Xu Ning opened the kitchen door. Xu An entered and lit the kerosene lamp. Xu Ning turned to her parents, who were standing at the door and looking around by the moonlight. She said, “Mom, Dad, this little piece of land at the entrance is our private plot. The cabbages we planted this year have grown really well.” She then pointed to the neatly stacked cabbages under the eaves for them to see and continued, “I’ve also pickled two large jars of sauerkraut.”

With that, she led her parents into the house and continued to show them the stored goods. There was a jar of salted meat, a large jar of salted duck eggs, a goose and two chickens hanging on the wall, and a jar of lard, along with peanut oil, pork cracklings, eggs, rice, white flour, cornmeal, and shelves on both kitchen walls stacked with mountain goods. Xu Ning then took them to her room. Along one wall was a large shelf, similar to the one in the kitchen, filled with the grains she had recently divided: corn, beans, sorghum, wheat, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. The shelf was packed to the brim.

She opened two cabinets on the heated bed, revealing four new cotton quilts, two sets of cotton clothes, several pieces of cloth, a large bundle of cotton, a few pairs of cotton shoes, and a big stack of woolen socks—about a dozen pairs. There were also some defective wool yarns bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, military coats sent by Xu Yang, and cotton gloves. She then opened a nearby box, which contained milk powder, canned goods, White Rabbit candy, brown sugar, rock candy, egg cakes, biscuits, and a large bag of apples.

Next, she took them to Xu An’s room, where Xu An and Xu Mo were playing on the heated bed. This room was noticeably larger than Xu Ning’s. One wall had a large shelf filled with mountain goods that the siblings had collected. Xu Ning opened two cabinets: one contained four large bags of dried wild vegetables, and the other held two large bags of dried mushrooms. There were also some dried wood ear mushrooms, dried green beans, and bean vermicelli from her space. In the corner was a new, unused stove. Xu Ning opened two cabinets on Xu An’s bed, which held Xu An’s cotton coat, cotton shoes, cotton socks, cotton hat, and a few pieces of cloth.

After showing everything, Xu Ning urged her parents to sit on the heated bed and said, “Mom, Dad, life here is very good for Xu An and me. The grains in my room are what Xu An and I divided this year, and we even got more than 100 yuan. The mountain goods, wild vegetables, and mushrooms are plentiful, and we can gather as much as we want. There’s so much in the mountains that even if everyone in the village went to pick them, they couldn’t finish it all. Winter here is long, but we only work for four or five months a year, and the rest of the time we stay home. We can gather firewood from the mountains as well. During winter, we keep the bed warm, the house cozy, and enjoy the mountain goods we collect. Life couldn’t be better. Now that you and Xiaomo are here, our whole family can be together. The future will be bright.”

As Father Xu listened, he looked at the fully stocked grains in the room, and with red-rimmed eyes, he turned to Xu Ning and said, “My daughter is really capable. She’s worked hard.” He wiped his tears and added, “Xu An is also capable, and he’s a good child too.”

Mother Xu looked at the brother and sister, both already in tears.

Once both their parents had calmed down, Xu An went to fetch water to wash their faces. They then all sat on Xu An’s heated bed to talk. Their father asked, “Why did you two decide to move out of the educated youth compound?”

Xu An replied, “Living with them was tough. They bullied me and my sister because we were younger. They always made my sister do their chores. When it was their turn to cook, they deliberately steamed our cornmeal buns smaller. Once, when my sister went to help a female educated youth fetch water, she injured her head, and even the village chief came over. My sister, in front of the village chief, beat the two girls who were bullying us with a stick and reported them for mistreating us and cutting our rations. The village chief was very angry. He said if they did it again, he would send them to the educated youth office and made them pay for my sister’s medicine, as well as give us 20 eggs as compensation. On another occasion, they said we shouldn’t eat tomatoes from our own plot. My sister used a firewood stick to beat that female educated youth, which scared them so much they never dared to trouble us again. Later, my sister went to the village chief again, and after explaining our situation, he agreed to let us move out and even helped us find a veteran craftsman to build our house.”

Their parents were both outraged upon hearing this. Father Xu clenched his fists and, with a dark expression, asked, “Which two educated youths were they? How could they be so malicious at such a young age?”

Xu Ning quickly said, “Mom, Dad, it’s all right now. I’ve already taught them a lesson and vented my frustrations. Actually, the head injury happened because I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking and tripped. As for moving out of the educated youth compound, it was because more educated youths arrived later, and with only two rooms for more than a dozen people, there were many conflicts. Their vegetables didn’t even match the amount of produce Xu An and I harvested from our small plot. We hardly ever saw them collecting mountain goods. You know, with so many people eating from a communal pot, it was bound to cause issues over time. So Xu An and I decided to move out. It’s much more comfortable living on our own with the door shut.”

Father Xu looked at Xu Ning with satisfaction and smiled, “My daughter has really grown up. This place is great. How did you decide to build a house here?”

Xu Ning replied, “When I saw this empty piece of land, which wasn’t very big, I thought the village chief would agree to it. Plus, it’s right next to our private plot—so convenient! I went into the city, bought some things, and then took Xu An to find the village chief.” She then recounted how she had gone to Zhao Jianshe’s house and told her parents about how she had taken Zhao Jianshe’s banner to secure the land. Mother Xu was astonished, while Father Xu, excited, slapped the heated bed and said twice, “That’s my daughter, truly! No wonder she’s so capable.”

Mother Xu gave him a sideways glance and said, “Are you praising our daughter or yourself? Shameless!” The family laughed together. Seeing everyone in good spirits and eager to chat, Xu Ning went to wash a few apples. They each took one and started eating. Xu Mo said, “Sis, these apples are really good, so sweet!”

Mother Xu asked, “Ning, how did you get all those things you showed us? I didn’t give you that many ration coupons when you went to the countryside!”

Xu Ning thought to herself, as expected, a mother’s attention to detail. She said, “Mom, those things don’t need ration coupons. They are defective items. The supply and marketing cooperative gets a batch of defective goods every few days. These defective items are usually not available for sale; they’re distributed among their internal staff. Recently, when I went to the city to deliver some mountain goods to Brother Jianshe, Sister Hongmei asked if I wanted to buy wool yarn. She said it was defective and didn’t need coupons. I wanted to knit some sweaters and long johns for my older brother, so Sister Hongmei took me there. That’s how I met Sister Hongying, Sister Hongmei’s sister. They city people really like these mountain goods. A few days ago, when I went to the city again, I took a basket for Sister Hongying, and she was thrilled. I told her if they had any defective goods at their cooperative, to save some for me. With our big family, we need fabric, cotton, cotton shoes, and so on. Since these items don’t need coupons and are cheap, I bought a bit more. She told me to come back in a few days because there would be many good things then.” Xu Ning thought, let Sister Hongying take the blame for this; otherwise, it’s hard to explain where all these items came from.

She then pointed to the stove in the corner and said, “This stove was bought with help from Sister Hongying, though it cost two industrial coupons. There’s also 500 pounds of coal in the fuel room, which Sister Hongying helped me get through connections, and it didn’t need coupons. I also had the village carpenter make a large tub for bathing. This winter, we can heat the bed and take baths indoors.”

As Xu Ning spoke, both of her parents had smiles on their faces.

Mother Xu asked, “You must be running low on money by now!” She then took out a stack of banknotes from her pocket and handed them to Xu Ning, saying, “This is all the money we have left at home. When your brother left, things were not very stable. Your father and I had him take most of the money with him, thinking that if our family wasn’t together, he could send you money every month. Now, it’s not convenient for your father and me to handle money. Keep this money for yourself and don’t be reluctant to use it. The money your grandfather left me hasn’t been touched; your father hid it away.”

Xu Ning replied, “Mom, you keep it! We haven’t used much of the money you and Dad gave us when we went to the countryside. It cost about 200 yuan to build the house, and the rest I’ve saved. Xu An and I still have a lot of the more than 100 yuan we earned this year.”

Mother Xu asked, “You bought so many things, yet you still have so much money?”

Xu Ning explained, “Mom, these things are not expensive. They’re defective items from the cooperative’s internal stock, only available to connections. Otherwise, why would everyone be fighting over positions at the cooperative? It’s because there’s a lot of profit.”

Father Xu said, “Daughter, your mother is right. We don’t have much use for the money now, so keep it with you. There’s also a bicycle coupon in there. Buy a bicycle so it will be more convenient for you to get around.”

Xu Ning was delighted to hear about the bicycle coupon. She had wanted to buy a bicycle for a while but hadn’t had the coupon. With a bicycle, it would be easier to go into the city, especially since she would be staying here for another seven or eight years. She took the money and said, “Mom, Dad, I’ll keep it for now. If you need any, just come to me. Don’t worry, I won’t use it recklessly.”

Seeing that it was getting late and that her parents and Xiaomo (T/N: “Little Mo”) had travelled a long distance, Xu Ning decided to prepare some hot water so they could wash up and go to bed.

Xiaomo insisted on sleeping with his sister, so Xu Ning let her parents and Xu An sleep in one room while Xiaomo stayed with her. The heated bed in Xu An’s room was large enough for three people to sleep comfortably.