Chapter 14

After identifying the typos, Lin Ting pondered briefly before slipping the letter into her pocket. She gathered her things and showed the letter to her mother-in-law over lunch.

Hu Xiu took it, curious. “What’s this?”

Lin Ting replied, “I found it stuck in the seam of my back window.”

Hu Xiu’s expression grew serious. After reading it, she first frowned, then scoffed, “Who wrote this? The grammar is terrible.”

Though she never attended formal school, Hu Xiu had learned to read and write.

Lin Ting laughed. “That was my first reaction, too.”

Hu Xiu asked, “Aren’t you angry?”

Lin Ting shrugged. “Why should I be? It’s probably from a girl who likes Huo Xiao.”

She wasn’t worried about the threat. Whether the writer had evidence or just made a lucky guess, it didn’t matter without proof.

Hu Xiu, however, was irritated. “An affair? What nonsense. My son is married!”

Lin Ting casually took a bite of her steamed bread stuffed with pickled vegetables. “There’s no need to be upset. I showed you the letter so you’d be prepared if they write again.”

Hu Xiu slammed the table. “Let them write! I’d like to see who dares!”

For the next few days, Hu Xiu stayed home, preparing for the New Year, but kept an eye on the back window. She even enlisted the twins as little detectives.

Lin Ting tried persuading her twice but gave up when she saw how determined she was. Besides, with the Laba Festival ^[1]a traditional Chinese festival held on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, marking the beginning of New Year preparations. over, the New Year countdown had begun, and there was still much to do.

They had to hire a tailor for new clothes, handle tasks like taking apart quilts, sweeping walls, hanging lanterns, and steaming rice cakes. Just thinking about it was exhausting.

One day, Lin Ting and Hu Xiu prepared to sweep the walls. It was a big task, so they covered the kang bed with worn-out sheets, stored small items in the cupboard, and then started clearing dust and cobwebs with a long broom.

Since the house was newly built and cleaned yearly, it wasn’t too dirty, but both women were meticulous. By the time they finished, their backs ached, and their arms felt weak.

Lin Ting slumped to the ground, leaning against her mother-in-law. “Mom, my hands are shaking. I’m so tired.”

“Me too… Xiao is lucky he just gets to enjoy the food.” At that moment, no matter how much love Hu Xiu had for her son, she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

Lin Ting stifled a laugh. Sometimes, she found her mother-in-law’s personality amusing. But then, she figured it was normal—after all, Hu Xiu was only 46. Many women her age in the future would be just as fashionable.

Just as Lin Ting was about to suggest they take care of their skin together next time, a sudden shrill scream echoed through the house.

Startled, Lin Ting froze.

Hu Xiu quickly patted her daughter-in-law’s back and said, “Are you scared? Don’t be. The village is slaughtering pigs today. Didn’t I tell you about the pig-slaughtering banquet this morning?”

Lin Ting hadn’t forgotten but was startled by the sound of a pig being slaughtered for the first time.

After a while, Hu Xiu untied the cloth on her head, shook off the dust, and said, “Come, stand up straight. I’ll dust you off. We need to hurry.”

Lin Ting grinned and stood up, spreading her hands. “I don’t want to watch the pig being slaughtered.”

Hu Xiu laughed. “Who told you to watch? We’re going to eat and get our share of the meat.”

“Didn’t they just kill the pig?”

“By the time we clean up and change, it’ll be ready.”

Lin Ting didn’t ask further. Once she was clean, she took a towel and helped her mother-in-law tidy up.

Carrying her child, Lin Ting locked the door and headed to the brigade headquarters. Along the way, they met many villagers carrying baskets filled with bowls and chopsticks, just like theirs.

Blending into the lively crowd, they laughed and chatted as the rich aroma of meat filled the air.

Lin Ting sniffed the air. “Hmm… It smells so good. I bet they added sauerkraut.”

As she thought this, an aunt nearby said, “Pingshun’s wife is a great cook! She added sauerkraut, bean sprouts, potatoes, and vermicelli.”

Another aunt scoffed, “It’s the same every year. Besides, it’s meat—of course, it tastes good! I can cook just as well.”

Laughter erupted. Someone teased, “Sure, but you’d probably hide a piece or two! Remember when we had communal meals, and you stuffed pig liver around your waist? The blood stained your pants, and you claimed it was your period.”

“Nonsense! It really was my period!”

Seeing her flushed face, everyone burst into laughter again.

Curious, Lin Ting whispered to Hu Xiu, “Did she really hide pig liver?”

Hu Xiu nodded. “People did desperate things when they were poor.”

Only after living here did Lin Ting realize that most families had enough to eat, but eating well was a luxury. The Huo family was the wealthiest in the village, yet they only had pork twice a month. Without eggs, fish, and game from her mother’s family, she’d be drooling at the aroma too.

When they reached the brigade headquarters, large iron pots simmered with meat, filling the air with mouthwatering scents. Lin Ting swallowed her saliva involuntarily but composed herself, unlike some villagers who couldn’t resist standing near the pots.

After helping the two little ones clean their mouths, she and Hu Xiu lined up to receive their meat. The portions were measured by centimeters ^[2]refers to distribution method based on household size.. As a new bride, Lin Ting didn’t qualify, and Hu Xiu only received a pound. Fortunately, after the communal sharing, they got an extra pound and a half.

Being well-off, Hu Xiu bought several pounds of fat and lean meat using her money. Covering their food basket with a cloth, both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law beamed with joy.

Just as Lin Ting was relishing the thought of eating meat, she noticed something and turned her head. She saw a woman—wearing makeup.

Surprised, Lin Ting knew cosmetics existed in this era, mainly used by opera performers at temple fairs. But seeing someone wear it casually was unusual. The makeup was poorly applied, especially the smudged lipstick.

More importantly, the woman looked at Lin Ting with avoidance and disgust.

Lin Ting couldn’t help but suspect she was the sender of the anonymous letter.

Hu Xiu adjusted their basket and was about to call Lin Ting over when she noticed her gaze. “Tingting, have you seen your second and third aunts… What are you looking at?” She followed Lin Ting’s line of sight and gasped, clutching her chest. “Oh my! Is that Qin from Liujin’s family? Why does she look like this? Like a demon! Quite scary.”

Fairies are beautiful; demons are scary, Lin Ting thought, but asked, “Do you know her?”

“Of course! We’re from the same brigade. Her mother is Zhao Sanni, the one who brought us rice cakes the other day. Remember?”

Realizing who it was, Lin Ting looked away. She decided not to tell her mother-in-law about her suspicions yet.

One reason was that she truly didn’t care. As she said before, accusations needed evidence.

The other? She had no proof.

For now… she’d focus on eating the pig-slaughtering dish.

The aroma was just too tempting.

_

Meanwhile, Wang Xiuqin had been anxiously waiting for Lin Ting’s reaction since sending the anonymous letter.

She didn’t dare inquire directly, fearing exposure. Instead, she subtly questioned her parents daily.

When she confirmed that Lin Ting hadn’t run away, Wang Xiuqin felt an unbearable frustration. Why hasn’t that wretched woman left? When will she go?

Driven mad with impatience, she decided to observe Lin Ting’s attitude in person.

For the pig-slaughtering banquet, she spent 20 cents to borrow an eyebrow pencil from the old secretary’s granddaughter-in-law, an educated youth. She drew her eyebrows and stained her lips red with paper dye.

Thinking she looked more charming than Lin Ting, she left home, ignoring the stunned—perhaps horrified—looks from her family.

Before meeting the troublesome Lin Ting, Wang Xiuqin had imagined many things about her situation.

But never like this.

Why, after just a few days, did Lin Ting not look guilty or haggard? Instead, she appeared even more beautiful.

If it weren’t for that old cotton-padded jacket, who would believe he was from the countryside?

Didn’t you see those arrogant educated youth staring at her? Before Lin Ting arrived, they were all smiling at Wang Xiuqin.

Wang Xiuqin bit her lip in frustration. If one trick didn’t work, she’d think of another. She was determined to drive Lin Ting away.

At that moment, a clean-looking male educated youth approached Wang Xiuqin and said, “Comrade Wang, you…”

Wang Xiuqin’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly turned away.

She knew most of these educated youth couldn’t do hard labor and struggled even to support themselves. Ten years later, in early 1977, when she died, they still had not returned to the city.

She had no interest in dating someone like that. How would she survive? On dirt and rocks?

The male educated youth, who had been about to tell Wang Xiuqin that her makeup was smudged, awkwardly touched his nose.

“I told you not to meddle in others’ business. Now you’re embarrassed. Many villagers don’t even want to talk to us…” One of the educated youth teased his friend.

The young man coughed lightly, “Forget it. She must have misunderstood something.”

“No matter what, the woman in the navy blue jacket must be the wife of the soldier who joined the army recently. This is the first time I’ve seen her up close—she’s stunning.”

“I heard she’s a college student.”

“College… There are no more universities now.”

_

The weather was too cold, and they had two three-year-old children. After preparing the pig-killing dish ^[3]a traditional dish made from fresh pork during pig slaughter., they fed the twins a few pieces of blood sausage before heading home.

Once home, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law heated frozen vegetables and made egg white flour pancakes with green onions. The meal was so delicious that even the twins ate without lifting their heads.

Lin Ting kept thinking about it for days.

Hu Xiu said, “Just five more days, and Xiao will be home. Mom has saved some blood sausage. We’ll add two pounds of meat and have a feast.”

Suddenly, Lin Ting didn’t feel so hungry anymore.

At the same time, Huo Xiao, traveling on a train from Chengdu to Shanghai, sneezed unexpectedly. He smirked—someone must be missing him.