◎ Second update ◎  

When Lu Yuan came home from work, he heard the aunts in the courtyard congratulating him. When he saw Cheng Caili and the hospital report, he confirmed that his wife was indeed pregnant! 

The two had been praying for a child for many years, and finally, it came true. Lu Yuan’s hands were shaking as he looked at the test report. 

“Caili!” Lu Yuan’s eyes were red as he looked at his wife sitting on the chair excitedly. He stuttered a little when he spoke, “Are you really pregnant?” 

He had to hear the answer from his wife herself! 

“Really.” Cheng Caili grinned, looking at Lu Yuan and thinking of the ups and downs they had experienced over the years. She felt a bit emotional. She remembered all the hardships they had endured for this. 

Lu Yuan took a step forward, wanting to hug his wife excitedly. “Caili, it’s really happening! Hahahaha, I’m going to be a father!” 

“Oh, oh, stay away from me.” Cheng Caili moved aside, keeping a bit of distance from Lu Yuan, “Don’t hurt the baby.” 

Cheng Caili was very careful. After struggling to conceive this child, she was worried that Lu Yuan’s excitement might affect the baby. She needed to be extra cautious because the first three months were crucial and problems could easily come up during this time. 

“Okay, okay, please sit down.” Lu Yuan rubbed his hands and felt relieved when he saw Caili sitting on the sofa. What should he do? 

It was his first time being a father, and he had no experience! 

Cheng Caili watched her husband busying around the house. Sometimes he tried to get her some water, and other times he wanted to go to the hospital to get a certificate to buy milk. He was like a busy bee, always buzzing around her. 

Because Cheng Caili went to the hospital for a check-up after being reminded by everyone in the courtyard, she did not hide the fact that she was pregnant. In one night, the entire courtyard knew that she was pregnant and was going to be a mother. 

With the good news in the courtyard, Wei Jinrong was so excited that he almost wanted to call a meeting, but it was only after everyone talked him out of it that he gave up the idea. 

Liang Baozhen was also surprised when she saw Cheng Caili coming to her house. She had just said it casually yesterday, and it really happen? 

“Baozhen, you’re truly amazing!” Cheng Caili now felt that Liang Baozhen was even more powerful than Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth. She had prayed for years for a child, and when Liang Baozhen made a casual remark yesterday, she didn’t think much of it, but it actually came true right away. “You should have seen how excited Lu Yuan was when he heard the news.” 

Cheng Caili is beautiful, and her short hair used to make her look cute. But now, when she talks about her child, her eyes light up, and she can’t hide the happiness on her face, and her smile is full of tenderness. 

“Brother Lu will definitely be happy. He likes children, right? I’ve seen him always playing with our Xiaowei and Xiaoya.” 

“I wish my child could be as pretty and cute as Xiaoya.” Cheng Caili likes daughters and hopes to have one, but her mother-in-law probably won’t be happy, so she hopes to have a grandson. 

Zhou Yun also heard about the happy event and came to the yard to congratulate Xiao Cheng. After hearing what she said, she joked that she should give birth to two babies, a boy and a girl. 

But Cheng Caili shook her head and said, “No, Lu Yuan and his steel factory said they would respond to the country’s call to have only one child. Our supply and marketing cooperative also held a thought meeting, and we have to implement family planning.” 

“Is it that strict?” Zhou Yun hadn’t been to the factory for a long time and didn’t know things were so formal now. 

“It’s not particularly strict, but I heard from the director that it’s best to follow the policy. Otherwise, it might be difficult to get promoted in the future. Everyone is more or less the same—some have only one child, or they marry late and have children later. But if you have a lot of children, it can hurt your chances of getting promoted.” Cheng Caili had already discussed with Lu Yuan today that they would only have this one child. 

“Well, you’re the mother, so it’s better to have the child you want, a daughter you like.” Liang Baozhen thought of Cheng Caili’s daughter in her dream, who was smart and cute, and comforted her, “Maybe it really is a daughter.” 

“Hahaha, I believe you! What you say sounds so comforting.” Cheng Caili really wanted a daughter. She didn’t like naughty boys. Plus, Liang Baozhen had predicted that she was pregnant yesterday, so she didn’t care about anything and was willing to believe what Liang Baozhen said. 

Liang Baozhen: I accidentally became a prophet. “…” 

*** 

Because Cheng Caili was pregnant, the nervous Lu Yuan didn’t even let her handle the special supplies for the festival. 

Liang Baozhen watched as people in the courtyard rushed to check a newspaper that listed the special supplies for this year’s New Year. 

“What’s on it?” Everyone’s heads were bunched together, and she could only see a few words. 

“There is a fish, a chicken, some sugar, flour, and soybeans…” Liu Nianhua also cared about this. After all, only special supplies can help everyone have a good New Year. 

Liang Baozhen leaned over and saw that the newspaper said nearly twenty kinds of non-staple food were rationed for the New Year this year. The first item was fish, which was the most important for the New Year. Each person was allotted one catty of it, and it was only available for seven days. Then there was chicken—one chicken per household, and it was only available for six days. There were also three catties of eggs per household, three catties of sugar, one catty of cooking oil, and three catties of flour per person. In addition, there were candy, peanuts, melon seeds, cigarettes, and alcohol… 

Only fish and chicken were in short supply. If you missed those seven days, you wouldn’t be able to buy them even if you wanted to. 

“Go home and get a pen and paper to record it,” Aunt Li reminded everyone. “Don’t forget the time to buy fish.” Someone had made a mistake in remembering before and ended up not buying fish during the New Year. 

“Baozhen, come here; I brought some extra paper and a pen.” Liu Nianhua had an elementary school student at home, so she had all the necessary paper and pens. 

“Thank you, Sister Hua, but I don’t need it; I already memorized everything.” 

“You memorized everything?” Liu Nianhua had just seen Liang Baozhen for a short while, and she memorized it right away? That’s impossible. “Really? Then let me test you.” 

“Sure,” Liang Baozhen was confident in her memory. 

“How much fish can we buy and when can we buy it?” 

“One pound per person, available from February 7 to February 14.” 

Liu Nianhua nodded and then asked a few random questions about the purchase amount and time of a few non-staple foods. Liang Baozhen answered all of them. This time she really believed it. “You have a really good memory.” 

Thinking back, she remembered how tiring it was back then to memorize bus routes and toll stations. 

Starting today, they can buy the rationed non-staple food for the New Year. Liang Baozhen and her grandmother took Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya with them. Xu Shengjie was still in the factory. There was a problem with the equipment in the State Cotton Factory again, so he helped to repair it.

Using the household’s grain and oil ration book and based on the standard for a family of five, Liang Baozhen bought the special New Year supplies: two and a half pounds of peanuts, five pounds of fava beans, two and a half pounds of sunflower seeds, one pound of soybeans, two and a half pounds of rapeseed oil, two pounds of peanut oil, half a pound of sesame oil, a bottle of Tongzhou old wine, two pounds of green onions, sixty-five blocks of tofu, three pounds of eggs… 

Each household was allowed a pack of ten cigarettes, but they didn’t bother. They planned to wait until Xu Shengjie was free to buy some for himself to make sure they don’t get the wrong one. 

Finally, there are fish and chicken, which will be available starting ten days before the New Year. They have to line up early then, otherwise they will worry about not being able to buy them or not being able to pick the good ones. 

Before the New Year, every household becomes busy. They clean the house in their free time during the day, sweeping out the bad luck in the house with a broom. The tables, chairs, benches, drawers, and wardrobes must also be wiped clean. 

Meanwhile, Xu Shengjie had been incredibly busy at the factory. In the past ten years, when the idea of the ‘Revolutionary Spring Festival’ was proposed, there were no holidays for New Year. Even on New Year’s Eve, people had to actively participate in labor, so the State Cotton Factory naturally continued operating. 

However, at this time, a large number of machines and equipment were malfunctioning, and Xu Shengjie, who was able to repair the equipment, was also forced to work overtime. 

This was the third day Xu Shengjie had missed dinner due to his busy work at the factory. Meanwhile, Liang Baozhen and the rest of the family discussed their New Year preparations at the dinner table. 

“Grandma, can we set off firecrackers this year?” Xu Shengwei likes setting off firecrackers the most, but in the past few years, the old customs had to be destroyed, and customs such as setting off firecrackers, kowtowing, and dragon and lion dances were all banned. 

“Let’s see if others are setting them off,” Zhou Yun said since she wasn’t sure either. The large movement had ended last year, and with the New Year approaching, the neighborhood office hadn’t visited each household to announce the restrictions. Maybe there will be some changes this year? 

Liang Baozhen picked up the boiled cabbage in the basin and thought it was very likely. In the past, the management in the village was not so strict. But Xiaowei said that there had not been firecrackers in the city for several years and there were always people checking. But this year was different. 

“If everyone buys them, we’ll buy them too.” Liang Baozhen planned to ask Liu Nianhua, Dong Xiufen, and Qian Jingjing tomorrow, especially Dong Xiufen’s family; Uncle Wei must have insider information. 

“Sister-in-law, I want one too.” Xu Shengya also likes to set off firecrackers. The crackling sound is so lively! 

“Okay, if we can set them off, we’ll buy them.” 

Before Liang Baozhen could finish her words, the door of the house was suddenly pushed open, followed by the voice of Xu Shengjie. 

“What are you buying?” 

It was already dark, but in fact, it was only a little after six o’clock. It always gets dark early in winter. When Xu Shengjie walked into the house, the cold air came in with him. Xu Shengya, feeling the chill, huddle up and called out to her brother to hurry up and close the door. 

Liang Baozhen stood up and went to get the dishes and chopsticks from the nearby cabinet and replied, “We were talking about buying firecrackers. I wonder if we can set them off this year?” 

“Probably, this year the policy is a bit more relaxed, just don’t go too far.” Xu Shengjie was very hungry. He had been busy tinkering with the equipment all day. Now, he picked up the bowl and chopsticks and started to eat with big mouthfuls. 

“Slow down.” Zhou Yun still thought his grandson was a child and was worried that he might choke. 

When Xu Shengjie had almost finished eating, Liang Baozhen asked about the factory, “Why are so many pieces of equipment breaking down lately?” 

“There’s a revolution going on.” Xu Shengjie finished up the remaining food and finally filled his stomach.

The State Cotton Factory relied on many old machines that had been running for decades. Normally, they functioned well, but this time, with Chen Yong having taken on too many orders, the equipment was overloaded. As a result, there were widespread malfunctions that needed fixing before the machines could be used again. 

Liang Baozhen was actually still thinking about one thing. She wondered if this had anything to do with the inferior cotton that Chen Siming later purchased in exchange for bribes. That cotton had a lot of impurities and was quite rough, which was a heavy burden on the old cotton equipment of the State Cotton Factory. 

But now there was no evidence, or rather, the problem wasn’t serious enough yet, so she decided to wait and see. 

*** 

There is good news for the New Year this year. The policy from above has been relaxed. Not only can they set off the firecrackers, but the State Cotton Factory also gives everyone two days off, with people taking turns on duty and taking turns off. 

Although the break was not as long as previous Spring Festival holidays, it was better than not having any days off at all. 

On New Year’s Eve, the family got up early to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner. Xu Shengjie bought a large fish from the front gate, which is often used for gifts and favors. Liang Baozhen followed her grandmother to buy two of the most expensive special-grade hairtail fish, which cost thirty eight cents per pound. They are wide and have thick meat, they bought a total of five pounds. One is eaten on New Year’s Eve and the other is eaten on the first day of the new year. 

They also bought an old hen, half for soup and half for a cold dish. 

In the large courtyard, the Xu family’s table was filled with New Year’s Eve dinner: chicken soup, braised pork, stewed pork, cured meat, stewed sea bass, cold chicken, four joy meatballs, pork and cabbage dumplings, mustard pickles, large white steamed buns made with Fuqiang flour, stir-fried cabbage, cucumber slices, and wood ear mushrooms with meat. 

The family sat down and prepared to eat!