She chuckled, hugged her father's leg, and looked up at him with a fawning expression. Lu Yang chuckled and picked her up.

"Come on, I'll take you to the back mountain."

It's already mid-to-late November. Although it hasn't snowed yet, everyone is already wearing thick clothes, and the grass in the open space behind their house has withered.

The children in the residential compound often like to explore that area, carrying small sticks as they walk around. Fortunately, their families have warned them that if they run into the mountains, they might be snatched away by weasels, so they only dare to wander around in the open space.

The little gosling is now a big goose. It doesn't seem to mind the cold weather. It probably heard that they were going to the back mountain and rushed out of its nest to follow Lu Yang. An An is perched on his father's shoulder, clapping his hands and calling to the little gosling to follow.

The kitten used to follow the mountain kings who patrolled their territory, slowly going out behind them, but now that it's cold, it stays huddled by the stove all day.

Song Qing touched it; her hand was a little cold, but the kitten was all warm. It raised its head from its bed and looked at her with a lazy meow.

After letting out a shout, it stretched, rolled over, and then shrank back inside.

Song Qing smiled helplessly, tapped its head a few times, and then got up to do other things.

The goslings and kittens are An'an's most cherished pets. Unlike the hens that lay eggs at home, An'an even wants to hold them in bed to sleep.

Song Qing had been worried that the goslings wouldn't live long and that she would be heartbroken if An An lived for more than a few years. Later, she asked her third aunt and learned that kittens can live for about 10 years, while geese can live for 20 to 50 years if raised well.

If she can live for another 50 years, she and Lu Yang will be old folks with canes by then.

The goslings followed behind them, wobbling as they walked into the mountains. The grass was withered and there was nothing to eat. After wandering around for a while, Lu Yang took them home.

A while ago, he dug a cellar in the backyard to store cabbages and radishes. An'an thought that there would be no food in winter and the goslings would only be able to eat rice husks, so she brought back a few cabbages from her third aunt's house and asked her father to put them in the cellar for the goslings to eat in winter.

Of course, she didn't favor one over the other. Some time ago, Liu Jiandong often took her to the mountains to catch fish, rabbits, and pheasants. He also begged her mother to kill and dry all the small fish, which were the kitten's winter snacks.

As for herself, her father had just bought her so many snacks, and An'an felt confident that she would be able to get through this winter well.

From the adults' reactions, she saw winter as a terrible thing, as if they would starve to death if they didn't prepare enough food.

Mom filled the side room almost to the brim, and the cabinets in the living room were also full. My third aunt dried an enormous amount of meat and made salted meat.

She is already 4 years old, but she still has to stand on tiptoe to reach the pickling jar. Her mother has pickled a full jar of vegetables, and her third aunt's pickling jar is even bigger.

My parents, like ants moving house, piled firewood all along the base of the walls in the yard, leveled the ground, and covered the chicken coop with straw.

Lu Yang also managed to exchange several hundred kilograms of coal coupons with someone, and the coal was piled up under the eaves and covered tightly with a tarpaulin.

The whole house was filled with an atmosphere of harvest and satisfaction.

"Sister-in-law."

After Lu Yang put her down, she immediately ran to Lu Ronghui's room.

They picked some walnuts last time and used some to make walnut cakes. An'an later actually met Uncle Wei again in Yanghe Village, and Uncle Wei even brought her a can of White Rabbit candy.

An'an asked her mother to wrap the walnut cake in paper from the supply and marketing cooperative and put it at her third aunt's house. When she saw Uncle Wei, she immediately pulled him over.

"...An'an, is your aunt at work?"

An'an hugged the delicate candy jar and nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, Uncle. Mom and Aunt are both at work."

Wei Hui smiled helplessly. He should have known she was still at work before he came, but he was just thinking that maybe.

The candy jar is still at home. It's a tin candy jar shaped like a rabbit, more exquisite than any candy jar she's ever seen.

An'an has a tin cat made by Grandpa Liu, and now she has a tin rabbit. She cherishes it so much that she can't even bear to eat it with candy.

Once Lu Ronghui became proficient, her work became quite simple. One day, she bought a few rolls of yarn at the supply and marketing station and began to learn how to knit.

Not long ago, I crocheted a few big red persimmons for An'an and stuffed them with scraps of cloth. An'an loved them so much that she asked her dad to hang the persimmons on the bare apple tree.

"This is our persimmon tree."

Seeing that she liked it, Lu Ronghui crocheted a few more rabbits and kittens, which she hung on the tree. Every morning when she got up, she would look up and walk around the tree.

"Auntie, are you done?"

Lu Ronghui wasn't very good at handicrafts, and after asking a few people, she managed to crochet a crooked little garment for the kitten.

"Almost done."

An'an's eyes were sparkling; she didn't even notice the clothes were crooked. "Wow, Auntie is so amazing!"

She immediately ran to the kitchen and brought the kitten, who was still sleeping in, into the house. Lu Ronghui put it on the table, and the two of them put sweaters on the kitten.

The kitten has a very large frame. When An'an hugs its arm, it stretches out its body and its legs almost touch the ground, making it look like a tiny person.

Even as An'an tormented it, it didn't struggle. Song Qing glanced at it and sighed, "It's always tormenting the kitten."

Lu Yang was also quite helpless, but since the kitten herself didn't say anything, he didn't interfere.

Strangely enough, after he brought the kitten home, he and An'an took care of it together. He made several of its beds by hand, but every time he tried to pet it, the kitten would jump up and punch him a few times.

An'an doesn't resist when it's in its hands, and Lu Yang has gotten used to its special treatment.

"Mom, look!"

After putting on her sweater, An'an immediately picked up the kitten. After a while, the kitten jumped to the ground and meowed a few times at the clothes on her body.

"Isn't it pretty? It's a sweater the kitten is wearing!"

The kitten was chubby, and when it put on the sweater, it looked like a red firecracker. Lu Ronghui followed behind with a helpless expression.

"...I'll knit it something nice next time."

"...Quite cute."

Not wanting to lie and say the kitten was beautiful, they could only compromise and say it was cute. Of the whole family, only An'an was particularly satisfied. She kept a close eye on the kitten, worried that it might snag her sweater.

"Sister-in-law, are you going to the department store tomorrow too?"

An'an's hand suddenly stopped, and as soon as she heard "department store," she looked over. Song Qing nodded.

“I’ll go over and keep an eye on things too.”

"Mother?"

Sure enough, as soon as An'an heard about the department store, she couldn't hold back and looked at her mother pitifully.

"Mommy is going to work. How about Daddy takes you to see it after he gets off work tomorrow?"