Xu Ning sat behind and asked Lu Xiaotang, who was riding her bicycle, “Brother Lu, those educated youths earlier—three of them were from the capital. Do you know them?”

Lu Xiaotang replied, “I don’t remember them. I might have seen them before, but I can’t be sure.”

Xu Ning thought for a moment and said, “Be careful when you go to the cattle shed these days and try to avoid people.”

She wasn’t worried about the others; she knew that they would keep their distance because of Lu Xiaotang’s identity. However, Lin Miao was different. Xu Ning knew that those young intellectuals would eventually return to the city, and if they kept approaching, it would be inconvenient for them in the future.

Lu Xiaotang, who had been listening to Xu Ning, paused briefly before responding, “Okay, I’ll be careful.”

When they returned home, Xu Ning said to Lu Xiaotang, “Brother Lu, you should drink some water and rest for a bit. I’ll go tell Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu, or else they’ll be surprised when Grandpa Chen mentions you came.”

She then took out half of the daily necessities, pork, and fine grains from the basket she had bought and prepared to take them to the cattle shed.

Xu Ning walked to the cattle shed, thinking that Old Chen would be back soon. She got straight to the point. “Uncle Lu, Brother Lu has come, but he can’t come over right now. He’ll visit you later tonight. I bought some meat and fine grains for you to cook. Don’t wait for Brother Lu to eat; he’ll have something over there first.”

She also mentioned that they had run into some young intellectuals on the way, and someone recognized Brother Lu.

Uncle Lu said, “Xiao Ning, tell Xiaotang not to come too early tonight. It’s still not cold, and a few young intellectuals like to come over after dinner to fetch water.”

Xu Ning nodded and took Xu Mo back with her. Before they reached the door, Xu Mo let go of Xu Ning’s hand and dashed inside.

Lu Xiaotang had just washed his face and was about to carry the basin of water outside to pour it out when he saw a little figure rushing toward him. He quickly balanced the basin in one hand and caught the child with the other.

Xu Mo exclaimed, “Big Brother Lu, you’re here! I missed you so much!” he stared up at Lu Xiaotang with bright, sparkling eyes.

As Xu Ning entered and saw Lu Xiaotang holding Xu Mo with one hand and the water basin with the other, she hurriedly took the basin from him. “Xiao Mo, get down so Brother Lu can rest for a bit.”

“It’s fine; I’m not tired,” Lu Xiaotang replied.

Xu Mo obediently climbed down from Lu Xiaotang and said, “Big Brother Lu, do you remember what you told me when you left? You said I should be good, and I’ve been really good. You can  even ask my sister!”

Xu Ning looked at him and was utterly speechless. He was once again thinking about the bullet head toy, and she couldn’t understand what was so fun about it.

Lu Xiaotang, observing Xu Mo’s adorable expression, burst into laughter. “Your sister said Xiao Mo has been very good. Brother Lu hasn’t forgotten his promise; this time, I brought you a bullet head.”

Xu Mo beamed and said, “Thank you, Big Brother Lu! Please sit down and rest; I’ll get you some water.”

When Xu An came home from school, he was also very affectionate with Lu Xiaotang.

Lu Xiaotang opened the package that Old Chen had just brought and draped the bullet head necklace around their necks.

He then pulled out malted milk powder, canned meat, milk candies, snacks, and some yarn from the bag. Turning to Xu Ning, he said, “This yarn is from the South City. You should knit yourself a couple of sweaters.”

Xu An and Xu Mo suddenly remembered that their sister had never knitted any sweaters for herself. They looked at her with a mix of guilt and concern.

Noticing the yarn on the table and the expressions on their faces, Xu Ning thought to herself, Young ones, don’t misunderstand. I really just don’t like wearing knitted sweaters; they feel bulky and uncomfortable. I wear thermal underwear underneath. If thermal underwear had been available during this time, I would have wanted to get each of you two sets.

Xu Ning said to the others, “I don’t like wearing knitted sweaters; they feel uncomfortable, so I never made any.”

Xu An, with red eyes, replied, “Sweaters are so warm. It’s not that you don’t like to wear them; you just can’t bear to make one for yourself.”

Xu Mo chimed in, hugging her sister’s leg with both little hands. “Sister! I already have two sweaters, and you don’t have even one!”

Lu Xiaotang remained silent, lost in his thoughts.

Xu Ning looked at them, feeling a bit exasperated. She really didn’t think of herself as that noble, but she didn’t bother to explain further. Instead, she picked up the yarn on the table and said, “Thank you, Brother Lu. This yarn has such a beautiful color; I’ll knit myself something with it.”

Lu Xiaotang then pulled out two sets of military uniforms from his bag. “These are the ladies’ uniforms I got. Why don’t you try them on? If they don’t fit, you can have a tailor adjust them.”

Xu Ning’s eyes lit up at the sight of the uniforms. People were proud to own a set of green military attire, and even though she had traveled from another time, her admiration for soldiers and love for military uniforms ran deep in her bones.

With genuine excitement, she said, “Thank you, Brother Lu! I really love them!”

Lu Xiaotang thought to himself that this must be what genuine love looked like; her eyes were different from when she had seen the yarn earlier.

He then noticed Xu An and Xu Mo looking at the military uniforms in envy. He smiled and said, “You two are still young and don’t have any uniforms yet, but when you’re older, I’ll make sure each of you gets one.”

Hearing this, the two of them smiled happily.

Seeing that it was getting late and Xu An still had school in the afternoon, Xu Ning put the military uniforms and yarn in her room before heading to cook. Lu Xiaotang followed behind to help her, while Xu An and Xu Mo played with their bullet head necklaces.

As Xu Ning cut the potatoes, she asked, “Brother Lu, how long can you stay this time?”

Lu Xiaotang added the firewood to the stove and replied, “I have a month of leave this time. I’ll report to the military academy in twenty days.”

Xu Ning was pleased and said, “That means you can spend more time with Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu.”

For lunch, she made braised pork with potatoes, stir-fried pickled long beans with minced meat, cold wild vegetables, egg drop soup, and two-layer flatbreads.

After Xu An finished his meal, he went off to school. Xu Ning washed the pot and found that Lu Xiaotang had already tidied up the firewood shed. They hadn’t started cutting firewood yet this year, so there were still some leftovers from last year and some that Xu An had collected while cutting grass for the pigs.

Xu Ning also planned to clean up the firewood shed soon and start cutting wood.

Noticing some unused coal balls in the corner, Lu Xiaotang asked, “Did you make these last year?”

Seeing the leftover coal balls reminded Xu Ning of last year’s events. She laughed as she recounted how they hadn’t succeeded in making coal balls, and how Uncle Lu and her dad had come over to help.

After listening, Lu Xiaotang said, “I’ll make some more for you this year. This place is too small to hold everything. I noticed there’s a bit of space from the firewood shed to the small door. I’ll cut down a couple of trees and set up a shelter here to store the coal balls. We can also keep things that we don’t usually bring into the house.”

Xu Ning thought his plan was feasible and replied, “Then I’ll go with you to cut the trees this afternoon.”

“No need; I can manage it by myself. Just sweep this area, and I’ll have it set up by the afternoon,” Lu Xiaotang said before heading to the kitchen to grab a hatchet and went up the mountain.

The two of them spent the afternoon building the shelter. After finishing, Lu Xiaotang looked at the firewood shed and said to Xu Ning, “I can dig a cellar here for you. That way, you can store vegetables in the cellar, and the house will feel less cramped.”

Xu Ning’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t thought of digging a cellar! With a cellar, they could store cabbage, radishes, and potatoes, making the rooms seem less cluttered.

Nodding eagerly, she said, “Brother Lu, let’s dig a cellar then. I’ll help you tomorrow!”

Suddenly remembering, she asked, “But won’t the firewood on top crush the cellar?”

Lu Xiaotang chuckled. “No, it won’t. Didn’t Xiao An say you’re going into the mountains tomorrow to gather wild goods? You can go ahead; I can dig it out by myself in two days.”

When Xu An arrived home from school, Xu Mo pulled him over excitedly. “Second Brother, look! This is the shelter Big Brother Lu built for us to store the coal balls. Tomorrow, he’s also going to dig a cellar for the vegetables!”

Xu An inspected the newly built shelter and said happily, “That’s great! It’ll be much more convenient to get coal balls in winter, and we can store other things there too.”

He then asked Xu Mo, “Where are Big Brother Lu and Sister?”

Xu Mo replied, “They’re making dumplings, Second Brother! We’re having wild vegetable and pork filling dumplings for dinner tonight.” He licked her lips in anticipation.