Xu Ning hurriedly stopped him and said, “Grandpa Wang, I won’t go inside.

I bought a few pairs of flawed cotton shoes from the supply and marketing cooperative. I got one pair each for you and Grandma Wang.

I’m not sure what size you both wear, so I just guessed. Check if they fit, and if they don’t, I can take them back to exchange,” she said as she took out the cotton shoes she had bought for them.

Grandpa Wang gratefully accepted the shoes, looked at them, and said, “Yes, yes, these are the right size. These shoes are so warm. Ning, thank you!”

Xu Ning smiled and waved her hand, saying, “Grandpa Wang, no need to be so polite with me. You should go back now, and I’ll be off. I’ll come to visit you and Grandma Wang again in a while.” With that, she got on her bicycle and left.

When Grandpa Wang got home, he tried to push the door open but couldn’t. He thought to himself, Why has the old lady locked the door from the inside?

He called out twice from outside. When Grandma Wang heard it was him, she quickly opened the door to let him in, then locked it again.

Grandpa Wang put the firewood in the shed, then carried the two pairs of cotton shoes into the main room.

Seeing his wife busy salting pork, he hurried over and asked, “Where did all this meat come from?”

Grandma Wang said, “It was brought over by Ning. Not only did she bring meat, but also duck eggs, peanut oil, and grains,” as she pointed to the large pile of items nearby.

Seeing her husband holding two pairs of cotton boots, she asked, “Where did those boots come from?”

Grandpa Wang sighed and replied, “I ran into Ning at the alley entrance. She gave them to me, saying she bought them as defective items from the cooperative, one pair for each of us.”

Both of them fell silent for a moment.

Grandpa Wang finally spoke up, “Since the child has brought them over, let’s just put them away. I’ll go open the cellar and store the grains there, leaving a few pounds outside.” With that, he headed toward the inner room.

Seeing him walk inside, Grandma Wang asked, “Old man, are you putting the grains in the cellar?”

“Let’s put them inside. Although no one has caused trouble at our house for the past two years, we should still be careful. I’ll just store the grains there. As for the meat you’re salting, let it dry outside for a few days, and then we can bring it in.”

After speaking, he walked into the inner room and moved a chest away from the head of the bed.

He pressed a discreet mechanism on the wall, and a stone slab on the floor shifted, revealing a stone staircase.

The elderly couple descended with a kerosene lamp. The cellar wasn’t large, measuring about seven or eight square meters, and contained several boxes. Grandma Wang opened a small box and touched the jewelry inside, saying, “This is the dowry from when I married you and the betrothal gifts you gave me. It’s all that’s left.”

Grandpa Wang opened the other boxes as well. One box was filled with large and small yellow croakers, another contained silver dollars, and two more boxes held paintings and various antique vases.

Grandpa Wang sighed and said, “It’s good that we could keep these. If we hadn’t donated the factory and the houses on this street years ago, we wouldn’t even have these or this courtyard.”

He placed the white rice and peanut oil that Xu Ning had brought today into the cellar.

He said to his wife, “You should take a few small yellow croakers and hide them separately.”

Grandma Wang followed his instructions and took four small yellow croakers upstairs. She understood that her husband was worried someone might come to their home and discover the cellar.

She neatly stored the salted pork and placed the cabbage and radishes that Xu Ning had brought into the cellar. The peanut oil and sugar were locked in the cupboard. She found an inconspicuous old jar and salted forty duck eggs, leaving ten for her husband to boil and eat.

On her way back, Xu Ning encountered Old Chen’s ox cart. Aunt Dashuan, who was sitting on the cart, called out when she saw her, “Xu Zhijqing, we’re going to buy pears this afternoon. Are you coming?”

Xu Ning quickly stopped her bike to ride alongside the ox cart and replied, “Aunt, I’m going. I’ll wait for you at the village entrance this afternoon.”

Aunt Dashuan said, “Xu Zhijqing, no need to wait for us. We’ll walk. You ride your bike fast. You go buy them first, at the same place as last year. Don’t take the wrong path!”

“Alright then, Aunt. I won’t wait for you this afternoon,” Xu Ning said.

After saying that, she greeted the people on the ox cart and zoomed off on her bicycle, disappearing in no time.

The women on the cart laughed, “This Xu Zhijqing has been in the countryside for almost two years, but she hasn’t grown an inch! She looks just like when she first came.”

Xu Ning was unaware that the women were discussing her height. She felt somewhat speechless; despite eating so much every day, she wasn’t growing. Xu An was already close to being taller than her.

When Xu Ning returned home, Xu An had not yet finished school, and Xu Mo had been in the cow shed since yesterday.

She started the stove to warm up the room a bit. Once it was warmer, she packed the cotton boots and salt she had bought for them into her backpack, along with two bunches of bananas.

She had eaten some of the apples from her space, but the bananas hadn’t been touched yet; she just hadn’t had the chance to take them out.

Looking outside through the small door, she saw no one around, so she shouldered her backpack and headed toward the cow shed. Just as she reached the main road, she spotted Grandpa Qi and Xu Mo standing at the shed entrance, wearing cotton hats and gloves.

Xu Ning thought to herself, What are they doing standing out in this cold? Just as she was about to walk over to ask, Xu Mo noticed her and ran over, speaking in a mysterious tone.

“Sister, you’re back! Did you buy the salt? Mom and Aunt Lu are salting the meat, and Grandpa Qi and I are standing guard here,” Xu Mo said.

Xu Ning thought, In this cold weather, who would come to the cow shed? Suddenly, she remembered that Old Chen would be coming by soon to deliver the ox cart.

She said to Grandpa Qi, “Grandpa Qi, I ran into Grandpa Chen on my way here. He was already on the road with the ox cart. He might be coming back early because of the bad weather. Please let my mom and Aunt Lu tidy up a bit; I won’t go inside.”

After saying that, she handed her backpack to Grandpa Qi. “In here is the salt, and I bought each of you a pair of cotton boots. When I went to the cooperative today, I saw some bananas that had just been brought up from the south, so I bought a couple of bunches. Make sure to eat them; bananas can’t be kept for too long or they’ll go bad.” With that, she pulled Xu Mo back home.

Grandpa Qi quickly took the items back, letting Mother Xu and Aunt Lu know to tidy up a bit before salting the meat, as Old Chen was about to arrive with the ox cart.

When Xu Ning and Xu Mo returned home, she broke off a banana for him to eat.

She took two large bones from the basin, chopped them in half, cut a piece of meat, and placed it in the pot. Then she sliced some pickled vegetables and boiled a bit of blood sausage, preparing to make some flatbreads.

Since Xu Mo had gone to bed early yesterday and missed the pig feast, Xu Ning planned to make a simpler version for him to try today.

As Xu Mo started the fire, Xu An returned from school. Xu Ning urged him to sit by the stove to warm up. She placed the cornmeal flatbreads in the pot, and soon, the delicious aroma filled the air.

Having just eaten the day before, Xu Ning and Xu An weren’t too tempted, but Xu Mo stood by the stove, sniffing eagerly.