8 This is Shanshou Village (Bug Catching)

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The beginning of the hottest period of summer had arrived with the intense heat of the sun. The rice fields were lush and green, and cicadas tirelessly sang from the trees, adding a restless edge to the sultry summer. In the village, fearless children ran about in groups through the fields and hills.

Ye Xi, sensitive to the heat, always lacked energy in summer and preferred to stay home, unwilling to go outside. His appetite had diminished by more than half. Liu Xiufeng called to him, asking him to join her in shelling mung beans under the shade of a tree in the courtyard.

The hottest season meant the weather grew even hotter, and every household began boiling mung bean soup. They would cook a large pot and chill it in the well, so that after a day’s work, drinking a big bowl would bring refreshing relief. Summer was hard to endure without this cooling drink.

Ye Xi sat cross-legged on a bamboo bed, drowsy, his hands moving slower and slower. Liu Xiufeng teased him, “Being so lazy, how can that be good?”

Ye Xi yawned, a faint flush coloring the corners of his eyes. “My family cares for me and lets me be lazy.”

Seeing the veil covering Ye Xi’s face, Liu Xiufeng advised, “It’s hot, and you’re inside anyway. You should take it off; covering up will only make you sweat.”

Ye Xi shook his head. “Wearing it doesn’t matter.”

Liu Xiufeng gave up urging him further and told him to pick some cucumbers and tomatoes from the vegetable garden later when it was cloudier, to soak them in the well water. In the evening, tossing them with sesame oil would make a cool and delicious salad.

Ye Xi hummed in agreement and lay back on the bamboo bed to cool off.

After a while, Liu Xiufeng finished shelling the mung beans. Ye Xi got up to go to the kitchen to cook the mung bean soup. He had a good sense of timing and skill, always able to simmer the beans until they melted into a sandy, tender texture. Adding a bit of honey turned it into a sweet drink that could easily fetch three coins a bowl at the town shops.

Ye Xi piled a full firebox with wood and slowly cooked the soup. As steam rose, the fragrance of the mung beans gradually filled the air. Liu Xiufeng yawned by the doorway, feeling sleepy while mending shoe insoles. The heat of summer always induced a heavy drowsiness in the afternoon.

She called out, “Brother Xi, your mother is going to lie down in the room for a while.”

Ye Xi replied with a sigh and kept watch over the stove.

After Liu Xiufeng left, Ye Xi sat by the stove, fanning himself and listening to the cicadas outside. The sudden snap of burning wood startled him awake.

He stood up and lifted the pot lid. The mung beans had fully dissolved. Stirring with a spatula, the soup turned cloudy — it was about done. Ye Xi fetched a clay jar and ladled a jarful of soup into it.

Then he placed the jar into a bamboo basket and submerged it in the well. The well water was icy cold; in about an hour, the mung bean soup would be perfectly chilled.

Calculating the time, Ye Xi returned to the main room and embroidered handkerchiefs — his private handiwork. Shops in town bought embroidered handkerchiefs for fifteen cash each. Larger, fuller embroidery fetched higher prices. It was a task that strained the eyes, but he did it to pass the time.

When the sun had shifted westward, Ye Xi put down his needlework, left the main room, and pulled up the basket from the well. Touching the clay jar, he found it refreshingly cold.

His father and elder brother had been working under the scorching sun for hours and were likely parched. Ye Xi decided to take the jar to them.

He closed the door behind him and carried the basket out. Already sweating profusely from the heat, he paused under the shade of a tree by the woods. A gentle breeze brought some relief from the heat.

Groups of village children emerged from the woods, holding sticky poles, and two of them carried bamboo baskets.

Ye Xi called to them, “Have you caught any cicadas?”

A boy grinned, “Brother Xi, we caught plenty today — half a basketful!”

Ye Xi exclaimed, “Then each of you can trade for two strings of candies!”

“Yeah, yeah, Brother Xi, we’re off now!”

With that, the children ran off in groups.

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Ye Xi smiled as he watched the adorable children.

The kids caught cicadas to trade for coins or candies. Cicadas, whether fried or cooked, were delicious treats in summer. Many wealthy families in town loved them and had people who collected them specifically for sale. But catching cicadas was no easy job. You had to scour the whole forest; some cicadas perched high on treetops, out of reach of bamboo poles, requiring climbers to scale trees. A day’s catch was often just a few cicadas. Only seasoned experts who lived off this could fill a basket daily.

Ye Xi lingered under the tree for a moment longer, then prepared to head to the fields to find his father and elder brother. Just as he was about to leave, a tall, sturdy man appeared ahead, carrying an iron hoe.

It was Lin Jiangshan.

He, too, saw Ye Xi under the tree and approached with dark, serious eyes.

For some reason, Ye Xi felt a strange nervousness when he looked at him, unsure why he felt guilty or afraid. His fingers gripped the basket handle tightly.

“I just happened to be passing by. You’re going to the fields?” Ye Xi greeted quietly.

After several encounters, Lin Jiangshan was less cold than before and was willing to say a few more words.

He nodded. “I just bought new land and am going to turn the soil, see what to plant.”

Ye Xi said, “Land isn’t cheap, yet you managed to buy some. That’s better than many villagers.”

Lin Jiangshan gave a nonchalant hum. “If you don’t farm, you have no food. You can’t just buy rice from the shop forever.”

Ye Xi offered a suggestion, “Rice in the shop is overpriced — probably five or six cash more per liter. You could ask around the village to see if anyone has extra stored grain; that might save you some money.”

Lin Jiangshan did not mention that most villagers avoided him and likely wouldn’t sell him rice, but he nodded and said, “Thanks.”

“I brought some mung bean soup. Do you want some?” Ye Xi suddenly remembered the jar in his basket.

Lin Jiangshan’s gaze fell on the basket. The weather was hot, and the gourd of spring water he carried was long empty. His throat was parched. Hearing about the chilled mung bean soup, his thirst deepened.

Seeing his expression, Ye Xi knew he wanted some. Without waiting for a reply, he crouched, set the basket on a stone, lifted the jar, and took out an empty bowl.

He ladled a thick, icy-cold bowl of mung bean soup and handed it to Lin Jiangshan, the bowl’s surface steaming with cold.

Lin Jiangshan didn’t hesitate and drank the entire bowl in one gulp. The icy liquid flowed down his throat, soothing his stomach, relieving the heat throughout his body.

Seeing him drink quickly, Ye Xi refilled the bowl. “I brought plenty. You can have another.”

Relieved, Lin Jiangshan drank the second bowl more slowly, savoring its sweet, pleasant flavor.

“Your skills… are very good,” he awkwardly complimented.

Ye Xi smiled with narrowed eyes. “It’s just simple farmhand work, nothing special.”

Lin Jiangshan said, “The sauerkraut you made last time was good, too.”

Hearing this, Ye Xi recalled that Lin Jiangshan had given him fish, but he had yet to deliver the promised sauerkraut. He hastened to say, “Ah, I’ve been meaning to bring you a jar of sauerkraut. I’ll bring some when I have time.”

Lin Jiangshan saw the embarrassed look on Ye Xi’s face and smiled faintly. “No rush. I have other food; I’m not in a hurry.”

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Ye Xi replied, “It doesn’t take much time. I’ll bring it to you another day.”

Lin Jiangshan nodded. Seeing a few villagers approaching in the distance, he knew Ye Xi would want to avoid gossip, so he didn’t say more. He shouldered his hoe and left.

Ye Xi watched his figure retreat under the scorching sun and smiled. This man, cold outside but thoughtful inside, was more measured than many others.

Carrying the bamboo basket, Ye Xi went to the fields, where Father Ye and Elder Brother Ye had just finished digging trenches in the rice paddies. They sat down under a tree to cool off.

Ye Shan, baked dark by the sun with flushed cheeks, wiped sweat from his brow with his shirt. “This year’s strange — it’s hot and dry even before the Great Heat.”

Ye Xi handed a bowl of mung bean soup to Father Ye. Father Ye said, “It’s still half a month until harvest. It’s too hot and dry now; we can’t start cutting yet.”

The rice stalks were still not fully plump; squeezing them felt hollow, threatening the yield and depressing prices by two or three cash at the shop.

Ye Shan drank a bowl of mung bean soup. “Tomorrow I’ll ask the village chief about opening the irrigation channels. If we don’t water the fields soon, they’ll dry out.”

Father Ye said, “I’ll ask tonight.”

Ye Xi busied himself tidying the bowls and overheard Elder Brother say, “Someone bought that good plot down below. I was saving money to buy it this year, but someone beat me to it.”

Father Ye sighed. “That land down there is flat and fertile, near the river and canals — much better than ours. The only problem is we didn’t have enough money.”

The family had wanted that land for a long time, but its price was three or two silver taels higher than other plots, so they hadn’t saved enough.

Ye Xi looked up. “It seems that outsider on the mountainside bought it.”

Ye Shan was surprised. “Good heavens, two acres just bought outright? No one in the village is that wealthy.”

Ye Xi said, “Maybe he saved up in the past.”

Ye Shan exclaimed, “Don’t tell me he did something before. He looks about our age. Even if he carried sandbags in town, he shouldn’t be this rich.”

Ye Xi shot his brother a glare. “Stop talking nonsense. He earned his money fair and square. Don’t be jealous and make up stories.”

Ye Shan looked at his brother. “Why do you defend this outsider? I’m just guessing. Brother Xi, why are you so serious?”

Ye Xi’s ears tingled red; he didn’t know why he instinctively defended Lin Jiangshan and was momentarily at a loss for words.

Father Ye, seeing the tension rise, intervened, “Whether he’s rich or not isn’t our concern. Let’s rest and then get back to weeding the field ridges.”

With Father and Elder Brother busy, Ye Xi quickly packed up and prepared to return. Passing the good land, he couldn’t help but glance at it a few more times.