The next day, after breakfast, Xu Ning rode her bicycle, preparing to go to the city. She first delivered some vegetables and grains to Grandma Wang before heading to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Su Hongying.

This year, Aunt Dashuan and Aunt Si had planted a lot of cabbage and radishes. A few days earlier, Xu Ning had run into them in the mountains. Aunt Si had asked her to help inquire if their relatives needed any vegetables this year.

Xu Ning first took out twenty bed sheets from her space. At the cooperative, Su Hongying was busy sorting the newly arrived goods in the warehouse. When she saw Xu Ning, she greeted the person next to her and came out to meet her.

She glanced at the basket behind Xu Ning, and Su Hongying immediately understood. She took a half-hour break and brought Xu Ning back home with her.

After they settled the payment and goods, Xu Ning mentioned the request from Aunt Dashuan and Aunt Si. “Sister Hongying, do you still need vegetables this year? There are two families in our village who have plenty of vegetables this year. If you need them, I can have them deliver some to you tomorrow.”

Su Hongying replied happily, “Yes, yes! Sister, if you hadn’t come, I was actually planning to come find you. This year, I need 800 pounds of cabbage and 600 pounds of radishes. If you can’t get that much, it’s okay to have a little less. Tomorrow afternoon, let’s meet at the archway. Does that work for you?”

After they agreed on the time and place, Xu Ning returned to the village. She first went to Aunt Dashuan and Aunt Si’s homes to discuss the quantities and locations, reminding them not to mention it to anyone else.

Aunt Si and Aunt Dashuan both said, “Xu Zhiqing, don’t worry. We know what’s important. You’re helping us out of kindness, and we’ll remember it in our hearts. We won’t let it be difficult for you.”

Xu Ning smiled and said, “I naturally know the character of both aunts. It’s my relatives that I’m a bit worried about; they asked me to remind you, afraid that too many people knowing might not be good.”

The two women understood the concern and reassured her, promising that tomorrow afternoon, they would have their families deliver the vegetables to the archway in the county town.

When Xu Ning rode her bicycle back home, she found the door was open and suddenly remembered that today was Saturday. Xu An had a break every Saturday afternoon and returned to school on Sundays.

Xu An was hanging clothes in the yard. When he saw her come back, he smiled and said, “Sister, Did you go to the city today?”

Xu Ning parked her bicycle in the yard and replied with a smile, “I delivered some grains and vegetables to Grandma Wang. How did you come back, Xiao An?”

“I walked to the archway with Wang Liang. When we saw that Grandpa Chen’s ox cart hadn’t left yet, we hitched a ride back with him.”

Xu Ning unloaded the items from her bicycle and asked, “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll go make you something to eat.”

Xu An quickly stopped her and said, “Sister, you don’t need to bother. I ate at school before coming back. I just ran into Zhang Hairong at the entrance of the youth camp and we’ve already arranged to go up the mountain together later.”

Upon hearing that Xu An had already eaten, Xu Ning didn’t press the matter further. She took out and organized the items from the basket, setting aside what she needed to deliver to the cattle shed later that evening.

The cabbage had already been harvested, and the yard was empty. She decided to move the firewood that Lu Xiaotang had piled outside into the shed.

The firewood was bundled neatly, making it easy to carry inside. She placed it in the corner of the shed and covered it with an oil cloth to make it easier to access when it snowed.

With nothing much to do in the afternoon, Xu Ning remembered that she still had quite a few pine cones to peel from her recent gathering. She turned on the radio, sat outside in the sun, and began peeling the pine cones. To her surprise, she found the experience quite enjoyable.

Wei Lanlan had been experiencing severe morning sickness these past few days, and Chen Xiangdong wouldn’t let her go up the mountain. Feeling bored staying alone in the camp, she came over to find Xu Ning to chat.

Seeing her sitting in the sun with the radio on, Wei Lanlan envied her, saying, “This place is so comfortable! I wish I had a yard like this.”

Xu Ning smiled and went inside to bring her a stool to sit on. “Your place isn’t bad either. It’s lively with so many people around.”

Wei Lanlan rolled her eyes at her and said, “If the youth camp is so great, why did you choose to move out? Sigh, we should have fixed up the house back then. Now that we’re living together, it’s noisy every day; it’s driving me crazy.”

Xu Ning couldn’t help but laugh at her and asked, “What happened this time?”

Wei Lanlan sighed and replied, “Gu Wenping and Lin Miao broke up for real this time.”

It was now 1973, and the two were set to get married in 1974. It was after this breakup that they encountered a wild boar during a life-and-death situation, realizing how important they were to each other and choosing to get married immediately afterward, leading to a happy life together.

Xu Ning then thought about the wild boars she and Lu Xiaotang had hunted in recent years. She wondered if there was a “marriage boar” for the couple.

She hoped it wouldn’t ruin their chances for happiness.

Xu Ning asked, “What caused them to break up this time?”

“Wang Juanjuan mentioned wanting to return to the city, right? She called her family and even wrote them a letter, but they didn’t reply at all.

With no other options, she decided to go up the mountain to chop wood these past few days. But she found it too exhausting to carry, so she had Gu Wenping help her with it.”

Gu Wenping saw her crying quite sadly, and having grown up together, he helped her carry wood for two days. In the past, Lin Miao didn’t concern herself with such matters, but this time, for some reason, she got angry and directly said she wanted to break up.

Gu Wenping felt that Lin Miao was disrespecting him, leading to a big argument, and they ended up really splitting up.

“Isn’t Gu Wenjing living with Wang Juanjuan? Can’t they chop wood together?”

“They’re both the same; Gu Wenjing used to rely on Gu Wenping and Yang Wenli for help with her work. Now that Yang Wenli isn’t doing it anymore, Gu Wenping has to manage everything for three people on his own. No wonder Lin Miao got angry.”

Xu Ning remarked, “Who would be happy in such a situation? If my partner were so involved with others, I definitely wouldn’t want him.”

Meanwhile, in the Nanshi Military District, Lu Xiaotang was watching his subordinates train at the training ground when he suddenly sneezed. He thought, Has Xiao Ning already started to miss him after just a few days? I wonder if she received the letter he sent her a few days ago. I should write her another one tonight.

Xu Ning was unaware of Lu Xiaotang’s thoughts. Even if she knew, she would just send him four words: “Go away.”

Wei Lanlan got tired of sitting and stood up to stretch in Xu Ning’s yard. She asked, “With such a big yard, why don’t you raise some chickens?”

Xu Ning sighed and said, “With just the two of us, we could only keep one chicken, and we’d have to build a coop. They don’t lay many eggs in winter, so I didn’t want to bother with it.”

“That’s true. Just one chicken is a hassle to take care of, and they’re so dirty,” Wei Lanlan agreed.

The two of them chatted for the whole afternoon. When Xu An returned, he was carrying a full basket of pine cones.

Seeing Wei Lanlan there, he smiled and said, “Sister Lanlan, Brother Xiangdong collected a lot of wild goods today too. We found them on a hillside, and there’s still quite a bit left. We agreed to go back tomorrow after breakfast.”

Wei Lanlan, excited, asked, “Really? Did Chen Xiangdong find a lot? Oh, I need to go back and check it out!”

Without waiting for a reply, she rushed out, and Xu Ning called after her, “Slow down and watch your step!”

By the time she finished speaking, Wei Lanlan was already quite far away.