Chapter 43, Chinese New Year
By the 29th of the year, most of the educated youth who could return had gone back, leaving no more than seven. Among them were two female educated youths; one had quarreled with her family before going to the countryside and refused to go back, and the other came from the north, whose vacation was too short and who was too far from home, and had not been home for two years.
The educated youth from the north was surnamed He. She used to be in charge of the canteen, and after the holidays, she was still in charge of cooking the meals, while the others voluntarily went to the canteen to help.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, Lin Qingqing got up, washed up, and went to the cafeteria to help make breakfast.
Breakfast at the educated youth settlement was simple, usually consisting of coarse grain porridge or vegetable soup, served with sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were filling; female educated youth were generally satisfied with a bowl of porridge and a sweet potato, while male educated youth, with larger appetites, might eat two or even three, all rationed with food coupons.
But since it's New Year's Eve, we should eat better than usual. He Zhiqing got up early to knead dough and steam buns. Lin Qingqing got up later and took care of the cooking and porridge.
By 7:30, the people at the educated youth settlement gradually got up and took their food coupons to collect porridge and steamed buns.
After getting their breakfast, Lin Qingqing and He Zhiqing served themselves their porridge and steamed buns, then sat down at the dining table in the outer room of the canteen.
During dinner, everyone discussed their plans for the day. There was really nowhere to go on New Year's Eve; not only were markets closed, but even the supply and marketing cooperatives were shut down. So they planned to read books and newspapers at the educated youth settlement, study some documents, and then make dumplings together in the afternoon before having a New Year's Eve dinner in the evening.
When the topic of making dumplings came up, He Zhiqing asked Lin Qingqing, "Are you coming with us?"
The reason they asked this was because although Lin Qingqing didn't have any relatives, she was engaged to Xie Wei, so it was reasonable for her to spend the New Year at the Xie family's house. Lin Qingqing's answer was not unexpected; she indeed wanted to go to the Xie family's house.
He Zhiqing nodded and said, "Okay, then we won't make any for you at noon or in the evening."
Lin Qingqing nodded in agreement.
Several days had passed since Xie Wei and Lin Qingqing got engaged, and everyone had already asked them everything they wanted to know. Now that they heard Lin Qingqing was going to the Xie family home for the New Year, they didn't keep pressing for details and quickly started chatting about their memories of celebrating the New Year in the past.
As they talked, everyone gradually fell silent again.
In the past, I always spent Chinese New Year with my family. Although I'm not alone now, I still feel lonely. Even the girl who had a falling out with her family before going to the countryside and refused to go back in a huff, can't help but start missing home at this time.
...
Xie Wei came over after breakfast.
Lin Qingqing was drawing water from the well behind the cafeteria when he came in from outside, following directions, and went straight to her side.
He took the rope from the bucket.
Lin Qingqing had her back to the outside. Only after the rope was pulled away did she look up and see him. She smiled and asked, "Why did you come here?"
Lin Qingqing only filled half a bucket with water. Xie Wei felt it was quite light, so he put the bucket down and said, "I'll take you home for dinner."
"So early?" Lin Qingqing thought Xie Wei would come later. "Have you had breakfast?"
"I ate." Xie Wei nodded, then asked her what she ate for breakfast.
“Coarse grain porridge and steamed buns. The steamed buns were made by He Zhiqing. She's from the north, and the steamed buns she makes are huge.” Lin Qingqing gestured with her hand.
“Northern steamed buns are made bigger,” Xie Wei said while washing the dishes. “The steamed buns in our army canteen are also made bigger.”
Lin Qingqing followed up on his question by asking, "Is the food in your army's mess hall good?"
Xie Wei pondered for a moment and said, "I think it tastes pretty good... I'll take you to try it sometime."
Xie Wei pulled up the full bucket of water, and seeing that there were no other buckets or lunchboxes nearby, asked, "Where are we taking the water?"
"Take it to the cafeteria." Lin Qingqing led Xie Wei to the cafeteria and asked him to pour the water into the large water tank in the kitchen.
The water vat was almost empty; a bucket of water poured in only filled it a little over halfway. Xie Wei said he would go fetch two more buckets. Lin Qingqing nodded in agreement, but instead of going with him, she scooped water from the vat to wash the pots and pans.
Without Lin Qingqing by his side, Xie Wei fetched water much faster, carrying in buckets in one go, filling the water tank in just five or six minutes. He put the buckets back, and when he returned, he saw her washing dishes. He asked, "Are you washing the dishes today?"
"Yes, everyone takes turns coming after the holiday," Lin Qingqing replied. He Zhiqing gets up early in the morning, and after breakfast, she tells everyone to go to sleep while she takes over the cleanup.
Xie Wei hummed in agreement, rolled up his sleeves, took the rag from Lin Qingqing's hand, and said, "I'll wash the rest."
"No need, I'm almost done washing."
As Lin Qingqing spoke, she tried to snatch the rag from Xie Wei's hand, but he turned to the side and she couldn't reach his hand. Helplessly, she said, "If others see this, they'll think I asked you to come and do chores."
"What's wrong with you making me do the work?" Xie Wei retorted.
Lin Qingqing thought about it and felt that what he said made sense, so she said, "Then the rest is up to you?"
Xie Wei responded and urged her to wash her hands quickly. Lin Qingqing scooped up half a ladle of cold water, mixed it with hot water, rinsed her hands clean, shook off the water, wiped them clean with a handkerchief from her pocket, and put her hands in her pockets.
After finishing these tasks, Lin Qingqing walked over to Xie Wei and watched him wash the dishes.
At the educated youth settlement, everyone brought their own lunchboxes and washed them themselves. Lin Qingqing only had to wash the two pots for cooking and the bowls for porridge and steamed buns. Xie Wei often did chores at home, so he washed the dishes quickly.
After Xie Wei cleaned the stove, he took the wooden bucket of dishwater next to the stove and poured it out. Lin Qingqing wiped the dining table clean with a rag, then locked the canteen door and took the key to find He Zhiqing.
He Zhiqing was lying in bed, about to fall asleep, when she heard a sound and came to knock on the door. Seeing it was her, she asked, "Are you done?"
Lin Qingqing nodded and handed the keys to her. He Zhiqing responded and then asked, "Are you going out now? Are you sure you won't be back for dinner tonight?"
"Yeah, I won't be back for dinner tonight," Lin Qingqing said.
He Zhiqing nodded, waved goodbye, and went back to her room to continue sleeping. Lin Qingqing went back to her own room first, then went out with some snacks she had bought a couple of days ago.
...
When they arrived at the Xie family's house, Li Xingfang was busy in the yard.
She was preparing to make old duck soup. She got up early this morning and first killed the duck she bought yesterday. She boiled a pot of water and scalded it for a long time. Now she was plucking the feathers. When she saw Lin Qingqing come in, she asked, "Have you had breakfast? There are still pancakes and porridge in the pot."
"We've already eaten," Lin Qingqing replied, walking over to Li Xingfang to offer her help. However, the ducks she bought from the market in her previous life were already cleaned, so seeing ducks like this with unplucked feathers, she really didn't know where to begin.
Seeing this, Li Xingfang smiled and said, "You don't know how to do these things. Come inside with Wei Zi and sit for a while."
But Xie Wei didn't respond. He squatted down next to Li Xingfang and said, "I'll do it. You go and do other things." He moved quickly and plucked a large handful of hairs in a few moments.
Li Xingfang looked at it and said, "Okay, then I'll go to the kitchen and steam the meat." She then invited Lin Qingqing into the room to sit down.
"It's alright, I'll lend a hand, Auntie, don't worry about me." Lin Qingqing said, moving closer to Xie Wei and imitating his movements.
Seeing this, Li Xingfang didn't urge her to come inside, and went to the kitchen to continue her work.
When they returned, half of the duck's feathers had already been plucked. Xie Wei was quick and efficient, and the two of them finished in no time. Xie Wei switched to a cleaver, preparing to cut the duck into pieces, but paused before starting, asking Lin Qingqing, "Do you want to go back inside?"
Lin Qingqing wasn't afraid of that, and shook her head, saying, "It's okay, I'll watch from the side."
Xie Wei nodded, cut the duck open, discarding what needed to be discarded and keeping what needed to be kept, then chopped the duck meat into pieces and put them in a basin. After processing, Xie Wei filled a basin with water and washed the chopped duck meat before taking it to the kitchen for Li Xingfang.
Li Xingfang was standing in front of the stove frying meatballs when she saw Xie Wei come in. She then asked him to wash the earthenware pot on the cabinet, put duck meat in it, and add water to boil.
Xie Wei did as instructed. After cooking, he went outside and saw Lin Qingqing standing by the well, smelling her hands. He asked, "What's wrong?"
"It smells a bit fishy," Lin Qingqing said. She had washed her hands several times, but the fishy smell still hadn't gone away.
After hearing this, Xie Wei said "Wait a minute," went inside, and brought out a bar of soap for Lin Qingqing to rub her hands with. The soap had a faint, pleasant fragrance, similar to Xie Wei's scent. Lin Qingqing rubbed her hands and casually asked, "Is this your bath soap?"
Xie Wei was lathering his hands with soap when he choked and said, "No, it's the soap I use to wash my hair, it just smells the same."
Lin Qingqing said "Oh," tilted the bucket to pour water onto her hands, washed them clean, and then stepped aside to let Xie Wei wash his hands. While he was washing his hands, Lin Qingqing suddenly leaned close to his ear and asked, "Were you embarrassed just now?"
Xie Wei: "...No."
Although he remained expressionless and appeared very calm, Lin Qingqing was even more certain in her heart, muttering to herself, "He must be embarrassed."
Xie Wei: "..."
The two of them huddled together and whispered to each other when they suddenly heard a chuckle behind them.
Lin Qingqing turned her head and saw a tall, slender young woman in a wool coat standing at the entrance of the main room with a bowl in her hand. When she saw the two of them turn their heads, she raised the bowl in her hand and said, "You two talk, don't mind me." Then she went to the kitchen.
Lin Qingqing looked at Xie Wei in confusion: "What was that just now?"
"My second sister-in-law."
Lin Qingqing nodded in understanding. Xie Wei's second sister-in-law, Xu Lina, worked in a government agency and didn't move into her room until the 28th of the lunar year. She arrived home yesterday afternoon, so Lin Qingqing hadn't met her before.
After washing his hands, Xie Wei took the soap back into the house.
Xu Lina came out of the kitchen and, not seeing Xie Wei, asked, "Where's Wei Zi?"
"He went inside to put his things away," Lin Qingqing said, getting up, and then called out, "Second Sister-in-law."
"Did Wei Zi tell you about me?" Xu Lina asked, and seeing Lin Qingqing nod, she added, "Before you got engaged, I was busy with work and couldn't come back. Don't mind, I'll definitely come back after your wedding."
Lin Qingqing smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do if I can't get away from work. It's okay."
After all, it was just an engagement, and Xie Qingshan had returned. Xu Lina said she couldn't leave because of work, which Lin Qingqing found completely understandable. But Lin Qingqing's generous attitude made Xu Lina's smile fade a bit. She felt that Lin Qingqing was just like her sister-in-law Song Yan—kind and generous to put it nicely, but fake to put it bluntly!
Although she thought this way, Xu Lina didn't show it.
It was too obvious, so he laughed and said, "I'm glad you understand." He then said that his son was inside the house, and went through the main room to the back.
...
Although Xingfeng Brigade is a mixed community, its customs and habits have remained largely unified over the decades. For example, the New Year's Eve dinner is always eaten in the evening. However, after lunch, people go to pay respects to their ancestors, so the lunch is usually quite lavish.
After the meal, Li Xingfang served three bowls of rice, a piece of pork belly with skin, and a salted fish. In addition to the food, Li Xingfang also took a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor), went back to the room and took two apples, a few oranges, and a box of snacks that Lin Qingqing had brought. She put them all in the vegetable basket for them to take to the ancestral worship.
There is no rule in Xingfeng Brigade that women cannot attend ancestral worship ceremonies; whether or not to attend is entirely up to the individual.
However, Xie Yuanhong and Xie Mei were too young, and Li Xingfang was afraid they would have nightmares if they went, so she left them at home. Xu Lina was worried about her son, and since he wasn't going, she refused to go either. Song Yan wanted to help at home, but Li Xingfang said there wasn't much to do and she could manage on her own.
So the last ones to go were Xie Yumei, the three brothers Xie Baoshan, Xie Qingshan, and Xie Wei, and Song Yan and Xie Yuanjiang and their son.
As for Lin Qingqing, Li Xingfang was also conflicted about whether to let her go or not. If she went, she and Xie Wei were not married yet, and people might spread rumors if they saw her. If she didn't go, she was afraid that Lin Qingqing would feel bad.
Lin Qingqing wasn't completely clueless; she knew it wasn't appropriate for her to go, so she said she would stay home with Xie Mei.
Li Xingfang nodded and said, "Then you can go." She also gave them the firecrackers she had bought earlier to take with them.
After Xie Wei and the others left, Xu Lina took her son back to the house. Xie Yuanhong had caught a cold a couple of days ago, and the medicine hadn't helped, so she was very worried. Li Xingfang started clearing the dishes and said to Lin Qingqing, "Keep an eye on Meimei and don't let her run around."
During the Spring Festival, some children in the village bought firecrackers and lit and threw them everywhere, while the older ones bought landmines. A couple of days ago, one child even had his hand blown off and was sent to the county hospital; the bandages on his hand are still on.
Xie Baoshan specifically called a meeting to address this issue, urging parents to keep a close eye on their children and prevent them from playing with such dangerous things.
But where there's a will, there's a way. No matter how strict the parents are, the kids can still hide a few firecrackers. Even today, the sound of firecrackers can still be heard from time to time in the village.
Although Xie Mei is introverted, she still wants to play with her girlfriends. Xie Yuanjiang, needless to say, is someone who's never home except to eat and sleep. Xie Baoshan was worried about them getting into trouble, so after discussing it with Li Xingfang and his wife, the Xie family has been keeping a close eye on the children these past few days.
Xie Yuanjiang was taken away, and Xie Yuanhong was being watched by Xu Lina. Li Xingfang was only worried about Xie Mei.
After thinking about the reason, Lin Qingqing readily agreed.
Xie Mei sat on the stone bench at the entrance of the main room, listening to their conversation, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She hadn't gone out to play for several days.
While talking to Li Xingfang, Lin Qingqing also kept an eye on Xie Mei. After Li Xingfang left, she moved a stool over and sat down next to Xie Mei, asking, "Meimei, have you heard the story of 'The Ugly Duckling'?"
Because Lin Qingqing often ate at the Xie family's house, she and Xie Mei, the siblings, had a good relationship, so she knew that Lin Qingqing loved listening to stories.
Sure enough, the little girl was quickly drawn in by Lin Qingqing's words and asked curiously, "What is the Ugly Duckling?"
"A long, long time ago, there was a mother duck who gave birth to..." Lin Qingqing softly told her the story of "The Ugly Duckling".
When Li Xingfang came out of the kitchen, she saw Lin Qingqing sitting on the stone bench where Xie Mei had been sitting. Xie Mei was sitting in her lap, looking up at her intently, listening to her tell a story.
A smile unconsciously appeared on Li Xingfeng's face. Without disturbing them, she continued to do her own thing.
...
To pay respects to our ancestors, we have to go up the mountain. Although it's not very far, it still takes more than an hour to go there and back.
When Xie Wei and the others returned from the mountain, Lin Qingqing had already started telling the story of "The Little Match Girl," and the audience had grown from Xie Mei alone to three—the other two being the neighbor's children.
Well... after Xie Wei and the others return, Xie Yuanjiang will also be added to the audience.
With a large audience, there were also many questions, and these questions were quite varied. At first, Lin Qingqing answered them with ease, but gradually she began to feel a headache coming on.
Xie Wei saw this and poured Lin Qingqing a glass of water after finishing the story. He then said to the children, "Let your aunt rest for a while. You can go and play by yourselves."
The Xie brothers, Baoshan and Qingshan, were smoking outside the yard when they heard Xie Wei's words. They turned around and said, "Play in the yard, don't go out."
Although the area was cordoned off, the children had no objections because there were so many of them, and they quickly started playing with paper darts.
Lin Qingqing's mouth was indeed dry. She drank more than half a cup of water in one gulp, but after drinking it, she still felt that her throat was dry and astringent. She coughed twice as soon as she opened her mouth.
"You don't really need to worry about them. Just let them play in the yard and not go outside," Xie Wei said, watching Lin Qingqing finish her water. "Do you want some more water?"
"No, thank you." Lin Qingqing waved her hand. She had added sugar to the water; at first it was only slightly sweet, but it became increasingly cloying. She coughed, pressing her throat to ease the dryness, and said, "It's just that talking for so long..."
My throat was a little dry, but it felt better after drinking some water. Besides, I really like Meimei.
As they were talking, Xu Lina came out of the house. Xie Qingshan turned around and saw her alone, asking, "Where's Yuanhong?"
"Do you still remember your son?" Xu Lina said coldly.
"What are you saying? How could I not remember my son?" Xie Qingshan smiled good-naturedly, took a cigarette, and walked into the yard.
Xu Lina's expression darkened again when she saw the cigarette in his hand: "Didn't you tell me you quit smoking? Why are you smoking again?"
Standing outside the courtyard were not only Xie Baoshan and his brother, but also their neighbors, Xie Wei, Lin Qingqing, and Xie Yumei and Song Yan, who had come out of the kitchen after hearing the noise. With so many people watching, Xie Qingshan felt extremely awkward, unsure whether to put out his cigarette or not.
Xu Lina noticed his hesitation and became even angrier: "Xie Qingshan, what did you promise me before? You've already forgotten after only a few days?"
Seeing his wife getting angry, Xie Qingshan didn't hesitate and quickly put out his cigarette, saying, "I'll only smoke this one."
"Isn't smoking just one cigarette?" Xu Lina thought of her son lying in the room, and the anger in her heart just wouldn't subside.
Seeing their argument escalating, Xie Baoshan had no choice but to step in and smooth things over, saying, "Sister-in-law, this is my fault. I was the one who gave Qingshan the cigarettes..."
"Brother, don't get involved in this!" Xu Lina interrupted Xie Wei, looking at her husband and saying, "Xie Qingshan, tell me yourself, how many of the things you promised me over the years have you done?"
Xu Lina lashed out at Xie Qingshan in front of so many people. His face was already burning with embarrassment, and he couldn't hold back any longer when he heard this: "When have I ever failed to keep my promise to you?"
"Successfully?" Xu Lina sneered. "You promised me you'd quit smoking, did you? You promised me you'd take good care of the children, did you? You promised to buy me a new bicycle, did you? Tell me yourself, which one of these things have you accomplished?"
When Xu Lina recounted the first two incidents, Xie Qingshan looked embarrassed and explained to her in a low voice. Upon hearing about the bicycle, he reflexively looked at Xie Wei and anxiously asked, "Didn't we discuss this? Did you agree to everything?"
After learning that Xie Qingshan's year-end award for outstanding students was a bicycle voucher, Xu Lina told him she wanted to buy a bicycle, and he agreed. But as soon as she got the voucher, her family sent him a telegram the next day, mentioning Xie Wei's wedding and asking if he had any bicycle vouchers.
Although Xie Wei said in the telegram that it was fine if they didn't have any and he would ask someone else, Xie Qingshan said he happened to have some tickets on hand, and on one hand, there was his wife.
The thought suddenly came to him. On one hand, there was his brother's wedding... When Xie Qingshan got married, the Xu family demanded a dowry and three major gifts. At that time, he had only been working for a few years and didn't have that much money. His mother used the money that Xie Wei had sent back during his years in the army to pay for his wedding.
Although his mother said the money had to be returned, Xie Wei didn't ask for it back when he came back, only telling him to give it to Li Xingfang. In the end, Li Xingfang also refused the money, thus saving him from a major family conflict.
So after considering it, Xie Qingshan finally decided to discuss with Xu Lina and give the tickets to Xie Wei first.
Although Xu Lina was unwilling at the time, she nodded in agreement. Xie Qingshan didn't think much of it until she shouted it out now, and only then did he realize that she was not happy about it.
Xie Qingshan didn't want to talk about this in front of Xie Wei, so he said in a low voice, "Let's go inside and talk about it, one thing at a time, okay?"
Xu Lina hadn't expected to bring this up in front of Xie Wei. Her expression stiffened, but her attitude softened a bit as she followed Xie Qingshan back to her room.
After they left, the tense atmosphere in the courtyard eased slightly.
Xie Baoshan continued talking to someone, while Xie Yumei muttered Xu Lina's name, hesitated, and finally turned and went back to the kitchen. Song Yan, needless to say, didn't want to interfere in her brother-in-law and his wife's argument, so she also went into the kitchen.
Lin Qingqing was thinking about the bicycle ticket Xu Lina had mentioned. At that time... she saw Xie Qingshan reflexively glance at Xie Wei, and she felt a little suspicious. She then turned to look at Xie Wei.
Xie Wei frowned slightly, his expression serious, as if he was thinking about something.
Lin Qingqing thought for a moment, then reached out and placed her hand on Xie Wei's hand.
The touch on the back of her hand made Xie Wei look down. Seeing her fair hand, he turned to her and asked, "What's wrong?"
“Actually…” Lin Qingqing paused, thinking about her words, and said in a low voice, “I don’t care whether I buy a bicycle or not.”
Xie Wei's eyebrows twitched, and he took her hand in return, his voice low: "I'm sorry for letting you hear those words, that bicycle ticket..."
"I'll give it to you when I get back. Actually, we're still more than half a year away from our wedding. We don't even know what the situation will be like when I go to the army. There's no need to prepare the ticket so early." Lin Qingqing thought about how the Type 28 bicycle was taller and bigger than the one she had ridden in her previous life, and she wasn't sure if she could ride it. She muttered, "Besides, I can't even ride a bicycle. If I buy it, I'll probably have to learn, and I don't even know if I can learn..."
"I'll teach you."
Lin Qingqing paused for a moment, then quickly smiled and nodded, "Okay."
Xie Wei held Lin Qingqing's hands in both of his and said in a low voice, "Bicycle ticket... I'll think of another way."
Xie Wei hadn't originally insisted on buying a bicycle, but after what had just happened, he was now determined to get it! Moreover, Xie Wei looked down at Lin Qingqing; although she seemed indifferent, he... didn't want to make her feel wronged.
Author's Note: I'm going out today, so there will probably only be one update. Please don't wait.
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