Chapter 229: Spiritual Emptiness

“Mom, Happy New Year!”

Not long after, Father Lin, Mother Lin, and the others arrived as well, smiling as they offered New Year’s greetings to the old lady.

Seeing so many people come up to her, the elderly woman was so delighted that she couldn’t stop smiling. She grabbed a few of them and chatted away enthusiastically.

Lin Heng and Xiulan gave up their seats and stepped outside for a look around.

Aside from the inconvenient transportation, everything else about this place was wonderful—beautiful scenery and a pleasant environment. From the courtyard, you could see the stunning view of the mountains below.

Lin Heng first went to check on the sheep his third uncle was raising. There were over a dozen of them, all descended from a single ewe his uncle had started with. It had taken six or seven years to build up the flock, and it was essentially his uncle’s dowry fund.

“Look, this is the muntjac we hunted. Over forty jin—pretty fat, a yellow muntjac.”

Seeing Lin Heng come over, his third uncle grinned and brought out the muntjac meat.

The skin had been removed, revealing fresh, red meat that looked incredibly appetizing.

Lin Heng gave a thumbs-up. “Impressive! Where did you get it?”

Lu Honggang grinned wide. “On the ridge across the way. A few days ago, we suddenly heard a muntjac call. Turned out the little guy was sneaking in to eat the wheat sprouts. We staked it out for two days and brought it down with one shot.”

He swallowed a bit of saliva and continued, “Later, have your mom help cook it. Your eldest uncle and I aren’t great in the kitchen. When you leave, take some with you.”

“No need. I hunted a bunch of wild boars this year—more meat than we can eat.” Lin Heng chuckled.

Then he pointed to the pile of Jerusalem artichokes inside the house. “I’ll just take some of those. I love them.”

Also known as sunchokes or Chinese artichokes, they look like ginger and have a crisp, sweet taste. Lin Heng’s family didn’t grow them, but his third uncle had planted quite a bit.

“Take as much as you want. Help yourself,” Lu Honggang said with a smile.

“Great.” Lin Heng nodded.

He’d eaten a lot of Jerusalem artichokes as a kid and especially loved them pickled like bamboo shoots. His family hadn’t grown them in years, and he’d missed the taste.

Back in the front room where a charcoal fire was burning, Lin Heng sat down and started chatting with his uncles about hunting.

When they heard about Lin Heng’s haul from his last trip into the mountains, both men looked at him in disbelief. It was almost too impressive to believe.

While processing some cured meat, Lu Honghai looked at Lin Heng and said, “Lin Heng, you’ve got a motorcycle. One of these days, we should head to Changping County and look for black bears. I heard there are still quite a few in the mountains northwest of there. If we bag one, we could make a fortune.”

As hunters, they all dreamed of taking down bears or tigers. Large predators like that held a special allure.

Lin Heng didn’t hesitate. “Sure, let’s find a good time and give it a shot.”

There weren’t many types of game left in the mountains that he hadn’t already hunted. After taking down so many wild boars, he felt a growing urge to challenge himself further.

Besides, hunting these animals wasn’t illegal these days. Might as well get as much as he could while it was still allowed. Even if laws changed later to protect them, he’d already have his stockpile.

The law wouldn’t be retroactive. As long as he didn’t sell the meat later, there’d be no problem.

“I’ll ask around and get more details. Once I’ve got the info, we’ll go together,” Lu Honghai said with a grin. He’d had a great time hunting with Lin Heng at Three-Forked Gully last time.

“Sounds good.”

After a while, Father Lin and Mother Lin came out from the back room. The kids ran out into the courtyard to have a snowball fight and build snowmen, laughing and playing without a care.

The adults gathered around the fire to warm themselves. After a bit, Lin Heng’s grandmother slowly came out from the back room. She walked over to Lin Heng, grabbed his hand, and pressed something into it. “Here, something good for you.”

“Grandma, you keep it for yourself. We’ve got plenty at home.”

Lin Heng didn’t even need to look to know it was rock sugar. Every time he visited, his grandmother would secretly slip a few pieces into his hand.

She never gave them openly, because his grandfather would scold her, saying his things weren’t meant for outsiders and should be saved for their grandson.

Back then, Lin Heng had been a little afraid of his grandfather. Whenever he got the sugar, he’d quietly pop it into his mouth without saying a word. Now that he was grown, he didn’t eat candy anymore and didn’t care about a few pieces of rock sugar. But his grandmother still kept up the habit, as if he were still a child.

“I said eat it, so take it. Go on.”

His grandmother smiled.

“Thanks, Grandma.” Lin Heng had no choice but to accept it. He ate one himself and gave one to Xiulan.

Seeing this, the old woman smiled and nodded, then turned and went back to the warm room in the back.

Lin Heng stood up and helped her back. He opened the can of powdered milk he’d brought and made her a cup.

Then he sat with her and chatted for a while. His uncles and parents all thought that as long as the old woman had food and drink, that was enough. They didn’t want to talk to her much because she couldn’t understand them well, and communicating with her was tiring.

But Lin Heng was willing to talk to her, even if it was difficult. He had experienced old age himself, and he knew that compared to material comfort, what the elderly lacked most was emotional connection.

When even their own children found them annoying and didn’t want to talk to them, their hearts were left unbearably empty.

You couldn’t really blame the children. Without having experienced old age, it was hard to understand. Most people thought giving them good food and warm clothes was enough.

His grandmother drank the milk and listened to Lin Heng talk, a smile occasionally lighting up her face.

Everyone else was playing in the front room. In the back, it was just grandmother and grandson. Xiulan noticed Lin Heng hadn’t returned for a while and walked to the back. She stood quietly listening as Lin Heng told his grandmother stories and jokes, and gradually, she felt moved.

It seemed that ever since he came back in May, this man had become so gentle. He even had such patience with an elderly woman. He radiated a quiet, tender charm.

Sometimes she really wondered if he’d been possessed by someone else. But as the one who shared his bed, she knew—he hadn’t changed into someone else. He’d just suddenly grown up.

After watching for a while, Xiulan turned and went back to check on Xiao Xia.

Lin Heng stayed with his grandmother for thirty or forty minutes. When his mother came to bring them food, he finally got up.

He went to the outhouse in the back, and when he saw the basket of corn cobs piled up inside, a wave of dread washed over him.

His uncle’s family used those for wiping. They were rougher than sandpaper.

As a kid, Lin Heng had loved everything about visiting his uncle’s house—except going to the bathroom. He’d always run into the mountains to find leaves instead.

After finishing up, he shook himself off and wandered alone into the back hills. His uncle’s house sat on the left bank of a mountain ravine, and Lin Heng followed the path deeper into the valley.

The snow had stopped, but the mountains were so quiet you could hear the crunch of footsteps in the snow. Overhead, branches bent low under the weight of snow, and occasionally, a lark’s clear call rang out.

Walking through this kind of landscape felt like stepping into a dream.

Down in the ravine, Lin Heng first spotted a red squirrel clutching an acorn. The moment it saw him, it darted up a tree, knocking loose a few tufts of snow like goose feathers.

Lin Heng wasn’t interested in the squirrel. Catching it would’ve been easy, but his eyes were on the camellia trees not far away. Despite the season, they were still green and blooming, their fragrance faint in the cold air.

Lin Heng was a simple man. When he saw beautiful flowers, he liked to pick them. He reached out and snapped off a handful.

Holding the flowers, he leaned against a large tree and took a deep breath. He loved being in the quiet forest after a snowfall. Even doing nothing here felt like a kind of luxury.

After ten minutes, the cold started to creep in, and he finally stood up to head home, the camellias hidden behind his back.

Before he even got close to the house, Lin Heng heard familiar voices. Looking carefully, he saw Xiulan and Xiao Xia building a snowman on the platform outside the crystal room.

“Ha!”

He crept up quietly and suddenly stomped his foot with a shout, intending to startle Xiulan as payback for icing him earlier. But just as luck would have it, Xiulan was getting up at that exact moment and crashed right into him, falling to the ground.

“Ah! What are you doing?!”

Lying on the ground, Xiulan looked up at Lin Heng with helpless eyes.

“Hehe! Snowball fight!” Xiao Xia giggled as she hurled a snowball that smacked right into Xiulan. She laughed like she had no fear of consequences.

“Here, this is for you.”

Lin Heng quickly held out the flower with a big smile on his face.

“Help me up.”

Xiulan glanced at the flower, then reached out her hand.

Once she was up, she brushed the snow off her clothes, took the flower, and happily brought it to her nose for a sniff.

“Not bad at all,” she said with a smile.

Lin Heng grinned. “Shouldn’t I get a reward? It wasn’t easy picking such a pretty flower.”

Xiulan gave him a look, then stood on tiptoe and pecked his cheek. Then she turned around to deal with the mischievous daughter who was still pelting her with snowballs.

She gave Xiao Xia a few firm swats on the butt. Seeing that the girl was still laughing, she pinched her cheek and said with a smile, “You think it doesn’t hurt because you’re bundled up, huh? Just wait till we get home tonight and you’re out of those clothes.”

As soon as she heard that, Xiao Xia panicked and clung to her leg, whining, “Mommy, I was wrong~”

“Too late. Go have your dad build snowmen with you. I’m done playing.” Xiulan poked her and turned to leave, pretending to be angry.

As soon as Xiulan walked away, Xiao Xia’s grin returned. She grabbed Lin Heng’s hand and mumbled, “Daddy, I helped you… helped you hit Mommy… Tonight you have to… you have to help me too.”

“Pretty please…”

When Lin Heng didn’t answer, she shook his hand again.

“Alright, I’ll help you later,” Lin Heng said with a smile, thinking how sweet and thoughtful his little girl was.

Xiulan hadn’t gone far. She heard this and came back to give Xiao Xia another two swats, laughing as she said, “Oh, so that’s how it is? Then tonight we’ll shut the door and settle it properly.”

Xiao Xia seemed to hesitate between begging for mercy and standing her ground. In the end, she puffed up her chest and declared in a childish voice, “I’m not scared. My dad will help me.”

Xiulan couldn’t help but laugh. She was about to tease her some more when Lin Heng’s mother called out from behind, “Time to eat!”

“Coming!”

Lin Heng nodded and scooped Xiao Xia up in his arms as they headed in for the meal.

Xiulan followed behind, holding the flower, leaving behind a half-built snowman outside the well.

Inside the house, the tables were already set and the dishes laid out. His uncle’s family had brought plenty of wild game—there was not only muntjac, but also golden pheasant and wild chicken.

Once everyone was seated, Lu Honghai smiled and said, “Now that we’re all here, let’s dig in. No need to stand on ceremony, eat to your heart’s content.”

Then he raised his glass and invited Lin Heng and the others to take a drink.

“This sweet rice wine is really good!”

Lin Heng smiled. His uncle had brewed sweet rice wine—it tasted sweet, but packed quite a punch.

“If you like it, I’ll fill a jug for you to take home. We made a lot this year,” Lu Honggang said with a grin.

“It’s strong though. I can’t drink too much.”

Lin Heng waved it off, not wanting to overdo it.

“Ooh, we’ve got candied sweet potatoes today too.”

After a sip of wine, Lin Heng picked up a piece of candied sweet potato and couldn’t help but comment. The flavor was excellent—kids would love it.

“I made that. Learned it from watching someone else. Figured the kids would enjoy it,” said Third Uncle Lu Honggang with a sheepish smile.

That caught Lin Heng off guard. He hadn’t expected his third uncle to learn how to make that. He gave him a thumbs-up in admiration.

He picked up a piece for Xiao Xia, then grabbed a big chopstickful of muntjac meat for himself. As he chewed, he asked curiously, “Uncle, Third Uncle, have you ever hunted a sika deer?”

There were sika deer in the Qinling Mountains, but he’d never caught one himself.

“I’ve seen others get one, but they’re rare now. Used to be more common back in the day,” Lu Honghai recalled.

Compared to muntjac, sika deer were more valuable. There used to be plenty, but their numbers had dropped over the years.

Lu Honggang added, “They say if you go west of Mount Taibai, there are more of them, but that’s just hearsay. I’ve never been there myself.”

Lin Heng nodded. He really wanted to catch a sika deer someday. But it was all about luck. The mountains were vast—impossible to search them all.

Besides the stir-fried muntjac, there was also a stew with radish and Chinese yam. Lin Heng had plenty of both—they were completely different in flavor.

But the best dish had to be the golden pheasant. His mother had stir-fried it until it was slightly dry, so even the bones could be chewed and swallowed. The meat was incredibly flavorful and chewy.

“Lin Heng, eat some meat!”

Just as he paused, his grandmother handed him a big slice of fatty pork.

“I’ll eat this,” Lin Heng said, placing it in his bowl, then quickly picked up another piece of chicken. Elders loved to serve food to the younger generation.

And the older folks always thought fatty meat was the best. Lin Heng didn’t want to refuse and hurt her feelings, so he just kept his mouth full.

But he really couldn’t stomach those thick slices of fat.

Once he was almost full, he hurried to scoop himself some rice to avoid getting served more.

Xiulan wasn’t so lucky—she got surprised with several pieces of fatty meat. Lin Heng knew she couldn’t eat them either, so he took them from her and later fed them to the dog outside.

After lunch, Lin Heng stayed to chat with his grandmother for a while, since they’d be leaving soon. It was the New Year, and they couldn’t stay too long.

“Heng-wa, help me look at the almanac. I can’t see clearly anymore. I want to pick a day to move the bed.”

After a while, his grandmother brought out an almanac.

“Sure.”

Lin Heng opened it and began reading. She used to be able to read it and pick auspicious dates herself, but her eyesight wasn’t what it used to be.

He read to her for a while. She decided that the sixth day of the lunar month looked good and planned to move the bed then—her current spot was a bit damp.

“Son, it’s time to go.”

Once Lin Heng finished reading, Mother Lin and the others came in. Clearly, they were here to say goodbye to the elderly.

Hearing they were leaving, the old woman held their hands reluctantly and urged them to stay longer. But everyone had things to do and couldn’t linger, so they promised to visit again soon.

“Wait a moment.”

She went back and brought out some rock sugar, giving each of them two pieces. It was the best she could offer.

“Thank you, Grandma.”

Lin Heng didn’t need it—his grandmother needed it more. But it was a heartfelt gesture. Not taking it would only make her feel bad. He made a mental note to bring her some milk powder when spring came.

After saying goodbye to his grandmother, both uncles tried to persuade them to stay a bit longer. When that didn’t work, they each gave Xiao Xia a red envelope.

“Thank you, Great-Uncle.”

Xiao Xia clutched her red envelope and said sweetly.

Lin Heng also took some Jerusalem artichokes and ten jin of sweet rice wine his uncle had given him.

“Dad, are you okay to walk?”

As they walked, Lin Heng asked. His father had drunk a bit too much, and he was worried.

He actually wanted to wait until his father sobered up before heading back, but the old man insisted on leaving now.

“I’m fine. I’m not drunk.”

Father Lin waved him off, saying he was okay.

Lin Heng watched him for a while and saw that he was indeed steady. Plus, his mother was keeping an eye on him, so he felt reassured.

But just as they crossed over a mountain ridge, his father suddenly let out a startled cry.

(To be continued)

— Translator’s Notes —

• Mount Taibai: The highest peak of the Qinling mountain range in Shaanxi province, China, known for its natural beauty and biodiversity.

• almanac: A traditional Chinese calendar book used for selecting auspicious dates for important events based on lunar cycles and astrological considerations.

• lunar month: Refers to the traditional Chinese calendar based on moon cycles, where months are approximately 29.5 days long.

• Heng-wa: A term of endearment in Chinese dialects where ‘-wa’ is added to a name, often used for children or loved ones.