The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Bao Ya, ever the sycophant, poured a bowl of water for Su Daqiang, and then, thinking it over, poured one for Lin Laosan as well. Then she heard Su Daqiang say:

"Your fourth maternal uncle has been dead for several years. How could you possibly remember exactly when he told you that?"

Auntie dusted herself off with a feather duster, put on an apron, and went to help Grandma Su and Su Ruyi cook.

"She's just wasting her time again, doing nothing but useless things. She's making your clothes anyway; you're already old enough to get married by autumn."

Grandma Su spoke irritably, and no one responded, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

"I can do it. I remember it very clearly, and I can recite it backwards now. Uncle, give me two pounds of wheat, and I'm sure I can make yeast."

"What? Two jin of wheat?" Su Daqiang was startled. No wonder he got beaten up. The beating wasn't light enough. Two jin of wheat to play with? What kind of family does he live in?

"You're dreaming. Do you even know how much you've wasted? Now you're eyeing food."

Lin Laosan opened his mouth but didn't dare to speak. It wasn't that he didn't want to give, but the grain the Lin family brought was all with Old Lady Su. With the few work points he and his wife earned, the amount they would receive at the end of the year definitely wouldn't be enough to eat. They might even need his brother-in-law to help them out. He couldn't bring himself to ask for some wheat for his daughter to play with, no matter how thick-skinned he was. He thought he might have someone secretly buy some for his daughter that afternoon.

Si Mao found a corner to hide in, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. His father wouldn't hit his sister, but he would definitely beat him.

"How about a pound, Uncle? Give me a pound, I want to make you some wine, it'll definitely taste better than what you buy outside. Oh, Uncle, please give me some."

Bao Ya shook Su Daqiang's arm affectionately, almost shaking him to the ground.

Su Daqiang was shaken until he felt dizzy. He quickly patted Bao Ya's hand, craned his neck to peek at his mother, and said:

"Our family didn't get much wheat, how about we buy some with money?"

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Su remembered that the girl had money; if she wasn't given it, she might actually buy it. Once she made up her mind, no one could stop her. Gritting her teeth, she said in a rough voice, "Let's see who dares."

No one continued the topic; they set the table and ate.

After finishing her meal, Grandma Su reluctantly handed over a pound of wheat.

Bao Ya quickly took it and then dug out the medicine grinder and mortar that her grandfather used to use.

Bao Ya called to Simao and asked him to grind the wheat into powder using a medicine millstone. Why not use a grinding wheel? A pound of wheat isn't much, it's not worth using a grinding wheel.

Thinking about it, he went inside and took a few pieces of dried Poria cocos, threw them into the millstone, and ground them together with the wheat.

I washed the smartweed and verbena in a large wooden basin, laid them out on a flat-bottomed basket to dry, and then took a handful of wheat straw from the haystack outside, washed it in a basin of water, and let it dry.

The water on the smartweed and verbena was almost gone, so I took a handful of each and put them into a mortar and pestle to crush them. It still felt a bit lacking, so I added some more grass and continued to crush them until they became a paste. Then I poured the paste into a porcelain basin that I had prepared beforehand.

Si Mao poured the milled wheat, flour and bran, into a porcelain basin and stirred it together. Hmm, it was a bit too thin. Ignoring Old Lady Su's murderous glare, Bao Ya ran to the storeroom, grabbed a handful of bran, and threw it in.

Grandma Su's vision went black, and her hands itched to hit someone again. What should she do?

Finally, I placed the nearly dried wheat straw on a flat-bottomed wicker basket, washed my hands, and rolled the mixed ingredients into small balls the size of Chinese herbal wax pills, then laid them on the wheat straw. Then I thought something was missing.

I remember now, Old Qu, we should put a layer of Old Qu on top, but what if we don't have it?

Bao Ya turned to look at Grandma Su and smiled sweetly.

Grandma Su: Here we go again?

I didn't want to listen to her, so I turned and left; I couldn't look at her anymore.

"Grandma, please give me a little more dough. It's just one last step. I know you're the best, Grandma. Just a little bit, just a tiny bit."

"Mian feizi" is a piece of dough left over from each steaming of buns. When making the next batch of dough, you soak it in water, mix it into the dough, and the dough will rise.

Where did this brat learn to be so difficult? In the end, Grandma Su still gave her a small piece of dried-out dough.

As usual, Bao Ya had Simao grind the wheat into powder. Finally, she sprinkled the powder evenly on the rolled-up small balls. Then she covered them with a layer of wheat straw, and on top of that, a damp steamer cloth, and placed them in a cool, shady spot in the room.

Mission accomplished. As long as it grows mold, fermentation is complete.

She replaced glutinous rice flour with wheat and added wheat bran. Actually, wheat bran has the highest alcohol yield when used to make koji, but the taste is not as good as koji made with starch-based materials.

Given the limited resources, we can only make do with what we have.

Seeing that Bao Ya was doing it so well, Grandma Su curled her lips and thought, "Let her be. There's no point in arguing with her now."

Bao Ya carefully placed the basket on the kang cabinet in her and Grandma Su's room. She changed the damp cloth on top of it every half day, making sure it wasn't too dry, as this would hinder fermentation.

Now, Grandma Su and Bao Ya live in one room, while Lin Lao San and Su Ru Yi, along with Gou Dan, live in Bao Ya's original room.

Their house is finished, and they've started installing windows and doors. Lin Laosan has taken the time to build the kang (heated brick bed) and stove. There are still some odds and ends left to finish. It's estimated that it will be completed before the autumn harvest.

Two days later, the little pellets on the wheat stalks had all grown white fuzz, looking like little rabbits lying in the grass. Bao Ya proudly showed them to her family.

Grandma Su looked at it and tried her best to suppress the corners of her mouth. It had to be the girl she raised. She could do it after hearing her fourth uncle do it once. She was so smart. She completely forgot that she was the one who hit people with the feather duster.

Bao Ya placed the yeast in a flat-bottomed basket and shook it back and forth, letting the hairs stick to the yeast. Then she took it to the yard to dry in the sun for two days before it could be put into jars.

Two days later, the dried yeast was put into a small jar.

The yeast starter was ready, and Bao Ya's fiancé finally showed up.

After tidying up the house, Jiang Yuan realized that he hadn't seen his future wife for a long time. It had been more than half a month since they last met, and he wondered if she missed him.

In the morning, Jiang Yuan stood in front of Bao Ya carrying a piece of lard. When he saw her, he grinned, revealing a set of big white teeth.

He made a mistake that all men make: he wasn't there when he was needed, but when he wasn't needed anymore, he showed up and got in the way.

Bao Ya didn't want to pay any attention to him. She wasn't that bored anymore, so it didn't matter whether he came or not.

"Bao Ya." Why is someone so tall speaking in such a hesitant way? It's an eyesore.

"Why did you come back? I thought you didn't remember. Humph!"

Bao Ya said irritably that she did really want to see him a few days ago, but she didn't feel that way anymore.

After saying that, Bao Ya turned around and walked into the house, her long braid sweeping across Jiang Yuan.

"No, I didn't forget. I'm tidying up the house at home so it can be used for my wedding after the autumn harvest."

Seeing that Bao Ya was angry, Jiang Yuan nervously followed behind, his voice getting softer and softer as he spoke.

When Bao Ya heard this, she thought the reason was acceptable, so she stopped pressing the issue.

"So what brings you here today?"

"I have the day off today, and I want to take you to the city. There's a new movie showing at the cinema this afternoon."

"Really?" Bao Ya looked at the weather outside. It wasn't so hot now, so it would be nice to go out for a stroll. She hadn't been to the city since she transmigrated.

"Wait here, I'll tell my grandma."

After saying that, he ran to the backyard to find Grandma Su.

Upon hearing that Jiang Yuan had arrived, Old Lady Su hurried towards the front yard.

"Xiao Jiang is here, Bao Ya, quickly pour Xiao Jiang some water."

Grandma Su glared at Bao Ya, who was always so loud and boisterous, and didn't even know to pour water for the guests when they came.

"It's okay, Grandma, I'm not thirsty."

As Jiang Yuan spoke, he took the bowl from Bao Ya's hand and gulped it down. This action made Grandma Su laugh.

"Bao Ya said you went to the city to see a movie?"

"Yes, we'd like to go to the city for a bit. I'll take her back after the movie this afternoon."

"There's no need to send her back specially. Grandpa Niu's mule cart is over at the farm machinery factory in the east of the city. You can take her there and she can take the village bus back."

This means they agreed to let them go out, and Jiang Yuan readily agreed.