Chapter 21 Elm Seeds

Seeing Wang Mengde leaving the courtyard, Wang Tian turned to Wang Jinghui and said:

"Old man, while it's still early, go to the market and buy half a pound of pork and two pounds of tofu. I'll get the money for you."

As he said this, he went into the bedroom, and when he came out, he was holding a rolled-up handkerchief in his hand. He placed the handkerchief on the table and carefully unfolded it layer by layer, finally revealing a dozen banknotes.

She took out two 5 yuan bills (the first set of RMB) and handed them to Wang Jinghui.

"Old man, keep this money safe, don't lose it."

Seeing him putting the money into his waist pocket, Wang Tianshi warned him worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Wang Jinghui put the money in place, then adjusted the position of his belt so that it would fit his pocket just right.

Wang Mengde came to his uncle's house with a gift in his hand. His uncle and Wang Mengde's grandmother were siblings, and he often ate at his house when he was a child.

As for why his grandfather and great uncle lived in the same village, their family was the only one with the surname Wang in Tiangezhuang. When he was a child, Wang Mengde’s grandmother told him the story behind this.

That was more than fifty years ago. At that time, Wang Tian had just turned sixteen, the age for marriage. Because she was beautiful, although she had a hot temper and a pair of big feet, she was nicknamed "Big Foot Tian". Many families in the nearby villages wanted to marry into her family.

But she was worried about her younger brother Tian Dahai, who was not even thirteen years old, so she kept putting it off.

The brother and sister lost their father a few years ago. Their mother was weak and indecisive by nature, and their brother Tian Dahai was also a person who could not even fart after three kicks. She was afraid that once she got married, the family would not be able to survive.

After much delay, when she finally helped her brother get married, she was already 21 years old and no good family was willing to propose marriage to her.

Just when everyone in the family was worried, she met Wang Jinghui, who had fled all the way from Hui Province to the capital.

That year, Wang Jinghui had just turned seventeen years old, and his name was not Wang Jinghui. It was a temporary change given to him by a private school teacher when the two were preparing to get married.

"Uncle, I see you're here." After entering the yard, Wang Mengde saw his uncle Tian Dahai repairing something at the door of the main room. He walked up to him and greeted him.

"Meng De is here, come in and sit down." When Tian Dahai saw him, a happy smile appeared on his face.

"Uncle, I won't sit down. By the way, isn't aunt at home?"

"Your aunt has taken her grandson to the market. It will probably take a while for her to come back. Meng De, you can have lunch at home."

"No, no, I have to go find Meng Qi later and pick some elm seeds from the back of the house. My grandma will make elm seed dumplings for me later." Wang Mengde declined.

"Meng Qi, I just saw him and Tiedan and a few others going to the back. I guess they were going to play by breaking willow branches. If you go directly to the back of the house, you will definitely see him." Tian Dahai said with a smile.

"Okay, Uncle Grandpa, I bought you some brown sugar and snacks and put them in your room."

As Wang Mengde said this, he put the things in his hand on the table in the living room, and then left quickly regardless of Tian Dahai's obstruction.

After leaving the yard, he walked forward for a while, followed the alley left by a family, and went to the back of the house.

When he arrived at the back of the house, Wang Mengde saw at a glance that not far away, under a big willow tree, Wang Mengqi and a few friends were tinkering with something.

"Meng Qi, what are you playing?"

"Brother Mengde, you are here." Wang Mengqi was originally looking down, fiddling with willow branches with both hands. When he heard someone calling him, he quickly raised his head. When he saw Wang Mengde, he said happily.

Then, without even caring about the willow hat she had just finished weaving, she ran over happily.

He knew that every time this cousin came back, he would have some delicious snacks.

"Meng Qi, grandma asked you to pick some elm seeds and bring them back to make steamed elm seed dumplings later." Wang Mengde said with a smile.

"No problem, leave it to me." Wang Mengqi patted his chest and promised.

Then, he ran to a few of his friends and said to one of the dark-looking kids, "Tiedan, let me use the cloth bag for a while, and I'll bring it back to you later."

Holding the cloth bag, he led Wang Mengde to an elm tree not far away.

The trunk of this elm tree was almost as thick as his waist. Wang Mengqi hugged the trunk with both hands and rubbed it a few times. He was as agile as a monkey and soon reached a branch several meters high.

He held the tree trunk with one hand and used the other hand to pluck a handful of elm seeds and stuffed them into his mouth. After eating two handfuls, he remembered that his cousin was still under the tree, so he quickly broke off a branch and threw it down.

Wang Mengde reached out to catch the branch, and seeing the clusters of elm seeds on it, he grabbed a handful and put them into his mouth.

The newly grown elm seeds have a sweet taste. The more you chew them, the more delicious and sweeter they become.

The two men were sitting, one under a tree and the other on a tree. When they had almost finished eating, they got down to business. Wang Mengqi quickly opened his cloth bag and carefully put elm seeds into it.

Only after filling his cloth bag did he reluctantly climb down the tree.

When I got home, grandma had already prepared the noodles in advance. This time, in addition to corn flour, she also put some white flour into the steamed elm seed dumplings.

"Meng De, now is the season for eating elm seeds. Grandma should steam some more glutinous rice balls and take them with you for Yuan Chao and Wei Guo to try when you leave." Wang Tian poured out all the elm seeds in her pocket, and then removed the black stuff on the elm seeds bit by bit.

"Grandma, I'll just take some elm seeds back, no need to bring Wo Wo." Wang Mengde declined with a smile.

If he brought the elm seed dumplings back, his aunt would probably be angry again when she found out. Besides, food rations were very tight for every family in the countryside. If he ate a few more dumplings, someone in the family would go hungry.

"Then bring some back and ask your mother to steam more. When you were a child, you loved the elm seed dumplings I made the most.

One year, when the elm seeds had just grown a little, you saw them and started crying and shouting that you wanted to eat the seeds. No matter how we tried to coax you, it wouldn’t work. Finally, your uncle had no choice but to bring a ladder and pick the big ones from several elm trees. Finally, we only had a small handful.”

Wang Tian then put the elm seeds into the water to clean them, while saying with a smile.

"Hey, that's the elm seed nest made by grandma, it's delicious."

It was almost noon when Wang Jinghui came back with some meat and vegetables. The elm seed dumplings were just out of the pot. Wang Mengde didn't mind the heat and picked up one and started eating.

Suddenly, my mouth was filled with fragrance and a slight sweetness. It was also relatively soft and chewy, and tasted exactly the same as the original owner's childhood memory.

After eating two in a row, when he was about to take the third one, his uncle Wang Ning and his aunt Zhou Lingling came back.

When Zhou Lingling saw Wang Mengde eating, her happy smile suddenly turned into an unnatural forced smile.

(End of this chapter)