He Yi spent the entire night unable to sleep.
What a mess.
The next morning, after he woke, a burst of noise came from the eastern wing. It quickly died down, followed by the sound of the main gate opening and closing.
He Yi guessed someone from Eldest Uncle’s side of the family had gone out.
Last night, Eldest Aunt had said she was going to find the village head, but before long she had come rushing back alone, crying and calling for her Jie’er. It made sense. In the middle of the night, she could hardly have gone all the way to the neighboring village to fetch the village head. Perhaps only now had she truly gone to look for him.
When He Yi got up and went to the courtyard to draw water and wash, he found the doors to the eastern wing tightly shut, without a single person in sight.
He was more than happy to enjoy the peace. He wandered through the kitchen and found the stove still faintly warm, so someone had clearly lit a fire that morning. Unsurprisingly, however, they had left him absolutely nothing to eat.
He simply went to the woodshed for some firewood and heated a bucket of water for a bath. He had wanted to wash the night before, but it had been too dark, and he had worried that all the fuss would leave him chilled. After finally taking a thoroughly satisfying hot bath, he went to get dressed and could not help remembering the two sets of clothes that had been burned. The thought still irritated him. There was nothing he could do for now but put on the same clothes as before.
Since he had not yet reached crowning age, there was no need to bind his hair into a topknot. He Yi simply tied it back in a ponytail, took the copper coins he had hidden in his room, and went out in search of food.
*
By mid-morning, everyone in the village who had work to do was already at work, and those who needed to tend the fields were out in the fields. Few people moved along the village road. Only the little food cart at the village entrance had two or three people gathered around it, lending the place a bit of life.
Aside from peddlers, oil presses, tofu workshops, and businesses of that sort, villagers generally did not set up stalls inside the village. Most households were self-sufficient and neighbors helped one another. There were also very few well-off families in the village. Anyone with some ability tended to go to town or even the county seat, so people willing to spend money just to buy something to eat were few and far between.
Business in the village was difficult, but the road into town had not yet reopened. Auntie Liu could not go there, and after several days of helping at home she had finished all the work that had piled up. With nothing left to do, she became restless if she went even a day without working, so for the past few days she had been trying to run a stall in the village.
Business had indeed been poor for the first two days, nowhere near what she could do in town, but today she unexpectedly had a few more customers.
“Auntie, what are you selling?” He Yi walked over and took a look. Two small jars of pickles sat on the food cart’s counter. In one clay pot, a pale-yellow, thick soup simmered slowly, giving off a distinctive bean fragrance. Another large clay pot supported two stacked round trays, each roughly two feet across. A woven bamboo cover rested over the trays, hiding whatever was inside.
At the sound of his voice, Auntie Liu and the villagers standing by the stall all turned to look. Well, well. Wasn’t this the very person at the center of last night’s rumors? The villagers by the stall were the first to edge two steps away. Then, afraid of making it too obvious, they hesitated and shuffled half a step back.
Surprise flickered through Auntie Liu’s eyes, but she quickly broke into a smile and called out heartily, “Pea soup migan! Three copper coins a bowl, with spring chives, bean sprouts, and pickles! If you like something soft and thick, you can’t miss it! Well, young man, want a bowl?” She could charge far more than this in town. Just thinking about the full month’s sales tax she had only recently paid made her heart ache.
“Migan?” He Yi had never heard of it. “What’s migan?”
“You’ve never had it, have you? Then you’ve got to try some.” Auntie Liu reached beneath the cart and brought out a pitcher of white slurry. “Here, look. This is rice slurry made from finely ground white rice. I’ll make it fresh for you in a moment, and then you’ll know what migan is. Want to try a bowl?”
Elio’s Notes: Migan (米干) is a regional rice food made by grinding rice into a slurry, steaming it into thin sheets, cooling the sheets, and cutting them for serving. The texture is soft and silky, somewhat like very thin fresh rice noodles.
He Yi agreed and handed Auntie Liu three copper coins.
Seeing how readily he paid, Auntie Liu laughed in delight, accepted the money, and began making the migan. The few other customers had still been wavering, but when they saw He Yi pay without hesitation, they ordered two bowls as well. Auntie Liu grew even happier and deftly poured the rice slurry into the round trays.
Making migan was neither especially difficult nor truly simple. The amount of slurry spread over each tray had to be just right. Too much and the migan would be too thick, ruining the texture. Too little and it would be so thin that it tore easily.
Auntie Liu was clearly an old hand. Her movements were quick and precise, without the slightest hesitation. In the blink of an eye, both trays held smooth, even layers of rice slurry of just the right thickness.
She then steamed the slurry for about two minutes. While it cooked, Auntie Liu said, “It still needs to cool for a little while after it’s done. You customers go sit over there first. I’ll bring it to you when it’s ready.”
Beside the food cart, Auntie Liu had propped up a bamboo board to serve as a dining table. He Yi chose a small stool and sat down.
There was only one table in all, however, and the other villagers clearly had no desire to sit with him. One after another, they made excuses about going home to fetch bowls for takeout, then left together with their heads bent close in conversation.
He Yi shrugged and did not pay it much mind.
While waiting for the migan to cool, he gazed idly at the distant grassy slope, the stone bridge, and the drainage ditch.
By chance, Xue Ci wandered into his field of vision. The coarse-cloth work clothes Xue Ci wore had become gray and dusty, and He Yi had no idea where he had managed to get them so dirty. Xue Ci seemed to sense his gaze and looked sharply in He Yi’s direction, but instead of coming over, he continued toward the east.
Why was he walking away after seeing him? He Yi suddenly grew anxious. He did not even know why he was anxious, but by the time he came back to himself, he had already called Xue Ci over.
Still barefoot, Xue Ci slowly walked toward him. Instead of sitting the way He Yi had, however, he simply stood there and stared at him.
“Have you eaten breakfast?” He Yi found himself lowering his voice, almost as though afraid of startling him away, and looked up as he asked.
Xue Ci shook his head.
It was rare to see him act so distant. After thinking for a moment, He Yi ordered another bowl of migan from Auntie Liu.
From the moment Xue Ci approached, Auntie Liu had been stealing glances at him. Not only was he an unfamiliar face, but the color of his eyes resembled that of the outsiders from the west: gray, with a hint of blue visible from certain angles. Apart from his eyes, his loose hair and bare feet also looked foreign. Yet he wore the same coarse-cloth work clothes as the local villagers, which made the whole picture rather strange.
Xue Ci could sense every gaze directed at him, and even more clearly the wariness and suspicion behind those looks. They had not developed into hostility, but they were enough to extinguish the excitement he had felt when he first came down the mountain.
So not everyone was like He Yi. Not everyone was unafraid of him. And He Yi had not taken him along to play last night. Xue Ci had felt miserable about it and had not wanted to come over.
But the moment a bowl of fragrant pea soup migan was set down, Xue Ci tossed his unhappiness straight out of his mind. He immediately sat on the stool beside He Yi, swallowed, and stared intently at the bowl.
The greedy look on his face made He Yi smile.
He Yi pushed his own bowl in front of Xue Ci and let him eat first. Remembering that Xue Ci could not handle hot food, he reminded him, “Blow on it until it cools before you eat. Be careful not to burn yourself.”
Who would have thought Xue Ci did not know how to “blow it cool,” much less use chopsticks? Under Auntie Liu’s intensely curious gaze, He Yi had no choice but to demonstrate. He even reached over and corrected Xue Ci’s grip on the chopsticks by hand.
He could not even use chopsticks. Auntie Liu became completely convinced that Xue Ci really was an outsider.
Xue Ci tried twice before successfully picking up a sticky strip of migan, startling He Yi with how quickly he learned. He Yi then watched as Xue Ci puffed his cheeks and blew at the migan before finally putting it into his mouth.
“Is it good?” He Yi asked.
After swallowing, Xue Ci’s eyes lit up. He nodded vigorously.
He Yi was curious about the taste too. It looked rather like the broad rice noodles he knew. A moment later, the second bowl he had ordered was finally served.
He first tasted the pea soup. It was extraordinarily rich and mellow, with a natural sweetness. The migan itself was very soft and silky, thinner than the broad rice noodles he had eaten before, and once coated in the pea soup it became even smoother. He Yi already liked soft, thick textures, and together with the blanched crisp bean sprouts and spring chives, plus the tart pickled vegetables, the bowl had layers of texture and flavor while leaving his stomach pleasantly warm.
It was genuinely an excellent meal. He Yi was impressed from the very first taste.
Xue Ci finished quickly and poked at his empty bowl with one finger, apparently hoping for another.
He Yi had no intention of spoiling him. He stood, paid Auntie Liu the remaining three copper coins, and while he was there asked who in the village knew how to weave straw sandals. He wanted to buy a pair.
Auntie Liu already had a good impression of He Yi and said, “Buy what? Straw sandals aren’t worth much. I’ll make you a pair when I close the stall and go home. What size do you need?”
“I can’t take them for free. If you won’t accept money, I’ll ask someone else.” He Yi turned as though to leave.
“Hey, hey! Where are you going?” Auntie Liu hurriedly called after him. “We’re neighbors. If I started calculating over something this small, I wouldn’t be able to hold my head up in this village. Tell me, what size? Are they for you, or for someone else…” Before she finished, her eyes instinctively dropped toward Xue Ci’s bare feet, and understanding dawned on her at once.
He Yi knew she had figured it out and, for some inexplicable reason, felt heat rise to his face. “The spinach at my house has grown quite tall. There’s more than we can eat. I’ll pick a carrying basketful for you. You can’t refuse that, can you? It’s only a little vegetable, nothing worth much.” In truth, He Yi still had very little sense of local prices. He had no idea whether he was getting the better end of the exchange or not. Either way, he would remember Auntie Liu’s kindness.
Unable to do anything with him, Auntie Liu finally agreed and told him to come back the day after tomorrow for the shoes.
A while later, He Yi found a secluded place. He and Xue Ci crouched beneath the shade of a tree and talked quietly.
“How did you end up coming down the mountain? Did you follow me?” He Yi asked.
Xue Ci was staring intently at a plump bird preening itself on a branch. He was still listening to He Yi, however, and nodded. “Not fun.”
“The mountain isn’t fun, or the village isn’t fun?”
“Village… people.”
Mm… He Yi more or less understood. Xue Ci meant that he had followed He Yi down the mountain, only to discover that the people in the village were unfriendly toward him, so he did not like staying here.
He Yi hesitated over whether to persuade him to return to the mountain, but the tiger was still up there, and no one knew when a hunt might be organized.
While He Yi was still worrying over it, Xue Ci suddenly added, “Tasty. Fun!”
Right. He Yi was genuinely afraid that one day someone would lure this kid away with food. Come to think of it, Xue Ci’s origins were completely unknown. Chongzi Village had many settlers from elsewhere and all sorts of surnames, making it a mixed-surname village, but people were still bound to be suspicious and exclusionary toward someone with no household registration. It was entirely possible that one day the villagers might tie Xue Ci up and hand him over to the village head or report him to the authorities.
Still, Chongzi Village was not like some neighboring villages where a powerful clan could mobilize everyone. Their own clan head could not unite the villagers at all and was a famously useless figurehead. As long as no one took the lead, Xue Ci might be all right.
After what had happened last night, however, there was no telling whether Eldest Uncle’s family would hold a grudge against Xue Ci. Compared with the other villagers, He Yi probably had more reason to watch out for whatever they might try. Perhaps he should sound out the village head when he had a chance.
There was no way to solve everything at once. For now, all He Yi could do was warn Xue Ci not to wander around the village unless necessary, to avoid the He family as much as possible, and if anything seemed wrong, to come find him or hide back on the mountain first.
Xue Ci finally pulled his gaze away from the plump bird and nodded at He Yi, apparently taking the warning to heart. He Yi relaxed slightly. The very next moment, however, Xue Ci suddenly sprang to his feet and jumped straight upward, trying to get into the tree.
He Yi shot upright by reflex. When he saw Xue Ci actually catch hold of a branch half a person’s height above his head with a single light leap and hang high in the air, he was so frightened that he hurried forward, wrapped both arms around Xue Ci’s legs, and shouted, “Come down!!”
Xue Ci looked down at He Yi, then at the plump bird that was already flapping away. Growing anxious, he instinctively struggled with his legs.
The movement nearly knocked He Yi off balance. He Yi smacked the side of Xue Ci’s waist, and only then did he stop moving. He Yi loosened his grip and lowered him steadily back to the ground.
He Yi sighed. “…You scared me to death.” Why did Xue Ci always act on whatever impulse popped into his head?
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared.” Seeing that He Yi’s face really had gone a little pale, Xue Ci leaned his head closer and rubbed his cheek against He Yi’s. His hair slid over He Yi’s neck and clothes.
He Yi’s face was very obviously no longer pale. It had gone bright red.
“You… you…” Someone suddenly could not even speak properly. He spun around and hurried away in flustered retreat, leaving an innocent-looking Xue Ci standing where he was.
*
The next day, before He Yi could find an opportunity to visit the village head, the man came looking for him first. And he brought with him the very person responsible for plunging the original He Yi into years of misery.