Chapter Ten: New Year's Eve

The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lunar New Year's Eve.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Smoke was already rising from the rooftops of every household in Zhuohe Village.

The gate to the Zhang family's courtyard creaked open.

Zhang Dashan and his daughter Zhang Yili were wrapped in thick cotton-padded coats. Zhang Dashan carried a bamboo basket containing simple offerings: a bowl of freshly steamed white rice topped with three unlit incense sticks, a half-cooked, square-cut piece of fatty pork, and a small handful of freshly roasted peanuts in their shells.

Zhang Liuyi was carrying a small bundle containing incense, candles, and paper money.

The father and daughter walked toward the hillside behind the village where the Zhang family ancestors were buried.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the crunching sound of their footsteps on the snow and the occasional crowing of roosters in the distance.

As they approached the ancestral graves, they saw two figures emerge from another path, also carrying baskets of offerings.

"Hey! Dashan! Yi'er! So early!"

A loud greeting broke the morning's tranquility; it was Zhang Yili's uncle, Zhang Dahe, followed by his son, Zhang Liuji.

"Uncle! Liu Ji-ge!"

Zhang Liuyi smiled and quickly walked a few steps to meet him.

"Big brother, Liu Ji, you've come too."

Zhang Dashan greeted him with a smile.

"Absolutely! The ancestral worship ceremony on New Year's Eve is of utmost importance and cannot be taken lightly!"

Zhang Dahe's voice was loud and clear, with a straightforward and cheerful tone. He patted Zhang Liuji on the shoulder.

"That brat, he's up early today!"

The four met in front of their ancestral graves.

The Zhang family's ancestral graves were fairly well maintained, with several tombs covered in a thin layer of snow and simple stone tablets standing in front of them.

The atmosphere immediately became solemn.

Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dahe, representing the eldest and second branches of the family respectively, solemnly arranged the offerings and lit incense and candles.

Wisps of smoke rose straight up in the cold air.

All four knelt down and respectfully kowtowed three times to their ancestors' graves.

There were no words, only the mournful sound of the wind whistling through the withered branches.

After the worship ceremony was completed and the belongings were packed up, Zhang Dahe patted his younger brother on the shoulder.

"Dashan, Yijie, it's New Year's Eve today, so don't all be busy with your own things! Come over to my place! Let's have a lively New Year's Eve dinner together!"

Zhang Dashan hesitated.

"This... Brother, this is too much trouble for your wife..."

"What's the trouble!"

Zhang Dahe waved his hand dismissively, leaving no room for argument.

"Your sister-in-law has been saying this for a while! We're family, no need to distinguish between you and me! It's settled then! Yi-jie, you're a good cook, you'll have to show off your skills later!"

Zhang Liuli looked at his father and saw that Zhang Dashan had also nodded, so he readily agreed, "Okay! Uncle, let's go to my house first to pack some things, and we'll be there in a bit!"

Back at the Zhang family courtyard.

After returning from the ancestral worship ceremony, the chill seemed to have dissipated considerably.

Zhang Dashan and his daughter immediately began preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Zhang Liuyi tied on his apron, walked to the chicken coop, deftly opened the small door, spotted the most magnificent and glossy red rooster, and swiftly grabbed it by the base of its wing and pulled it out. The rooster flapped its wings and struggled, clucking loudly.

Zhang Yi didn't care at all. He picked it up and walked to the corner of the yard where bloodletting was done, his movements swift and decisive.

After cleaning it, she carried the clean-shaven chicken back to the kitchen.

"Dad, how about we kill a chicken and make soup with wild potatoes? It'll be very nourishing!"

Zhang Liuyi called out towards the main room.

"Alright! Stew it until it's very soft! Dad will pluck the feathers!"

Zhang Dashan agreed, put down his work, and came over.

He took the prepared chicken from Zhang Xiaoyi, sat down on the small stool, and began to carefully pluck the tiny downy feathers. Zhang Dashan's hands were rough and strong, covered with calluses, but his plucking movements were exceptionally meticulous, not missing a single downy feather, his fingers turning red from the cold chicken skin.

While his father was plucking feathers, Zhang Yili lifted the cellar cover and climbed down the ladder.

The cellar was cool and dry, filled with the mixed smells of earth and stored goods.

She quickly found a basket of wild potatoes stored up in the corner during the fall, picked out a few that were of uniform size and had smooth skin, and carried them up using her apron.

She sat on a small stool in front of the stove, using the firelight and warmth emanating from it to deftly peel potatoes with a small knife.

The wild potato skin was very thin, and in just a few moments, the pale yellow flesh inside, carrying the fresh scent of earth, was revealed. The flames in the stove danced, illuminating her focused profile.

After Zhang Dashan had plucked all the chicken feathers, Zhang Yiyin had finished peeling the potatoes.

She put the chicken pieces and potato chunks into a large iron pot, added enough cold water, chopped a few sections of scallion knots, and smashed a few pieces of ginger.

Finally, from the small cloth bag hanging by the stove, I grabbed a handful of dried dogwood and a pinch of bright red goji berries and sprinkled them in.

Cover the pot with a heavy wooden lid and simmer it over low heat.

Soon, the pot began to simmer and bubble, the rich aroma of meat mingling with the spiciness of dogwood and the subtle sweetness of goji berries, filling the kitchen and dispelling the chill brought up from the cellar.

Zhang Liuyi walked to the base of the courtyard wall and lifted the lid off the large ceramic basin.

There were still some cleaned pig offal frozen in the basin.

She picked up a wooden mallet and tapped the frozen drain a few times, breaking off several appropriately sized ice chunks. She put them in a basin and placed it next to the stove to let them thaw slowly with the residual heat.

These are meant to be taken to my uncle's house tonight to make cold dishes or stir-fries.

I had just finished all this and was about to catch my breath and have a drink of water when I heard footsteps and voices coming from outside the courtyard gate.

Zhang Liuji helped Zhang Dahe walk in.

"Yi-jie, you must be so busy! Your uncle has come to see what delicious food you've prepared!"

Zhang Dahe said with a smile, still holding the frozen fish he had used for the ancestral worship earlier.

"Uncle, please sit down. The kitchen is full of smoke."

Zhang Liuyi quickly moved a small stool over and took the fish from him.

"This fish is huge! Uncle, why don't you take it home and make a 'May you have abundance every year' dish tonight!"

"It's alright! Your uncle has plenty. We're just country folk, what are we afraid of with a little bit of smoke?"

Zhang Dahe waved his hand, found a place where he wouldn't get in the way, and glanced at the chicken stewing on the stove and the thawing offal next to it. He nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm, not bad! There's chicken, fish, and offal—enough substantial dishes! Liu Ji, put the sticky rice noodles you brought on the table."

Zhang Liuji responded and placed the heavy cloth bag in his hand on the square table in the main room.

Zhang Liuyi poured a bowl of hot fried rice tea for his uncle and then grabbed a handful of freshly fried, fragrant peanuts and stuffed them into his hand.

"Uncle, please have something to eat first. Where is Nan'er?" Nan'er is Zhang Liuji's son, and he is only four years old.

Zhang Dahe sighed, peeling peanuts and casually tossing the shells at his feet.

"Oh! Don't even mention it! That rascal, yesterday he somehow found the candy your sister-in-law had hidden and ate most of it! As a result, he got a stomachache in the middle of the night, vomiting and having diarrhea, and was up all night! This morning he's listless and refuses to go out, your cousin's wife is at home trying to coax him!"

"Oh dear! Is Nan'er alright?"

Zhang asked with concern.

"It's nothing serious, just an upset stomach. I'll be fine after skipping a couple of meals."

Zhang Dahe didn't take it seriously and threw another peanut shell.

Zhang listened attentively, relieved, thought for a moment, then turned and walked to a low cabinet in the corner of the kitchen where miscellaneous items were stored. He opened the cabinet door, rummaged through it, and took out a small package wrapped tightly in oil paper.

She opened the oil paper, revealing a dozen or so reddish-brown, translucent hawthorn syrup pieces, emitting a sweet and sour aroma.

"Brother Liu Ji,"

Zhang Liuli handed the candy to Zhang Liuji, who was standing next to him.

"I made this maltose myself in the fall, using wild hawthorns picked from the back mountain and adding a little honey. It's sweet and sour, and it's perfect for stimulating the appetite and aiding digestion. Take it back and give Nan'er a small piece to suck on, or dissolve it in warm water for him to drink. I guarantee it will make him feel better."

Zhang Liuji looked at the bag of candy, rubbing his hands together somewhat embarrassedly, a simple and honest smile on his dark face.

"This...this is too much, Yi-jie...you're still thinking about the child..."

"Take it!"

Zhang Yili shoved the candy into his hand without a word, saying, "It's for the child, not for you. It's homemade, it's not worth much. Go back now, let the child suck on a piece while he's feeling listless, he'll be fine after a nap."

Zhang Liuji gratefully accepted the candy: "Oh! Thank you, Sister Yi! Well... I'll head back now. Call me when you bring the dishes." With that, he hurried out the door and headed home.

Zhang Dahe watched his son's retreating figure, then glanced at Zhang Yili, who was busy by the stove, peeling peanuts while shaking his head with a sigh. The pile of peanut shells at his feet grew even higher.

"Oh, Yi-jie, she's always been so thoughtful and capable. She even makes her own sugar! Such skill and such dedication."

He looked at Zhang Xiaoyi, who was sitting on a small stool in front of the stove, peeling garlic with his head down. His tone was filled with undisguised envy and disdain for his son: "Look at my brat, all he does is tinker with his little carpentry work. He's too lazy to lift a finger to do any work in the fields! If it weren't for your sister-in-law's competence, the house would be a complete mess."

Zhang Dashan, who was resting in the main room and peeling pumpkin seeds, heard his elder brother's words and laughed through the curtain.

“Brother, what are you saying! Liu Ji’s carpentry skills are a legitimate way to make a living! When he was an apprentice to Wang the carpenter in town, people praised him for his skill! His work was meticulous and sturdy! Now that he takes on jobs on his own, he can make a living for half a year. He earns money through his skills, which is much better than us toiling in the fields! What is there to complain about! As for Yi’er, she had no choice. Her mother passed away early, and I often went out to work, so she had to take care of everything at home. She was forced to develop these skills.”

Zhang Dahe felt a little better after his younger brother said that, but he still habitually muttered to himself.

"That's true, but this kind of craftsmanship isn't something you can do every day! The harvest is uncertain, whether it's drought or flood! Unlike farming, which is more reliable! You plant in spring and harvest in autumn, and as long as you put in the effort, you'll always have food to eat!"

He tossed another peanut shell, then suddenly seemed to remember something, changed the subject, and looked at Zhang Dashan.

“Dashan, speaking of this… Yi’er’s marriage is settled now, and she’ll be getting married soon. Then you’ll be all alone in this empty house…”

He paused, lowered his voice, and spoke with a hint of probing.

“I was thinking… how about you move in with me after Yi’er gets married? We can keep each other company, you two old brothers? My yard is big, and the east wing is still empty. We can tidy it up and it’ll be ready to live in! We can work in the fields together and drink together, wouldn’t that be great? It would also save Yi’er from always thinking about you after she gets married and having to run back and forth.”

Zhang Dashan stopped peeling melon seeds, looked up, and stared at his older brother with some surprise.

He didn't expect his older brother to bring this up on his own initiative.

He paused for a moment, then waved his hands repeatedly.

"Brother, I appreciate your kind intentions! But...this isn't appropriate! Wouldn't this put my wife in a difficult position? It's not right for a grown man like me to move in with you and your wife! Besides,"

He straightened his back and patted his chest.

“I’m not so old that I can’t move! I still have some strength and can support myself! Yi’er married nearby, and the Xiong family is a kind family. How could I go hungry? How could she not support me, her father? I just… I just feel that living alone is a bit lonely, but I can still get by.”

Upon hearing his younger brother's words, Zhang Dahe...

"Hey! You! Why are you being so formal with me? What's with all this talk of difficulties? You're my own brother. It's only natural for you to stay at your brother's house. What can your sister-in-law say? What dare she say? She'd love for another person to liven things up! It's just a matter of having an extra pair of chopsticks!"