“Who is this…” Xing Zhaozhao asked.
"Oh, this is Zhang, the educated youth," Aunt Hao introduced to Xing Zhaozhao with a smile.
After saying that, he turned to the educated youth Zhang and said, "Wenming, come here, let me introduce you. This is the wife of Mingcheng, the second son of the Gao family next door, whom I mentioned before. You can call her Sister-in-law Xing."
Zhang Zhiqing smiled and looked at Xing Zhaozhao, calling out, "Sister-in-law Xing."
Xing Zhaozhao nodded and replied, "Hello."
After saying that, Aunt Hao led Xing Zhaozhao into the house and made her and Hongfei some brown sugar water.
Not seeing Hongyu, she asked curiously, "Why didn't you bring little Hongyu with you?"
Xing Zhaozhao told her about what happened in the mountains yesterday afternoon: "He's too naughty. It's one thing if he's not careful normally, but he's still not behaving himself in the mountains. If something really happens, wouldn't that be like tearing my heart out? I'll leave him at home alone to reflect on his actions."
Aunt Hao nodded in agreement: "That's to be expected. The mountains are not like the villages. If something happens, you might not even find a bone fragment."
"But why did you suddenly think of going into the mountains at this time? It's the dead of winter, and animals are almost extinct. What could you possibly find?" Aunt Hao asked.
"I just separated from my family, so there's nothing at home. I just wanted to find something, anything, for the two kids to try," Xing Zhaozhao said.
"Did you find it?" Aunt Hao asked with a smile.
Xing Zhaozhao smiled mysteriously and, without saying a word, picked up the small basket that Hongfei was carrying and took out the bunch of wild strawberries inside.
Aunt Hao's eyes lit up: "Wow, you can actually find this in the mountains at this time of year?"
"We've discovered a treasure trove," Xing Zhaozhao said with a smile.
Aunt Hao glared at her disapprovingly: "You must have gone really deep into the area this time, right? If you had stayed on the outskirts, you would have been completely plundered by now. You're really brave. There are wild animals in there. You had a child with you. Aren't you afraid something might happen?"
Xing Zhaozhao said dismissively, "In this season, if you don't go deeper into the mountains, where will you find anything? But I've been running around in the mountains with my dad and brother since I was little, so I'm experienced. Auntie, you don't need to worry."
"No matter what, you still have three children, you can't be careless." Aunt Hao said, pushing the wild strawberries she had taken out back to her. "These are such precious things, you can keep them at home for your two children, why did you bring them here?"
Xing Zhaozhao pushed the wild berries over again: "We found quite a lot this time. We still have some at home, so we don't need these. It's rare to find them this season, so let Xiaoqiangzi have a taste."
Upon hearing Xing Zhaozhao mention her grandson, Aunt Hao hesitated for a moment before readily accepting, "Alright, I'll thank Aunt Xing on behalf of Xiao Qiangzi."
After saying that, she called Hao Xiuning, who was helping to take care of the children in the inner room, out: "Your sister-in-law Xing brought this to Xiaoqiangzi. Go wash it and let Xiaoqiangzi have a taste."
When Hao Xiuning saw the bunch of bright red wild strawberries, her eyes lit up immediately. She looked at Xing Zhaozhao in surprise and asked, "Where did you find these, sister-in-law?"
"It's hard to find in the mountains, but we were lucky enough to get some to send over for you to try," Xing Zhaozhao said with a smile.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Hao Xiuning said, then took the wild strawberries to the kitchen to get water to wash them. She divided them into several small bowls, took one bowl into the house for Xiao Qiangzi, left one bowl for her brother and sister-in-law who were not home, put one bowl on the table, and took the last bowl outside with a shy expression. "I'll take it to Dad to try some."
She said it was for her dad, so she stuffed a couple of mouthfuls into his mouth, then squatted down next to Zhang Zhiqing and stuffed the rest of the bowl into her hands.
Zhang, the educated youth, looked at her in surprise, said something, and, as if trying to refuse, shoved the bowl back into her hands.
Hao Xiuning glared at him, said something, and then ignored her, quickly turning around and going back into the house.
Watching Hao Xiuning's departing figure, Zhang Zhiqing smiled warmly and happily. He lowered his head and carefully savored each of the wild plums Hao Xiuning had given him.
Xing Zhaozhao and Aunt Hao were sitting inside the house and witnessed the whole scene.
"A daughter is no longer meant to be kept at home once she grows up," Aunt Hao sighed, shaking her head. However, judging from the smile on her face, she was still happy to see it all happen.
Xing Zhaozhao looked at Zhang Zhiqing and frowned slightly, feeling that something was not quite right.
"Why do I feel like I've never seen this Zhang Zhiqing before?" she said curiously.
She has been back in her hometown for almost a year now, and she has met almost all the educated youth in the village's educated youth settlement, but she doesn't remember this educated youth named Zhang.
“Zhang, the educated youth, only came to our village half a month ago. You were still in your postpartum period at that time, so you didn’t see him. But I mentioned to you about the new educated youth being assigned to the village. Have you forgotten?” Aunt Hao said.
Xing Zhaozhao then remembered that there was indeed such a thing.
"This Zhang, the educated youth, is quite rare. He's only been here for half a month and he's already so familiar with your family," she said with some surprise.
When most educated youth first arrived in the countryside, they couldn't do much work, not to mention the gap between them and the villagers due to the difference in their original living environment. Very few educated youth like Zhang, who had only been there for half a month, had taken the initiative to integrate and even took a liking to a girl in the village, seemingly planning to settle down completely.
Aunt Hao chuckled and said, "It's really rare. This must be fate. My husband and Da Han were the ones who picked up this group of educated youth. Xiu Ning happened to be in town to visit her brother, and on her way back, she hit it off with him. That's how they met. After settling in for a few days, Zhang, the educated youth, came to our house to acknowledge us. After that, he often came to help us with chores. Even the brigade leader praised him, saying that among all the educated youth who came and went in the village, none of them were as good at handling things as him."
“Xiuning is 18 now, and it’s rare to meet someone suitable. I’m thinking of observing her a bit more. If there are no problems, we can settle things after the New Year,” Aunt Hao continued.
"So fast? Isn't that a bit too hasty?" Xing Zhaozhao asked with some concern.
Aunt Hao shook her head: "It won't happen quickly. Once it's settled, we still need to go through the betrothal ceremony and prepare for the wedding. Zhang's family doesn't live here, so we also need to write back to tell our elders. All of this will take at least a year and a half."
Since it was someone else's family matter, Xing Zhaozhao didn't say much, just gave a few casual replies, and then moved on.
"Oh right, didn't you say you needed my help with something?" Aunt Hao remembered and asked.
"Yes, Auntie, do you have any dried mushrooms or dried wild vegetables here? I'd like to trade some with you," Xing Zhaozhao said.
“If you want to eat, I’ll just pack some for you to take home and eat. There’s no need to exchange it.” Aunt Hao said, getting up and going to the kitchen to get the jars for dried mushrooms and wild vegetables.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head and said, "That won't do. I need quite a lot, and I can't let you suffer a loss."
Aunt Hao went to the kitchen and brought back a jar: "How much do you need?"
Xing Zhaozhao picked up Hongfei's small basket again and opened the rice bag at the bottom: "I want to use this to exchange for what you think is acceptable, however much you can get."
Aunt Hao's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she looked at the clean, white rice in the bag.
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