Chapter 23.2

At the end of the workday, Lu Yun and Sister Sun headed home together. They decided not to ride their bikes and took the bus instead.

Since they’d just gotten paid, they planned to stop by the market to pick up some groceries. Winter vegetables and fruits were expensive, but they couldn’t eat cabbage and potatoes every day.

Sometimes, it was nice to treat themselves to something better—especially since Sister Sun had kids at home.

Sister Sun wanted to buy some pig trotters to take home, and Lu Yun, who had originally planned to buy ribs, started craving braised pig trotters as she listened to Sister Sun talk about them. It had been a long time since she’d had any, so they decided to buy the trotters together.

Lu Yun bought four of them. As she prepared to head back, Sister Sun looked up at the sky and remarked, “Looks like it might snow soon, doesn’t it?”

Lu Yun asked, “You think it’ll snow?”

Sister Sun nodded. “I think so. I’ll buy some pork belly too. If it snows, I’d rather not come out to buy groceries—it’s so cold. Last year, when it snowed here, the snow was really deep.”

She added, “You should stock up a bit too.”

The pork vendor laughed, joining in, “I agree. It really does look like snow is coming. I even heard on the radio yesterday that they’re forecasting snow for our area—and for the provincial city too.”

Hearing that it might snow in the provincial city, Lu Yun turned to Sister Sun and said, “Sister Sun, I was thinking of taking a day off tomorrow, but I still have some unfinished work. Could you help me out if I’m gone?”

Sister Sun replied warmly, “Of course! Just let me know what needs to be done, and I’ll handle it tomorrow. We’re not that busy lately.”

Lu Yun wanted to thank her, but after a moment’s thought, she bought an extra two pounds of pork belly and added it to their bill when she paid, covering Sister Sun’s portion as well. It made her feel more at ease.

Before, Lu Yun hadn’t been very good with gestures of goodwill like this. But since He Cheng’an had sent Sister Sun some pickled radish, Sister Sun had noticeably started looking out for Lu Yun more in the office and often took her side in conversations. She even defended He Cheng’an, like today, joining Lu Yun in speaking up for him.

Lu Yun then asked, “Sister Sun, do you know what time the earliest bus leaves from our town to the provincial city?”

Sister Sun replied, “It leaves the provincial city around six in the morning, so it’d get here no earlier than nine. If you take the first bus headed toward the city, there won’t be many passengers onboard when it starts, so there’ll be plenty of seats. You could go and come back in a day without any rush.”

Then she looked at Lu Yun and asked, “Are you going to see He Cheng’an?”

Lu Yun didn’t hesitate, answering openly, “Yes, I’m going to see He Cheng’an.”

Sister Sun couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. Even when she’d just married her husband, their relationship had never been as warm as what Lu Yun shared with He Cheng’an.

—o—o—o—

That evening, Lu Yun made braised pig trotters and twice-cooked pork, and the delicious aroma filled the entire courtyard.

To her surprise, she actually managed to make one of the neighborhood kids start crying with envy.

Lu Yun had always thought that stories about “making the neighbor’s kids cry with the smell of food” were just jokes from the internet—but here it was, happening in real life.

Aunt Zhou, the child’s grandmother, came over, feeling a bit embarrassed. “This kid… I just can’t calm him down. Could you spare one pig trotter for us? I’ll pay you whatever they cost at the market.”

Before Lu Yun could respond, Zhang Meili stepped out, speaking to Aunt Zhou’s grandson for a moment to soothe him. Then she turned to Aunt Zhou, saying, “We actually only made four trotters, so there really aren’t any extras. Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll give you mine, and don’t worry about the money. After all, we’re all neighbors here in this courtyard.”

She signaled to Lu Yun to bring out a pig trotter.

Later, as they went back inside, Lu Yun felt a slight pang of regret, but Zhang Meili laughed. “A little kindness goes a long way. If that Aunt Zhou hears anyone in the courtyard, like Old Lady Li, saying anything against you, you can bet she’ll be on your side after this. Besides, selling a single trotter at market price would’ve been odd, right? Not the kind of thing that would sit well with people around here. But that poor kid did look pretty pitiful, crying from the smell alone.”

Lu Dong chimed in: “You can have my pig trotter, Meili.”

Zhang Meili laughed, “What are you talking about? We’ll split it—half for you, half for me. Did you think I’d leave you without any? And of course, A-Yun and Xiang’an each get their own.”

As Lu Yun gnawed on her pig trotter during dinner, Aunt Zhou came back over, bringing them a plate of braised fish—a rare treat.

Zhang Meili and Aunt Zhou exchanged warm words for a while, looking happy as they did, one graciously accepting the fish, the other smiling as she left.

As Aunt Zhou pushed the door open to leave, Lu Yun glanced out at the sky and asked, “Do you think it’ll snow tomorrow?”

Lu Dong replied, “The weather certainly looks like snow. Why don’t you listen to the forecast on the radio in a bit?”

Hearing him mention the radio, Lu Yun’s gaze shifted to Lu Xiang’an. He was still absorbed in eating his pig trotter, hands covered in grease.

At this moment, even if Lu Yun wanted the radio for herself, Lu Xiang’an would gladly give it to her—especially for a weather forecast!

After obtaining the radio and returning to her room, Lu Yun finally managed to find the broadcasting station that Lu Xiangan had mentioned.

She leaned on the windowsill with the radio beside her, gazing out the window.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, Lu Yun heard the radio report that the provincial city and her area were both expecting moderate snowfall.

Turning off the radio, Lu Yun went outside to freshen up.

—o—o—o—

For the past few days, He Cheng’an and Zhang Hao had been taking the homeowners around the building materials market, often so busy that they barely had time to eat.

In the evenings, they would still have to sit down and calculate the accounts. As they worked, the radio was always playing beside them. Recently, Zhang Hao had grown accustomed to He Cheng’an listening to the radio once he returned.

In fact, it was quite helpful—hearing the weather forecast and knowing in advance what the weather would be like the next day.

When the radio announced that the county they were in would see moderate snowfall, He Cheng’an’s gaze shifted slightly.

He Cheng’an said, “Tomorrow happens to be a lighter day. Can you go to the hardware alone in the morning? I’ll be back in the afternoon.”

Zhang Hao responded, “Sure, I can handle it on my own. We’ve already gone through everything at that store once, so tomorrow I just need to go over it again and make some final selections. Not much trouble. And for noon, I’ll do as you suggested and bring the local specialties we delivered before and hand them over.”

At this, Zhang Hao felt a bit reluctant. “Those black mushrooms are pretty expensive, you know.”

He Cheng’an laughed, “Look at you—so little ambition.”

After he spoke, he got up and headed back to his room.

Zhang Hao laughed too, knowing that giving the homeowners gifts like the black mushrooms truly made them happy.

Their attitudes had softened considerably since, making conversations more polite and agreeable.

Still, he couldn’t help feeling a little reluctant, but he certainly wouldn’t do anything foolish to hold He Cheng’an back.

He Cheng’an said, “Sending out those mushrooms is to make even more money.”

For a moment, Zhang Hao looked blank. “Make money? Are you saying that giving them mushrooms can make us money?”

Inside the room, He Cheng’an carefully took out the red scarf he’d bought for Lu Yun. The scarf was thick and long, and he could already imagine how Lu Yun would look with it wrapped around her.

He carefully put the scarf away, then finally went to sleep.

—o—o—o—

Early the next morning, as expected, snowflakes were drifting down outside.

The snowfall was light, barely covering the ground and trees with a thin layer. After getting dressed, Lu Yun grabbed some money and headed out.

Once she was on the bus, Lu Yun suddenly remembered that she’d left her scarf at home.

Thankfully, she was wearing a high-neck sweater today, so she figured she’d be fine without it.

When she reached the bus station, Lu Yun stood at the stop, idly wondering when the station would be like those in the future, where people could wait inside without being exposed to the wind or rain.

She had a thermos tucked into her clothes and was bundled up warmly, so even the occasional gust of wind didn’t make her feel cold—though the thermos was cooling off rather quickly.

As the bus approached, Lu Yun shifted her feet a little to stay warm.

He Cheng’an, who was on the bus, stood up from his seat.

Ever since he and Lu Yun had gone to the provincial city together, he’d gotten into the habit of not rushing off the bus but instead waiting for others to exit first.

This time, however, even before the bus reached the stop, he was already out of his seat, making his way to the door.

The moment the bus stopped, He Cheng’an was the first one out.

Lu Yun stood there, a few snowflakes caught in her hair, and He Cheng’an looked at her.

With people exiting the bus behind him, he gently guided Lu Yun off to the side.

The snowfall grew heavier, transforming into large, fluffy flakes. He Cheng’an quickly took out the red scarf he’d tucked away for her and wrapped it around her.

He said, “Next time you go out, remember to wear a scarf.”

Lu Yun had expected him to say something like, “Why didn’t you wear a scarf?” But even his concern was free of reproach.

Growing up, Lu Yun had heard more than enough scolding.

After her parents divorced, they did nothing but send child support payments each month. Yet every time she made a mistake, they would question her, asking why she hadn’t done better.

Lu Yun asked, “Why are you back?”

He Cheng’an replied, “I happened to have some things to take care of here. What about you? Are you heading to the provincial city? How about we wait for the next bus together? I can put off my errands until next time.”

Lu Yun said, “I was just planning to go buy a scarf in the city, but since you’ve already gotten one for me, I don’t need to go anymore.”

As snowflakes drifted down around them, both Lu Yun and He Cheng’an laughed—standing there in the light snow.

He Cheng’an asked, “Not working today?”

Lu Yun shook her head. “No, It’s my day off.”

He Cheng’an smiled, “Then, how about coming over to my place? I can build you a snowman in the yard. How does that sound?”

Unlike He Cheng’an, who lived alone, Lu Yun still lived with her family.

If He Cheng’an were to visit her home, to Lu Yun, it would mean they’d officially met each other’s families.

But visiting He Cheng’an’s place didn’t carry the same weight, so she simply nodded.

When He Cheng’an had wrapped the scarf around her earlier, Lu Yun had noticed he wasn’t wearing gloves.

He was always concerned about her, reminding her to bring a thermos and buying her gloves, yet he hadn’t brought anything for himself.

After walking a few steps ahead, Lu Yun took her warm thermos and handed it to He Cheng’an.

He Cheng’an insisted, “I’m not cold; you should keep it.”

Lu Yun replied, “I’m not cold either.”

That was a lie; she had been holding the thermos the entire time while waiting for the bus, and now that she had taken her hands out, she felt the chill.

Still, she shoved the thermos toward He Cheng’an.

Concerned that he would refuse it, she looked at his slightly red hands and said, “Your hands are cold; how can you hold mine?”

He Cheng’an swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, “Can I hold your hand?”

Lu Yun responded, “Why not? But your hands can’t be cold.” As she spoke, she pressed the thermos into his hands and tucked her own into her pockets.

She looked back at He Cheng’an, who was still standing in place. “Hurry up! Aren’t we going to your house?”