Li Xianglu was scooping out pickled ginger when she saw several people enter the kitchen.
Li Jianqing and two teenage boys came in.
Li Xianglu recognized the two boys behind Li Jianqing as her older brother's friends, one named Ma Sanjue, the only descendant of Grandma Ma in the village, and the other named Qin Zhen, a young man who had come to the countryside.
But the village was simple and rustic, and since it was already '73, people weren't too strict, so most of the kids played together.
Seeing her older brother bring his buddies to play, Li Xianglu amiably said, "Brother, you're back. Look how delicious the pickled ginger we dug up is."
After speaking, she quickly scooped out half a bowl onto the table and brought out a pair of chopsticks.
In those times, everyone's home was short of food, and three teenage boys who were at the age when they love to eat immediately forgot their declaration of not mingling with girls, and they finished the pickled vegetables in a few bites. Ge Sanmei had agreed to this; she had firmly objected to using soy sauce at first, but then Li Jianhong, who was pregnant and had cravings, made a big fuss for half a day.
Harassed by her persistence, Ge Sanmei relented and took out two taels of soy sauce to marinate twenty pounds.
Li Xianglu was stunned—two taels of soy sauce to marinate twenty pounds of pickles? That's absurd.
But Li Xianglu could cheat. She had plenty of soy sauce stored in her Storage Ring, just add a bit more.
After Li Jianqing finished the last piece of ginger from his bowl, he said proudly to the two boys, "How was it? I wasn't boasting, was I? My sister's cooking is delicious, right?"
The one called Qin Zhen was a chubby boy; his mouth was all red from eating, and while slurping his lips, he said unconvinced, "Hmph, it's not even meat, just some pickles. What's so great about that?"
Li Jianqing, the leader among the village kids, glared with eyes wide as a cow's, "What are you boasting about? A kid from a family like yours still eats meat!"
The chubby boy immediately got upset and shouted, "Li Xiaosan, is it fun? Always bringing this up; I'm telling you, my grandpa is about to be reinstated soon, so stop mentioning it."
Li Xianglu, who was chopping vegetables, lit up and asked with a grin, "Brother Qin, are you guys moving back to the city?"
The youngest in his family, Qin Xiang had a brother who was rather fierce. Being softly called 'brother' by a little girl suddenly made his face turn red, and he stammered, "We don't know yet."
While they were talking, someone outside shouted, "Li Jianqing from Er Fu's house, come quickly, your Daddy is calling you at the wheat field."
Li Jianqing heard the call and rushed out, only to see someone standing on top of their cave dwelling calling out. So, he stood in the courtyard and asked, "Uncle Sanwang, what's up? What does my Daddy want?"
The middle-aged man shouted, "Your cart broke down, the grain has spilled and the sack is torn. Your Daddy told you to bring some sacks over."
Li Jianqing nodded, and Li Xianglu had already come out holding two large hemp sacks filled with patches, handing them to Li Jianqing and saying, "The cart is broken; we might need to think of a way to borrow one."
Li Jianqing nodded, indeed, they couldn't carry all the grain back by hand. Qin Zhen, having eaten their food, smugly raised his head, "I know where there's a cart!"
Li Jianqing was delighted upon hearing this, "Quick, tell us, let's go get it!"
But Qin Zhen lifted his chin and said, "Deal, but you have to fill a bowl of pickles for me first, or no deal!"
Beside them, Li Jianqing, riled up, raised his hand and ran over, while Li Xianglu quickly shook her head and intervened, "Brother, hey, stop messing around, let's just give it to him. Come on, I'll go with everyone."
Saying this, Li Xianglu went inside to scoop out a bowl of pickles and followed them out. Seeing this, Qin Zhen's eyes brightened, and the corners of his mouth lifted in triumph.
Beside them, Ma Sanjue was unhappy, "Who just said the pickles weren't tasty and now still wants them? Shameless!"
Qin Zhen's eyes blazed with anger as soon as he heard it, ready to throw a punch.
Li Jianqing waved his hand irritably and said, "Let's move it, what's everyone standing around for? My place is still waiting."
The four of them then left the yard.
Li Jianqing asked Qin Zhen, "Who has a handcart we can borrow?"
Qin Zhen boasted proudly, "Of course, who do you think I am!"
Li Jianqing really wanted to give this guy a beating at that moment, but thinking that borrowing the cart was more important, he held back.
The four of them arrived at a yard on Third Ridge, where the yard was under construction, and while no one was inside, there was a handcart with iron wheels left in the yard.
Li Jianqing and Ma Sanjue both gathered around for a look. As Qin Zhen was about to take the cart and go, Li Jianqing said, "Qin Xiaopang, whose cart is this? You haven't even asked for permission, we can't just take it without asking!"
Qin Zhen said with a cheeky grin, "No problem, it belongs to a neighbor, definitely okay, I'll just let them know later."
While saying this, Qin Zhen suddenly noticed the pickles in Li Xianglu's hand, quickly took them and darted into the neighboring yard. As soon as he went in, he was greeted by chaos.
The three others were stunned and couldn't help but stand at the entrance to see what was happening, only to see a tall young man walking out of a cave dwelling, dragging Qin Zhen by the hand.
Li Xianglu found it amusing, but then saw her older brother's face filled with horror, and Ma Sanjuezi also retreated hurriedly in fright, as they all moved to a more concealed spot.
Li Xianglu was baffled, wondering who this intimidating person could be.
She saw the young man glance over this way, then his lips curved slightly as he said to the squatting Qin Zhen on the ground, "Qin Zhen, didn't you say you weren't coming back?"
Qin Zhen hurriedly shook his head, stammering, "No, Brother, I just went out to play for a bit."
The young man raised his eyebrow and hummed.
Qin Zhen hurriedly added, "I-I just played for a bit too long."
Seeing how pitiful this chubby kid was, Li Xianglu couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Li Jianqing, terrified, was about to cover his sister's mouth when he heard the young man in the yard ask, "Who's out there?"
Seeing the two of them retreating in shock without understanding why, Li Xianglu had no choice but to bravely step forward and say, "It's me. I'm the youngest daughter of Er Fu. We came to borrow the cart."
The door was then opened, and Qin Xi looked down at the girl in a black cloak full of patches, raising his eyebrow slightly.
Li Xianglu somehow felt that the young man's gaze seemed to be scrutinizing her.
Qin Xi nodded and said, "You can use the neighbor's cart, but make sure to return it soon."
Li Xianglu nodded and called to her brother, "Ge San, we can borrow it. Let's go."
The two were called out, and standing there facing Qin Xi, they both behaved themselves and greeted, "Brother Qin."
Li Xianglu looked over in confusion, thinking that this was Qin Xiaopang's older brother, but they didn't look much alike.