Fried Beans

More than ten days later, at noon.

Chen Shi was frying beans at home, their tempting fragrance drifting out from the courtyard.

Fang Cheng lingered uncertainly at the kitchen door, but in the end, he finally made up his mind and walked inside.

Looking at Chen Shi frying beans, Fang Cheng opened his mouth and stammered, "Mother, I... I want to send Uncle Fuquan's family some grain! Just... just one sack."

"What? You want to give someone else grain? And a whole sack?" Chen Shi's voice immediately rose. She turned around and stared at Fang Cheng in astonishment.

"Then... then half a sack."

Chen Shi's shout startled Fang Cheng. On any ordinary day, whatever Chen Shi said went; Fang Cheng would surely have been all meek obedience, not daring to argue.

But when he thought of Yingzi from Uncle Fuquan's family going hungry, Fang Cheng gathered his courage and continued haltingly.

The first thing Chen Shi thought was that her eldest son's wings had hardened, and he actually dared to disobey her.

She was about to teach her eldest son a lesson, but then she came back to her senses. Her eldest son seemed a little different today.

Her eldest son had always been honest and dutiful, never having any ideas of his own.

He was the sort of sullen gourd who did whatever he was told, who would not even know how to walk without someone pointing him in a direction.

Yet today, he had actually opened his mouth to ask for grain to be sent to someone else?

In times like these, especially over the past month, after paying the grain tax, many village families that had already been stretched thin had begun to run out of food.

People had started stripping bark from nearby trees and digging up wild vegetables.

The grain at home was all the more precious. Who knew whether there would be more levies or further tax increases in the future?

Chen Shi was now like an eagle guarding its food, unwilling to let anyone set their sights on her family's grain.

So why would her eldest son be thinking of giving grain away?

"Tell me, why do you want to send grain to your Uncle Fuquan?" Puzzled, Chen Shi immediately asked.

Fang Cheng took a deep breath, then finally gathered his courage and said, "I... I don't want Ying... Yingzi to go hungry."

The moment Fang Cheng finished speaking, the spatula in Chen Shi's hand dropped straight into the wok.

A moment later, she understood. Yingzi was Liu Fuquan's daughter. She was quite pretty, though her body was somewhat delicate and she could not do heavy work. In the city's terms, she was a refined little jade of a sheltered household.

That was why, when Chen Shi had previously sought a matchmaker for her eldest son, she had never considered Yingzi.

What use was being pretty? Beauty could not be eaten as food.

If she could not work, life would surely be difficult in the future.

Who would have thought that her eldest son had taken a liking to Yingzi now, to the point of wanting to send her grain?

They said that once a man had a wife, he forgot his mother. She had not even entered the household yet, and he was already like this.

"Mother, I think my brother has gotten together with Sister Yingzi. Didn't you always want to hold a grandson?" At that moment, Fang Yue's voice came from outside. He had just returned and overheard what his brother said, immediately understanding that his brother had taken a fancy to Yingzi.

Aside from looking a little frail, Liu Yingzi was quite pretty, and she had a good temperament as well. She and his elder brother were rather well matched.

"Go, go, go! What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and go!" Upon hearing this, Chen Shi shooed Fang Cheng out as though driving ducks.

Though Chen Shi spoke sternly, this concerned her son's happiness, and she was quite generous. Seeing Fang Cheng leave the kitchen, she took some of the freshly fried beans and handed them to him. "Forget half a sack. Take one whole sack of grain, and bring these fried beans too."

After sending Fang Cheng away, Chen Shi turned all her attention to Fang Yue.

"Zhi'er, come taste how Mother's fried beans turned out."

"Anything Mother makes is definitely delicious."

Fang Yue grabbed a few beans and stuffed them into his mouth, crunching away.

In his previous life, he definitely would not have eaten these fried beans.

But now he savored them as though they were a delicacy, the rich fragrance of crushed beans spreading between his teeth.

"Alright, tell me. What did Zhi'er come here for? Don't tell me you also want to give someone grain?"

A mother knew her own child. If Zhi'er had nothing to do, he definitely would not have come over at this hour.

"Nothing can be hidden from Mother. In a couple of days, I plan to make a trip to the County Town."

Fang Yue immediately told Chen Shi about his plan to go to the County Town and take the Martial Scholar examination.

"What? You want to take the Martial Scholar examination? And go to Xiahe County Town alone this time?"

"No, that's too dangerous. Far too dangerous."

Chen Shi's first reaction upon hearing this was to refuse.

Though Zhi'er had learned martial arts from Fang Hu and was now highly skilled enough to hunt fierce beasts,

in a mother's heart, no matter how capable Zhi'er was, he was still only a child.

It was always worrying for him to travel far alone.

Still, she could not hold back Fang Yue's future. She immediately added, "Will you really be alright going alone? You must be careful on the road."

"Mother, don't worry. I'll be fine."

Fang Yue immediately patted his chest in assurance. Over the past year or so, he had actually gone to Xiahe County Town several times, though always with Fang Hu, and he was already familiar with the road.

Even if he went alone, there would be no problem.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Take some fried beans." Seeing Fang Yue preparing to go, Chen Shi immediately stuffed several handfuls of fried beans into his pockets.

She practically stuffed all the remaining fried beans into them.

If there truly had not been any more room, she probably would have given him every last one.

After leaving the house, Fang Yue saw several neighboring children playing not far away.

Widow Yu's Anu was also standing nearby, watching.

Perhaps because of her unusual family circumstances, no children her age played with Anu. She could only watch the other children playing with longing in her eyes.

At that moment, Anu saw Fang Yue as well.

She saw Fang Yue eating fried beans, and their rich fragrance made the little girl stare longingly, swallowing her saliva.

"Anu, here, take these and eat them slowly." Fang Yue grabbed a handful of fried beans and stuffed them into Anu's clothing pocket.

Anu hesitated, somewhat at a loss, but quickly tried to return the fried beans to Fang Yue. Shaking her head, she said, "Mother doesn't let me eat other people's things."

"Brother Yue isn't other people. If I give them to you, just take them." Naturally, Fang Yue did not give her the chance.

Just for that one "Brother Yue," these fried beans had to be given to Anu.

After all, compared with the other villagers throughout the village, who called him Little Zhi or simply Zhi, both Widow Yu and her daughter Anu treated him with great respect.

"Thank you, Brother Yue!"

Seeing this, Anu was still only a child. How could she resist the fragrance of food? She happily bounced once and impatiently put one bean into her mouth.

Crunch!

A fried bean shattered in her mouth. The little girl's bright black eyes immediately curved into crescents as she immersed herself in the bean's fragrance.