Early the next morning, Mu Jinyue went out as usual to buy groceries. Since it was Sunday, Jiang Yi was also at home. With everyone there, she thought dumplings would be perfect for today’s meal. For that, she dragged Lin Tong along to the market at dawn to snatch up some meat.

Though she was already used to the crowds, today being Sunday, there were even more people than usual. Mu Jinyue was nearly squashed flat like a pancake in the chaos. After braving what felt like endless trials and tribulations, she finally managed to bring the meat back home.

That wasn’t all. She also stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative and bought several jin each of radish, cabbage, celery, and chives. Since they were making dumplings, she figured they should prepare several different fillings. Once everything was bought, she finally headed home.

With time running short, she decided they’d make the dumplings in the afternoon and eat them for dinner. Lunch would be something simple. But she could at least spend the morning mixing the dough and preparing the fillings. So after coming back, she went straight into the kitchen and busied herself.

While she was in the middle of all this, Jiang Yi returned home carrying three flowerpots. He set them down right at the kitchen door and gave it a knock.

Mu Jinyue paused in her work and turned around, not sure what he was up to. Then she saw him pointing at the three pots by his feet and saying, “Plant cabbages in all of them. Two pots for each room.”

His expression was cold and stern as usual, not easy to deal with. Mu Jinyue raised her head and looked at him again and again. Yesterday, when she planted one pot of cabbage, he hadn’t looked pleased at all. But today, he was pulling something like this? Was he happy about it after all?

Even Jiang Yi himself didn’t know what was wrong. He just felt irritated, restless, unable to calm down since last night. Not willing to believe it, he’d gone out early this morning to meet a friend for business talks, but the mood hadn’t improved—in fact, it only made him more annoyed. So instead, he dragged his friend around town hunting for flowerpots. He had to let Mu Jinyue know he wasn’t stingy, that he couldn’t care less about one or two flowerpots.

But now, seeing her remain silent—what was that supposed to mean? He scratched his head. “Don’t tell me you don’t know how to plant them? Didn’t you do just fine yesterday?”

“I can, but we don’t have any more cabbage,” Mu Jinyue said simply. Since she couldn’t figure him out, she decided not to bother trying. If the boss gave an order, she’d just carry it out.

“I’ll buy some,” Jiang Yi replied, and without another word, turned and left. When he came back, he was holding cabbages and handed them directly to her.

Seeing him this attentive, Mu Jinyue didn’t hesitate. As soon as they finished lunch, she planted the cabbages. She kept two pots in her own room, and placed the other two on the windowsill in Zhang Yulan’s room.

Not long after she finished, Lin Tong arrived. As soon as she entered, she noticed the two pots in Mu Jinyue’s room and looked puzzled. “Why do you have two flowerpots now?”

“Jiang Yi went out and found some more,” Mu Jinyue explained.

Lin Tong smirked knowingly and gave her a playful nudge on the shoulder. “Trust Brother Jiang! He knew you wanted flowerpots, so he specially went to find some for you. From now on, don’t come to me with this kind of thing. You two are husband and wife—if I interfere, wouldn’t that ruin the surprises he’s planning for you?”

Mu Jinyue said nothing. She didn’t think of it as a surprise at all. More likely, it was because of her last words yesterday—about the flowerpot being free—that had offended him. He probably felt slighted, or thought she was looking down on him, and that was why he’d gone to buy these. It had nothing to do with “surprises.”

But this was something she understood in her heart; she didn’t bother explaining it to outsiders.

Lin Tong assumed she was just embarrassed and didn’t press further. Instead, she leaned closer to peer at the cabbage roots in the pots, even poking them curiously with her fingers. “Sister Jinyue, how long will it take for these to sprout new leaves?”

“About ten days or so.”

“That’s pretty fast. I’ll definitely come by and check when the time comes.” After saying that, she handed Mu Jinyue a book—some class material she told her to preview before tomorrow’s lesson. Then she left.

Mu Jinyue put the book away and went out to prepare dumplings.

The fillings were plentiful: four kinds in total—chive and egg, cabbage and pork, shredded radish and pork, and celery and pork. With three people working together, Mu Jinyue and Zhang Yulan wrapped the dumplings while Jiang Yi rolled out the wrappers. Dividing the work, their pace wasn’t slow. Just at mealtime, the dumplings were cooked and ready, and everyone ate with satisfaction.

This time, Mu Jinyue must have really outdone herself. The next morning, she saw Jiang Yi carrying a lunchbox filled with dumplings to take to the factory for his midday meal.

The small cabbage sat on the windowsill. Whenever Mu Jinyue sat on the bed writing, she only needed to turn her head slightly to see that little green sprout. With it there, she felt more motivated to write. But writing wasn’t easy; Mu Jinyue was a bit of a perfectionist, revising over and over. By the time her article was finished, it was already November.

With the start of a new month, Jiang Yi gave her the grocery money for November. This time, he gave more—thirty yuan in one go. She hadn’t even spent all of last month’s allowance yet. Still, she didn’t refuse and accepted the thirty yuan, planning to keep clearer records of her spending.

It rained a little that morning, and the house felt damp and chilly. Mu Jinyue went to the room across the way to help Zhang Yulan massage her legs, then tucked a hot-water bottle into her hands. Since it was cold, Zhang Yulan’s legs felt even colder than usual, which meant the pain was likely worse too. Mu Jinyue thought she’d ask Jiang Yi when he returned if they should get a brazier for heating. With that in mind, she pulled a thick quilt over Zhang Yulan and then headed out to buy vegetables.

Lin Tong was on her period and not feeling well these days, so she didn’t accompany her shopping. Walking alone felt strange, and without conversation, Mu Jinyue found herself quickening her pace to get there and back as fast as possible.

The market was as crowded as always. Mu Jinyue had grown used to it. Though she still didn’t dare shove her way past old men and women, when it came to middle-aged women she was no longer afraid to push forward. She wasn’t sure whether this change in herself was good or bad.

To her surprise, lotus root was available today—a rare treat. Delighted, Mu Jinyue bought several pounds, along with some eggs, planning to make cold lotus root slices and fried lotus root sandwiches. Those were her favorites, and she went home carrying her groceries with a happy smile.

But the moment she stepped through the gate, she sensed something was wrong. She could vaguely hear wailing and sobbing. Rubbing her arms, she hurried inside. The cries were even clearer in the courtyard, and when she looked over, she saw it was Lin Tong’s mother. Standing with her were two households from the side rooms. Mu Jinyue felt uneasy and worried about Lin Tong. She decided she’d go check on her later.

She first put her groceries away, then stopped by Zhang Yulan’s room. Just as she was about to leave, some people arrived at her door—the very ones she had just seen gathered around Lin Tong’s mother.

It was a man and a woman, the woman seemingly in charge. Her surname was Zhang—Sister Zhang, a staff member from the neighborhood office.

Mu Jinyue invited them to sit in the living room. Sister Zhang explained the purpose of her visit. She was responsible for recording household members and mobilizing students to be sent down to the countryside. But in the Jiang family, there were no students—only a sick elderly mother, a factory worker, and a new bride with a rural registration. That didn’t meet the requirements. So she just made a simple note and considered the matter closed.

Sister Zhang let out a sigh of relief. Mobilizing for the “sent-down youth” program was not easy. Since there was nothing else to do here, she finally gave Mu Jinyue a smile.

“Daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, although your household doesn’t have to send anyone down, there’s one matter you must take care of. You’ve married into the city, but your grain and oil registration hasn’t yet been transferred here.”

Mu Jinyue was stunned. There was such a thing? She had no impression of it at all. But this was her food ration at stake—something that had to be handled properly. She quickly nodded. “Alright, I’ll take care of it as soon as possible. When the time comes, should I go to the neighborhood office to find you?”

Sister Zhang smiled. “Yes, come find me at the office and I’ll handle it. But you’d better hurry. There aren’t many people at the office, and with the new ‘sent-down youth’ policy, things are about to get busy again.”

“Alright, I’ll do it right away.”

With that said, Sister Zhang didn’t linger and left for the next household.

As Mu Jinyue saw them out, she noticed Lin Tong’s mother had gone home too. Things must still be chaotic in their house, and since Lin’s mother didn’t like her much, dropping by now would only stir up more resentment. She thought about it and decided to wait until tomorrow or the day after to visit.

As for the grain and oil registration, she’d have to go back to her village and ask the team leader to take her to the commune office. That wouldn’t be easy. She worried about it so much that her brows stayed furrowed the whole afternoon. She forced a smile at Zhang Yulan over dinner, but Jiang Yi could still sense her mood wasn’t right.

After eating, he returned to their room and asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” He had been working at the factory all day and came straight home, so he had no idea what had taken place.

Mu Jinyue, still preoccupied with how to transfer her ration registration, didn’t even hear him the first time.

Jiang Yi raised his voice and repeated the question.

This time, Mu Jinyue heard him and told him about Sister Zhang’s visit regarding the population check and the “sent-down youth” matter.

It didn’t really affect their family, but seeing how troubled she looked, Jiang Yi asked, “Is there something else?”

Mu Jinyue hesitated but decided to be honest. “My grain and oil registration is still in my home village. I need to find a way to transfer it here.”

That should’ve been taken care of right after the marriage. Jiang Yi had assumed she hadn’t mentioned it because she had her own plans. Since he didn’t particularly need her rations, he hadn’t pressed the matter. He hadn’t expected it to drag on until now. Judging by her expression, she really hadn’t planned anything at all.

Thinking of her family, he—rarely—offered kindly, “Can you handle it? Do you need my help?”

“No need, I’ll try on my own first.” She had already troubled him enough; this time she wanted to solve it herself.

Jiang Yi didn’t mind either way and was happy to stay out of it, though he still gave her a bit of advice. “Fine. Just bring plenty of money. There’s nothing money can’t smooth over.”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll treat it as borrowing from you. I’ll pay you back in the future.”

“Sure. I’ll be waiting for you to return all that money then.”