When he stepped outside, it was still pitch dark. Without a watch, he had no idea what time it was. It would be best to catch the earliest bus around six o’clock, but if he missed it, he would have to wait. The buses came every two hours, and in this harsh winter, the cold was unbearable. Breathing out warm air, he walked outside.

By now, Wang Qingsong wasn’t as scared as before. “Men die for wealth, birds die for food”—this was a saying he knew well. Besides, he was only human. To survive, even if he encountered a ghost, so what? As long as it didn’t kill him.

When he arrived at the spot, he looked around cautiously. Then, he quietly slipped into the courtyard of the “haunted house.” Reaching the corner of the wall, he used the faint light reflected off the snow to dig through the snow again. The warm breath from his mouth instantly turned into mist. After clearing the snow, he took out the noodles. He peeled off the outer packaging and carefully placed the noodles into Xiao Zao’s cloth bag, arranging them neatly. He didn’t take all of them—only two handfuls, as he and his sister still needed to eat. He couldn’t use up all their supplies.

Next, he took out the eggs and carefully placed them in the bag as well. Once everything was packed, he stuffed the salt and the “Chicken Essence” back into the snow pile. After burying them, he quietly moved to another spot. In the biting wind, he gathered the noodle wrappers and took out the matches. Struggling against the cold, he struck the match several times. The matchbox was nearly empty, and the striking surface had become soft. After several attempts, he finally managed to light a match. Carefully shielding the tiny flame, he burned all the noodle wrappers. This was something no one could know about—not even his sister. The whole situation was too bizarre.

The small flame provided a faint warmth in the freezing weather. Once everything had burned to ashes, he scooped up some snow to cover the remains. Standing up, he glanced at the dark, eerie “haunted house” before turning and walking out of the courtyard, heading back to Widow Feng’s house.

“Brother Qingsong, what’s this?” Xiao Zao asked curiously as she watched Wang Qingsong carefully place something on the table in the main room.

“It’s something my brother gave me,” Wang Qingsong replied casually, not elaborating further.

Hearing this, Xiao Zao let out a soft “oh” and didn’t press further. It was clear he didn’t want to talk about it. Looking at the pot, she smiled and said, “The food’s ready. Eat up before you leave, and take your time on the road. I’ll walk you to the main road later.”

As she spoke, she began ladling the porridge into four small bowls—three larger portions and one smaller one. “I’ll take this to my mom. You two eat. I’ll go wake up Xiao mai,” she said, placing two of the larger bowls on the table and carrying the third into the inner room. The two larger bowls on the table each contained an egg.

Wang Qingsong looked at the bowls on the table but didn’t insist on splitting them evenly. One of the eggs had cracked open. He peeled the broken egg and put it in his bowl, then took the intact one into the room. “Auntie, this is for you two,” he said, placing the egg in Widow Feng’s bowl.

By now, his younger sister, was awake. He set the bowl with the egg on the edge of the kang and said, “Xiaomai, eat up. After this, we’re going to the hospital in the city.”

“An egg!” Xiaomai, who had been half-asleep, brightened up at the sight of the egg and reached for the bowl.

Wang Qingsong smiled and said, “Take it slow. Don’t burn yourself.”

Widow Feng, looking at the egg in her bowl, said calmly, “Qingsong, I can’t eat this. You should have it.” She already knew that Wang Qingsong had added a lot of flour and steamed buns to the meal, which was far beyond their usual means. Eggs were precious, and she still had some pride.

Wang Qingsong reassured her with a smile, “Auntie, just eat it. If your health worsens and you can’t even make it to the hospital, what then? Think about everyone else too.”

Hearing this, Widow Feng hesitated for a moment. She broke the egg in half and handed one piece to her daughter. “Eat it. If the hens at home lay eggs in a few days, you can give one back to Qingsong.”

Xiao Zao nodded, took the egg from her mother, and placed it in her bowl. She began eating it slowly and carefully, savoring every bite.

Wang Qingsong said, “Auntie, there’s no need to be so polite.”

But the only response he got was the sound of slurping as they ate their porridge. Seeing this, he didn’t say anything more. He went to rinse his mouth with water and then returned to quietly eat his meal.

Xiaomai, seeing that her brother’s bowl only had porridge, hesitated for a while before picking up half of her egg and offering it to him. “Brother, you eat it. I’ve already had half.”

Wang Qingsong smiled and pushed it back. “It’s fine. You eat it. I don’t feel like having any right now. I’ll have some next time.”

Still naive, Xiaomai believed him and happily ate the remaining half of the egg.

After the meal, their bodies felt warm, unlike the bone-chilling cold they had felt before. But this warmth was only indoors. Once they stepped outside, the cold would surely return.

After eating, the two on the kang began putting on their clothes to prepare for the trip. Xiao Zao brought out some corn kernels and corncobs. Wang Qingsong glanced at them and knew they were meant to be ground into flour for cooking. This had become a habit over the past few years, so it didn’t seem strange. He guessed they were running low on food and needed to make flour.

Once everyone was dressed, wearing tattered hats, scarves, and gloves, the three of them opened the door and set off toward the village entrance, leaving Xiao Zao behind with a look of anticipation.

“Auntie, are you okay?” Wang Qingsong asked, concerned, as he walked with Xiaomai and noticed Widow Feng panting heavily.

Widow Feng shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s just a short distance. Normally, I wouldn’t even blink at this.”

Wang Qingsong sighed helplessly. That might be true under normal circumstances, but things were different now. However, there was nothing he could do. Without extra help, they had no choice but to take it slow.

“Who’s there?” A voice suddenly called out from the grass as they reached the village entrance.

Wang Qingsong knew exactly who it was. “Uncle Qiming, it’s me, Qingsong.”

It was Zhao Qiming, one of the village militiamen, tasked with preventing people from sneaking out and bringing shame to the commune. Anyone leaving needed a permit.

Two men emerged from the grass, each carrying a Hanyang rifle and a flashlight. They squinted, shining their lights over the group. “Oh, Qingsong and Sister-in-law Feng! What are you all doing out here?”

Wang Qingsong shielded his face from the light and smiled. “Uncle Qiming, could you stop shining that light in my face? We’re going to the city to see a doctor.”

Zhao Qiming chuckled and lowered the flashlight. Without the flashlight, it was almost impossible to see anyone in the dark. Due to malnutrition, many people suffered from night blindness.

“Do you have a permit? You know the commune’s rules. We can’t make exceptions.”

“Yes, we do! I got it from Third Grandpa today. Here it is!” Wang Qingsong handed over the permit with a smile.

Zhao Qiming took it and glanced at it. He didn’t know many characters, but he could recognize the commune’s official stamp and the seal of the team leader. It seemed legitimate. No one would dare forge such a document. If caught, the commune would have to send someone to the city to retrieve them.

He handed the permit back. “Alright, you can go.”

Wang Qingsong took the permit and smiled. “Thanks. We’ll be on our way. We need to catch the bus to the city.”

After exchanging pleasantries, they continued toward the main road. About two li (a Chinese unit of distance, approximately 1 kilometer) outside the village was a major road connecting the commune to various villages. A walk that should have taken fifteen minutes ended up taking forty. When they reached the intersection, Wang Qingsong saw they still had half the distance to cover. “Auntie, let’s rest for a bit. We can take it slow. If we miss this bus, we’ll just wait for the next one.”

By now, Xiaomai had climbed down from his back. Widow Feng, sweating and breathing heavily, shook her head. “It’s fine. We’re almost there. It’s just two li more.”

Just as she was about to continue, the sound of a donkey cart echoed from nearby.