“Want to ask me about what happened today?” Chen Ningya asked gently, looking as if she understood everything.
Wen Youshan gave a sheepish laugh and hurriedly pledged his loyalty, “Wife, it’s not that I don’t approve of you fighting, it’s just that fighting is dangerous. What if you get hurt? In the future, just tell me about things like this, and I’ll stand up for you.”
“Pfft!” Chen Ningya laughed, casting a reproachful glance at Wen Youshan. “Aren’t you worried that I’ll bring trouble upon you? Although I don’t walk around the village much, I still know a thing or two about what goes on. That Huang Meng’s family are no good. They wouldn’t dare retaliate openly, but they’ll definitely resort to underhanded tactics.”
Before Chen Ningya could finish, Wen Youshan had already slapped the table and stood up, furious. “They wouldn’t dare! If they dare to play dirty, I’ll throw them into the Yong River!”
The Yong River was a large river that bypassed the back of the village and eventually flowed into the sea. The current was quite swift near their village, so the villagers generally didn’t swim in it. However, those who were good swimmers would set traps; if they were lucky, they could catch a big fish to sell for a few coins, which was something Wen Youshan often did.
Speaking of the Yong River, Wen Youshan slapped his forehead. “Almost forgot, I went down to the water near the mountain today. I caught two wild rabbits and a bamboo rat in the traps, and happened to catch a snake lurking by the trap as well. I’ll dig out the snake gall later and ask if anyone in the county town wants it tomorrow. Also, there are some things in the fish basket: a carp weighing about four catties, and three smaller ones, probably one or two catties each. The rest are just river shrimp. I didn’t keep the tiny ones, but I brought back all the big ones. These things don’t live long, so I won’t sell them; we’ll keep them for ourselves to eat.”
In truth, Wen Youshan didn’t really like eating them—not only was there little meat, but they were also time-consuming to prepare. Selling them was a hassle because it was far, and the river shrimp would die shortly after being taken out of the water. Often, he would go through all that trouble for nothing. In the past, he would just throw them back into the water, but this time, he thought that since Chen Ningya had just regained her memory, she might like them.
Sure enough, Chen Ningya’s eyes lit up when she heard about the river shrimp. Without waiting for Wen Youshan to say more, she ran to the courtyard. Fearing she might be scared by the snake, Wen Youshan hurriedly chased after her and quickly fished out the river shrimp.
Chen Ningya took a look and was delighted. “Not bad, not bad at all. They’re quite large. Let’s put them in the porridge tomorrow morning to give the children some nourishment.”
“There’s not much meat on these things, how will they provide nourishment? How about we kill a rabbit instead?” Wen Youshan hesitated.
Chen Ningya shook her head. “No need. Since we’re going to the county town, we should take everything else to sell. Just keep these river shrimp; I’ll add an egg and that will be enough.”
In her previous life, Chen Ningya had no memory of the Yong River behind their house. She hadn’t expected it to hold so many good things.
Seeing that she liked them, Wen Youshan hurriedly said, “After I get back from the county town, I’ll go set a few more fish baskets. There are plenty of these river shrimp in the Yong River. The villagers don’t like catching them, only occasionally scooping some up for a treat.”
“Are there anything else in the Yong River besides river shrimp and fish?” Chen Ningya asked, full of curiosity.
Wen Youshan thought carefully. “It seems there are also many things with shells, though I don’t know how they got in there. There aren’t many, though; I only scoop up a few occasionally. Those things taste even worse than the river shrimp.”
Hearing this, Chen Ningya couldn’t guess what they were, so she let it go.
The next day at the hour of the Tiger (3:00–5:00 AM), Chen Ningya woke up. She went to the kitchen to start a fire and put the rice in the pot before cleaning the river shrimp. After a night, the shrimp looked a bit lethargic and would likely be dead in a few hours, so she quickly peeled them while they were still alive. She then chopped the shrimp into pieces, mixed them with two duck eggs, and added the mixture to the porridge just as it was about to be done, along with some chopped greens. A fragrant, fresh shrimp porridge was ready.
The Zhang family’s room was closest to the kitchen. Wen Yuanliang and the others woke up smelling the aroma and couldn’t fall back asleep, so they quickly got out of bed.
While eating, Wen Youshan looked at the children with some frustration, then looked at the sky. “Are you all not planning to go back to sleep for another hour? It’s not even light out yet!”
The children shook their heads in unison, their eyes fixed on the porridge in the center of the table. Even the youngest, Wen Yuanxing, kept slapping the table, drooling all over himself.
Chen Ningya amusedly served each of them a bowl of porridge and then picked up Wen Yuanxing to feed him.
As soon as Wen Youshan took a bite, the children immediately started eating.
Wen Yuanzhen took her first bite, and her eyes lit up. She asked excitedly, “Mother, the porridge is so fragrant! And it’s not all water like it used to be.”
Even Wen Youshan was surprised. “Wife, is this just because of the river shrimp? The taste is indeed much better.”
Wen Yuanxing waved his hands happily, shouting incoherently, “Eat, eat, eat!”
Chen Ningya couldn’t help but laugh. Fearing he might fall, she tightened her grip on him and coaxed, “My little ancestor, can you stop moving and eat your porridge properly? Otherwise, it’ll be gone in a moment.”
The little one seemed to understand and immediately stopped fussing. Chen Ningya then explained to everyone, “Our family has little land. The grain we harvest every year isn’t enough to keep us full, even without paying taxes. Now that spring planting has just finished and the crops in the fields haven’t grown yet, grain prices are much higher than after the autumn harvest. To save money, we can add things to our porridge in the future. This will not only keep us full but is also more nourishing. Besides today’s river shrimp porridge, we can also make fish porridge. I’ll make them for you in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Yuanliang immediately said, “I’ll go catch river shrimp today.”
Chen Ningya’s expression changed, and she shook her head firmly. “No. The Yong River current is swift; even grown adults don’t dare to go into the water casually. You are not allowed to go there. If you really want to catch them, look in the village stream. There are plenty of river shrimp in the stream anyway. Regardless, you are not allowed to go to the Yong River, understand?”
Wen Yuanliang rarely saw Chen Ningya with such a serious expression and knew she was being earnest. He nodded immediately and promised her, “Mother, don’t worry, we won’t go to the Yong River. Father has said that people drown there every year, so we shouldn’t go near it.”
Only then was Chen Ningya relieved.
The family finished breakfast with laughter and chatter. Before leaving, Chen Ningya specifically brought all the children along and said to Wen Youshan, “We’ll be out for the whole day, and I’m worried about leaving the children at home. Especially since Yuanxing is active now, it’s too much for the second girl to look after him. I’m thinking of sending them to Aunt Sun’s place, paying for their food for the day, and buying her something when we return.”
Seeing that Chen Ningya was so thoughtful, Wen Youshan agreed immediately. He carried a pile of things and led the way, never noticing the mother and children whispering behind him.
Although you could see the Sun family at the foot of the mountain from outside the Wen family’s fence, it actually took the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to walk there. Moreover, the mountain path was uneven, and small animals would occasionally dart out, making it impossible to guard against.