Accidentally-Born_C09

Chapter 9

Zhang Chunhua was a woman with many small schemes, but she had little ability.

To put it plainly, she was someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Therefore, when Grandma Li simply waved her cane and flicked her eyelids, Zhang Chunhua immediately backed down. If she had behaved properly from then on, that would have been fine, but unfortunately, she wasn’t the type to remember her lessons.

Not daring to provoke Grandma Li, she went to bully her daughter-in-law instead, not realizing that Guihua, who grew up in her husband’s family, was a strong-willed woman capable of handling family affairs.

The elders all praised her for this, so how could such a person be a weak woman? As a result, Zhang Chunhua was quickly retorted by Guihua after saying just a few words. When Zhang Chunhua saw that the Li family, from old to young, were no pushovers, and even Li Mulin didn’t side with her, she finally quieted down.

On the day of New Year’s Eve, Grandma Li woke up early and directed her sons and grandsons to hang decorations and gourds on the door, pasting couplets and the “Fu”(Fortune or Good Luck) character on the door. She also took out the pork that had been stored for half a month and slaughtered the rooster they had raised for the year. She took the seven or eight large bones she had traded for a few days ago from the mountain gorge, chopped them with an axe into pieces, and placed them in water to dissolve, preparing to stew them with sauerkraut.

Liu Xiulan and Guihua were busy in the kitchen, while the men were sweeping snow and chopping firewood outside. When Zhang Chunhua entered the kitchen, Guihua immediately shooed her out. Grandma Li noticed the two were up to something, so she told Zhang Chunhua to stay in the room, not expecting her to help with anything.

Grandma Li directed Zhang Chunhua to arrange four plates on the kang table. She took out the key hanging from her waist and filled one plate with peanuts and another with sunflower seeds. The pine nuts and hazelnuts she had picked from the mountain in the autumn were also fried and placed in two plates. She grabbed some sugar cubes and gave them to several grandsons, telling them to tuck them in their pockets to eat.

Zhang Chunhua grabbed a handful of pine nuts and used tongs to break them open, stuffing them into Ming Shu and Ming Xin’s mouths. Ming Nan and Ming Bei, who often picked such things on the mountain, weren’t impressed by them. They ran outside, asked Li Mulin for about twenty firecrackers, and returned to drag Ming Shu and Ming Xin to set off the fireworks.

Ming Shu, who was the same age as Ming Bei, was at the age when he loved to play. As soon as he heard they were going to set off fireworks, he quickly pushed away the pine nuts Zhang Chunhua offered and, wearing his shoes and grabbing his cotton-padded coat, rushed outside. Ming Xin immediately got anxious, stood up, and wanted to get off the kang: “Brother, wait for me, I want to go too!” Ming Shu looked outside anxiously, then turned back to urge Ming Xin: “Hurry up and put on your shoes.”

Seeing her two sons running outside, Zhang Chunhua grabbed Ming Xin and coaxed him, “Good son, it’s cold outside, you can stay home with Mom and eat something nice. Look how delicious these pine nuts are.”

Recently, after staying at his grandmother’s house, Ming Xin’s belly had gotten round, and he wasn’t as eager to eat. At this moment, he was more interested in going out to set off fireworks. He struggled to break free from Zhang Chunhua’s arms, almost in tears: “Mom, let me go, I want to play.”

Grandma Li, who was teasing Zhen Zhen with a gourd, couldn’t help but say when she heard Ming Xin crying and making a fuss: “Let him go, what family doesn’t let their children play on New Year’s? Your third brother’s children, Ming Rong and Ming Guang, are out there too.”

Zhang Chunhua reluctantly let go of Ming Xin, but she was worried that the pine nuts and hazelnuts on the table would be eaten up by others, so she went to the kitchen to get a small bowl. Under Grandma Li’s astonished gaze, she peeled out half a bowl of nuts.

Zhang Chunhua looked up and, feeling uneasy under Grandma Li’s gaze, quickly explained, “These things are expensive in Ice City. I saw Ming Shu and Ming Xin like them, so I peeled some for them to eat when they come back.”

Grandma Li couldn’t understand how Zhang Chunhua turned out this way, especially since with Zhang’s father’s salary, they should be living better than most families. But since her daughter-in-law only came back once in a while, Grandma Li wasn’t one to be petty. She looked at Zhang Chunhua and said, “There are red pines all over this mountain, and pine cones are everywhere. If the children like them, I’ll bring some back for you when you go home.”

Zhang Chunhua immediately smiled and said, “your place is really great. You can’t even buy these things outside with money.”

After hearing Zhang Chunhua speak like this, Grandma Li couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Take those empty plates to your second sister-in-law to fill up. If neighbors come by to visit, having empty plates looks odd.”

Zhang Chunhua finally agreed happily and quickly got off the kang. Zhen Zhen, half-lying in Wang Sufen’s arms, was drooling as she smelled the bowl of pine nuts and hazelnuts. They smelled so delicious.

At this time, the pine nuts were real wild ones—large and flavorful. Not only were they big and tasty, but when fried in a large iron pan with sand, the smell alone could make you drool.

Seeing Zhen Zhen staring at the nuts, Grandma Li couldn’t help but laugh: “Oh, our little girl knows how to smell things now. But you can’t have these, you’re still too young. Next autumn, when we pick the pine cones and hazelnuts, I’ll save some for you, okay?”

Zhen Zhen swallowed and stretched her chubby little hand to her face, wiping away the drool from the corners of her mouth. Wang Sufen, holding a cloth napkin, wiped Zhen Zhen’s mouth and hands while laughing and telling Grandma Li, “Look at Zhen Zhen, even as a baby, she knows how to keep herself clean and wipes her mouth by herself.”

Grandma Li smiled and hung the gourd on Zhen Zhen’s hand, happily saying, “Zhen Zhen is clever and strong. When she grows up, she’ll be able to help Grandma hunt wild boar.” She looked at Wang Sufen with satisfaction, “You’ve done well with the baby, looks like the chicken and fish soups didn’t go to waste. When the time comes, have Ming Nan and Ming Bei go catch some more fish.”

Wang Sufen couldn’t help but say, “This year, the Yongcui River is strange. In the past, the fish were easy to catch in the summer, and in the winter, you’d often return empty-handed. But this year, we didn’t catch much in the summer, but now in winter, we’re catching two fish every few days.”

Grandma Li gently stroked Zhen Zhen’s rosy face and casually said, “This is the food the heavens sent to our Zhen Zhen.”

The fire in the room was blazing, and outside, the kids were playing crazily in the snow and ice. The half-grown boys from every household came out, sticking firecrackers into snow piles, while others placed firecrackers under ice structures to see who could have the most fun.

They ran to the Yongcui River while setting off firecrackers. The children from each household took out their sleds and lined up for a race. The one who lost had to take out firecrackers for everyone to set off. Ming Bei, Ming Nan, and Ming Rong, holding two wooden sticks with nails, were sliding fast, while Ming Guang, Ming Shu, and Ming Xin followed behind, cheering them on.

After a crazy morning, when they returned home, the smell of delicious food filled the air. Mingxin, washing his face, couldn’t help but sigh, “Grandma’s house is way more fun than ours.” Zhang Chunhua turned around and, seeing no one was paying attention, whispered to her son, “Our house is better than Grandma’s. If you keep saying Grandma’s house is better, I’ll leave you here and not take you back to Ice City.”

Mingxin, being a four or five-year-old child, immediately quieted down. In the afternoon, he didn’t dare follow his brothers outside and obediently lay on the warm bed with his mother.

By evening, Liu Xiulan and Guihua had already started preparing the food. The large bones were stewing with sauerkraut, mushrooms with chicken, and tofu with carp. Mingxin, smelling the fragrance, sat up from the bed and turned around just in time to see Li Laotai leading Wang Sufen and Zhang Chunhua in making dumplings. The plump white dumplings were lined up on a cloth. Mingxin’s mouth watered instantly. “Mom, I still think Grandma’s house is much better. Why don’t you leave me here? I feel like I’m really happy here.”

Zhang Chunhua’s face instantly flushed, and Wang Sufen, rolling out the dumpling wrappers, smiled at Mingxin, “That sounds good! When you come back, Aunt will cuddle you to sleep.”

Mingxin didn’t understand the complicated expression on Zhang Chunhua’s face. He cheerfully climbed to the center of the bed, pushed the cart, and innocently asked Wang Sufen, “Do I sleep in the same room as Zhenzhen?”

Wang Sufen, suppressing her laughter, answered seriously, “Yes, Zhenzhen is young, she will sleep with Aunt.”

“Alright!” Mingxin nodded seriously. “Then I’ll stay here.”

Li Laotai and Wang Sufen both laughed heartily, while Zhang Chunhua, though knowing Wang Sufen and Mingxin were joking, felt a bit uncomfortable. However, no one noticed her unease. Outside, the sound of firecrackers occasionally echoed. The whole family gathered in the west room chatting and enjoying the lively atmosphere.

As the meal was ready, Li Mu Wu and his two brothers brought in the large round table that was used only once a year, setting it up and placing bowls of sumptuous dishes on it.

Li Mu Wu took out the wine he had been saving, poured a cup for his mother and two younger brothers, and everyone clinked their glasses and took a sip. Afterward, chopsticks flew, grabbing pieces of bone and fatty meat from the dishes.

After New Year’s Eve, the days passed quickly. Soon it was the tenth day of the new year, and it was time for Li Mulin to return to Ice City. Before leaving, Li Mulin put together the money he had saved and the money given by Li Laotai, and then took out fifty pounds of national grain coupons, handing them to Li Laotai, “Mother, this is the money I’ve saved for you over the past ten years. From now on, I’ll send money and grain coupons back every month.”

Li Laotai accepted the items, then led her son to the kitchen and gave him half a bag of cornmeal and a frozen roe deer leg that had been kept for two months, “These are from your second brother and second sister-in-law. You two have it tough too. At least we can grow some crops and pick mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, wild vegetables, and even hunt wild chickens and rabbits. It’s better than your situation.”

Li Mulin looked at the things and couldn’t help but tear up. “Times are tough now, Mother. Just keep it. Our family is small, and we can make do with what we have.”

“I don’t care what you two adults eat, but Ming Shu and Ming Xin are good children. I worry if they get hungry,” Li Laotai said, taking a puff from her pipe. After a moment of silence, she waved her hand, “Hurry up, don’t miss the bus.”

Li Mulin wiped his tears and was about to say another word of farewell to his mother when suddenly, a heart-wrenching cry startled him and made him forget what he wanted to say.

“I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go! Grandma, come save me!” Mingxin, belatedly realizing that his parents were packing up to leave, immediately began to wail loudly. “Grandma’s house is better, I like Grandma, I don’t want to go home.”

Zhang Chunhua, sweating in a panic, hurried to put his clothes on while trying to calm him down, “Stop crying, we’ll come back next time.”

“You said the other day that Grandma’s house isn’t better than ours and we won’t come back next time,” Mingxin didn’t believe his mother, crying and repeating what she had said word for word.

Zhang Chunhua, glancing at Li Laotai who was standing nearby smoking her pipe, felt her sweat intensify. Although the children had eaten well and gained some weight while at Li’s house, she couldn’t help feeling jealous as she saw her two children becoming closer to the Li family. That’s why she had whispered such words to her son the other day.

“Don’t talk nonsense. If you don’t behave, I won’t bring you next time.” Zhang Chunhua finally got Mingxin dressed, pulling him in front of Li Laotai with a forced smile, “Mother, we’re leaving. When Mulin has time off, we’ll come back.”

Li Laotai didn’t even lift her eyelids. She just patted her little grandson’s head and smiled, “Come back in the fall. There are lots of good things on the mountain, and Grandma will make sure you eat your fill!”

With those words, Mingxin’s tears stopped. He wiped his face, smiled innocently, and said, “I like Grandma!”

After sending off Li Mulin and his family, the Li household returned to its normal routine. Before long, the snow melted, the river thawed, and the weather began to warm. By the time Zhenzhen had rolled over and was finally able to sit up, it was summer.