Bai Fumei in the 70’s

Zhao Lanxiang picked up the shards of glass and dug a hole to outside bury them it. She quickly entrusted an educated youth, who was going to the city, to help bring back another bottle of medicated oil for her.

At night, He Songbai saw a new bottle of medicinal oil on his windowsill. He gently unscrewed the lid, and a mild though slightly pungent smell wafted into his nose. He frowned slightly, and the sharp and deep eyebrows were silent for a moment.

However, Zhao Lanxiang didn't have time to pay attention to whether He Songbai had applied the medicine and if his legs had healed, because she was busy doing heavy labor. An important decision was made this month to dig a ditch on the mountainside. It was planned to reclaim paddy fields in autumn and winter, as well as to irrigate the fields with diversion in the canals. The brigade planned to plant rice on the mountainsides next year.

It was undoubtedly a move that would benefit the village for a hundred years to come. The province had abundant sources for groundwater and numerous forests. If the paddy fields can be reclaimed in the mountainside, the forest on the mountain peak could conserve water. However, this move would require quite a deal of manpower.

So the group of educated youths, including Zhao Lanxiang, was once again entangled in this bitterness. Although it didn't seem to require her to do any actual hard labor, she still could not escape this exhausting, dreary work.

Though other thoughts swirled in her head, she had no time to think about it.

...

Three days after Liang Tiezhu agreed to send some food to Zhao Lanxiang, the sunlight was still faint when he rode his Golden Deer bike to the He family's house.

Zhao Lanxiang had been dreaming peacefully when the hard-working smuggler abruptly awoke her.

Tiezhu took a moment to catch his breath. He then retrieved a bag of flour, a bag of dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, as well as other dry goods, and finally a bag of sticky millet from the back of his "Golden Deer." Zhao Lanxiang spirits were immediately lifted up. She quickly took out a kettle and poured Tiezhu a bowl of warm water to drink.

Once Tiezhu had guzzled down his water, Zhao Lanxiang said, "Don't be in a hurry. I'll make breakfast right away. It will be quick. You can try it later."

Although Tiezhu was used to getting up early for his job, it didn't mean he wasn't still bitter and tired of this tedious work. When did he ever have the chance to eat breakfast? He's long grown accustomed to delivering the "goods" to customers before daybreak, and he had not had "breakfast" once in three years.

However, Zhao Lanxiang's culinary skill was unparalleled, and anything she made was always exquisite. She had invited him to breakfast, and Tiezhu certainly wouldn't be the one to decline! He nodded violently, and suddenly it dawned on him that the sky outside the window was still dark; it was still so far from morning. How could this be the time to cook breakfast?

This educated youth Zhao was really suitable to his brother Bai. She had kindness in her heart.

Liang Tiezhu had been in this trade for years, yet no customer had ever offered him a warm meal before. Others always hoped he would disappear as soon as "the goods" had been received to prevent them from being exposed by the authorities.

Zhao Lanxiang headed to the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast, but soon realized there was no more meat left. During this time, she had either been too busy or too lazy to go into town to buy meat. She glanced at the fantastic bag of dry goods brought by Liang Tiezhu, turned to him, and asked:

"Vegetarian potstickers?"

At this point, Liang Tiezhu had already awoken He Songbai and had walked back to the kitchen, inquiring suspiciously, "Vegetarian?"

Zhao Lanxiang smiled. "Don't underestimate it because it is vegetarian. I promise you that vegetarian potstickers are delicious, it has more flavor than meat, you, you... just you wait."

She stuttered once she found that He Songbai had also come. She didn't know when he had arrived, but she still moved a small bench silently for him.

It was clear from those half-lidded eyes and that handsome face brimming with sleep that he was still exhausted. He yawned silently as he leaned back against the wall.

Liang Tiezhu scratched his head shyly. He realized it was awkward for a single man like him to be alone with a single woman like Zhao Lanxiang, so he called his brother Bai to get up and join them.

Zhao Lanxiang turned to knead the dough she'd just started on. Calling them potstickers was actually inaccurate. They were not, in fact, seared in a pot.

In fact, potstickers were quite similar to a long, crispy dumpling. Though the flavor was much more prominent compared to other dumplings, they're also a lot more troublesome to make.

[T/N: Potstickers are dumplings, but not all dumplings are potstickers. Potstickers is an English name for gyoza or guōtiē for those who are not familiar with it. So it is dumplings which are pan-fried first, then steamed.]2

Potstickers are a delicate food, they must be crispy, yet tender, and they should be filled generously. This requires that the skin be malleable though still firm. If it was too soft, the skin would be prone to break. It needed to be durable enough to hold the fillings but still provide the experience of a thin crunch combined with a considerable chew. So Zhao Lanxiang made two sets of dough, one set was kneaded with hot water, one set with cold water, and then both were kneaded together.6

She carefully wrapped each dumpling, lovingly placed them into the hot pan, and fried them until crisp and golden. The filling consisted of eggs brushed with lard, various mountain mushrooms, beancurd skins, and bamboo shoots, which all mixed together to concoct an irresistible flavor. The earthy, natural taste of the mountain vegetables were unmistakable, creating unique and delightful dumplings.

The smell of lard was mixed with the smell of the potstickers. The two men who were guarding the kitchen outside became energized. Tiezhu gulped down a mouthful of fragrant air. An aroma this enticing, the dumplings were sure to be unbelievably delicious.

Zhao Lanxiang brought out the hot potstickers. Both men received three, while she only needed one to fill her belly.3

Liang Tiezhu took a bite. The skin was thin and crisp, while the inside was tender and juicy. Then after another bite, the thick and savory vegetable juice trapped inside the potstickers suddenly spilled out, with a variety of delicious and savory flavors of the mountains. It was scalding hot, causing Tiezhu to sneeze. It was so delicious that the skin's crispy and soft texture made him squinted. Despite the risk of being burned, he continued to devour these delicious potstickers quickly.

They were so delicious that he could not wait to swallow one whole, but he also did not want to simply gobble it up. In the end, he decided to savor them honestly.

He Songbai also narrowed his eyes in happiness, he gnawed his three potstickers slowly.

Zhao Lanxiang returned to her room and retrieved ten yuan for Liang Tiezhu. He passed back 60 cents worth of change, then he left on his big golden deer with a full stomach and a satisfied expression.1

The sun had just begun to rise when Zhao Lanxiang finally returned to her room to rest awhile longer. After all, she would soon have to endure the intense labor in the fields.

In addition to the villagers' participation in this project, the local government had also contracted a project team to dig the trenches.

The entire village was full of energy. After all, they were very curious about this strange method of moving the water from the peak of the mountain to the base to irrigate the paddy fields. When listening to the stories from outsiders, their expressions would no longer be so envious of them! When work began, the people who were usually lazy were actually quite actively engaged in this tough labor.

Zhao Lanxiang saw That even Jiang Li, who was normally so indolent and coquettish, was working diligently. Zhao Lanxiang felt that it was suspicious, as Jiang Li wasn't normally the type of person to be influenced by those around her. But later, when Zhao Lanxiang was transporting some crushed stones to the base of the mountain, she noticed some officials who had been sent over to supervise the project, and she suddenly realized where Jiang Li's change in attitude had come from.

Although Zhao Lanxiang had eaten a hearty breakfast beforehand, in preparation for this sort of difficult manual labor, but she truly was not that strong. After a while, she could not bear it anymore. It felt as if her entire body were weighed down by an immovable mountain, and she could barely walk. She'd only been tasked with moving a small cart of stones, and yet it seemed that even this small responsibility had zapped all her strength.

Suddenly, a strong hand appeared and firmly held the cart behind her. Zhao Lanxiang turned her head to see; it was Sister He.

She patted Zhao Lanxiang's head with a gentle smile and vigorously pushed the cart to the waste-rock pile with both hands. She gestured and said, "You are tired, go rest."

"I will finish this for you."5

Zhao Lanxiang did not force herself any longer and grabbed a kettle to replenish herself with water. She turned her head and saw Jiang Li, who was still working persistently, digging up the soil little by little, with her head up. The short sleeves of her bright red shirt were soaked with sweat under the blistering sun.

Zhao Lanxiang was slightly surprised by Jiang Li's diligence.

But of course, good things do not last long. At noon, after all the work had been completed, everyone gathered together to eat lunch they had brought from home. Zhou Jiazhen sat on a rock under the tree and enjoyed the cool mountain breeze, nagging Zhao Lanxiang while eating.

"Lanxiang, you didn't perform well today!"

Zhao Lanxiang slowly chewed her rice before she asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Jiazhen hated iron for not becoming steel and smacked Zhao Lanxiang on the head. She asked, "Didn't you come to the countryside for that matter?"

The guilty Zhao Lanxiang heard her words and giggled in her heart. Was she that obvious? When she was working just now, she clearly didn't pay attention to He Songbai.

However, she realized that Zhou Jiazhen should not know that she wanted to get closer to He Songbai. Besides, what "good performance" was necessary to approach He Songbai? So she asked calmly, "What matter?"

Zhou Jiazhen thought she was just stupid and said angrily, "Of course, it is the election of college students for the workers, peasants, and soldiers university."

She looked at Zhao Lanxiang as if she was looking at a careless silly girl. She was so annoyed that she even flicked her forehead and said, "Why did you take a break when everyone else was working? I just went downhill to pour some stones and didn't manage your work, so you would be like this... hey."