Chapter 37: Why Did Mom Suddenly Become So Generous?

Xie Zhao stopped teasing him. Right in front of Zhao Tiezhu, he opened the blue cloth pouch he had tucked in his shirt.

Inside was a thick stack of small change.

“Three jin and four liang. At fifty cents a jin, that makes one yuan and seventy cents!”

Xie Zhao counted out one yuan and seventy cents, carefully placing the money into Zhao Tiezhu’s hand.

Zhao Tiezhu had never seen so much money in his life.

His eyes widened and he clenched his fist, terrified that the money might somehow slip away!

“How’s that? Cash on delivery. I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

Xie Zhao winked at Zhao Tiezhu. “Are we good brothers or what? Are you going to find more snails to sell me tomorrow?”

Zhao Tiezhu nodded his head like a rattle drum^[1]!

“Tomorrow is market day, and I’m going to buy that slingshot! I have money now!”

He grinned widely at Xie Zhao, baring his teeth in a huge smile. “Once I buy the slingshot, I’ll go look for more snails! I’ll definitely get more than today!”

Seeing that Zhao Tiezhu had actually received the money, Wang Erhu and the others couldn’t wait any longer. They squeezed forward, eagerly thrusting the snails in their hands toward him.

“Second Brother Xie! Mine! I have more than Zhao Tiezhu! I’m the most capable!”

“Mine is the most! The fields by my house have the most snails! I can find a whole bunch just by turning over a few clods of dirt!”

“I want to buy a slingshot too! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have wasted this afternoon playing!”

…

The children suddenly swarmed around Xie Zhao in a noisy huddle.

Xie Cheng tapped the table and called out loudly, “If you want to sell your snails, we have to weigh them first! Come on, line up! Weigh them first, then get your money. Cash on delivery!”

He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

Tsk.

He had been a bit worried about not being able to deliver tomorrow, but these snails should be enough for now. After dinner, he could take a lantern to the river and catch some more, and they would be close enough.

The second in line was, of course, Wang Erhu.

Two streaks of snot hung from his chubby face, and his eyes shone brightly as he stared at Xie Cheng.

“Wang Erhu, also three jin and four liang! One yuan and seventy cents!”

Wang Erhu was a little disappointed to hear he had the exact same amount as Zhao Tiezhu. But the moment Xie Zhao placed the stack of money into his hand, he immediately grinned with excitement!

“Wow! That’s so much money! I’ve never seen this much money before!”

He turned to Zhao Tiezhu and snorted, “Zhao Tiezhu, we’re tied today! But tomorrow I’ll definitely beat you! I’m the strongest big brother!”

Zhao Tiezhu scoffed, “Bring it on! I’m the oldest! I’m the most awesome!”

The two of them started bickering again.

Meanwhile, the remaining children were already eagerly handing their river snails to Xie Cheng.

Xie Cheng worked quickly.

He had never gone to school and was terrible at math, but when it came to reading the scale, he was a top-tier expert!

“Cuicui, one jin and three liang!”

“Minghong, two jin and two liang!”

“Gou Sheng’er^[2], one jin and one liang!”

…

He quickly placed the river snails by his feet, and Xie Youzhen hurried to dump them into a large water vat.

Beside them, Xie Zhao calculated the totals and handed out the money just as quickly.

The three of them worked in perfect harmony.

In total, the nine children had gathered twenty-three jin and four liang of river snails.

The children didn’t leave right away. They crowded around out of curiosity, staring at the river snails on the ground and chattering all at once.

That was until the voices of parents looking for their children began to echo from outside.

“Zhao Tiezhu! Is your skin itching for a beating? What time do you think it is? Get home!”

“Gou Sheng’er! Has anyone seen my Gou Sheng’er?”

“No strangers have come to our village! Where would a child-snatcher come from?”

…

Hearing these voices, the kids perked up their ears, stuffed the money into their pockets, and bolted out the door.

“Second Brother Xie! I’ll come back tomorrow!”

“I’ll definitely gather the most tomorrow!”

“No, me!”

The children were like a swarm of bees, buzzing in and buzzing out just as quickly.

The courtyard fell silent, and Xie Zhao felt his ears finally get some peace and quiet.

“Whew! They were so loud my head is pounding.”

Xie Zhao stretched his limbs and turned to Xie Youzhen. “Dad, will the river snails be fine in the vat? They won’t die, will they?”

Xie Youzhen wiped away his sweat, a rare smile finally appearing on his dark, weathered face.

“How could they? It’s winter, so they won’t die easily. Besides, these things are heavy, so they don’t actually take up that much space in the vat.”

Only then did Xie Zhao feel reassured.

Tian Xiufen brought over a large porcelain basin filled to the brim with sweet potato porridge.

She also grabbed a plate of pickled vegetables out of the pickling jar.

There were chili peppers, pickled scallions, and a bit of Jerusalem artichoke.

Xie Tian’s face immediately fell.

“Mom! Why are we eating this again? It’s so sour it’s setting my teeth on edge! I don’t like it! I’ll just have plain porridge!”

She took a bowl, scooped some porridge, and went to huffily squat under the eaves to eat.

Hmph.

Fortunately, I got to drink fish soup this afternoon!

Tian Xiufen glared at her.

“You’ve only had good food for two days, and now you can’t stomach this?”

She picked up the ladle and scooped a bowl for everyone in the family. “Even if we’ve made some money, we can’t just throw it away! From now on, we’ll only eat fine grains and meat for lunch. We’re still having porridge for breakfast and dinner!”

Xie Tian’s eyes widened, but she didn’t dare talk back. She could only turn to look pitifully at Xie Zhao and Xie Cheng.

But the two brothers clearly didn’t want to walk into the line of fire right now.

Xie Zhao actually understood.

When someone was used to being frugal, changing their mindset wasn’t something that could be done overnight.

More importantly, Xie Zhao stared at the side dishes on the plate and swallowed hard, unnoticed by the others.

Good grief!

These pickled vegetables were actually the perfect accompaniment to porridge. In this day and age, people lacked oil and fat in their diets, so with empty stomachs, they naturally didn’t like eating sour pickles.

But for Xie Zhao, who had lived two lifetimes and grown thoroughly sick of rich meats and seafood, he had craved these simple pickled vegetables for decades!

The cleanest, pesticide-free home-grown vegetables, fermented in a clay jar until sour, yet still retaining a crisp, delicious crunch.

Xie Zhao held his bowl of porridge, picked up a pickled scallion bulb, and popped it into his mouth.

Crunch!

The crisp sound echoed, followed by a sour, refreshing burst of flavor that instantly whetted his appetite!

He chewed and swallowed it in one go, then quickly washed it down with a gulp of porridge.

Ah!

It really was a perfect match!

He took bite after bite, not even pausing to say a word.

Seeing Xie Zhao like this, Tian Xiufen felt her nose prickle, and she was nearly moved to tears!

Look at him!

How sensible and hardworking her second son was!

He had worked himself to the bone these past few days to earn money, buying meat, rice, and flour for the family. Now, to save money, he had them eat porridge and pickled vegetables, yet he was eating it with such relish, without a single word of complaint!

How could her child be so obedient and sensible?

Tian Xiufen’s nose prickled. She quickly and quietly wiped away her tears and said softly, “Tomorrow is the market day. I’ll go buy some pork bones and ribs to nourish you all.”

Her sudden announcement made the four people in the yard raise their heads in unison.

Huh?

Why was Mom suddenly being so generous?

…

Meanwhile.

In the yard next door.

Wang Jinhua stood on two stones, pressing her ear to the wall, wishing she could squeeze herself right through to the other side!