The three brothers put the turtle in a bucket and returned home dejectedly. Old Mrs. Li was smoking her pipe in the kitchen. Seeing her grandson coming in dejectedly, she couldn't help but grin, revealing a mouthful of gaps in her teeth: "You didn't catch any fish."
Li Mingnan and Li Mingbei nodded aggrievedly and put the bucket into the kitchen: "We only caught a turtle, and we don't know whether it is dead or alive." Old Mrs. Li stood up and took a look in the bucket. She was immediately happy: "Okay, it's not bad if we caught it. I'll make dumplings for you tomorrow and we'll have a good New Year."
Li Mingnan and Li Mingbei's frustration was swept away immediately. They threw their cotton-padded jackets on the cabinet at the door and rushed to the east room to tell Wang Sufen the good news. How old is Li Mingxi? The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. After returning to the room, he approached Li Mingdong who was reading and couldn't help asking, "Brother, why is grandma so easy to talk to today?"
Li Mingdong looked down from the book and glanced at Li Mingxi: "I haven't cut this much meat in more than three months. Besides, tomorrow is the Little New Year. Even if you bring back buckets of water today, I will still make dumplings for you."
Li Mingxi felt very sorry after hearing this: "I was fooled by my grandma again. Don't you know that I was almost frozen silly while squatting on the ice this afternoon?"
Old Lady Li came in on crutches and heard this. She couldn't help but hit Li Mingxi on the butt with her crutches: "Who fooled you? You made up a story about me when you couldn't see it."
Li Mingxi covered his butt and jumped two meters away, then ran out with a wry smile: "Well, I'm going to see my sister."
Mrs. Li couldn't help laughing when she saw Mingxi leave. Then she sat down next to Li Mingdong and said, "Mingdong, your fourth uncle wrote to you last month and said when he would be home. Is it the day of the Little New Year?"
Li Mingdong opened the drawer, took out a letter, opened it and looked at it, then said, "It's after the Little New Year, so it won't arrive until the 28th of the twelfth lunar month."
"He didn't bring his wife home after getting married, and he didn't bring his child home after he had one. He finally came back after all these years, but he delayed it so late." Old Mrs. Li was a little indignant: "I think he doesn't even care about me, his mother."
Li Mingdong saw a sad look on Old Lady Li's face and quickly advised: "It's far away, and besides, Fourth Uncle is busy over there, and train tickets are not easy to buy."
“Alright, alright…” Thinking of her youngest son whom she hadn’t seen for nearly ten years, Mrs. Li’s expression softened a bit and she waved her hand feebly, “Glad that you’re back. Go and heat up the kang in the back room again tomorrow. They’ve never experienced this kind of cold in Bing City.”
"Don't worry, I'll go and burn it tomorrow morning." Li Mingdong agreed.
Knowing that her eldest grandson was reliable, Grandma Li felt relieved. She leaned on her crutches and gave him a few more instructions before leaving.
On the morning of the Little New Year, Mrs. Li, who usually got up the earliest, hadn't gotten up yet. Li Mingbei, who hadn't slept well the whole night thinking about the dumplings, jumped up from the kang first: "Grandma, look, it's already dawn!"
The old lady was half asleep, and was frightened by his shouting. She almost had a heart attack. She covered her chest with one hand and picked up her cane from the ground with the other hand. She hit Li Mingbei with two sticks: "Why are you howling so early in the morning? Get out and make a fire!"
With the help of the bright light outside, Li Mingbei quickly put on his cotton jacket and trousers, then ran to the kitchen to get some firewood. He first put enough firewood under each kang, and then went to the kitchen to light a fire.
Beicha is a place where winter lasts for five months a year. Therefore, when it is cold, the firewood in the stove is kept burning for 24 hours. When cooking, the big pot is connected to the kang. When the fire is turned off after cooking, there is a special kang hole under the kang for burning fire. Li Mingbei's work is rough, and it didn't take long for the whole family to get upset.
Zhenzhen was also awakened by the sound of Li Mingbei coming in. She couldn't hold it back and peed. She was so ashamed that she wanted to pound the kang twice: Urinary incontinence is so shameful! With tears in her eyes, Zhenzhen couldn't stand the wetness under her buttocks. She could only hum twice with a thick face. Wang Sufen heard her daughter wake up and immediately got up to change Zhenzhen's diaper.
Zhenzhen was very helpless about her current situation. She couldn't help but sigh and muttered to herself: Life is always so difficult.
Wang Sufen couldn't help laughing when she heard her daughter sighing. She poked Zhenzhen's face with her hand and said, "A little baby in confinement can even sigh. You are the happiest one in the family. You eat with your eyes open and sleep with your eyes closed." Then she lifted her clothes and started to feed Zhenzhen.
Zhenzhen was already used to breastfeeding. She ate until she was full. She burped and couldn’t open her eyes again. Before falling asleep, Zhenzhen thought: Mom is right. It’s so happy to eat and sleep whenever I want. I think I can sleep a little longer…
Zhenzhen fell asleep almost instantly. Wang Sufen put her in the stroller hanging from the beam, put on her clothes and went out to help prepare things for the New Year.
When Mrs. Li saw Wang Sufen coming out to wash her hands and start kneading dough, she glared and slapped her outstretched hand back: "You won't come back home without you, right? Xiulan will be here soon, and she and Guihua will take care of it, so you don't have to worry about this."
Wang Sufen said hurriedly: "Sitting on the kang and helping to make dry food is not tiring at all. Just lying on the kang makes me feel more tired than working."
"You don't know how to enjoy your blessings." Old Mrs. Li shook her head in disdain: "If you feel bored, just hold Zhenzhen and walk around the house. You can't get tired now. What if your milk comes back and my granddaughter becomes thinner?"
Liu Xiulan heard this as soon as she entered the room, and couldn't help laughing: "It shows that mother likes girls. You were not so nervous when we gave birth to these boys. It's just that I have a good temper. If it were someone else, I would definitely not be happy."
Old Lady Li also laughed after hearing this, took a puff of her pipe and said, "I can't help it even if I'm not happy. I just like granddaughters. It's your fault that you can't give birth to a girl."
Guihua heard the noise outside, stood up, wiped her hands on her apron, and came out of the kitchen to greet her: "Aunt San is here, have you eaten? Can I get you some steamed bread to fill your stomach?"
"Don't worry, I've just had dinner." Liu Xiulan handed the basket on her arm to Guihua, which contained ten eggs and a piece of meat: "The eggs are for my second sister-in-law to nourish her body, and the meat is for mother." Guihua took it, showed it to Old Lady Li, and put the things away.
Liu Xiulan looked at Guihua's quick hands and feet and couldn't help but say enviously: "Our Guihua is really hardworking and efficient at work. Mother, you have a good eye. Look at finding such a good wife for Dongzi."
Mrs. Li smiled and said, "I'm thinking about getting married when Mingdong gets admitted to university."
"That's great." Liu Xiulan glanced at Guihua, whose face was blushing, and couldn't help but teasing her with a smile: "After you get married, Guihua will give Mingdong a plump and fair girl. I guarantee your grandma will worship you like a Buddha."
Guihua bit her lips and smiled shyly, threw her long braids around her neck, and went back to the kitchen. She added firewood to the stove while listening to the two people talking outside.
Liu Xiulan poked her head into the kitchen and asked in a low voice, "Mom, have you talked to Dongzi about getting married?"
"Not yet." Old Mrs. Li puffed on her pipe and said, "I'm thinking of doing it next winter when I have some free time."
Liu Xiulan's voice became even lower: "Mom, it's better to tell Dongzi in advance. If he is willing, we can arrange it. Dongzi has read so many books, don't have any other ideas."
"I know, don't worry about it. Remember to help me find a good carpenter to make a big wardrobe and two wooden boxes for Dongzi next year." Old Mrs. Li frowned slightly and took two puffs of her cigarette. "I hope the harvest will be better next year. Dongzi is our eldest grandson, and his marriage can't be too shabby."
"That's right, mother." Liu Xiulan nodded in agreement. "Fortunately, there is red pine wood all over the mountains here, so it's not difficult to make furniture. I heard from my Mingrong that if you want to buy these furniture in Beijing, you need some kind of large wardrobe ticket or large wooden box ticket to buy them. They are in short supply."
"Maybe it's because the style is rare. Actually, there's nothing good about this thing. It's fine as long as you can put things in it." Old Mrs. Li took a few puffs of her cigarette, then habitually lifted the sole of her shoe and knocked the pipe on it.
Guihua listened in the kitchen for a long time but didn't quite hear what Auntie San said, but she did hear her grandmother's words about arranging furniture for her wedding. When she thought about marrying Brother Dongzi in another year, she couldn't help feeling happy and sweet.
Liu Xiulan chatted with Old Mrs. Li for a while, then went to the kitchen to wash her hands and knead the dough. With Liu Xiulan's help, the housework was done much faster. Soon, two full curtains of sticky bean dumplings were packed and put outside to freeze, and pots of steamed sweet potato flour steamed buns were also put outside to cool.
The 28th day of the twelfth lunar month was the day Li Mulin was going home. Li Muwu and Li Musen went to the train station early in the morning to wait. It was not until after noon that they finally got the train from Ice City.
The brothers had not seen each other for ten years, and they were both a little dazed when they met again. Li Mulin was wearing a washed-out Zhongshan suit, a large cotton jacket, oilcloth shoes, and two large bags on his shoulders. When he got off the car, he saw his two brothers in homespun clothes and greeted them from a distance.
Li Muwu finally realized what was going on, and he and Musen quickly took the things, smiling and not knowing what to say. Li Mulin knew that his two brothers had never been to school and had little education, so he called his wife and children over first: "This is my wife Zhang Chunhua, and these are my two sons, the older one is Mingshu, and the younger one is Mingxin."
"I know, I know. Dongzi and Mingxi have read the letters you sent us before. Mother is always talking about the two children. You have to stay at home for a few more days before going back."
Zhang Chunhua couldn't help but reach out and tug at the back of Li Mulin's clothes. Li Mulin smiled and slapped Zhang Chunhua's hand away, and asked the two children to call for help: "This is your second uncle and third uncle, hurry up and call for help."
Although Mingshu and Mingxin were wearing patched clothes, their faces looked very fair and they were very pretty. When they heard that someone was going to call them, they all hid behind Zhang Chunhua and dared not come out.
Seeing that Li Mulin was a little uncomfortable, Mu Wu and Mu Sen hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "The child is just shy. It's okay. Let's go home quickly. When you are familiar with the house, you will know how to call people."
Li Mulin looked back helplessly at his silent wife and son. He was afraid that his two brothers might have some ideas, so he quickly asked about his mother's health and the latest situation at home.
The family walked out of the train station while talking. Zhang Chunhua looked up as usual to find the trolleybus stop, but no matter how she looked, there didn't seem to be any trolleybuses. Just as she turned around to ask a question, she saw Li Muwu had already put the two large bags he brought with him on a tattered ox cart.
Zhang Chunhua's face immediately turned green.