Zhang Chunhua is a person with many little thoughts, but she doesn't have much ability. To put it bluntly, she is a bully who only bullies the weak and fears the strong. Therefore, when Old Lady Li just waved her cane and shook her eye bag pot twice, Zhang Chunhua immediately became timid. If she had been honest from then on, it would have been fine, but she was not a person who had a long memory. She didn't dare to provoke Old Lady Li, so she went to bully the granddaughter-in-law. However, she didn't expect that Guihua grew up in her husband's family since she was a child. A girl can support the family affairs, and the elders in the family all praise her. How could such a person be a cowardly woman? Therefore, Zhang Chunhua said a few words and was bluntly retorted by Guihua. Zhang Chunhua saw that none of the Li family members, from old to young, were vegetarians, and even Li Mulin didn't stand on her side, so she was completely quiet.
On New Year's Eve, Grandma Li got up early in the morning and directed her son and grandson to stick pendants and gourds on the door, and to paste couplets and the word "Fu" on the gate. Grandma Li also took out the pork that had been hidden for half a month, and killed the rooster that had been raised at home for a year. She chopped seven or eight large bones that she had bought from the ravine a few days ago into pieces with an axe, and dissolved them in water, preparing to stew them with sauerkraut.
Liu Xiulan and Guihua were busy in the kitchen while the men were sweeping snow and chopping firewood in the yard. As soon as Zhang Chunhua entered the kitchen, she was chased out by Guihua. Old Mrs. Li knew at a glance that the two of them had had a quarrel at some point, so she asked Zhang Chunhua to go back to the house and didn't expect her to be of any help.
Old Mrs. Li directed Zhang Chunhua to place four plates on the kang table. She took out the key hanging from her waist, put peanuts and melon seeds in one plate each, and fried pine nuts and hazelnuts picked from the mountains in autumn and put them in two plates. She also grabbed a handful of candies and gave them to her grandchildren, asking them to put them in their pockets to eat.
Zhang Chunhua grabbed a handful of pine nuts and used pliers to pick them up one by one, stuffing them into Mingshu and Mingxin's mouths. Mingnan and Mingbei usually picked up these things in the mountains, so they were not rare. They ran around outside, asked Li Mulin for about 20 firecrackers, and came back and dragged Mingshu and Mingxin out to set off firecrackers.
Mingshu was the same age as Mingbei and was at the age where he loved to play. When he heard that they were going to set off firecrackers, he quickly pushed away the pine nuts handed to him by Zhang Chunhua, put on his shoes and pulled on his cotton jacket, and ran out. Mingxin got anxious when he saw this and stood up to get off the kang as well: "Brother, wait for me, I want to go too." Mingshu anxiously looked outside and turned back to urge Mingxin: "Then put on your shoes quickly."
Seeing that both of her sons were about to run outside, Zhang Chunhua hugged Mingxin and coaxed him, saying, "My dear son, it's cold outside. It's so nice for you and mom to eat at home. Look at how delicious these fried pine nuts are."
Mingxin had eaten so much these past two days at his grandmother's house that he was not so eager to eat anymore. He was more concerned about going out to set off firecrackers. He struggled hard from Zhang Chunhua's arms and almost cried in anxiety: "Mom, let me go, I want to go out and play."
Old Lady Li was playing with Zhenzhen with a bunch of gourds. When she heard Mingxin crying and making a fuss, she couldn't help but say, "Tell him to go. Who wouldn't ask their children to go out and play during the New Year? Your third sister-in-law's family's Mingrong and Mingguang are also outside."
Zhang Chunhua let go of her hand awkwardly, and looked at the pine nuts and hazelnuts on the table, worried that the visitors would eat them all, so she went to the kitchen to ask for a small bowl, and peeled out most of the bowl of nuts under the stunned gaze of Old Lady Li.
Zhang Chunhua looked up and felt a little uncomfortable at the look in Old Lady Li's eyes. She quickly explained, "These things have to be bought with money in Bingcheng. I saw Mingshu and Mingxin really like to eat them, so I peeled some for them to eat when they come back."
Old Lady Li couldn't understand how the Zhang family could raise such a petty person like Zhang Chunhua. Logically, with Zhang's father's salary, the three of them should have a better life than others. However, since her daughter-in-law came back after so many years, Old Lady Li was not a stingy person. She looked at Zhang Chunhua and said, "There are red pines all over our mountain, and pine cones are everywhere. If the child likes to eat them, I'll bring some back to you when I go home."
Zhang Chunhua must have been very happy, and she grinned and said, "Our land is really good. You can't buy it anywhere else even if you have money."
When Zhang Chunhua entered the house, Mrs. Li finally heard something decent to say, and couldn't help but smile: "Take the empty plate and ask your second sister-in-law to fill it up. If the neighbors come to visit later, it will be embarrassing to leave the plate empty."
This time, Zhang Chunhua agreed readily and got off the kang swiftly. Zhenzhen half lay in Wang Sufen's arms, drooling at the smell of the bowl of peeled pine nuts and hazelnuts. They smelled so good.
The pine nuts of this era are genuine wild pine nuts. Not only are they large in size and full of flavor, but they are also stir-fried in a large iron pan with sand, and you can drool just by smelling the smell.
Seeing Zhenzhen staring at the nuts, Old Lady Li couldn't help but laugh: "Oh, our little girl can smell things now. I can't give this to you because you are still young. Wait until next autumn to pick up pine cones and hazelnuts and give them to us Zhenzhen to eat, okay?"
Zhenzhen swallowed her saliva and tried to stretch her chubby little hands to her face to wipe the saliva from the corners of her mouth. Wang Sufen wiped Zhenzhen's mouth and hands with a cotton bib, and laughed to Old Lady Li and said, "Mom, look at Zhenzhen. She is still clean even though she is still in confinement. She wipes her own mouth."
Mrs. Li smiled and hung the gourd on Zhenzhen's hand, saying happily: "Zhenzhen is smart and strong. When she grows up, she can help you hunt wild boars for food." She glanced at Wang Sufen again, with a look of satisfaction on her face: "You are doing well this time. It seems that the chicken soup and fish soup were not in vain. I will ask Mingnan and Mingbei to go and get some fish later."
Wang Sufen couldn't help but say, "This year's Yongcui River is really strange. In previous years, it was easy to catch fish in the summer, but in the winter, eight out of ten times, I would return empty-handed. But this year, I didn't catch many fish in the summer, but in the winter, I could catch two every few days."
Old Lady Li touched Zhenzhen's pink and tender smiling face and said casually, "This is the food God sent to us Zhenzhen."
The fire in the house was burning brightly, and outside a group of kids were having fun in the snow. All the boys from each household came out. You stuffed the firecrackers into the snow pile, and I stuffed the firecrackers under a rack made of icicles, to see who could play more creatively.
They set off firecrackers all the way to the Yongcui River. The children from each family took out their sleds and lined up to compete. The loser would take out firecrackers for everyone to set off. Mingbei, Mingnan, and Mingrong slid very fast with two wooden sticks with nails. Mingguang, Mingshu, and Mingxin followed behind them, cheering for them.
After a crazy morning, he came home to a delicious meal. Mingxin couldn't help sighing while washing his face: "Grandma's home is much more interesting than mine." Zhang Chunhua looked back and saw that no one was paying attention to this side, so she whispered to her son: "Our home is better than grandma's home. If you say grandma's home is better again, I will keep you here and won't take you back to Ice City."
Mingxin was only four or five years old after all. He wilted when he heard this. He did not dare to go out with his brothers in the afternoon. He lay obediently on the warm kang with his mother and slept.
In the evening, Liu Xiulan and Guihua were busy early, stewing big bones with pickled cabbage, mushrooms with chicken, and tofu with carp. Mingxin sat up from the kang when he smelled the fragrance. He turned around and saw Old Lady Li leading Wang Sufen and Zhang Chunhua to make dumplings. The white and plump dumplings were placed on the lid. Mingxin's mouth immediately watered: "Mom, I still think my grandma's home is much better than ours. Why don't you keep me here? I feel it's good here."
Zhang Chunhua's face flushed immediately. Wang Sufen rolled the dumpling wrappers while smiling at Mingxin: "That's great. Later, Second Aunt will hug you to sleep."
Ming Xin couldn't understand Zhang Chunhua's complicated expression. He smiled and climbed to the middle of the kang, pushed the swing, and asked Wang Sufen innocently, "Are you going to share a room with sister Zhenzhen?"
Wang Sufen suppressed her laughter and said seriously, "Yes, Zhenzhen is younger, so she has to sleep with Second Auntie."
"That's fine!" Ming Xin nodded seriously: "Then I'll live here."
Old Lady Li and Wang Sufen burst into laughter. Although Zhang Chunhua knew that Wang Sufen and Mingxin were joking, she felt a little uncomfortable. However, no one noticed her discomfort at this time. From time to time, there were half-loud firecrackers outside. The whole family gathered in the west room to talk about family matters, and bursts of joyful laughter came from time to time.
Seeing that the dishes were ready, the three Li Muwu brothers brought in a large round table that was only used once a year, set it up, and placed pots of sumptuous dishes on it.
Li Muwu took out the wine that he had been reluctant to drink, and poured a cup for his mother and two younger brothers. They clinked their glasses and took a sip happily, then their chopsticks flew around, picking up the bones and fatty slices in the dish.
After New Year's Eve, the days passed by extremely fast, and in a blink of an eye it was the tenth day, and it was time for Li Mulin to return to Bingcheng. Before leaving, Li Mulin put the money he had saved together with the money given by Old Lady Li, and took out 50 kilograms of national food coupons and gave them to Old Lady Li: "Mom, this is the money I will give to you for the past ten years. I will send money and food coupons back every month from now on."
Mrs. Li accepted the gifts and took her son to the kitchen. She took out half a bag of cornmeal and a roe deer leg that had been frozen for two months and handed them to Li Mulin. "These are prepared by your second brother and his wife. You guys have a hard life too. We can at least grow some crops at home, pick some mushrooms, fungus, wild vegetables from the mountains, hunt pheasants and rabbits, etc. We are better off than you anyway."
Li Mulin looked at the food and couldn't help crying: "Times are tough now, just keep it, mom. We are a small family, so it's enough to eat."
"I don't care what you two adults eat. Mingshu and Mingxin are both good children. I feel bad if they starve." Old Mrs. Li took a puff of her pipe, was silent for a moment, and waved her hand: "Hurry up and leave. Don't miss the bus."
Li Mulin wiped his tears and was about to say a few more words of farewell to his mother, when suddenly a heart-wrenching cry made him forget everything he wanted to say.
"I won't leave, I won't leave, grandma, please come and save me!" Mingxin realized it belatedly as he watched his parents pack up their things and get ready to go out. He immediately started to cry loudly, "Grandma's home is great, I love you, I don't want to go home."
Zhang Chunhua was sweating with anxiety. She put clothes on him and coaxed him: "Don't cry, we will come back next time."
"You said the day before yesterday that grandma's family is not as good as ours, and you won't come next time." Mingxin didn't believe his mother. He repeated every word Zhang Chunhua said while crying.
Zhang Chunhua glanced at Old Lady Li standing aside and smoking, and couldn't help sweating. Although the food was good at the Li family and the two children had gained some weight, Zhang Chunhua couldn't help feeling jealous when she saw the two children getting closer and closer to the Li family. That's why she whispered these words to her son the day before yesterday.
"Don't talk nonsense. If you don't listen, I won't bring you here next time." Zhang Chunhua finally put clothes on her son, half dragged him to Old Lady Li, and said with a wry smile, "Mom, we're leaving now. We'll come back when Mu Lin has a day off."
Without even raising her eyelids, Grandma Li just patted her grandson's head and said kindly, "Come back in the fall. There are lots of good things on the mountain. I'll let you eat as much as you want!"
With just one sentence, Mingxin's tears stopped. He wiped the tears from his face and raised his little face to reveal an innocent smile: "I like milk!"
After seeing Li Mulin and his family off, the Li family resumed their normal life. In a blink of an eye, the ice and snow melted, the river water melted, and the weather gradually became hotter. After Zhenzhen rolled over and over, she finally sat up when summer arrived.