The siblings followed their Grandpa Qi to the kitchen. The kitchen was lit by a coal oil lamp, and Mother Xu, wearing an old cotton coat patched up in several places, sat by the stove, tending to the fire. Xu Mo sat on a small stool beside her, wearing an oversized cotton coat that nearly reached his ankles, fastened with a rope in the middle. By the stove, the wife of Uncle Benefactor was preparing vegetable pancakes.

The sound of their footsteps disturbed the people in the kitchen. They all turned their heads to see who had entered. The dim light from the coal oil lamp cast a warm glow over the darkened room. Upon seeing the siblings behind their Grandpa Qi, Mother Xu’s eyes reddened, and she remained silent, her sobs stifled.

At that moment, Xu Mo suddenly stood up and walked in front of the two people, looking them over. He finally approached Xu An, whose eyes were also red, and shouted, “Second Brother,” without waiting for a response, he asked, “Second Brother, where is Sister? Isn’t she with you?”

Xu Ning…

At this point, Father Xu and Uncle Benefactor entered the room as well. Seeing the situation, both Grandpa Qi and Uncle Benefactor understood what was happening without any further explanation.

Grandpa Qi sighed and said to Father Xu, “You two should take the children inside and talk.”

Uncle Benefactor also said, “Go to our place.”

They moved into the room, where Mother Xu held the siblings in her arms and wept bitterly. Father Xu, with reddened eyes, also embraced them.

Xu Mo, looking from one person to another with tear-filled eyes, asked again, “Second Brother, where is Sister?”

Among the weeping group…

Xu Ning came over, picked up Xu Mo, and said, “Little Mo, don’t you recognize your sister? During the New Year, she even bought you sweets with your red envelope money.”

Xu Mo, with reddened eyes, said, “Are you Sister? Sister, where is your hair? Why is it so short? Why have you become so dark?”

Xu Ning… “Being darker is healthier, and the weather was too hot, so I cut my hair short. It will grow back after a while,” she thought to herself, though she knew she would keep it short; she had no plans to change her hairstyle before the college entrance exams resumed.

Xu Mo clung tightly to her neck and cried on her shoulder.

Once Xu Ning had calmed Xu Mo down, they all sat on the kang and began to talk.

Xu Ning asked her parents what had happened and why they were there.

Mother Xu, crying, said, “It’s my fault. I’ve caused you all to suffer.”

Father Xu comforted her, “How can this be your fault? You didn’t go to Hong Kong with your father. No matter what happens now, I will not blame you. Our family will always be together.”

Through her father’s explanation, Xu Ning learned the full story.

Xu Ning’s grandfather, Lin Wenqian, was a businessman before the founding of the country. In 1953, the whole family moved to Hong Kong. At that time, Lin Man had already married Xu Minghong and had just given birth to their eldest son, Xu Yang. Lin Man stayed behind and did not go with her parents and brother to Hong Kong. Lin Wenqian left some money for his daughter and moved with his wife and son to Hong Kong.

After her parents and brother left, Lin Man continued teaching at Beijing University with Xu Minghong. Later, they had Xu Ning, Xu An, and Xu Mo, and their family lived harmoniously. During those years, Xu Minghong’s half-brother, Xu Mingwei, demanded that he divorce Lin Man and sever all ties. Xu Minghong firmly refused. At that time, Xu Minghong’s father was still alive, and Xu Minghong had many students to help him. Although Lin Man was suspended from her job, their life was not greatly affected, and they continued living as before. It wasn’t until the latter half of 1968, when Xu Minghong’s father passed away, that Xu Mingwei immediately cut off all relations with him.

Xu Minghong first arranged for his eldest son, Xu Yang, to join the army. He was faced with the difficult decision of what to do with the 12-year-old Xu Ning and the 9-year-old Xu An. He had a former student from Heisheng Province, who had been recommended by Xu Minghong himself, Zhao Jianguo, the younger brother of Zhao Jianshe. Xu Minghong contacted Zhao Jianguo, who then called Zhao Jianshe to find out which brigade and village had a more honest and trustworthy reputation. Zhao Jianshe was asked to investigate thoroughly and only told that it was the children of his former teacher who were coming to the countryside and that he was looking for a reliable place.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ning sighed inwardly and gave a brief overview of their situation, including the house they had built. She explained that she and Xu An lived separately and did not reside with the educated youth.

She then opened the bundle she had brought and said, “Mom, Dad, these are the cotton clothes I made for you. I was planning to send them to you after you got in touch with me and Xu An, but since you’re here now, you can put them on right away. The winters here are very cold; it hasn’t snowed yet, but it can get as cold as minus several dozen degrees.”

After speaking, she removed Xu Mo’s clothes and put him in the cotton coat and pants she had prepared. The clothes fit him well, though they were a bit large.

Once Xu Ning had dressed Xu Mo, she noticed her parents still sitting there, not moving, with red eyes looking at her. She said, “Mom and Dad, you should put them on quickly!” As her parents began changing clothes, Xu Ning dressed Xu Mo in the ragged clothes. The clothes and pants were a bit long, so she rolled up the cuffs and sleeves.

Seeing that her parents had changed into the cotton clothes, Xu Ning gave them two sets of old clothes pieced together from her and Xu An’s old garments, saying, “Mom and Dad, put these old clothes over the new ones. They will be easier to wash if they get dirty while working.”

Her parents understood the necessity of wearing worn-out clothing and donned the old clothes.

Xu Ning then brought out two pairs of cotton shoes, saying, “Mom and Dad, these are the cotton shoes and socks I bought for you at the supply and marketing cooperative. They are defective and didn’t come with tickets, and I had planned to send them along with the cotton clothes. Please put them on. I didn’t buy any for Xu Mo because there weren’t any small sizes available. Mom, could you make two pairs for Xu Mo from the cloth and cotton here?”

Li Man, with tears in her eyes but smiling, said, “Alright, I’ll make them. From now on, I’ll make some for all of you.”

Xu Ning smiled and said, “Good, start with the cotton clothes for Mom and Dad and Xu Mo. I’ve asked the village aunt to make two pairs of cotton shoes each for me and Xu An, so we’re all set.”

Li Man responded with a gentle smile, “Alright, I’ll do as my daughter says.”

Seeing Li Man neatly fold the clothes she had changed out of, Xu Ning asked, “Mom, are these clothes from Grandpa Qi and the others?”

Xu An pointed to the large cotton coat that Lin Father had been wearing and said, “This one is Grandpa Qi. I often saw him wearing it.” He then pointed to the long cotton coat that Xu Mo had been wearing and said, “This one is Uncle En’s.” (T/N: Uncle benefactor)

Xu Father asked, “Xu An, why do you call him Uncle En?”

Xu Ning and Xu An then recounted the incident on the mountain where they had encountered the wild boar. Lin Father and Lin Mother immediately pulled them aside and asked anxiously, “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

Xu Ning reassured them, “Mom and Dad, we’re fine. Fortunately, that uncle happened to come down from the mountain and killed the wild boar. He didn’t even take the boar; he let us take it.”

She continued, “Mom and Dad, that uncle and aunt are good people. He saved us and told us not to talk about them to others outside because he was concerned for our safety.”

Xu An added, ” Grandpa Qi is a good person too.”

Xu Father said, “I was college classmates with your Uncle Lu. He was a few years ahead of me, and by the time I entered university, he had already graduated. The teachers at school spoke highly of him. I didn’t expect to find him here.”

At that moment, they heard Grandpa Qi’s voice from outside, calling them to come and eat.

When they arrived in the kitchen, they saw a bowl of dumplings that Xu Ning had brought, along with a stir-fried cabbage dish, some shredded radish, a stir-fried egg, sweet potato porridge, and vegetable pancakes. Xu Ning knew that this meal had been prepared to welcome them, as the Xu family had just arrived today.

Xu Father pulled Xu Ning and Xu An over and said, “Quickly, bow to Uncle Lu and thank him for saving you. You should be filial to him and Aunt Lu from now on.” Xu Ning and Xu An immediately knelt and bowed, saying, “Uncle Lu, Aunt Lu, we will be filial to you just like we are to our own parents.”

Uncle Lu quickly helped them up and said to Xu Father, “Brother Xu, there’s no need for such formalities. It’s not a big deal; the children don’t need to bow.”

Aunt Lu chimed in, “Don’t be so polite. In such situations, everyone would lend a hand. Sit down and eat.”

She then guided Xu Ning and her siblings to the table.

Xu Ning said, “Aunt Lu, Xu An and I will eat at home. We have leftover dumplings.”

Aunt Lu replied, “Good children, just eat here. Since your parents just arrived today, let’s have a reunion meal together.”

Grandpa Qi added, “Just stay and eat here. Everyone, sit down.”

After dinner, they discussed sleeping arrangements. Since there were only two rooms with kang beds, they had previously decided that Xu Father and Uncle Lu would share a room with Grandpa Qi, while Mother Xu and Aunt Lu would stay with Xu Mo in another room.

Now that Xu Ning and Xu An had arrived, Xu Ning said to Grandpa Qi, ” Grandpa Qi, can my parents stay with me for now? They can come over in the morning once the kang bed is ready.”

Grandpa Qi nodded and said, “Alright, let them stay there. Come over in the morning early. Old Chen comes with the ox cart every morning to go to the city, so be careful not to run into him. As for Xu Mo, just let him play with you. If anyone asks, just say he’s helping and that I asked you to take care of him.”

The Xu family thanked Grandpa Qi, who waved them off and went inside.

Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu escorted them to the door and reminded them of Old Chen’s early arrival times, advising them to plan accordingly but not to get up too early in the cold weather.

[T/N: Instead of using the terms “Xu Ba” and “Xu Ma” for Xu Ning’s father and mother (respectively), I decided to just use Father Xu and Mother Xu to make it simple and easy to understand. I hope it’s okay with you guys, hehe =)]