Chapter 3

Xin Qi brought back a small bag of dried shiitake mushrooms and hazel mushrooms, along with a bag of potatoes.

The dried goods were a parting gift from fellow educated youth who had pooled their money together, while the potatoes were this month’s ration from the village.

She brought it all back with her, and it was clear—Xin Qi had no intention of returning.

When Zhang Lan saw the bag of dried goods, her eyes lit up. “Wow, this is good stuff, and quite a lot of it too.”

“Xin Qi, leave a little for your sister-in-law, won’t you? I’m visiting my family on the second day of the New Year—it’d be perfect.”

Her words were overheard by Li Huilan, who came out of the kitchen and glared at her. “Only your family deserves to eat good stuff? What, the rest of us don’t have mouths?”

Zhang Lan replied sheepishly, “Mom, don’t say that. My family’s big. Our household is just a few people—we won’t be able to finish it all anyway.”

Li Huilan flared up. “So what if we can’t eat it all in one sitting? Can’t I enjoy it over a few meals? And just your family visits on the second day? My son-in-law isn’t coming that day too?”

Xin Guoping quickly tried to mediate. “Alright, alright, enough. Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

Li Huilan snapped at him, “You always play the good guy.”

Amidst the bickering, Zhang Lan served the food, Xin Qi helped set the table with bowls and chopsticks.

Once they sat down to eat, Xin Qi noticed a bowl of noodle soup in front of Hao Hao, with a few drops of sesame oil on top.

Everyone else only had cabbage soup and coarse grain pancakes.

Xin Qi didn’t say anything and quietly ate her first meal back at the Xin household.

After dinner, Hao Hao was exhausted from a day of play and could barely keep his eyes open.

Xin Jianjun helped him wash up quickly, and once Hao Hao hit the bed, he fell asleep immediately.

Zhang Lan cleaned the dishes, Xin Guoping went to the bedroom to soak his feet, and Li Huilan sat on the sofa.

Xin Jianjun came out of the bedroom, and Li Huilan called out to him, “Jianjun, go to our room and bring out the camp bed.”

The room was a welfare apartment allocated to Xin Guoping. Since the Xin family was large, they were assigned a bigger two-bedroom unit, which was later partitioned into three rooms.

Now, Xin Guoping and Li Huilan had one room, Xin Jianjun, Zhang Lan, and Hao Hao shared another, and the youngest son Xin Liyi had the third.

For this era, such living conditions were already considered quite good.

Xin Qi had no room of her own and had to sleep in the living room on a camp bed.

Xin Jianjun set up the bed against the wall and hung curtains around it to give her some privacy.

Xin Qi thanked him. He gave a quiet “hm” in reply without saying much else.

When Xin Guoping came out to dump his foot bath water and saw the camp bed set up, he frowned.

“Didn’t Liyi say he’s not coming back tonight? Why not let Xin Qi sleep in his bed?”

“What if he suddenly comes back? The bed’s made now. If she doesn’t sleep there tonight, she’ll have to soon anyway.”

“She’s not staying long. Just leave it.”

Xin Guoping wanted to suggest that Liyi sleep in the living room instead—after all, he was a man, and it wasn’t appropriate for Xin Qi to sleep out there.

But knowing how Li Huilan doted on her youngest son, he dropped the idea, dumped the water, and went to bed.

Xin Qi could tell—Li Huilan had no intention of letting her stay.

But it was only her first day back. Everything had to be taken one step at a time. She wasn’t putting all her hopes on Li Huilan anyway.

She couldn’t return to Harbin, so she’d have to figure out a way to stay in Beijing.

There wasn’t much entertainment in this era, so people usually bathed and went to bed early.

Lying on the bed, Xin Qi felt that ever since she inexplicably time-traveled to this era, she could finally get a good night’s sleep.

As for how she’d manage to stay in Beijing, the troubles waiting for her back in Harbin, and the real reason she would rather die than return—those could all wait for tomorrow.

Xin Qi slept soundly. When Li Huilan woke her up, she was still dreaming about traveling the world. But when she opened her eyes, what she saw was the chaotic hustle and bustle of the Xin household.

It was New Year’s Eve. Early in the morning, families in the compound had already begun preparing for the festival.

Back in this era, the New Year was still a festive occasion. Though people weren’t wealthy, after working hard all year, they looked forward to eating and drinking well during these few days, celebrating prosperity and hoping for a better year ahead.

Except for Xin Liyi, who wasn’t home, and little Hao Hao, the rest of the five adults, including Xin Qi, had all been assigned tasks by Li Huilan.

Li Huilan was the head chef for the New Year’s Eve dinner, with Zhang Lan as her assistant. The other three were left in the living room to make dumplings.

Xin Qi had never made dumplings before. In her time, she just bought frozen ones from the supermarket whenever she wanted to eat them.

But Xin Jianjun was clearly a dumpling master—the wrappers he rolled were thin, and the fillings generous. Even Xin Guoping could wrap one every two seconds.

Only Xin Qi’s dumplings kept falling apart or bursting at the seams.

Seeing this, Xin Guoping laughed heartily and slowed down to teach her how to wrap a few properly. Xin Qi listened eagerly and enjoyed learning.

It was rare for her to experience such peaceful leisure. Her own family back in her time was cold and distant, and once she started working, she hadn’t gone home for years—spending every New Year alone.

The atmosphere in the living room was warm and cozy.

But in the kitchen, things were tense.

The kitchen was usually Li Huilan’s domain. In the early months after Zhang Lan married into the Xin family, Li Huilan had handed over cooking duties to her.

But after Zhang Lan was caught several times sneaking rations and subsidies from the household to give to her own family, Li Huilan took back control of the kitchen.

Only during big occasions like today would she allow Zhang Lan to help out. Zhang Lan washed and chopped vegetables quickly and efficiently.

Because it was New Year’s, they had bought more than usual.

Looking at the table full of good food, Zhang Lan couldn’t help but feel tempted.

“Mom, we bought a lot this year. When I go back to visit my family on the second day of the New Year, could you let me take a chicken and a fish?”

Li Huilan actually laughed from anger. “Can’t you see how many people are in the house this year? If you take that, how are we supposed to celebrate?”

“Mom, we’re not exactly short on food. You know how tough things are at my family’s house. They can’t even afford a bite of meat all year.”

“Even if not for me, think about Hao Hao. His grandparents shouldn’t go without meat either, right?”

Zhang Lan’s family really was poor. She had seven siblings. Her father had passed away in an accident, and her mother was in poor health. The whole household survived on his pension.

As the eldest, Zhang Lan had supported the family since she was young. Her siblings were all younger than her, one after another. Without her help, the family wouldn’t have survived.

Because of her family’s situation, Li Huilan had opposed Zhang Lan marrying into the Xin family from the start.

But Xin Jianjun and Zhang Lan had been classmates since childhood. Back in school, Xin Jianjun used to save his own rations to bring food for her.

Later, Zhang Lan got a job at the machinery factory in place of her late father, which gave her an official worker’s status and a steady salary.

After years of resistance, Li Huilan finally gave in and accepted the marriage.

But after getting married, Zhang Lan continued to use household resources every month to support her family, which increasingly frustrated Li Huilan.

“Don’t use Hao Hao as an excuse. With in-laws like yours, he’d be better off without them.”

“All these years, how many red envelopes has he ever gotten from your family at New Year?”

“And you have the nerve to say we’re not lacking in food? Take a look around this house. Tell me what in here was bought with your money. If you want, I’ll pack it all up and send it to your whole Zhang family.”

Zhang Lan was thoroughly humiliated. Inwardly, she bitterly lamented her fate—born into poverty, she had shouldered her entire family’s burdens since she was little.

With a family too poor to lean on, she now had to suffer humiliation in her husband’s household.

All she wanted was to bring back a little meat to help her parents recuperate, yet she got such ruthless treatment from Li Huilan.