But the bustle of the Chinese New Year was something she looked forward to.

With the rice almost ready and the time approaching noon, Wen Jiajia began cooking. She used some leftover meat from yesterday to make a stir-fry with bean paste, garlic sprouts, and chili peppers.

The garlic sprouts were grown in the yard, and the peppers, though not very spicy, were grown in wooden boxes in the utility room. 

As the temperature dropped, the peppers thrived in the boxes, and with careful use, they would last until the end of winter. The bean paste, acquired from Wei Dai’s comrade-in-arms, was excellent, and Wen Jiajia had given him a jar of bayberry wine in return.

The stir-fried pork was now beautifully rosy, with a thick, red-oil-laden sauce.

Wen Jiajia swallowed as she thought about how tempting Sichuan^[1]is a province located in southwestern China known for its rich cultural heritage, distinctive cuisine, and natural beauty. cuisine was. It was no wonder that decades later, the streets would be filled with Sichuan restaurants.

She placed the twice-cooked pork in the rice steamer to keep it warm. In this weather, food cools down quickly, and meat dishes, in particular, become greasy and unappetizing if left to sit too long.

Next, she started preparing the vegetables. In winter, the only vegetables available from the yard were cabbage and spinach.

As she prepared the spinach, she noted that it tasted better when it was cold. She pulled the spinach up by the roots, removed the hairs, and left the red roots. This vegetable, also known as parrot vegetable due to its beautiful name, red-billed green parrot, was much tastier than the white-root spinach often sold in supermarkets decades later.

After putting the cooked spinach back into the rice steamer, she washed the pot and boiled water for soup.

“Why haven’t they come back yet?” Wen Jiajia wondered anxiously as she glanced outside the courtyard gate.

It was almost noon, and not only had Wei Dai not returned, but Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were also missing.

She went to the door and looked toward the open space in the distance but didn’t see the children.

Next door, Shen Xun was making dumplings. Hearing about Wen Jiajia’s concern, she stood up quickly. “Oh, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have noticed that it’s already noon and Xiaoyi and Xiaosheng are still not back.”

“These kids are really…” Wen Jiajia frowned and ran to the door again.

She called out, “Wen Chun—Wen Xuan—”

There was no response. She called out again, but still no answer.

She was worried, though not excessively. There were no human traffickers in the army, and the nearby rivers were all shallow, with deeper areas surrounded by fences. Her main concern was that the kids might have played too hard, gotten sweaty, and would catch a cold when the wind blew.

The footprints in the snow were chaotic, but they mostly led toward the staff quarters.

Wen Jiajia walked toward the staff quarters. After about eight or nine minutes, she saw a group of children making snowmen and having snowball fights in the open space in front of the staff quarters.

“Wen Chun! Wen Xuan!” she called out.

Her call did not attract her own children but did catch the attention of their friend, Feifei.

Feifei ran over, saying, “Auntie, Chun’er and Xuanxuan went upstairs to eat roasted sweet potatoes. I told them not to go, but they insisted. The sweet potatoes at Xiaopang’s house are so bad that they don’t taste good at all. Xiaopang’s grandmother will be back soon, and she’ll definitely scold us if she sees us.”

Feifei was clearly annoyed and complained to Wen Jiajia.

Wen Jiajia breathed a sigh of relief. “Xiao Pang’s house? What about Xiao Yi and his brother? Are they there too?”

“Yes, they’re all there.”

“Feifei, can you help me call Chun’er, Xuanxuan, and Xiaoyi and tell them that their aunt is calling them home for dinner? Teacher Shen is also waiting for Xiaoyi and his brother to eat.” She handed Feifei two candies. “Here, take these.”

Feifei’s eyes lit up as she accepted the candies. “Sure!”

The little girl ran off quickly, eager to return to Wen Jiajia’s promise.

It was so cold outside that Wen Jiajia didn’t want to linger and hurried back home.

A week ago, Wei Dai had brought back some wood from the mountains. The wood, which had mycelium^[2]is the vegetative part of a fungus, is made up of a web of structures that resemble threads. and was rotting, was stored in the utility room. Gradually, mushrooms started to grow. Today, she saw that the mushrooms were ready to be picked.

Wen Jiajia gathered five or six shiitake mushrooms, noting that many more, as big as her little finger, had popped up, indicating a good harvest to come.

She planned to use the mushrooms for a mushroom and pork soup. As the soup neared completion, she heard the voices of the children approaching.

“Auntie, Auntie, something bad has happened!” Wen Chun burst in, her hair matted with snow or sweat.

Wen Jiajia, carrying the soup, asked, “What’s wrong? Speak clearly.”

Wen Chun gasped for breath. “Little Fatty vomited.”

Wen Jiajia set down the soup. “Why did Xiaopang vomit?”

Wen Chun shook his head, confused. “I don’t know. He just suddenly vomited and couldn’t even eat sweet potatoes.”

“Is there anyone at Xiaopang’s house?”

“There are people there. Xuanxuan, Xiaoyi, Xiaosheng, Feifei, and I are all at Xiaopang’s house.”

Wen Jiajia asked, “I mean, are there any adults at Xiaopang’s house? Did Xiaopang’s grandmother come back after you left?”

Wen Chun replied, “No, she hasn’t come back. But Feifei and the others are still there, so we came back first.”

Wen Jiajia, who was hungry and eager to get dinner on the table, didn’t take the situation too seriously. Children often vomit, especially after eating too much or playing hard.

“Hurry up and wash your hands, then come eat,” Wen Jiajia said. “From now on, don’t stay out so late playing. Otherwise, you’ll only get leftovers.”

“Okay, okay!” the children replied eagerly.

The two kids ran to wash their hands and then sat down at the table.

The twice-cooked pork was still hot, and the fragrant bean paste made their stomachs rumble.

Wen Jiajia took a clean plate, scooped one-third of the twice-cooked pork onto it, and added one-third of the spinach. She placed the plate in the pot to keep it warm, so she wouldn’t have to worry about the food getting cold after Wei Dai returned.

After playing, the children ate with great enthusiasm.

The rice was quickly consumed, as if they had chores waiting for them in the fields.

Wei Dai arrived just as Wen Jiajia was finishing washing the dishes. He was cold all over. Wen Jiajia could feel the chill from him when she got close.

“Are you done sweeping?” she asked.

Wei Dai stretched out his frozen, red hands. Wen Jiajia quickly sidestepped and swatted his hands away. “Don’t touch me. It’s freezing.”

Wei Dai smiled. “Can you cover me up?”

“Go wash your hands,” Wen Jiajia said, pushing him toward the kitchen. “There’s water in the pot, and the vegetables are ready.”

She wiped down the table while Wei Dai washed his hands. He soon emerged with a plate of food and a bowl of rice.

While I was eating, I heard a commotion at the door.

“Teacher Shen, Aunt Wenchun—”

Wen Jiajia was already in the room, but she went out again when she heard the noise. The person approaching her house looked familiar, but she didn’t recognize her. It was an elderly woman.

“Uh, Auntie, you are…”

“I’m Zude’s grandmother!”

“Zude is…”

“Xiaopang,” the old lady interrupted. Xie Yi suddenly poked his head out from inside the house and asked curiously, “Grandma Xiaopang, is it Xiaopang who wants to talk to us? My mother is changing clothes for my brother.”

Xiaopang’s grandmother looked stern. “What did you do with my Xiaopang this morning? Why did he vomit?”

Xie Yi scratched his head, “I don’t know. He suddenly vomited. We had sweet potatoes, bird eggs, and potatoes.”

Wen Jiajia’s expression changed immediately. “Maybe the potatoes were sprouted and poisoned.”

She then asked Xie Yi, “Did you eat any?”

Xie Yi quickly replied, “No! The sweet potatoes were so bad that we only shared one. We didn’t eat the bird eggs or potatoes. Feifei came to call us before the potatoes were even cooked.”

Wen Jiajia felt a bit relieved.

The chubby grandmother let out an “Ouch” and quickly ran back home, having considered this possibility.

Wen Jiajia returned home and went to the girls’ room. They were lying on the bed with their legs crossed, listening to the radio.

“You are not allowed to eat potatoes outside from now on, understand?” Wen Jiajia said firmly. “Xiaopang vomited after eating potatoes. Potatoes can be poisonous if they sprout.”

“Xiaopang vomited after eating potatoes?” Wen Chun asked, puzzled.

Wen Jiajia replied sharply, “Of course not. Didn’t you hear that Xiaopang’s grandmother came to our house in anger?”

Wen Xuan, sucking on her candy, shook her head. “The potatoes Xiaopang ate didn’t sprout. Our teacher taught us not to eat sprouted potatoes, and I’ve been careful about that.”

Wen Chun nodded. “Besides, Xiaopang clearly vomited before eating the potatoes.”

“Yes, I fell while climbing a tree… No, that’s not right. I vomited after going upstairs.”

Wen Jiajia was momentarily stunned. “Did you hit your head?”

Wen Chun replied, “No, he fell and hit his knee. I saw it. His knee was bleeding. Later, Sister Feifei went home to get some medicine for it.”

Wen Jiajia asked, “Feifei is a sister now?”

Wen Xuan looked at Wen Jiajia strangely. “Auntie, it’s Sister Feifei, not just Feifei. Sister Feifei is… your friend’s daughter.”

Wen Jiajia realized they were talking about Gao Fei, Sister Hong’s daughter.

This was strange. Why did he vomit?

She said, “If you feel like vomiting or feel unwell, you must call me, okay?”

“I know!”

The two children were engrossed in a story about Journey to the West.