The Prestigious Family's Young lady and the Farmer

by Usui Takumii

not mine, foxaholic, lazy bird translations wordpress and travis translations. Total: 148 chapters. Waiting for the translator to update.

10. 66 to 70

The new year was drawing nearer and nearer. New Year's day was just ten days away. Though there was a snowfall outside, it couldn't dampen everyone's jubilant moods as they waited for the new year.

In Luoxia village, there is a popular piece of doggerel, which tells about the activities carried out by the villagers from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. It goes like this, "On the twenty-third day, offer the sacrifices to the kitchen god; On the twenty-fourth day, clean the house thoroughly; On the twenty-fifth day, grind soybeans and make tofu; On the twenty-sixth day, stew the pork; On the twenty-seventh day, make chicken; On the twenty-eighth day, ferment the dough; On the twenty-ninth day, steam the mantous; On the thirtieth evening, keeps the vigil on the night, waiting for the arrival of the new year."

Since she wasn't short of the silver in her hands, Lin Qingwan decided to celebrate her first new year in the Daxi dynasty splendidly. Even in her past life, Lin Qingwan had this strange quirk; she had to celebrate the new year every year well.

She had Yang Tiegen go to the porkseller beforehand to buy the pork. She directly had him bring two butchered pigs. Pig head, pig trotters, spare ribs, and the likes were all saved for the new year's feast. And the rest of the portion was all used up in making Laweixian.

The restaurants in the town would close on the 27th for new year celebrations and would only reopen on the 15th of the first lunar month. But even after the restaurants closed their business for holidays, Lin Qingwan didn't stop making Laweixian. After talking with Yang-shi and the third branch's husband and wife, she planned to stock them a little before the new year. Because soon after the new year, not much pork would be available in the market.

This was why Lin Qingwan had asked Yang Tiegen to buy a few more hundreds of jin pork back. Along with this, she had also had Yang Tiezhu mention their regular pork seller to deliver the pork to Yang-shi's place as soon as the new year celebrations were done.

Thus, for these few days, all of them were swamped with work. Yang-shi and the third branch's couple were busy preparing Laweixian to stock them up. Even Yang-shi's daughter-in-law, Zhou-shi, also assisted them from the side. While Lin Qingwan, because of her pregnancy, wasn't allowed to meddle much with their work. So, with no other choice, she stayed back at home and made food and other stuff for new year's celebrations.

Lin Qingwan intended to make the dishes similar to how she made them in her past life. So, she took whole spare ribs and marinated them, planning to make cured ribs. Alongside, she also marinated a jar of meat to make bacon. Earlier, Lin Qingwan also had Yang Tiegen buy a few big grass carps and chicken meat as well. She marinated these two as well to make cured fish and cured chicken.

When all of them were adequately marinated, she tied them with a straw rope and hung them over the beam of the house's roof.

While Yang Tiezhu was clueless about what strange things his wife was doing, he nevertheless lent her a hand from the side. He was aware that his wife, Wanwan, had a lot of crazy ideas and knew a lot about food, so he didn't ask her much.

At a glance, they seemed to be some sort of food. When they were prepared, he just needed to eat them.

On the other hand, Yang-shi prepared lots of Laweixian. The days flashed in the blink of an eye, and it was already the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. After taking a day's rest, they began preparing for the upcoming New Year.

On the twenty-third day, people usually offer sacrifices to the kitchen god. In the past years, Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen used to offer sacrifices in the kitchen of the main house and others. But this year, having been separated, they had to offer sacrifices by themselves.

Before this ritual of offering, zaotang needs to be made. Lin Qingwan didn't know how to make them. But, Yao-shi knew how to make them, for every year Yang jia makes and offers them to the kitchen god.

* 灶糖 (Zào Táng): Zao means kitchen and tang mean candy or sweets; literally it means "Kitchen Candy," is a sweet treat made of maltose, used as a sacrifice to the Kitchen God. As the legend goes, the Kitchen God is sent to the earth by the Jade Emperor to supervise the life of every household. The Kitchen God will return to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor on the 23rd of 12th lunar month, which is called the Kitchen God Festival or the Little new year. Chinese believed that no foul language could come out of a sweet mouth. Thus, people offer the Zaotang to Kitchen God to sweeten his words to the Jade Emperor or stick his teeth together to prevent him from saying bad words.

Early in the morning of the 22nd, Yao-shi brought the prepared ingredients to the second branch to make them along with Lin Qingwan.

To make zaotang, first, an 'enzyme' needs to be prepared. As Lin Qingwan wasn't aware of this 'enzyme', Yao-shi explained it to her: Initially, a few jin of millet were added into the water and soaked thoroughly. While doing so, the moisture content and warm temperature were checked such that they were optimal for the sprouting of the millets. As the current climate was cold, Yao-shi had soaked the millet in her room beforehand. After a few days, when the sprouts on millet grew to about half an inch, these millet sprouts and water were ground up to form a juice-like consistency, which would act as an 'enzyme' for the making of zaotang.

斤 (jīn): catty.

As Yao-shi had already prepared this 'enzyme' in advance, she simply explained the making process to Lin Qingwan.

Lin Qingwan could only partially understand but still mesmerized the recipe.

While speaking with her, Yao-shi began steaming another batch of millet rice in a wok. And once it was done, she put it aside for it to cool down. When it was no longer hot to touch, she added the prepared 'enzyme' into it before stirring the mixture until they were uniformly mixed and placing it aside.

Yao-shi then told Lin Qingwan that they could only start making zaotang when the millet rice would turn into a syrupy consistency. Generally, this process takes about one or two shichen.

1 shichen is equivalent to two hours.

After lunch at noon, Yao-shi checked the contents of the pot. The millet rice had turned into a thin syrupy consistency.

She picked the pot, directly placed it on the stove, and lit the fire before adding a bit of honey. She let this sugar paste simmer until the consistency turned semi-thick consistency. Once she got the desired consistency, she removed the pot from the stove and let it sit aside.

When this sweet was no longer hot, Yao-shi took it onto the chopping board and skillfully kneaded it into long strips.

Lin Qingwan watched all of these in amazement from the side. This was an ancient simplistic method of making candies. However, using these millets to make candies was beyond Lin Qingwan's imagination.

Just as she was about to grab one and taste, Yao-shi stopped her, saying they would be more delicious if they let them stay overnight in this cold climate. And it wouldn't be tasty at the moment.

Lin Qingwan glanced at the two little girls beside her who were, though impatient yet waiting, and then at the candies. She thought, 'since the two kids could wait, I can endure too.'

The following day, Lin Qingwan woke up early in the morning and brought in the candy, which was placed outside last night to freeze. Immediately, she picked a piece and tasted it. The candy was quite crispy to bite and sweet.

But saying it was tasty would be quite implausible. After all, in her previous life, she hadn't eaten any fewer candies and chocolates of various types. After coming here, she hadn't even eaten candy. Thus she vigorously ate in a bite and felt it was not bad.

But contrary to her feelings, the two little girls loved it. Thus Lin Qingwan stuffed another piece in each of the girls' hands. But, the two kids seemed to be reluctant to eat it. Therefore they took a small bite and put the remaining in their pockets. However, not long after, they took the candies out and took another small bite.

Seeing this, Lin Qingwan was overwhelmed with sadness. She told the two girls that they could eat as much as they wanted, saying that once they were done eating, their second shen would make more for them.

婶 (shěn): wife of father's younger brother

The two little girls thanked their second shen. Nevertheless, they were reluctant to take big bites of the candy. Lin Qingwan could only touch her nose helplessly and drop the subject.

The offerings to the kitchen god would be offered in the evening. In the evening, once Yao-shi was done with cooking all the offerings, she pulled Lin Qingwan out of the room, leaving only Yang Tiegen and Yang Tiezhu in the small cubicle.

Ever since the second and third branches separated from the family, this small cubicle had become their kitchen. When they had built a stove here, Yang Tiegen had even specially brought an image of the kitchen god and set it up on the wall.

Lin Qingwan didn't understand why they had put the image there at that time, but now after listening to Yao-shi, she could understand the reason. It turned out that they not only had to present nice offerings to the Kitchen god, but also 'seal' the kitchen god's mouth with zaotang. Once all the offerings were given, the image of the kitchen god would be burned.

On this day, images of the Kitchen God are burned as a symbolic act of departure, often accompanied burned along with some gold or silver money for traveling expenses. In some households, the lips of the Kitchen God will be lightly brushed with honey or sugar prior to its immolation, to ensure sweet things are said by the Kitchen God

Lin Qingwan couldn't understand why they couldn't watch the ritual from the side and asked Yao-shi the reason. Only then was she able to understand – it turned out that, according to the local tradition here: Men do not worship the Moon while women do not offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God. Thus, women must not offer sacrifices to the kitchen god.

Lin Qingwan pouted, thinking that this was blatant discrimination against the majority of the working women!

After a while, Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen stepped out. Yang Tiegen took out the newly bought portrait of the kitchen god and pasted it on the kitchen wall where the previous image of the kitchen god was set up.

When the ritual was done, they gathered around the kang table, and began to have their supper.

After the twenty-third day came the twenty-fourth day, the day on which the entire house would be thoroughly cleansed.

This day, Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi got up early in the morning, finished breakfast, and began cleaning the entire house. After they gave the inside and outside of the house a thorough cleaning, they washed all the kitchen utilities. The main room also seemed to be cleaning this day, for Wang-shi was bustling in and out of the house, appearing quite busy.

The entire day, round the clock, everyone was busy. Even Yang Tiezhu kept hustling in and out of the house as he helped Lin Qingwan. During supper, suddenly, a loud commotion came from the main room.

It was Wang-sh; her voice was extremely loud and seemed to be very agitated. Intermittently, He-shi's voice could also be heard.

They couldn't hear clearly from the second branch's room, for all the door curtains were pulled shut, and the doors were closed, perhaps because of the cold weather.

Lin Qingwan could only vaguely hear Wang-shi's something along the lines of 'pig' 'starving and working herself to death for about a year' 'meat' and so on, while He-shi's voice wasn't clear.

The four adults having dinner in the room exchanged looks. Yao-shi softly said, "Perhaps mother wished to sell the pig at home, and elder sao is against it."

嫂 (sǎo): older brother's wife / sister-in-law

Seeing everyone's gaze fall on her, including the two little girls, Yang-shi's face reddened as she quickly added, "Earlier today, I saw mother ask the eldest brother to call the pig butcher in the village. But later, the eldest sao ran out and said some words, after which the pig butcher left."

Lin Qingwan bit her chopsticks—in other words, He-shi was planning to sell the pork and was not intending to kill this year's pig?

The people in the Luoxia Village had a practice of killing pigs after the twenty-third day. Usually, when they slaughter the pigs, they invite all of their near and dear ones to have a pig slaughter feast, just like Yang-shi, who had invited all the relatives to her house on the twenty-sixth to have a pig slaughter dish.

In rural northeastern China, farming households hold a pig slaughter feast to celebrate the end of a lunar year and usher a new, hopefully even more prosperous one. It's an inviolable tradition that sees families, close friends, and important guests get together to share the fruits of a year's labor.

The poor Luoxia villagers usually invite their close relatives and friends to have a pig slaughter feast. A portion of the pork would be kept aside to celebrate new year's day. While the leftovers would be sold either to the pig butcher or to the other families in the village who couldn't raise the pig that year. Only those whose families were suffering through wretched poverty or the extremely stingy ones would not butcher the pigs. Rather they would sell the entire pig directly to the butcher. The meaning of selling the whole pig was self-evident—the family wouldn't have any meat for the new year celebrations.

This was indeed an ignominious affair, but He-shi was willing to do it?

That was unpleasant to say, but He-shi was not only ruthless to others but also herself. It could be said that she was highly stingy all the time, but at the same time, one couldn't see her enjoying life either. Even if, once in a while, she secretly showed preferential treatment behind others' backs, it was only for Yang Xuezhang. He-shi, too, always ate what others ate.

Recalling Yang Xuezhang's upcoming marriage, everyone in the room became silent. He-shi must be saving silver for Yang Xuezhang's marriage. No wonder they weren't eating this year's pork!

However, how does that matter regarding He-shi slaughtering this year's pig or not concern them? They could eat pork solely because they earned it through hard work.

"It's the first year since we had separated. Should we give them an end-of-the-year gift?" Yao-shi paused momentarily before continuing, " I ran into eldest sao in the yard today. Though she didn't directly say anything to me, she loudly said that the ones who had separated from the family ought to give an end-of-the-year gift to the elderly couple. I reckoned that she was saying all for me to hear."

Lin Qingwan blinked her eyes, perplexed. End-of-the-year gift? What's that?

Yao-shi explained, "Generally, sons who separate from the family when the parents are still alive would prepare an end-of-the-year gift for the elderly parents every year."

Yan Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen were both aware of this tradition. Generally, it was said that one must not separate when both the parents were still alive, but this hadn't always been the case in the Luoxia village. Few families in the village got separated before their parents passed away. Generally, such parents would stay with their eldest son, while the other younger ones would prepare an end-of-the-year gift for them. Whether the affection between the two was still there or not was secondary, for when such rules are there, it would be better to follow them rather than leave room for others to criticize. It hadn't been long since Lin Qingwan arrived here, so it was natural for her to be not aware of this norm.

In such a case, should they give an end-of-the-year gift?

Subsequently, four people couldn't help but look at each other.

After a moment of contemplation, Lin Qingwan asked, "Generally, what sort of gifts are given as a part of end-of-the-year gifts?"

"This depends on the family's financial situation. Usually, they give one or two jins of pork and two jugs of wine for the elderly couple to drink. If the family's situation is better, they also prepare two sets of clothes for them."

Lin Qingwan thought briefly and replied, "Let's do this. They might have been improper. But let's not stoop low and learn from them. We will surely give them end-of-the-year gifts. Just cut a jin of pork from what we have at home and buy a jar of wine. After all, at the moment, our days 'aren't quite easy'. In this situation, as for the rest, let's ignore them. As long as we follow basic etiquette, it will be alright. Besides, we had just given annual support to them just the other day."

斤 (jīn): catty, about 500g.

The three of them understood what she meant. They must handle the matter properly on the surface to avoid others pointing their fingers at them. As long as their mouths were blocked, their future days would be peaceful. Their village had such a practice; thus, they would abide by it. It was as simple as that. No need to mull over it for long.

Yao-shi also seconded with a nod, "Alright, we will do as such. We have to be filial. Anyway, it isn't much either."

"Wife, you are so kind!" Yang Tiezhu applauded. But he didn't applaud her because he still harbored vain hope and feelings or whatnot for the people in the main room. Rather he truly appreciated how Wanwan handled the matters was upright and open-minded, not allowing others to find any faults.

There were only a few women who weren't narrow-minded—this was what Yang Tiezhu felt after being bitterly disappointed again and again by the people in the main room. After all the heart-chilling things they had done, for Wanwan to still be able to candidly decide to give end-of-the-year gifts was something only broadminded people could do.

Although Yang Tiegen didn't say anything, he too had a similar opinion as he gazed at Yao-shi.

Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi felt slightly embarrassed by their husbands' gaze. Indeed it could be said that they displayed broad-mindedness in their conducts, but that was because they dreaded inviting troubles.

It was just a matter that could be done by expending a little over ten copper coins. As such, why give a chance for others to point fingers at them and feel dispirited later?

No matter how unkind the elderly couple was, the younger generation would still have to fulfill their duties. Even if it was just for the others to see it, they still had to do it. In that way, they won't have anything to say, and outsiders won't have anything to criticize as well.

Lin Qingwan was a person who was clear about herself. She had always been upright and honorable in her conduct and work and had always been open with her actions. If one does everything they had to do justly, one would be devoid of fear of becoming unreasonable. Even when driven to the corner to the point of feeling helpless, it wasn't proper to choose to cheat others in the dark. Rather, she would lay the options before you and have you decide for yourself. And whether the result of that choice was good or bad would be solely borne by yourself and couldn't be blamed on others.

Just like the incident when they separated from the family. She merely let a few rumors spread across the village, and what choice to make was entirely in the hands of those from the main room. Had they made another choice, things would have been quite different from how they were at the moment. She had given them space to make a decision, but human nature and their selfishness were too terrifying.

How to say, a leopard cannot change its spots. The same was the case with He-shi and Yang-shi as well. Both encountered a similar situation, but with two different people making decisions, the outcome was different. If Xia Dacheng happened to be He-shi's son and similarly returned battered with nothing back to the village, He-shi would surely have long expelled him from the house. But, Yang-shi chose to cross a river along with him on the same boat.

狗改不了吃屎 (gǒu chī shǐ gǎi bù le): a dog can't stop itself from eating shit/ a leopard cannot change its spots/ old habits die hard/ bad habits are hard to change

同舟共济 (tóng zhōu gòng jì): cross a river in the same boat — to pull together in times of trouble

Family – What is a family? A family means diving through difficult times and experiencing hardships together as one. The same goes for happy times and good fortune as well.

They all unanimously concluded not to think much over these matters and resumed their eating from the bowls in their hands. In contrast to the pleasant and harmonious scene in the second branch, there was pandemonium in the main room, as the loud noises that side never ceased.

Post supper, the couple from the third branch retired to their rooms. Amidst the Wang-shi's never-ending chaotic shrieks and yells from the main room, Lin Qingwan also prepared to turn in for the night.

As for who emerged victorious in the fight that night, Lin Qingwan didn't know, for she soon drifted into slumber. Regardless, early in the next morning, He-shi called a butcher and sold the family's big, fat pig.

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, when both the couples from the second and third branches were going to attend the Pig Slaughter Feast in the Yang-shi's house, they chanced upon Wang-shi in the courtyard, whose face was still enshrouded with gloom.

Unlike Yang jia's hushed and desolate courtyard, Yang-shi's small courtyard was bustling with noise and excitement.

By the time Lin Qingwan and others arrived at Yang's place, many people were already standing around the yard.

Yang-shi was quite popular in Luoxia Village. Coupled with the virtue of her kindness and honesty and her disinclination to gossip and making thoughtless remarks on others, many people in the village tended to have good relations with her.

But of course, Yang-shi didn't invite everyone else just to have a pig slaughtering feast; she had other intentions as well. That's why she not only invited a lot of people, but also the Village Chief and many venerable elders in the village.

No sooner than Lin Qingwan and the others stepped in, several people greeted Yang Tiezhu.

"Tiezhu, is your injury healed?"

"How is your injury now? It doesn't look severe now. Can you move from the bed this quickly?"

Yang Tiezhu raised his bandaged arm before saying, "The rest of the injuries have more or less healed, but can't move this arm yet…"

Most of the Luoxia villagers were pretty kind and honest. Being aware that his arm was crippled, they, too, didn't make any cynical remarks.

Just as the pig butcher and several other strong young men were about to kill the pig, Lin Qingwan and a few other timid married women hid in the house.

Just because Lin Qingwan was fine with eating pork didn't mean she would be alright watching a pig getting butchered. She was scared that after seeing the pig getting slaughtered, she would not be able to eat pork anymore.

It was getting quite rowdy outside while all the young married women crowded inside to have a chitchat.

This day, Yang-shi's younger brother, Second Yang laoyezi, and his family had also come. Her Second tangsao Nie, whom she had met last time in her wedding, approached Lin Qingwan and asked, "Qingwan, I had heard from eldest gumu that you are pregnant now?"

老爷子 (lǎoyézi): polite appellation for an elderly male

堂嫂 (tángsǎo): wife of older male cousin via the male line

姑母 (gūmǔ): father's sister / paternal aunt

With a smile, Lin Qingwan bashfully nodded at Second tangsao Nie.

"Aiya, Tiezhu's wife is there this soon?"

"How is it fast? It has been quite a while since they got married; the timing is just right."

Several of these young married women chattered enthusiastically at once and congratulated Lin Qingwan with joyous words.

With a smile, Lin Qingwan thanked all of them.

They all began engaging in lively discussion as the group of married women recounted Yang jia's separation matter. Everyone gazed at Lin Qingwan sympathetically, as they criticized Yang laoyezi and his wife for being too unreasonable.

Beset with embarrassment, Lin Qingwan didn't know how to reply. But, just at that moment, a voice came from outside saying that the Pig Slaughter feast was ready. Second tangsao Nie swiftly interrupted them and invited everyone out to have a feast.

Lin Qingwan was truly helpless by these sorts of questions and didn't know how to answer them, for neither could she agree nor disagree. After all, juniors talking about their elders in the presence of outsiders wasn't right. Regardless of who was right or wrong, that would make people think that the said person has a problem. Fortunately, the timing was just right, and the Second Tangsao Nie, too, helped her dodge the issue.

Due to little space, there was a lack of seats for everyone to sit and eat. All the invitees brought their own set of cutleries. After serving into their bowls, they finished their meals either by standing or crouching in the yard.

By the time Lin Qingwan came out, many people had already begun eating. A simple stove was set up in the middle of the yard with a big wok placed on it. In it was a stew, composed of a bit of everything from pig blood, thin slices of pork belly to potatoes, cabbage, pickled vegetables, and the likes. Yang-shi must have spent quite a lot on this Pig Slaughtering Feast. Lin Qingwan reckoned that a quarter of the pig meat went into that pot.

Usually, guests or relatives need not have to have the feast with the rest of the villagers. Yang-shi had arranged a sumptuous feast spread apart in two tables in the house. Yang-shi and her daughter-in-law hurriedly kept juggling back and forth from inside the house to the courtyard outside. Due to her pregnancy, Lin Qingwan was prohibited from helping and was asked to stand aside and watch simply.

Few villagers who were done eating the stew in the big wok took their leave. And just at this moment, Yang-shi was done setting up a sumptuous feast in the house. The Village Chief and a few other venerable elders were invited in to take a seat. Lin Qingwan and the other younger generation sat around the second table.

Once everyone settled in their seats, they began eating. Yang-shi had also bought wine. But, since Xia Dacheng was bed-ridden with injuries, she requested Second Yang laoyezi to accompany several other elders in drinking.

Once everyone was done eating, Yang-shi finally dived into the main topic.

While recounting the past happenings to Xia Dacheng, she wiped the rim of her eyes.

Only then did realization dawn upon everyone as to why they saw Xia Dacheng's wife but not the man himself. It turned out that the man was bed-ridden, ah! Upon hearing everything, they placated Yang-shi with a sigh while saying, "It's fine for the child to not got to the town. Life in our Luoxia village is no different from that of outside. So long as they cultivated the crops properly, the harvest would be bountiful, enough to eat and drink for a year."

Second Yang Loayezi, being clear about his eldest sister's family's affair, chimed in and added a few more words from the side, eliciting innumerable lamentful sighs and pity.

Who would have anticipated that Xia Dacheng—one of the best youth in Luoxia Village—would get caught up in the battle between the masters above? It was all a matter of time and fate, ah!

After lunch, the Village Chief and several other venerable elders went to the east room to greet Xia Dacheng. After offering him a few words of consolation, they gradually dispersed away.

Along with the Second Yang Laooyezi's family, Lin Qingwan and others helped Yang-shi tidy the house and the yard before taking their leave.

Lin Qingwan couldn't help but exclaim at Yang-shi's wit and shrewdness. Yang-shi invited many villagers for the Pig Slaughtering Feast; The mouth that eats others' food would be softened. In the future, when gossiping about Yang-shi's son, Xia Dacheng, their mouths would involuntarily favor him. And if at all, any person, despite eating her food, still ridicules her son for returning in dire straits, Lin Qingwan reckoned that the rest of the villagers would surely hold the other person in contempt. Not to mention, Yang-shi also won the sympathies of several venerable village elders. Later on, if she wanted to do anything in the village, it would be much easier for her.

吃人家的嘴软 (chīrénjiādezuǐduǎn): Literally, the mouth that eats the food of others is softened. Suppose you were offered free meals or lent a hand by your acquaintance in your dire straits. Later, after offering his help, when this acquaintance seeks help, you will have to reciprocate the favor, no matter how unreasonable their request is. To put it simply, it is synonymous with the modern phrase 'There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world'. No one would offer you help for free, for they would surely have some of the other ulterior means.

Back at Yang jia, Wang-shi was drawing water in the yard. Seeing Lin Qingwan and others come back, their expressions seemingly that of having eaten a stomach full of food and wine, she turned green with envy.

Wang-shi was aware that today Yang-shi's family had slaughtered this year's pig. However, He-shi disliked Yang-shi; thus, the eldest branch's couple too refrained from speaking with Yang-shi's entire family. As a result, for the Pig Slaughter Feast, Yang-shi invited more than half of the village but didn't invite Yang jia naturally that included Wang-shi as well.

"Yo! Are the Second dimei and third dimei coming back from Pig Slaughter feast? Then, why didn't you bring back a bowl for your eldest sao to eat, heh?"

弟妹 (dìmèi): younger brother's wife

嫂 (sǎo): sister-in-law

Lin Qingwan froze, and her lips twitched, "Eldest sao, why would anyone go to a pig slaughter feast and after eating still bring a bowl back home?"

She truly felt disinclined to exchange words with Wang-shi, and naturally, her tone couldn't be any better. However, at times, Lin Qingwan found herself between laughter and tears at Wang-shi's words, unable to comprehend what sort of thoughts kept running in her brain. Same words, any normal person wouldn't be able to spell them out, but she could say it aloud, as if it was proper and to be expected as a matter of course, without the slightest bit of discomfiture.

The third branch's couple followed behind them silently. Yang Tiezhu pulled his wife back to their room, rushing her to hurry in and not freeze outside.

Wang-shi was left alone, snubbed. Having no choice, she could only shut her mouth resentfully. Nevertheless, the force expended on drawing the water became fiercer and fiercer. But it was unknown to whom her anger was directed.

Wang-shi recalled her long quarrel with her mother-in-law last night and her failure to hinder her mother-in-law from selling the family's pig. New Year was just around the corner, yet the family didn't show any inclinations to buy meat. Suddenly, a feeling of having had enough plagued her. However, no matter how fed up she was, she was also helpless, unable to do anything. Yesterday, she had raised a fuss until He-shi threatened to have her divorced. In the end, she could only concede defeat.

Recalling her excruciatingly hard and tiring past few days, Wang-shi yet again immensely regretted inciting He-shi to expel second and third branches, as she heavily placed the bucket in her hands on the platform around the well with a loud bang. He-shi lifted open the door curtains and walked out, her face overcast with dark clouds, "Wang-shi, do you want to break the bucket? If it is broken, will you buy another one for this old lady?" Wang-shi shrunk her neck, pausing her actions. Naturally, He-shi was also aware of the second and third branches' trip to Yang-shi's house to attend the Pig Slaughtering Feast. She hated Yang-shi, but at the same time, she also immensely hated the people from the second and the third branches. However, what if she was apoplectic with hatred? They had already separated from the main family. Apart from looking for them for the elderly support, she couldn't do anything to them. With a glum face, she turned around, flung open the curtains, and went in.

Twenty-seventh day, Twelfth Lunar month—

As Lin Qingwan and others weren't aware of the procedure for making tofu, they couldn't make one. Thus, Yao-shi dropped by their village's tofu maker's place and bought two slabs of them. Yang Tiegen, who was also accompanying her, helped her carry them. On the way back home, they stopped by the small grocery store of the village and purchased two jugs of wine.

The center of the Luoxia village had a small grocery village. The family owning this shop built a small room at the side of their yard and converted it into a grocery store. Though a lot of things were sold there, they don't have many varieties. Nevertheless, they had all the basic necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and wine, along with hair ties, needles and threads for embroidery, and candies for kids.

Back at home, Lin Qingwan chopped about a pound of meat from the leftover portion of pork.

The four of them together waded to the main room to give Yang loayezi and He-shi end-of-the-year presents.

Yang loayezi was quite astonished by their arrival. When his gaze fell upon the things in their hands, realization dawned upon him. His lips moved slightly; the words he wanted to say didn't leave his mouth. He-shi's initial gloomy face improved slightly after seeing the things in their hands.

Lin Qingwan and them didn't know what to say to Yang laoyezi and others. Placing things in their hands, they turned out to leave after simply saying that these were the end-of-the-year gifts from them for the elderly couple.

All along, He-shi didn't utter a word. But, just as they were about to step out, Yang laoyezi's dull voice came from behind: "This year the situation at home isn't good, and haven't prepared anything. For the new year's celebrations, you don't have to come here for the family dinner, lest you would also suffer along with us and eat chaff and wild herbs."

The term used in the raws for Family Dinner was 团圆饭 (tuán yuán fàn), which literally means family reunion dinner or simply reunion dinner. On the New Year's Eve the entire family, no matter how far they are, gather at one place and have a get together feast.

These words were precisely the same ones Lin Qingwan had aimed at Elder Sister Yang a few days ago when both of them had a dispute, weren't they?

Lin Qingwan found it a little amusing, was this old man still displeased at them for that? Fine, if he wanted to be miffed, he could be to his heart's content. Anyway, it won't even affect them a bit.

Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen's steps came to a halt as their complexions became slightly unsightly. However, without a word, they silently pulled their wives and left.

Even when they were having lunch, their complexions didn't show any signs of improvement, for their faces were still enshrouded with gloom.

Lin Qingwan rolled her eyes as she remarked, "If he is asking us to not come for dinner, we just won't go. The main house had sold this year's pig, so there won't be anything to eat there anyway. Not to mention, after such an unsightly dispute, do you still want to sit along with them and have a meal?! I can understand your feelings at the moment for being told off by the other person on the face in such a manner; rather, think in this way: having a family dinner together with them wouldn't be good. Since the other person himself has said that directly and saved us from such an ordeal, why are you two still feeling depressed? Let's make good use of the remaining days of the year-end and celebrate well, and have a joyous time."

Yao Shi also chimed in, "Second sao is right! We have money anyway, what food can't we eat? Why do we even have to go there to eat and see their faces? Everyone ate well when we celebrated the new year at home, except for us. Moreover, why do we have to sit together with them in current circumstances, pretending to be harmonious? Besides, father had already said such words upfront; obviously, he is least interested in having meals with us, then why should we even go there? Let's not be depressed and have a nice feast by ourselves."

At present, it could be said that Yao-shi had moved on from her former timid and pessimistic self. Ever since they had separated from the family, she had been getting livelier and livelier. Moreover, she no longer demeaned herself for not being able to give birth to a son. And a significant part of this change in her was influenced by Lin Qingwan as she constantly instilled such positive thoughts in Yao-shi's mind, changing her way of thinking for the better. And coupled with her bulging waist purse and the husband who listens to her, confidence surged within her heart.

Lin Qingwan felt Yao-shi's words were aptly right. Do they have to pretend to be harmonious? No, they didn't have to.

At the same time, she was also acutely aware that it wasn't that these two men wanted to have a reunion dinner, nor did they forgive those people from Yang jia for all the things they had done. But, when all was said and done, their way of thinking was pretty orthodox. No matter how they didn't get along well and were on normal days, they had to have a family dinner with the rest of the members on new year's day.

However, Lin Qingwan would rather eat alone than have a family dinner with them!

It was unknown what sort of thoughts were running in the minds of the two men, for they had a sort of fierce expression on them, and their movements while eating also became equally fierce.

After lunch, Yang Tiegen stated that he would go to the town to buy stuff for the new year celebrations. Lin Qingwan was about to give him some money, but he refused, saying that all the foodstuff for the new year celebrations were bought by the second elder brother and second sao, so for the rest of the trivial stuff that needed to be purchased, he would pay for them.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Lin Qingwan also didn't force money on him anymore.

In the afternoon, Yang Tiegen returned back from the town with lots of dried fruits, sweets, and the likes. Furthermore, he also bought a few decorative paper cuts, new year couplets, and a bunch of firecrackers.

Back at home, Yang Tiegen let Yao-shi make a rice slurry to paste the couplets and decorative paper cuts. Lin Qingwan picked a few she liked and also began pasting them.

The decorative paper-cuts that Yang Tiegen had bought were all simple-styled and had a fortune character (福) in them with different designs in the backdrop.

Good fortune paper cuts were neatly pasted on the windows of the second and third branches' houses and on the kitchen doors by Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi. While Yang Tiegen pasted the couplets outside on either side and above the doors of the two homes.

Lin Qingwan ambled out to look and found them quite festive. Although here, the characters on the couplets were in black on a red background, unlike gold characters on a red background in the modern times in her former lifetime, she felt they were still pretty good.

All of a sudden, the festive ambiance of New Year unfurled. Everyone ate an extra bowl of rice during dinner in the evening. Despite her small appetite, Lin Qingwan too ate a lot.

At dawn, the next day, Yao-shi got busy making baozi and mantous.

Those stuffed steamed buns are called Baozi in Chinese (Bao Buns), and those without fillings are called mantou.

Here, the buns made at new year were all salty with fillings as cabbage and suancai. For some reason, Lin Qingwan had an impulse to make sugar buns.

Suancai is a traditional Chinese pickled Chinese cabbage.

Luoxia villagers were quite frugal. Even the mantous on new year's eve was made from mixed coarse-grained flour. But Lin Qingwan decided to make it with wheat flour as the new year was a once-in-a-year event.

Anyhow, ever since they had begun making Laweixian and had a steady flow of income, Lin Qingwan bought mixed coarse grains seldomly. These days, they switched over to white rice and wheat flour noodles. At times, when Yao-shi felt distressed and reluctant to eat them on a daily basis, she would add a bit of maize flour into the wheat flour for noodles and stuff and make millet rice instead of white rice. Lin Qingwan also felt that as making money wasn't easy, she could not always let her desires make the decisions and let Yao-shi have her way. Besides, having coarse grains once in a while was healthy too.

Though they had made the noodles the previous night itself and just had to make steamed buns and mantou this day, they were nevertheless busy the entire day.

The two families enjoyed the baozi and mantou taken just fresh out of the steamer during lunch and dinner.

The two little girls, Yang Erniu and Yang Sanniu, took an immense liking to the white sugar baozi made by Lin Qingwan. While Lin Qingwan became fond of baozi with suan cai filling that Yao-shi had brought from Yang-shi's place.

The twenty-ninth day, Twelfth Lunar month~~

Compared to the previous days, they didn't have much work to do this day. They just had to prepare the meat for new year's eve. All the vegetable side dishes were ready. Lin Qingwan had prepared her own marinade and had marinated all pork, chicken, and fish the other day. Once they were all marinated, she had Yao-shi send the portion of them to Yang-shi's place to have them try out her new dish.

In the afternoon, they made jiaozi. There was jiaozi here too, but they weren't called jiaozi here; rather, they were called bianshi.

饺子 (jiǎozi): Dumplings

扁食 (biǎnshí): is an old name of dumplings. (lit. convenient food)

The dumplings' stuffing was usually decided based on the type of ingredients available at home. However, the majority of them were made with pork and cabbage stuffing. In the peak of winters, vegetables tended to be scarce. During this time, the most common vegetable in all households was cabbage, radish, and pickled vegetables made after fall harvest by every household.

When Lin Qingwan and they separated from the main family, they weren't given anything. Even the vegetables she and Yao-shi had pickled after toiling for a few days weren't given to them. With no other choice, they bought two jars of pickles for the two families from Yang-shi's place, who happened to have a lot of them, lest they were left with no vegetables to eat.

Usually, whenever Yang Tiegen visits the town, Lin Qingwan would have him also buy vegetables from the market there. However, the ones he could buy were, for the most part, just potatoes, cabbage, and the likes. Although only a few vegetables were available in this season, it was better than having pickled vegetables every day. It was an excellent option to replace them with something else.

Yao-shi wanted to make more jiaozi stuffed with pork and cabbage. But, Lin Qingwan, recalling yesterday's delicious suan cai stuffed baozi, pestered Yao-shi to make some with suan cai and pork as well.

Yao-shi, too, let her have her way. Yang Tiegen and Yang Tiezhu, these two adult men, who couldn't offer much help, had no other choice but to sit aside and watch their wives roll the dough and make the sheets to wrap jiaozi.

Yao-shi and Lin Qingwan wrapped up a bamboo tray full of jiaozis. Yang Tiegen picked up the tray and placed it in a one-and-a-half-person tall cupboard outside the second branch's entrance.

Lin Qingwan had specially made this cupboard to use as a makeshift refrigerator. The climate in Luoxia village was frigid cold, and the temperature outside was akin to that in a large-scale natural refrigerator. However, the yard outside was used by Yang jia too. And moreover, Lin Qingwan found it too unhygienic to keep the food outside in the open air. That's why she had ordered a one-and-a-half-person tall cupboard to be made. She had it specially customized such that the walls of the cupboard weren't too thick and were just enough to serve the purpose of a cover against the dust.

But of course, this cupboard led to one amusing incident.

Once this cupboard was done, Lin Qingwan placed it outside to use it as a large-scale natural refrigerator. There wasn't any lock to the door, so it was convenient to directly take out food from the cupboard.

One day, Lin Qingwan put leftover dishes in it. The next day, when she went to take them out, she found an anomaly.

Lin Qingwan was a meticulous person and had a clear idea of how much and where she had placed it in the cupboard. Thus she could tell whenever something was displaced.

Though it wasn't that obvious, the contents of the bowl seemed to be a bit missing.

She was dumbfounded momentarily. After a moment, when she inspected the remaining contents again, she felt slightly revolted and threw all the dishes out.

The next day, when Yang Tiegen was going to the town, she had him buy locks. Ever since then, she made sure that there was a lock on the cupboard.

Lin Qingwan took this measure for two reasons: One, she felt a little uncomfortable in her heart. Two, she was afraid that someone from the Yang jia might find out their eating habits. Ever since she began making Laweixian, the food quality at home had improved. With so many people living in the family, it was a little hard for her to pinpoint who had touched it, but she had a vague guess. One time was fine, but if it happens every time, they might find out that their food quality was excellent and refined grains were used. It might be troublesome if He-shi got wind of it.

Although He-shi and Yang laoyezi could no longer exercise their control on them, He-shi was kinda troublesome. Having one less thing to deal with was always a better option.

All the prepared jiaozi were placed in the cupboard outside. Lin Qingwan reckoned that by the following day, they would freeze adequately. When jiaozi are perfectly frozen till they are very hard, they could be stored in a pot, which would consume less space than on the bamboo tray.

Once they were finished entirely wrapping all the jiaozi, Lin Qingwan greedily requested to eat one. Yao-shi glanced at her as if she were a gluttonous little kid and intended to take out only one serving for her. But, in the end, Lin Qingwan, who was feeling quite 'embarrassed', firmly stopped Yao-shi, saying that she would eat along with everyone.

Thereon, four adults and two little girls gathered around and ate jiaozi.

After eating, they examined if everything was ready and proper before Yang Tiegen and Yao-shi retired to their rooms. Tomorrow was Lunar New Year's Eve, their entire family still had to take a bath and wash themselves clean and become prim and proper to welcome the new year in their best selves.

Lin Qingwan also put the water on the stove to boil them, intending to wash them. Yang Tiezhu, from the side, fervently gazed at her and said he also wanted to take a bath.

Glancing at him, Lin Qingwan felt a headache coming. But, asking him not to have a bath was not an option. As they say, before New Year, one has to wash neat and clean.

With no other choice, she also boiled water for him as she contemplated how to help him have a bath later without getting his arm wet.

After her water was boiled, Lin Qingwan got ready to take a bath. No sooner than she undressed herself and got into the bath barrel, she heard rustling sounds behind her.

She turned her head around to see Yang Tiezhi had also come in. Not to mention, she didn't know how he did it, but he managed to strip himself naked apart from his bandaged arm. Normally, as Yang Tiezhu couldn't move his arm, he would take Lin Qingwan's help when undressing.

Immediately, Lin Qingwan's face turned bright red as she quickly asked him to get out.

But unexpectedly, the more Yang Tiezhu fooled around, the thicker his face became. To her surprise, he stubbornly refused to leave. While refusing to leave, he even cried that it was terribly cold.

"You rogue, quickly get out."

"Hehehehe…" Yang Tiezhu slyly chuckled. "Wife, quickly let me in. It's so cold, ah!"

Lin Qingwan directly shut her eyes close, finding it embarrassing to look straight at him. Nevertheless, his strong six-pack body kept continuously replaying in his head… This silly fool, he had been lying in bed all day long for a long time now, yet his strong muscles didn't disappear….

Realizing that she couldn't drive him out anymore, she could only bashfully let him come into the bath barrel lest he caught a cold.

The bath barrel was big enough to fit in two people comfortably. Bashfully, Lin Qingwan covered her chest with her arms and shrunk to a corner, leaving him a lot of space.

But alas, Yang Tiezhu possessed a tall and sturdy physique. As soon as he entered in, the water level reached up to brim as if it would overflow at any minute. Until Yang Tiezhu got in, Lin Qingwan didn't dare to raise her head, and later she didn't even dare to glance below.

Yang Tiezhu chuckled mischievously. Dreading that he might get his arm wet, he kept his upper arm raised parallel to the ground.

"Wife, quickly help me bathe, ah!" Yang Tiezhu urged her quickly, "My arm will get sore if I keep it like this for a long time."

Seeing him chucke, Lin Qingwan glared at him. Yet, she helplessly reached out and helped him scrub his body. Fortunately, she had been regularly helping him wipe his body clean, thus helping him bathe didn't take much effort.

Pei, what hadn't she seen before? What's there to feel embarrassed about?! On the one hand, Lin Qingwan helped him wash with her head lowered down, while on the other hand, she disdained herself in her heart.

But after a while, she felt something was wrong. Why was there another hand on her body? And the said hand even seemed to be wandering around?

Lin Qingwan raised her head and looked at the man in front of her. Yang Tiezhu chuckled evilly before putting on an innocent appearance.

Lin Qingwan couldn't exactly remember how it all began. All she could remember was that while her brain was blank, this man seemed pretty excited as he tossed her from one side to the other quite a bit before letting her go.

By the time they were done tossing around, the water had already turned cold. Yang Tiezhu also quickly ran away, as if he was afraid that she would fly into a terrible rage. With trembling legs, Lin Qingwan got out of the bath barrel, wiped her body, and drained out the water in the barrel. Fortunately, the kang in the room was still burning, and the fire in the kitchen also wasn't extinguished, making the room slightly warm.

After walking out of the cubicle in her innerwear, she saw there weren't any movements on the kang and reckoned that Yang Tiezhu had fallen asleep.

This spineless coward! She fumed with rage.

While climbing onto the kang, she was careful not to press him as she went into the inner side. Just as she was wrapping herself with a quilt, her entire body was quickly pulled entirely into the quilt.

"Weren't you asleep, ah?" As soon as these words left her mouth, Lin Qingwan felt she was quite stupid. How could one possibly fall asleep this fast?

"Hehe, wife, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" She glanced up only to be met with the concerned eyes of the man. Hearing his words, Lin Qingwan's face once again turned red.

"You still know to be scared that something might happen to me?" Earlier, who was the one who had tossed her from one side to the other? But she couldn't spell these words out.

Seeing his wife's expression, Yang Tiezhu knew that she was fine. He then slowly whispered, "I asked my third younger brother. He said it would be fine as long as I was careful." His voice seemed to be laced with ecstasy.

Lin Qingwan suddenly felt as if smoke was coming out from the top of her head.

This silly idiot actually went and asked Yang Tiegen about this. Heavens, let a bolt of thunder strike me to the death.

Yang Tiezhu embraced his wife into his arms tightly, wishing to knead her into his bones.

"Sleep!"

Her furious roar rang out.

Lin Qingwan slept in until noon the next day. The couple from the third branch also didn't seem to have come, for she didn't sense any movements while asleep.

After getting herself dressed and helping Yang Tiezhu get dressed as well, Lin Qingwan opened the door, went out, and called the third branch's husband and wife.

To her surprise, she found that the third branch's couple seemed to have woken up just then too. When Yao-shi opened the door, a sliver of 'embarrassment' seemed to have painted her face.

And to Lin Qingwan, this sort of embarrassment seemed awfully familiar. She broke into a peal of mischievous laughter with an expression of understanding.

Yao-shi felt that she might go insane by this second sao of hers. How could a person, who usually seemed to be sweet-tempered and cool-headed, be so different all of a sudden?!

Perchance, was it because of her pregnancy? Yao-shi, utterly red-faced, could only hold second sao's pregnancy accountable for her oddity.

But alas, the pitiful Yao-shi failed to perceive that even when Lin Qingwan wasn't pregnant, she would behave similarly every now and then. Swamped with other matters, Yao-shi simply didn't notice it prior to this.

For lunch, these few people simply warmed the baozi and wantons from the other day and ate them. Finding just these two too dry to eat, Lin Qingwan also cooked lean meat with cabbage soup additionally.

Once everyone had their fill, they gathered around and casually conversed for a bit. While the two little girls ran out only to come back after a little while. Piqued with curiosity, Lin Qingwan asked Yao-shi about their antics. This year, it turned out that Yao-shi had made new clothes for the two girls. They wanted to wear them, but Yao-shi said they had to wait till the next day. New clothes were a rarity for the girls, and they were unable to put them down. Thus earlier, they ran back to take a look at their dress and caress them before running back again.

Lin Qingwan found it very amusing yet couldn't help but feel a trace of sorrow in the next moment. Seeing a similar expression flash across Yao-shi's face, she patted her shoulder, "Alright, now that we have separated from the family, our days will get better and better. Just see how happy you are now. Day in, day out, there is no one to suppress you any longer. Even those two little girls have fattened up and are radiant every day."

Yao-shi nodded as her bad mood also disappeared. Although Yang Tiegen, sitting at the side, didn't say anything, a pensive look appeared on his face.

After a while, Yao-shi stood up, saying that she wanted to do another round of cleaning. Lin Qingwan was a little aware of this—eliminate the old and usher in the new!

The three of them gave the room a clean over once. As for Lin Qingwan, no way would she admit that she was but in charge of handling small things, nothing else! Once they cleaned the second branch's room, they went to the third branch's room.

There were also movements in the main room; however, they seemed very small. Besides, the main room had only slight movements the past few days. Neither did they have any indicator for preparation for the New Year.

In the evening, Yao-shi began the preparations for New Year's Eve's family dinner with Lin Qingwan's help from the side.

By the time the feast was served, the color of the sky had already begun darkening. Vague crackling sounds of firecrackers could be heard from outside. Once a family lit the firecrackers, it was an indication that the said family was about to start their family reunion dinner. However, as Luoxia village was poor, only the families with good financial circumstances would light a small string of firecrackers on the night of the Lunar New Year's Eve prior to the family feast.

Every year, Yang jia would set off firecrackers before the family dinner on the night of Lunar New Year's Eve as well. Usually, Yang Tieshuan, the eldest one, would be the one doing this. But this year, there wasn't any movement from the main room.

Even after waiting for quite a while, they didn't hear any noises. Yang Tiezhu was unable to sit any longer and gestured to Yang Tiegen to go out. The two brothers headed out and lit a string of firecrackers.

Hearing the crackling sound of firecrackers, Lin Qingwan's mood at once became jubilant. The two girls began jumping inside the room as they clapped their hands and burst into a peal of laughter. Yao-shi's face also lightened up with joy.

Once the firecrackers went off, Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen headed back into the house. All of them gathered around the table and started eating. Because the dishes were comparatively more this day, they sat around the table below rather than on the kang.

The table was filled with a sumptuous spread of arrays of varieties with chicken, pork, and fish. Lin Qingwan's marinated pork chop was the main course tonight. She had made braised spare ribs and lotus root soup. The lotus root had simmered in the pot till they were perfectly cooked and soft. While the soup was still in the pot, she scooped a bit to have a taste and found it delicious. The spare ribs also gave an aromatic smell and were savory to eat. Additionally, she cooked a large plate of cured chicken and cured fish as well.

On the night of Lunar New Year's Eve, families would usually offer sacrifices to their ancestors before the dinner. However, Yang Tiezhu was aware that people from the main room would follow this ritual every year, so he didn't care much about this step. After all, when both the parents are alive, those of the younger generation have to follow their parents in offering the sacrifices to ancestors, and cannot be done alone.

The dinner in the second branch was filled with lively laughter, with a harmonious atmosphere. Contrarily, the main room was enshrouded with gloom. While Yang laoyezi's face was painted pitch black.

"What the heck, tonight is the Lunar New Year's Eve's feast, yet you didn't prepare any meat dishes? You said you hadn't bought the meat, but didn't laoer and laosan give meat as a part of the end-of-the-year gifts? Furthermore, I asked you to prepare the firecrackers in advance, where are they?" Yang laoyezi furiously hit the table with the tobacco pipe. None of the people sitting around the table dared to utter a word.

老二 (lǎoèr): second-eldest child in a family/Old two

老三 (lǎosān):third-eldest child in a family/Old three

"Aren't you aware of the shortage of food and silver at home? As for those end-of-the-year gifts, didn't I take them all out for you as an offering to the ancestors?" He-shi didn't think she had done anything wrong. Many families in Luoxia village couldn't afford to have meat dishes on Lunar New Year's Eve. Thus, their family wouldn't also lose much of their face if they didn't have them.

"Also, what will you get if you set off those fireworks? You can't eat them anyway. They just crackle a few times, and in a matter of seconds, dozens of copper coins will disappear. Isn't that just a pointless expense?"

Her money, they would naturally be saved and used for laosi to get a wife. These people, not a single one, managed the household expenses and were unaware of how expensive daily necessities such as oil, salt, and rice were. They simply like to have those flowery, insubstantial, and flashy stuff!

老四(lǎosì): fourth child in a family/Old four

Yang laoyezi was furious beyond words!

Ever since laoer had returned (from the army), their family had always set off a string of firecrackers before the family dinner, displaying their prosperous days and that their family would be even prosperous in the years to come. To abruptly not set off this year, when they had been doing this for the past few years, and that to when the laoer and laosan's families have separated recently. How would other villagers see their family?

In the end, Yang laoyezi still very much cared about his face. After all, However, what use of being over-sensitive about how you are regarded by others when people themselves weren't present?

Just when Yang laoyezi was about to ask Yang Tieshuan to go out and set off firecrackers, he found that He-shi didn't even buy them. At that moment, he had an impulse to smack He-shi. But when He-shi's old face fell into his eyes and considering that today was New Year's Eve, he refrained from raising his hand. Only when he heard the laoer and laosan set off firecrackers outside did he loosen his breath in relief.

After all, the firecrackers had been set off in their home, and outsiders wouldn't know which family had set them off.

Once his anger cooled down, everyone gathered around the table to have dinner after offering sacrifices to the ancestors. But when Yang laoyezi swept a glance at the dishes on the table, his fury returned.

He was well aware that his old wife wanted to save money for laosi's marriage. But, after one long busy, and tiring year, they got to celebrate New Year and have the family dinner. Yet what awaited them was a mere watery soup, pickled vegetables, and a dish of potatoes—truly a shameful matter.

However, He-shi nevertheless knew how to set priorities. While offering sacrifices to the ancestors, she arranged a lot of meaty dishes and mantous; although not as sumptuous as past years, they were still passable. As for the dinner menu, she sadly recounted.

"This year, meat wasn't bought. I had used those presents given by laoer and laosan as offerings for ancestors. You also know what sort of situation the family is facing now. After the new year, laosi also has to get married…" He-shi wiped the rims of her eyes. Since it was ominous to cry on the lunar new year's eve, she didn't shed tears, nor did she bawl. But she kept wiping the rims of her eyes.

With a hunched waist, Yang laoyezi let out a sigh. After a while, he stood up and walked to the small table where the offerings to the ancestors were served. Standing in front of the ancestral memorial tablet, he began voicing a few words, pleading for forgiveness, such as the circumstances at home weren't optimal and the likes. After doing so, he brought down the meat dishes that were used as offerings.

Usually, people tend to keep the offerings by the ancestors' memorial tablets until they had New Year's family dinner. But of course, some poor families also offer sacrifices to the ancestors properly before retrieving the dishes and having the family dinner. Many years back, Yang jia also followed similar practices every year. But as their days progressively became better, Yang laoyezi had long forgotten this. Abruptly having to do this, again, he couldn't reconcile with it for a while.

Glancing at the meat on the table, the eldest branch's kids' eyes all gleamed with brightness. Even Yang Tieshuan and Wang-shi's downtrodden complexions improved a lot. Ever since the second and third branches had split up, as the number of people had decreased, Yang jia began having meals at one table rather than two. The eldest branch's kids also joined in the main table along with Yang laoyezi and the others.

After Yang laoyezi picked up the chopsticks and took the first bite, everyone else began moving their chopsticks. Their chopsticks flew across the table. Glancing at how savory everyone was eating, Yang laoyezi inexplicably became despondent. Obviously, he was the one who had asked them to not come for the meal in a fit of pique. But then, why was he feeling as if something was missing….

Recalling those two sons of his who refused to yield, Yang laoyezi fiercely guzzled a sip of wine.

On the other side, the few people in the second branch's room were merrily eating and chatting—a perfect image of a harmonious atmosphere. Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen even took out a jug of wine and began drinking. Lin Qingwan initially wanted to forbid him from drinking, but considering that today was Lunar New Year's Eve, she didn't stop him.

Once everyone ate their fill, Yao-shi and Lin Qingwan tidied up the table.

Thereupon, everyone sat in a circle around the kang table on the kang. Yao-shi brought out a plate of dry fruits Yang Tiegen had bought along with melon seeds, peanuts, stir-fried green beans, and a plate of zaotang. They casually chit-chatted as they snacked on them.

灶糖 (Zào Táng): Zao means kitchen and tang mean candy or sweets; literally it means "Kitchen Candy," is a sweet treat made of maltose, used as a sacrifice to the Kitchen God

It was customary to stay up all night on lunar New Year's Eve till the hour of rat, before going to bed.

Hour of Rat/zǐshí(子时): Zi Shi starts from 11 p.m. and ends at 1 a.m. It means the last moment of a day and also refers to the beginning of a new day. Zi Shi is with Chinese zodiac Rat sign as rats are usually active for foraging at midnight.

Lin Qingwan placed the melon seeds in her hand down, took out two red envelopes from the kang cabinet, and gifted to the two little girls, "Come here, have this, this is new year money for you two from your second bobo and second bomu."

bó bo (伯伯): father's older brother

bó mǔ (伯母): father's older brother's wife

The two little girls glanced at their mother. Seeing Yao-sho nod, they jubilantly received them."

"Thank you second bomu, second bobo." The two little girls expressed their gratitude in unison.

Adults can stay awake late into the night, but for kids, it was hard. After sitting for a while, the two girls leaned against Yao-shi and dozed off. Yao-shi and Yang Tiegen carried the two girls back to the rooms before returning. Upon glancing at the two sleeping girls, Lin Qingwan let out a yawn one after the other as if sleepiness was contagious.

Even while she was chatting with Yao-shi, her head kept nodding off. Ever since the beginning of her gestation, she seemed to be feeling drowsy a lot.

Lin Qingwan didn't remember when she slipped into slumber. She only remembered that while she was in sleep, when Yang Tiezhu embraced her with one arm, intending to tuck her into the kang, she opened her eyes in a daze.

"What about others?"

She didn't know when, but Yao-shi and Yang Tiegen seemed to have already left, and the second branch's room door had also been bored from inside.

Yang Tiezhu caressed his wife's small face, "Sleepyhead, third younger brother, and third dimei had already retired to their room."

弟妹 (dìmèi): younger brother's wife

"Is it past the hour of the rat?"

"En, now go to sleep, sweet dreams." Yang Tiezhu also laid on the kang and got under the quilt.

Lin Qingwan stared blankly before abruptly embracing Yang Tiezhu and kissing his forehead. Letting out a yawn, she then sank into slumber.

Husband, Happy new year! I am glad that I don't have to spend this year alone!

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Yao-shi, and Yang Tiegen visited their room along with the two little girls attired in their new dresses to wish Lin Qingwan and Yang Tiezhu a Happy New Year.

Lin Qingwan had slept early last night, so she rose up quite early this morning. After dressing herself in new clothes, she also helped Yang Tiezhu change his clothes.

These two sets of new clothes were made by Lin Qingwan after painstakingly pleading Yang Tiezhu for half a day. Only then did Yang Tiezhu, who had always forbidden her from doing straining works because of her pregnancy, fearing that she might tire herself out, allow her to touch the needle and thread.

Lin Qingwan was garbed in a begonia red-colored cotton silk small double-layered jacket above a reddish-purple Ma main skirt. Yang Tiezhu was donned in a brown-colored robe paired with a brownish-black-colored cotton-padded jacket.

马面裙 (Mǎ Miàn qún): Horse-faced pleated skirt (Ma Mian means horse-faced; qun means skirt) – I have added an image below for reference

These past two months, the second and third branches had been making Laweixian. Thus, there was a lot of meat in the house to eat their days became better. Not only did the adults eat a lot, but even the little girls also put on weight.

The girls' hairs were tied into two buns with a red hair tie and were sporting new cotton-padded coats Yao-shi had made for them. The jacket's fabric appeared quite eye-catching with its unique color and designs. Coupled with their fair, delicate, tender little faces, they seemed the epitome of adorableness. Thus, when little girls stepped in, a big smile graced Lin Qingwan's face.

No sooner than the girls entered, they knelt and kowtowed to Lin Qingwan and Yang Tiezhu.

"Second bobo, second bomu, Happy New Year."

Lin Qingwan took out two red packets and pushed them into two kids' hands with a big smile.

"Nice, you two are looking extremely adorable in your new clothes."

The two girls' little faces seemed bashful yet couldn't cover up their beaming smiles, appearing exceedingly lovely.

Yang Tiegen and Yao-shi also wished, "Second brother and second sao, Happy New Year."

Yang Tiezhu and Lin Qingwan replied, "Third younger brother, third dimei, happy new year to you too."

They all exchanged a merry smile after wishing each other.

Thereupon, they discussed where to go to celebrate the New Year. They used to greet their parents in the main room in the past, before going elsewhere. But, since Yang laoyezi had asked them to not come for New Year's Eve's dinner, they all dispelled their thoughts of going to the main house.

Consequently, they decided to go to Yang-shi's place.

When they arrived at Yang-shi's place, Yang-shi and Zhou-shi were sitting in the room. Both adults and kids were donned in brand new clothes. Only Xia Dicheng, who was bed-ridden, seemed to be slightly miserable.

However, they maintained smiles on their faces and made sure not to mention upsetting affairs on New Year.

"Gumu, Happy New Year." As soon as Lin Qingwan and the group entered the room, they knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Yang-shi.

姑母 (gūmǔ): father's sister / paternal aunt

"Alright, alright." Yang-shi quickly stood up and helped all of them up, "When it might pose an inconvenience, why are you still kneeling?" These words were directed to Yang Tiezhu and Lin Qingwan, the two 'inconvenient' people.

Yang Tiezhu replied with a smile, "Etiquette ought to be followed."

According to Luoxia village's customs, those of the younger generation, all young and old, must kowtow to their elders on New Year's Day.

"Precisely." Lin Qingwan echoed from the side. If it was someone else, she wouldn't have kneeled at all. But since it was Yang-shi, she wholeheartedly kneeled to her. Yang Tiezhu and them wouldn't forget this old lady's kindness for their entire lifetime.

Yang-shi rebuked them with a smile, yet she simultaneously took out several red envelopes and stuffed them into their hands.

"Don't dislike it for being too little. This little bit is a reflection of your gumu's kind feeling."

It wasn't just the little girls; even the adults received red envelopes.

Glancing at the red envelope, Lin Qingwan was at a loss, unaware of what to do. She was this big, yet she received a red envelope?!

Discerning her embarrassment, Yang-shi let out a hearty laugh, "To your gumu, you would always be kids."

"That's awesome! From here on, I can drop by gumu's place and kotow to her, and get a red envelope every time. In that way, I will make quite a big fortune, won't I?" Lin Qingwan mischievously said as she placed the small red envelope in her bosom and even patted the place where she put it in carefully.

Seeing her antics, Yang-shi tittered as she pulled her into an embrace.

"You are indeed a bright kid, ah!"

Everyone burst into laughter as they all sat on the kang.

Zhou-shi's son and daughter also came and kowtowed to Lin Qingwan and others. Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi fished out the red envelopes they had prepared in advance and stuffed them in the kids' hands.

No sooner than the two kids stood up, Second Yang laoyezi's voice came from outside.

"Eldest sister, our entire family had come to pay respects to you."

Yang-shi quickly walked to the door and raised the door curtain as she invited the people in with a big smile on her face, "Come in, quickly come in, it's cold outside."

Following her words, a group of people entered – Second Yang laoyezi, his wife Li-shi, their two sons and daughter-in-law, followed by several kids.

As soon as they entered, they wished one another a Happy New Year. The ones from the younger generation went to the elders and kowtowed and received red envelopes.

Second Yang laoyezi was accompanied by four kids. Of the four, two were his Eldest son, Yang Huai's son, and a daughter, and were 12 and 10 years old, respectively. While his second son's family had two sons, who were 9 and 7 years old.

Reckoning that Second Yang laoyezi might come to Yang-shi's place today, Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi had prepared several extra red packets in advance; otherwise, they wouldn't have been enough.

After exchanging civilities, adults sat down while young ones got busy playing with their playmates. Second Yang laoyezi's grandsons madly dashed out to play, while his granddaughter and Xia Lanju, who were more or less of the same age, played together.

Yang-shi hadn't sold the rest of the leftover pork after the Pig-slaughter Feast. Yang-shi was a hardworking and nimble person. Her daughter-in-law was also efficient. Thus, the two prepared everything neatly in the house and asked everyone to stay back for lunch.

It would be difficult to decline the invitation for a meal for others when they come to pay for new year greetings. Besides, Yang-shi was also not an outsider; thus, everyone stayed behind for lunch.

At noon, all the men sat at one table to feast on wine and dishes while the rest of the womenfolk and children occupied another table.

Once everyone ate and drank to their fill, they all dispersed. While Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi stayed behind to help Yang-shi.

Afternoon, Lin Qingwan and the group returned home and took a nap. Visiting other people's homes, eating with them, conversing with them was also tiring, ah! And the number of words they spoke this day was equivalent to that of words spoken in the past several days combined.

Yao-shi and Lin Qingwan made a large table full of dishes in the evening. The leftover portions from the previous night were also taken out and heated.

Post supper, everyone retired to their respective rooms.

On the second day of the lunar New Year, married daughters and their husbands would return to their natal families. Early in the morning, Yang Tiegen, Yao-shi, and the two girls went to her natal family's house. By the time they came back, it was already evening. Yang Tiezhu and Lin Qingwan didn't have anywhere to go, so they spent the entire day indoors.

The next few days, Yang Tiezhu, Lin Qingwan, Yao-shi, and Yang Tiegen lazed around at home as they ate, slept, ate, and slept. The two girls ran out to play with their friends, while the four grownups simply stayed on kang all day long. When she was bored, Yao-shi would go to the second branch's room to look for Lin Qingwan to chat with.

On the evening of the fourth day, the brothers, Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen bustled around to welcome the kitchen god's return. While Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi didn't participate in this practice as per the custom. The next few days, apart from going to Yang-shi's place every now and then, Lin Qingwan and the group stayed indoors.

In a blink of an eye, the days quickly passed, and the several restaurants in the town began opening their business after the fifteenth day. And on the sixteenth day, Yang Tiegen dropped by the restaurants and solicitously delivered the goods.

As the restaurants had just recently opened, the business wasn't rather good. Thus the restaurant staff bought fewer quantities of goods from them, making Yang Tiegen feel pretty anxious. Upon seeing this, Lin Qingwan explained that it was natural for the market to be in a slump as the restaurants had just opened.

Although Yang Tiegen didn't understand what the market slump meant, he nevertheless understood the notion behind Lin Qingwan's words and suppressed his restless mind.

With the passing of days, it seemed as if spring had graced the Luoxia village rather belatedly this year. Only in the first third of the second lunar month, few villagers treaded to the farms to plow the soil, making it ready for the next stage of sowing the seeds.

Lin Qingwan's stomach had now begun sticking out, with her gestation nearing five months. And owing to the thick winter garments, her appearance seemed to be a bit obese. Unlike other pregnant women, Lin Qingwan didn't experience nausea and the likes during her gestation. But recently, she seemed to have become fond of lying down.

Yang Tiezhu's shoulder had more or less healed. But, the doctor hasn't removed his bandages as it wasn't time to do so.

Yang laoyezi was a hardworking and diligent man. Even before most of the villagers had begun going to the fields to plow the soil, he urged Yang Tiezhuan to go to the fields. Yang Tieshuan dilly-dallied for several days before finally following Yang laoyezi to the fields without any option.

Yang Xuezhang still didn't go to the fields. He-shi used the pretext that the child was about to get married soon and would begin going to fields after marriage.

Lin Qingwan had heard all of these from the quarrels happening in the main room. After being tormented by He-shi for a good few months, Wang-shi's patience gradually ceased to exist. Currently, she would have disputes with He-shi every few days, contrary to her former self, who dreaded He-shi.

Perhaps, after quarreling with He-shi every other day and not seeing much reaction from He-shi, Wang-shi's courage slowly grew.

Seeing Yang laoyezi begin to plow, Yang Tiegen couldn't sit silently and came to talk over with Yang Tiezhu. He also wanted to plow the two mu land he was allocated to and help his second elder brother plow his share of the field in passing, making it easier for both of them to sow the seeds when the time came.

Yang Tiegen was aware that his second elder brother's arm wasn't crippled. Not long after separation, Lin Qingwan had explained the ins and outs of this matter to Yao-shi. The third branch treated her and Yang Tiezhu with utmost sincerity and genuineness. As such, Lin Qingwan didn't conceal this matter from them. But of course, Lin Qingwan merely said that, at that time, she simply wanted to express that Yang Tiezhu's arm getting crippled was only a mere probability and not a definite outcome. Yet He-shi and the rest of the family members seemed to have not heard them, for they seemed to have determined that Yang Tiezhu's arm was crippled for sure. And it just so happened that Lin Qingwan also intended to separate from the family. So she took advantage of this opportunity and made them 'think' that Yang Tiezhu's arm was beyond hope.

Yang Tiegen dropped by several times to discuss the farm work. But, every time, Lin Qingwan vetoed, saying that the bandage on Yang Tiezhu's arm hadn't been removed as an excuse to brush him off.

Naturally, the major reason behind her firm refusal was because she was apprehensive that Yang Tiezhu's arm hadn't healed completely yet. But that wasn't all; Lin Qingwan was disinclined to have Yang Tiezhu work in the fields again.

It wasn't because she thought being a farmer was bad. Rather, the current conditions were quite constrained.

Lin Qingwan was distinctly aware that people with bone-related injuries need to properly rehabilitate even after their bandage was taken off. Although she hadn't faced any such problems in her previous life, one of her acquaintances had suffered from a bone fracture. Even after their cast was removed, they could not move their arm. Because of prolonged immobility, the muscles became rigid and atrophic. To restore former mobility, continuous exercise was a must.

Yang Tiezhu was the type of person who would strive to do his best in everything he did. She reckoned that he would go work in the fields right away as soon as the bandage was taken off. Even if his arm hurts, he perhaps won't utter a word. The medical treatment in ancient times wasn't that good. That's why Lin Qingwan didn't want Yang Tiezhu to develop any hidden injuries later.

Another reason was Lin Qingwan found farming unprofitable. After working themselves to death on those two mu of land, there wouldn't be much left to sell after paying grain taxes. Furthermore, they still had to provide annual support for the elderly couple every year. If they placed their entire hopes on those two mu, she reckoned their whole family would have to starve to death.

She and Yang Tiezhu still had some silver in their hand, but it would certainly prove arduous for the third branch's husband and wife if the situation is left as such. Rather than overworking themselves to death and still not being able to earn enough to keep up with expenses, they might as well give the land to other farmers on lease. With the 60 percent of grains as rent, they could pay the grain tax, and the remaining food would be more or less sufficient for the family to feed upon. As for the rest of the expenses, they could look for other means to earn money.

Lin Qingwan put her opinion in front of the third branch's husband and wife. Yang Tiezhu, who was listening from the side, seemed to have caught up on her intentions, but the third branch couple didn't understand her intent.

"But second sao, we will have only a limited amount at our disposal to eat in this way. Not to mention, we still have to father a dan of grains and a silver tael. Where will we get all of this from if we don't do farming?" Yao-shi asked apprehensively.

Lin Qingwan sighed before saying, "Let's calculate then—Assuming that we have planted the entire two mu land with the wheat, one mu field will yield approximately somewhere between 1-2 dans of wheat…"

Yes, that's right. It was only this bit. Only after finding this did Lin Qingwan understand how harsh farming was here. In her previous life, one mu land could easily yield several thousand jins, which in here was no less than a fantasy.

Luoxia village's water and soil conditions were pretty good, but the climate here was a bit problematic. Thus unlike the south, where crops could be planted twice a year, here it could only be done once annually. If one mu land was planted with wheat seeds, the output would be over 200 jin, roughly equivalent to 2 dan. And in case the weather was favorable and crops were meticulously cared for, one might even get an output of about 4 dans. 1 dan was equivalent to 120 jin. Suppose if the output was 4 dan, then it might be over 400 jin. In the market, one jin of whole wheat would fetch somewhere around 6 to 7 wen. That means, 400 jin would fetch more or less 2 silver taels.

Certainly, many Luoxia villagers exchange wheat with coarse grains such as maize and sorghum and then pay the taxes. The remaining grains were then stored by them as rations, even that actually wasn't much.

But, if you think about it another way, suppose you leased a land. Annually, you would receive 60 percent of yield as rent. That would be over 200 jin. After paying taxes, you would still be left with about 100 jin. But, with this free time, you would be able to do other things. Lin Qingwan refused to believe that she wouldn't be able to earn even 3-4 silver taels after a year.

But of course, this way of thinking might be pretty difficult for the farmers, who had been farming for years, to comprehend. Because they never had such awareness. Even Yang Tiegen and Yao-shi merely thought that by helping Lin Qingwan in the making laweixian and getting dividends, they would be able to earn extra money when they weren't farming. They had never thought of making this their primary income source.

Lin Qingwan detailed everything in layman's terms, making them deeply contemplate the issue. Yang Tiezhu also began to ponder. Previously, every time he helped the family, he followed Yang Tiezhu to cultivate the crops, which slowly became his habit. But now, he thought, even if he didn't do farming, he could still support Wanwan. Just this time, compared to the past, he had to go into the mountains more diligently and get more prey back.

Since Wanwan doesn't want him to farm, he simply won't. As a good husband, Yang Tiezhu wouldn't do something his wife was against.

After a moment of contemplation, Yao-shi was first to say, "Husband, I feel second sao's words are indeed reasonable. When you are not farming, you could do some work in town and still earn a few taels of silver in a year."

When Yang Tiegen used to go to the town to do odd jobs, he also used to earn somewhere close to a tael. Naturally, the work was extremely tiresome and arduous too.

Yang Tiegen also considered this bit, but his second sao's words toppled his entire past thinking and notions, leaving him somewhat at a loss.

If a farmer does not farm, was he still a farmer?

Lin Qingwan never thought of completely overturning the third branch's couple's thinking processes. After all, everyone possessed different thinking processes and outlooks. And she can't take decisions on the third branch's behalf on what to do either.

However, she still put forth her plans and apprehensions regarding Yang Tiezhu's injury in front of them. And also affirmed to them that so long as they followed her in the laweixian business, she would still give them dividends just like in the past and wouldn't cut even a cent.

The third branch's couple went back to think deeply over it. Lin Qingwan went back to sit on the kang.

"Wife, I just found out that you are brilliant. How come I didn't discover this side of you before?" Yang Tiezhu gazed at his charming wife with a gleam in his eyes.

Lin Qingwan, feeling proud of herself, tittered, "You still have a lot to find!"

This flexible thinking was an essential trait for every modern citizen. She could only say that people of this era were too inflexible in their minds. Day after day, year after year, they continued to work laboriously, only to get meager earnings for their survival.

In fact, sometimes, if you could change your thinking process and the way you look, perhaps pleasant surprises would be awaiting you later on in life.