Autumn is short in the north; a single snowfall heralds the arrival of winter. Half-yellow leaves still cling to the branches are frozen solid by the snowmelt. The dry cold turns into a damp, bone-chilling cold.
Qin Xiaoyu didn't plan ahead. Wearing flip-flops, she rode her bike to the barbershop. In that short distance, her toes were already numb from the cold.
"Go buy shoes quickly. This child seems quite clever, but she always does silly things." Master Wang was both angry and distressed, urging her to go buy shoes and not letting her do any work.
The shoe counter was on the third floor, and a crowd of people could be seen from afar. It turned out that Qin Xiaoyu wasn't the only one who had been woken up by the cold. In those days, not many people wore leather shoes. The best-selling shoes were Hailar corduroy felt-soled cotton-padded shoes. Those who weren't afraid of the cold and preferred lightness would wear a pair of navy blue woolen cotton-padded shoes. Leather-padded shoes were rare; they were usually made of pigskin with suede, which was heavy and stiff and not popular.
Qin Xiaoyu figured she'd be spending a lot of time outside all winter, so it was safer to wear big cotton shoes. But after trying on two pairs, the sales clerk ushered her to the children's shoe counter. Her feet were too small; even size 35 shoes were a bit too loose.
At the children's shoe counter, the mother and her two children found their shoes. She bought herself thick-soled black felt shoes; they made her look chubby like little steamed buns, adorably clumsy. She measured Hanhan's feet at home; the child was thin, but his feet were quite large, bigger than her hands. He's growing very fast, so she bought them a little big, just enough for thick insoles. She bought her younger sister a pair of red corduroy cotton shoes; although she didn't say anything, she was quite vain.
She'd rushed out without a bag, so she put on the shoe bags from the three pairs of shoes, carried them in her hand, and turned to go to the adult shoe section. She'd bought shoes for her mother-in-law and father-in-law by estimation—a size too big, not too small, so they could wear insoles and thick socks underneath. Her wife's shoes were a bit harder to find; after hesitating, she bought two pairs. The felt-soled shoes were for going out in the sun, and the woolen shoes for indoors. She noticed her wife was wearing a pair of flip-flops indoors; being elderly, this might be why her stomach was getting cold.
Passing by the scarf counter, she bought a scarf, gloves, and a hat for each of the brother and sister. They could build a snowman when it snowed, and gloves were essential. After shopping around, she realized she'd spent a lot of money, but not much on herself. She gave a wry smile. In this life, she was still always thinking of others; she wondered if she could endure another lifetime of such self-sacrifice.
That evening, carrying the shoes back home in large and small bags, Hanhan's grandma glanced at them from afar, then went inside without saying a word.
After helping the two boys try on the shoes, she took the four pairs of shoes and went upstairs.
"One pair is enough, how much does it cost? I'll have to wear two pairs of cotton shoes all winter." The lady muttered, but once she put on the navy blue woolen shoes, she refused to take them off, looking at them from left to right. Hanhan's grandma and grandpa also tried on the shoes.
"Dad, if the shoes don't fit, we'll exchange them tomorrow. I've already told them."
"They fit perfectly! They fit perfectly! It's just too expensive. My cotton shoes are still wearable." Grandpa Hanhan was only saying this because he didn't really mean it.
Regardless of what they said, Qin Xiaoyu finished her task and went home to be with her children. She roasted three potatoes in the oven, and that evening, the three of them, wrapped in blankets, ate the potatoes, filling the house with a delicious aroma.
"Don't give your little sister too much to eat. She needs to go to sleep soon, or she'll get gas," Qin Xiaoyu said quickly when she saw that Hanhan had only eaten a few bites before stuffing the rest into her little sister's mouth.
"The potatoes from my second aunt's house are still the best," Hanhan said after taking a bite.
Qin Xiaoyu put down the potatoes in her hand and stared blankly for a while. These past few days, her sister-in-law had been avoiding her for some reason, as if something was wrong. What had she done wrong? But thinking about it carefully, her sister-in-law was always busy and never home, so there was nothing wrong with that. Could it be that her aunt had stirred up trouble again? Logically, she should ask Hanhan's grandmother indirectly, but then she thought that she couldn't ask her sister-in-law through an outsider; that would create distance.
"Mom, my stepmother's family is arguing," Hanhan said, noticing her mother's expression.
"Who's arguing with whom?" Qin Xiaoyu asked with concern.
"Second Uncle and Second Aunt, Second Uncle broke a bowl." Hanhan had probably seen the scene; her eyes were filled with fear, and she was still shaken. Qin Xiaoyu knew immediately that this was no small matter. Who would be willing to break a bowl? They would have to pay for it.
"Second Uncle also hit Second Aunt, and Second Aunt cried so sadly," Hanhan said melancholically.
"He hit your stepmother?" Qin Xiaoyu's anger flared instantly. This woman's status was utterly humiliating. Her cousin's wife seemed to stay home all day without earning any money, yet her actual contributions were considerable. With the meager salary her cousin earned, how difficult was it to support two students and feed a family of four? She was wholeheartedly trying to build a good life with him, and he still dared to lay a hand on her! Men are all heartless jerks, not a single one of them is good!
Qin Xiaoyu grew angrier the more she thought about it. She quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her cotton-padded trousers, pulled on her coat, and headed out.
"Mom!" Hanhan called out worriedly.
"You and your sister can sleep. It's okay, Mom will be right back."
When Qin Xiaoyu arrived at her cousin's house, she saw the lights were still on inside. She knocked twice, and the lights went out, clearly indicating that she wasn't welcome. She knocked even louder, bang bang bang!
Grandma Hanhan, wearing a coat, pushed open the door and peeked inside.
"Mom, go to sleep, don't worry about it." Qin Xiaoyu said decisively. Perhaps the lingering effect of the cotton shoes was still there, because Grandma Hanhan was really obedient and immediately closed the door and went inside.
It was clear that Qin Xiaoyu wouldn't leave without knocking on the door. There was movement inside, and then Tang Long appeared at the door.
"Second Aunt, it's cold, you should go back. Don't knock anymore. We can talk about it tomorrow."
"No, we're talking about it today!" Qin Xiaoyu pushed him aside and strode inside.
No one expected Qin Xiaoyu to barge in. Her cousin and his wife were already lying down, sleeping side by side on the kang (a heated brick bed). When they saw Qin Xiaoyu rush in, they were so frightened that they tucked the blankets in tightly and didn't dare to utter a sound.
"Brother, you've got guts! I heard you hit my sister-in-law, right?!" Qin Xiaoyu shouted as she entered the door.
"Um, sister-in-law, listen to me, I'm going to have a drink..."
"So drinking makes you justified? Did you drink it into a person's stomach or a dog's stomach? My sister-in-law has had a hard time with you, and you still have the heart to do that!" Qin Xiaoyu got angrier and angrier as she spoke, and her insults came one after another. It was no wonder that they were the host's original words. She was still not satisfied and wanted to turn around and find something to smash to vent her anger, but after looking for a long time, she couldn't find anything she could do and couldn't help but feel discouraged.
"Sister-in-law, please stop talking. It's all my fault," my cousin's wife said, sobbing.
"What could you have done wrong? Don't take the blame." Qin Xiaoyu couldn't stand her pathetic state.
"What a mess she's made!" Hearing his cousin's wife say this, his anger flared up again. He threw off the covers and got up, but realizing something was wrong, he crawled back under the covers.
"My mom secretly made two electric heating caps and sold them to other barbershops." Tang Long didn't want them to play dumb, so he simply told them the truth.
"How did your sister-in-law help our family? You're always stabbing us in the back, are you even human?!" The cousin started cursing again when things got heated.
"Yes, it's all my fault. It's because you were fined that the family really couldn't make ends meet..." My sister-in-law couldn't continue, sobbing as she covered her mouth with the blanket.
"What's the big deal? Is this all?" Qin Xiaoyu stamped her foot.
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