Chapter 89

In the dead of winter, the countryside got dark early. By six or seven in the evening, it was pitch black.

Lin Daguo, with better eyesight than most of his peers, saw the shadow circling his front door. Since the door was locked from the inside, the thief couldn’t get in and was trying to climb over the wall.

Lin Daguo, who was cowardly and valued his life, knew he couldn’t confront the thief and decided to yell for help.

However, he accidentally stepped on a dry twig, alerting the thief.

The thief, carrying a dark object, ran towards him.

Panicked, Lin Daguo stuffed the pig’s tail into his arms and ran forward, shouting, “Help! The thief is killing people!”

In the countryside, with the noise of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve, people were too caught up in the festivities to pay much attention to his cries.

Lin Daguo ran out of breath, and the shadow chased him, cursing loudly.

“Lin Daguo, you wretched bastard, why are you running? You don’t even recognize your own wife anymore!”

Lin Daguo’s ears perked up. Did the thief just say “his wife”?

To be safe, Lin Daguo ran to the grain drying field and hid in a large stack of wheat straw, disappearing from sight.

Li Aifeng chased after him, searching the grain drying field and shouting hoarsely like an old duck.

“Damned Lin Daguo, where did you go? I came back from the farm and didn’t even get a hot meal. What kind of life is this?”

Just as Li Aifeng was about to sit down and cry, Lin Daguo suddenly popped out from the side of the straw pile, startling her so much she almost fell over.

“Is that really you, Aifeng?”

Li Aifeng: “…….”

Lin Daguo endured a scolding from Li Aifeng. On New Year’s Eve, every household in the village was eating dumplings, and the aroma was all around.

Li Aifeng touched her empty stomach and glanced sideways at Lin Daguo.

“Old man, is there anything to eat at home during the New Year?”

Lin Daguo, freezing and shivering, tightened his tattered cotton coat. “You know our situation. We have very little food. The team distributes food and meat for the New Year, and everyone in the village gets some. We still owe the team some grain and meat.”

In those days, the production team recorded work points when people went to work. To be frank, work points were the people’s heaven and earth. They were related to the family’s food and drink expenses, and were more important to them than their own parents.

Lin Daguo and his son were lazy and good-for-nothing. If they didn’t go to work, the team’s record keeper wouldn’t give them any work points.

As for the three old hens kept at home, while Li Aifeng was around, she could mix some bran and wild vegetables to feed them.

But as soon as Li Aifeng went to the labor camp, within a few days, he had slaughtered the three hens for food.

Li Aifeng knew the character of the father and son well. She touched the copper key on her belt, brushed the dirt off her butt, and walked home with her bag on her back.

Lin Daguo chased after her.

“Where are you going, Hongwu’s mother?”

“Going home to pry open the cabinet.”

“Pry open the cabinet? What good stuff do we have at home?”

Lin Daguo was puzzled. Their home was completely bare. They had nothing to eat, drink, or wear, and even the straw for heating the kang was nowhere to be found. Why would she go home to pry open a cabinet?

What would she do, chop it up for firewood?

Lin Daguo and his wife walked into the house one after the other, without calling Lin Hongwu who was sleeping sprawled out in the house.

In the 1950s, the countryside used kerosene lamps. Lin Daguo’s family was so poor they didn’t even have kerosene. The house was pitch dark, so Li Aifeng found a piece of dry wood from the stove and used it as a light source.

Only then did Lin Daguo see Li Aifeng’s appearance clearly.

After not seeing her for half a year, Li Aifeng had become nothing but skin and bones. She wore an old cotton coat covered with patches, and her cotton pants were made from scraps of cloth pieced together. Her once round face was now gaunt with prominent cheekbones, and her messy hair made her look like a ghost in the dark, giving Lin Daguo a start.

Li Aifeng didn’t bother with Lin Daguo. She directly lifted the stinking quilt, pulled out two bricks from under the kang, and retrieved a wooden box. With a pry, the old wooden box opened.

Inside, Li Aifeng took out two heavy little goldfish. These were items she had stolen from the old landlord’s house during the land reform period.

She had kept them carefully hidden all these years.

Now that the family’s situation was dire, it was time to take them out.

With these two little goldfish, Hongwu can also find a wife to have children with.

In the dark, Lin Daguo’s eyes widened as he stared at the little goldfish.

*

Whether in the city or the countryside, the Lunar New Year is the most relaxed time of the year.

Factories don’t operate, and neighbors in the courtyard have free time. From the first to the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, people in the alleys visit each other, gather together, and chat around the honeycomb briquette stove, eating sunflower seeds, peanuts, and candy. It’s a rare and leisurely time.

Before the New Year, Lin Yao made two sets of one-piece open-crotch cotton pants for Gu Doudou. Because the little one was lively and active, he practiced walking in a walker every day, moving his chubby legs.

These cotton pants weren’t very thick but were fluffy and soft. The green pants with small white flowers made Gu Doudou look even more adorable with his rosy lips and white, chubby cheeks.

On the second day of the New Year, Gu Chunmei and her family of three returned to her parents’ home. Little Xu Tangyuan wore a bright red floral cotton jacket, and the two siblings sat together, one a red dumpling and the other a green dumpling, babbling baby talk.

Gu Chunmei had used a piece of red checkered cotton fabric as a lining to make a waist-cinched cotton jacket and pants. Her hair, curled from before marriage, was now styled with some snowflake cream, and she wore a red scarf around her neck, looking stylish and pretty.

Da Tou Brother rode his bicycle, taking his wife and child to the supply and marketing cooperative. They bought two bottles of Erguotou, a package of snacks, a bag of sugar, and a bundle of canned fruit and went to the courtyard.

As soon as the family of three entered the door, Liu Laidi, was fixated on the bundle of canned fruit, unable to take her eyes off it.

On the first day of the New Year, a light snow had fallen in the morning, and the thin layer had not yet melted.

With their daughter and son-in-law returning and bringing their plump grandson, Zhang Cuilan was overjoyed, her face beaming as she and the equally happy Gu Mancang busied themselves in the kitchen, making dumplings and getting frozen pears.

Xu Xiangqian, the son-in-law, along with Gu Shi’an, was sent to the kitchen to tend the fire.

Lin Yao pulled Gu Chunmei into a room for a private chat. The east wing room was unusually warm, with a smoke pipe on the honeycomb stove, a red clay stove heating water that was already boiling.

Two bamboo chairs in the room were covered with soft cotton cushions, and both windows in the bedroom were covered with paper, adorned with vivid New Year pictures.

Gu Chunmei warmed her hands in the room and took out a red envelope from her pocket, giving it to Gu Doudou.

“It’s New Year’s, so Auntie is giving Doudou a big red envelope.”

Lin Yao came over to stop her.

“Sister Chunmei, what are you doing? This kid isn’t old enough to take money.”

The little guy would put anything he saw into his mouth. She didn’t want him to eat the envelope.

“Why not? Our Doudou is smart.”

Gu Chunmei gave Lin Yao a playful look and smiled as she handed the envelope to the munching Gu Doudou.

Gu Doudou grabbed the envelope without hesitation, making two bubbles at his aunt, making Gu Chunmei very happy.

Lin Yao, curious and amused, also took out a red envelope she had prepared and gave it to Xu Tangyuan.

“Look, Tangyuan, it’s a red envelope from Auntie.”

Xu Tangyuan, a well-behaved little one, wasn’t as excitable as the chubby kid. He looked first at Gu Chunmei and then at Lin Yao before shyly taking the envelope with his chubby little hands.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Lin Yao was surprised. “Tangyuan can talk now!”

Speaking of this, Gu Chunmei became proud.

“Tangyuan first called Mom at nine months old, and only later called Dad.”

What a well-behaved little fellow! Lin Yao couldn’t help but find Xu Tangyuan adorable.

In contrast, Gu Doudou, the chubby little one, was not pleased. He kicked his chubby legs and tried to wriggle into Lin Yao’s arms.

Fearing that the little chub might fall, Lin Yao scooped him up, patted his plump bottom, and teased Gu Chunmei.

“My little one here is just like his dad. As soon as you move away, he starts crying like a small tyrant.”

Gu Chunmei gave Lin Yao a playful wink.

“Isn’t my brother quite the domineering type himself?”

“Go away!”

Lin Yao gave Gu Chunmei a light smack. Just then, Gu Shi’an entered the room to change the tea. The sisters laughed together, making Gu Shi’an feel a bit awkward.

In the evening, the first snowfall of the year began to fall outside.

The family had a meal of dumplings and then sent off Da Tou Brother and his family of three.

Lin Yao, after changing and feeding the yawning Gu Doudou, laid him down in the crib.

The snowflakes drifting outside had upset the mother rabbit in the yard, making her run around frantically.

Gu Shi’an grabbed a shovel to clear the snow from the rabbit’s nest. He added a mat made of woven reeds and a thick blanket to warm up the nest, calming the mother rabbit.

Lin Yao lit a kerosene lamp in the house. Gu Shi’an, with snow on his shoulders, shook off the snow on the corridor before bringing it inside.

He was like a human heater in winter, his body radiating warmth.

Daju lay in its nest, wagging its tail. When it heard the footsteps, its amber eyes opened with alertness. Once it saw the tall and handsome Gu Shi’an, it closed its eyes again contentedly.

Lin Yao was sitting by the bed, watching her son. Gu Doudou was chubby and fair, holding up his two pudgy arms. His face was rosy, and he resembled his father more and more, especially those bright eyes that seemed to drown you in their charm.

Lin Yao gently touched her son’s little hands, feeling a pang of emotion. Her baby, born after ten months of pregnancy, didn’t resemble her at all. It was hard for a mother not to feel a bit sad.

Gu Shi’an smiled, extinguished the lamp, and gently pressed Lin Yao beneath him. He kissed her red lips.

“Lin Yao, how about we give Doudou a little sister?”

His warm breath was on her ear, making Lin Yao blush. Doudou was only eight months old, and he was already thinking of having another child.

How outrageous!

Lin Yao was irritated and bit him on the lip, releasing her frustration. She continued to bite him several times until he apologized profusely.