SLH | Chapter 17

Digging Wild Vegetables

In the vibrant spring of March, the grass grows lush and the orioles fly, making it the perfect time for wild vegetables to sprout. Yesterday, Liu Xiaomei made plans with a few of her girlfriends to go to the back mountain today to dig for wild vegetables. Song Tingzhu, who had been cooped up at home for quite a while, decided to join them.

Of course, Xia Ge’er couldn’t miss out on this, so after breakfast, the three of them set off together.

“Lingzhi, over here!”

Three young girls, about the same age as Liu Xiaomei, stood under the big banyan tree waving at them. Liu Xiaomei hadn’t seen her girlfriends in a while, and she was visibly excited, waving her arm energetically in response.

Once they got closer, she introduced them to Song Tingzhu, “Sao Fu Lang, these are my best friends, Xu Xiaoman, Zhao Jinzhuz, and Qian Shuang’er.”

Song Tingzhu nodded and smiled at the three, “Hello.”

The girls had often heard Liu Xiaomei praising how good-looking her Sao Fu Lang was. Hearing it once or twice was fine, but hearing it repeatedly made them a bit skeptical. Could he really be more beautiful than the daughters and young men of the county magistrate’s family?

But upon seeing him, they realized Liu Xiaomei was telling the truth. Sao Fu Lang was really good-looking, with skin as white and smooth as a peeled egg. The three little girls were stunned for quite a while before snapping back to reality.

“Hello, Sao Fu Lang.”

They all said in unison, cheeks flushed.

“Alright, if we dawdle any longer, the wild vegetables will be gone,” Liu Xiaomei said eagerly, linking arms with her girlfriends. “Let’s go, let’s go. Mom and Da Sao are waiting for me to bring back wild vegetables to make buns.”

The group set off in high spirits toward the back mountain.

The Liu family wasn’t too far from the back mountain; it took about two quarters of an hour to walk there. This distance was nothing to farm kids, not even to three-year-old Xia Ge’er, who didn’t feel tired at all.

But for Song Tingzhu, it was a bit tough. His health wasn’t great, and he hadn’t been out of bed for a long time. Midway through, sweat was already forming on his forehead, and his legs felt as heavy as lead.

Liu Xiaomei was chatting happily with her girlfriends up ahead, almost at the foot of the mountain, when she suddenly stopped and ran back with a look of regret. Oh no, she got so caught up playing with her friends that she forgot about Sao Fu Lang!

“Sao Fu Lang, how are you feeling? Is there anywhere uncomfortable?”

Seeing the flush on Song Tingzhu’s cheeks, Liu Xiaomei was a bit startled.

“It’s nothing serious, just a bit tired and need to rest,” Song Tingzhu said, supporting himself against a tree, breathing lightly. Xia Ge’er, standing by his side, frowned with a worried little face.

“Xiao Shu, drink some water.” The little guy unscrewed the bamboo tube his mom packed for him, tiptoeing to hand it over.

Song Tingzhu took a small sip, feeling better in his throat, and patted Xia Ge’er’s head, “Xiao Shu is much better now.”

“Sao Fu Lang, let me take you home to rest.”

Liu Xiaomei looked guilty, and the three girls who came over also looked at him with concern.

“No need to worry, just a little rest and I’ll be fine. You all go dig for wild vegetables, Xia Ge’er and I will wait for you at the foot of the mountain,” Song Tingzhu said gently.

The girls didn’t leave right away, staying with him for a while until his complexion returned to normal. Then, they happily held hands and ran up the mountain.

“Xia Ge’er, you have to help Xiao Gu take good care of Xiao Shu, okay?” Liu Xiaomei reminded her three-and-a-half-year-old nephew before leaving.

Xia Ge’er patted his chest and promised in a crisp voice, “Xia Ge’er will take good care of Xiao Shu!”

After Liu Xiaomei left, the little guy squatted next to Song Tingzhu, propping his chin with his little hands, his bright eyes staring at him without blinking.

Seeing this, Song Tingzhu chuckled softly. Seeing him so serious, he let the little guy be. But Xia Ge’er was too young, and it wasn’t long before he was distracted by a little bug.

There were quite a few villagers out digging for wild vegetables today. When friendly aunties greeted him, Song Tingzhu responded with a smile. As for those who looked down on him or even hurled insults, he didn’t shy away. He stood his ground, unfazed even if confronted directly.

“What’s the big deal? Coming from the prefectural city, so what? No money, can’t have kids. The Liu family marrying him is just bad luck!”

“Exactly, poor Huzi, already twenty-one this year and still no kids.”

The two gossiping women walked away, leaving Xia Ge’er puffing his cheeks, angrily glaring at them.

“Alright, don’t be mad,” Song Tingzhu said, pulling the little guy over and wiping the dirt from his palms with a handkerchief. “I saw you working hard under the tree earlier. Did you find any treasures?”

The little guy immediately beamed, “Uh-huh, Xia Ge’er will show Xiao Shu!”

Before the words were out, he ran back to the tree on his short legs, bringing back a handful of wild grass and proudly showing it to Song Tingzhu, “Xia Ge’er found wild vegetables!”

Having lived in the courtyard for a long time, Song Tingzhu hadn’t seen wild vegetables often. But he recognized the two plants Xia Ge’er dug up””Plantain, also known as wild sweet vegetable, a common herb often found in fields, meadows, and roadsides. Farmers, living hard lives, often dug up plantain to eat as wild vegetables.

Song Tingzhu took the herbs, a delicate smile gracing his face.

“Xia Ge’er did great, you helped Xiao Shu a lot.”

The little guy was overjoyed, pointing back at the tree with an excited little face, “There’s lots more over there, Xia Ge’er will dig more!”

Song Tingzhu stood up, “Xiao Shu will go with you.”

He had planned to dig some herbs to sell, but the harvesting times recorded in books differed slightly from reality. The book said plantain could be harvested at the end of March, but here it was, just entering early spring, and they were already available.

“Xiao Shu, come quickly, there’s lots more here!” Xia Ge’er called out to him, turning around.

Song Tingzhu quickly followed, trailing behind Xia Ge’er around a half-human-height boulder. Sure enough, he found a patch of plantain behind it, both surprised and delighted.

The two of them, big and small, busied themselves for quite a while. When Liu Xiaomei and her girlfriends returned from digging wild vegetables, they were wide-eyed at the pile under the tree.

“Sao Fu Lang, did you go digging for wild vegetables?”

“Not wild vegetables, it’s herbs to sell for money!” Xia Ge’er answered quickly.

“Herbs?” Liu Xiaomei glanced at the pile under the tree again.

But these are wild vegetables, she’s sure of it. Having dug them for seven or eight years with her mom and Da Sao, she couldn’t be mistaken.

Xu Xiaoman, Zhao Jinzhuz, and Qian Shuang’er also shook their heads.

“They’re wild vegetables. We dug lots on the mountain.”

“Yeah, eating too much makes you wet the bed. Many in the village call it bedwetting grass.”

“It has lots of names. My grandma calls it cow tongue grass, and at my grandma’s place, they call it wild sweet vegetable or wheel vegetable.”

Song Tingzhu explained with a smile, “Those are all nicknames. Its scientific name is Plantago, a kind of herb.”

“I remember now!” Zhao Jinzhuz’s eyes lit up. “Once when my mom was sick, I went to Grandpa Liang’s to ask him to check on her. I saw cow tongue grass at Grandpa Liang’s place, drying lots of it in the yard, along with other herbs I didn’t recognize.”

Hearing this, Liu Xiaomei was both excited and thrilled, “Sao Fu Lang, can this wheel vegetable really be sold for money?”

Song Tingzhu replied, “Yes, but because it’s so common, clinics rarely buy it.”

Seeing the little girls’ shoulders droop in disappointment, he smiled and added, “Besides Plantago, there are many other herbs in the mountains that can be exchanged for money.”

“Really? Sao Fu Lang, tell us what they look like!”

### Author’s Note:

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Had a feast during the day, writing at night. I hate it, why didn’t I stockpile more drafts, boohoo.