Chapter 53: Winter Snow is Coming

The snow came early and heavily.

In just a few hours, the yard was completely covered with snow, and the night was filled with white.

Wen Jiajia was awakened by the sound of breaking branches. 

With a “crack,” the old branches of the osmanthus^[1]refers to a genus of flowering plants known for their fragrant blooms. tree outside the terrace broke under the weight of the heavy snow, causing the snow accumulated on the tree to fall.

“What’s that sound?”

Wen Jiajia woke up in a daze. When she was about to open her eyes, Wei Dai gently stroked her back and said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s just the sound of branches breaking under the snow.”

“Is the snow that heavy?” Wen Jiajia asked, stretching her feet toward Wei Dai.

Wei Dai hugged her tightly and said, “Yes, it’s very heavy. You can make a snowman tomorrow.”

“That’s good.” After a few seconds, Wen Jiajia fell asleep again, her breathing steady.

Wei Dai was always amazed by her ability to fall asleep so quickly. It took him more than ten minutes to feel sleepy again and return to sleep.

The next day, Wen Jiajia woke up early, but the temperature was still low. She tentatively stretched her arms out of the quilt but quickly pulled them back.

There was no one around, and she could hear the radio from outside the room.

Listening carefully to the news, Wen Jiajia realized that Wei Dai was still at home.

“Wei Dai!” she shouted, “Is the snow thick?”

After a while, Wei Dai opened the door and came in. “Are you awake? The snow is really heavy. Do you want to get up and take a look? It hasn’t stopped yet.”

As he spoke, he went to the window and rolled up the newly hung thatched curtain from autumn. The dark room instantly became bright.

Wen Jiajia covered her eyes and slowly adjusted to the light. She pressed the cup tightly against her shoulder, moved her body to sit up against the back of the bed, and her eyes widened when she looked out the window. “Oh my god, the mountains across the way have turned white!”

The snow covered everything from the mountaintop to the base, a sight she had never seen in her hometown. 

She looked at the yard, which was also blanketed in snow, so white that it reflected light. The roofs of the bathroom and toilet were already covered with heavy snow, at least half a decimeter thick.

Wei Dai rolled up the curtains and walked to the bedside, extending his hands with the intent to playfully trouble her.

Wen Jiajia quickly lay back down, pressing the quilt tightly against her and eyeing him warily. “Don’t even think about touching me.”

Wei Dai, unperturbed by her reaction, pinched her cheek and said, “Get up and eat. We’re having glutinous rice balls again this morning.”

She had finally gotten a day off and didn’t want to wake up early.

Wen Jiajia closed her eyes, pulled the quilt over her head, and said, “Give me another half an hour.”

Half an hour was acceptable.

Wei Dai checked his watch and saw that it was only eight o’clock, so he was in no hurry to wake her for breakfast.

Outside the room, the two children were contemplating changing the channel, but Wei Dai came out just in time. Wen Chun immediately stopped and asked, “Uncle-in-law, is Aunt not up yet?” She smiled sweetly at Wei Dai.

“No, Chun’er, I have a task for you. Keep track of the time and call your aunt to eat in half an hour,” Wei Dai instructed. “Also, why did you leave the table before finishing your meal?”

There was still half a bowl of glutinous rice balls on the table. Most people these days were either hungry or afraid of hunger and hated to waste food.

Wen Xuan, who had run to the door to play in the snow, said, “I don’t want to eat anymore.” She felt uncomfortable with her bloated stomach.

Wei Dai was slightly surprised. It was rare for Wen Xuan to refuse food.

He didn’t insist that the children eat the sticky rice since it was hard to digest. Instead, he went to the cabinet and took out a box of medicine. The children rushed over when they saw what he was holding.

It was chicken gizzard powder, made from the shell of chicken gizzards. It was something they used to sell whenever they killed a chicken at home, and they had to buy it from the hospital when needed.

Chicken gizzard powder aids digestion. You just scoop a spoonful into your mouth and drink some water.

Although Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai agreed that the powder tasted strange, the two children actually liked it.

They also enjoyed mashed potatoes, which also aid digestion. They seemed to have inherited this taste from somewhere.

The two girls squealed with delight and opened their mouths wide. Wei Dai scooped two spoonfuls of golden chicken gizzard powder into their mouths, then covered the lid and put the box back.

With him coming in and out like this, Wen Jiajia couldn’t sleep at all.

Fortunately, she just wanted to stay in bed. When Wei Dai put the chicken gizzard powder away and left, Wen Jiajia asked him to take out the hot water bottle from under the quilt and replace the hot water.

Wei Dai complied, poured in some hot water, put on a cotton cover, and tucked her back into the quilt.

“Ah, it’s so comfortable and warm,” Wen Jiajia sighed, wanting to roll around in bed.

Her bed felt incredibly soft. There was a straw mat and a thick mattress underneath, a large quilt weighing several kilograms on top, and a cotton pillow, making her feel as if she were buried in a pile of cotton.

Half an hour passed quickly. Wen Jiajia kept refusing to get up but was eventually pulled out of bed by Wei Dai. He said, “Eat first, and then if you still want to, you can go back to sleep.”

Wen Jiajia: “…” What she said was, now that she was fully dressed and full, could she still go back to bed?

“Really? I’m not even allowed to sleep a little longer?” Wen Jiajia muttered as she got up, put on her crocheted slippers, donned her old cotton-padded jacket, and went outside.

Wen Jiajia felt that his cotton-padded coat was more comfortable to wear than her own. It was long enough to cover her calves, and with a sweater underneath, she didn’t feel cold at all at home.

The key was that this coat was stain-resistant; no wonder Wei Dai said it only needed to be washed once a year.

Wei Dai cooked another bowl of dumplings and brought it to her.

Wen Jiajia had just brushed her teeth, and her nose was now red, as if she had put on blush.

“Are these meat dumplings?” Wen Jiajia asked, holding the hot bowl with her left hand and using her right hand to scoop a dumpling into her mouth.

Wei Dai closed the door and sat opposite her. “The sesame dumplings were too sweet yesterday. I was afraid you couldn’t eat them in the morning.”

Wen Jiajia: “Yes, my hands were shaking, and I put too much sugar in them.” She had gotten tired of them after eating more than five.

The meat dumplings were also very good. When you took a bite, you found chopped meat filling inside. The meat filling was slightly sweet, similar to that in fish balls.

Wei Dai had also added cabbage to the dumplings. The yellowish cabbage leaves had been cooked until soft or even mushy, making them quite refreshing with the meat dumplings.

Wen Jiajia couldn’t eat any more after eight dumplings, so she pushed the bowl in front of Wei Dai and said, “You can eat the remaining two.”

…Can these two really make a difference?

Wei Dai secretly complained that all three of them shared the same character.

Wen Jiajia propped her chin on her hands and looked at him with sparkling eyes. “This is my love for you~”

Wei Dai felt a shiver run down his spine.

After breakfast, Wen Jiajia wanted to play in the snow. 

How thick was the snow in the yard? It was deep enough to cover her ankles and extend an inch beyond her feet.

The snow had just fallen and was still soft, crunching underfoot.

Wen Jiajia changed her shoes and left a trail of footprints in the yard. Her feet were nearly frozen before she hurried back into the house.

Wei Dai was exasperated as he watched Wen Jiajia complain about her cold feet every day while still walking around in the snow. He couldn’t understand why she would do that, but he couldn’t bear to see her suffer, so he decided to help by shoveling the snow.

Wen Jiajia called out, “Leave some for me. I want to make a snowman later.”

“Sure!” Wei Dai replied, thinking to himself, *I’ll save a small patch for you to build a miniature snowman.*

However, Wen Jiajia was quick to act. She put on her gloves, went to the children’s room, and pulled them out. “Come on, come on! Don’t you think such heavy snow is rare? We don’t see it often in our hometown. Auntie will show you how to make a snowman.”

“Building a snowman?” Wen Chun asked, puzzled.

Wen Jiajia led them outside and said, “Yes, that’s right. Why? Didn’t the teacher at school teach you how to make one?”

Wen Chun shook his head. “The teacher never taught us.”

Wen Jiajia said, “It’s okay. I’ll make one for you, and then you’ll know how to do it.”

She rolled two snowballs, one big and one small, and stacked them. She then picked up dead branches for the snowman’s arms and used carrots for the nose, stones for the eyes and mouth, and finally added a hat. The result was a rather silly-looking snowman.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were delighted and ran next door to invite Xie Yi and his brother to help build a snowman together.

By the time Wei Dai had nearly finished shoveling the snow in the yard, the snow stopped, the sun came out, and the temperature rose a few degrees.

“Don’t you have to go to the team today?” Wen Jiajia asked. “With this heavy snow, I’m worried you’ll be called in to clear it.”

Wei Dai glanced at her with a hint of exasperation. “Stop being so pessimistic.”

Wen Jiajia laughed. “It’s not pessimism; it’s just common sense.”

Sure enough, Wei Dai was called away around ten o’clock to help clear the snow. The snow was so heavy that even the division commander had to clear it at his doorstep.

As he was about to leave, Wei Dai bent down, rolled up a snowball, and threw it at Wen Jiajia, hitting her on the head. He then quickly made his way out the door, his hearty laughter echoing behind him.

Wen Jiajia stood stunned for a moment, then felt the cold snow on her forehead. “Wei Dai!” she yelled, clearly annoyed.

As she tried to shake off her frustration, Wen Jiajia thought about how the heavy snow made it inconvenient to go out. She had wanted to buy pork bones for a hotpot, but now she wasn’t keen on braving the snow.

Back in her hometown, pigs were slaughtered at the end of the year, and the locals did the same. Here, the standard of living was higher, and people slaughtered pigs at various times during the winter solstice, Laba, and the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, also known as the Little New Year.

She remembered the delicious hotpot she craved, and her longing for it made her feel even more frustrated. 

It was nearly noon, and since Wen Jiajia was tired of dumplings, she decided to steam rice instead. 

Meanwhile, Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, who had been told to make a snowman, had disappeared. 

As Wen Jiajia was preparing lunch, she considered whether she should start making bacon and sausages for the New Year. Last year’s homemade bacon and sausages were good, but the sausages from Hao Qingying were far superior. Hao Qingying had offered to help with the ingredients and cooking, and Wen Jiajia planned to ask her next week about when her family would start the preparations.

Besides bacon and sausages, Wen Jiajia also needed to make tofu. Without a local tofu shop, she had to make it herself, and buying it in the city was expensive and required tickets. 

She also needed to prepare New Year’s treats like fried dough twists and shrimp crackers, which meant she would be busy throughout the month, even on weekends.