was scarce these days, but the Yuan family, with their seven sons, large personal plot, and bountiful grain reserves, led a decent life—certainly not so desperately hungry.
Li Xianglu took a porcelain bowl from the cupboard, scooped water from the jar, and carefully washed the gourd ladle in an outdoor basin.
By then, Li Jianhong had left the kitchen, and upon seeing Li Xianglu washing the ladle she had drunk from, she scornfully commented, "Such fuss over nothing," before flouncing away, her large rear swaying. Today, the Yuan family made gluten and cornmeal dumplings—how stingy. She was now carrying the Yuan family's grandchild, yet they didn't consider making something special just for her.
Li Xianglu shook her head as she watched Jianhong leave with a swagger, choosing not to engage with such a person.
Li Xianglu quickly peeled several overripe cucumbers and sliced them up. The pot now contained a simmering cornmeal paste, and another pot was warming the cornbread steamed that morning. After some thought, Xianglu opened a black urn next to the cupboard, using a pair of clean chopsticks to fish around and retrieve a long, black lump. Tasting it in her hand, she raised an eyebrow—it was crunchy and delicious.
Li Xianglu and Li Jianqing had found a small patch of wild ginger while setting up rabbit traps in the woods, harvesting several baskets of it. Wild ginger was a great find, delicious when pickled or fried, and it also had medicinal values.
What puzzled Li Xianglu was why no one else had harvested this wild ginger to eat. It was only after seeing Jianqing's reaction that she realized people weren't aware it was edible—it was often just grazed on by sheep.
Li Xianglu hurriedly brought several baskets home. At first, Ge Sanmei was annoyed by their bustling activity, but after discovering that frying it up wasn't bad, she stopped complaining. In the end, it added another dish to the family's table.