Chapter 140: Unexpected Things

The items Zhang Lan and her family brought back were considered precious, even by Hao Lianchun. Green vegetables, which she had eaten before, but had not seen since arriving here. She didn’t expect Zhang Lan to buy them. “Sweetie, you must have spent quite a bit this time. These vegetables must not have been cheap.”

They didn’t bring back much this time, just two bundles of leeks and some green beans. Apart from setting some aside for the maternal family, they sold most of it.

“Aunt, it’s okay. Let’s have something fresh for the New Year. It’s only once a year. We’ll save some to make dumplings, and we’ll stir-fry the green beans on the thirtieth so everyone can have a taste,” Zhang Lan said.

The house was tidied up by Hao Lianchun and looked as if she hadn’t left for two days. At this moment, Zhang Lan truly appreciated having a thoughtful elder in the house.

On the 28th of the twelfth month, every household was putting up Spring Festival couplets. Old Chen had already written the couplets, and Zhang Lan prepared the paste early in the morning. Several elderly men helped to put them up on the walls. The festive atmosphere was immediately palpable once the red couplets and decorations were in place.

There were already sporadic firecrackers being set off in the streets. Mingyuan looked at them with envy. “Dad, did we buy firecrackers for our home?”

Mingyuan didn’t directly ask for them, but subtly inquired. Wang Zhenhe looked at his son’s longing and envy and patted his head with a smile. “Mingyuan, do you want to set off firecrackers? Dad has already bought them for you. Let’s go home and get them.”

Wang Zhenhe took out the 100-cracker firework sets he had bought for the children and distributed one set to each of them. Wang Qian had seen these in the store; they cost 1.2 cents per set. If used carefully, they would last for two days.

However, she had no interest in setting off the firecrackers. She dismantled her set and divided it among her siblings. “Sister, you really don’t want to set off the firecrackers?” Mingyuan asked, somewhat incredulous.

“Of course. Why would I want that? The noise is a bit scary, and there’s a risk of injuring your fingers. Be careful when you set them off,” Wang Qian replied.

Although Mingyuan didn’t quite understand why Wang Qian didn’t like setting off firecrackers, he was still happy to receive more to play with.

Wang Xuan took the firecrackers given by her sister and went outside with Mingyuan to set them off. Wang Zhenhe lit half an incense stick for each of them to light the firecrackers.

Wang Zhenhe watched as Mingcheng led his siblings outside, leaving his youngest daughter sitting obediently on the kang. “Qianqian, why don’t you go out and play with your siblings? Setting off firecrackers is so much fun.”

Wang Qian shook her head as she sat on the kang. “I don’t want to. It’s cold, and I prefer staying at home.”

Wang Zhenhe had no choice but to accept that his daughter wasn’t interested in playing. While the other children went out to enjoy the festivities, his daughter remained steadfast at home.

“Qianqian, Grandpa Zuo will take you out to play. It just so happens that your Uncle Wu also wants to go out for a stroll,” he suggested.

Zuo Zhan Shan and Wu Changyong were sitting at home with nothing to do and wanted to go out for a walk. They called Wang Qian to join them. They had noticed that it was quite difficult to get her to go out alone, so they decided to take her out for a walk.

Wang Qian readily agreed to accompany the elderly gentlemen. After dressing warmly, she slowly walked out of the house with the two elderly men.

“Ah, this child is really something. She’s willing to go out with the two old men. You’d think she’d want to play with so many other children,” Hao Lianchun remarked as she watched her father and the little girl happily bouncing out the door.

Zhang Lan chuckled and said, “Auntie, our little girl is just lazy. If there’s nothing important, she probably won’t go out.”

As they walked out, they noticed that every household had put up red Spring Festival couplets and “fu” characters, except for one. “Grandpa Zuo, why isn’t that family putting up couplets?” Wang Qian asked.

Wu Changyong, with a smile, explained the reason for his old comrade, “Little one, you don’t know this. This family must have had a death within the last three years. The custom here is not to put up couplets or decorations for three years after a death.”

“Oh, I see.” Wang Qian had never heard of this custom before, and it was the first time she had heard them mention it.

As they walked, they met many familiar faces, and everyone greeted each other with smiles. The festive atmosphere was palpable as the Lunar New Year approached, and the joyful mood was evident on everyone’s faces.

The two elderly men didn’t take the usual route out of the village and started walking towards the southern mountains. “Qianqian, are you tired?”

The two elderly men were exercising and still took care to look after the little girl behind them.

“Grandpa, I’m not tired, just a bit hot. Hey, this area we’re walking through is an orchard, but it’s a pity that all the fruits have been picked,” Wang Qian said, looking at the bare branches with some regret. Despite guarding such a large orchard, she hadn’t eaten a single fruit.

Zuo Zhan Shan, observing the expression on her face, guessed that the girl was thinking about how delicious the fruits were. “Qianqian, look, there are still some scattered small fruits left on the branches,” he pointed out.

Upon closer inspection, Wang Qian noticed that indeed, there were some small, egg-sized unripe fruits still hanging on the branches. They were not ripe and had been abandoned, hanging lonely on the branches. However, they seemed to have been frozen, and their colors had changed.

“Girl, don’t underestimate these fruits. We can make delicious frozen fruits at home. Old Wu, let’s go and gather some, especially the pears. Get more of those. Frozen pears are even tastier than frozen apples,” Left Zhan Shan suggested.

Wang Qian had never tasted the two things mentioned by Zuo Zhan Shan, but the prospect of finding something to pick made her instantly happy. They started to wander around the vast orchard. It was already the depths of winter, and there was no one guarding the orchard. It felt as if the three of them had entered their own home. They picked up or plucked any edible fruits they found and piled them up separately.

Wang Qian heard Old Wu’s call from a distance and then heard a commotion, indicating that they had caught a wild chicken. However, she didn’t run over to see. She could hear Wu Changyong’s triumphant laughter, “Old Zuo, I caught a wild chicken too! This is great; we’ll have chicken for the New Year.”

Hearing this, Wang Qian felt a pang of regret. It was the first time their family had raised chickens, and the half-grown chickens didn’t have much meat. Her mother and Grandma Zuo had decided not to slaughter them, setting their family apart from others. She hadn’t expected Grandpa Wu to bring it up.

As they walked deeper into the woods, they found many discarded rotten fruits, but a large portion of them were still good, frozen solid. Wang Qian picked them up one by one and stored them in the space. Even though they were frozen, they were still a rare delicacy. It would be a shame to waste them.

She also used a stick to knock down the small fruits from the treetops. These fruits left in the wild would become fertilizer in the spring, so it was better to bring them home. If they were edible, they could be eaten, and if not, it wouldn’t be a waste to discard them.

The three of them continued to search the orchard with this purpose in mind until Wu Changyong called her name from a distance.

“Grandpa, what’s wrong?” she asked, running over. However, when she saw the pile of things at Wu Lao Ye’s feet, she also smiled. It was almost enough for the whole family to eat.

“Hehe, girl, look at what your Grandpa Wu  caught. We won’t be short of chicken this time,” Old Wu said with pride in his weathered face, and Wang Qian gave him a thumbs up. ” Grandpa Wu, you’re amazing. We really needed this. Thank goodness you’re here; otherwise, our chickens would have no future.”

Praised by her, Wu Changyong burst into laughter. “Old Zuo, did you catch a wild chicken? Look at what I have here.”

Zuo Zhanshan was holding a large snake, which was already in hibernation and showed no signs of struggling. However, Wang Qian was still startled and quickly hid behind Wu Lao Ye. Even though it was a dead snake, she still found it scary.

“Don’t be afraid, girl. It won’t bite. Grandpa Zuo will make snake soup for you when we get home,” Zuo Zhanshan said, knowing that Wang Qian was afraid of snakes.

Wu Changyong’s eyes lit up when he saw the snake. “Old Zuo, you’re amazing. I haven’t eaten this in so many years. I remember having it during the war. Today, we must taste it. Don’t be afraid, Qianqian. Snake meat is delicious, almost as good as pork ribs.”

“Old Wu, I’ve picked up a lot too. We need to go back and get something to carry them in, or we won’t be able to take them back,” Zuo Zhanshan said.

At this point, Wang Qian volunteered, “Grandpa Zuo, you and Grandpa Wu  go back and get some baskets. You should also call my dad and the others to help carry them. Otherwise, we won’t be able to take them all. I’ll stay here and watch.”

Grandpa Wu glanced at her. “Qianqian, are you sure you’ll be okay here? Aren’t you afraid?”

Wang Qian shook her head with a smile. “Grandpa, what’s there to be afraid of? It’s broad daylight. Who could come and take me away? Besides, our home is at the foot of the mountain. I’m not afraid. If anything happens, I’ll call for help.”

In the end, Wu Changyong was still worried about leaving a child alone in the mountains. He asked Zuo Zhanshan to take some of the things back first and stayed on the mountain with Wang Qian.

The two of them, one old and one young, had nothing to do and looked down at the village from a high vantage point. It was a good feeling, with a broad view, and they could see everything that was happening down below.

Old Wu held her tightly to keep her warm and said, “Girl, does the view from up here feel different from what you usually see? Standing high and looking far, this is why we liked to occupy the mountaintops during the war. Because from up here, you can observe every move down below.”

“Was it very hard for you during the war?” Wang Qian asked.

Wu Changyong sighed and said, “Hard? Of course it was hard. But at that time, we just wanted to drive the enemy out so that our future generations could live in peace. So, even though it was hard, we weren’t afraid. It’s a pity that after driving out the enemy, we still had to deal with others. Your Grandpa Wu can’t understand that.”

“For those who have lived in the northeast, they might remember the childhood experience of eating frozen apples and pears. Placing the frozen fruits in cold water until they thawed and then eating them had a unique taste. However, in modern times, most people prefer fresh fruits, so it’s likely that few people still eat frozen fruits. The experience of eating frozen fruits can probably only be reminisced from memory.”