Chapter 40: Liu Zheng, the Big Meat Bun

That day, as usual after finishing work, she lent the awl to Fang Rou, who went to look for Aunt Huang to ask if there were any skilled weavers in the village.

Aunt Huang quickly recommended a family.

Following the directions given by Aunt Huang, Mingdai knocked on a door at the end of the village.

“The door’s not locked, just push it open.”

Mingdai tried, and sure enough, the door opened with a push. Upon entering, she looked down and saw, as expected, a man curled up on the earthen floor by the doorway.

The man’s name was Liu Dazheng. He was of the same generation as Liu Dazhu, though a little younger. He had been disabled since childhood—his body had grown, but his legs remained stunted and weak.

In truth, it was polio, also known as poliomyelitis. It typically strikes children under five, and he’d likely had no treatment at the time. Such cases weren’t rare in the countryside; nearly every other village had one. The old folks would say it was a punishment for some ancestral wrongdoing, but in reality, it was an acute childhood infectious disease.

Later on, children would take sugar pills to prevent it, but current medical standards hadn’t reached that point.

“Are you Uncle Dazheng?” she asked.

Liu Dazheng looked up, seeing an unfamiliar face. “And you are?”

Since he rarely left home and only worked within his own walls, he was one of the few in Liu Family Bay who had never been beaten by Zhou Sinian, and so he did not recognize them.

“I’d like to place an order,” Mingdai said. “Four large mats for drying goods—finished ones are fine; two kang mats, those aren’t urgent, just deliver by next spring; and three door curtains, also for next spring. I’ll pick out a few baskets, too.”

Such a large order left Liu Dazheng stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. “Of course, of course. The mats are over there, and so are the baskets. Feel free to look.”

Mingdai nodded and led Zhou Sinian over. “See if there’s anything you like—we’ll buy it.”

It was the first time Zhou Sinian had the freedom to choose something for himself. Delighted, he went from basket to basket, touching them all.

“If we damage anything, we’ll buy it,” Mingdai said apologetically.

Liu Dazheng shook his head. It was rare for anyone to come by. The villagers all saw him as a jinx and wouldn’t let their children visit. Usually, only the brigade leader would drop by with some food, or occasionally his nephew would come to check if he was still alive, so he could inherit the courtyard.

It was unusual for two young people to visit, and the company cheered Liu Dazheng up.

In the end, Zhou Sinian picked out a backpack basket.

The reason was simple—it was the biggest and didn’t look like a mere toy when he carried it.

Liu Dazheng chuckled. “I made this one when I was young and strong. I set it aside, never expecting to finally find someone suitable for it. Young man, you’re tall!”

Zhou Sinian tested the straps and hefted it a few times, then, to everyone’s surprise, sincerely thanked Liu Dazheng, who was still on the ground.

Mingdai thought, if the villagers saw this scene, their jaws would drop.

Liu Dazheng seemed to take a liking to Zhou Sinian and discussed changing the straps for him—the current ones were a bit too narrow.

Zhou Sinian frowned, but after a while, he agreed. However, when it came to picking the color of the straps, the two disagreed.

All of Liu Dazheng’s straps were plain, mostly black, white, or gray—the village chief had snatched them from a group of madwomen at the county textile factory. There were few patterned fabrics.

But Zhou Sinian wanted a floral strap.

Liu Dazheng glanced at the bright red headscarf on the young man’s head and seemed to understand, but after searching, he still couldn’t find any floral fabric.

Just as the two were at a loss, Mingdai slipped a piece of floral material from her bag, saving the day.

Watching the tall and short, the old and young getting along so harmoniously, Mingdai felt at ease and went off to choose what she needed.

By the time she had finished, Liu Dazheng had already sewn the new strap.

Mingdai marveled at his handiwork—his stitches were as straight and neat as those from a sewing machine.

Liu Dazheng beamed at the praise.

Zhou Sinian was pleased with his new basket and floral straps.

The whole courtyard seemed filled with happiness.

After tallying up the prices and consulting with Liu Dazheng, Mingdai paid part of the sum as a deposit, with the rest to be settled in grain.

Liu Dazheng watched Zhou Sinian efficiently fasten his purchases and sling them onto his back, while the little girl behind him followed with a sieve in hand, and his smile grew even warmer.

In the end, Liu Dazheng did something rare—he saw them off at the door, grinning all the while, utterly unconcerned that they might skip out on payment.

Even after they returned home, Mingdai noticed Zhou Sinian was still in a very good mood.

“Do you like shopping?” she asked.

Zhou Sinian’s eyes lit up.

Mingdai laughed. “If you behave, I’ll take you to shop at the commune.”

Zhou Sinian instantly put everything away neatly.

Mingdai glanced at the chestnuts on the ground. Although the sun was weak, the wind was strong, and the chestnuts had already dried.

She quickly gathered them up.

The mats they’d just bought—Mingdai had Zhou Sinian lay them out in the courtyard. Once unrolled, the pine nuts were spread evenly over the four mats, basking in the gentle sunshine.

Noting the good weather, Mingdai decided to put up a firewood shed.

For that, she’d need to pick out a few sturdy branches from the mountain.

Before leaving, Mingdai set the dough to rise. She planned to steam buns while everyone else was out working in the afternoon, so they’d have something for breakfast in the coming days.

Mingdai kneaded the dough while Zhou Sinian helped add water, and together they made a large basin of it.

She placed it in the big pot to rise with some warm water underneath, and the two of them hurried off to Wild Boar Ridge.

Zhou Sinian led the way and quickly found suitable branches at the foot of the mountain. They cut eight, trimmed off the smaller twigs, and Zhou Sinian carried them all the way home.

On the way back, they ran into people coming home from the fields, who, upon seeing Zhou Sinian carrying the wood, gave him a wide berth.

At home, Mingdai checked—the dough still wasn’t ready.

So she used the microwave in her space to warm some steamed buns, opened a can of braised pork, heated it up, and made two bowls of instant noodles, making Zhou Sinian’s eyes sparkle with delight.

After eating, Mingdai took out a shovel and some wire.

After choosing the spot, Zhou Sinian dug the holes while Mingdai held the posts steady as they buried the stumps.

Once the four corners were set, they connected the frame with branches and fixed it with wire. Soon, a sloping shed took shape.

Zhou Sinian climbed up, laid the boards one by one, fixed them with wire, then added a thick layer of plastic, and another layer of boards on top.

With double protection, even the fiercest wind or snow wouldn’t get through.

They repeated the process for the other shed. After more than two hours, both were finished.

Looking at the roof, Mingdai planned to borrow some straw from Aunt Huang’s house one day, otherwise passersby would call her wasteful.

Once they were done, the field workers had already returned to the fields, and Mingdai could finally steam the buns without worry.

Zhou Sinian watched the whole process in anticipation.

She used the meat grinder in her space to prepare the filling, blending the seasonings to perfection. Even the raw mixture smelled delicious.

She set the cutting board on the Eight Immortals Table, took out the dough, and showed Zhou Sinian how to knead and deflate it. She divided it into small pieces and rolled out the wrappers.

Taking a wrapper, she filled it to the brim, and began teaching Zhou Sinian how to make buns.

Sure enough, he learned instantly, and in the end managed to pinch fifteen pleats—something Mingdai herself couldn’t do.

Amazing!

The finished buns were placed in the steamer to rise, stacked layer upon layer, until there were five tiers.

Once they were fully risen, she set them over high heat to steam.

After twenty-five minutes, she turned off the fire and let them rest for five more.

Time was up!

Zhou Sinian impatiently lifted the lid—the steam billowed out!

Each plump, white bun beckoned from the steamer, as if saying, “Come on, come on, eat me!”

Gulp.

Gulp.

Two simultaneous swallowing sounds broke the silence, making Mingdai laugh, while Zhou Sinian grew anxious.

He quickly removed the steamer baskets and set them to cool on the new rack outside.

Mingdai and Zhou Sinian each took a basket and tore into the buns.

One bite and they reached the juicy filling—every mouthful was bursting with flavor.

Delicious!

Even Mingdai had to admit, these were the best buns she’d ever eaten.

In the end, she ate five large meat buns, while Zhou Sinian devoured most of a whole basket!

After the meal, Mingdai stored the buns in baskets and locked them in the cupboard, so that even if she wasn’t home, Zhou Sinian would have something to eat.

Zhou Sinian felt that life couldn’t be sweeter—as long as he didn’t have to take medicine!