Chapter 30.1

As soon as Jiang Rou woke up in the morning, she busied herself with chores. After freshening up, she went to the kitchen to kill the live duck that Wang Yan had brought over a few days ago. She collected the duck blood in a bowl, not wasting a single drop, and then threw the two ducks into a bucket of hot water to scald them, preparing to pluck the feathers later.

Next, she chopped the lamb and pork at home into stuffing and kneaded the flour into dough, ready to make dumplings when Li Xiao returned.

Li Xiao had to go out for a while. It was New Year’s Day, and he needed to go up the mountain to burn paper offerings for his grandparents and father. In this area, traditional burial practices were still followed, and his ancestors were buried in the mountains outside the county.

It was winter now, and the two had gotten up at around seven in the morning, with the sky still dark outside. After sweeping the floor, Li Xiao bundled up in his heavy black cotton coat, donned a black knitted hat and blue scarf, and put on the thick plush boots that Jiang Rou had bought for him before heading out.

He said goodbye to Jiang Rou before leaving, carrying the yellow paper, spirit money, and firecrackers he had bought in advance. ^[1]Spirit money, also known as joss paper, ghost money, or hell money, is a form of paper money used in traditional Chinese ancestor worship and Taoist religious practices. The money is burned as an … Continue reading

Jiang Rou didn’t know much about these customs. Her father’s hometown was in another city, so when she was young, her family didn’t have the tradition of worshipping ancestors during the New Year.

She held An An in her arms and sent Li Xiao off at the door. An An was very clever now. Seeing her father put on his hat and shoes, she knew he was about to leave and immediately refused to stay in Jiang Rou’s embrace. She reached out to Li Xiao to be held, waving her arms and calling out, “Ah, ah, ah.”

Li Xiao, having put on his shoes, stood up and laughed at the sight. He couldn’t resist tugging at the small tuft of hair on her head. An An’s hair had grown a bit longer. Since it was New Year’s Day, Jiang Rou had tied her hair into two small pigtails and attached two red tassels to them. She also fastened two colorful clips to the hair on her forehead, making her round little face even cuter.

The little girl leaned towards him. Seeing her anxious look, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but smile and say, “Why don’t you take her with you and let her see your grandparents too?”

Li Xiao didn’t agree. “She’s still too young. It might scare her.”

Although he didn’t believe in such things, he remembered hearing as a child that on the third day of the third month, ghosts would come down from the mountains. He had once taken a few friends, including Zhou Jian, up the mountain to see ghosts that night. It was terrifying—they couldn’t find their way back in the dark and even saw green ghost fires on the mountain. Wang Tao was so scared that he wet his pants. But after starting middle school and learning what really caused the phenomenon, it didn’t seem like a big deal anymore. ^[2]The term “green ghost fire” in the mountains typically refers to the phenomenon of will-o’-the-wisps or ghost lights, which are mysterious lights that appear in marshy or forested … Continue reading

However, when it came to An An, he was more cautious.

Jiang Rou nodded and patted An An’s bottom in her arms, telling her not to fidget.

Li Xiao took the things and left. 

The little girl eagerly watched her father as he left the house. Only after he disappeared did she nestle back into Jiang Rou’s arms, burying her face in Jiang Rou’s neck for comfort.

Jiang Rou found this amusing and carried her to the kitchen.

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It was already past nine in the morning when Li Xiao returned. He first checked on An An, who was still sleeping in the room, then went to the kitchen to eat the meal Jiang Rou had left for him. After finishing, he washed the dishes and took a small jar, adding some glutinous rice and water to it before placing it on the mud stove to make a paste.

While waiting, he fetched a basin of water to wipe down the tables and chairs in the house.

Jiang Rou was squatting outside, plucking duck feathers. Some of the feathers were set aside to make shuttlecocks.

Seeing Li Xiao approach, she couldn’t help but say with longing, “I want to make roast duck. I heard that roasting duck on a stove makes it very fragrant and delicious, but unfortunately, we don’t have a big stove at home.”

Li Xiao listened and replied casually, “What’s so difficult about that? I’ll light the big stove later and roast it on there.”

He was referring to the largest stove, newly built in the house, usually used for stewing meat.

Jiang Rou was surprised when she heard this; she hadn’t expected it to be possible.

She nodded. “Okay, let’s try it later.”

True to his word, Li Xiao set to work. After finishing wiping the tables and chairs, he pried open the large pot in the kitchen, and following Jiang Rou’s instructions, he found a few iron wires, washed them, and wove them into a wire rack. He placed the rack at the bottom of the stove, laid charcoal underneath, and then put the duck, brushed with honey, vinegar, and yellow wine, on top to roast.

Li Xiao even overturned the large iron pot he had pried open and placed it over the stove to prevent the charcoal from extinguishing too quickly.

The honey had been a gift from one of Li Xiao’s friends, whose family kept bees. Every year, they would give Li Xiao a few jars.

Li Xiao hadn’t eaten much of it before, and it had gathered dust in a corner of the cupboard, almost thrown away by Jiang Rou.

An An woke up at ten o’clock as usual. Jiang Rou had already gotten used to her routine, so she directly called Li Xiao from the kitchen to go check on An An since she was too busy at the moment.

Li Xiao dropped what he was doing, mixed a bottle of formula, and went to the room. After feeding An An and changing her diaper, he took her out to continue putting up the Spring Festival couplets.

The couplets for the main door were easy to put up—he could do it while standing. But for the top part, he needed to stand on a stool.

Li Xiao held An An up and down, and An An wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, she reached out her hand, trying to grab the couplets. 

Her small hand touched a bit of it, and she smiled sweetly at Li Xiao.

When Jiang Rou came out of the kitchen and saw him standing on a knee-high stool while holding An An in one hand, she was startled. After Li Xiao came down, she ran over angrily and slapped him on the back: “Do you think you’re holding a toy? What if you drop An An?”

Li Xiao’s confidence wavered a bit as he replied, “That will not happen.”

Jiang Rou shot him a glare, grabbed An An from his arms, and walked away.

However, An An was still unwilling; she twisted her body and reached out for her father to pick her up—as if she thought what just happened was fun.

Jiang Rou, feeling frustrated, pinched her little bottom and scolded Li Xiao angrily, “You made me nervous after holding her for just a little while.”

Behind her, Li Xiao awkwardly touched his nose.

After Li Xiao finished putting up the couplets, Jiang Rou sent him off to wrap dumplings, reminding him not to mix up the fillings.

Li Xiao quickly grew bored of wrapping dumplings in the main room, so he moved the rolled dumpling skins and fillings directly to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Jiang Rou had An An strapped to her back with a sheet. She would occasionally lift the pot lid to check, letting out a cloud of steam, then crouch down to check the firewood under the stove and add a few more pieces. Her busy figure, though hectic, was full of a warm, homely atmosphere.

Just by watching her, Li Xiao felt a deep sense of contentment, and a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his mouth.

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At noon, the two of them had a simple meal. After a busy morning, Jiang Rou didn’t even know what she had been busy with. The New Year’s Eve dinner preparation still began after noon.

Around two in the afternoon, Zhou Jian and his son Zhou Hong came over, bringing two plates of dishes. Aunt Wang from next door also had Wang Minjun bring over some food, and after a while, more neighbors came to deliver the dishes.

When she asked Li Xiao, she found out that there was a tradition here of exchanging dishes with your neighbors during the New Year.

Jiang Rou hadn’t known about this and silently cursed Li Xiao for being unreliable. She quickly fried some snacks and brought out the glutinous rice rolls she had made in the morning, urging him to quickly deliver them to avoid any misunderstandings.

Li Xiao wrapped An An in front of him, picked up a basket, and went door to door, delivering the food.

These experiences felt novel to him. In the past, during the New Year, the neighbors wouldn’t interact with him, and he wouldn’t go door to door delivering food either.

When he returned, the basket was stuffed full of food, and An An was holding a big steamed bun, gnawing on it. She didn’t have teeth yet and had only managed to smear drool all over her face.

When Li Xiao untied An An and handed her to Jiang Rou, she didn’t take her.

Li Xiao didn’t think much of it. He simply took the drool cloth from An An’s chest and casually wiped her mouth, with the drool stretching into strands.

An An didn’t react much, still trying hard to lick the bun, her two little hands glistening with saliva.

With most of the dishes cooked, Jiang Rou decided to give An An a bath. After An An was bathed, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao took turns washing up, leaving the dirty clothes for Li Xiao to handle.

Jiang Rou finished stir-frying the remaining dishes in the meantime.

People in this area did not have a fixed time for meals. Some ate early, starting around 3:00 in the afternoon, with firecrackers crackling loudly outside.

In the afternoon, Jiang Rou had been delayed by making some traditional snacks, so by the time she finished cooking, it was nearly 6:30 PM. She put rice on the stove to cook, and following her family’s customs, she also boiled some tea eggs in another pot beside it.

Even though there were only two of them eating, she prepared ten dishes, symbolizing completeness and perfection.

Jiang Rou prepared a bottle of milk formula for An An and held her in her arms to feed her.

After Li Xiao saw that the meal was ready, he served a few bowls of rice and placed them on the high table, each with a pair of chopsticks. Without saying anything formal, he glanced at his grandfather’s portrait and spoke quietly. “Let’s eat.”

He then took the firecrackers and went outside. 

A moment later, the sound of them crackling could be heard.

Jiang Rou held An An tighter in her arms and covered her ears with her hand. An An didn’t seem hungry and was slowly drinking from the bottle. When Jiang Rou covered her ears, she tilted her head, feeling ticklish, and smiled up at her.

Jiang Rou’s heart melted at the sight, and she leaned down to kiss An An on the forehead.

An smiled innocently.

Li Xiao came back inside, and when he pushed the door open, a gust of cold wind came in. He quickly turned around and shut the door.

Jiang Rou and Li Xiao took a long time to finish the New Year’s Eve dinner. Finally, Jiang Rou couldn’t eat anymore and set down her chopsticks, but Li Xiao was still eating.

He seemed to have a particular liking for the roast duck, most of which ended up in his stomach.

Feeling a bit too full, Jiang Rou picked up An An and started walking around the main room. Li Xiao glanced at the mother and daughter and said, “The shopping mall will broadcast the gala at 8:30. Let’s go watch it later.”

In recent years, the mall has been setting up a TV to show the Spring Festival Gala, attracting many people from the county to watch. Even those who had TVs at home would go there to watch.

However, it was usually crowded, and Li Xiao had avoided it in the past because he found it too noisy.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou instinctively checked the clock. It was only thirty minutes until 8:30. “I’ll clean up first,” she said.

She quickly took An An to the bedroom, added another layer of clothing for both herself and An An, put a hat on An An, and wrapped her in a small blanket. After that, Jiang Rou grabbed two handfuls of melon seeds and peanuts and stuffed them into her pockets.

After finishing everything, she was eager to leave and urged, “Are you still not done eating?”

Li Xiao had no choice but to stop.

It wasn’t that Li Xiao wasn’t full; he was just reluctant to put down his chopsticks. Every dish was delicious. This was the best New Year he had experienced since he was a child.

To watch TV at the mall, you had to bring your own bench. Li Xiao, without hesitation, brought a long bench and walked through most of the county. When he and Jiang Rou arrived at the mall, they found it already packed with people.

Jiang Rou, holding her child, looked at the crowd and felt like giving up. 

Although she wanted to watch TV, there were just too many people—could it be that the entire county had shown up?

Li Xiao seemed to have anticipated this. With a mischievous grin, he hoisted the bench onto his shoulder, grabbed Jiang Rou’s arm from behind with his other hand, and began pushing forward. “Make way, make way! The bench is dirty, so don’t blame me if it hits you.”

This forced the surrounding people to clear a path. It was New Year’s, and everyone had come out in new clothes to show off—no one wanted to get them dirty from a bench leg.

Those with a good temper moved aside, while the ones with a bad temper turned to scold him, but seeing the tall and imposing Li Xiao, they swallowed their words.

Jiang Rou, following behind Li Xiao, felt embarrassed. She tried to pull her arm away, but when she couldn’t, she gave up and lowered her head, trying to make herself less noticeable.

When they reached the front, she suddenly heard a voice: “Brother, sister-in-law—”

Another familiar voice followed: “Brother, sister-in-law.”

The first voice was Zhou Jian’s, and the second was Jin Dayou’s.

Li Xiao paused and followed the voices, causing another round of complaints from the people around them.

Only Zhou Jian and Jin Dayou, two of his friends, were excited.

Zhou Jian also brought a bench, but he wasn’t as long as Li Xiao’s. 

Jin Dayou squeezed next to their family, leaving Zhou Hong with no place to sit, so Zhou Jian placed him on his lap.

Even Zhou Jian’s mother, who rarely went out, came with them. Perhaps it was because Zhou Jian had married and had a well-behaved grandson that her health was improving. Lately, when Jiang Rou visited the Zhou family, Zhou Jian’s mother could even walk around.

Seeing the large bench in Li Xiao’s hand, Zhou Jian pushed Jin Dayou aside with a look of disdain. “Move over, go sit with my brother; it’s too crowded here.”

As soon as he said that, Zhou Jian’s mother gave him a slap on the head. “It’s New Year’s; what nonsense are you spouting? Spit it out quickly.”

Zhou Jian covered his head in pain, looking innocent. “Why hit me? What did I say?”

Wang Yan, seeing him as foolish, leaned in and whispered a few words in his ear. Only then did Zhou Jian realize what he had said, and he quickly turned his head and spat several times.

Zhou Jian’s mother couldn’t hide her disgust upon seeing this.

Jin Dayou, the culprit, showed no remorse. After Li Xiao put down the stool, he unceremoniously took the far-right seat.

Li Xiao took An An from Jiang Rou’s arms and sat in the middle, with Jiang Rou sitting beside him on the left.

After Li Xiao sat down, he lifted a corner of the quilt to reveal the little girl hiding inside. The little girl opened her big, round eyes and smiled subconsciously when she saw Li Xiao.

Li Xiao couldn’t help laughing and changed his position to hug her again.

Seeing this, Jin Dayou, next to him, curiously leaned his head over and grinned mischievously. “An An, do you know who I am? ”

When a strange face suddenly appeared in front of her, the little girl seemed a little scared, but she didn’t cry; instead, she buried her face in Li Xiao’s arms. 

After a moment, she secretly turned her head to peek to the side.

Seeing this, Jin Dayou smiled and leaned his face closer again.

An immediately buried her face once more, messing up her beautifully combed hair, which now stood on end.

Li Xiao tried to smooth it down with his hand but couldn’t get it to lie flat. Annoyed, he said to Jin Dayou, “Stop bothering her.”

Although An An was usually very well-behaved, Jiang Rou had mentioned that this child actually liked to show off.

Jin Dayou noticed the little one’s hair standing up due to static electricity and couldn’t help but laugh.

Jiang Rou, on the other side, also couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Like a little lion.’ she thought.