Qi He and Meng Yu Luo also came to help. They carried a bucket of water, and without letting Fu Xin Ci lift a finger, the two boys watered the sweet potato seedlings.
"It's good to have friends," Fu Xin Ci sighed inwardly.
She then carried the basket of sweet potatoes and followed her grandfather out of the warm shed. Grandpa Meng carefully latched the shed door.
Back in her grandfather's room, Fu Xin Ci personally found a very small clay pot, similar to a mortar for pounding garlic.
After washing it clean, she filled it halfway with clear water. Then, she picked a sweet potato she found pleasing, washed it, and placed it upright in the clay pot, the water reaching just over half its height.
"Ci'er, what are you doing?"
"Grandfather, we'll grow sweet potatoes in water. As long as this room stays warm, the sweet potatoes will sprout and grow leaves in no time."
Grandpa Meng's eyes lit up as he listened to his granddaughter. "Ci'er, can the sprouts from the sweet potatoes be planted?"
"Yes."
"That's wonderful. Ci'er, should we get more pots to grow sweet potatoes? We can enjoy the greenery in winter, and when spring comes, we can plant the sweet potato sprouts in the ground to produce sweet potatoes. It's killing two birds with one stone."
"Grandfather's idea is excellent." Fu Xin Ci hadn't thought of this herself before.
Qi He, Meng Yu Luo, and Yu'er had been listening with their heads cocked. They were already curious about this new food, the sweet potato.
Hearing Grandpa Meng suggest growing more sweet potatoes now piqued their interest.
"Grandfather, I want to grow one too."
Qi He: He and Yu'er shared a room, so he didn't need to say it.
Meng Yu Luo: Qi Ge hadn't said anything, so he felt embarrassed to speak up.
Grandpa Meng clearly saw the thoughts of the two boys and said with a smile, "This is easy to solve. Every room that is occupied will have a sweet potato grown in a pot. Once the sweet potatoes sprout and grow leaves, we can compare whose room's sweet potato sprouts grow the best."
"Ah, Father's idea is excellent. I'll take a sweet potato back to grow as well." Fu Yu happened to come in from outside and immediately agreed after hearing his father's words.
He even rummaged through the basket and picked out one he thought was the most satisfactory.
Seeing his father take action, Yu'er couldn't fall behind. He quickly took Qi He's hand and went over, even offering Qi Ge some advice: "Qi Ge, this one looks good. Let's take this one."
After speaking, Yu'er went to pick up the largest sweet potato.
Seeing Yu'er's intention, everyone held back their laughter and said nothing.
...
Because there were many people in the family, Madam Fang, along with Zhong Shi and Tian Shi, pickled three large vats of sauerkraut. Fearing it wouldn't be enough for the winter, they also pickled a short vat of radishes, as Fu Xin Ci had suggested.
Madam Fang had never pickled radishes before, and she used the same method as for pickling sauerkraut.
Fu Xin Ci saw Madam Fang looking at her with some doubt and explained, "Grandfather said that pickled radishes taste sour. If you cut them into thin shreds and stir-fry them quickly in hot oil over high heat, they are very refreshing and go well with rice."
Madam Fang vaguely recalled this after her daughter's explanation. However, her grandparents had passed away years ago, and she couldn't remember. It made her a little embarrassed that her daughter, who was so young, could remember.
...
The weather grew colder, but the mountain valley below the Yingzui Cliff Guard Station was no longer as desolate as in previous years.
Qi Yuanshan stood at the entrance of the Guard Station, looking at Grandpa Meng's courtyard with great interest.
Not far from Grandpa Meng's courtyard, several small dark dots were constantly moving. He could clearly distinguish which dot was his son.
Alas, it was hard not to distinguish him; his son was like a little shadow, trailing behind the little girl.
However, he was also a bit curious now. In this cold weather, why weren't the children staying inside? What were they digging outside? He wanted to go and see.
Qi Yuanshan was also a man of action. Since he thought of it, he acted on it. There was nothing urgent at the Guard Station today, so he saddled his date-red horse and went to Grandpa Meng's.
It wasn't far. By the time Qi Yuanshan arrived on horseback, he saw the children digging wild leeks.
Qi He heard the hoofbeats and knew who it was without looking. "Father."
"What are you guys digging this for?"
"To plant in the warm shed. Sister Fu said that we can make dumplings with chives for filling during the New Year."
"That's a good idea."
Meng Qitian suddenly asked his elder niece, "Xin Ci, can this be planted in a broken pottery pot and placed by the kang or the big stove?"
"It should be possible, but the color won't be as green as in the summer, and they won't grow as robustly."
"It won't affect cooking, will it?"
"No, it won't."
"That's good then." Seeing that his elder niece said it wouldn't affect cooking, Meng Qitian decided to dig more. He would also take some home to plant in that broken pottery pot.
Grandpa Meng stood at the door watching the children. Seeing Qi Yuanshan arrive, he invited him in for a seat.
"It's alright, Uncle Meng. The weather is nice today, at least there's sunshine. I'll stay for a while and then head back."
"Why go back so early? Tell Yu'er's wife later to make dinner early tonight, and you can eat here before going back."
"That would be great." At Uncle Meng's house, Qi Yuanshan never treated himself as an outsider.
Dinner was large steamed buns made with cornmeal and cabbage filling. After just one bite, Qi Yuanshan noticed the difference.
"Uncle, this cornmeal is delicious. It doesn't scratch my throat at all."
"I noticed it too. The cornmeal Father bought this time is exceptionally good." Fu Yu also felt it was better than the cornmeal they had before.
Fu Xin Ci dared not say that it was ground by the milling machine in her space, which was incomparable to the stone mills here.
Grandpa Meng knew what was going on and chimed in, "Yu'er's wife, prepare the dough later using this cornmeal, and we'll steam some for breakfast tomorrow morning."
"I want to eat steamed buns too." Fu Xin Ci quite liked cornmeal steamed buns.
"I like them too. Qi He also likes the milk-steamed buns."
"Okay, I'll prepare the dough after dinner, and I'll steam them for you all tomorrow morning."
Qi Yuanshan also liked pure cornmeal steamed buns. However, he had been away from home for many years, and now that his mother was gone, he could no longer eat the steamed buns his mother used to make.
Grandpa Meng probably didn't expect that his suggestion of having steamed buns tomorrow morning would evoke such sadness in Qi Yuanshan.
As night fell, Fu Xin Ci entered her space and traded a lot of food for her companions before returning to sleep with peace of mind.
This was the so-called "a family with surplus grain has no worries."
In the dead of night, all was silent. At some point, a rustling sound seemed to emanate from the heavens and earth.
From far to near, the sounds grew denser.
"Squeak squeak squeak."
Fu Xin Ci was sleeping soundly when she heard Xiao Bai making a fuss by her ear.
Fu Xin Ci didn't open her eyes. She reached out, intending to push Xiao Bai away, muttering sleepily and with a hint of disdain, "Stop being noisy."