Chapter 34

When Lin Yao woke up, the sky outside was ablaze with the glow of dusk. The corner of the courtyard was dyed red with the colors of the setting sun.

She was alone in the room. Gu Shi’an was always a light sleeper and no one knew where he had gone.

Lin Yao lazily stretched and yawned. There was a basin of warm water by the washstand, with a clean towel laid out. The faint scent of soap lingered—it was clear someone had prepared it for her before leaving.

Lin Yao washed her face, carefully applying face cream afterward. Her long, dark hair was tied into a braid, draped over her shoulder. She slipped on her slippers and stepped outside to throw water.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Gu Shidong washing clothes outside. The wooden basin was filled with the little boy’s soiled pants and shirts. She asked him what was going on and learned that Da Tou Brother had asked Deputy Director Gu to go to the old carpenter’s house to pick up the camphor wood trunk that was part of Sister Chunmei’s dowry.

Zhang Cuilan was using a mallet to thresh wheat straw on the steps. When the straw softened, she would wrap it around the stool and weave it into straw sandals.

These days, many people in towns and villages in the county wear straw sandals. A brat like Gu Shidong, who hangs out in trees and goes to rivers, can wear out two or three pairs of straw sandals in one summer.

The pair of sandals he had worn out already revealed his toes. Taking advantage of the moment, Zhang Cuilan decided to make a new pair.

Lin Yao set down the basin and helped her mother with the wheat straw. She sweetly said, “Mom, let me do this. You go rest.”

The neighbor, Aunt Dafu, overheard and couldn’t stop praising them.

Zhang Cuilan smiled widely, modestly exchanging pleasantries with Aunt Dafu.

The two old friends chatted for a while before Aunt Dafu asked if the wedding date had been set for the Gu family.

Zhang Cuilan smiled again. “Yes, it’s been decided. There’s about a month left. Originally, my old man wanted to keep our daughter a little longer, but the old Xu family is eager. After the new year,Xiang Qian will be 27 years old. The Xu couple has been waiting for so long, and everything is ready on their side. We can’t keep her, so let her get married. Once our daughter is married, we’ll have one less worry.”

Though her words were practical, her last few sentences betrayed a mother’s reluctance.

Aunt Dafu, having married off her own daughter, tried to offer some advice. “Whether it’s early or late, she has to marry. The Xu family is well-off, and Xu Xiangqian has a good job. He’s steady, and he’s sincere with Chunmei. The two of them are a perfect match. It’s better to live well together than anything else. Xu’s family is just in the next Guihua Alley. You two can visit your daughter anytime, just a few steps away. Once your daughter has her own home, she’ll live her life. It’s not like my eldest, who joined the army after marriage. It’s hard to even get a glimpse of her.”

Zhang Cuilan nodded in agreement, and Aunt Dafu soon left.

Zhang Cuilan looked up at the sky. It was still early, but the weather would turn cold soon. She took out the old clothes with patches and began to tear them apart. She also found her son’s old homework notebook, added some water to make glue, and began layering the pages together to dry. Soon, she would have the soles for the cotton shoes to wear in the winter.  

Gu Shidong finished washing his clothes and hung them up, one by one. The sound of the gong from the canteen announcing mealtime rang out, and the little rascal bounced over: “Sister-in-law, they’re serving food, want to go together?”

Lin Yao waved her hand, “You go ahead. I’m busy.”

Gu Shidong nodded and, holding his lunchbox, happily went to get food.

Nothing is more important than mealtime!

Once the little guy left, the courtyard became much quieter.

Lin Yao softened the wheat straw with a hammer and put away her tools. She stretched lazily, feeling that no matter what she did, it was never easy. However, looking at the neatly packed wheat straw, her heart felt fulfilled.

The heat outside had subsided, and Lin Yao moved a lounge chair under the tree to relax.

Gu Mancang came home from work, and soon after, Deputy Director Gu followed him in. In addition to the camphor wood box for Gu Chunmei’s wedding, he was holding a chunk of fatty meat, probably weighing around two to three jin.

Lin Yao eagerly ran over to see. “The supply and marketing cooperative is selling meat!”

Gu Shi’an replied with a hum, “A batch of grain arrived in the county recently, so naturally, the supply and marketing cooperative has meat too.”

In these times, fatty meat was cheaper than lean meat, and the family hadn’t had meat in a while. Even though Lin Yao wasn’t fond of fatty meat, she still felt that it tasted fine.

Although she had meat in the space supermarket, she couldn’t just take it out carelessly.

Lin Yao shook her head happily and grabbed a basin from under the cutting board. She washed the fatty meat clean with water, chopped it into pieces, and tied on an apron, eagerly beginning to render the fat.

However, she didn’t know how to use the honeycomb stove in the kitchen. She called out a few times to Dongzi, but no one responded, so she remembered that he had gone to get food.

She then called Gu Shi’an over.

Deputy Director Gu immediately took charge and quickly lit the stove, the flames roaring. Lin Yao shooed him away and started working in the kitchen. The flames licked the bottom of the iron pot, and the fat in the pot turned yellow. She added chopped onions and ginger to remove the smell and enhance the flavor. After about ten minutes, the lard was golden. She removed the onions and ginger, turned the heat down, and let it simmer for half an hour before pouring it into a ceramic jar to cool.

While the young woman was busy in the kitchen rendering lard, Gu Shi’an was also working. The rabbit he had bought a few days ago had refused to eat at first, but now it had gotten used to its new home and was eating grass.

Gu Shi’an temporarily put the rabbit in a bamboo cage, added cabbage leaves and wild grass, and used a metal shovel to clean its bedding. He buried the manure under the pumpkin vines in the garden as fertilizer.

Once that was taken care of, he washed his hands and began painting the camphor wood box with tung oil.

The box, made by an old carpenter, was square and built with mortise and tenon joints, making it easy to paint.

Gu Shi’an was meticulous. He applied a coat of clear oil first and then brushed on a layer of tung oil. The wood grains became a beautiful cool color.

When Gu Shidong returned with the food, he came over to take a look. “Brother, this box looks great. When will you make one for me?”

Gu Shi’an paused for a moment and seriously replied, “We’ll talk about it when you grow up and get married.”

Gu Shidong shrugged. “Getting married? That’ll take forever. Forget it. When Sister-in-law has a little nephew, can you make one for him?”

Gu Mancang clapped his hands in agreement.

The brat was feeling proud with his father backing him up, his tail practically wagging with excitement.

Lin Yao was in the kitchen, her face turning red. Unable to hold it in, she shouted, “What nonsense are you talking about, you little rascal!”

Hearing his sister-in-law was angry, Gu Shidong quickly ran off.

Gu Mancang also had Zhang Cuilan take him by the ear to teach him a lesson.

In the courtyard, only Deputy Director Gu was left to bear the brunt of Lin Yao’s anger.

Gu Shi’an knew the little girl was upset. He scratched his nose and tried to think of a way to smooth things over.

Lin Yao glanced at him and waved the spatula, “Go away, go away! Can’t you see I’m busy? Why are you coming in here on such a hot day?”

Gu Shi’an pinched her cheek, “My little girl is mad. I need to coax her before I can leave.”

The audacity! He dared to pinch her cheek!

Lin Yao, frustrated, kicked him in the leg. She had intended to kick his backside, but he was too tall, so her foot only reached his leg.

Gu Shi’an grunted, then pulled Lin Yao into his arms, burying his head against her. He muttered something, making Lin Yao so mad she pinched his waist.

Despite everything, after a round of coaxing, Gu Shi’an finally managed to make Lin Yao smile again.

“It’s okay now, it’s okay. Yao Yao is smiling.”

“It’s all your fault, old man. You’re clapping along with that rascal, encouraging him to say nonsense. What were you thinking? Yao Yao has only been married for a few months, and here we are, already talking about having children. That’s not something you can rush. Having children is all about fate. You can’t force it. It took several years after I married you before we had our first child.”

Gu Mancang was embarrassed and didn’t say anything.

“Anzi, you’re a good one. You said a few words, and you made Yao Yao happy again.”

“Yes, the two kids have a good relationship.”

Zhang Cuilan and her husband peered out the window, sneaking a glance.

The young couple had made up. While Zhang Cuilan felt relieved, she also reminded Gu Mancang that they needed to prepare for her mother’s birthday soon.

Grandma Zhang, her mother, would be 78 years old this year. In Yunshui County, anyone who reached 78 was considered an elderly birthday celebrant. Families with the means usually held a banquet to celebrate.

The Zhang family had it better than the Gu family. With second uncle’s hunting skills, they had plenty of meat available at any time.

In the city, it was a different story. If you wanted to eat meat, you needed a meat ticket and had to wait in line, which was a hassle.

For the banquet, second uncle would provide the meat, and eldest uncle would bring the rice and flour. Zhang Cuilan was planning to make her mother a new outfit to celebrate the occasion.

Gu Mancang would listen to whatever his wife said and decided to give his mother-in-law an extra ten yuan as a “good luck” gift.

Lin Yao was in a good mood today. After successfully rendering the lard, she fried some oil-soaked baby bok choy. The whole family ate, their bellies happily full.

On August 26, it was Grandma Zhang’s 78th birthday, and the family packed up and returned to their hometown.