Before dawn on the second day, Xu Ning heard the sounds of her parents getting up next door and decided to rise as well. Xu’s father and mother, seeing her awake, said, “Daughter, why are you up so early? Go back to sleep.”

Xu Ning replied, “Mom, Dad, I’m used to waking up early. I’ll make some breakfast. You should eat first, and then head over.”

Xu Ning went to the kitchen and filled a pot with water. Her mother then sat by the stove to start the fire. Soon, the water boiled. Xu Ning poured it into two bottles for her parents to wash up and then put the dumplings that hadn’t been cooked the night before into the pot. By the time her parents had finished washing, the dumplings were ready. Xu Ning served each of them a large bowl of dumplings and two bowls of dumpling soup.

Mother Xu asked, “Daughter, why aren’t you eating?”

Xu Ning replied, “I’m waiting for Xiao An and Xiao Mo to wake up so we can eat together. Mom and Dad, you should go ahead.”

As their parents left, Xiao An woke up. Seeing her sister alone, he asked, “Sister, where are mom and dad? I don’t see them.”

Xu Ning said, “They’ve already gone back. Check if Xiao Mo is awake. If not, don’t wake him; let him sleep a little longer.” Over the past two months, living with her parents had been tough on Xiao Mo. Last night, Xu Ning had noticed how thin he had become, his body nothing but skin and bones.

Xu Ning planned to make a millet porridge for breakfast. Since children have weak stomachs and Xiao Mo hadn’t been eating well for the past few months, she wanted to nurture him back to health gradually. After the porridge was cooking, Xu Ning steamed a bowl of eggs with the rice water and added the remaining twenty dumplings from the previous night to steam as well. She decided not to fry any vegetables. Once breakfast was ready, Xu An came out with Xiao Mo, who was wearing Xu An’s cotton shoes. Xu Ning urged them to sit down and eat.

It wasn’t very cold yet, so they didn’t eat on the heated bed but at the kitchen table. Xu Ning had already started the stove a few days ago to warm up the bed.

When they sat down, the table was set with a bowl of egg custard, a large plate of dumplings, and the millet porridge. Xiao An smiled as he served each of them a bowl of egg custard, and then refilled their bowls with millet porridge. Xiao Mo ate a bowl of egg custard, a bowl of millet porridge, and five dumplings, but Xu Ning didn’t let him eat more for fear of indigestion. Xiao Mo’s eyes remained fixed on the dumplings, reluctant to look away.

Xu Ning smiled at him and said, “You can’t eat so much; it’ll upset your stomach. I’ll make something good for you at lunch.”

Xiao Mo patted his little stomach and gave Xu Ning a shy smile. After breakfast, Xu Ning suggested they play on the bed.

Once she cleaned up the kitchen, she looked outside and decided not to go up the mountain today. They had enough firewood prepared to last the winter. She picked up a sweater she had just started knitting a few days ago. It had been several years since she last knitted a sweater, only doing so once in middle school for her grandfather. After a few rows, she quickly got back into the rhythm and found the process becoming smoother.

Xu Ning sat on the heated bed, stretched her shoulders, and placed the sweater she was knitting onto the bed. She noticed Xu An was practicing calligraphy nearby while Xiao Mo watched his brother and snacked on cookies. Xu Ning put on her shoes and went to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of milk powder for each of them, telling Xu An to take a break, drink the milk powder, and then continue writing.

She thought about checking on the progress of the heated bed in the cow shed and noticed that the water tank was running low. Deciding to fetch some water and check on the shed, she called out to Xu An, “Xiao An, I’m going to fetch some water. You and Xiao Mo stay inside and don’t go out!”

Xu An replied, “Got it, Sis. We won’t go out. Xiao Mo and I will play at home.”

As Xu Ning carried the water bucket towards the cow shed, she saw that the shed door was open. Her father and Uncle Lu were cleaning the cow pen, but she didn’t see her mother and Aunt Lu, who were probably in the backyard tending to the garden.

Chen Hongjun was standing in the yard, talking to the two people working on the heated bed inside the house. Xu Ning called out, “Uncle Hongjun, are you busy?”

Chen Hongjun looked at her with the buckets and said, “Xu Zhiqing, are you here to fetch water? The village head said yesterday that we need to build a heated bed here, so I asked two people to come over today.”

Xu Ning smiled and replied, “Uncle Hongjun, your skill in building heated beds is unmatched. The one you helped me with a few days ago is already warming up the entire room. I haven’t even started the fire wall yet.”

Chen Hongjun chuckled, “It’s just a skill for making beds. It’s all because everyone values each other.”

Xu Ning continued, “Oh, Uncle, you’re too modest. Well, I’ll leave you to it. I need to fetch some water. Xiao An is still waiting for me at home.”

Chen Hongjun advised, “Xu Zhiqing, take your time. It’s still a bit early to light the fire wall. Wait until it gets colder; otherwise, it might be too hot and cause blisters on your lips.”

Xu Ning nodded, “I understand, Uncle.”