Chapter 66

Mingbei stayed at the Educated Youth Spot for twenty days straight. With just over half a month left until New Year, they were finally granted a bit over a month of vacation and told to return on the twentieth day of the first lunar month. Mingbei packed his things, shouldered his bedding, and carried his belongings home. Some of the educated youth had already gotten word from their families about the holiday schedule and were picked up early by bicycle.

Mingbei knew his family would be busy this time of year, so he didn’t send a letter home—just kept his head down and started walking. After about three li, he suddenly heard a jingling bicycle bell. Thinking he was blocking the way, he moved aside without even looking up and kept walking.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out beside him, “Mingbei, why are you walking with your head down? Don’t you look where you’re going?”

Mingbei looked up sharply and saw Mingdong standing beside him, smiling while pushing his bike. His eyes immediately reddened, and without a word, he tossed his bedding into the snow and rushed over to hug his big brother tightly, refusing to let go.

Mingdong helplessly patted his younger brother, who was now taller than him, a bit amused. “Why are you crying? Feeling wronged because no one came to pick you up?”

“No.” Mingbei wiped his tears and grinned at Mingdong, flashing a big set of white teeth. “I’m just too excited to see you again, big bro. I missed you like crazy.”

“Oh wow, gone a while and now you’re all mushy.” Mingdong laughed. “Alright, save it for home. Pick up your bedding quick or it’s going to get damp.”

“Okay!” Mingbei hurriedly slung the bedding over his back, while Mingdong hung the rest of the stuff on the bike handle. Since there was a lot of loose stuff, Mingdong was worried Mingbei might fall when getting on, so he got on first, waited for Mingbei to settle in, and then pedaled them both home.

The winter wind was strong and snowflakes drifted down. They wrapped their faces tightly in scarves and didn’t speak the whole way. When they got home, Mingbei placed his bedding on the kang in the west room to dry by the fire. Seeing how much snow clung to it, Guihua quickly stopped him. “Don’t dry it yet! I’ll wash and clean it first.”

Mingbei grinned. “It’s fine. I only used it for twenty days, not dirty.”

“Oh, come off it. So many people sharing one kang—it probably stinks from all the smoke and sweat. Just go chat with your brother, leave the quilt to me.” Guihua carried the bedding to the end of the kang, planning to wash it after lunch.

This was Mingbei’s first time back home from the Educated Youth Spot. Wang Sufen remembered what Grandma Li had said—worried she’d feel upset hearing about how hard he was working—so she stayed in the kitchen cooking and didn’t ask a single question. Meanwhile, Grandma Li, Mingdong, Mingbei, and Zhenzhen sat on the kang in the east room talking about life at the youth spot.

Mingbei scratched his head. “Actually, there’s not that much work. Mostly cutting trees and hauling logs. It’s different from how we used to carry firewood home. These logs have specific size and length requirements. And the mountain paths are all snowy and slippery. At first, I could only carry one at a time. I couldn’t finish my quota for days. So I started carrying two at once. My arms were sore for days, but I’ve pretty much gotten used to it now.”

Mingdong frowned slightly. “You’re still carrying them on your shoulder? Why not tie them into a raft and drag them down?”

Zhenzhen chimed in, “Yeah, or just use hemp rope to bundle them together and pull them down.”

Mingbei blinked. “They told us to carry them, and we didn’t have any rope. Besides, the paths are winding, and the logs are like two or three meters long. They’re hard to drag.”

Mingdong looked at him, half amused, half exasperated. “Then carry them down to the flat area first and drag them from there. The snow makes it easier to slide. When the snow melts, you won’t be able to drag them even if you wanted to.”

Only then did Mingbei have a lightbulb moment. He chuckled foolishly. “Big bro, you’re so smart! Why didn’t I think of that?” Seeing Zhenzhen laughing so hard she nearly fell over, he quickly added, “It wasn’t just me. No one at the youth spot thought of it either. Last time we got leave, those who went home brought back sesame buns, meat sauce, pickles—but not a single one brought rope.”

Mingdong nodded. “Yeah, just like you—all brains focused on eating.”

Grandma Li picked up a clean crabapple from the basin and nibbled it with her teeth. Hearing Mingbei talk about bringing food back, she quickly cut him off. “Mingbei, your mom and I talked it over. When you go back to the youth spot, we’ll send you with some pickled turnip and bean paste. If you want buns or bread, go buy them yourself from the grain shop. You’re earning your own money now—you can’t rely on the old folks to feed you forever. At home, we’ll take care of you. Out there, we won’t worry. Same goes for your three older brothers.”

Mingdong opened his mouth to object—after all, the youth spot work points were worth way less than their wages—but when he saw how serious Grandma Li looked, he figured there was more to this than she was saying, so he held his tongue.

Mingbei thought about it and realized she was right. His three older brothers all contributed money to the household. He silently calculated his own monthly earnings and sadly realized that aside from meals, there was nothing left. In fact, he’d spent three yuan on a fountain pen and now owed the youth spot for meals.

Ashamed, he lowered his head. “I’m not asking for money from home, it’s just…” His face turned red. “We don’t earn much with our work points. I might not be able to contribute money yet.”

Grandma Li was relieved to hear he had this awareness. “Then take a couple of years to get on your feet. But let’s make this clear—when you get married and start a family, you’ll need to provide for your parents. As for your married life, there’s a way to live whether you’re rich or poor. But we won’t be helping out.”

Speaking of marriage, Mingbei wasn’t as excited as he was before he left for the youth spot. He paused and gave Grandma Li a small smile. “I don’t even know when I’ll be able to find a wife.”

Hearing that, Grandma Li could tell the girl probably hadn’t taken a liking to him, and who knows if things would work out in the future. She consoled him, “You’re still young. There’s no rush to get married. Wait until you have the means to support a family—it won’t be too late then.”

Mingbei nodded. Mingdong chuckled, “Come to think of it, I really had it lucky. When I got married, Guihua and Roubao were all looked after by the family.”

Granny Li burst out laughing as soon as she heard that. “It’s not the same. Guihua grew up in our house—she’s just like our own child. Whether you get married or not doesn’t make much difference.”

“How can it not?” Ming Dong shamelessly grinned. “If we didn’t get married, would we have Roubao and Doubao?”

Granny Li immediately laughed heartily. “Roubao and Doubao aren’t enough. You two should work harder and give me a great-granddaughter. We’ll call her Sugar Bun then.”

Zhenzhen immediately gave a big thumbs up and nodded in agreement. “That’s a great name—sounds delicious.”

Ming Dong couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “So Roubao(Meat Bun) and Doubao(Bean Bun) got their names because they sound tasty?”

“It’s got a good meaning too!” Zhenzhen tried to defend herself. “Look at my two nephews—chubby like real buns. Who wouldn’t love that?”

Ming Dong nodded and was just about to say something when they heard Wang Sufen outside saying that Ming Nan was bringing Meng Xiaoxi over. It was Meng Xiaoxi’s first time meeting Guihua, so she was a bit shy. Her pretty face blushed as she called out “Sister-in-law,” looking somewhat embarrassed.

“This must be Xiaoxi.” Guihua smiled and took her hand. “You’re so pretty. I’ve been hearing Ming Nan talk about you these past few days.” Meng Xiaoxi turned to glance at Ming Nan with a face full of happiness and joy. “I’ve heard him talk about you and Big Brother too.”

Wang Sufen was delighted that the daughters-in-law were getting along and quickly said, “Guihua, take Xiaoxi inside for a chat. I’m almost done here—you don’t need to help.”

Seeing that Xiaoxi was a shy type, Guihua took her into the house and sat on the heated brick bed, chatting about what Ming Nan was like as a child.

Because Xiaoxi had come, the Li family didn’t eat on the brick bed like usual. Instead, they set up the big round table. Ming Bei had been eating bland seaweed soup for twenty days and had a constant earthy taste in his mouth. When he saw the spread on the table—braised pork with sauerkraut, potatoes stewed with dried string beans, soy-braised crucian carp, and venison stewed with carrots—his eyes lit up. He grabbed a flatbread and took a big bite, then stuffed a piece of venison in his mouth. Tears almost came to his eyes. “Nothing beats food at home.”

Meng Xiaoxi couldn’t help but laugh at how Ming Bei was devouring his food. “Everyone coming back from the youth camp is like this. The second brother from the house next to mine stayed at the camp for ten days and doubled his food intake when he got home. He said even pickles looked tasty enough to gnaw on.”

Ming Bei nodded vigorously as he shoved more meat into his mouth. “The food at the youth point had no oil and was watery with no flavor at all. And the flatbread was mixed with more sweet potato flour than cornmeal. You had to drink water just to swallow it—but it really kept you full.”

Granny Li smiled. “You don’t remember, do you? That’s exactly how we used to eat when you were little. Back then, we’d only just started reclaiming land. We mostly grew cabbage and potatoes, had just one acre of soybeans, and had to save the harvest to make tofu. Hardly any oil to go around. Aside from the rationed oil, we relied on pork fat trimmings to extract oil. Even then, we’d only use a drop or two for cooking—nothing like how we use oil now.”

Wang Sufen nodded, remembering the past. “Back then, even though the food was bland, at least we could eat our fill. But the year of the natural disaster—now that was suffering. Forget oil—we couldn’t even buy coarse grains. Every day, it was wild greens mixed with sweet potato flour. That was it. Ming Bei even said back then that we ate until our faces turned green.”

Ming Bei didn’t remember much from that time. He vaguely recalled going hungry for a while, then later being able to catch a lot of fish and occasionally snaring wild rabbits or pheasants. Eventually, white rice and flour weren’t that rare anymore. He figured it was because the family was reclaiming more and more land. So now he said with excitement, “Next spring, we’re going to start clearing land at the youth point too. Once we harvest in the fall, maybe we’ll get to eat well next autumn and winter.”

Ming Dong looked at him with pity. “You think you’ll be growing rice or wheat? You’re there for re-education by the poor and lower-middle peasants, not for comfort. It’ll still be corn and sweet potatoes—high yield and filling. As for fine grains, those’ll probably still depend on rations.”

Talking about this made Ming Bei bitter. “They ration steamed buns twice a month, five cents each. That’s enough to buy four big flatbreads—I couldn’t bear to buy any.”

“Didn’t you earn enough work points to eat your fill?” Ming Dong asked.

Ming Bei thought of the three bucks he’d wasted and instantly felt miserable. Damn it, sixty steamed buns gone just like that—was he an idiot?

Ming Nan noticed Ming Bei stuffing flatbread into his mouth like a man possessed and couldn’t help but comment with a straight face, “Slow down. No one’s stealing from you. It’s not like these are steamed buns. Why are you in such a rush?”

Ming Bei swallowed the flatbread with a heartbroken look. “Good thing it’s flatbread. If it were steamed buns, I wouldn’t eat them.”

“Why not?” the whole family asked curiously.

Ming Bei rubbed his face and hung his head gloomily. “No reason. Just trying to teach myself a lesson.”

Everyone chuckled when they realized even scatterbrained Ming Bei had his little secrets, and the topic naturally shifted. After dinner, Ming Bei took the wooden box with the fountain pen and went to Granny Li’s room to confess. “Grandma, I bought back the pen my brother gave me. I used the work points I earned helping build houses at the youth camp.”

Granny Li didn’t even lift her eyelids. “Oh? And how many steamed buns did that cost?”

Ming Bei felt a sting in his chest. He answered gloomily, “Not buns. Money.”

“Oh.” Granny Li’s eyelids twitched. “And how much money could buy how many buns?”

Ming Bei glanced at her guiltily, then quickly dropped his head and muttered, “Six… sixty…”

Granny Li subconsciously reached for her pipe. Ming Bei immediately hung his head. But after a long wait without getting whacked, he cautiously lifted his head and peeked at Granny Li.

There was no trace of joy on Grandma Li’s face. She didn’t use her pipe to hit Mingbei, but instead packed some tobacco into it and began to smoke. “Mingbei, you’re getting older. From now on, you need to be more mindful when you talk and act. We won’t talk about how much money you spent this time, but it’s not bad that you used your own hard-earned money to buy the pen back. Otherwise, think about it—if your brother comes back and sees you using a ‘new’ old pen he’s never seen before, how would you explain it then?”

Mingbei blushed with shame, his lips moved slightly, and he looked at Grandma Li with a pleading expression. “Grandma, I’ve bought the pen back now, and it’s still the one my brother gave me. Please talk to my mom and third brother and don’t tell my eldest brother about this. I don’t want him to be disappointed.”

Grandma Li slowly nodded. “Not bad. At least you’re starting to understand some things. By the way, I heard from Xiaoxi that your work points get settled at the end of the month. Do you have enough money left for food?”

Mingbei shook his head. “I owe the canteen some for now. I’ll pay them back once I get paid.”

Grandma Li looked at him with mockery. “And then borrow again next month?”

Mingbei lowered his head again. “Actually, I didn’t owe that much. After helping build the house last time, I still had three yuan left after buying the pen. A lot of people owe a whole month’s worth of meal money. If I cut back on trips home during my rest days, I can make up for it.”

Only then did Grandma Li realize that the reason Mingbei hadn’t come home last time was because he’d been hauling lumber to earn money for food. She was genuinely comforted by this. “It’s good that you’re thinking that way. When you go back after New Year’s, I’ll tell your mom to pack some more pickled vegetables for you. Don’t come home again until you’ve paid the debt off, got it?”

Mingbei, relieved that Grandma Li didn’t hit him and even promised to send pickles, immediately nodded happily and trotted off to find Wang Sufen to tell her the news. Seeing this, Grandma Li couldn’t help but shake her head. “This kid’s still a bit slow. He’s way too easy to please.”

Meng Xiaoxi stayed at the Li family home until around 2 p.m. and was getting ready to head home when Grandma Li called her and Guihua into the room. She opened a chest and took out two identical pieces of wool fabric. “These were brought in from out of town by someone we know. One for each of you, make yourselves some new clothes for New Year’s.”

Seeing how valuable the fabric was, Meng Xiaoxi quickly waved her hands. “Grandma, I can’t accept this. If I take it home, my mom will definitely scold me.”

Grandma Li chuckled and patted her hand. “You’re going to be part of our family sooner or later. What’s wrong with Grandma giving you a bit of fabric?” Meng Xiaoxi blushed and lowered her head, revealing a clean, white neck.

Grandma Li smiled and looked at both Meng Xiaoxi and Guihua with affection. “We can’t hold the wedding this year, but once the New Year passes next year, you’ll be part of the family. Whether I give this to you now or later, what difference does it make? I can’t let your sister-in-law have some while you don’t, or people will say I’m playing favorites.”

Guihua held the fabric up against Meng Xiaoxi and praised her with a smile, “Xiaoxi has such fair skin. Once the clothes are made, they’ll look great on her.” She linked arms with Xiaoxi and grinned, “Let’s make matching ones. When we go out, we’ll look like sisters.” Meng Xiaoxi glanced at Guihua, her face tinged with shyness, and nodded.

There were still about ten days left before the New Year, and the family was already busy. On a nice day, Guihua took all the quilts and bedding out to wash. Once they were dry, she fluffed up the cotton inside and sewed them back together. Wang Sufen went around wiping everything down. Luckily, the house was already kept clean daily, so there wasn’t much dust—just a bit of work in the corners.

Zhenzhen followed behind Wang Sufen, helping her rinse rags and bring water. After a while, Wang Sufen shooed her away. “I’ll be done soon. Go rest inside.”

Zhenzhen looked at her helplessly. “I’m a big girl now—I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

Wang Sufen glanced around and finally gave her a task. “Then thaw a basin of frozen pears. We’ll eat them after we finish working.” Zhenzhen picked out a dozen rock-hard frozen pears, put them in a basin, and poured in water. After ten minutes or so, the water would freeze into a layer of ice, and the thicker the ice got, the softer the pears would become. Once they felt soft all the way through, they’d be ready to eat.

After soaking the frozen pears, Zhenzhen ran back again. Wang Sufen pointed toward the east room. “Go keep Grandma company and listen to the radio with her. Come tell me what it says.”

Zhenzhen, seeing that Wang Sufen truly didn’t want her help and that there really wasn’t anything else to do, went back to the east room and turned on the radio.

The radio was broadcasting the news and newspaper digest. Zhenzhen had just gotten off the kang and was about to change the channel to see if there was any storytelling when she heard: “Our country’s renowned writer and people’s artist Mr. Wangwo has won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel Prize is…”

Zhenzhen immediately jumped up from the kang, hugging Grandma Li and squealing with excitement. Grandma Li, startled by her, quickly pulled her arm away. “What’s going on?”

“Mr. Wangwo won the Nobel Prize in Literature! It’s the first time in Huaguo’s history!” Zhenzhen beamed from ear to ear, eager to hear what else the radio would say—but unfortunately, the broadcast moved on without even introducing Mr. Wangwo’s works.

“That Nobel-whatever prize—what’s it for? Do they give out certificates?” Grandma Li, seeing how excited Zhenzhen was, couldn’t help but grow curious.

“More than just a certificate!” Zhenzhen laughed as she wrapped an arm around Grandma Li’s shoulders. “It’s a hugely important honor and recognition of Mr. Wangwo’s literary works. Of course, there is a certificate, but also a gold medal and a check!”

“A check? What’s that?” Grandma Li thought about it and realized she’d never seen that kind of document. “What do you use it for?”

Zhenzhen burst out laughing. “To get money. It’s like a bankbook. You give the check to the savings bank, and they give you the amount written on it.”

Seeing how Zhenzhen’s eyes curved into crescent moons at the mention of money, Grandma Li quickly asked, “Is it a lot of money? Like, a hundred yuan?”

Even though she had more than a hundred yuan stashed in her chest, she still thought that was a huge sum. After all, in this day and age, most honors came with a mug or a thermos—actual cash awards were rare.

“Grandma, you’re too cute—just a hundred yuan?” She clung to Grandma Li’s neck, laughing uncontrollably. “You need to add several zeroes to that.” Seeing that Grandma Li didn’t quite understand, she explained bluntly, “It’s several hundred thousand.”

“Several hundred… thousand…” Grandma Li was baffled. “How many hundred-yuan notes is that?”

Zhenzhen did a quick estimate based on this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature prize money. “Around three to four thousand hundred-yuan notes.”

Grandma Li was so shocked she didn’t even dare swallow her saliva. “Good heavens… that’s enough money for ten generations to never finish spending.”

Zhenzhen laughed as she jumped off the kang, threw on her padded coat, and was about to run outside. Grandma Li hurriedly handed her a hat and gloves and asked, “Where are you off to now?”

Zhenzhen took the hat and pulled it onto her head. As she ran out the door, she said, “To buy newspapers! I’m getting ten copies!”

She didn’t go to the neighborhood post office to buy the paper. Instead, she went straight to the capital and bought every newspaper published that day. Sure enough, she found the news about Mr. Wangwo’s award on them. She immediately teleported to the mountains, popped out of the cave, and shouted, “Teachers! Mr. Wangwo’s award made it into the papers!”

—

Author’s Note:

Some readers say my uncle was just as much trouble as Mingbei. Honestly, Mingbei was way tamer than my uncle. My grandma’s family used to live in the staff housing of the hydrolysis plant. One year during Spring Festival, my uncle bought firecrackers but was too lazy to go downstairs, so he lit them while sitting on the windowsill—and ended up burning half the bed’s quilts.

Also, my grandpa used to be an eighth-level worker, and his apprentices would bring him canned goods as New Year gifts. But back then, they were reluctant to eat them, saving them for re-gifting. My younger uncle, though, was greedy and bold. He used a nail to puncture every can lid and drank all the syrup inside. When my grandpa finally brought the cans out to give as gifts, they were just a bunch of dry cans with no syrup left. So yeah, my uncle was the kind of kid who could get beaten eight times a day and still not learn his lesson—haha.