Chapter 62

Gu Shi’an, with a stern face, opened the door. The little orange cat outside meowed loudly.

It had been scratching at the door for a while, and now that the door was finally opened, it was clearly displeased.

The little kitten gave Deputy Director Gu a swipe without any mercy. Gu Shi’an dodged quickly, preventing the little creature from scratching him.

Inside, the room was warm with the earthen kang stove. On the kang table, there was a plate of sugar-roasted chestnuts, a plate of homemade pumpkin cakes, a basket of roasted peanuts, and a pot of honey tea. The honey came from Second Uncle Zhang, who had found a beehive in the old forest while looking for honey. A swarm of bees chased him away, and he picked up the fallen hive.

Second Uncle Zhang brought the honey home, split it into a glass jar, and kept half for Grandma Zhang and the other half for his sister.

This honey was authentic wild honey, even purer than the honey kept by the local villagers. Grandma Zhang drank a bowl of it every day, and it made her old, toothless mouth scrunch up with sweetness.

Zhang Cuilan treasured it dearly. In the Gu family, only Gu Chunmei and Lin Yao could drink it as they pleased.

Dongzi, the cheeky little boy, had a sweet tooth. Lin Yao made a pot of honey tea every day so that the whole family could have a cup and sweeten their mouths.

Outside, the cold wind howled, but the Gu home was warm and peaceful. The little orange cat took a bath with Lin Yao and its fur was fluffy and fragrant.

Lin Yao petted the orange cat several times. The cat had just eaten a bowl of dried fish, so it wasn’t hungry. It no longer sneaked into the kitchen to steal the salted fish hanging from the beam but snuggled in its bed and fell asleep.

Deputy Director Gu took a small broom, swept the kang clean, spread the mattress, and made the bed. Lin Yao, in white cotton pajamas and pants, with her soft hair loosely tied up, looked even more delicate under the candlelight. She yawned, and as he finished arranging the quilt, she rolled onto the kang and curled up like a cocoon, leaving him no chance to touch her.

“I’m tired. Let’s turn off the lights.”

Lin Yao said with a smile.

Gu Shi’an glanced at her, his eyes lingering on her flower-like face. His gaze paused, and his lips curled up suddenly. “Okay.”

Lin Yao: “……”

Something was off.

Sure enough, as soon as he extinguished the oil lamp, Lin Yao buried herself under the covers. She heard rustling sounds of clothes being removed, and then silence. Wondering why there was no more sound, she peeked out, hoping to catch a glimpse of Deputy Director Gu’s sexy figure. Instead, she found herself staring into a pair of smiling black eyes.

Alright, this guy was just waiting for her!

Lin Yao, embarrassed and angry, lunged at him. Gu Shi’an caught her and kissed her right away.

Lin Yao couldn’t escape being devoured. In a fit of frustration, she left several little “strawberries” on Gu Shi’an’s neck. Since he was so thick-skinned, she wanted to see what he would do next!

The next morning, Deputy Director Gu buttoned his coat all the way up, looking meticulous and showing no trace of the previous night’s rogue behavior.

“……”

On December 29, the Gu family cleaned up the kitchen and busily prepared for the New Year.

At last, the old couple came back from visiting their daughter and sighed for a long time.

Life was tough for the people in Yunshui County. In the bitter cold of winter, people across the country were barely holding on, with severe shortages of supplies. Everyone was waiting for life to improve in the coming spring.

In the city, during the grain purchasing period, Xu Xiangqian went to the grain station. In the past, urban residents could receive thirty jin of grain per month, but now each person only received five jin, all coarse grains. Even with this, many people couldn’t buy any.

After all, not everyone in the city had a job with a stable income.

It was common for a family to have only one working member. Those who lived in double-income families had a slightly better life. Meanwhile, the bald leader in Taiwan wasn’t sitting idle. Taking advantage of the mainland’s hardships, this rabble kept clamoring about a counterattack. They boasted about reaching the South China Sea in half a month and reclaiming their homeland in six months. Their slogans were loud, but it was all thunder with no rain.

Dongzi was jumping around at home, “The bald heads only know how to talk big. Let them wait. When I grow up, I’ll give them a lesson.”

Then, the cheeky kid got a scolding from his mother.

Moreover, Gu Chunmei had just become pregnant. The fetus in her belly still needed time to settle, and it was essential to ensure proper nutrition. At the very least, a sugary egg drink was a must for a pregnant woman every day.

The Xu family had plenty of rice, flour, and oil stored up, but eggs were hard to come by. Lin Yao went to the county town early in the morning and brought a large basket of eggs for Gu Chunmei. They were bought from Zhou Xiaoxue.

Mother Xu was overjoyed and didn’t know what to say. She was anxiously waiting at home, as her daughter-in-law was carrying her first child, and she hoped she would be strong once the baby was settled. After all, her own mother had lost her first brother because she didn’t take care of herself well during pregnancy.

Gu Chunmei hadn’t seen Lin Yao for a long time. The two sisters were very close, and she pulled Lin Yao to sit in the new house, grabbing some candy and peanuts.

Lin Yao was curious about the baby in Gu Chunmei’s belly and pressed her ear to her belly but heard nothing.

Gu Chunmei patted her on the back with a smile. “It’s only been two months. It’s too early to hear anything. You’ll understand once you’re pregnant yourself.”

Lin Yao said she would just let nature take its course.

Xu Xiangqian wanted to come over, so Mother Xu was sent out to clean the table and sweep the floor in the main room.

Gu Chunmei’s new room was in the east wing. The floor was covered with wooden planks, and the furniture was all newly made. There was a writing desk by the window, and next to it stood a tall wardrobe with a carved mirror. To the left of the bed was a tea table with a small sofa on each side, covered with floral cotton cushions. The tea table had a tea tray, a warming pot, and several glass cups.

The small sofas were so comfortable that Lin Yao didn’t want to move once she sat down. Da Tou Brother brought tea, and Mother Xu brought a plate of long white cakes. Lin Yao thanked her sweetly.

“Thank you, Aunt Xu.”

“No need to thank me. Yao Yao, it’s good that you’re here. Chunmei is at home resting because she’s pregnant, and as an old woman, I can’t talk much with the young ones. You two sisters should chat and stay a while longer.”

Mother Xu smiled warmly, feeling content seeing the gentle girl, and ate half a bowl of rice at lunch.

In the afternoon, Gu Shi’an came to pick up Lin Yao, and Gu Chunmei reluctantly saw her off.

Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. On this day, every family in the village went to the graves of their deceased relatives to burn paper offerings.

Lin’s parents’ graves were on the back mountain of Linjia Village. Zhang Cuilan took Lin Yao to visit her parents’ graves, and of course, Gu Shi’an, the son-in-law had to follow.

After half a year, the graves had grown over with dead grass and fallen branches. Lin Yao didn’t know why, but perhaps it was the surge of bloodline and familial affection. Upon seeing her parents’ graves, her nose turned red, and she nearly cried.

Gu Shi’an patted her head, softly comforting her, “Yao Yao, don’t cry. Mom and Dad are watching.”

Lin Yao nodded, wiped her nose, and together with Gu Shi’an, cleaned the fallen leaves and dry grass from her parents’ grave. Zhang Cuilan wiped her tears, took out a plate of roasted peanuts, a plate of stir-fried white vegetables, a plate of steamed preserved meat, and a basket of steamed buns from the basket, setting them up with two pairs of chopsticks and two cups of wine, placing everything on the grave.

Zhang Cuilan burned a lot of paper money and gold ingots for Lin’s parents, chattering about many things that had happened in the past six months. She told them almost everything, saying that Yao Yao was a good child, filial to her elders, and asked Lin’s parents to protect the children and keep the family safe and sound, without asking for great wealth, just a peaceful life. She then called her son and daughter-in-law to bow three times in front of the grave.

While bowing, Lin Yao silently prayed, asking her parents to bless her elder brother, who was serving in the army in Xinjiang. She had been writing to him for months, but the letters were either returned or found to be missing.

She didn’t know what had happened to her elder brother.

The distance and high barriers were of no use to Lin Yao’s anxious heart.

On New Year’s Eve, the Gu family house was spotless. The spider webs on the walls were cleaned, the table, chairs, and stove were wiped clean, and Lin Yao cut out several paper decorations. Gu Shidong ran around the yard, pasting decorations on the windows, doors, and even the stove god’s incense. Gu Mancang and his sons started carrying bundles of firewood home in the afternoon.

These days, in the mountains, firewood was mostly cut from the mountains and carried back home in bundles. Without branches, they cut long and high thorny branches from the mountains. Gu Shidong carried a small basket, picking up leaves from the small forest on the way back to use for kindling.

Lin Yao and Zhang Cuilan made dough and meat filling to prepare dumplings. The Gu family was large, so they made five big trays of dumplings, but eating dumplings alone was not enough for the New Year.

During the New Year, even in the poorest counties, the police station would distribute some goods.

Gu Shi’an received a whole hen and two pounds of cornmeal. Lin Yao asked Deputy Director Gu to prepare the hen, adding vermicelli, mushrooms, and mountain mushrooms to make a pot of chicken soup with vermicelli. The aroma was so delightful that it seemed to spread far into the mountains.

Dongzi was grinning, running around the yard with the big orange cat. Both little ones seemed not to mind getting dizzy.

On New Year’s Eve, as dusk fell, someone in Gujiaao Village set off the first firecracker of 1959.

The Gu family also set off firecrackers.

This year’s New Year’s Eve dinner left everyone full. Only one and a half trays of pork and cabbage dumplings were left. The Gu family could really eat a lot.

Gu Shi’an alone ate three large bowls, and Lin Yao sometimes wondered how he managed to eat so much without gaining weight, besides his daily exercises.

Well, never mind. She was always the unlucky one.

After New Year’s Eve, the family had nothing much to do on the first day of the New Year, except for eating, drinking, and visiting neighbors.

Gujiaao’s villagers were quite simple and there were only a few dozen households, so it wasn’t necessary to visit every home. Visiting a few of the closer ones was enough for the New Year.

By the third day of the New Year, after finishing the dumplings, Lin Yao began making different dishes.

On the fourth day, she made noodles, mixing them with homemade meat sauce. Even Dongzi, the little rascal, could eat a bowl.

There were also small pots of noodles and big pots of porridge. Noodles mixed with meat sauce were delicious, but eating them every day was not ideal.

Dongzi complained while Zhang Cuilan tapped her old son with chopsticks. “What are you mumbling about? After you finish eating, go wash the dishes in the kitchen. The New Year is over; you need to start learning household chores.”

Gu Shidong obediently agreed and continued making faces at his sister-in-law.

“Sister-in-law, how about we have fish soup tonight?”

Lin Yao thought for a moment and gave a positive gesture to the little rascal.

At the Sun family home in the town, Lin Hongna got her wish and married Sun Jialiang. They lived in Sun’s family’s exclusive cadre’s house, which was indeed quite good. The house had once been the residence of the local gentry.

The red cloth wardrobe, the yellow pear-patterned coffee table, the long black leather sofa in the living room, and the rotary dial telephone on the coffee table—all these details created a picture-perfect home. Lin Hongna rode her bicycle out, came back to enjoy milk and malt extract, listened to Huangmei opera on the radio every evening, walked on clean, polished wooden floors, and even the toilet was cemented. Such a good life made Lin Hongna feel like she was smiling in her dreams.

But before she could even celebrate becoming the wife of a cadre, Mother Sun, that old virtuous woman, delivered a harsh blow to her.