Volume Four: Awakening of Insects Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One: Snowfall

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The new volume has begun, and little Jin, the snake, will soon return, bringing opportunities for Le. Meanwhile, a new important character has appeared. This week has been quite good—single-chapter subscriptions have surpassed thirteen hundred, and there are already twenty-three monthly votes. Thank you all; my gratitude to everyone! If you have any tickets, please cast them for me. Let me emphasize again, these words come at no charge.

On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, all construction sites ceased work as the laborers returned home to prepare for the New Year. The Spring Festival was approaching, and wages had to be paid. The Serpent King’s company immediately disbursed over 350,000 yuan into the hands of the workers. Over one hundred and twenty workers, some having worked nearly two months, others only for half a month, received between four to five thousand yuan at most, and at least about a thousand. Compared to working away from home, this was far better.

With money in hand, the New Year celebrations promised to be lively. Uncle Sheng Gui and his wife were both at the site and immediately received over seven thousand yuan, which was more than what they had earned toiling for half a year in Guangzhou. Uncle Sheng Gui’s monthly income in Guangzhou was under fifteen hundred yuan, and Aunt Ma could earn a thousand only by working overtime. After food and lodging expenses, the two of them barely had fifteen hundred yuan combined, and with travel expenses back and forth, how much actually stayed in their pockets?

Moreover, work was not guaranteed every day in Guangzhou; when idle, they had to rely on their savings.

Two days earlier, the city television station had come to film an interview, but that was related to Feng Shuya. Le’er and Li Ying had agreed with Feng Shuya not to appear on camera. Instead, many villagers appeared on TV, and Uncle Sheng Gui and Aunt Ma had the opportunity to be featured.

Once the broadcast aired, Feng Shuya instantly became a well-known figure and was extremely busy these days. Reporters from the provincial newspaper and provincial TV station also arrived, and Le’er and Li Ying, fearing these people would come looking for them, dared not stay at home.

“Come on, I’ll take you to dig for winter bamboo shoots,” Le’er hoisted a hoe, brimming with enthusiasm. “Tomorrow we’ll buy a mountain goat to slaughter and stew the meat with winter bamboo shoots—it’s delicious.”

Li Ying and Yu Menglan naturally shared her enthusiasm, leaving Luo Yinxian to guard the house. The yellow dog wagged its tail and followed behind. To avoid the reporters, Le’er led them to the Xiao family’s mountain bamboo grove.

The yellow dog darted excitedly through the mountain. The two beauties were curious, looking around but finding no bamboo shoots.

“Where are the shoots?” asked Yu Menglan.

“Of course, they’re underground.”

Le’er smiled, walking to a dark green bamboo with lush leaves. After a careful look, she raised her hoe and soon unearthed a winter bamboo shoot. Winter bamboo shoots do not protrude above ground; it takes experience to find them. They’re not large, each weighing only six or seven taels (about 200-250 grams). The entire shoot weighs a little over one jin (about 500 grams). Finding a shoot heavier than two jin is rare.

“Wow… there really are shoots?” Yu Menglan looked at it with great interest. “Are they tasty? I’ve never eaten one.”

“Of course, they’re delicious.” Le’er glanced at the sky. “I must hurry and dig. It might snow today.”

“Will it snow?” Yu Menglan jumped up. “Wonderful! I’ve never seen snow before.”

“The clouds up there are grayish-yellow, and the air is cold. Snow is about to fall.”

Le’er dug energetically, and from a single bamboo root, she unearthed four winter shoots. Li Ying watched Le’er dig with great interest; Yu Menglan kept looking at the sky but saw no difference from yesterday’s colors. Suddenly, the yellow dog barked loudly as a wild pheasant burst out of a nearby thicket.

“Chicken… how is there a chicken in these mountains? Uh… why is its tail feather so long? And so beautiful?”

“That’s a wild pheasant.”

“Then forget digging for bamboo shoots; let’s catch the pheasant.”

“You can’t catch it,” Le’er smiled, digging as she spoke. “Without a snare, it’s impossible. With a snare, you could catch them. On snowy days, you can set a trap.”

“How do you set a trap?” Yu Menglan became interested again.

“A trap is made specifically for wild pheasants. It only works in autumn or when it snows,” Le’er looked up. “In autumn, when pheasants are mating, you first have to catch a female pheasant and put it inside the trap. The male pheasant will come looking for her, and you can catch it. On snowy days, wild pheasants have little to eat, so if you scatter some grain behind the trap, they come to eat and can be caught.”

“You guys are so cruel.”

Before snow fell, Yu Menglan’s face showed disappointment as she watched the yellow dog barking while chasing the pheasant. Le’er dug up another large shoot, and Li Ying picked it up and placed it in the basket.

“Tired?” Li Ying asked with concern. “You look flushed.”

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“This is just a little work, just sweating a bit.”

Suddenly, tiny particles like grains of salt began to fall, making a rustling sound.

“Hey, it’s really snowing! Let’s go back.”

“Is this snow? Snowflakes don’t fall like this.” Yu Menglan cupped a few grains in her palm. “It looks like salt.”

“This is granular snow. We call it sand snow.” Li Ying, unable to carry the basket, was gently lifted by Le’er, who explained on the way: “What you’re talking about is floating snow. Usually, granular snow falls first, cooling the ground before the floating snow comes.”

Both Li Ying and Yu Menglan found this new to them. Li Ying had seen snow in the north during winter but had never known about this process.

Walking through the granular snow, they were as joyful as two happy birds, hopping and skipping. When they reached home, a girl in a school uniform came out to greet them.

“Brother Le’er, you’re digging for winter bamboo shoots?”

“Lan sister, are you on holiday?”

“Yes.”

Sha Lan blushed upon seeing the two beauties behind Le’er and lowered her head. “Brother, let me carry it for you.”

Le’er happily handed the basket to Sha Lan. Li Ying couldn’t lift it, but in the hands of this slender schoolgirl, it seemed very light.

“Who’s this girl?” Li Ying asked.

“She’s my cousin.”

Le’er introduced them. Sha Lan softly called them “sister” twice after hearing Le’er’s introduction. Returning home, Luo Yinxian came out.

“So you only dug a dozen or so?” Luo Yinxian looked at the winter bamboo shoots in the basket. “Lan sister brought you a lot, maybe thirty or forty.”

“Uh… Lan sister, your old man is so generous this year, sending me winter bamboo shoots,” Le’er laughed.

“My father said you gave him money to send me to school, and he didn’t thank you for anything,” Sha Lan said softly.

“That’s good. I was worried about digging too few. In a couple of days, I’ll send some to Secretary Huang and Big Cannon Xie.” Le’er washed her hands. “You sit down. I’ll ask my uncle to buy a goat and slaughter it. It’s snowing today, perfect for a mutton hot pot.”

Le’er headed to her uncle’s house. By the time he returned, big snowflakes were drifting down, covering the earth in a white blanket. Sha Lan had already gone back.

“Le’er, where’s your goat?”

“My uncle is slaughtering it now. He’ll bring it once it’s ready.”

Li Ying and Yu Menglan jumped around the yard like mad, catching snowflakes in their palms. The snowflakes melted as soon as they touched their hands. A flock of sparrows flew from afar and landed in the vegetable garden.

“Hey, let’s catch sparrows,” Le’er smiled at the birds.

“Catch sparrows?” Yu Menglan was eager to do something. “How?”

“You haven’t read Lu Xun’s story about that?” Le’er recalled Lu Xun’s novel “The Soil,” recently read, and wanted to show off.

“Uh… you actually know Lu Xun?” Yu Menglan was surprised. “Li Ying, didn’t you say he only finished elementary school?”

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“Have you not seen him studying now?” Li Ying laughed. Le’er was not to be underestimated. “He’s self-studying to prepare for the self-study exam.”

“A primary school student taking a self-study exam?”

“You’ll test him later.”

“I’m too lazy to test him. Let’s just catch sparrows; it’s more fun.”

Catching sparrows in the snow was a pastime Le’er had mastered in childhood, and his skill was still intact. Indeed, just as Lu Xun described, he first swept a patch of ground in the garden, scattered rice grains on it, and propped up a bamboo trap with a stick, attaching a long string to pull it from afar.

Li Ying and Yu Menglan watched excitedly as he prepared everything. Once ready, the three hid in the courtyard and watched the garden from a distance. A flock of sparrows flew over.

“Here they come,” Yu Menglan shouted excitedly.

“Don’t shout, you’ll scare them away,” Li Ying scolded, and Yu Menglan fell silent. Watching the sparrows enter the cleared patch and start crawling under the bamboo trap, tension rose.

“Pull it quickly, they’re inside,” Yu Menglan whispered.

“Not yet. These sparrows are very cunning,” Le’er smiled. As more than ten sparrows crawled under the trap, he suddenly pulled the string sharply. The trap snapped down. The sparrows near the trap burst out sharply, flying far away, but four were caught underneath.

“Caught some! Caught some!” Yu Menglan shouted excitedly. Le’er was also thrilled—a seventeen-year-old boy playing such games felt great joy.

The sparrows caught under the trap had their legs tied with string and were held by the two girls, who laughed and jumped. Le’er continued setting traps, and in just two or three hours, they caught twelve sparrows.

“Give them to Yinxian. Later she’ll fry them; they’re delicious,” Le’er said, smiling at the two girls who were like little children.

“No, we want to feed them.”

“They won’t survive being fed.” Just then, Le’er’s uncle arrived carrying the slaughtered goat in a bamboo basket. “Fine, you feed them first. Today we’ll eat mutton hot pot.”

The two girls were delighted, playing with the sparrows whose legs were tied. The dozen sparrows jumped and flew around the yard, and the girls giggled.

Luo Yinxian began preparing the mutton hot pot. Le’er sat in the main room drinking tea with his uncle.

Outside, the snow fell heavier and heavier. In the main room, a fire bowl burned warmly. Uncle smiled and spoke of Gangzi.

“That wild kid won’t be back for the New Year.”

“Uncle, as long as he’s well, who cares,” Le’er laughed. “Have second and third sister returned?”

“No idea,” Uncle puffed on his dry tobacco. “Don’t care. If they come back, they’ll probably stop by.”

Daughters who marry out are like spilled water. In Uncle’s heart, daughters were not the same as sons. If the daughters came back, good; if not, he wouldn’t mind.

After some talk, the mutton hot pot was served—braised mutton with winter bamboo shoots, garnished with coriander and greens. Around the glowing hearth, sipping warmed aged rice wine, the two Guangzhou girls praised the meal.

The falling snow signaled the end of winter and the coming of spring.