Chapter 19: Is It New Year Already?

Zhou Yimin wandered around for a bit and ran into a few kids along the way. They had picked some small wild fruits from somewhere and handed him a few, saying they were delicious.

At a glance, he recognized them as lantern fruits.

Those things looked sour.

And in fact, they were quite sour, with just a slight hint of sweetness. If he remembered correctly, they were also called ground cherries—of course, they were sour!

“You guys actually dare to eat these? Aren’t you afraid of getting scolded at home?” Zhou Yimin chuckled.

Eating too many sour things could make you hungrier. They were already struggling to get enough food, and yet these kids were snacking on this? No wonder they got scolded. But then again, that little bit of sweetness probably made them reluctant to throw them away.

“Uncle Yimin, I also caught this.” One of the kids suddenly pulled out a rat from his coat.

Zhou Yimin’s scalp went numb.

The other kids looked on enviously.

To them, that was meat!

“Alright, I see it. You’re amazing. Now hurry home!” Zhou Yimin told them.

He didn’t bother lecturing them about hygiene or telling them not to eat rats. In times like these, when people were so desperate for food that they were gnawing on tree bark, who was he to be picky?

“Big Brother, rat meat is delicious! I know where another one is. I’ll take you to catch it,” Laifu eagerly volunteered, full of enthusiasm.

He and his younger brother had discovered a hidden rat hole that no one else knew about.

“I know too! I know too! Big Brother, I’ll take you to catch one,” Laicai quickly chimed in, afraid of missing out on the credit.

“Catching rats? Doesn’t our family have food? Come home with me,” Zhou Yimin glared at Laifu.

When they got home, Zhou Yimin saw that the blunt-mouthed guy from earlier was getting a serious beating. His father wasn’t holding back at all—he had already broken a stick.

Zhou Yimin’s grandfather was watching from the side without any intention of stopping him.

“If you don’t know how to talk properly, then just don’t talk! Would people call you mute?” The father scolded while hitting him.

Only when the old man noticed his grandson had returned did he finally let them off the hook. With a dark expression, he said, “Go home! And be more careful with your words next time.”

The father and son finally sighed in relief.

Everyone in the village had the surname Zhou, but Zhou Yimin’s grandfather had a much higher seniority. Even those older than him had to call him “Uncle.” On top of that, Zhou Yimin had recently done a lot for the village, earning their respect. No one would dare offend his family now.

“Uncle Sixteen, this brat has no brains. Please don’t take it to heart,” the middle-aged man apologized to Zhou Yimin.

Zhou Yimin was once again reminded of his ridiculously high seniority in the village. A man in his forties was calling him “Uncle Sixteen.” The funny thing was, he didn’t even recognize this family.

He waved his hand. “We’re all family here. If it was unintentional, just clear things up, and that’s that. No need to keep hitting him.”

He was giving them an out.

“Yes, yes, we’ve already cleared it up,” the man quickly said.

Then, he smacked his son on the back of the head. “What’s your mouth for? Can’t you call him Great-Uncle?”

The young man was exasperated—he got hit for talking and hit for not talking. What was he supposed to do?

Calling him “Great-Uncle” felt really weird.

“…Great-Uncle,” he finally muttered.

Zhou Yimin was speechless. Someone about his age was calling him “Great-Uncle”? In a few years, if this guy had a kid, would he be calling him “Great-Great-Uncle”?

He took out a pack of “Big Front Gate” cigarettes and handed them each a stick.

“A misunderstanding is just that. We’re all family—come by and visit whenever you have time.”

“Of course, of course!”

Once the father and son left, the old man finally cracked a smile. “Yimin, you must be hungry. I’ll have your grandma make you something to eat.”

There’s a kind of hunger that only grandparents think you have.

Zhou Yimin said, “Grandpa, Grandma is already quite old. Let me do the cooking instead. You two just sit back and enjoy a meal made by your grandson.”

“Good, good! Grandpa is in for a treat!” The old man beamed.

He felt very comforted. His son was unreliable, but at least his grandson was filial. He was deeply grateful to his daughter-in-law—Zhou Yimin’s mother—for giving them such a wonderful grandson.

Unfortunately, she didn’t live long enough to enjoy a good life.

“Oh, right! Here, take this 10 yuan from Dazheng,” the old man said.

Originally, Zhou Dazheng had given them some loose change, but the old man had exchanged it for a single 10-yuan bill to make it easier for his beloved grandson to use.

Zhou Yimin didn’t take it. “Grandpa, you keep it. My dad left me a lot—over a thousand yuan! I can’t even spend it all.”

Hearing that his son had at least left behind a thousand yuan before running off with that widow, the old man snorted coldly. “That bastard still had a shred of humanity, at least.”

Daily routine: cursing his son.

Still, he shoved the money into Zhou Yimin’s hands anyway.

Forget this 10 yuan—even all their family assets would eventually go to their eldest grandson. Living in the village, they didn’t have much need for money anyway.

Zhou Yimin headed to the kitchen and checked the ingredients. There wasn’t much, but he could make do.

Laifu sneaked in to help with the fire.

“I’ll help too, Big Brother!” Laicai refused to be left behind.

Laifang, the little girl, got anxious and ran in with a piece of firewood in her arms.

Zhou Yimin washed some rice and started cooking, taking into account Third Uncle’s entire family of five.

The pork he had brought back last time had already been turned into cured meat by his grandparents. Well, “cured” was a bit of a stretch—it had only been sun-dried for two or three days.

He cut off about two pounds. If his grandparents saw, they’d probably call him wasteful—it was too extravagant!

Then, he went to check the vegetable garden. The crops were limited in variety and not growing well. He pulled up a few garlic sprouts—perfect for stir-frying with the cured meat.

He also picked some leafy greens, being careful not to uproot the whole plant since there weren’t many.

The menu was set: stir-fried cured pork with garlic sprouts, steamed egg custard, and stir-fried greens.

By the time his grandparents caught the aroma and came over, it was already too late.

“Is it New Year already? Why are we eating so well?”

Rice, eggs, meat—and even the stir-fried greens had way too much oil! Grandma’s mouth twitched in distress. Third Aunt shook her head as well—her nephew didn’t know how to be frugal.

“Big Brother, it smells so good!” Laifu was excited.

Laicai took a deep sniff, slurping back his snot. “Big Brother, your cooking smells even better than my mom’s!”

Laifang’s eyes kept darting toward the plate of meat, practically drooling.

Third Aunt couldn’t help but laugh—of course, it smelled good. It was eggs and meat!

“Third Uncle still at work? Call him back for dinner,” Zhou Yimin said.

Even though the village had some food in the communal kitchen now, it was just sweet potatoes and potatoes. Hardly a satisfying meal.

“Alright, I’ll go get him!” Third Aunt immediately ran off.

If she didn’t, her husband would definitely complain later.

“Yimin, let Grandma handle the cooking from now on,” Grandma said tactfully.

That jar of oil wouldn’t last long at this rate! But she didn’t want to say it outright and risk scaring her grandson away.

Zhou Yimin knew exactly what his grandmother was worried about. He smiled and said, “Grandma, after eating, I’ll make a trip to the steel factory to handle something for the village and bring back a bucket of peanut oil while I’m at it.

From now on, you and Grandpa can eat without worry. As long as it’s food, I can get it.”

The lard they had could still last for a while—after all, Grandpa had just rendered it a few days ago and they hadn’t used much yet.

(End of Chapter)