At the end of the month, another round of mock exams was due, and An Ping, who struggled with physics, pleaded with An Hao to take some time to help him review.
It was rare for him to be so keen on studying, and An Hao was pleased. She set up a table in the yard and began helping An Ping with his homework.
After reviewing several systematic Chapters, An Ping felt much more confident about his knowledge, so An Hao took the opportunity to pull out a short quiz from the workbook for An Ping to do.
Sure enough, this time An Ping got all the questions right.
"Sis, I did pretty well on this set of questions, didn’t I?" An Ping asked happily, having never passed a physics test during his three years in junior high.
"Very well indeed!" An Hao was also happy for him. "If you had known to study this diligently earlier, you wouldn’t be panicking now with exams around the corner."
"Don’t worry, Sis! I’ll definitely review hard during this time before the entrance exams and strive to get into high school!" An Ping assured An Hao, thumping his chest.
"Good. Knowledge can change your destiny. If you don’t want to spend your life facing the yellow earth and turning your back to the sky, then study hard," An Hao took the chance to give An Ping a little education.
An Ping found his sister’s words to be very true and nodded in agreement at once.
An Hao glanced at the time—it was already ten o’clock at night. She urged An Ping to go to bed, "You go to sleep. While there’s still some time, I’ll make a batch of pancakes so it won’t interfere with our study time tomorrow."
Hearing about the pancakes, An Ping suddenly didn’t feel like sleeping anymore: "Sis, can I help you? Do we have any jujubes at home? Adding some to the pancakes would make them taste quite good. Or we could make vegetable pancakes; eating plain ones can be a bit too dry and hard to swallow."
Where would they get jujubes at home? Making vegetable pancakes was feasible, though, with some fresh green spinach perfect for pancakes.
"Sis, look how well the elm seeds are growing now? I want to eat elm seed rice again, or maybe make some elm seed pancakes," An Ping said, his mouth watering at the thought of the seeds.
In fact, his yearning to eat elm seed rice was not just for the taste; more importantly, it carried many memories and flavors of their mother.
In the past, when mother was alive and during years of famine, ingredients like shepherd’s purse, elm seeds, and toon buds were often used in meals.
Mother was skilled with her hands, and she could turn these seemingly unappetizing ingredients into delicacies with just a bit of craft.
Indeed, it was her careful budgeting and frugal housekeeping that had steadily improved their livelihood.
She would often say that men were the rakes gathering money and women were the containers holding it. What one should fear is not a rake without teeth but a container without a bottom.
The meaning of this was clear: if a woman could manage the household with frugality and thrift, there would be no worry about not leading a good life.
Now that mother was gone and Bai Xue had shattered the happiness of the family, there would never be a return of the joyful laughter and harmony they once had.
"Alright, I’ll make you elm seed rice and steam some elm seed pancakes." Memories made An Hao sentimental, "Come on, grab a cloth bag and let’s go up to the roof to pick the elm seeds."
In the village, elm trees were everywhere, with nearly every household having one near their house, so they were convenient to consume.
However, the best place for elm seeds in the whole village was by the stream at the eastern end of the village.
There stood an ancient elm tree that required three to five people, arms outstretched and joined, to hug its trunk. The elm seeds from this tree were larger and fleshier and had a sweeter taste, making the rice made from them the most delicious.