Chapter 36

Soon, another heavy snow fell, and the weather turned even colder. After Guihua had finished her confinement, Grandma Li still didn’t allow her to leave the house. Right now, Beicha was at its coldest, and the frigid weather made it easy to get sick. With so many people in the house eating, drinking, and doing chores, Guihua always felt uneasy staying indoors. When Grandma Li and Wang Sufen heard this, they went to the back room to persuade her again. “There are so many people in the house; someone will help with the work, you don’t need to do anything.”

Grandma Li touched the little chubby face of her great-grandson and agreed, “Your mother’s right. You should stay inside and rest. When the weather warms up in the spring, you can come out. You have better conditions now, so you should take good care of yourself. When we had our babies, we had to hide in Tibet for confinement. Who knows how many illnesses we carried with us.”

Guihua replied, “I’ll listen to Grandma, but I can help by making clothes. I feel bored staying in the house. If you send over some fabric, I’ll make you some clothes. My mother has been busy day and night, so she can’t spare the time.”

“That works. Your mother has already drawn out the measurements. Just follow them and make it,” Grandma Li said, going to the front room to get some fabric and placing it on the kang. She added, “Both windows are covered. Even with the lights on, the room is too dark. Just do a little each day, don’t rush, so you don’t strain your eyes.”

Guihua agreed, but before she could respond, the door opened. Wang Sufen stepped out and took a look, seeing Zhenzhen, who was holding her military water bottle, coming in. Wang Sufen hurriedly took a towel to brush the snow off Zhenzhen’s cotton coat and muttered, “Why aren’t you staying inside listening to the radio with such heavy snow? What are you doing out here?”

Zhenzhen warmed herself by the stove before crawling onto the kang and kissing the little chubby face of the baby. “I missed my little nephew.”

Guihua smiled and placed the baby into Zhenzhen’s arms. After a while, she placed the baby back on the kang and said, “Zhenzhen, if you’re free, stay in my room. We can talk, and I’ll tell you stories.”

Grandma Li and Wang Sufen were busy in the front room. Since Zhenzhen wanted to stay in the back room, they didn’t mind. Before leaving, Grandma Li warned her, “I’ll come to get you when it’s time to eat. Don’t go out by yourself in this heavy snow, it’s dangerous.”

Zhenzhen obediently agreed. After Grandma Li left, she turned to Guihua and asked, “Sister-in-law, have you been bored staying in the house for over a month?”

Guihua sat on the edge of the kang, opening the fabric and taking out the scissors to cut along the lines. “Not really. When the baby was born, your big brother and I were busy day and night. Sleeping well was a luxury. At least after half a month, he started sleeping longer, and your big brother and I could talk during the day.”

“What do you talk about?” Zhenzhen asked, curiously lying on the kang.

Guihua smiled and glanced at Zhenzhen. “You’re quite the little spy.” But seeing Zhenzhen’s sweet smile, she decided to explain in detail. “Your brother talks about what’s happening at school and the work at the farm.”

“Is my big brother studying farming?” Zhenzhen asked as she watched Guihua take out a needle and start making clothes.

“Farming is just part of it,” Guihua said, stitching quickly. “There are many other subjects. When you grow up and go to school, you’ll see that school is very interesting.”

Zhenzhen silently calculated her age. Born in early 1960, she wasn’t old enough to attend school before the Cultural Revolution started, so she figured she was destined to be one of the lost children who couldn’t go to school.

As time passed, the New Year arrived. For the first time in many years, the family was gathered together, with plenty of food, and a fat pig for the feast. The Li family had a particularly prosperous and joyful New Year, and the children all gained a little weight.

After the fifteenth day of the New Year, the Li family had to return to Ice City. Every day, they either went up the mountain or slid on the ice, enjoying the carefree life. When Mingxin learned of their return to Ice City, he cried and begged Grandma Li, wanting to swap fathers with Mingxi. “Since my second brother is going to school in Ice City, let him be my father’s son!”

Mingxi, in the midst of his crying, jumped onto Li Muwu’s body. “From now on, I’ll be your real son, please don’t chase me away. Let’s go hunting rabbits together.”

Li Muwu, helpless, patted the sobbing child on the head. “We’ll bring you back when you’re on holiday. Uncle won’t chase you away.”

“Uncle, don’t you want another son?” Mingxin asked with tears in his eyes, staring at Li Muwu.

Li Muwu glanced at his brother, whose face was as dark as a pot bottom, and hurriedly pushed Mingxin into Li Mulin’s arms. “Your second uncle already has two sons. If you were a girl, I might have swapped you.”

Mingxin looked up at his father and burst into tears.

Li Mulin, with a dark face, dragged his son away. “Do you really hate your father this much?”

Mingxin sobbed hard. “Our house doesn’t have roasted rabbits!”

Li Mulin shoved his son, who refused to let go, into the cart. “We’re leaving, Mom. We’ll come back in the summer.”

Grandma Li nodded with a smile. “Bring them in the summer so they can swim in the big river with Mingnan and catch some fish. It’ll taste really good when it’s roasted.” Mingxin, who had just stopped crying, immediately started sobbing again, and Li Mulin looked at his mother, feeling like she was doing it on purpose.

After bidding farewell to his mother and Li Muwu, Li Mulin turned to Li Muwen and said, “Big brother, come stay with us when you get to Ice City in a few days.”

Li Muwen smiled. “I’ll visit you when I have time.”

Li Musen, seeing that everyone had finished talking, greeted Grandma Li. “Mom, should I take the fourth brother to the train station?”

“Go ahead,” Grandma Li waved her hand. “Get there early so you don’t miss the train.”

After Li Mulin’s family left, the Li household quieted down. Mingnan and Mingbei didn’t spend all their time playing outside anymore, and sat at the table furiously catching up on their winter break homework. Li Muwen stayed with Grandma Li for a few more days, and when the new year ended, he had to leave. Grandma Li took out the gold bar Zhenzhen had given her earlier. A gold bar this large was hard to exchange in Beicha, and if sent to Ice City, Li Mulin had no way to convert it. Furthermore, Zhang Chunhua was too gossip-prone, so Grandma Li didn’t feel safe telling her about it. After thinking it over, Grandma Li decided it would be safer for her eldest son to handle the matter.

Indeed, when Li Muwen saw the gold bar, he raised an eyebrow but naturally took it and asked, “What does Mother want to exchange it for?”

Grandma Li pulled out her smoking pipe. “I want to exchange it for some money. It’s always troublesome when we don’t have enough. Also, buy some things for Zhenzhen. You know better what’s good. Just exchange it and send it home. Also, if you can get a sewing machine ticket, send one to me. Once I have money, I’ll buy one to help with making clothes.”

“Don’t worry, Mother,” Li Muwen reassured her. “But once the money is exchanged, I won’t send it all at once. It’ll attract too much attention. Let me send some every month, and when I come back in a year or two, I’ll bring the rest.”

Grandma Li nodded. “I’ll Do as you say.” After agreeing, Li Muwen took Mingxin and headed to Ice City.

Mingxin had been performing well in school, and during the winter break, Mingdong reviewed high school material with him, focusing on the areas where he was weak. After arriving in Ice City, Mingxin passed the transfer exam for Ice City No. 6 High School smoothly.

Li Muwen helped Mingxin with the enrollment and dormitory procedures, and with a couple of days left before school started, he took him to Li Mulin’s house to introduce him. He asked Li Mulin to look after Mingxin and make sure to give him better food when he visited. Li Mulin also knew his wife’s temperament and promised to take good care of his nephew, ensuring he wouldn’t suffer any hardship.

Li Muwen, having completed his duties, returned to the army. When the school started, he managed to take a break and had a meal with his nephews and brothers. He also sent a package to Grandma Li before reluctantly leaving his hometown and boarding the train to Fujian.

As the weather warmed, Mingbei, tempted by the fat pig they had raised for the New Year, convinced Grandma Li to catch a piglet. As for the chickens, this year there was no need to buy any. Grandma Li placed twenty fertilized eggs on the western kang in the back room, preparing to hatch them herself.

No one knew if it was the fatherly love or just boredom, but every couple of days, the braised chicken would walk around the house, circling it twice. Though it couldn’t see inside, it stood proudly at the base of the window.

Zhenzhen, watching the braised chicken strut, couldn’t help but mock, “It’s the eggs from stewing chicken soup and potatoes that they lay, and look at how proud it is.”

The braised chicken, with its little green bean eyes, glanced at Zhenzhen. “They can lay eggs every day, but without me, would there be so many eggs for you to hatch? Not to brag, but I’m really impressive. It took your father over twenty years to have five of you. I’ve only been working for a month, and I’ve got thirty eggs, no problem.”

Zhenzhen, with a sly smile, brought over a few grasshoppers to feed the braised chicken. Watching it eat them happily, she grinned, “Grandma has enough eggs now, so from now on, it won’t be your job to lay eggs anymore.”

Braised chicken pieces, without any warning, ended up swallowing a whole grasshopper. It stretched its neck for a long time and finally managed to swallow it down with great effort. Zhenzhen saw this and laughed as she ran back. The braised chicken pieces, in a panic, stopped eating the remaining grasshopper, flapping its wings furiously and chasing after Zhenzhen: “You can’t do this! I’ve just changed my life goals, how can they just be thrown away like that?”

When they arrived at the front yard, Grandma Li was directing Ming Nan and Ming Bei to build a new chicken coop out of wood. The braised chicken pieces was immediately disheartened, drooping its wings and reluctantly returning to the coop. After a while, sounds of flapping came from inside the coop, and Zhenzhen immediately frowned.

Spring was indeed a great time for everything to grow. Grandma Li successfully raised twenty chicks, half of which she gave to the third son, Li Musen’s family, ten in total. After just a few days, Liu Xiulan discovered she was pregnant. Ming Rong and Ming Guang, worried about the chickens, took the initiative to handle the feeding and cleaning of the chicken coop.

The Li family continued their secretive way of collecting two harvests of grain each year, exchanging food stamps for industrial and cloth stamps. Li Mu Wu spent most of his monthly salary on meat and groceries, hardly spending money elsewhere. Li Mu Wen had exchanged a lot of the gold bars he took, but he couldn’t return anytime soon, so he could only send money and goods back each month. Grandma Li made sure Zhenzhen was always dressed in new clothes throughout the year, and the surrounding children liked to gather around Zhenzhen.

By the summer of 1964, Zhenzhen’s pigtails had turned into twin ponytails. She was feeding chickens in the yard, holding a chubby little Meat Bun. Among the original batch of chickens, only the braised chicken pieces was still alive and particularly lively, its feathers shining bright, and the few tail feathers were exceptionally vibrant. Its comb was large and plump, and every time Li Ming Zhong saw it, he couldn’t help but drool.

Guihua came out from the house, gently rubbing her slightly rounded belly and carrying a basin of wild vegetables. Zhenzhen ran over, took the basin from her hands, and poured the vegetables into the chicken feeder. She smiled sweetly at Guihua: “Sister-in-law, what are we having for lunch?”

Guihua looked at Zhenzhen’s fair and tender smiling face and couldn’t help but laugh: “What do you want to eat? Just tell me, and I’ll make it for you.”

Zhenzhen thought for a moment, picked up a water bucket, and carried a small net as she walked outside: “I’ll go see if I can catch some fish or shrimp in the river.”

Grandma Li heard this and quickly came out from the house: “Sweetheart, you can’t carry the bucket, let me go with you.”

Zhenzhen helplessly looked at Grandma Li: “Grandma, I’m already six years old, why are you still calling me ‘baby’ all the time? People will laugh.”

“No matter how old you are, you’re still my treasure,” Grandma Li said, snatching the bucket from Zhenzhen’s hand. “You’re the only granddaughter I have, what else can I call you?”

Meat Bun waddled over with his chubby little legs and reached up to hug Zhenzhen’s leg: “Aunt, Meat Bun wants to go too.”

Zhenzhen pinched his chubby little face, and seeing his eager eyes, she kissed him: “Great-grandma and Aunt can’t carry you. Wait until Sunday when your fourth uncle has a day off, he can carry you.”

Meat Bun pouted but obediently didn’t cry. Zhenzhen patted his head and called out to the yard: “Braised chicken pieces, come over and play with Meat Bun for a while.”

The braised chicken pieces looked reluctantly at the group of young hens surrounding it. It waddled over to Meat Bun, turning its head back with every step. Meat Bun’s eyes lit up as he chased after its beautiful tail, and the braised chicken pieces helplessly played the “I run, you chase” game for the hundredth time.

Guihua sat at the door, scrubbing clothes while watching her son and the big rooster running around the yard, laughing: “Grandma, look, our rooster really understands. Whatever Zhenzhen says, it understands.”

Grandma Li took a puff of her pipe: “It’s been raised for two or three years, of course it’s smart. I think if we keep it for a few more years, it might even turn into a spirit.” Zhenzhen touched her nose, leading Li Ming Zhong out of the house.

Although the weather was good that day, the adults were all at work, and the older kids were at school. The younger children, aged four or five, weren’t allowed to go near the river by themselves, so they stayed close to home. By the time Zhenzhen and Grandma Li reached the river, there weren’t many people around.

Li Ming Zhong had grown considerably in size over the years. He looked tall and strong, and he could intimidate many people. However, Zhenzhen always thought that Li Ming Zhong was big but not very clever. Apart from being incredibly skilled at hunting, he was otherwise quite foolish. When they arrived at the river, Zhenzhen had just found a good spot when Li Ming Zhong suddenly jumped into the river with a loud splash.

Zhenzhen, unable to avoid it, got splashed all over. She rolled up her pants and wrung out the water, shouting angrily at him: “Silly dog, get back up here!”

Li Ming Zhong turned around, showing his big white teeth, and started splashing the water with his front legs. Zhenzhen, frustrated yet amused, was about to chase after him barefoot, but Grandma Li quickly stopped her: “The weather is still not that warm. What if you catch a cold from the water? Hurry, put your shoes back on.”

Zhenzhen, with her soft and tender little feet in the water, smiled at Grandma Li: “Grandma, the water isn’t cold. I’m not going to chase him. I’m just going to catch some fish and shrimp.”

Only then did Grandma Li release her, handing her the small net and placing the big water bucket beside her. Zhenzhen held the net and reached into the water. After a few minutes, she pulled up a full net of lively shrimp.

Grandma Li put some water in the bucket, looking puzzled at the jumping shrimp: “Why do you like shrimp so much? You have to peel off the shell and the head, and there’s not much meat.”

“They taste fresh. Just boiling them in water makes them delicious,” Zhenzhen said, and as she spoke, she scooped up another net of shrimp. Grandma Li glanced at the net, stunned. The large shrimp, over a foot long, weighed at least two to three pounds. Just as she was about to say that it was enough, she saw Zhenzhen suddenly stand up, her face filled with excitement as she looked in the direction of Li Ming Zhong.