Chapter 18: Wu Yueying’s Gratitude

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Gazing at the persimmons hanging heavily from the branches, Zhao Zheng felt puzzled—why hadn’t anyone picked them? Then he realized he had ventured deep into Wild Dog Ridge; not everyone was willing to trek so far. Moreover, the area was bare, the firewood already gathered, so what reason would there be to come all the way here? Even if someone knew about the persimmon tree, this year's drought might have prevented it from bearing fruit.

Looking down, Zhao Zheng noticed a faint trickle of water running down the cliff face.

“Ah, no wonder the fruit is so abundant—there’s a water source here after all.”

Apart from a few rotten fruits fallen to the ground, there were easily eighty to a hundred persimmons on the tree.

Zhao Zheng climbed up and plucked a ripe persimmon, its surface dusted with a white bloom. Biting into it, the sweet flesh and juice burst in his mouth.

Eating sugar triggers dopamine release, bringing joy.

Fructose does the same.

“Though it’s a bit numbing on the tongue and the seeds are large, this is definitely the best fruit I can find this winter.”

Eagerly, Zhao Zheng picked the persimmons, noticing some had been pecked and damaged by birds. It felt like a waste. “If I don’t eat them, I can give them to someone else!”

After a while, he had picked the tree clean. “Removing the damaged ones, there are still about 120 persimmons—at least twenty jin.”

[Notification: Wild Persimmons, six wen per jin, total value one hundred sixty wen. Store or sell?]

“Store.”

Too cheap to bother selling. Better to keep them for himself. If he couldn’t eat them all, he could dry them into persimmon cakes for emergencies.

Though eating too many persimmons can cause kidney stones, they were a treasure for the poor.

Persimmon trees are drought and cold resistant, requiring little care, and a small tree can yield dozens of jin.

During times of famine, they saved countless lives.

“Uncle Youde’s family has a persimmon tree, and he treasures it, but it doesn’t bear nearly as much fruit as this one.”

Thinking of this, Zhao Zheng collected the fallen fruit. If he didn’t eat them, he could give them away.

He took three jin from the storehouse, wrapped them in cloth, put the rotten ones in a sack, and finally set off home, satisfied.

Meanwhile, the three girls had finished gathering wild vegetables nearby, totaling just under two jin.

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Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiao’e expressed their heartfelt thanks.

Wu Yueying wiped sweat from her brow. “No need to thank me. Just don’t forget me when good things happen in the future.”

She paused. “It’s getting late—I still have to hurry home to cook. Why hasn’t Uncle Zhao returned yet?”

Yang Zhaodi looked worried as well.

Just then, Zhang Xiao’e said, “Father-in-law’s back, and he seems to have something in his pocket!”

“Zhaodi, Xiao’e, look at the treasure I found,” Zhao Zheng stepped forward, opening his clothes to reveal the bright red fruits.

“Persimmons!” Wu Yueying exclaimed. “Uncle Zhao, where did you find these?”

Zhao Zheng replied, “By the waterfall, there’s a persimmon tree growing on the cliff face. I got lucky and found it.”

He set down the bamboo basket on his back. “There are more inside—some damaged by birds, but only a few good ones. Such a pity.”

Wu Yueying was envious.

The three of them had worked hard gathering wild vegetables but hadn’t gotten as much as Zhao Zheng did by wandering around.

These persimmons were treasures. Selling them at the market could fetch at least ten wen per jin—something only the wealthy ate as a dessert.

If made into dried persimmon cakes, they’d be even more valuable.

Yang Zhaodi said happily, “Father-in-law is impressive. So many persimmons—enough to make a lot of persimmon cakes.”

Zhang Xiao’e swallowed hard. “Selling them at the market will surely bring a good price.”

“Sell what? Keep them for ourselves,” Zhao Zheng said, handing a few ripe persimmons to the two girls. “Try them fresh, but don’t eat too many.”

“Thank you, father-in-law.” Zhang Xiao’e had eaten half a wild vegetable pancake at noon and was hungry. Taking a bite, her eyes squinted from the sweetness. “So sweet!”

Yang Zhaodi hadn’t eaten persimmons in a long time. The last time was years ago when her father took her to the market and secretly bought her a persimmon cake.

“So sweet, really sweet—it goes straight to the heart,” she said with a smile.

Wu Yueying swallowed, trying hard not to look, but how could she resist? Lacking food and clothing, her body desperately needed sugar.

She wished Uncle Zhao would give her a persimmon.

But then she thought she’d only borrowed half a jin of millet—would it be too greedy to ask for his persimmons?

“I don’t need the good ones, even a rotten persimmon would do!”

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At that moment, Zhao Zheng handed two less ripe persimmons to Wu Yueying. “Everyone gets a share. Yueying, you try some too!”

Wu Yueying was stunned. “I—I get some too? Uncle Zhao, these are expensive…”

“You brought us to dig wild vegetables, didn’t you?” Zhao Zheng pressed the persimmons into her hands. “Eat up, don’t be shy.”

Wu Yueying felt warmth in her heart. Though Uncle Zhao had a poor reputation in the village, he treated her well.

Reflecting on her prejudice, she felt ashamed. “Thank you so much, Uncle Zhao!”

Still, she suppressed her craving and carefully placed the persimmons into her basket, covering them with wild vegetables.

“Yueying, aren’t you going to eat any?” Zhang Xiao’e had already eaten her third persimmon.

“I’ll eat them when I get home,” Wu Yueying licked her lips.

Zhao Zheng knew she intended to save them for her family. He said nothing and didn’t offer more—even with over twenty jin of persimmons, he wouldn’t be overly generous.

Favors are like rice—too much kindness can breed resentment.

Even when being kind, it must be steady and measured. Overfeeding can create enemies.

Zhao Zheng placed the good persimmons in the two girls’ baskets, covering them with wild vegetables, then said, “It’s getting late, let’s head home.”

The three girls nodded in agreement.

On the way back, Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiao’e were delighted, chatting excitedly about how to make use of the persimmons.

Wu Yueying smiled along but somewhat reluctantly.

By the time they reached the village, night was falling.

Many villagers were amazed that the three girls had really found wild vegetables. Those who had mocked Zhao Zheng in the morning came over, eager to cozy up and find out where the vegetables had been gathered.

Zhao Zheng smiled and dodged their questions, leaving them both annoyed and helpless, cursing him silently for being so sly.

In truth, the wild vegetables on Wild Dog Ridge were already picked clean, but Zhao Zheng refused to tell anyone, making them guess and wonder—infuriating them.

Wu Yueying shook her head with a smile, not sharing her own thoughts. Since wild vegetables could grow here even in winter, surely even more would sprout come spring.

After parting with Zhao Zheng and the others, Wu Yueying’s first task upon returning home was not to sort the vegetables, but to call her two daughters out. “Huahua, Xiaocao, come quickly! Look what Mama brought you!”