Xu Ning was preparing to roast some jerky at home today. Xu Yang was returning to the army in two days, so she needed to get everything ready.

Xu Yang helped by tending the fire. Seeing her take out so much meat, he hurriedly said, “Xiao Ning, just roast a bit. You can keep the rest for yourselves; you have a whole winter ahead.”

“Brother, there’s still plenty of meat. It’s enough for us to last through the winter. I also have a lot of mushrooms and dried vegetables that Xiao An and I collected. You should take some back to give to others,” she replied.

“Alright, pack some for me then. I’ll take it to our company commander; his wife is quite nice. When we first arrived, many of us didn’t know how to mend our clothes. Our company commander always took them back for her to fix.”

Xu Ning nodded, understanding what he meant. She planned to pack a little of everything, remembering that Xu Yang liked yellow bean sauce, and decided to go to Aunt Dashuan’s house later in the afternoon to trade for some.

“Xu Zhiqing, Xu Zhiqing, you have a letter and a package!”

Xu Ning was roasting jerky when she heard someone calling her. She quickly went out and responded, “Alright! I’ll be right there.”

“Brother, keep an eye on the jerky in the pot; don’t let it burn. I’m going to the front to get the letter and package,” she instructed.

“Go ahead, I’ll watch it,” he replied.

Xu Ning walked to the entrance of the youth camp and saw Gu Wenping and Gu Wenjing also collecting their packages.

The postman saw her and smiled, saying, “Xu Zhiqing, you have a letter and a package today, both sent from Xinshi.”

Xu Ning grinned and said, “Uncle, it’s my cousin who sent it. Thank you for bringing it to me!”

The postman chuckled and replied, “Xu Zhiqing, you’re too polite. It’s my job, after all!”

The postman thought to himself, why is there such a big difference between people? They were all educated youth from big cities, yet every time the postman came to deliver letters, only Xu Zhiqing would be polite and courteous.

There were a few who didn’t even greet him, their faces showing no expression at all. But he didn’t mind much; it was just part of the job.

He was responsible for bringing their letters and packages, and if he missed any, he could always deliver them next time. It wasn’t a pressing matter. However, for Xu Zhiqing, who waited each month for remittance slips to buy meat and grains, he felt he needed to help her by inquiring and following up more.

The package was somewhat large; Xu Ning lifted it and felt it weighed around thirty to forty pounds. Turning around, she noticed Gu Wenjing staring at her package.

Xu Ning shot her a glance before turning back and smiling, “Uncle, I’ll head back now. Please don’t ride so fast; the ground is a bit slippery.”

The postman chuckled and replied, “Alright, I understand, Xu Zhiqing. You hurry back!”

Gu Wenjing scoffed and curled her lip. The postman, seeing her expression, didn’t react at all; he kindly handed her package to her and asked her to sign.

Xu Ning brought the package back and placed it on the kitchen table. When Xu Yang saw such a large package, he asked, “Xiao Ning, who sent this?”

“It should be from Sister Xiaoran, the daughter of Uncle Lu,” Xu Ning replied as she opened the letter.

Inside, the letter stated that she was getting married and invited her younger siblings to come and visit her for a few days if they had time. The package contained snacks that her husband had bought for her siblings, and inside were insoles made by her mother-in-law, along with shoes that she had made—one pair for each person.

Xu Ning opened the package to find five pairs of shoes inside. The sizes were for Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu, as well as for her and Xiao An and Xiao Mo. All three pairs were made one size larger, crafted with great care, and the insoles matched the shoes perfectly.

The rest of the package was filled with food: a dried leg of lamb, two cans of malt extract, two pounds of milk candies, two bags of snacks, raisins, dates, and dried apples.

Xu Yang glanced at the contents and remarked, “They put a lot of thought into this. It seems her in-laws are reasonable people and quite satisfied with their daughter-in-law.”

Xu Ning agreed wholeheartedly. She planned to visit the cattle shed that evening to deliver the letter and take some of the food along.

Just then, she caught a whiff of something burning. She saw Xu Yang sitting at the table eating raisins.

She shouted, “Brother, weren’t you supposed to keep an eye on the pot? What are you doing?”

Xu Yang also caught the smell, grabbed a handful of raisins, and quickly ran over to check the pot.

Xu Ning was exasperated with him; he was just as careless as Xiao Mo.

After lunch, she took a pound of rock candy and headed to Aunt Dashuan’s house to trade for some yellow bean sauce for Xu Yang.

Aunt Dashuan, Aunt Si, and Aunt Cuihua were chatting at the entrance when Xu Ning called out to them. They all greeted her warmly.

Aunt Dashuan asked, “Xu Zhiqing, what brings you here today? Is there something going on?” She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of pine nuts to give to her.

Xu Ning quickly reached out to accept them and smiled, saying, “Auntie, it’s just that your yellow bean sauce is too delicious. My brother loves it. Since he’s going back to the army soon, I don’t have much to send him. I thought I’d come and ask you for some of the sauce he likes.”

Aunt Dashuan chuckled and said, “Xu Zhiqing, you didn’t need to come all this way. You could have just had Xiao An come by after school to pick it up.”

With that, she beckoned Xu Ning to follow her home.

Xu Ning greeted Aunt Si and Aunt Cuihua before following Aunt Dashuan into the house.

“Xu Zhiqing, did you bring something to put the sauce in? If not, I can get you a jar,” Aunt Dashuan asked.

“Auntie, I brought one,” Xu Ning replied, pulling a jar out of her backpack and placing the bag of rock candy on the table.

Just as Aunt Dashuan took the jar and prepared to fetch the yellow bean sauce, she saw Xu Ning taking out more items.

“She hurriedly said, ‘Xu Zhiqing, what are you doing? Hurry up and take those back!”

With that, she placed the bag of rock candy back into Xu Ning’s backpack.

Xu Ning pressed her hand down and said, “Auntie, this is just a little something my brother asked me to bring for you. It’s nothing special—just a few candies to sweeten Jianmin’s mouth. If you don’t accept it, I won’t dare take the yellow bean sauce back. My brother will definitely scold me.”

Seeing that Aunt Dashuan was still reluctant, she added, “Auntie, do we really need to be so formal? I didn’t push back when you gave the yellow bean sauce for Xiao An. If I offer you something in return and you’re so polite, how am I supposed to ask for more yellow bean sauce in the future?”

Aunt Dashuan sighed with a smile and said, “Xu Zhiqing, your persuasive skills are something else. If I can’t win this argument, then I’ll just accept it. You can come by anytime you want for more sauce.”

Xu Ning smiled and said, “Auntie, I won’t be polite anymore. Just don’t complain if I become a nuisance!”

Aunt Dashuan chuckled and nodded her head, heading inside to get the yellow bean sauce for her.

Aunt Dashuan’s husband came back from outside and saw Xu Ning. He smiled and said, “Xu Zhiqing, you’re here! Your aunt isn’t home?”

Xu Ning replied with a grin, “Uncle, my aunt went to get me some yellow bean sauce. My brother loves the sauce she makes, so I came to ask her for some.”

Uncle Dashuan chuckled, “Your aunt’s pickled vegetables and bean paste are famous around here. Make sure she packs you some to take home; you can enjoy it for a long time since it doesn’t spoil easily.”

Xu Ning said, “Thank you, Uncle and Auntie!”

Just then, Aunt Dashuan emerged from the back room with the jar in hand and asked her husband, “Old man, didn’t you go to the village chief’s house to talk? Why are you back so soon?”

“Jianbing’s father went to talk to the village chief about some matters, and we all dispersed,” Uncle Dashuan replied.

Upon hearing that it was about Jianbing’s father, Aunt Dashuan pulled Xu Ning to sit down in the back room and whispered, “Xu Zhiqing, you know Li Fengjiao from the youth commune? She’s planning to go back to the city. Jianbing’s parents have been working on connections these past few days, and it’s already set. Once she’s discharged from the hospital, she’ll leave.

This girl is ruthless. She can’t have children, and even though Jianbing wants to marry her, she refuses. She knows Jianbing’s family has connections that can help her return to the city. She told Jianbing’s mother that if they didn’t help her, she would report Jianbing for harassment.

She’s also demanding another 100 yuan for ‘nutrition expenses.’ Jianbing’s mother has been so worried that she’s developed sores on her mouth, and Jianbing is still lying on the kang after getting beaten by his father.”

Xu Ning was stunned upon hearing this. Li Fengjiao was indeed heartless and shameless, going to such lengths just to return to the city.