The siblings were sitting closely on the kang, chatting, when Xu Mo suddenly asked, “Sister, are you and Big Brother Lu getting married next year?”

Xu Ning was taken aback and asked, “Xiao Mo, who told you that?”

“The whole village is talking about it! Grandpa Chen said when he went to see Big Brother Lu off today, you two had already agreed that he would come back next year to get married.”

Xu Ning angrily tossed aside the half-finished shoe and lay back on the kang, feeling too upset to speak.

Thinking that Xu Ning wanted to sleep, Xu Mo opened his small bundle, took out his clothes, socks, and underwear, and placed them in the cabinet. He said to Xu Ning, “Sister, you can go sleep in your room. I’m going to change now.”

Xu Ning, feeling rejected, huffed in annoyance.

Fuming, she got up from the kang, pinched his little face, and then headed back to her room.

Watching his sister storm off, Xu Mo touched his cheek and shook his head, thinking, Is she angry because I didn’t want her to sleep here? Really, women’s hearts are like needles at the bottom of the ocean!

The next morning, when Xu Ning got up, she found that Xu Mo was already awake. She was surprised and asked, “Xiao Mo, why are you up so early? Go back to sleep for a while. I’ll call you when breakfast is ready.”

Xiao Mo, with his small backpack on, said, “Sister, I won’t eat here today. There are too many people going up the mountain, and it wouldn’t be good if someone saw me. I’ll come back tonight to keep you company.”

Xu Ning suddenly felt a lump in her throat. She went to her room and grabbed a bag of cookies, placing them in his backpack. “Alright, I’ll save some good food for you tonight.”

Xu Mo happily agreed. He first opened the door to check outside; seeing that the road was clear, he dashed off to the cowshed like a little cannonball.

Afterward, Xu Ning cooked a bowl of noodles. Once she finished eating, she grabbed her basket and headed out to gather wild goods.

With Xu An away in the city for school, she was alone in the collection. She found a secluded spot where few people went and began to store her finds in her space while filling her basket. By the end of the day, she had collected more than she usually did with two people.

She continued gathering for three or four days, spreading the collected goods out to dry in the yard. When Wei Lanlan and the others came by to help chop cabbage and pickle sauerkraut, they were stunned by the amount of wild goods in her yard.

Wei Lanlan asked, “Xu Ning, did you collect all of this by yourself?”

Xu Ning smiled and replied, “I started gathering before you all went to work. I haven’t even collected that much these past few days.”

The group then remembered that during this year’s autumn harvest, Xu Ning hadn’t done much work; it was all her boyfriend who helped her out, which meant she must have been going up the mountain every day during that time.

Sun Hao and Chen Xiangdong were chopping cabbage in the yard while the three of them sat there peeling the cabbage leaves.

Yang Xiaomei said to the two, “Wang Juanjuan wants to go back to the city. I heard from Jiaohua that she’s already written two letters home and even made a phone call to the city yesterday. Her family is trying to pull some strings, but it seems her two sisters-in-law don’t want her to return.”

Wei Lanlan scoffed, “With a sister-in-law like her, they’re really unfortunate. And now that she’s down here, anyone with any sense wouldn’t want her back.”

 Xu Ning nodded in agreement. The group spent the afternoon pickling the sauerkraut, and they agreed to help Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei with pickling the next day.

After they left, Xu Ning took out some pears and apples from her space, chopped them up, and got some chili powder ready, intending to make some spicy pickled cabbage.

That evening, Xu Ning and Xu Mo sat on the kang, chatting. While munching on his cookies, Xiao Mo said, “Sister, they’re distributing grain tomorrow. Dad and Uncle Lu discussed it and said this year’s work points are a bit more than last year’s. They want to get more fine grains for Grandpa Qi.”

Xu Ning thought about how much fine grain she had in her space and said, “Tomorrow, you should tell Dad and Uncle Lu to take all coarse grains this year. I have plenty of grain coupons here, so we can go to the city and buy fine grains. It’s more cost-effective to collect coarse grains in the village.”

“Got it, sister! I’ll tell Dad and Uncle Lu tomorrow,” Xu Mo replied eagerly.

Xu Ning then asked, “How’s school going for you, Xiao Mo? Is anyone bullying you?”

Xiao Mo waved his hand dismissively, saying, “Sister, who would bully me? Everyone in class is my good brother and sister. At first, there were a few troublemakers, but I’ve already won them over. Now, they’re my brothers too.”

Xu Ning was genuinely impressed by the boy’s social skills. At such a young age, and given his background, he was thriving in the village. Although part of it was due to Grandpa Qi’s influence, the kid was also quite charming and sociable, making it hard for anyone not to like him.

“So, do the teachers like you?”

“Of course, the teachers like me! My studies are excellent, and every day after class, I help the teachers clean the blackboard and keep the podium tidy. Both of my teachers praise me for being well-behaved and attentive.”

He grinned and added, “I’m now the class monitor, and the teachers said if I keep up the good work, they’ll make me the head monitor next semester!”

Xu Ning patted his head and smiled, “Xiao Mo is really impressive, already a class monitor! I never held any position when I was studying.”

Xiao Mo proudly lifted his chin and said, “Dad, Mom, Uncle Lu, Aunt Lu, and Grandpa Qi all say I’m amazing and well-behaved.”

The next day, when it was time to distribute the grain, Xu Ning borrowed a cart from the village to bring back their share of the grains.

Sun Hao and Chen Xiangdong had already finished chopping the cabbages. After having lunch, Xu Ning went to the youth camp to help them pickle the sauerkraut. The weather was nice, and the educated youths were sitting outside in the sun after their meal.

Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei were peeling off the dry leaves from the cabbages, while Sun Hao and Chen Xiangdong cleaned the jars. Xu Ning washed her hands and started helping them with the pickling.

Several people in the compound were watching. Jiaohua asked, “Xu Zhiqing, we’re also chopping cabbage tomorrow. Do you have time tomorrow afternoon to help us with the pickling? The pickled cabbage we made last year went bad quickly, and we barely had any vegetables to eat all winter.”

Xu Ning smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, but I’ll be going into the city tomorrow, so I won’t have time. However, you can watch how I do it today and just follow along. Each person has their own method for pickling, and sometimes mine doesn’t turn out great either.”

Jiaohua felt a bit embarrassed, and Chunhua pulled her along, saying, “It’s getting late; let’s go chop some firewood!” After exchanging nods with the others, they headed up the mountain.

Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei ignored the clueless Jiaohua. The atmosphere between them was usually awkward, yet Jiaohua had the audacity to ask for help as if it were perfectly normal. It was hard to understand how she could be so bold.

Liu Shaojie and Zhang Hairong were also nearby helping out. The seven of them quickly finished pickling two jars of sauerkraut.

As they prepared to head up the mountain to chop firewood, Xu Ning realized she had enough wood already. Since she had nothing else to do at home, she went back to grab her basket, planning to join them on the mountain. She figured she could collect some wild goods if she found any or just wander around a bit.