Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 2

“Mama, Grandma doesn’t have any eggs either.” The three-year-old girl speaks slowly, her voice soft. “This morning Grandma buried two sweet potatoes in the fire, one for me and one for Brother. They’re so yummy.”

Baobao licks her lips, thinking about the sweet potatoes. In the countryside, people use traditional earthen stoves. When Liu Sanmei boils water, she buries the sweet potatoes under the ash on the stove. By the time the water boils, the little sweet potatoes are perfectly cooked.

When peeled, the sweet potatoes reveal their soft, yellow flesh. The outer skin is charred, adding a smoky, woody flavor that makes them even more delicious.

Baobao is trying to tell her mother that it’s not that Grandma doesn’t want to give her eggs, but that there simply aren’t any left. And Grandma really does love them—she even cooks sweet potatoes for them that morning.

Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Xu Panhao’s expression softens slightly.

“Mama, did my illness cost a lot of money?” The tiny girl wraps her arms around her mother’s leg, looking up with tearful eyes, her voice full of concern. “I’m already better now. I don’t need to eat eggs to recover.”

When the original body was ill, her mother and grandmother discussed her treatment calmly, though the financial situation was dire. The cash available to farmers is very limited, and during poor harvests, many families go into debt to the commune. At the end of the year, some even end up with a negative annual income.

It’s not until the past couple of years that the old lady begins receiving a family subsidy after her husband is posthumously named a martyr. This extra money is spent on repairing the graves of the old man and Zhen Baobao’s father, and the rest is used to buy food and medicine for the original body.

But now, with the sudden onset of serious illness, the family has only about twenty yuan left.

Life-saving Western medicine is hard to come by, so the old lady already decides that if her granddaughter’s high fever doesn’t subside, they’ll get a certificate from the commune and take her to a larger hospital in the county. If necessary, she’ll even use the martyr’s certificate to request help from the military hospital, where life-saving medicines are available.

Because of the need to save money for that potential trip, the medications prescribed by the health station are paid for with work points and eggs.

To treat the original body, the family’s savings are nearly exhausted.

Even though the original body is young, she can sense her grandmother and mother’s sadness and cries many times. Now, Baobao feels those same emotions welling up inside her, and her eyes become red.

“Well, our baby is strong enough to knock down a cow.”

Xu Panhao replies absentmindedly, her thoughts elsewhere. But she looks at her fragile daughter, who just recovered from a serious illness, and feels pity for her. The little one is so well-behaved, caring, and yet so fragile.

Zhen Baoli, standing by, is a simpleton. He widens his eyes when he hears his mother’s words and looks at his sister, who is much smaller than him, in awe.

His Baobao can take down a whole cow? Cows are huge and strong—his sister is amazing!

The brother and sister have lunch at Grandma’s house and then return home to greet their mother.

The old woman wants to make something nutritious for her granddaughter, but even the most skilled cook can’t make a meal without ingredients. All she can do is mix in a little less sweet potato and brown rice when steaming the meal and use slightly less water to make the rice denser and more filling.

Life is hard in the countryside. As long as their bellies are full, it’s considered a good day. Most households don’t have meat on the table. The commune allows each family to raise chickens or ducks, but they’re not for meat—they’re for eggs to make money. People in the village are reluctant to eat the eggs produced by those chickens and ducks.

Larger livestock like pigs or sheep can only be raised by the commune, as they are considered communal property. At the end of the year, when the pigs are slaughtered and distributed, it’s the happiest day for the villagers.

The old lady steams the rice and boils a plate of cabbage soup with some chili and salt, as that’s all she has for seasoning. A bowl of cabbage soup and some pickled snow vegetables make up their lunch.

Most rural families eat like this. Having rice is already a luxury.

Baobao is not picky at all. She eats the simple meal with a smile. As for her silly brother, he has been eating like this for as long as he can remember and doesn’t know any better.

The old lady watches them eat and feels sorry for her granddaughter.

Her late husband and son were excellent hunters. They always managed to bring home meat from the mountains. Not every meal had meat, but at least once a month, the family could enjoy meat to satisfy their cravings.

When Zhen Baoli is born, his father kills a wild boar. Most of the meat is given to the commune, but a small portion is kept for the family. That meat helps his wife recover and allows Zhen Baoli to grow strong and healthy.

During that time, her daughter-in-law eats well, has plenty of milk, and the newborn Baoli grows chubby and strong.

When Baoli is eight months old and can start eating solid food, his father goes hunting more frequently. From time to time, he brings back pheasants or wild rabbits. Grandma and daughter-in-law mince the tenderest meat into porridge. The little guy gobbles it up eagerly.

During the drought that year, many children don’t survive the famine, but Baoli does—undoubtedly because of his strong, well-nourished body.

But her granddaughter never got to enjoy any of that.

The old lady feels a pang of sadness when she sees her granddaughter’s thin arms and pointed chin.

If only her son were still alive, he would have raised this girl to be healthy and strong.

He wanted another daughter back then, to complete the ideal family character of “good fortune.” But he passes before even seeing his daughter’s face.

“Eat more. When your grandfather’s subsidy comes next month, Grandma will make egg cakes for you.” The old lady picks out a tender cabbage heart for her granddaughter with her chopsticks. It’s the crispest and sweetest part. Compared to her sturdy grandson, she definitely favors the frail granddaughter more.

Zhen Baoli, generous as always, picks up a large cabbage leaf and eats it, crunching away without a care.

After lunch, the old lady, who has rested the morning away, has to get back to work. Her job is to cook pig food, and she takes turns with another old woman in the commune. It’s not hard work, but if the old lady didn’t have the title of a martyr’s relative, she might not have had this opportunity.

With no adults left at home and his sister fully recovered, Zhen Baoli can’t sit still. He takes her along to find his little friends.

Zhen Baoli’s best friend is named Zhao Chenghu. Two years older than him, he’s also from the Third Brigade and basically the ringleader of all the children under ten in the area.

When Zhen Baoli brings his sister to Zhao Chenghu’s house, a group of children has gathered in the yard to decide what to play.

At first, Zhao Chenghu is excited to see his good friend, but his expression sours when he sees the skinny little girl standing behind Zhen Baoli.

“Da Li, why did you bring Crybao along?”

“Crybaby” is the original host’s nickname. It starts as “Crybag,” but since her name includes the character bao (meaning treasure), it evolves into “Crybao.”

It’s not surprising, given how prone the original host is to crying.

The speaker is a little boy with a runny nose. His mother fled from the north years ago and still speaks with her hometown accent. Her child mimics her way of talking, often saying ‘an’ instead of ‘wo’ for “I.”

His words clearly strike a chord with most of the children, and they all look at Baobao with disgust in their eyes.

Unconsciously, a bubble of tears forms in Baobao’s eyes.

This is definitely the body’s instinctive reaction!

Baobao panics inwardly—what if she really has become Crybaby?

In fact, the reason the original body cries so often is because of Liu Sanmei and Xu Panhao, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Both women feel they treat their granddaughter/daughter badly—she isn’t in good health and hasn’t lived a good life. Both feel guilty for not giving her a healthy body or a good life.

Sometimes, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hug the child and cry, apologizing for bringing her into the world fatherless.

The original body is still young and doesn’t fully understand, but seeing the adults cry makes her feel sad. Over time, she begins to think she’s truly pitiful. Whenever she feels even a little unhappy, she cries to vent her feelings.

“I won’t cry.” Baobao rubs her eyes with her hands, determined to control her tears and not let them fall.

What she doesn’t realize is that her red-rimmed eyes only make her look more pitiful—and endearing. Coupled with her soft, milky voice, even the older kids who are just annoyed with her now feel a little embarrassed.

“Alright, we’ll let you join us this time. But you have to promise not to cry, okay? If you cry again, we won’t play with you anymore.” Zhao Chenghu is quite loyal. Since Crybao is his good friend’s sister, she’s his sister too, and he’ll take her with him as long as she promises not to cry.

“I don’t agree!” Zhao Xiaomei, Zhao Chenghu’s biological sister, firmly opposes.

She’s the same age as Zhen Baoli and doesn’t want to bring Crybao along. Every time Crybao cries, it’s Zhao Xiaomei who has to comfort her while the boys just casually agree to everything. It’s always her who has to deal with it.

“You’re so petty.” Zhao Chenghu puffs up his chest, feeling like his sister totally lacks his own sense of brotherly loyalty.

“Mom says Dad’s a pushover, that whenever a pretty woman talks to him, he turns into jelly. You’re just like Dad—both of you are dumb men!”

Zhao Xiaomei doesn’t fully understand what her mother means by those words, but whenever her parents quarrel, her mother curses her father like this. Zhao Xiaomei feels that her brother is just like her father—easily fooled by women’s words—and doesn’t think anything of cursing him like this.

“You, you—shrew!” Zhao Chenghu’s ears turn red instantly.

He knows that being soft-hearted isn’t a good thing, and he angrily retaliates with the same words his father uses when his mother and father argue.

Before they can figure out what to do, the brother and sister are already quarreling.

“Don’t fight… it’s my fault.” Baobao timidly chimes in, trying to make peace.

Her voice is soft and sweet, and with her habit of speaking slowly, it sounds less like advice and more like she’s trying to act cute.

Right after saying it, she feels awkward. In this situation, why does she sense a lotus scent?

No, no, it must be her imagination.

“Xiaomei, don’t be so stingy. Crybao says she won’t cry anymore.”

“Yes, Xiaomei, if you keep arguing, you’ll make Crybao cry. You were so fierce just now; you scared her.”

The little boys and girls around them begin to defend Baobao.

Actually, when she’s not crying, Baobao is quite lovable. Widow Zhen always tries to keep her daughter clean and tidy—poor hygiene makes her more prone to illness. Among the grubby, dusty village kids, Baobao, always clean and neat, really stands out. Today she’s wearing a cute orange-red knit sweater, and her short hair is parted into two bunches tied behind her ears, making her look especially adorable.

The boys may not fully understand romantic feelings yet, but their protective instincts are already budding, and now they’re all looking out for her.

“Oh sure, everyone’s taking her side.” Now it’s Zhao Xiaomei’s turn to feel hurt, but she’s a very prideful girl and holds back her tears.

“Hmph, fine, I’ll take her with me. But if she cries, I won’t comfort her anymore.”

She turns her face away angrily and storms over to her group of girlfriends. Though she pointedly avoids looking at her brother, her ears are perked up—clearly waiting for him to coax her.

Unfortunately, Zhao Chenghu has no idea what his sister is thinking. When he sees her no longer protesting, he starts discussing today’s activities without any intention of soothing her.

Zhao Xiaomei becomes even angrier, her mouth pouting so high it looks like it could hold a bottle of oil.

Eventually, one of the boys suggests a target: a patch of jujube trees at the foot of the mountain. The land originally belongs to no one, but after the commune is established, it becomes part of Team Three’s territory, and the fruit trees become state property.

Most of the jujubes are picked early while still green and sold to the procurement station by the adults. A few ripe ones remain high in the branches. Now those jujubes have turned deep red—this is when they’re at their sweetest.

These remaining jujubes are actually left for the village kids. Since there aren’t many snacks in the countryside, the adults leave a few fruits on each tree for the kids. They know the mischievous little ones won’t pass up a chance to enjoy them, and this little bit doesn’t really count as stealing from the public.

The boy mentions that the jujubes on the tree are ripe a few days ago, and that if they shake the trunk hard enough, the fruit will fall off.

Just imagining the sweet, juicy taste of ripe jujubes gets the kids excited, and a whole gang of little ones rushes off toward the wild orchard.

PAH!

Zhao Chenghu is strong and tough. As the eldest, he picks the thickest jujube tree and hits it hard. The top of the tree shakes, and six or seven ripe jujubes fall.

The other children follow suit, laughing and playing in the woods.

Some use their bodies to hit the trunks, others team up to shake them. The air is filled with the rustling of leaves and the sound of fruit dropping.

“Hmph, some people don’t do anything but eat for free.”

Zhen Baoli has already shaken down several fruits and hands them to Baobao to hold while he continues working. Zhao Xiaomei glares at her own brother, who only cares about stuffing his face once he picks some.

“Brother, I want to try too.”

Baobao looks at her thin arms, then at the jujube tree’s trunk, which is thicker than her waist. She doesn’t believe she can shake down the jujubes, but Zhao Xiaomei is right—she doesn’t want to sit out.

“Sister, don’t try it. If you hurt your hand, you’ll cry.” Zhen Baoli scratches his head innocently.

Baobao feels like she just takes an arrow to the chest—an emotional blow from her own brother.

She glares and angrily shoves the jujubes into his hands, then marches over to the tree.

“Hei—!”

She plants her feet wide, gathers her energy into her core, and slaps the tree trunk with all her strength.

What the—!

The next second, she jerks her hand back to her chest, and tears start flooding from her eyes, completely unbidden.

CRACK—

Before Zhao Xiaomei can laugh at her, she hears a cracking sound.

The jujube tree, which is as thick as a child’s waist, cracks where Baobao strikes it and slowly begins to fall backward.

Baobao’s slap breaks the tree.

Not only does Baobao stop crying, but the other children around her are also shocked by this scene.

Baobao swallows nervously, and it feels like she just discovered her “golden finger” in this world.