At five-thirty in the morning, Xu Ning woke up. She looked at Xu Mo, whose little face was flushed from sleep. She gently pulled the blanket over him and, noticing the heat in the bed was fading, added some firewood to the pit.

Xu Ning took out two bowls of flour and planned to make a simple gnocchi soup for breakfast. While she was kneading the dough, Xu An also got up. Seeing Xu Ning busy with breakfast, he immediately began to tend the fire. As he worked, he said to Xu Ning, “Sister, after I take little Mo to the cowshed, I’ll go collect some more firewood. Yesterday, Jianmin said that winters here last five or six months, and we’ll need a lot of firewood for the stove, both day and night. We should gather more while there’s no snow yet.”

Xu Ning thought that made sense. Although their firewood pile looked big, it burned quickly. It would be wise to collect more before the snow fell. She replied to Xu An, “After breakfast, take little Mo to the cowshed and have him stay with Grandpa Qi. In the morning, just collect some firewood around the edge of Daqing Mountain. When I get back from the city in the afternoon, we can go together.”

After saying this, she added the shredded cabbage to the pot to stir-fry it briefly, poured in some water, and once it boiled, she dropped in the dough gnocchi. She cracked two eggs into the soup, and it was ready.

Xu Ning walked to the village entrance where Old Chen parked his horse-drawn cart. She saw that there were already three people sitting in the cart: the female protagonist Lin Miao, Li Fengjiao, and a girl she hadn’t seen before. Judging by her attire, she was probably also a young intellectual, most likely one of the group that arrived with the male protagonist. It was said that five people had come in that batch.

Several people glanced her way. She looked back at them without saying anything, then placed her large bamboo basket onto the cart. She asked Old Chen, “Grandpa Chen, when are we leaving?”

Old Chen, noticing her carrying a big basket with a large bundle inside, smiled kindly at her and said, “Soon, soon, Xu Zhiqing. Are you heading to visit your relatives?” By now, everyone in the village knew that Xu Ning had a relative working as a public security officer in the county.

Xu Ning replied, “Grandpa Chen, I’m not going to my cousin Jianshe’s house today. My brother and I collected some mountain goods, and I’m sending them to my older brother. He’s a soldier in Jin City, and they don’t have this kind of stuff there.”

Old Chen nodded and said, “A soldier, huh? That’s good, that’s good. Serving the country! I hear they get a decent stipend every month too.”

Xu Ning replied, “It’s not much, but my brother saves every penny. He sends it to me and little An every month.” Xu Ning deliberately made it clear that she had an older brother in the army who sent her money every month. This way, when she spent money on things in the future, people would know where it was coming from. Otherwise, if people saw her frequently bringing big or small packages home, they might wonder where the money came from.

Suddenly, Lin Miao, who was sitting nearby, spoke up, “Xu Zhiqing, I see your younger brother is still just a child, and you’re not that much older. How did you both end up in the countryside so young? Where are your parents?”

Xu Ning deliberately acted annoyed and responded to Lin Miao, “Lin Zhiqing, my family is all working to build our country! We came to the countryside in response to the Chairman’s call to help develop rural areas. Even though we’re younger than you, we work just as hard. Don’t underestimate us because of our age!”

“Working in the cowshed is also building the country,” Xu Ning said pointedly.

Lin Miao, feeling awkward, tried to explain, “Xu Zhiqing, that’s not what I meant.” She looked like she wanted to say more.

Fearing that Lin Miao might ask about her parents again, Xu Ning huffed and turned her head away, pretending to be angry and ignoring her.

At that moment, two loud-voiced women from the village climbed onto the cart, dissolving the tension. The ox cart continued its journey, with the two women gossiping all the way to the county.

Once they arrived, Xu Ning went to the post office to send her package. After leaving the post office, she remembered she hadn’t mailed her letter yet. She walked back in, intending to buy a stamp and drop the letter into the mailbox outside. But when she saw the postal worker holding several “The Whole Country is Red” stamps, her heart began to race with excitement, and her face flushed with joy. ^[1]“The Whole Country is Red” – is a Chinese postage stamp issued on November 24, 1968. However, it contained a design flaw. Less than half a day after its distribution, an editor at … Continue reading

Just as the postal worker was about to tear off a stamp for her, she quickly called out, “Comrade, comrade! Don’t tear them, I’ll take them all!”

The worker looked at her and said, “There are more than ten stamps here. What do you need so many for?”

Xu Ning noticed that out of the stack in the worker’s hand, only the two stamps on top were the “The Whole Country is Red” design, while the rest were ordinary stamps. She said, “Comrade, I’ll just take the red ones. I think they look nice.” She smiled sheepishly after speaking.

The worker didn’t say much, thinking that young girls like her always preferred bright and colorful things. He handed her the remaining stamps.

As Xu Ning left the post office, she could still feel her heart racing. Even though she had never paid much attention to stamps, she knew the auction value of the “The Whole Country is Red” stamps. Imagining how, in a few decades, these few stamps could allow her to live a carefree life, she smiled dreamily. However, when she noticed passersby giving her odd looks, as if she were crazy, she quickly wiped the smile off her face, replacing it with a blank expression, and headed toward the supply and marketing cooperative.

What Xu Ning didn’t know was that not long after she left, Lin Miao also entered the post office. Lin Miao had only remembered the “The Whole Country is Red” stamps because Li Fengjiao had mentioned mailing a letter earlier. By the time she reached the post office and asked to see the stamps, the postal worker handed her only ordinary ones. Disappointed, she left empty-handed.