Chapter 25

Early in the morning, a big fat sheep unexpectedly crashed into the yard. In the past, such good fortune would have definitely made one thank the heavens and even pray to the mountain god. However, in the new society, superstitions were not allowed. Li Grandma’s words swirled in her mouth before she swallowed them. She silently thanked the heavens and happily urged Li Muwu to slaughter the sheep.

At this time, except for Zhenzhen, no one in the family had the mind to eat. Li Grandma led her grandson around the courtyard, both of them eagerly staring at the hanging sheep. Mingbei nudged Mingnan with his shoulder. “Third Brother, isn’t there a saying called ‘waiting for a rabbit under a tree’? What should we call this? Squatting by the front door waiting for a sheep?”

Mingnan crossed his arms, staring at the sheep and laughing. “This sheep is also a fool. It probably got separated from the herd, got lost in the mountains, and ended up running into our house. It’s unlikely we’ll ever come across such a foolish sheep again.”

“Actually, I’m not picky. A roe deer or something would be fine too,” Mingbei said expectantly. “If a bear came, that wouldn’t be bad either. I heard bear paws are delicious, and I’ve never had one.”

Mingnan slapped the back of Mingbei’s head. “Are you lacking a brain? With our big wooden door, a sheep crashing into it is fine, but if a bear came, it could smash the door to pieces. Who knows who would end up eating whom?”

Mingbei rubbed his head and immediately slouched. He sighed while looking at the door, his dejected expression making Mingnan want to kick him straight into the door.

Inside the house, Zhenzhen sat on the kang, with a bowl of steaming egg noodles in front of her. Wang Sufen picked up a bite with her chopsticks and fed it to Zhenzhen. Zhenzhen dodged it and pushed the spoon toward Wang Sufen. “Mom, you eat first!”

Wang Sufen felt warmth in her heart and couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “No wonder people say daughters are thoughtful. Look, even with such delicious noodles, you’re thinking of letting me eat first.”

Guihua was bringing pickled vegetables and hot pancakes to the table. Seeing Zhenzhen’s refusal, she smiled and said, “This is our Zhenzhen being sensible, knowing that the child’s birthday is the mother’s hard day. Mom, I think you have to eat these noodles; this is Zhenzhen’s filial piety.”

Zhenzhen immediately smiled sweetly, her voice soft and gentle but firm. “Mom eat!”

“Alright, I’ll eat first!” Wang Sufen took a bite, then fed Zhenzhen another, and the two of them finished the entire bowl of noodles, one bite after another. After wiping Zhenzhen’s mouth, Wang Sufen heard the laughter and voices outside and couldn’t help but shake her head. “How can we have meat already? Now we won’t even have time for breakfast.”

Zhenzhen heard this and couldn’t help but smile, grabbing Wang Sufen’s hand, saliva almost dripping from her mouth. “Stewed meat!”

“My baby wants stewed meat!” Wang Sufen pinched her chubby cheek. “Your grandmother said she’s going to make you lamb dumplings.”

Zhenzhen thought for a moment. Lamb dumplings were also delicious, but stewed lamb was even better. It was hard to choose. Her little face showed a trace of hesitation, but soon she raised her head with determination. “Both!”

Wang Sufen and Guihua laughed at Zhenzhen’s expression. Wang Sufen hugged her and kissed her twice. “She looks just like Mingbei when he was young, so greedy.”

Zhenzhen heard Mingbei shouting outside, “Meat, meat, meat…” and couldn’t help but feel a bit defiant. “I’m nothing like Mingbei, I just silently think about it, I don’t shout it out.”

Li Muwu, who had started hunting when he was around ten years old, was now quite skilled at handling game. In just half an hour, the yellow sheep had been neatly dealt with. Li Grandma picked a piece of fat meat with a good balance of lean meat and placed the rest on the snow outside. In this cold weather, it would freeze solid in no time, and it could be kept for two or three months without spoiling.

She put the meat in the kitchen, washed her hands, and led her son and grandson to sit on the kang. She took a bite of a pancake, which had already cooled down.

“Grandma, how are we going to eat that lamb?” Mingbei asked as he drank half a bowl of cornmeal porridge in one go, his eyes full of expectation as he looked at Li Grandma.

“Make dumplings, lamb and cabbage, perfect for today’s Laba Festival, your sister’s birthday. Let’s improve our lives a bit. Hey, how did we get so lucky to have such good things happen?”

“Dumplings are delicious, but I feel like eating big chunks of meat would be more satisfying. Grandma, can you stew us a pot of lamb?” Mingbei looked at Li Grandma expectantly, waiting for her to agree.

“No way!” Li Grandma immediately refused without even looking at him. “There’s only one sheep, and if we make dumplings and stew meat, we’ll be left with half a sheep. You really don’t know how to manage things!”

Zhenzhen, who was sitting on the kang eating her blueberries, heard that her much-anticipated stewed lamb was being dismissed. She immediately became anxious. She stood up, stomped over to Li Grandma, and stuck her chubby little face in front of her. “Grandma, stewed meat!”

“Ah, my little treasure wants stewed lamb? Fine, Grandma will tell your mom to stew lamb with carrots at noon, okay?” Li Grandma saw Zhenzhen nodding enthusiastically and patted her little face. “Alright, stewed meat it is, no dumplings.”

“Eat!” Zhenzhen quickly turned around to leave but ran back immediately. “Both!”

Mingnan and Mingbei immediately cheered, their mouths open, but they didn’t dare to speak, afraid that Grandma might get annoyed and send them outside with the smoking pipe. Li Grandma looked at Zhenzhen’s innocent, chubby face as she stared at her eagerly, and her heart softened. “Alright, alright, Zhenzhen gets to decide today. We’ll have stewed meat at noon and dumplings at night.”

“Woo!” Mingnan and Mingbei immediately yelled in excitement, twisting around on the kang. Li Grandma picked up the smoking pipe and tapped it on the kang. “What are you yelling about? Shut up and eat. After lunch, go up the mountain and bring back firewood.”

Mingnan immediately deflated. “Grandma, the firewood we’ve brought back is already piled as high as the roof. Where are we supposed to put more?”

“Just bring it back, and I’ll stew more meat for you,” Li Grandma shot him a glance and stuffed the last bite of pancake into her mouth, then put on her shoes and went to the stove to smoke.

Mingxi stretched his neck to watch Li Grandma leave. He immediately made an exaggerated expression of excitement and began swinging his head and arms, which made Mingnan and Mingbei feel even more upset.

“Grandma, look at my second brother!” Mingbei’s eyes turned red with anger, and he stretched his neck to shout.

Li Grandma shouted from the kitchen, “What’s with him?”

Mingxi quickly replied, “Grandma, I have a problem with a question. After lunch, can I ask my brother?”

“Alright!” Li Grandma shouted heartily, “Just in time for your brother to look over your test papers.”

At that moment, Mingdong, who had been flirting with Guihua, got angry at mingxi for using him as a shield, kicked him to the ground.

Ming Nan and Ming Bei were immediately overjoyed, quickly shifting to the side, and several of them stretched their legs to sit in Ming Xi’s spot, forcing him to stand on the ground with a dazed expression.

Zhen Zhen sat on the bed, watching her brothers trick each other and laughing cheerfully. The day was even more entertaining than a TV show.

After eating, everyone went back to their own tasks. Zhen Zhen, now unwilling to stay obediently on the kang, wore her little cotton shoes and ran all over the house. At first, Grandma Li was worried that Zhen Zhen might trip and hurt herself, so she kept following her around to protect her. But after a while, when she saw that Zhen Zhen’s legs were steady, she felt at ease and let her run around freely. She also couldn’t help but boast about her granddaughter: “Our Zhen Zhen has been strong since birth. At just one year old, she walks so steadily. When she grows up, she will definitely…”

“Grandma!” Zhen Zhen suddenly remembered what Grandma Li had said about her being able to kick over a pig when she grew up, and immediately got scared, feeling her legs weaken: This skill really isn’t suitable for a girl!

Just as breakfast was finishing, Wang Sufen had already started stewing lamb. Zhen Zhen, with only a few small teeth, needed the meat to be soft and tender. She ladled a spoonful of vegetable oil, heating it up before adding chopped green onions and two slices of ginger to fry them, filling the air with a fragrant aroma. Wang Sufen then added the pre-boiled lamb, and with a sizzling sound, the meat hit the pot, and the smoke and fragrance filled the kitchen, slowly spreading to the other rooms.

Ming Nan and Ming Bei, who had just changed into their cotton jackets and put on their cotton hats, froze in place when they smelled the aroma, unable to take another step. They lingered by the door, neither of them wanting to leave. Grandma Li, who saw them from the west room, shouted, “Why aren’t you leaving?”

Ming Nan and Ming Bei immediately rushed in, each grabbing one of Grandma Li’s arms. This time, Ming Bei used his “pouting” technique for the first time, squeezing his voice: “Grandma, look outside, the weather is terrible. It’s all cloudy and looks like it’s going to snow. I’m a little scared.”

Grandma Li shuddered and almost dropped Zhen Zhen, instinctively hugging her tight and glaring at Ming Bei: “Speak properly!”

Ming Bei immediately backed down: “I want to help my mom with the fire in the kitchen.”

Grandma Li was so amused by this greedy grandson that she took out her pipe and gave him a light swat on the bottom, laughing and scolding: “Go on, help your mom peel some potatoes or something, don’t just wait to eat.”

Zhen Zhen looked at Ming Bei, who was growing but not getting any smarter, and recalled that she had recently been thinking about nothing but food. She couldn’t help but feel a bit worried: I hope I don’t grow up to be like Ming Bei, just a glutton.

After enjoying the fragrant braised lamb, they all ate a hearty meal of lamb and cabbage dumplings. As Ming Dong’s wedding day drew nearer, it seemed to approach quickly, yet to Ming Dong, each day felt longer. He couldn’t focus on his books at home, so he followed Guihua around, turning up beside her when she washed her face, handing her a towel, standing next to her when she swept the floor, waiting with a dustpan, and watching her sew clothes without blinking. This made Guihua’s face turn red and her heart flutter, but he couldn’t get anything done.

The funniest part for the family was that while Ming Dong followed Guihua around, which was normal for a couple soon to be married, Zhen Zhen, who had the most free time, had started to enjoy following them around, holding a handful of dried blueberries and watching the pair of shy young lovers. She saw them sneak a glance at each other when no one was paying attention, and then they smiled like fools, looking both silly and cute. It wasn’t that she was being nosy; the long winter had really driven her crazy, and at least there was a real-life romance to watch, which was much better than being bored.

Zhen Zhen enjoyed watching, but Ming Dong was miserable. Originally, he could secretly hold Guihua’s hand or whisper sweet nothings when no one was around. But now, with Zhen Zhen constantly following them, he couldn’t even stretch out his hand without being swatted away by Guihua. The only time they had a chance for privacy was in the afternoon when Zhen Zhen was napping.

Fortunately, time passed quickly as Ming Dong anxiously counted the days, and soon it was only a few days before the wedding. Ming Dong and Guihua went to get their marriage certificate and even bought some candy with it. But the saddest thing for Zhen Zhen was that when Guihua came back, her long black braid was gone, replaced by a short bob with bangs. Zhen Zhen was heartbroken and started pounding her chest in dismay.

But there was nothing to be done. Now only unmarried girls wore braids, and most young wives had their hair cut short. It wasn’t a rule, just a custom.

The wedding date was set for the day of the Little New Year, and relatives and friends who received the invitation arrived early. Wang Sufen’s relatives from her side of the family, along with several of Li Muwu’s close colleagues, and the neighbors who were close to the Li family filled the four rooms of the house to capacity.

Ming Nan and Ming Bei set off a string of firecrackers at the front door to mark the beginning of the wedding. Ming Dong and Guihua, both wearing newly made cotton jackets, were shyly surrounded by everyone in the center of the room. The person presiding over the ceremony was a union member from Li Muwu’s workplace. He clapped his hands to quiet everyone, then shouted, “Chairman Mao taught us that: A husband and wife should love and respect each other, help and support each other, live in harmony, work, raise children, and strive together for family happiness and the construction of a new society. Today, we are fortunate to witness Comrade Li Mingdong and Comrade Wu Guihua unite for a common revolutionary goal…”

Zhen Zhen stared in awe at this wedding, which was completely different from what she had imagined. Li Mingdong and Guihua, holding their little red books, recited a passage from Chairman Mao’s teachings with solemn expressions. Then they bowed to the portrait of Chairman Mao, followed by bowing to Wang Sufen and Li Muwu.

In this era, weddings were just a formality. The guests sang two revolutionary songs together, and the ceremony was considered over. Wang Sufen and Li Muwu quickly handed out prepared candy and cigarettes to everyone.

Liu Xiulan, leading two daughters-in-law to help, was busy stuffing firewood into the stove. In the kitchen, a pot of steaming lamb soup was being cooked, and another pot of sauerkraut with large pork bones was simmering, filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma.

A bowl of lamb soup, a bowl of sauerkraut with pork bones, a bowl of cabbage and pork noodles, and a bowl of five-spice pork stew with potatoes—each dish was full of meat, and when they were placed on the table, the guests’ eyes widened in delight.

The men sat at one table, with Li Muwu drinking with them, while the women sat at another, with Grandma Li at the head of the table serving everyone food. Zhen Zhen sat obediently in Grandma Li’s lap, and Wang Sufen served her a bowl of lamb soup.

Relatives and friends attending the wedding had heard that the Li family had gotten a granddaughter last year, and they treated her like a treasure. Some had seen her, and some had not, and they all gathered around to marvel at her. Zhen Zhen was naturally not shy and smiled at everyone. But if anyone tried to touch her face, she immediately turned her head and hid in Grandma Li’s arms: After all, she had worked so hard to grow her plump little cheeks, and they weren’t for pinching!