The snow had stopped the next day, and a thick layer had accumulated on the ground. Xu Ning grabbed a shovel and began clearing the snow from under the eaves, planning to pile it up on the land she reserved for herself. Afterward, she took a large broom to sweep the entrance clean. When Xu An woke up, without needing any instructions, he went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Lately, he had taken over the task of making breakfast, and now he had even learned to cook millet porridge and rice porridge. He had become quite eager about it, alternating between different dishes each morning: dough drop soup, cornmeal mush, rice porridge, and millet porridge. Although these were the only four dishes he knew how to make, they rotated daily.

After Xu Ning finished clearing the snow at the doorway, Xu An had already completed the meal. He had also helped tidy up Xu Mo, who had just woken up. On the table, steaming millet porridge and some pickled mustard root that Jianmin had brought a few days ago were served. The mustard root had been sliced thin and mixed with sesame oil, making it the perfect accompaniment to the porridge.

With the cold weather and the thick snow on the ground, after breakfast, the group took a short walk at the doorway to aid digestion before heading back inside to rest on the kang. Xu Ning sat on the kang, continuing to knit her sweater, while Xu An taught Xu Mo how to recognize characters.

Xu Ning heard some noisy commotion coming from the youth camp nearby, but she paid it no mind since it didn’t concern her.

However, things often unfold in ways you least expect; the very events you think have nothing to do with you tend to find their way to you.

The male and female leads arrived at Xu Ning’s house just as she was preparing lunch. The female lead was carrying a bag of White Rabbit candies and a box, though Xu Ning couldn’t tell what was inside.

Standing beside the female lead, the male lead’s presence made her appear small and delicate, stirring feelings of sympathy. Xu Ning thought to herself that the author of the original book hadn’t exaggerated the female lead’s beauty. If she were a man, seeing such a fragile and lovely woman, she might also want to hold her close. Ahem, that’s thinking too much. Still, why did the female lead’s face look so red? Before Xu Ning could get a closer look, Lin Miao, the female lead, spoke.

“Xu Zhiqing, I’ve come to apologize to you. That day, I didn’t mean to look down on you because of your young age. I just thought it was truly amazing that you could come to the countryside at such a young age. I was really shocked at the time. Please don’t be mad at me. This bag of candy is for your younger brother, and this scarf is a gift for you.”

“Hmph, you didn’t apologize back then, and now, after all this time, you say you’re here to apologize? I don’t buy it,” Xu Ning said, her face expressionless. “Lin Zhiqing, I’ll accept your apology this time, but please pay attention next time. Remember, we are revolutionary youths; we’ll move wherever we are needed. We are a flowering branch; we’ll bloom wherever we can be planted. Lin Zhiqing, your awareness isn’t up to par! Think carefully before you speak in the future! Take your things back! I won’t see you off. Goodbye.” She sounded like a stern, one-track-minded person.

Lin Miao had planned to get straight to the point, but with someone so rigid, she feared the conversation might veer off in unexpected directions.

“Xu Zhiqing, actually, I came to find you today for another reason. I want to stay at your place for a few months. Don’t worry, I won’t stay for free. I’ll store my grain with you and give you ten yuan a month. What do you think?” (Tl: Wth gurl! Back off!!!)

Xu Ning thought to herself, “Is she really that bored? Why would I let you stay here?”

“Lin Zhiqing,” Xu Ning said with a sideways glance, “while I’ve forgiven you, I don’t agree with your mindset. I won’t live with someone who lacks awareness. Please go back; I still have to cook.” With that, she turned and went inside.

She had noticed that Lin Miao had a handprint on her face, which suggested the confrontation had been quite intense. She wondered who had the nerve to hit the female lead, but no matter who it was, Xu Ning didn’t intend to get involved; she didn’t want to become collateral damage.

Outside, the male lead, Gu Wenping, stared at the closed door, frustrated. “Let’s go ask around the village who would even want to stay with her. Ten yuan a month? There are plenty of families in the village that would be better options,” he said, pulling Lin Miao along.

“Wenping, you should go back. I’ll go find the village head myself. Don’t look for me again,” she said, covering her face in pain as she ran away.

That left Gu Wenping standing there, reaching out dramatically with an expression full of longing.

Xu Ning shook off the goosebumps on her arms, deciding that she would keep her distance from those two as much as possible. Watching them felt like being in a melodramatic idol drama, the kind with all sorts of exaggerated plot twists.

When she entered the kitchen, Xu An had already started the fire. She lifted the pot lid and glanced inside: rice porridge was bubbling. It seemed they had millet porridge for breakfast, rice porridge for lunch, and for dinner, he would likely make either cornmeal mush or dough drop soup.

Xu Ning cut up some of the marinated meat left over from yesterday into a bowl. There was still half a pot of the meat, but the vegetables were all gone. She quickly mixed in some shredded radish. After the three of them finished eating, they stood outside for a bit to digest when they spotted Jianmin and his two friends running over from the village.

As the trio approached, Xu Ning noticed they were each carrying something. “Xu Zhiqing, this is the soybean paste my mom asked me to bring you. She said you probably hadn’t made any, so you can add some when you steam eggs. My mom’s soybean paste is really delicious,” Jianmin said, handing the jar to Xu Ning.

Er Dan chimed in, “Xu Zhiqing, Xu An said you didn’t plant any eggplants this year, so my mom asked me to bring this for you to add some variety to your winter meals.”

Da Lin then handed over a jar of chili sauce. “Xu Zhiqing, my mom wanted you to have this chili sauce. She said since you didn’t plant any peppers in your reserved land, this will be great for your cooking or even just for dipping steamed buns. It’s really tasty.”

Holding the gifts from the three children, Xu Ning felt her eyes welling up with emotion. Although people were poor these days, they were genuinely simple and kind-hearted.

She looked at the items in her hands and said with a smile, “Oh, you three arrived just in time! These are all my favorites! I was planning to buy some next time I went into town, and here you are bringing them to me!”

Hearing her words, the three children beamed with happiness, feeling relieved that after having received so much from Xu Ning the previous day, they had brought her things she loved today. Their eyes sparkled with excitement.

A few boys were, just like yesterday, gathered on Xu An’s kang, reading storybooks. Xu Ning was in the kitchen, kneading dough. She planned to chop up the braised pork from yesterday, mix it with cabbage and vermicelli to make dumplings, and also steam some mantou, so they could enjoy a few when it was time to eat.

“The village layabout said that last night, Er Gouzi sneaked into Widow Wang’s kang while his wife was asleep. When she got up in the middle of the night and didn’t see him, she followed his footprints to Widow Wang’s house. She didn’t say a word but went home to call her two sons, and they rushed in with sticks, cornering Er Gouzi and Widow Wang on the kang. When Er Gouzi’s wife pulled back the blanket, she revealed Widow Wang’s backside. The layabout said Widow Wang’s backside was as white as the whitest sow in the pigpen!” Jianmin said mysteriously.

Xu Ning thought, What a mischievous kid, always sharing everything.

Coughing deliberately, Xu Ning cleared her throat twice, and instantly, the noise ceased.

She chopped up all the leftover pig head meat, added a cabbage and a handful of vermicelli, mixing a large bowl of filling. After steaming three big pots of dumplings, she used the remaining dough to steam a pot of mantou.

The three boys each ate one dumpling, but no matter how much Xu Ning offered, they refused to take any more. When they left, Xu Ning wrapped three dumplings in paper for each of them to take home.

After sending the boys off, Xu An said to Xu Ning, “The school roof has been fixed. Jianmin and Da Lin will go to school tomorrow, so they won’t come to play. They’ll come back on Sunday.”

“Xiao An, do you want to go this year?”

“Sis, I’ll go next year. I’ve finished the third-grade lessons. I’ll go straight to the fourth grade next year.”

Xu Ning took twenty steamed dumplings, placed them in a basket, and had Xu An take them over to Grandpa Qi.