In the early morning, Zhang Dad woke up and was no longer sleepy. He lay on the kang in the east room, a soft mattress beneath him, covered with a fluffy and warm quilt, and beside him was the soft snoring of his wife.

In the darkness, he seemed to see his elder sister Zhang Dani curling up her thin body and shivering to resist the cold. Her white hair was extremely glaring outside the black old quilt.

Zhang's father had mixed feelings about his eldest sister—pity for her misfortune and resentment for her lack of resolve. A weak mother raising a cowardly son was the family's misfortune, and it was also her own fault.

How many times had he reminded her that her eldest son should follow the old man and not be reluctant to let him go, but what about her? She seemed to not trust her own father; how many times had he told her to choose a daughter-in-law carefully and not to believe everything she heard, but what about her? She just turned around and forgot.

Zhang's father felt helpless about the elder sister he was about to meet today. A foolish person was doing foolish things and still thought he was smart, and then there was a lot of mud mixed up. How could he help? At this moment, he was even more worried about whether something had happened to Zhang Dani.

Life is unpredictable. These days, Zhang Dad often thinks of Zhang Dani, the girl in the flowery jacket. Who could have imagined that the precious girl his parents had raised with such care would have such a miserable old age?

There was a slight noise in the main room, and Father Zhang woke up from his drowsiness. After a start, he immediately got up and dressed, and went outside to see that it was indeed his eldest son who got up early again and planned to sweep the yard.

Seeing him come out, Zhang Guoqing asked softly, "Dad, did I disturb you? It's still early, why don't you take a rest?"

Father Zhang shook his head and said, "No, I'm old and can't sleep. I want to go out for a walk."

Zhang Guoqing followed closely behind him, and the two of them left the main room. Father Zhang looked up at the sky, which was pitch black. What was there to see?

He could only advise, "Dad, don't worry. Go see what's going on with your aunt first. If anything comes up, come back and we'll discuss it. If anything goes wrong, your old son will help you with the responsibility. There's a solution to every problem in this world."

Father Zhang patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Dad knows. Go take care of your own business first. Dad will go see if your uncle and the others are up yet?"

"Then you be careful, remember to shout if there is anything. Jiaojiao has already gotten up, remember to come back early for dinner." Zhang Guoqing followed behind worriedly, and when he saw Zhang's father waving his hand at him, he smiled and kept looking at Zhang's father and uncle Zhang's yard, then he returned to the yard with peace of mind.

Shortly after breakfast, Dad Zhang, along with Uncle Zhang and Uncle Zhang, the three brothers, got on a horse-drawn carriage that had been booked in advance and headed for Liujiatun in Lin County.

Liujiatun is the village where Zhang Dani's husband's family lives. It is a small village with about 200 households. It is close to Linxian County and not far from the county seat. The transportation is very convenient, but compared with more remote villages, there is very little land in the village.

Surrounded by mountains and seas, the village relied mainly on peddling small businesses and making a living in the early years. Now trapped in the village, they can only farm.

Zhang Dani now lives with her eldest son and his family in their old house at the end of the village. It consists of a fenced yard and five adobe houses. This was the house Zhang Dani's husband, the chef, built after he returned home.

When Zhang Dad and his two brothers arrived, it was almost noon.

After getting off the car at the gate, I saw that except for the walkway, the ground, the firewood pile, and the roof were all covered with snow, which had not been cleared. The fence was also broken in many places and had not been repaired properly.

It had been so long since the Zhang brothers had last visited. In their memories, the always tidy courtyard of Zhang Dani's house was now a mess.

The three Zhang brothers looked at each other, unable to conceal their surprise, and didn't understand what had happened. They all knew that their brother-in-law was an honest and hardworking man.

Uncle Zhang saw this and took the lead in pushing open the courtyard door that was about to fall down, and called out loudly several times, "Aunt Zhang." After a few calls of "Big Sister," he saw that no one responded, and suddenly remembered that everyone should be at work at this time.

The three brothers entered the yard and pushed open the outer room. When they went in, they were furious to see their eldest nephew's wife in the west room with disheveled hair, rubbing her eyes.

As soon as the other party saw the three of them, his eyes widened and he looked at the packages they brought with shining eyes. Then he greeted them naturally, poured three bowls of hot water, and after Uncle Zhang glared at her for a few times, she became worried and glanced at the packages on the kang, then hurried out to find her parents-in-law.

Zhang's three brothers shook their heads at the sight. The way she ate was so ugly, and she was so lazy. If this were the daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, she would have gone back to her parents' home long ago.

Uncle Zhang glanced inside the house, lifted the curtains on the east door, and saw that the kang inside was tidy. He felt relieved. He had been worried about the health of Aunt Zhang and her husband.

Aunt Zhang and her husband called out the three brothers' nicknames before they even entered the courtyard. To her, the arrival of the three brothers from her mother's family wasn't surprising at all. She had a premonition of their arrival. She hadn't been able to make it back for her youngest grandson's full-moon banquet, and she was worried they might be worried and come. Besides, even if they didn't come, she would definitely go back to her mother's family tomorrow.

After entering the east room, Aunt Zhang pushed her three younger brothers onto the kang and asked her husband Liu Dazhu to accompany them. She planned to go out and make lunch early, and she was determined to entertain her family well.

When Zhang's father saw her, he immediately grabbed her and said, "Sister, don't be busy. There's no rush to eat. Let's have a good chat first." He came here just for this eldest sister. If she left, how could the three brothers talk to her?

After hearing this, Aunt Zhang said to her eldest daughter-in-law who followed her, "Old lady, go and prepare it. Remember to make the bacon at home."

Zhang Dad saw the displeasure on his nephew's wife's face and knew she didn't have much at home. He didn't hesitate to say anything. He picked up a package from the pile on the kang and handed it to Zhang Dani, saying, "Here are all food. Sister, take a look at what you can make. Let's eat first at noon."

This time, Zhang's father had no idea what his wife and Jiaojiao had prepared. But Jiaojiao had personally handed him this package. His daughter-in-law had been very calculating, saying this was for her eldest cousin's wife, and the rest would be given to her eldest aunt.

Seeing his eldest nephew's wife happily carrying the package away, Zhang's father looked at the two brothers, pointed at the package, and said, "Sister, put these away first and look at them later."

Uncle Zhang then smiled and nodded, saying, "Except for these two, your eldest and youngest siblings prepared them, the rest were brought by the second brother. Put them away first."

"Sister, there are cloths and cotton in there, all good stuff. Please put them away first." Uncle Zhang pushed Zhang Dani to hurry up. He knew that it wouldn't be long before his granddaughters-in-law and nieces came over and everything would be gone without his eldest sister's help.

Aunt Zhang kept opening several packages and looking at them, complaining, "Why did you bring so many things here? I have enough food and clothes. There are so many people in our family, why don't you keep the good things and move them to me? No one is coming to our village this time, so we can't take the gifts away. If you don't come this time, I will go there tomorrow. I'm doing well, don't worry."