After dinner, Xu Ning started packing the items she planned to take with her. She stored the soybean paste in empty jars, filling four jars with soybean paste and two jars with meat sauce. She had used up all the empty containers at home.

She also gathered some dried vegetables, mushrooms, and a large bag of venison jerky that she had roasted the day before. Additionally, she packed a bag of pine nuts and a bag of hazelnuts, along with two wild chickens and two hares that Lu Xiaotang had hunted on the mountain during their last trip.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to cut up half a roe deer, intending to wrap it in oil paper for storage.

Just then, Xu Yang returned from the barn and saw her still packing. When he noticed the half of the roe deer in her hands, he hurriedly stopped her, saying, “Sister, why are you packing roe deer meat? We can’t cook in the dormitory.”

Seeing the two wild chickens and two hares in her bag, he prepared to take them all out.

Xu Ning quickly intervened, saying, “Brother, you can take these back. Ask the chef in the dining hall to help cook them, and invite a few friends over for a meal.”

Xu Yang said, “Sister, it’s not appropriate. Taking all this meat to the military dining hall will draw too much attention. We’re all soldiers training together, and it’s a problem of who to invite and who not to.”

“Aren’t you preparing jerky for me? I can just share it with a few people in the dormitory. As for the wild chickens and hares, I’ll just take one of each. I’ll give the roe deer meat a miss and share the dried vegetables with our platoon leader instead.”

Xu Ning hadn’t considered this point, so she took out the roe deer meat but left the wild chickens and hares in the bag, deciding to take two of each.

She packed the baked flatbreads and steamed cakes for the journey into one bag, along with some pickled cucumbers and sour green beans.

After packing her belongings, she started chopping meat for filling. Seeing that it was getting late and she was still busy, Xu Yang said, “Sister, why are you chopping meat at this hour? Just rest early and finish it tomorrow.”

“It’s fine, brother. I’ll be done soon. You should go to bed; I’m not tired yet,” she replied.

Xu An placed the peeled scallions on the cutting board and said to Xu Yang, “Brother, this is for your breakfast tomorrow.”

“Why bother with dumplings in the morning? I’m fine with anything,” he replied.

Xu Ning smiled and said, “Brother, you’re heading back to the army tomorrow; how can you not have a proper meal? Besides, making dumplings isn’t complicated. We can knead the dough in the morning, and it’ll be ready in no time.”

Xu Yang remained silent for a while, feeling a bit unsettled. In the past, their parents used to handle these matters, but now that they couldn’t step in, it was his sister who was holding the family together. He felt distant and helpless, unable to assist with anything.

Xu Ning placed the chopped filling into a bowl and added the seasonings. “Brother, go rest now. You’ll need to wake up early tomorrow.”

In the morning, Xu Ning and Xu An accompanied Xu Yang for breakfast, having the dumplings they had prepared. Old Chen hadn’t arrived yet, and Xu Yang began to remind his siblings not to let anyone discover their connection to the barn. He stressed the importance of being cautious in everything they did.

Since the night before, Xu Yang had repeated these words several times, and the siblings nodded obediently each time.

On the road, Old Chen’s voice called out, “Xu Zhiqing, Xu Zhiqing!”

The three of them heard him and started walking out with their luggage. As they approached the ox cart, their eyes turned red, and Xu An began to sob quietly.

Xu Yang placed the luggage on the cart and turned to embrace his siblings, saying, “Stop crying! I’ll come to see you again next year. Now, go back inside; it’s so cold out here.” With that, he climbed onto the cart.

By the well next to the barn, Father Xu and Mother Xu were drawing water. From the cart, Xu Yang discreetly waved at them and noticed his mom wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Once Xu Yang was on the cart, Old Chen started to drive it away. Xu An and Xu Ning followed for a long distance before Xu Yang urged them to turn back.

When the siblings returned home, they felt drained of energy. It was Xu Ning who noticed the time and suggested that Xu An wash his face and get ready for school.

Xu Ning accompanied Xu An to the door and sat on the kang, sighing. She felt that sometimes, familial bonds depended on fate.

She and Xu Yang had only spent a week together, yet it felt as though they had been siblings for years, their connection completely natural without any barriers. In contrast, her blood-related father from her previous life felt like a stranger.

It was in the afternoon, while she was rummaging through her pockets, that she found the three hundred yuan and remembered the request from Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu.

She then began preparing Lu Xiaoran’s dowry, first pulling out items that would be useful from her storage space. She selected a complete set of bed linens, a military coat, and two pieces of fabric suitable for making clothes for middle-aged and elderly people.

There were still over two pounds of yarn that Lu Xiaotang had brought last time, but she decided against knitting a sweater. Instead, she planned to send that along as well. She also set aside a set of military uniforms for her and picked out a red scarf. She included two pairs of work shoes—one pair in Lu Xiaoran’s size and one in Xu Yang’s size, uncertain of what size her husband wore, so she just took a pair that fit Xu Yang.

Xu Ning calculated that she still needed quite a bit to reach two hundred yuan. If she didn’t buy any large items, this amount could indeed purchase many things. She had stored a lot of fabric in her space, so she tore off a few more pieces for Lu Xiaoran, intending for her to keep them for later use.

There were still quite a few industrial coupons that Lu Xiaotang and Xu Yang had brought back. Since Xu Ning didn’t have anything specific to buy at the moment, she decided to keep a few and send the rest to Lu Xiaoran.

She rummaged through her storage space for items she thought would be useful for her, collecting some dried vegetables, pine nuts, and hazelnuts. She packed all of these into a large bag and placed it in her storage space, planning to send it to her in the city the next day.

After dinner, Xu Ning went back to her room to write a letter to Lu Xiaoran. Since it was difficult to explain all these items in detail, she didn’t ask Xu An to write this time. She mentioned the items she was sending: which were for her parents-in-law, which were for her husband, and the remainder that was part of her dowry.

Xu Ning wrote in the letter that her family couldn’t attend her wedding, but they could visit her when the opportunity arose. She also included some words of blessing before sealing the letter in an envelope.

The next day, Xu Ning first went to the post office to send the letter and package. After that, she visited the supply and marketing cooperative to find Su Hongying. During her last trip to the city after the autumn harvest, she had asked Su Hongying to help her get some coal.

By the time Lu Xiaotang arrived, the coal balls had already been prepared, and she just needed to prepare some for Grandpa Wang.

Finding a secluded spot, Xu Ning took out twenty bed sheets and two military coats, placing them in her backpack.

When Su Hongying saw her, she directly took her home. After completing their transaction at home, Su Hongying handed her a coal ticket.

She said, “Sister, this year your brother-in-law managed to get only five hundred jin. You should take some back for now, and I’ll have him think of more ways to get some later.”

Xu Ning took the coal ticket and smiled, saying, “Sister Hongying, there’s no need for my brother-in-law to go around asking for help. This five hundred jin is enough. My cousin came over recently to help me make some coal balls, and with what your brother-in-law is providing, I can get through a warm winter this year.”

“Alright then. If you run short, just let me know, and I’ll have your brother-in-law find another way,” Su Hongying replied.

Since Su Hongying had to return to work, Xu Ning didn’t linger at her house. She took the food, meat, and vegetables she had prepared in her storage space the day before and rode her bike over to Grandpa Wang’s house. Both of the elderly couple were at home.

Xu Ning unloaded the items from her bicycle and handed them to Grandpa Wang to put away. She also gave him the coal ticket for the five hundred jin, preparing to ride back home now that the sun was out and it wasn’t as cold.

Grandpa Wang asked her to wait for a moment, and she thought he had something to discuss, so she stopped her bicycle.

Before long, Grandma Wang came out of the house, holding a very old piece of cloth that wrapped something inside. She walked over to Xu Ning and placed it in her coat pocket, saying, “You should head back now; it’s warm out.”

Xu Ning immediately reached to take it out to return it, but Grandma Wang pressed her hand down and said, “Don’t take it back! Just go home!”

Seeing their insistence, Xu Ning decided to accept it.