Chapter 22

In the morning, Jiang Tian made a sleeveless vest for each member of the family. That way, when they were holed up at home for the winter, just wearing one would be enough.

She actually took the modern little vests out from her space, sewed some cloth and the vests together on the outside, then added a layer of fur. Later on, she could just remove the fur cover for washing, and even if it got damaged, no one would notice what was inside.

Following this method, she made four in total. For Lu Shili, she based the measurements on Xie Chen’s build.

Just in time—since Lu Shili had brought back a lot of cotton this trip, she planned to use it to make three new quilts. As for the old ones, she wanted Xie Chen to nail the quilts to the door, which would help block the cold and work as a makeshift curtain.

After lunch, Jiang Tian shared her plan, and the two men plus the little one started working right away.

She also wanted to use the old quilts Lu Shili had brought. Seeing they weren’t in great shape, she brought it up, and he agreed.

After about four hours, she finally finished. Since she was working in Jiang Er’s room, she had secretly swapped in some modern duvets from her space. With a sewing machine, everything went so much faster. Two new quilts and two mattress pads were done.

For herself and Xie Chen, since their quilt was already new, she only made a new duvet cover.

When she looked up, the sky was already dark.

Sigh. Time to cook dinner again. The days of being a housewife really did pass quickly.

The curtain for the door was also done.

When Lu Shili came back and saw the thick, sturdy quilts, he looked as happy as a child. But then he grew a little worried.

“Little sister, you didn’t use up all the cotton on us, did you?”

Jiang Tian felt a warmth in her heart at his concern. “Our quilt is new, no need to make one. We only made a mattress pad and a duvet cover for ourselves.”

Hearing that, Lu Shili finally relaxed.

That night, Jiang Tian planned to make chicken soup. With the weather turning colder and the sky gloomy, snow seemed near. Some hot soup would be just right.

Once the grain ration was handed out in a few days, they would be hunkering down for the winter. After the snow fell, she really didn’t want to go hunting in the mountains anymore.

So, during dinner, she brought it up.

“Little sister, how about we build a shed out front? It’s such a hassle to fetch things from the backyard when it’s cold. Better to keep them in the front.”

What Lu Shili suggested was exactly what Jiang Tian and Xie Chen had already thought of.

“Cousin, building the shed is easy. The real problem is we don’t have plastic sheeting.”

Lu Shili finished his bowl of soup and smiled. “That’s no problem. I’ll go ask at the glass factory. The old man has some connections with the director there. I’ll see if I can get some. Tomorrow, I’ll go.”

“Alright.”

So for the next few days, the family kept busy, trying to prepare as much as possible before the snow came. Xie Chen, too, did his part, handling what he could as support.

“My idea is to make the frame a little bigger, then add a door that opens outward…”

After Jiang Tian explained her idea, Lu Shili and Xie Chen shared theirs too.

Once they settled the plan, Jiang Tian suggested inviting villagers to help. But Lu Shili, Xie Chen, and Jiang Er all shook their heads. “We can handle this ourselves. It’ll be done in two days.”

Lu Shili managed to get quite a bit of plastic sheeting from the factory. After discussing it with Jiang Tian, they gave some to the village chief and a few cadres.

The rest was all used for the shed.

After a half day’s work, the plastic sheeting was finally secured, with Lu Shili and Xie Chen making sure it was sturdy.

Then the whole family started moving things inside. By nightfall, the shed was packed full—firewood and two big jars.

Jiang Tian even pulled out a lock from her space and hung it on the shed door. Now it finally looked like they were ready for winter.

That very night, the first snow of winter began to fall.

To celebrate, Jiang Tian specially cooked four dishes and one soup: sauerkraut noodles, scrambled eggs, spicy rabbit, frog stewed with potatoes, and bone broth.

They ate it with steamed buns and flower rolls.

“Big sis, this frog is so delicious.”

Both Lu Shili and Xie Chen were also eating heartily.

Jiang Tian smiled. “If you like it, eat more.”

The frog stew was the first dish to be finished, with even the last drops of broth licked clean. As for the rabbit, Jiang Tian enjoyed it, but Xie Chen looked rather aggrieved—his stomach couldn’t handle overly spicy food.

Luckily, the other dishes were also tasty. Later that night, Jiang Tian coaxed him, promising to make braised rabbit next time.

Unexpectedly, Xie Chen suddenly pressed her down and kissed her for a long while, then nuzzled her neck like a puppy, even nibbling lightly.

“A year is too long. At most, half a year.”

Jiang Tian was dazed from his kisses and asked blankly, “Half a year for what?”

Xie Chen whispered in her ear, making her blush and push him away. “Why so impatient?”

In the end, they agreed to go get their marriage certificate the day after tomorrow.

When Jiang Er and Lu Shili found out, they insisted on coming along to take photos too. There was a photo studio in town, and Jiang Tian also wanted some pictures as keepsakes.

So, the whole family decided to go.

•  

At the educated youth spot—

“Why did you burn so little firewood? It’s freezing in here.”

Chen Xiaocao snorted. “There’s barely any firewood. Of course we have to save it. And it’s not like you’ve been out gathering much yourself. Don’t blame us for not heating the stove.”

Jiang Ying was furious and miserable, but in such cold weather, she didn’t want to work either. So she just curled up in bed.

Ever since that day, she’d been thinking about how to get closer to Lu Shili. But every time she ran into him, he barely responded.

Eventually, she decided to give up for now. With the weather getting colder, she figured she’d better focus on finding a place to live.

There were only four female educated youths at the station. Lin Yue had already sided with Jiang Cheng, leaving her badly isolated.

She needed to move out quickly, but no matter how she looked, she couldn’t find a good option. Xie Lao’er’s wife, Chen Meiling, hadn’t come to see her since that incident either.

Jiang Ying actually wanted to live with the Xie family. Their home was better than most in the village, and with their four chubby, fair-skinned kids, the food was clearly plentiful.

So, she decided to act on the thought and asked Chen Meiling about it.

“Meiling-jie, I want to rent a room at your place. Could you ask your aunt how much it would cost?”

Chen Meiling actually hated this Jiang Zhiqing. If not for her egging her on to go to the Jiang house, she never would have fallen out with that sickly man.

A few days ago, she had seen Lu Zhiqing give the village chief several meters of plastic sheeting, which made her burn with envy. Everyone knew by now that Lu Zhiqing was Jiang’s cousin.

If they hadn’t cut ties with that sickly man, her family would have gotten some plastic sheeting too. That stuff was rare and valuable these days, and she’d even heard that Lu Shili had built a shed at his house.

She had gone to see it on the hillside and had been shocked.

My goodness, it was at least twenty or thirty meters wide. With that, they’d have no trouble keeping warm this winter.

Along with envy, she also grew resentful toward both Jiang Tian and this Jiang Zhiqing. Jiang Tian was a sharp-tongued little wretch, while Jiang Zhiqing had used her like a pawn, acting like she was some kind of saint.

But Chen Meiling had always cared more about money than grudges. Better to take the cash first.

She held up five fingers.

Jiang Ying’s eyes widened. “Five yuan?”

Chen Meiling put on a look of concern. “You know our house is one of the best brick houses in the village. It’ll be warm through the winter, much better than staying at the educated youth spot.”

At the mention of the educated youth spot, Jiang Ying hesitated. She really was miserable there—always ostracized, no hot water, freezing cold at night.

Still, she found it hard to let go. After all, five yuan was a lot—two months of hard work at least.