The next morning, as soon as the sun rose, Xu Ning got up. Noticing that there wasn’t much water left in the barrel, she took a bucket and a carrying pole and headed towards the well. On the way, she happened to run into Qin Hongbin, who was also going to fetch water. They chatted as they walked to the well. Qin Hongbin said, “I heard from the village head that today, five more educated youths are coming to Yushu Village. With only two rooms available, it’s going to be crowded again.”

Xu Ning thought to herself that it wasn’t just five; there would be several more in a month.

As they neared the well, Xu Ning looked up and saw her savior walking towards her with water. Just as she was about to greet them, her savior passed by without acknowledging her. Xu Ning stood there momentarily stunned. Qin Hongbin said, “Xu, you go ahead and draw water first.” Xu Ning snapped back to reality and replied, “No, you go first. I’m not in a hurry.”

When Xu Ning carried the water back to the cow shed, she saw Old Chen leading a bullock cart out. Her savior was sweeping the yard. Old Chen saw her and said, “Xu, fetching water again?” Xu Ning responded, “Grandpa Chen, going to the county town so early today?”

Old Chen replied, “Yes, I need to go to the county town early today. I’ll also need to go to the township later to pick up the educated youths.” After saying that, Old Chen drove off with the bullock cart. Xu Ning carried the water back home, sighed as she walked, and thought that it might be a while before she could repay her debt of gratitude. Perhaps she would have to wait until the original owner’s parents arrived.

After breakfast, Xu Ning and Xu An went to work. Xu Ning’s task for the day was to clean the drying platform with several aunts and older women. Starting the next day, they would begin harvesting beans and sorghum. Today, she needed to tidy up and clean everything that needed to be done. Her heroic act of killing the wild boar had already spread throughout Yushu Village. Whether adults or children, everyone who saw her would ask, “Xu, was it really you who killed the wild boar?”

Early in the morning, Jianmin, from Aunt Dashuan’s family, came to her house and asked, “Xu, how did you kill the wild boar? What martial art did you use? Can you teach me?”

Xu Ning…

Eventually, overwhelmed by his persistence, she vaguely told him it was Shaolin martial arts.

Jianmin then asked, “Xu, can you break bricks with your hand? Do you practice Iron Head Skill? Did you kill that wild boar with just a finger?”

Xu Ning… Was it even possible to have a normal conversation anymore?

Xu An was laughing so hard that he nearly fell to the ground.

Xu Ning, irritated by the constant questioning, pulled a long face and squinted her eyes, looking at everyone with a sideways glance. With her haircut that barely differed from a crew cut, she resembled a small thorn, even more like someone capable of killing wild boars. Finally, her ears were quiet again.

On her way home from work, Xu Ning saw Xu An surrounded by several children who were asking him about how his sister had killed the wild boar. One of the children asked, “Xu An, Jianmin said your sister practices Shaolin kung fu. Is that true? Can you do it too? Has she taught you? Does she still take apprentices?”

Xu Ning…

She thought, “Maybe after many years? By then, I won’t be in Yushu Village anymore, and Yushu Village will still have my legend.”

Xu Ning stepped forward and told the children, “I don’t take apprentices,” and then grabbed Xu An and ran off.

Once the siblings got home, they looked at each other and burst into laughter, holding their bellies. Xu Ning then reminded Xu An, “Don’t let anything slip. We don’t want to cause trouble for our benefactor.”

Xu An nodded earnestly and said, “Sister, I know. I won’t say anything.”

Xu Ning cooked dinner while Xu An went to turn the dried wild vegetables.  After they finished eating, they heard loud voices coming from the youth camp. The siblings ignored it, washed the dishes, and went to rest, as they had to go back to work in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, after work, Xu Ning decided to stay in and steam some buns. The autumn harvest would start the next day, and she would be working late into the evening, not returning until dark. Xu An gathered the dried wild vegetables and put them in a basket to continue drying them the next day. They had already dried three large bags of wild vegetables and had more from the past few days that still needed drying. This should be enough for several people to eat through the winter.

Xu An asked Xu Ning, “Sister, are we still going to dig for wild vegetables?”

Xu Ning replied, “No, we won’t. We’ll be too busy with the autumn harvest. After the harvest, the hazelnuts, pine nuts, and chestnuts on the mountain will be ripe. We’ll go up a few more times to gather them for winter. We also need to collect more firewood.”

Xu Ning put the wild vegetables Xu An had collected into the cabinet in his room, as there were too many jars and pots in the kitchen. She stored the dried vegetables in his room since it was slightly larger than hers. She thought that once Xu Yang and Xu Mo arrived, they could sleep there. She planned to store the grains in her own room, where she could add to the grain stored in the space.

That evening, Xu Ning steamed a pot of buns and a pot of dumplings. The dumplings were filled with pork cracklings and dried green beans. She had saved some cracklings from when she rendered lard a few days ago. Xu Ning took out a bowl of cracklings from the space, which still contained the cracklings from ten pigs she had processed before her time-travel. She had two full bowls of cracklings, and each time she rendered lard, she would mix a bit of the old with the new.

Xu Ning salted a piece of wild boar meat. Xu An asked, “Sister, should we send some meat to Uncle Benefactor?”

Xu Ning replied, “Not yet. There are other people in the cow shed. It’s not wise to go over before we know their character. If something goes wrong and we cause trouble for our benefactor, it would be like repaying kindness with enmity.”

Xu An said, “Sister, Grandpa Qi is a good person. He and Uncle Benefactor share the same kitchen. Once, when I was fishing by the creek, Auntie from the cow shed carried a bundle of firewood down the mountain, and some village idlers tried to steal it. Grandpa Qi chased them away with a bullwhip.”

Xu Ning thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s just send some buns and steamed bread for now.” She took ten buns and ten steamed bread and set off to deliver them.

The siblings went after dinner, as they were concerned about running into villagers coming down from the mountain or young intellectuals going to fetch water.

When they arrived at the cow shed, Xu Ning handed the buns and steamed bread to Grandpa Qi and said, “Grandpa Qi, these are the buns and steamed bread I made. I brought some for you.” She peeked inside.

Grandpa Qi, knowing that Uncle Benefactor had returned covered in wild boar blood the previous day, didn’t let them inside. He accepted the buns and steamed bread and told the siblings, “Thank you, Xu Ning and Little An. We haven’t had dinner yet. We’ll all try Xu Ning’s cooking later.” Xu Ning understood that Grandpa Qi was already aware of what had happened on the mountain.

After returning from the cow shed, Xu Ning sat on the kang to sew clothes while Xu An wrote nearby. Xu Ning planned to send him to school after the autumn harvest. Xu An was in the third grade before coming to the countryside. With some additional tutoring, he would be ready for fourth grade after the harvest. The original owner had only started the first year of junior high before coming to the countryside, but Xu Ning didn’t plan to continue her studies. Instead, she intended to read at home. Given her knowledge from her past life, she felt confident that she wouldn’t have any issues with the college entrance exam as long as she kept up with her studies.

By the time Xu Ning finished sewing one piece of clothing, Xu An had already gone to bed. She admired the garment in her hands. It looked quite good. Xu Ning tried it on. It was long and oversized. According to the original owner’s memories, her father was about 175 cm tall, so it should fit him well. Xu Ning had intentionally made it large and roomy. With a sweater underneath and a thick cotton coat on top, it would serve as an outer layer, easy to wash if it got dirty. She planned to make several such garments for herself and also prepare some clothes for the benefactor.

With this in mind, Xu Ning immediately locked the door and went to her storage space to sort through the fabric she had bought. She was looking for a suitable material to make beggar’s clothes. She came across a piece of dark gray fabric that had been gnawed by mice. She had bought two pieces of this fabric; one had been discarded by the shopkeeper because it was damaged, while the other, which was at the bottom, had also been ruined. Xu Ning had picked it up and put it in her cart when she was loading her purchases.

Xu Ning took out the fabric from her storage space and started cutting it. She planned to patch up the holes once the clothes were finished. After laying out the fabric and marking the measurements, she began cutting. She cut out four adult-sized and two child-sized pieces before putting the fabric away. She intended to sew them together whenever she had time in the future.

The next morning, when Xu Ning woke up, Xu An had already prepared breakfast: rice porridge and steamed buns. The siblings finished their meal and went to work.

During the rice harvesting, Xu Ning saw a young woman working with Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua. She was wearing a white shirt and had her hair styled in a high, fluffy bun, a popular hairstyle in later years. She must have been the heroine. Alongside her were two unfamiliar young women—one with a trendy student haircut and the other with two braids. Xu Ning thought to herself that among the five youths who had come this time, three were women and two were men.

As the autumn harvest approached its end, with people’s enthusiastic participation, the last of the corn was stored in the warehouse. Xu Ning, who had been so exhausted at the beginning that she could barely stand, was now able to sew a few stitches in the evening.

Since the beginning of the harvest, Xu An had taken over the cooking duties. His work was not easy; after feeding the pigs, he had to collect the grains that had fallen during labor in the fields. The little weight he had gained recently had disappeared.

As the weather grew colder, the siblings had put on the thin cotton clothes they had brought from home when they came to the countryside. Since they finished work early that day, they planned to go up the mountain. They saw that villagers were also carrying baskets up the mountain. Hazelnuts, chestnuts, and pine nuts were all ripe in the mountains. Gathering some of these would not only provide snacks for the winter but also save on food.

Every year after the autumn harvest, adults and children would carry baskets up the mountain. The siblings looked into the cow shed and saw their benefactors feeding the cows. The couple worked even harder during the harvest, working with everyone during the day and then feeding the cows and cleaning the shed afterward. Their rations were less than others’, and they were as thin as a stick. They had to avoid the villagers when gathering firewood and wild vegetables, not to mention picking things that could be used as food. Although people were simple-hearted, they wouldn’t hesitate to protect their own interests. Food was precious, and everything picked was considered food.

In fact, Yushu Village, including the entire Qianjin Brigade, was considered better off. She had heard that in some places, people had to work during the day and study and write self-criticism at night. The brigade leader of Qianjin was a retired military officer who disallowed such practices; as long as they worked, they earned points.

When the siblings arrived at the mountain, there were already quite a few people there. They found a less crowded spot, set down their baskets, and began collecting. They filled one basket and, seeing that it was still early and the mountain was crowded, Xu Ning decided to take the basket back while Xu An continued picking. By the time they each returned with another basket, the mountain was nearly empty, and dusk was approaching. As they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw their benefactor carrying a large basket and heading back up. Xu Ning knew he was taking advantage of the low number of people to gather some more.

Seeing him head up the mountain, Xu Ning quickly handed him her basket. “Uncle, take this. I’ve gathered a lot today, and it’s getting dark. It’s too dangerous to go up the mountain now.”

The middle-aged man looked at the siblings and smiled. “It’s fine, you two should head back!” With that, he walked briskly up the mountain. The siblings watched his departing figure with heavy hearts, unable to feel joy even from their three baskets of chestnuts and pine nuts collected that day.

When they got home, Xu Ning went to cook, while Xu An cleaned out the few baskets of items they had collected from the mountain. They planned to dry them outside tomorrow before storing them away. After dinner, Xu Ning sat on the kang to sew clothes. Over the past few days, she had made five outer garments and finished Xu Mo’s cotton clothes and pants. She also took out four sets of cotton clothing from her storage space, intending to give one set to each of her parents when they arrived, and keep the other two sets to give to the benefactors.

She really couldn’t make shoes. While her storage space had work shoes, casual shoes, and cotton shoes, it wasn’t convenient to take them out now. Xu Ning planned to bring out a few pairs when she went into the city. A few days ago, she had brought some cotton and fabric to Aunt Dashuan, asking her to make two pairs of cotton shoes each for her and Xu An, and gave her a piece of fabric as thanks.

Xu An was sorting the mushrooms they had picked from the mountain. The cold weather had reduced the number of mushrooms, but they had collected many before and dried them for storage. There was a knock at the door, and the siblings exchanged glances. Since moving here, no one had come to visit, which was what Xu Ning hoped for. Only Xu An’s friend Jianmin had come over a few times during the day.

Xu Ning guessed that the visitors might be from the youth team. Given the distance from the village and the proximity to the Daqing Mountain, no one from the village would come here at night. She asked, “Who is it?”

Outside, Sun Hao’s voice answered, “Xu youth, are you asleep? We want to ask you something.”

The siblings went outside and saw that it was three male youth. They invited them into the house. Since the space was small and there was no main room, they could only offer them seats in the kitchen. Xu An fetched three bowls and filled them with water.

The three visitors wanted to inquire about building a house. They planned to move out and live separately. Sun Hao said, “Today, we heard from the village head and accountant that another batch of youth is coming in a few days. There are already ten people in the camp, with only two rooms available. If more people come, it will be quite cramped. Although the kang in the camp is large enough to fit everyone, lying on one kang with seven or eight people makes it difficult to rest. We three have been discussing the possibility of building an extra room just for the three of us. We came to ask you how much it cost to build your house.” What they didn’t mention was that it wasn’t just the resting that was problematic; meal times were also quite chaotic, and with more people, it would only get worse.

Xu Ning told them how much it had cost to build her house. The three men felt that they could manage to gather the amount needed.

After clarifying the details, they planned to go to the village head to make their request. Ge Hongbin asked Sun Hao and the others, “Do you think the village head will agree?” Sun Hao replied, “Let’s go ask the village head and see.”

After sending them off, the siblings returned to their house. Xu An asked Xu Ning, “Sister, do you think the village head will allow them to build the house?” Xu Ning explained, “Why wouldn’t the village head agree? In a few days, more youth will arrive, and there won’t be enough space for everyone. If they don’t build their own houses, the village will need to find somewhere for them to stay. A few years ago, there were conflicts when youth lived with villagers, and it even reached the township authorities. Villagers certainly don’t want youth living in their homes, so the village will have to build houses for the youth. Building houses costs money, and if the youth are willing to build their own, the village head would certainly be pleased.”

Xu An responded, “But why should they spend their own money to build houses? Why not just wait for the village to build them?”

Xu Ning asked, “Do you think it’s better to be in our own house now or to be at the camp?”

Xu An replied, “Of course, it’s better now.”

Xu Ning said, “That’s because this house was built with our own money. It’s ours, and we can decide who lives here or who visits. We can ask anyone to leave if they’re not welcome. But if the village builds the house, then we have to follow the village’s arrangements.”