It started snowing just as the three of them started to have dinner. After dinner, Xu An washed the dishes while Xu Ning packed up the things to take to the cowshed. Now was the coldest season of the year, and except for Old Chen who went to drive the oxcart in the morning and deliver the oxcart in the afternoon, basically no one went to the cowshed, so they could cook something good for themselves.
Xu Ning prepared to pack more fine grains. Among them, only Seventh Grandpa received some fine grains every year. Seventh Grandpa had a bad leg and did not have to work in the fields. He just looked after the cows in the cowshed. The villagers remembered his kindness in the past and gave him food every year according to the amount of work he did, but the amount of fine grains was not much.
Xu Ning took 20 kilograms of flour, 20 kilograms of rice, 5 kilograms of peanut oil, 5 kilograms of wild boar meat, a leg of lamb, 20 salted duck eggs, a bag of dried wild vegetables, dried black fungus mushrooms, 2 kilograms of brown sugar, 1 kilogram of milk powder, and 3 kilograms of pastries.
Finally, he took out another military coat and planned to give it to Grandpa Seventh. When Lu Xiaotang came, he brought two military coats, and planned to give one to Grandpa Seventh, and one to Dad Xu and Uncle Lu, because they had to take turns to feed the cows at night. Grandpa Seventh didn't want it, so he let Dad Xu and Uncle Lu wear one each.
Xu Ning left Xu An and Xu Mo at home, and she went to the cowshed alone, carrying a backpack.
When Xu Ning walked into the kitchen, everyone had just finished dinner. Mother Xu and Aunt Lu were cleaning the kitchen. Grandpa Qi had a bad leg and was afraid of the cold, so he had gone back to the house. Her father and Uncle Lu went to the backyard to get grass for the cows to eat in the evening.
When Aunt Xu and Aunt Lu saw Xu Ning coming, they took her back to the house and sat on the kang to talk. Xu Ning put the things on the table and said to them, "Mom, Aunt Lu, it's getting colder and colder now. No one dares to go up the mountain after the snow, and there are not many people coming to the cowshed. Take advantage of this time for you to replenish your bodies. After the New Year, it will be spring planting, and the work will be very tiring. We haven't eaten much of the wild boar that Brother Lu shot yet. We also have a lot of pheasants and rabbits. I went to the city today and bought a few geese and half a sheep. We are not short of food now, so don't be reluctant. I dare not take so much at a time. After we finish eating, I will send more. My father and Uncle Lu have to get up at night to feed the cows. If this goes on, their bodies will collapse. These snacks are for them to fill their stomachs when they get up at night. You two can drink these two pounds of brown sugar, and I will send it over when you are done. This pound of milk powder is for Grandpa Qi to replenish his body. And this military coat, I asked Sister Hongying to buy it for Grandpa Qi to wear."
After that, he put a big bundle in his hand on the kang and said, "This is what I brought back from the city today. Sister Hongying left me some cotton and defective cloth. Make whatever you need. If it's not enough, tell me and I'll buy more. When Brother Lu left last time, he left me a lot of money and tickets."
Mother Xu and Aunt Lu looked at these things and didn't know what to feel. They were supposed to provide a support for their children, but now they were letting their children worry about these things for them.
Seeing the two of them in tears, Xu Ning comforted them, "Mom, Aunt Lu, we still have a long time to live. You should take good care of your health now, because good days are ahead." Father Xu and Uncle Lu also came in. Uncle Lu said, "Xiao Ning is right. We still have a long time to live. Don't be discouraged. Take good care of your health and don't let the children worry about us."
Father Xu also said, "Listen to my daughter."
Xu Ning felt relieved when he saw that several people had come to terms with it. People are afraid of losing their energy and spirit and having no hope of moving forward.
The snow fell for three days in a row and was almost one meter thick. Dad Xu and Uncle Lu had been carrying water for her during those two days, but she asked them not to do so because the snow was very clean and could be melted into water for use.
When Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei came over, Xu Ning was learning to make shoes. Xu An and Xu Mo were playing chess on the kang. The chess was left to them by Lu Xiaotang. Pheasant soup was simmering on the stove, and the whole room was filled with fragrance.
When the two came in, they both swallowed their saliva. Xu Ning smiled and said, "We have to wait a while for the chicken soup. Let's eat here at noon today." Seeing the two shaking their heads, he continued, "I sincerely want you to eat here. Don't leave."
Since he had invited others to his home for dinner, it was impossible for Xu Ning to treat the guests with just a soup. Instead, he served some cold black fungus, stir-fried shredded radish with oil residue, and some cornmeal pancakes. It was not that Xu Ning was stingy and was reluctant to give people white flour, but in that era, this kind of hospitality was considered a very high level.
Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei looked at the large pot of pheasant and chestnut soup, a plate of cold-mixed black fungus, a plate of fried radish with oil residue, and a basket of golden corn cakes on the kang table.
Wei Lanlan looked at Xu Ning with tears in her eyes and said, "Xu Zhiqing, you don't know how long it has been since I last had such delicious food. It was during the Chinese New Year last year when my mother managed to get half a chicken and stewed a pot of chicken soup. Each of us in the family got two pieces of meat."
Yang Xiaomei also said, "Xu Zhiqing, thank you for treating us to such a good meal."
Xu Ning looked at the two and said, "Eat quickly! If it weren't for the pheasant that my brother Lu hunted in the mountains, you wouldn't have had such a good time."
After saying that, he put a piece of chicken in each of the two bowls, and then put a piece for Xu An and Xu Mo. Xu An and Xu Mo also put a piece of chicken each in Xu Ning's bowl.
Wei Lanlan asked Xu Ning in a sly manner, "How old is your cousin? Does he have a girlfriend?" Yang Xiaomei also stared at Xu Ning with sparkling eyes.
Xu Ning...
What does she say about this? She doesn't know either.
"I didn't ask him if he has a girlfriend. Do you want to introduce him to someone?"
Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei looked at Xu Ning and said, "What do you think of us?"
Xu Ning... "You two? That's not good. Now I can only marry one, not two."
After she finished speaking, Xu Ning, Xu An, and Xu Mo all burst into laughter. Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei were so angry that they wanted to strangle her, and they all laughed together.
After dinner, Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei helped Xu Ning wash the dishes, and then they sat on the kang and talked again. Xu Ning learned from them that Gu Wenping and Lin Miao had reconciled under Yang Wenli's persuasion, and Lin Miao also planned to build a house and live alone after the New Year. Gu Wenjing liked Yang Wenli, and she came to Yushu Village for Yang Wenli.
From that day on, Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei often came to Xu Ning's place to play, but they both came after lunch and went back to the educated youth point for dinner, and occasionally brought some snacks with them.
Time passed slowly and the New Year of 1970 arrived.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com