Chapter 30

“Mingdong, hurry up and bring the diapers, the little meat bun peed!” Guihua commanded, and Mingdong spun around, unable to understand. Since Zhenzhen gave her nephew the nickname “Meat Bun,” it was unanimously approved by the family. According to Li Laotai, “Meat Bun is a great name; it’s like white flour with meat inside, sounds like good fortune, and the meaning is great. Zhenzhen’s choice is flawless.”

Mingdong couldn’t quite grasp the symbolic meaning of “Meat Bun,” but he had long since gotten used to Li Laotai’s actions, which often seemed strange. Luckily, “Meat Bun” wasn’t a bad name. Compared to the nickname “Dung Ball” given by the Zhang family next door, it was a much better choice.

After changing the baby and placing him on an cloth, Mingdong carried a basin to the kitchen, scooped a spoonful of hot water from the pot, and poured it into the basin. He added some cold water to wash the soiled diapers from the morning, then hung them up in the empty west room next door to dry.

Mingdong and his wife had been living in the east room of the back courtyard. Normally, the west room wasn’t heated in winter, but now that they had a child, the cool air would easily seep in, and they needed a place to dry the laundry. So, they decided to heat the west room as well.

He nailed two pegs to the stove wall, hung a hemp rope, and draped the clean diapers over it to dry in the warmth of the stove. After about an hour, they were thoroughly dry. Since their house was close to the mountain, they didn’t need to worry about firewood shortages. Li Laotai had started sending Mingxi, Mingnan, and Mingbei to bring back firewood from the autumn. They stacked up two large piles that would last them the entire winter.

After washing his hands, Mingdong opened the door and called to Guihua, saying he was going to bring her some chicken soup. He had been simmering a hen that hadn’t laid eggs since autumn, and Li Laotai had kept it alive to be used for Guihua’s confinement meal.

Outside, heavy snow was falling. Mingdong put on his fur coat and cotton hat and ran to the front courtyard. As soon as he opened the door, the rich aroma of the chicken soup wafted from the kitchen, making his mouth water. Mingxi, Mingnan, and Mingbei were all crouched by the kitchen door, each holding a baked potato.

Mingdong stretched his neck to look inside, then kicked Mingbei’s rear end, saying, “What are you doing crouching here, blocking the way? Why don’t you go eat in the house?”

Mingbei picked up his chopsticks, dipped them in the soy sauce dish on the windowsill, and smeared some sauce on the potato before taking a bite. He finally glanced back at his brother and mumbled, “The chicken soup smells good. It’s making me hungry.”

“Cut it out.” Mingdong laughed and said, “You could eat a whole pot of potatoes even if they didn’t smell. If it was meat, you’d probably eat the whole cellar.”

After finishing the first potato, Mingbei grabbed another from the side without lifting his head. Mingdong rolled his eyes, reached over Mingbei to pull the door curtain aside, and shouted, “Mom, is the food ready?”

Wang Sufen lifted the lid of the pot, poked it with chopsticks, and quickly replied, “Wait a little longer, this old hen meat is tough. I added some more firewood and need to simmer it a bit longer. If you have nothing to do, go talk to your grandma in the east room. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” Mingdong agreed and walked out, closing the curtain behind him.

Wang Sufen took some thawed pork, cut a few slices, added oil, and sprinkled some chopped green onions, frying them lightly before adding the pork. There was a sizzling sound, and some white smoke rose. Mingbei immediately crouched a few steps forward, sticking his head under the door curtain, “Mom, did you put more meat in?”

Wang Sufen didn’t turn around, casually adding some cabbage to the pot, “One slice per person is enough to satisfy the craving.”

Mingbei wailed loudly, “You only give us one slice of meat a day! We can’t get enough! Why don’t you just stew a big pot of braised meat so we can eat to our heart’s content?”

Hearing “braised meat,” Mingnan immediately perked up, taking a couple of steps forward, “Mom, stew all the meat we got this month, and let’s steam some rice to pour the meat gravy over. That would smell so good!” Mingbei swallowed and nodded eagerly, his eyes full of expectation as he looked at Wang Sufen.

Wang Sufen added soy sauce to the pot, stirring it to color the meat, then covered the pot and glanced at her two hungry sons, “There’s still over a month until the New Year. If we eat all the meat now, we won’t have any left until we slaughter the New Year’s pig.”

Mingbei immediately cheered, “One meal is fine, at least we won’t waste the meat by just eating one slice a day, and we’ll have something to look forward to!”

Wang Sufen opened the pot lid and stirred it again, noticing half a pot of steamed potatoes was missing. She quickly carried it over to the cupboard and placed it there, “Go tell your grandma to get ready for braised meat and steamed rice. I can’t make the decision.” Mingbei immediately stuffed the last piece of potato into his mouth and rushed to the east room.

Since the start of spring this year, the food supply in the streets had been recovering. By autumn, they could buy rice, vegetables, and pork monthly. The people of Beicha had endured three tough years, relying on farming and foraging for wild vegetables, barely surviving. Now that supplies had resumed, they all felt relieved.

The Li family had a good harvest for two consecutive years, collecting more crops than others. Every time, it was a bumper crop, and they had plenty of grains stored up. This year, they didn’t need to buy much grain, but they bought plenty of vegetables. They even ate the meat that was bought to satisfy their cravings.

Having a piece of stir-fried pork every day was considered a great life, but Mingbei’s mind was completely occupied with the idea of braised meat, drooling at the thought of it. He ran to the east room, yelling before even entering, “Grandma, can you let my mom stew the meat?”

Zhenzhen, sitting on the kang eating pine nuts, immediately brightened at the mention of stew. “What meat are you stewing?”

Mingbei sat down beside her on the kang, stretched out both arms to hug Li Laotai, who glanced at his hands, then dodged and swatted them with a fly swatter, “Look at your dirty hands! Don’t touch my clothes.”

Mingbei glanced at his hands, covered in potatoes and soy sauce, and awkwardly hid them behind his back. Zhenzhen, however, wasn’t bothered by Mingbei’s dirt. She handed her small bowl to him, offering, “Fourth brother, what kind of meat are you stewing?”

Mingbei grinned, “It’s just the few slices of meat Mom gives us every meal. It’s gone in one bite. Grandma, why don’t you just let Mom stew all the meat we bought this month, steam a pot of rice, and let us enjoy it properly?”

Zhenzhen swallowed and asked seriously, “Is it braised pork?”

“Braised pork is fine, just let Mom add more potatoes, and when it’s done, the potatoes will be full of meat flavor,” Mingbei said, coaxing her. “Little sister, do you want to eat?”

Zhenzhen nodded eagerly, “I want to eat!”

If Mingbei were the only one asking, Li Laotai would probably ignore him, but seeing Zhenzhen’s hungry look, she immediately softened. “Alright, alright, we’ll stew the meat tonight. It is what it is.”

Mingbei immediately cheered, bouncing out to spread the news. Mingdong pinched Zhenzhen’s soft, chubby cheek and laughed, “Our Zhenzhen is a little pig Look at that little chubby face—she’ll be a plump girl when she grows up.”

Li Laotai immediately swatted Mingdong’s hand away, rubbing Zhenzhen’s soft, fair face. “Our Zhenzhen is still small. Being plump is cute. She looks like she’s full of good fortune. Don’t just talk about how fat she is, look at your own little Meat Bun. He’s only half a month old, but his cheeks are pretty chubby too.”

Thinking about his son’s chubby cheeks, Mingdong felt a little frustrated, “It’s all Zhenzhen’s fault for giving him that name. Meat Bun, Meat Bun—he’s looking more and more like one.”

Zhenzhen covered her mouth, giggling behind Li Laotai. Mingdong glanced at Li Mingzhong, who was napping on the floor, feeling even more annoyed. “Look, even a dog has a proper name. My son’s nickname is Meat Bun.”

Zhenzhen blinked innocently, “Meat Bun is a nickname, Li Mingzhong is the formal name. It’s different.”

Li Mingdong glanced at Li Mingzhong, who was drooling as he slept, and felt a little puzzled. “Does it have a nickname too? I’ve never heard you call it that.”

Zhenzhen nodded. “My fourth brother gave it a name, Red Zhong.”

Li Mingzhong seemed to hear someone calling its name. It suddenly jumped up, turned its big head around, and after realizing it was at home, it yawned and wobbled back down.

Li Mingdong: “…”

Zhenzhen reached into the basin on the kang and grabbed a frozen pear, taking a bite. The sour, sweet, and cool taste made her squint her eyes. “I think ‘Meat Bun’ sounds much better than ‘Red Zhong.’ Back then, I was young. Otherwise, I would’ve definitely not let Li Mingzhong have that nickname.”

Li Mingdong watched Zhenzhen pouting and sucking on the juice of the frozen pear, unable to resist teasing her. “If you were to name it, would it be ‘Frozen Pear’?”

While eating the frozen pear, Zhenzhen laughed at him. “That name’s not bad. When my big brother has a second nephew, we should name him that.”

Li Mingdong looked at Zhenzhen with a face full of hopelessness. “This ‘Frozen Pear’ doesn’t even sound as good as ‘Meat Bun.'”

Zhenzhen thought for a moment. “True, it’s a bit of a stretch. How about calling the second nephew ‘Dumpling’? It sounds like they are brothers, and they are both delicious. Grandma, when are we making dumplings?”

Li Laotai chuckled and hugged Zhenzhen. “You want dumplings? Tomorrow, I’ll have your mom make the dough and make two for you to satisfy your cravings.” After speaking, she hit Li Mingdong on the head with the fly swatter. “Your sister picked a name with good fortune, I think it’s not bad. Alright, alright, go check if the chicken soup is ready. If it is, hurry up and serve it to your wife. When you’re ready to drink, just heat it up in the big pot in the back.”

Li Mingdong nodded helplessly. He was used to calling it “Meat Bun,” and adding “Dumpling” didn’t seem like a big deal. He walked to the door but turned back and asked Zhenzhen, “Zhenzhen, do you want some chicken soup? Should I save you a chicken leg?”

Zhenzhen nodded eagerly. “Let mom put some green onions in mine.”

Li Mingdong immediately laughed. “You’re not that old, but you’re already demanding quite a lot.”

After finishing her frozen pear, Zhenzhen jumped off the kang to wash her hands. Just as she opened the door to the east room, Li Muwu hurried in, covered in snow, with someone following behind. Li Muwu’s voice was even a bit strained. “Mom, guess who’s here?”

“Who is it?” Li Laotai squinted and looked. The person was wearing a big fur hat and a thick military coat, revealing only half of their face, so it was hard to tell who they were.

“Mom, it’s me!” The person spoke, and their voice cracked with emotion. Li Laotai trembled all over. “Muwen, is that you?”

Li Muwen took off his hat, revealing his half-white hair. He looked similar to Li Muwu but seemed older.

“Muwen, my Muwen!” Li Laotai got off the kang and tottered over. She threw herself into Li Muwen’s arms, crying uncontrollably. “My son, I thought I’d never see you again. When you were only twenty, you left with the army to fight the Japanese devils. It’s been over twenty years. Finally, the Japanese were driven out, and the Kuomintang was chased away. You went with the army to Fujian. Just a few days ago, I dreamt about you. When I woke up, I wondered if I could see you before I die.”

Li Muwen, a strong man, had his eyes redden from his mother’s tears. He gently patted her back. “Mom, you’re in good health. You’ll live to be a hundred.”

“Then I’ll become an old witch.” Li Laotai chuckled, wiped her tears, and looked down to see Zhenzhen standing beside her, crying with snot and tears all over her face. She was immediately frightened. “Why are you crying, child? This is your eldest Uncle.”

Zhenzhen took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her tears. “It’s so touching, I couldn’t help it.”