Chapter 63: Gathering Schisandra and Sanghuang*
*Sanghuang is a type of Chinese mushroom
On the way back to the cabin, Qingyan’s cotton mittens held a branch laden with schisandra berries. They played and frolicked along the way, and Qingyan felt a bit tired. Qiu Henian then carried him on his back for a while to catch his breath before setting him down to walk on his own.
Inside the cabin, they took off their thick hats and cotton clothes. Qiu Henian poked at the coal-covered stove, added some coal, and placed a kettle on top to boil water.
After washing his hands, Qingyan picked the schisandra berries off the branches and rinsed them in water. The fire burned brightly, and the water in the kettle was already warm, soon boiling.
He put a few schisandra berries into two cups, added some tea leaves, poured the boiling water, covered the cups, and let them steep for a while before drinking.
Drinking schisandra tea daily was good for the body.
While Qingyan finished his task, Qiu Henian had already chopped up the pork and sour cabbage, and soaked the noodles. Qingyan took charge of cooking while Qiu Henian assisted, stewing the vegetables in a pot and steaming rice on top. By the time the vegetables were stewed to perfection, the rice was also ready.
While waiting for the meal to cook, they sat comfortably at the kang table, drinking schisandra tea.
Qingyan remembered something and brought a basin of warm water over. While Qiu Henian drank his tea, Qingyan soaked his feet. According to his experience, keeping his feet soaked in warm water for about three years would fully heal the frostbite.
While they drank tea, Erxi was also active. Since they didn’t hunt today, its activity level wasn’t high, but it returned spirited.
Ah Miao played with the linen ball Qingyan had specially made for it on the kang head, while Erxi sat below the kang’s edge, occasionally getting up as if to pounce. However, Ah Miao completely ignored it, making Erxi appear particularly foolish.
After dinner, Qiu Henian dragged in a sled from outside, which caught Qingyan’s interest.
Qiu Henian explained, “Erxi dug it out from under the snowdrift when it came back earlier. The wood is cracked in places, probably discarded by Hunter Liu when it broke.”
Qingyan squatted down to examine it closely and asked, “Can it be repaired?”
Qiu Henian inspected it and said, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll bring a few usable pieces of wood when I go out and bring some carpentry tools. It should be repairable.”
He looked up at Qingyan and smiled, “Once it’s fixed, I’ll take you out to use the sled.”
Qingyan suddenly became excited.
The next day, at dawn after breakfast, Qiu Henian set off for hunting. Before he left, Qingyan told him he wanted to wander around the nearby woods.
On the way back yesterday, he noticed there were quite a few schisandra and sanghuang nearby. He thought of collecting them to sell or give away.
There weren’t any large wild beasts nearby, nor did anyone come this way. Qiu Henian hesitated for a moment, but seeing how eager Qingyan was, he instructed him not to go too far and to keep Erxi with him at all times before leaving.
Qingyan dressed warmly in a thick cotton coat, wool hat, and scarf, strapped on a basket, took a sickle, called Erxi, and left.
Sanghuang grew only on dead trees, not live ones. Once found, one could usually find a lot nearby. Qingyan had noted their locations on the way back yesterday, so he went straight to them now, using the sickle to knock them down one by one. In an hour, he had filled most of the basket.
Qingyan looked up at the sky, called Erxi, who had been running around nearby, to return, and went back to the small cabin. Erxi and Ah Miao had their meal, and after they were full and rested, Qingyan took Erxi out again.
This time, he walked towards where the sunlight reached. Few people came into these deep mountains, and most of the schisandra had fallen to the ground in autumn, but those on the sunny side, dried directly on the trees due to ample sunlight, remained on the branches.
After walking for a while, Qingyan found a tree laden with schisandra berries and swiftly picked them.
When the sun began to tilt westward, even though there were still many schisandra berries on the tree, Qingyan packed up with Erxi and headed back. After sunset, nocturnal animals would emerge from their dens to hunt, and larger animals might follow. Moreover, it would be difficult to find the way once it was completely dark.
Qingyan’s mind was clear; he couldn’t afford to make a big mistake for small gain.
Shortly after returning to the cabin, Qiu Henian arrived just as the last light of day disappeared, dragging two roe deer with him.
Qingyan greeted him, saw the two roe deer, and exclaimed, “Wow!”
Qiu Henian smiled and said, “We had good luck today. Not long after we set out, we spotted three roe deers together. I managed to shoot two but one got away.”
Both of them had a good harvest today. In the evening, they made dumplings filled with pork and spring onions to eat.
They stewed pig lungs for Erxi and cooked a small amount of chicken for the kitten, and both dishes were delicious.
In the evening, Qiu Henian brought the wood he had picked up from outside into the house. By the light of an oil lamp, he sawed the wood and repaired the old sled.
The wires under the sled were not working well, so he cut a few sections from the rabbit snares. He secured them under the sled with nails, which made it usable again.
Qiu Henian sat on the ground inside the house, concentrating on his work. When he was almost finished repairing it, he looked up and saw Qingyan holding Ah Miao. Erxi sat next to Qingyan.
All three pairs of eyes were curious and focused on what he was doing, which made him smile.
Seeing that he had finished, Qingyan eagerly approached and asked, “Can I try it?”
Qiu Henian looked down at him and asked, “You’ve never ridden a sled before?”
Qingyan shook his head, “No.”
Qiu Henian thought for a moment and said, “Considering the weather, it might snow tomorrow. I won’t go hunting. Instead, I’ll take you to play with the sled on a snowy slope nearby.”
Qingyan’s eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
They had dinner early that day. After finishing repairing the sled, it was still quite early. Qingyan was thinking about what to do next when Qiu Henian filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove. It was time for a bath.
Except for summer, due to the dryness in the north, burning coal or firewood had its costs. Bathing required quite a bit of water, so most people didn’t bathe frequently. They usually washed themselves with a basin every two or three days.
Qingyan was somewhat surprised that they were bathing again so soon after yesterday’s bath, but he helped Qiu Henian bring the bathing tub into the house and scrubbed it clean with water.
When the water was nearly boiling, Qingyan saw Qiu Henian take out a sheet of cloth from their luggage, shake it out, tie one end to the window frame and the other to the cabinet handle. This divided the bathing tub and the kang with the fire bed, leaving Erxi on one side.
If he still didn’t understand now, it would be hard to explain.
Without Qiu Henian urging him, Qingyan went to pick up Ah Miao and its little nest by himself. Regardless of how it meowed or coquettishly tried to distract him, he still sent it over to Erxi.
After a while, the sound of water came from the bathing tub. Qingyan believed in the value of an honest bath, but the bathing tub was not large enough, and his arms and legs were always bumping against the sides.
Qiu Henian lowered his eyes to look at Qingyan’s lower abdomen, his voice slightly hoarse as he asked, “Why is it red there? It was red yesterday too.”
Qingyan used his arms to cover the area, turned his head away without looking at him, and whispered, “It’s been like this for the past few days…”
After bathing, Qingyan dried himself and returned to the kang. Qiu Henian put on a robe and tidied up a bit before joining him on the kang.
Qingyan looked at the clean sheets and hesitated, saying, “There are only these two sheets brought from home.”
One was laid here, and the other was just hung up by Qiu Henian as a curtain.
His implication was that if they got dirty, there was no way to change them.
Qiu Henian sat down next to him, his big hands touching the dry sheet, and whispered something in Qingyan’s ear.
Qingyan blushed and shook his head, “No, it’s been a long time, last time my legs got so sore.”
Qiu Henian asked him, “Then what should we do?”
Qingyan thought for a while and said, “You… turn away first, don’t look at me.”
Qiu Henian stood up as instructed, turned away, and waited for him with his back turned.
Qingyan lay down along the edge of the kang, his face flushed, with his feet placed on either side of the kang.
This position made him very embarrassed, so he covered his face with both hands, his voice so soft that it was almost inaudible, and said, “Okay… all set.”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Henian turned around. When he saw the scene in front of him clearly, his eyes darkened instantly. He took out the black wrist guard from his pocket and put it on his wrist.
Qingyan covered his face, his legs trembling slightly, but he still reminded the man in a low voice, embarrassedly, “It’s cold on the floor. If you stay too long, you’ll catch a cold. Put on more robes.”
Qiu Henian’s eyes were focused on him. He made a sound of agreement and indeed reached out to get another robe to put on himself.
Throughout the process, Qingyan remembered firmly that he must not move towards the kang, keeping both feet firmly on the edge of the kang.
Qingyan’s persistence did pay off. After it was over, only Qiu Henian’s robe was wet, and the sheets were only slightly wrinkled but still dry.
After a simple cleaning, Qingyan leaned against the warm wall wrapped in a blanket, feeling sore and soft all over. Qiu Henian did not get onto the kang. Qingyan thought he had gone to tidy up the bathing tub, but unexpectedly, when Qiu Henian lifted the curtain and came in again, he was holding a shovel in his hand.
He dug out a layer of soil from under the edge of the kang and then filled it back up again. Qingyan blushed, thinking it was finally over.
However, Qiu Henian took another cloth, bent down, and carefully wiped the edge of the kang and the wall underneath several times.
Qingyan was so embarrassed that he wanted to die. He crawled into the blanket and couldn’t figure out why most people usually used ointments.
Why was he so…
A pair of big hands pulled away the blanket covering Qingyan’s head. Qingyan wanted to struggle, but he found that everything outside the blanket was pitch black, and the oil lamp had gone out.
For a moment, he couldn’t see anything, and Qingyan finally didn’t feel so embarrassed. He was pulled into warm and strong arms.
Qiu Henian gently massaged him, his voice low in his ear, asking, “Does it still hurt?”
Qingyan shook his head, his voice hoarse as he said, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
But he still grabbed the man’s wrist to stop him from continuing. In the darkness, Qiu Henian lowered his head to look at him. Qingyan’s voice was barely audible, embarrassedly saying in his ear, “Don’t rub it anymore… I… I can’t control it… If you rub it again, all my efforts just now will be wasted!”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Qingyan took a bite but suddenly retched, quickly putting on his shoes and running to the outside room to vomit into the kitchen sink.
