109. A Meeting Gift, a Bumper Harvest

Jing Qingxin noticed the jade bracelet on her wrist at a glance. She could tell immediately that it was of exceptional quality. She had seen quite a few jade pieces before, and this bracelet was a deep, translucent green throughout. It looked like emerald.

Clearly, this jade bracelet was worth a great deal. But more than that, it carried the weight of generations, handed down from elder to younger through the family. Perhaps, in the eyes of people today, such a bracelet was worth little at all, maybe only enough to trade for a bit of meat.

But that was the thinking of the short-sighted. Anyone with a little foresight would understand that ornaments like jade only became more precious with the passage of time and careful keeping.

At the very least, Jing Qingxin knew that in two more years, once the Cultural Revolution had come to an end, this jade bracelet would reach a value money might not even be able to buy. A truly fine piece of jade would become hard to find.

“Auntie, this bracelet is too precious. Since it’s a family heirloom, you should keep it yourself,” Jing Qingxin said gently, trying to refuse. Taking someone else’s heirloom as a greeting gift made her feel deeply unworthy.

“My silly girl, now that you’ve called me Mother, of course I should pass it to you. Or do you not plan to see to your godmother’s care in her old age?” Jing Suyun said softly.

“Of course I will. Shen and I will take good care of you and Uncle. I just think this bracelet carries too much meaning. Keeping it would give you a keepsake,” Jing Qingxin continued to persuade her.

“Since that’s not the case, then wear it. Don’t worry, your godmother is still wearing a jade pendant, and it matches your bracelet. That way, each of us has one.” With that, Jing Suyun reached into her collar and drew out a thin cord. Hanging from it was a dark green jade pendant.

“Then thank you, Auntie.”

Since that was how things stood, Jing Qingxin had no choice but to accept it.

“Xinxin, come here. This is from your godfather,” Zhang Liangping called with a wave. Now that they had accepted her as their daughter, calling her little Jing all the time sounded too distant. Xinxin suited a daughter who was close and dear to the heart.

What Zhang Liangping held out was a white jade pendant. It was carved with auspicious cloud patterns, translucent with a glasslike luster. Even at a glance, one could tell its texture was fine, even, and free of impurities. It was clearly an excellent piece of white jade.

Jing Qingxin could not help smiling. Her godfather and godmother were not only well matched as people, even the jade they gave her suited their temperaments. Since these pieces were clearly their personal keepsakes, the meaning behind them was naturally profound.

“Godfather, please keep this pendant. I already have this bracelet, and that is enough. I understand your kindness, but I truly cannot accept this pendant. Please keep it,” Jing Qingxin said softly.

She had accepted the heirloom from her godmother’s family, and that was enough to acknowledge this bond of kinship. But this pendant from her godfather likely carried even heavier meaning, the sort usually passed down to sons and grandsons.

Zhang Liangping was somewhat reluctant, after all this pendant had been with him for decades. Yet when it came to a child to carry on his bloodline, he no longer dared hope. The Zhang family had always had only one heir in each generation, and he understood that it might be because the men of their family simply had too little vitality in their blood.

Now that he could take in a goddaughter, and that through her children the Zhang family line might continue, he was already deeply comforted.

Of course Gao Shen understood what this pendant meant. He did not want his godfather to be left with a heart full of longing. Seeing that his godfather was about to speak again, he quickly said in a low voice, “Godfather, keep the pendant. There’s no need to rush this.”

Hearing that, Zhang Liangping fell silent for a moment, then put the pendant away. Xiao Shen was right. There would always be another chance to give it away in the future.

The family-acknowledgment ceremony could be considered complete.

Gao Shen still had matters to attend to outside, and he wanted to get them handled as quickly as possible over the next two days. He could not bear to have Qingxin running around everywhere with him, so he told her to stay home and rest for the afternoon and regain her strength. She had already been worn out by the journey these past two days.

Jing Qingxin gladly accepted his thoughtfulness. She had a fair idea that Gao Shen was out making connections and handling the registration of her household status. There was little she could do to help, so she might as well stay home obediently and make dinner for everyone in the evening.

Zhang Liangping took the household register and the related documents and went out with Gao Shen to handle the paperwork. Jing Suyun also reminded Jing Qingxin of a few things before taking her bag and heading off to work.

Before leaving, though, Jing Suyun had already tidied up the other empty room. The furnishings inside were very simple, so it did not take much time. Mostly, she had just cleaned away the dust and then changed the sheets and bedding.

Once Jing Qingxin saw that everyone had left, she went to the kitchen to check the chicken soup, stirred the firewood burning in the stove, then returned to her room, shut the windows and door, and slipped into Flowing Light Brocade.

Yesterday and this morning had both been spent rushing along on buses, and the smell of the bus really had become too much for her. Even though she did not mind the poverty of this era, she still needed time to adjust.

By now, it seemed she could still smell the bus all over herself. Last night at the Liu family’s home, she had only hurriedly washed off before getting to work on the medicinal pills. Being able to endure until now had already broken her usual record for cleanliness.

With everyone gone at last, Jing Qingxin planned to take a proper bath and loosen her aching limbs. Sitting on that bus had truly been miserable; her whole body felt wrong and uncomfortable.

Half an hour later, Jing Qingxin emerged fresh and clean, wearing a soft cotton house dress. She stood beside the strawberry patch, leisurely eating strawberries and humming a tune under her breath.

After eating six or seven strawberries, she began to feel a little too full. They might not have seemed like many, but the berries were large, and that made all the difference.

Looking at the thriving field of vegetables and fruit, Jing Qingxin was suddenly filled with a strong sense of accomplishment. What a bountiful harvest, all this produce spreading across the land.

At once, she stretched out her limbs and raised her fists with heroic enthusiasm. “Go!”

Then she began harvesting vegetables and picking fruit like a proper farmhand. Her Flowing Light Brocade was wonderful in every way, except for the part about planting and harvesting. She had to sow and reap everything herself. Any notion of doing it all by thought alone was just a dream.

She was a true and proper laborer here. Fortunately, the space made things grow quickly, sparing her the work of tending them. Otherwise, what she would feel would not be a sense of achievement, but misery.

Most importantly, Gao Shen still could not enter the space with her, so she had to handle all this fieldwork alone.

Jing Qingxin sorted the vegetables she harvested and the fruit she picked into cardboard boxes, then placed them in the tent for easy access whenever she needed to take them out.

Looking at the more than ten large boxes before her, Jing Qingxin could not help sighing again. Surrounded by ingredients, yet unable to cook and eat them at will. What a chilly sort of frustration.

Once she finished organizing everything, Jing Qingxin carried a basin filled with coarse grain over to the bamboo enclosure where the goats, wild chickens, and rabbits were kept, and fed the little living creatures inside.

She kept the goat because it happened to be a female, so it could provide milk. Even if there was no goat’s milk, in winter it could still be stewed into mutton soup.

This book was first published by Xiangxiang Academy. Please do not reproduce it.