Although Xu Ning didn’t get hurt this time, a few adults still reminded her not to go deep into the mountains again and not to return so late.

Xu Ning had no plans to go back up the mountain. They had enough firewood, and plenty of meat to eat. Once the heavy snow came, the mountains would be sealed off, and with temperatures dropping to tens of degrees below zero, it would be too hard on the body.

Xu Ning’s father asked, “What should we do with all this meat?”

Xu Ning replied, “Let’s keep it dad. Tomorrow, I’ll go into town to buy more salt, and we’ll cure it all into preserved meat. It will last us until next year. I’ll take one of the pigs to my place for storage, and we’ll turn the other into cured meat to store in Grandpa Qi’s house. He has a lot of space there, and no one dares to go into his place anyway.

You all should take this winter to properly nourish yourselves. We’re not short of food now. Mom, Aunt Lu, when you two cook, make a little more. Everyone should eat until they’re full. Just look at how thin Dad and Uncle Lu have become.”

Under the soft lamplight, the others gazed at her tenderly as she rambled on with her instructions. Their hearts melted with warmth.

When Xu Ning woke up the next morning, the sky was gloomy and looked like it was about to snow. She placed some cabbage into her storage space and took a few more pieces of wild boar meat.

She planned to deliver some more grain and meat to Grandpa Wang’s family today. If it snowed, it would be inconvenient to ride her bike into town. After arriving in town, she went to Grandpa Wang’s house first. Grandma Wang opened the door, and when she saw Xu Ning, she said happily,

“Xiao Ning, why are you here today? It looks like it’s going to snow soon. Are you cold? Come inside and warm up.”

Xu Ning pushed her bike into the courtyard, first placing her basket inside the house, then lifting two bags from the back of the bike.

Grandma Wang hurriedly took one of the bags from her hands and said, “Xiao Ning, why did you bring so many things again? We still have plenty at home.”

Xu Ning carried the bags into the main room and said, “Grandma Wang, it’s going to snow soon, and it’ll be hard for me to get into town. I brought a little more this time. Where’s Grandpa Wang? Is he out sweeping again?”

“He swept the yard early this morning, then went outside the city to gather firewood. Xiao Ning, ever since we met you, your Grandpa Wang’s spirits have been much better,” Grandma Wang said gratefully, holding Xu Ning’s hand.

Xu Ning patted her hand to comfort her and said, “Grandma Wang, you and Grandpa Wang should take it easy. Life will keep getting better. Who knows, maybe Uncle Wang will come back one of these days! You both need to take care of yourselves, or he’ll be heartbroken when he returns. Don’t you think so?”

Wiping her tears, Grandma Wang smiled and said, “Yes, yes, Xiao Ning is right. We’ll listen to you.”

Xu Ning took out the items from her basket and the two bags: cabbage, radishes, 50 duck eggs, 20 pounds of wild boar meat, 2 pounds of peanut oil, 1 pound of brown sugar, 50 pounds of rice, 30 pounds of white flour, 30 pounds of cornmeal, and four pairs of cotton socks.

Grandma Wang stared at the pile of items in a daze. After a moment, she finally came to her senses and said, “Xiao Ning, this is too much! We don’t need all this. Take it back, take it back.” As she spoke, she started putting things back into Xu Ning’s basket.

Xu Ning held her hand and said, “Grandma Wang, it’s about to snow heavily, and I’m worried that once the mountains are sealed off by snow, I won’t be able to come out for several months. That’s why I’ve prepared a bit more for you. Please don’t refuse.”

Seeing that Grandma Wang still wanted to decline, Xu Ning continued, “Grandma Wang, I still need to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things, so I’ll be heading off now. You should cure the wild boar meat, and in winter, you can slice and steam it—it’s very tasty. The duck eggs can also be salted and eaten slowly.”

Without waiting for Grandma Wang to react, Xu Ning stood up, pushed her bicycle, and hurried away.

After locking her bike, Xu Ning walked into the supply and marketing cooperative. Perhaps because of the bad weather, there were only a few people inside.

Several sales clerks were gathered together chatting. A young woman, seeing Xu Ning enter, turned to Su Hongying and said, “Hongying, your little sister is here.”

Su Hongying turned around and, seeing that it was Xu Ning, immediately lit up with joy. She welcomed her and led her to the back room. Once inside the storage area, Xu Ning took out two military coats from her basket and handed them to her, saying,

“Sister Hongying, my friend came by yesterday, and I asked him to leave two more coats for you.”

Then, she pulled out two pieces of meat wrapped in oil paper and said, “This is wild boar meat that our village hunted in the mountains. I helped out, so they gave me a few pounds. I brought two pounds for you, and I’ve got two more for Brother Jian and Sister Hongmei.

Since it looks like it’s going to snow soon, could you help me bring it over to them when you get off work? I won’t be heading to their place today.”

Su Hongying happily took the coats and set them aside, saying, “Sister, you should take the meat back for yourself. We get a bit of meat ration tickets every month here in the city, so we can treat ourselves occasionally.”

“Sister Hongying, don’t refuse. Take it for my little nephew. I still have several pounds of meat at home. What can you do with just two ounces of meat rations a month? At least in the countryside, we can go up the mountain and scrounge for some food.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Su Hongying accepted the meat. She handed the money for the military coats to Xu Ning, then got up and pulled out a box from the corner of the storage room.

Su Hongying said to Xu Ning, “Sister, these are fur-lined boots that arrived yesterday. There are a few boxes of defective ones. Take a look and see if you’d like any.”

Xu Ning looked at the cotton boots in the box. The inside was lined with thick fur, and although the outer leather varied in color and wasn’t very attractive, they still looked warm and functional.

Her eyes lit up, and she asked, “Sister Hongying, can I buy a few pairs?”

Su Hongying laughed, seeing her enthusiasm. “These boots aren’t cheap even without needing ration tickets. People with tickets won’t buy defective items, so they’re only a few cents cheaper. You can pick out as many as you want.”

Hearing this, Xu Ning decided to take several pairs. These boots were perfect for snowy days, as they wouldn’t easily get wet and would keep everyone warm. She picked out a pair for each of the family members, though there was none in Xu Mo’s size.

Both hers and Xu An’s were two sizes too big, but she figured wearing a pair of wool socks and adding thick insoles should make them fit well enough.

After thinking for a moment, she also decided to buy a pair for Grandpa Wang and Grandma Wang. They woke up early every day to sweep the streets, so they could use warm boots. Not knowing their exact sizes, she estimated based on Grandpa Qi’s size, as Grandpa Wang was about the same height. For Grandma Wang, she picked a size matching her mother’s.

Xu Ning looked at the large pile of shoes she had picked out and felt a little embarrassed as she said to Su Hongying, “Sister Hongying, did I buy too many?”

Su Hongying waved her hand and said, “It’s fine. The others have already chosen what they wanted, and the rest are first-come, first-served for whoever’s relatives come by.”

The “others” Su Hongying mentioned referred to the sales clerks at the cooperative.

With a large basket full of cotton shoes on her back, Xu Ning left the cooperative, planning to deliver Grandpa Wang’s boots first.

As she reached the entrance to their alley, she saw Grandpa Wang returning with a load of firewood on his shoulder. Xu Ning got off her bike and called out, “Grandpa Wang, did you just come back from gathering firewood?”

“Xiao Ning, it looks like it’s about to snow. Why are you still out and about in this weather? Come, let’s head home. I’ll have your Grandma Wang make something warm for you,” he said as he led Xu Ning back to his house.