Chapter 14

Breakfast consisted of pumpkin millet porridge and pancakes. As He Guijuan cooked the porridge, she tossed in a dozen red dates, filling the dish with their sweet aroma. The pancakes were perfectly cooked, fragrant, and soft; a bite revealed the sweetness of wheat.

After breakfast, Grandma Lin, as usual, set down her bowl and took some sunflower seeds with her as she headed out. Li Hongmei took her two precious sons and Fengyin to visit relatives, while Zhang Yueju and He Guijuan began cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, preparing items needed for the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Although the tradition of sacrificial offerings for the New Year had fallen out of favor, they still set off a few firecrackers and prepared a lavish New Year’s Eve dinner, celebrating the year with joy and festivity.

Even if it meant borrowing money, they made sure to host a sumptuous dinner. After all, if the New Year could not be celebrated well, what hope was there for the coming year?

Jiang Jiang followed Fengzhen out the door, carrying a small basket on her back.

Fengzhen was the most diligent child in the family. She swept the floors, did the laundry, cooked, and fed the pigs, with the family pig always under her care.

Fengzhen liked Jiang Jiang very much. Her biological sister, Fengyin, often ignored her, and their mother frequently scolded her for being clumsy. When they visited their grandmother’s house, Fengyin never took her along, but Jiang Jiang was always willing to play and work with her.

“Fengzhen, this is for you,” Jiang Jiang said.

Fengzhen looked at the piece of candy in Jiang Jiang’s palm and swallowed hard. “You should keep it. I don’t want it.”

“This is from Brother Zhong Xing. I’ve already eaten one, and it’s really good. You should try it, Fengzhen.”

Hearing this, Fengzhen no longer declined. She accepted the candy from Jiang Jiang’s hand, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

“Is it good?” Jiang Jiang asked.

“Mm-hmm.” Fengzhen nodded. The moment the candy hit her tongue, she fell in love with the flavor.

She had initially thought that the White Rabbit candy given by Aunt San was the best candy ever, but this one turned out to be even more delicious than that.

As they passed by the Dongxi River, they happened to encounter Zhong Xing and Yu Hangyuan, who were washing their faces by the riverbank.

After a day of hard work, the refinement they had shown upon their arrival had worn off. Zhong Xing had taken off his watch and swapped his leather shoes for something more practical, and his meticulously tailored black coat was now a muddy yellow, speckled with dirt and grass. His face was covered in grime, making him look quite disheveled.

“Brother Zhong Xing, Brother Hangyuan,” Fengzhen said, frozen in place. After a while, her face flushed as she mimicked Jiang Jiang’s way of greeting.

Zhong Xing pointed at the small basket on her back. “Where are you two headed?”

“We’re going to gather pig grass,” Fengzhen replied.

“Then I’ll go with you. We’ve just finished our work, too,” he offered.

Yu Hangyuan raised his hand. “I’ll come along as well.”

With that, the four of them set off towards Junfeng Mountain. Zhong Xing lifted Jiang Jiang and let her sit on his shoulders.

This was Jiang Jiang’s first time riding on someone else’s shoulders. Zhong Xing was tall, and as she sat there, she felt like a giant, with everything beneath her within her gaze.

“Brother Zhong Xing, I can walk by myself,” Jiang Jiang said softly, worried that he might be tired after a long day of work.

“It’s fine; I’m not tired,” Zhong Xing said.

His steps were steady. He had always wanted a little sister, but as an only child, he had no cousins to fill that role. After seeing Jiang Jiang yesterday, thoughts filled his mind.

If he had a sister, she would surely be just like Jiang Jiang—well-behaved, beautiful, understanding, and lovely.

Although he was more than a decade older than her and could easily be her uncle, that didn’t diminish his fondness for Jiang Jiang.

The snow on Junfeng Mountain was only a thin layer, better than in other places. The cold made it hard to venture outside, and they still had to clear the ice and snow to gather pig grass.

With the help of Zhong Xing and Yu Hangyuan, they quickly filled a basket with pig grass. After escorting the two girls home, Zhong Xing returned to the youth station.

They usually ate at the station and only returned to Lin’s home for lodging after their meals.

Fengzhen brought a cutting board and knife from the kitchen, chopped the washed pig grass into small pieces, and placed it into a bucket to make pig feed.

Once all the grass was chopped, the two of them started feeding the pigs. There was no extra grain to feed the pigs at home, so families relied on their children to gather pig grass. Among those children, Fengzhen was the one who gathered the most and the best grass.

Before dawn, she would sometimes head up the mountain with her basket.

He Guijuan had just steamed some buns when she noticed the two girls had already finished feeding the pigs.

She and her husband had only one daughter, Jiang Jiang, who was still young. Guijuan initially intended to spoil her and let her rest inside, but Jiang Jiang enjoyed being with Fengzhen and helping with household chores. Since it was just gathering pig grass, He Guijuan allowed her to go along.

“How come you and your sister Fengzhen returned so quickly from gathering pig grass?” He Guijuan asked.

“Thanks to Brother Zhong Xing and Brother Hangyuan for helping us,” Jiang Jiang replied.

He Guijuan lovingly wiped the grass clippings off her daughter’s face. “Lunch will still be a while. Take your sister Fengzhen inside, have some water, and eat a piece of egg cake.”

Jiang Jiang led Fengzhen to her bedroom, carefully taking out two pieces of egg cake from the five-drawer chest.

Jiang Jiang usually didn’t go near that chest; she never touched adults’ things recklessly. It was only because He Guijuan had mentioned that she had taken out the egg cakes.

On the bottom shelf of the chest was a tin can filled with malt extract. Since coming to Lin’s home, her mother had made her a bowl every evening—sweet, fragrant, and rich.

Whenever Fengzhen entered the cave of Third Uncle and Third Aunt, she felt like she had stepped into another world.

Bright, tidy, and cozy, the room had a clean scent, unlike the cave where she slept, which was cluttered with shoes and socks and carried an unshakeable smell of sweat. Every day, she could hear her father snoring or her mother scolding.

“Egg cake?” Fengzhen’s eyes lit up when she saw what Jiang Jiang was holding.

“Yeah, we each get one piece,” Jiang Jiang said.

The faint, sweet aroma wafted into Fengzhen’s nose. She inhaled deeply, wishing she could transform that scent into real egg cake to swallow, but she still hesitated. “You eat it; I’m not hungry.”

The day Third Aunt returned from the supply and marketing cooperative, she had given them a bag of egg cakes. However, Fengzhen had only tasted a small piece; the rest had gone into her two younger brothers’ and Fengyin’s stomachs.

“Go on, eat it. I’ve been hungry for a while, and I’m sure Sister Fengzhen is hungry too,” Jiang Jiang urged.

Fengzhen was nothing like Lin Lao Er or Li Hongmei; instead, she resembled Eldest Brother Lin more.

Diligent, hardworking, and resilient.

Fengzhen truly was hungry; her stomach grumbled. Finally unable to resist, she glanced gratefully at Jiang Jiang, held the egg cake, and took a small bite. Soft and sweet cake melted in her mouth, an exquisite treat.