Old Mrs. Ye was no fool; she understood her granddaughter’s worries. In the darkness, a trace of sorrow appeared on her face, but she comforted her granddaughter with her words.
"Silly child, no other reason than this: grandma has to live to see you finish school. Otherwise, if I die now, your schooling will end, and your life would be over. I’ve raised you these sixteen years; this old body can hold on for a few more."
"Grandma, you have to take good care of yourself. You need to stay with me to enjoy the good life in the future," Ye Ling leaned over and rested her head on her grandma’s shoulder.
Old Mrs. Ye comfortingly stroked her granddaughter’s hair, "Alright, grandma will be well and good."
After that night’s conversation, if Ye Ling asked Old Mrs. Ye not to do something, she wouldn’t insist on doing it. Even during meals, though she wanted to save the good food for her granddaughter, seeing Ye Ling insist on taking care of herself, she no longer pushed the food back.
That morning, Ye Ling steamed the wild vegetable buns. Times were tough, and families worked hard just to have some oil for cooking. Most families only slaughtered a pig every two years, using the meat to render lard for cooking. The Ye family was small; after Ye He Ping and his wife left, they only returned a few times in the summer and never again. The yearly pig in Old Mrs. Ye’s house was slaughtered the year before last, and they planned to spend last year’s New Year in the city, so they didn’t raise pigs.
Now, there’s only half a jar of lard left at home. Ye Ling didn’t use much. The filling didn’t contain much, and the usual fist-sized wild vegetable buns were made twice as big. With buns that large, someone was bound to buy them.
After taking them out of the pot, Ye Ling put the wild vegetable buns in a basin, then placed them in a basket and covered it with a cloth before tidying herself up to go to the station.
"Grandma, I’ll take some for the road and wait by the station. You stay home and wait for me after you finish eating. I’ve calculated that there are two trains this afternoon. Once they’re gone, I’ll be back, and we can go to the field together." The land at home needed to be planted with corn; it wouldn’t do to let grandma do it all alone.
"No need, you go about your business. I can manage it myself. I turned over the family’s plot last autumn and made ridges in the spring. Now it’s just a matter of sowing the seeds, not much work," Old Mrs. Ye saw that her granddaughter was busy right as she got up, with no time to read, and couldn’t help but worry, "When you return from the train station, just stay home and study. Aren’t we working hard to earn money for your education? If you don’t do well on your exams, all the effort now will be in vain."
"Grandma," Ye Ling disagreed. Though grandma had been recuperating for a couple of days, she was not completely well, "How about you come with me? After all, there are only two trains. Then we can both go to the field. One can dig holes, and the other can plant seeds, which will be quicker."
Seeing grandma hesitate, Ye Ling called again, "Grandma, besides, I don’t dare to sell things on my own. Just come with me."
"This child," Old Mrs. Ye knew her granddaughter was making excuses; the real reason was her concern for her. She did not object any further.
The grandmother and granddaughter carried the basket towards the station. The station had only one small building, where a railway worker was usually on duty. Upon seeing Ye Ling and Old Mrs. Ye, the worker greeted them. Thinking they were leaving, he said nothing more when he heard they were selling wild vegetable buns, just exchanged a few words before returning to his duties.
The two trains were scheduled to stop before one in the afternoon. The spring weather was warm. Ye Ling found a spot for grandma to sit down and then took out a knife to dig for wild vegetables nearby. The grandmother and granddaughter chatted as they waited for the trains. By the time the first train arrived, Ye Ling had dug up half a basket of dandelions, placed them beside her grandma, and took the basket filled with wild vegetable buns to the platform.
"Wild vegetable buns, big and steaming hot wild vegetable buns." As soon as the train slowed down, Ye Ling loudly hawked her goods, pulling off the towel covering the basket to reveal the yellow, steaming buns. The willow basket filled with buns looked very appetizing.
There were sellers of tea eggs and dry provisions, but this was the first time someone sold wild vegetable buns. When the train stopped, someone popped their head out to inquire, "Little girl, how much for the wild vegetable buns?"
Ye Ling laughed and held out the basket, "Uncle, look, one wild vegetable bun can fill you up, only ten cents each. Cheaper and more filling than bread or twists, they just came out of the pot, still hot. Buy one to try, you’ll want another after the first."
A nearby passenger couldn’t help but laugh, "Just wild vegetable buns, what’s so special about the ones you made?"
Ye Ling wasn’t annoyed, "A dragon gives birth to nine sons, each different from the other. The same dish can taste different depending on who cooks it. I can’t vouch for others, but my wild vegetable buns are delicious."
Although only sixteen, Ye Ling was dark, thin, and rather small, with a tone of voice like a child arguing, which made the sitting passengers laugh.
The first man to ask about the price pulled out ten cents, "The train’s about to leave, little girl, give me one."
And so the sale was made.
Ye Ling’s eyes squinted into a smile. She responded crisply, took a corn husk, wrapped a wild vegetable bun in it, and handed it over, taking the money and carefully placing it in her pocket. These corn husks were prepared by Old Mrs. Ye last autumn. Times were tough, so families collected clean corn husks in the fall for steaming food in winter. Before selling wild vegetable buns, Ye Ling had soaked the corn husks in hot water,
making them much cleaner and prettier than handling the buns directly.
Though people were less particular back then, Ye Ling hoped this small touch could bring better sales.