Chapter Nineteen: The Mountain Dwellers

"Susu, please cut the meat and wash and prepare the vegetables. I’m going to Uncle Five’s place, and I’ll stir-fry when I get back." Chen Ling said this as he packed two bundles of green vegetables and a bag of peanuts into a urea sack.

"Oh?"

"Are you going to return the donkey cart to Uncle Five now? I locked the back gate; let me get the key for you." Wang Susu stood up immediately, ready to head inside.

Chen Ling reached out to stop her. "No need for the key. I’m not returning the cart; we’ll need it again tomorrow. I’m just going over to let Uncle Five know."

"Oh, I see."

"Then let me get the flashlight for you. It’s dark out." Wang Susu didn't ask why he needed the cart tomorrow; she simply turned to go inside and fetch the light for him.

Seeing this, Chen Ling couldn't help but smile. Having such a sweet, considerate wife was a true blessing.

Once Wang Susu returned with the flashlight, Chen Ling took it and stepped out. It must be said that nights in a mountain village during this era were truly pitch black. There were no streetlights, and few households even had electric bulbs. It was so dark you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.

Part of the reason was that the power supply wasn't very reliable—which was why they had decided to install high-voltage lines this year—but mostly, it was because the villagers were incredibly frugal. They lived as they always had, unable to afford televisions and rarely using electric lights. For most, a monthly electricity bill of a few cents was considered high. The expression "pitch black" was a perfect description of the current situation.

Chen Ling walked to Wang Laishun’s house, his flashlight cutting through the dark. When he arrived, the whole family was there. They were gathered around a round stone table in the courtyard, eating by the light of a kerosene lamp.

"Hey, Uncle Five, Aunt Guizhen, having dinner?" Chen Ling clicked off the flashlight as he walked in, carrying the peanuts and vegetables.

"Fugui is here! Did you manage to buy everything?" Seeing it was Chen Ling, Wang Laishun set down his bowl, stood up, and pulled out a folding stool for him.

"I did!" Chen Ling nodded. "But Uncle Five, I still need to use the donkey cart for a couple more days..."

As soon as these words left his mouth, Wang Laishun’s wife, who hadn't said a word when he arrived, immediately frowned, and Wang Laishun’s two daughters-in-law rolled their eyes.

"Oh? The donkey cart?" Wang Laishun was momentarily stunned, though he didn't react otherwise. He continued eating as he said, "Go ahead and use it. It’s not a busy season yet, so feel free."

"Are you preparing to plow the fields?"

"Not plowing. I need to make a few more trips into the county seat to haul some things back," Chen Ling explained with a wave of his hand.

Hearing this, even Wang Laishun couldn't help but frown. "Fugui, what exactly is your plan?"

"I don't have any grand plan. I'm just buying what I need, and then I'll start clearing that plot of land," Chen Ling said with a smile. There was no way he would reveal his true intentions to outsiders.

Upon hearing this, everyone at the table except Wang Laishun sneered inwardly. This big fool must have water in his brain. Was there anything worth fussing over on Erzhu's old plot? Running into town to spend money on this and that—would it actually amount to anything? Just wait and see how he cries in the end!

"Fine, you weigh it out yourself," Wang Laishun sighed. With his family present, it wasn't easy to say more.

"By the way, Uncle Five, I brought you a little something from the city." Chen Ling opened the sack and pulled out a bundle of long beans and a bundle of eggplants, followed by the peanuts.

The family was surprised to see fresh produce. In this season, vegetables were not cheap. And were their eyes deceiving them? Were those really eggplants and beans?

"Beans? Eggplants? Peanuts?"

"Are they fresh?" Wang Laishun picked them up to inspect them, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"Yes, they are. They were grown in a greenhouse and just picked. I bought them when I was coming back from the county seat," Chen Ling said, nodding with a smile.

"What? Grown in a greenhouse?" Wang Laishun was even more surprised. "Is that the greenhouse project the higher-ups have been supporting? The one Erzhu is planning to build?"

Chen Ling nodded again. At this, everyone else at the table put down their chopsticks and looked over. Wang Laishun’s wife, Liang Guizhen, who hadn't bothered to pay attention to Chen Ling earlier, walked over, picked up the beans and eggplants, and took the initiative to speak. "Fugui, these greenhouse vegetables must have cost a pretty penny, right?"

"Eh, they were alright," Chen Ling replied nonchalantly. Seeing Liang Guizhen clutching the bundles, he knew exactly what she was thinking. These vegetables were different from the ones at home; he had used a hidden spot to "force" them to grow before returning to the village. Like the peanuts, they were just a bit tastier than ordinary vegetables. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to give them away.

"Aunt Guizhen, the peanuts are fresh too—just harvested from the greenhouse. They’d be great for boiling into porridge for the kids tomorrow morning," Chen Ling reminded her.

Liang Guizhen smiled and said she knew, but she kept holding the two bundles of vegetables, showing no intention of looking at the peanuts. Why would she? Beans and eggplants were virtually unseen this time of year; could they possibly be cheap? And how much were peanuts worth anyway?

Seeing this, Chen Ling found it amusing. "Uncle Five, I’ll be going now. I’ll bring the cart back as soon as I’m done."

"I'll walk you out!" Since he’d received the greenhouse vegetables, Wang Laishun felt too embarrassed to just sit there.

Chen Ling tried to decline, but Wang Laishun insisted on walking him to the courtyard gate. Watching Chen Ling walk away, Wang Laishun returned to the yard with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he frowned and muttered, "That boy Fugui must be up to something. Maybe this time he'll actually make something happen."

"He won't amount to anything—just a good-for-nothing spendthrift," Liang Guizhen spat, carrying the vegetables into the house. The two daughters-in-law exchanged glances, not daring to utter a word.

...

Back home, Wang Susu had already washed and chopped the vegetables and meat, placing them in separate basins. Upon his return, she couldn't help but ask about the origin of the vegetables. In this day and age, off-season produce was quite a curiosity, unlike in the future where even a child would take it for granted.

"They were grown in a greenhouse. You know what a greenhouse is—the thing Erzhu is planning to build this year," Chen Ling explained with a smile. "Once it's built, it’ll be like spring all year round inside. We'll be able to grow watermelons and vegetables even in the winter... Things you can only eat in spring and summer will be available all year round."

"Oh?" Wang Susu’s mouth fell open in surprise. Then, thinking of something else, she asked tentatively, "That... that must have cost a lot of money to buy all those vegetables, right?"

"It didn't cost much, my little housekeeper." Seeing her expression, Chen Ling thought she looked incredibly cute, so he reached out and pinched her nose.

Wang Susu, being thin-skinned, couldn't handle such affection. Her face flushed, and she shot him a shy, indignant glare before lowering her head to scrub the iron wok, not daring to look at him again.