Song Tan’s Chronicle - Hiraeth Translation

By the time Zhao Yang brought the rice, the vegetable plate was nearly empty.

Qin Qin finally felt better. Seeing that her mother-in-law and husband hadn’t started eating yet, she sheepishly picked up a few pieces of vegetables and put them in their bowls:

“Mom, Zhao Yang, try this. It’s really good!”

Both mother and son took a bite, smiling—

Mmm!!!

Zhao Yang looked at the empty plate and then at his wife, who was clearly still craving more. He looked at his mother expectantly: “Mom, could you buy more tomorrow?”

…

A similar situation was happening in another community.

Li Xiufen, with her trendy red curly hair, served her granddaughter a big bowl of dumplings: “Yuan Yuan, eat up! These shepherd’s purse dumplings are very fresh, just like the ones from this morning.”

Her daughter-in-law, amused and exasperated, said: “Mom, I told you, Yuan Yuan is picky. She can’t eat this much.”

She offered her own bowl: “Yuan Yuan, if you can’t finish, give some to Mommy.”

But the little girl turned her head, took a big bite, and mumbled with her mouth full: “It’s delicious! I can eat it all!”

Yuan Yuan’s mom was stunned.

“Is it that good?”

This picky child had always had a weak stomach and was very fussy about food. She was now in kindergarten but still looked smaller than her classmates, which worried everyone.

But now, her special small bowl was filled with over ten dumplings! The child was eating them so quickly, it was unbelievable!

Finally, the grandmother felt a sense of accomplishment and said: “You all pamper her too much. This is imported, that is organic… And look how thin she is.”

“Look at this! This morning, I bought wild vegetables from the market for twenty yuan per jin. I made some soup with water spinach for Yuan Yuan, and she ate a big bowl of noodles and didn’t want to leave for kindergarten.”

At the kindergarten entrance, she even said: “Grandma, will you make something this tasty again tonight?”

Oh my!

Li Xiufen’s heart melted on the spot.

She rushed to the market and luckily got the last three bundles of water spinach.

These three bundles were now in the fridge, but the shepherd’s purse she bought in the morning had already been made into dumplings.

Talking about her achievement, Li Xiufen felt quite proud:

“You wouldn’t believe it. I was lucky, there was a young couple in front of me picking vegetables, complaining about the twenty yuan per jin price—”

Li Xiufen scoffed: “Young people don’t know how to buy vegetables. These fresh, wild greens clearly grew well in the wild!”

“Besides, at this time of year, even cucumbers in the supermarket cost sixteen yuan per jin. Do they taste as good?”

“I’m glad I got them.”

As she spoke, she realized no one was listening.

Looking down, she saw her son and daughter-in-law had almost finished their dumplings.

Her son, looking hopeful, asked: “Mom, is there more?”

Li Xiufen remembered the obedient child from the morning and felt a bit angry: How come other boys grew up so well?

She snapped: “We only had one jin of shepherd’s purse, how many dumplings do you think that makes?”

“Then buy more tomorrow!” Her son was craving more! After a small bowl of dumplings, his stomach was still empty. Wasn’t there more in the fridge…

Li Xiufen got even angrier!

“Eat, eat, that’s all you know! Do you think we can buy more just because we want to? A few jin costs hundreds of yuan, doesn’t that bother you?”

Her son felt wronged.

Mom, weren’t you just saying twenty yuan wasn’t expensive?

At this moment, Yuan Yuan put down her bowl: “Grandma, I want to eat this again tomorrow!”

Li Xiufen’s expression changed instantly, beaming: “Tomorrow morning we’ll make noodles, the dumplings are gone—but Grandma joined the group today. I’ll ask if they’ll sell more tomorrow, and next time we’ll buy ten jin and freeze them as dumplings!”

Her son and daughter-in-law exchanged a glance, feeling like they had lost their status in the family.

…

Song Tan’s customer group of seventeen was unusually lively tonight.

[Girlie, when will you sell wild vegetables again?]

[Boss, can I place an order? I want ten jin of shepherd’s purse.]

[Little girl, I go to the park to dance every morning. Can I pay in advance and have you save some vegetables for me?]

Song Tan, feeling pleased, decided to respond uniformly:

[It’s still cold, and the wild vegetables haven’t fully grown yet. Ours are from the mountain valleys, grown without pesticides or fertilizers, so the supply is limited. Therefore, there won’t be any tomorrow, and we can’t accept pre-orders.

Tentatively, we’ll be back at the market at seven in the morning the day after tomorrow, with me and my brother. After that, it’ll be three days before we sell again to give the vegetables time to grow.]

She also shared a video taken while picking the wild vegetables:

The mountains were sparsely green, with spring not yet fully arrived, but the hillside had a lush green wild vegetable field, growing wildly.

Vegetation appeared sporadically along the field ridges and pond edges, proving these were truly naturally grown wild vegetables.

At this moment, someone in the group commented:

[Young lady, these wild vegetables have no cost, why are you selling them so expensive? You should lower the price. And they aren’t weighed correctly, one bundle was only eight taels, and the taste is just average.]

Song Tan raised an eyebrow—short on weight?

Each bundle was tied at one jin and two taels. In this weather, the moisture couldn’t have evaporated, and the vegetables were still fresh and tender.

As for the taste being average? She knew exactly how good her vegetables were.

This was an insult to her century-old farming experience.

And with just over a dozen people in the group, someone was already complaining?

Song Tan wouldn’t let it slide.

She politely replied: [Hello, if the weight is short and the taste isn’t good, please come by the morning after tomorrow for a refund.]

Was the boss really this accommodating?

After a while, someone else tentatively said: [Actually, I think the shepherd’s purse was a bit old…]

In this season? The shepherd’s purse hadn’t even grown to full size yet, how could it be old?

But why not take advantage of the situation?

Song Tan responded uniformly: [Sure, if you find the taste unsatisfactory, come by the morning after tomorrow for a full refund.]

If they didn’t like it, they shouldn’t buy it again.

She sold vegetables, but also valued a pleasant life. No need to deal with troublesome people. Her century-old cultivation practice taught her to resolve issues before getting angry.

However, some spoke up in her defense:

[Isn’t it obvious if the vegetables are old?]

[Exactly, boss, don’t indulge them. If they find it that bad, let them bring the vegetables back for a refund!]

[Girl, your wild vegetables are excellent! Very clean. I couldn’t find any old leaves, not like the deceptive ones…]

[Right, if they don’t want them, save them for me!]

Though Song Tan wanted to make money, she also wanted a comfortable life. So, she updated the group notice:

[1. Pure ecological, pollution-free wild vegetables, priced uniformly at twenty yuan per jin, each bundle weighs one jin and two taels. Customers can weigh them at home and we will adjust the price if necessary.