Chapter 225: New Year

After Wang Zhou signed the papers, Lin Heng took the receipt and drove to the credit union.

He had already decided earlier that he wanted to open a new account specifically for depositing the money from the Procurement Station and the convenience store.

He’d made quite a bit this year, but since it was mixed in with his personal earnings, he couldn’t even remember where most of it had gone.

After opening the account, Lin Heng deposited the money into the passbook.

On his way back, the market on the street was already winding down. Most people had left, and the vendors were packing up to head home for the New Year.

Lin Heng strolled around, hoping to spot a good deal. Prices usually dropped significantly at this time.

But after walking for a while, he didn’t see anything he particularly wanted.

“Boss, want to buy a donkey head or donkey hide? I’ll give you a good deal since it’s getting late.”

As he drove to the middle of the bridge, a middle-aged man called out to him.

Lin Heng had been looking the other way, but when he turned at the sound, he saw the man had laid out a tarp on the ground to sell donkey meat. On the stall were a donkey head, a tail, half a donkey hide, some bones, and a bit of meat.

Seeing that Lin Heng seemed interested, the man—with nose hairs sticking out—quickly said, “It’s my own donkey. It broke its leg falling down a mountain two days ago, so I had no choice but to butcher it.”

“This is all that’s left. If you want it, I’ll give you a good price. They say dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the ground—it’s good stuff.” The man kept pitching.

Lin Heng stopped the car and walked over to take a look. He asked, “How much for everything that’s left?”

He didn’t doubt that it was the man’s own donkey—he was just worried it might have been sick. But after checking its eyes and mouth, he figured it probably wasn’t.

The man beamed. “All of it for thirty. There’s a lot of bone, but it’s close to a hundred jin.”

The meat had been cleaned very thoroughly. Aside from the head, there were spine and rib bones left—the leg bones were already gone. With the tail, the hide, and over ten jin of meat, it did add up to about a hundred jin.

But in this era, people weren’t really interested in bones. They were hard to sell.

“Alright, I’ll take it.”

After thinking it over, Lin Heng decided to buy the lot. It wasn’t that expensive anyway.

He was mainly after the donkey hide to make donkey gelatin for Xiulan. Since it wasn’t pricey, he might as well buy everything. At about thirty cents per jin, it was a fair deal.

“Great! You’re a generous boss.”

The man quickly agreed and grabbed a snakeskin bag to start packing the goods for Lin Heng.

“Take out three rib bones and pack them separately,” Lin Heng added after a moment.

“Sure thing,” the man replied eagerly.

Once everything was packed, Lin Heng paid and then dropped off the three rib bones at Old Man Gao’s place before taking Wang Zhou home.

Wang Zhou didn’t live in the direction of Red Maple Village, but it wasn’t far—just a thirty-minute round trip.

By the time Lin Heng was heading back, the street vendors in Huangtan Town had all packed up, and the shops were closed.

He went to the store to pick up the donkey head and other items he’d bought, along with the unsold fireworks.

When he got home, it was already 3 p.m. All the households along the road were cleaning up for the New Year.

Seeing the large snakeskin bag in the back of the car, Xiulan tilted her head and asked, “What did you buy this time?”

“Donkey head, donkey hide, donkey bones, and some leftover fireworks from the store,” Lin Heng said with a laugh. “Donkey hide boiled into gelatin is really good for the body.”

Xiulan walked over to take a look and asked, “Did it cost a lot?”

“Not really, just thirty.”

“That’s not bad. I’ll get the tools so we can start processing it.”

Xiulan went inside to fetch the tools. The two of them first singed the donkey head and tail to remove the hair. Just cleaning those two took an hour and a half.

Finally, Lin Heng split the donkey head in half and handed it to Xiulan. “We’ve got braising spices—let’s braise the head and tail.”

That was exactly what Xiulan had in mind. She carried the items inside to start cooking.

Meanwhile, Lin Heng used boiling water to scald the donkey hide. Then he used a forged steel knife to scrape off the hair and fat—neither of which could be present in donkey gelatin.

Once cleaned, the hide still weighed ten jin. Lin Heng chopped it into small pieces, put them in a pot, and added high-proof baijiu to simmer over a low flame.

He stored the donkey meat in the makeshift “fridge” he’d built, and the bones would be used for soup—though there were a bit too many.

Xiulan looked at the pile of bones and said, “Why don’t you take some to your parents and Elder Brother? We won’t be able to eat all this. Your brother’s family brought us some rice cakes this afternoon, too.”

Lin Heng nodded. “Alright, let’s go together. We can bring the gifts we bought for them earlier too.”

“I was just about to say that.” Xiulan turned and went inside to get the gifts. They had bought clothes for his parents and Caiyun, and for his elder brother’s family, they got some snacks and clothes for the kids.

The two of them carried the items to his parents’ old house first. The elderly couple looked curiously at the pile of stuff they brought.

“What’s all this?” Father Lin asked helplessly.

“These donkey bones are from a donkey Lin Heng bought today. We can’t finish them, so we brought you some,” Xiulan explained, setting the bones down. Then she placed the gifts on the table. “These are clothes we bought for you, Mom, Dad, and Caiyun when we went to town. One set each.”

Mother Lin shook her head repeatedly when she saw the clothes. “You silly girl, why are you buying clothes again? Lin Heng wastes money, and now you’re doing it too.”

Father Lin added, “Exactly. We barely go to town a few times a year. What do we need so many clothes for?”

Lin Heng couldn’t be bothered to argue. He shrugged. “To wear, obviously. What else? They’re already bought—what, you want to burn them?”

Father and Mother Lin were speechless. They looked like they wanted to smack their unfilial son.

Xiulan, being gentler, said, “Lin Heng has money now. You don’t need to keep wearing those patched-up clothes.”

The old couple were too frugal. Their clothes had seven or eight patches, but they still wore them even though they had new ones.

Seeing that his parents were about to start lecturing again, Lin Heng grabbed Xiulan and Xiao Xia and made a run for it. Only Caiyun called out a quiet thank-you from behind—she hadn’t dared speak earlier.

After giving the gifts to his parents, they went to his elder brother’s place. Sister-in-law Liu Juan looked uncomfortable as she saw the things Xiulan brought, pulling her aside to thank her repeatedly.

She used to have a lot of opinions about Xiulan. Though she never openly fought with her, she often made snide remarks. But now that Xiulan had money and still never mocked her, even buying things for her kids, she felt deeply embarrassed.

Lin Yue didn’t know what to say. He just patted Lin Heng on the shoulder and said a heartfelt thank-you. No more words were needed between brothers.

As the couple were about to leave, Liu Juan insisted they stay for dinner, refusing to take no for an answer—even when they said they had meat braising at home.

In the end, they agreed to come back for dinner that evening. Xiao Xia stayed behind to play with Lin Wei and Lin Tao, while Lin Heng went back from time to time to stoke the fire and stir the donkey hide to keep it from burning.

After dinner, when they returned, the donkey hide had completely melted, but it still had a long way to go before turning into gelatin.

Lin Heng brought out the ceramic tea stove, lit some charcoal, and used his small iron pot from the mountains to continue simmering the mixture.

He even got up twice during the night to add more charcoal.

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, when Lin Heng got up, the gelatin had reached its final stage. All that was left was to pour out the thick black liquid.

He first poured out half to cool naturally. To the remaining half, he added rock sugar, black sesame seeds, raisins, chopped red dates, and walnuts, mixing it all together to make donkey gelatin cake.

Once the ejiao had cooled, Lin Heng weighed it. The pure ejiao came out to one jin and two liang, while the ejiao cake totaled over five jin.

“Here, try one.”

Lin Heng handed a piece of ejiao cake to both Xiulan and Xiao Xia. Making this kind of thing didn’t tire him out—in fact, he found it incredibly fun. To him, this was one of life’s little pleasures.

“It’s delicious!” Xiulan nodded with certainty, then reached out to feed Lin Heng a bite.

“So sweet~” Xiao Xia’s eyes curved into little crescent moons.

Lin Heng beamed. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He nodded and said, “As long as it’s tasty. Let’s not bring this out during the New Year.”

“Of course not. This is mine.”

Xiulan nodded, first finding a plastic bag to store the ejiao and the ejiao cake. Then she placed them neatly into a wooden box and tucked it away in the cabinet.

Once she was done, Xiulan said, “Come on, let’s go check on how the braised donkey head turned out.”

The three of them headed to the kitchen. By now, the fire under the braising pot had naturally gone out, but the donkey head and tail had been soaking in the broth all night, and the aroma was mouthwatering.

As soon as they fished it out, a rich, fragrant scent of spices hit them. The glistening red color was incredibly appetizing.

“It’s completely tender now.”

Xiulan gave it a gentle pull with her hand, and the meat easily separated from the bone. She placed it in a pot and tore off a big chunk for Lin Heng.

The donkey skin had a satisfying chew, and the meat was tender and rich with the flavor of the braising spices. If you savored it carefully, you could even taste the natural aroma of the donkey meat itself. Lin Heng could only say—it truly lived up to its reputation as “dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the ground.”

“Let’s bring some over for Mom and Dad to have at lunch.” Lin Heng gave a thumbs-up.

“Sure.”

Xiulan nodded and tore off some more. The three of them each had a bit, then mixed up some paste and began putting up couplets and door decorations.

Xiao Xia, tugging along her little dog, asked curiously, “What are we doing?”

“This is for the New Year.”

Xiulan answered while she and Lin Heng pasted up the couplets.

Once the couplets, door pictures, and the upside-down “Fu” characters were all in place, Lin Heng hung up the big red lanterns. Instantly, the whole place radiated festive cheer.

Xiao Xia looked around curiously, then followed Lin Heng and Xiulan back inside. The main door inside the house was also decorated with couplets, and each smaller door had a “Fu” character pasted on it.

“Now it really feels festive.”

Lin Heng nodded in satisfaction.

Xiulan had already prepared everything and smiled. “Let’s go, we’ll head over to Mom and Dad’s.”

Xiao Xia insisted on bringing her little Lai Fu along. By the time they arrived, everyone from Elder Brother’s family was already there.

Lin Heng handed out some firecrackers for Xiao Xia and the others to play with.

“Thanks, Second Uncle!”

Lin Wei and the others were thrilled to get the firecrackers. They ran off to the courtyard to blow up an old porcelain bowl, and even set some off in dirt piles and cow dung.

“Daddy, you light it!”

Xiao Xia didn’t dare light the firecrackers herself, but she loved the loud bangs, especially when they shattered porcelain bowls.

Lin Heng had nothing better to do, so he kept her company. Every time a firecracker went off, she giggled like a fool. But when it was her turn to light one, she’d shrink back again and again.

The most pitiful was little Lai Fu, who followed her around and kept getting startled stiff by the explosions.

The adults played cards for a couple of days, the kids played with firecrackers—this was the New Year, full of joy and laughter.

“Reunion dinner’s ready! Time to bring out the dishes!”

With Mother Lin’s call, everyone got up to help serve. This year’s New Year’s Eve lunch was far better than in previous years. The first round alone had twelve dishes, and there were still more to come—pork leg, steamed meat, fish, chicken, and more.

The kids were already seated, drooling over the food on the table, just waiting for the adults to give the word to dig in.

Lin Heng felt a wave of emotion. As a child, he had looked forward to the New Year because it was the only time there was so much good food and he could play freely with his friends. Even if he got into trouble, his parents wouldn’t scold him during that time.

In his memory, it was the most anticipated, most wonderful time of the year.

Now that he was grown, he still looked forward to it—but not for the food or the fun. It was because this was the only time he could gather with family and friends. Everyone was so busy the rest of the year that these moments were rare.

Father Lin lit a string of firecrackers and came running back in, grinning. Amid the crackling explosions, the reunion dinner began.

“Let’s eat, let’s drink!”

The adults raised their wine glasses, the kids lifted their sodas. Everyone celebrated together, the atmosphere brimming with joy.

The children picked out their favorite big chunks of food and stuffed their mouths. Normally, the parents would nag them about table manners—don’t lean on the table, don’t eat too much at once, don’t hold your chopsticks the whole time—but today, no one said a word. Everyone was too happy.

Mother Lin loved to serve everyone food, while Xiulan and Liu Juan kept putting dishes on their parents’ plates.

Lin Heng ate heartily and drank freely, chatting casually with everyone.

His mom’s cooking had improved. The spread on the table was excellent. His favorites were the fried dumplings, the braised pork leg, and the donkey head.

Before long, Father Lin was drunk. He patted Lin Heng’s shoulder and said, “This year, our family owes it all to you. You’ve truly become my pride. Now I’ve got real face in the village. After a lifetime, I can finally hold my head high.”

“Dad, let’s have another drink.”

Lin Heng smiled and poured his father another glass. Becoming his dad’s pride had been one of his childhood dreams. But as he grew up, dreams faded. Life was hard enough just trying to survive, let alone make your parents proud.

In his past life, he had fallen into debt and forced his nearly fifty-year-old father to go work in the coal mines to help pay it off. The guilt and regret from that haunted him day and night.

In this life, he had finally become his father’s pride through his own efforts. The strong liquor burned his stomach, but what burned even more was the fire in his heart.

After drinking with Lin Heng, Father Lin turned to drink with Lin Yue, pouring out his heartfelt thoughts.

Both Lin Heng and Lin Yue thought their father was drunk, but he insisted he wasn’t.

“Honestly, there’s no need to say so much. We’re family. If we all work together, put our strength in the same direction, life will only get better.”

Lin Heng smiled as he spoke. He felt a little tipsy himself.

“You’re right, little brother. Let’s all pull together.”

Lin Yue nodded and downed his drink in one go.

Once the wine was finished, no one drank any more. After eating a bit more, they started on the rice.

On New Year’s Eve, dumplings were also a must. Mother Lin’s pork and scallion dumplings were a hit. Everyone had a big bowl.

“Come on, let’s go light more firecrackers!”

After the meal, everyone shouted excitedly.

Life doesn’t need too many reasons. As long as you’re happy, that’s enough.

(End of Chapter)

— Translator’s Notes —

• dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the ground: A Chinese folk saying praising the delicious taste of donkey meat, comparing it to the mythical delicacy of dragon meat.

• donkey gelatin: Known as ‘ejiao’ in Chinese, a traditional gelatin made from donkey hide, highly valued in Chinese medicine for its supposed health benefits, especially for women.

• baijiu: A strong Chinese liquor, typically distilled from sorghum, with a high alcohol content.

• couplets: Poetic phrases written on red paper and pasted on doorframes during Chinese New Year, expressing hopes for good fortune in the coming year.