Early in the morning, Li Xiu got up, ate breakfast, and fed the pigs. He then wandered through the rooms of the house, checking to see if anything was missing.
The weather had started to turn cold. Over the past ten-odd days, he had tidied up the vegetable garden, planting chives, spinach, cilantro, and celery. He had also planted scallions and garlic, which would be ready to eat when they sprouted next spring.
He had fenced in the entire vegetable garden. It was too late to plant more vegetables now. He had already planted wheat in his private plot, so all the fieldwork was done.
Against the north wall at the end of the heated brick bed in the east wing, he had built a three-tiered wooden shelf. The shelf was filled with wooden boxes.
Li Xiu filled the boxes with soil. He planted a box of chives, a box of spinach, and a box of small scallions, placing them on the middle shelf.
A box of garlic, a box of chili peppers, and a box of eggplants went on the top shelf. A box of luffa and a box of cucumbers were placed on the bottom shelf, as they needed a trellis to climb.
He also set out two covered plastic basins, one for sprouting soybeans and the other for mung beans.
There were no greenhouse vegetables back then; winter meant only cabbage, radishes, and potatoes. He was growing some greens to bring to his wife. She had been a picky eater since childhood and nearly starved to death during the years of natural disasters. Now, at twenty-one, she was 160 centimeters tall but weighed only around eighty-eight pounds—the thinnest of all her siblings.
In the cellar, against the south wall, stood six large vats for storing grain. He had filled one vat with chestnuts from the mountains. During the autumn grain distribution, the work team had allotted him two vats of dried sweet potato, two hundred and twenty pounds of corn, and one hundred and thirty-two pounds of wheat.
He then went to the black market and bought over two hundred more pounds, filling another two vats.
Next to the vats was a large, multi-tiered wooden rack laden with bamboo baskets. They held dried mushrooms, dried eggplant, long beans, and wild bamboo shoots he had gathered from the mountains. When fresh vegetables were scarce in early spring, his wife could have some variety. There were also wild fruits he had brought back in large quantities—hawthorns, wild jujubes, tree pears, and crab apples—anything edible that would keep well.
In the kitchen, the pickling jars were full. He had pickled plenty of wild onions, ginger, and garlic. The heavy fieldwork in spring would begin when there were few vegetables to eat, and these pickles would go well with rice. He had also pickled a good number of wild bird eggs for his wife. The food preparations were more or less complete. When he had free time, he planned to go into the county town again to find a few more things for her.
In the study he was preparing for their children, he had placed a newly acquired sewing machine and a bicycle.
The east room of the one-story house was also tidy. He had gone through the items he'd brought back from the scrap station one more time. Anything useful he took out to use; anything he couldn't identify, he stored in the cellar to deal with later.
With all the work on the farm and at home finished, it was time to head into the mountains. The animals there were at their fattest right now. He needed to make a few more trips to earn more money. His daughter had been conceived right after their wedding, and her birthday was on the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month.
Thinking of his daughter made Li Xiu happy. 'Even though she wasn't close to me, she was beautiful, smart, and sensible. She even told my grandchildren that while Grandpa wasn't a good husband, he was a good father. My grandkids were so affectionate with me. This life, I can't let my daughter want for money.'
Growing more and more excited by the thought, Li Xiu headed straight for the mountains. The days slowly passed in a cycle of him going into the mountains, visiting the black market, going back into the mountains, meeting with Wang Yuan, and searching for things for his wife.
By the end of the year, he had earned over 1,900 yuan and a pile of ration coupons. He had also managed to get a lot of books from the scrap station, and it took him three or four days just to sort through them.
There were the Four Great Classical Novels, the *Three Character Classic*, *Standards for Being a Good Student and Child*, and *Hundred Family Surnames*. There were the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as foreign literary classics, medical texts, a copy of *Das Kapital*, and various storybooks and picture-story books. All in all, there were over 200 books, all for his daughter and son.
He did a quick calculation. He now had over 6,000 yuan and all sorts of ration coupons. He had already bought most of what they needed. Once his wife moved in, they could see what else was missing and get it then.
He had also delivered the meat he promised Wang Yuan. He decided not to go to the county town again before the New Year; it was too cold. He wouldn't go into the mountains either. He set aside one wild boar, ten wild pheasants, and sixteen rabbits for the New Year celebration.
Tomorrow was the twenty-second of the twelfth lunar month, the day to deliver New Year's gifts to his father-in-law. He prepared a pork knuckle, two pheasants, two rabbits, two fish, two bottles of liquor, a carton of cigarettes, and some of the vegetables he had grown indoors. For his wife, he got a small-sized army greatcoat and two pairs of cotton-padded shoes.
Li Xiu rode his bicycle against the cold wind to deliver the gifts. When he arrived at his father-in-law's house, he wasn't there. He had been called away to another village to treat a patient.
The moment Zhou Lian saw the things he brought, her face darkened. "It's the middle of winter! You went into the mountains!"
Li Xiu knew this was bad. He quickly explained, "I went a while ago when it wasn't so cold. It's been snowing recently, so I haven't gone at all."
"Who are you trying to fool? The chickens are alive, and anyone can see the rabbits were just butchered," Zhou Lian retorted, growing even angrier at his lies.
"Don't be angry. I'll be sure to tell you next time I go into the mountains," Li Xiu said softly. 'It's been so many years since I've seen my wife angry with me.'
"Alright now, Second Sister, hurry up and let your brother-in-law in. What are you doing blocking the doorway in this cold?" Zhou Lan and her family had just entered the courtyard to see Zhou Lian blocking the door with a dark expression while Li Xiu stood by, smiling appeasingly. She couldn't recall her younger sister ever being so fierce.
"Older Sister, Brother-in-law, you're here! Come in, quick," Zhou Lian said, looking up to greet her sister's family. She shot Li Xiu a glare before stepping aside.
Once inside, Zhou Lan asked, "What was all that about?"
Zhou Xiang giggled and said, "Second Brother-in-law went into the mountains in the middle of winter, and Second Sister got angry."
Zhou Lan glanced at Li Xiu, who was talking to her husband but kept sneaking peeks at Zhou Lian. She sighed. "Mom, can't you say something to Second Sister? Blocking the door and not letting him in... since when did she have such a temper?"
Mrs. Zhou chuckled. "I'm not getting involved. A while back, your brother-in-law came to drop off meat and vegetables a few times, and that girl of yours complained he was coming too often. When I, as her mother, said a few words to your sister, your brother-in-law jumped to her defense and told me not to scold her. He's happy with it, so I'm not about to make a nuisance of myself!"
Zhou Lan was speechless as she watched Li Xiu, who was still smiling even after being glared at by Zhou Lian. 'One is willing to punish, and the other is willing to take it. Fine, I'd better not say anything. Li Xiu is like a puppy hugging a bone; I don't want to get on his bad side.'
At noon, Zhou Kun came back for lunch. Seeing the gifts Li Xiu had brought, he said, "You don't need to bring so much. Just focus on living a good life together in the future." Seeing Li Xiu nod, he didn't say anything more.
After lunch, Zhou Kun had Zhou Lan's family and Li Xiu head home. The weather was cold and the roads were slippery, so he'd feel more at ease if they left early.
"Second daughter, I can see he's very devoted to you. Once you're married, just focus on building a good life together," Zhou Kun said in a heartfelt, serious tone, having noticed that Zhou Lian didn't seem very enthusiastic about the marriage.
"Okay, Dad. Don't worry, I'll live a good life," Zhou Lian said with a nod. 'No matter what, he's my man. As long as it's not like our last life, I have to make it work, if only for the sake of our child.'
The days before the New Year flew by. Li Xiu gave his father, his First Uncle, and his Third Uncle the same New Year's gifts: two pounds of meat, a bottle of liquor, and two fish each. For his grandmother, he prepared six pounds of meat, two boxes of pastries, and four fish.
This infuriated his mother, Ge Er Ya, though she couldn't say much about it. In the village, sons who had formally split from the family didn't give New Year's gifts; only married-out daughters did. But Li Xiu gave them, and all the villagers were green with envy.
But he also gave gifts to his First Uncle and Third Uncle—the same as what he gave his own parents. When he dropped off the gifts at the old family house, he even said, "Since I've split from the family and the new house can't be empty for the New Year, I won't be coming over for New Year's Eve."
People only said a newlywed couple's house shouldn't be empty, who ever said a new, unmarried man's house couldn't be? He wasn't even married yet! Ge Er Ya was so furious she stayed in bed on the kang for two days, and Li Xin had to make the New Year's Eve dinner.
When Li Guo ran over to tell him this, Li Xiu was in a great mood and had two glasses of liquor with his New Year's Eve dinner. He was overjoyed. 'Next year, my wife and daughter will be with me to celebrate the New Year!'