The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

"Xiaoyue, what are we having for lunch?"

Zhao Shi'an held his little sister's hand and looked at her hands, which were red and swollen, with bulging knuckles that felt hard to the touch. He knew that this was also frostbite, which would itch and hurt when the weather warmed up.

"Mom steamed lamb trotters and made cornbread! Big brother, let's hurry, I'm starving!"

Zhao Xiaoyue grabbed her older brother's hand and tried to run home.

"Alright! We can't let Xiaoyue go hungry!"

Zhao Shi'an agreed, bent down, picked up the little girl, and strode home.

Zhao Xiaoyue hugged her older brother's neck, overjoyed.

Zhao Shi'an carried the little girl into a small courtyard. The courtyard was extremely simple, with houses made of adobe and broken bricks. This place was originally a small courtyard for the vegetable bully to guard the vegetables. After the vegetable bully was suppressed, it was distributed to several poor families.

The courtyard in front of me resembles a farmhouse in northern China, but it's much smaller, no more than thirty square meters.

His family lived in the main house, which had two rooms and a shed. Next to the room on the east side, there was a jujube tree with a grapevine twining around it. The shed on the west side had a cart inside, but nothing was planted there for easy access.

The area under the shed against the wall was crammed with withered branches and leaves collected from the Temple of Heaven, piles of coal dust, and chicken coops, among other things.

In addition, there is a large stove, which is used for cooking after the weather warms up; it is the kitchen of the house.

There is a cellar on the west side near the courtyard wall, where sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, green onions, radishes and other vegetables are stored for the winter.

From the shack to the corner of the wall, in addition to covering the cellar, a small vegetable garden of about seven or eight square meters has been set up, where scallions, spinach, chives and garlic have been planted.

An old hen was scrambling around in the vegetable garden with a brood of chicks that had only been hatched a few days ago.

"Uncle, Second Uncle, Uncle Tian!"

Zhao Shi'an walked into the courtyard and saw three people sitting together in the sun, smoking pipes. One of them was weaving a winnowing basket with willow branches and greeted him in the same way as the original owner of the body.

Upon seeing the three people, he quickly recognized them as the original owner's father and second uncle. Both families were vegetable farmers, and Uncle Tian was a fellow villager who had fled famine with him. He was a craftsman whose family made a living by weaving winnowing baskets and reed mats.

"Uncle, Second Uncle, Uncle Tian!"

Zhao Xiaoyue struggled to get off her older brother and greeted the three of them.

"You're back? Your mother has prepared dinner. Wash your hands and eat!"

Seeing his eldest son, Zhao Youtian took out his pipe and responded cheerfully.

"Xiaoyue and Shian are back?"

Zhao Youliang and Tian Fusheng laughed as they spoke.

"Hey! Second Uncle, Uncle Tian, ​​you're busy! I'm going home."

Zhao Shi'an agreed and then greeted his second uncle and Tian Fusheng.

Looking at the three weathered figures before him, Zhao Shi'an was filled with emotion. In terms of age, the original owner's father was only thirty-five or thirty-six years old, about the same age as himself before he transmigrated.

But the person in front of me didn't look like someone in their thirties at all. His face was sallow and thin, his cheekbones were high, his skin was very rough, and he was wearing a coarse cotton-padded jacket that had been washed until it was gray, with patches upon patches, his trouser legs were tied up, and his body was covered with mud.

Uncle Er and Uncle Tian were dressed in similar clothes.

"Go back! You've had a lot of work these past few days, don't go hungry."

Zhao Youliang smiled and showed concern for his nephew.

"Why!"

Zhao Shi'an responded and walked past the three men toward his home.

"Mother, Mother, my eldest brother is back!"

Zhao Xiaoyue followed behind her older brother, calling out as she walked!

"Okay, come and soak your hands in hot water, then apply some clam oil. It'll help the sores on your hands heal faster!"

Hearing the commotion in the yard and her daughter's shouts, Liu Guiying poured half a basin of hot water into the earthenware basin and told her eldest son to wash his hands.

"Hey! Okay, Xiaoyue, you should soak your hands too, look how swollen they are!"

Zhao Shi'an looked at the woman in front of him and agreed. The woman was wearing a gray cloth headscarf and a cotton-padded jacket with patches upon patches on her body. The cuffs were worn thin from years of working, and the clothes were terribly dirty.

He knew it wasn't laziness, but rather that his family was poor; the fabrics of that era couldn't compare to those of modern times, and clothes would get ruined if washed too often.

Cotton-padded coats are even more valuable items, and are often worn for the entire winter. They are only taken off and washed after the weather warms up and the cotton-padded coats and trousers are completely removed!

Zhao Shi'an went to the ceramic basin on the wooden shelf and soaked his hands in the hot water. He immediately felt much more comfortable, and the itching in his hands was relieved.

"Big brother, I'm here!"

Hearing her older brother's words, Zhao Xiaoyue quickly put her hand in as well.

"Big brother!"

Upon seeing his elder brother, Zhao Shijie happily came out to greet him.

"Little brother, you should wash your hands too in a bit! Washing your hands frequently is a good habit!"

Upon seeing his younger brother, Zhao Shi'an greeted him. The original owner of this body had been wandering since childhood. After arriving in Longxugou, he struggled to survive. He was very sensible from a young age and loved his younger siblings dearly. His younger siblings were also very attached to him.

"Big brother, I know! Our teacher said it!"

Zhao Shijie nodded seriously upon hearing this.

"Good to know! Here, you can wash up!"

As he spoke, Zhao Shi'an gave up his seat, picked up a towel from the wooden rack and wiped his hands. It was more like a piece of white cloth that had been washed until the threads were coming undone.

After wiping his hands, he went into the inner room, picked up the clam oil on the table and started applying it. The clam oil was stored in the shells; once the shells were opened, the milky white ointment inside could be seen. He scooped some out with his finger, wiped his face and hands, and then applied some to the frostbite.

Applying clam oil to the hands after getting chilblains can effectively relieve the itching.

After wiping his hands, Zhao Shi'an sat down at the table to eat.

"You must be exhausted from working these past few days! Here, have an egg to nourish yourself!"

As she spoke, Liu Guiying stuffed the eggs into her eldest son's hand.

"Mom, I'll be fine with lamb's hoof cake. I've been working with you these past few days, so you guys should eat it! It'll help you recover!"

Zhao Shi'an looked at the food on the table, then at his younger siblings who were staring longingly at the eggs, and then placed the eggs in front of the original owner's father.

Although he wanted to take care of his younger siblings, he also knew that in reality, only by ensuring that the breadwinner of the family was well-fed could the family survive.

Fortunately, he has space, so he can hold out for now and won't lack food.

When the younger sister mentioned lamb hoof rice, he didn't realize it until he saw the actual dish and discovered it was noodle dish.

This thing is called "noodle vegetable" in Mandarin because its leaves look like noodles. Its scientific name is *Stachys aegyptiacus*. It is slightly sweet when eaten raw, but tastes excellent when steamed.

He recalled that he hadn't eaten steamed noodle dish for nearly twenty years. While locust flowers and elm seeds could still be bought online, noodle dish had a relatively small audience and wasn't well-known, making it difficult to find in the city. Over time, he even forgot the local dialect name for noodle dish.

Now, seeing a large bowl of noodles and vegetables, he suddenly had a great appetite, while the eggs didn't appeal to him at all.

"Big brother, you eat! I'm tired of eggs. I've been doing a lot of work these past few days, and studying is mentally taxing too. I need to eat some more. We'll eat them when the chicks at home grow up and lay more eggs!"

Zhao Youtian was very pleased to hear this, and waved his hand with a smile to refuse.

"Big brother, we'll listen to you. Once we have enough eggs, we'll eat them all! Okay, let's eat! After you eat, you can go back to bed and sleep for a while!"

As she spoke, Liu Guiying put the eggs back into her eldest son's hand.

Hearing their mother's words, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Shijie reluctantly looked away and began to eat the steamed noodles and vegetables in their bowls with gusto.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi'an did not refuse again, and picked up the steamed noodles and vegetables in the bowl to eat with the fermented soybeans.

I must say, this noodle dish is really delicious! It's soft and chewy with a touch of chewiness, and the fresh aroma of wild vegetables combined with the fragrance of grains, garlic sauce, and sesame oil makes it absolutely wonderful!