The newly awakened Zhou Jiao, her cheeks slightly flushed, eyes still a little dazed, looked lazily like a kitten. Moreover, with her hair down, her face seed even smaller, and her lips red and teeth white made her look exceptionally delicate.
Zhang Guoqing, who had just entered the bedroom, adored his wife’s little deanor, "It’s still early, sleep a bit more."
"What ti is it?"
"A little past five. Wife, a snowstorm fell early this morning, and now the snow outside is almost knee-deep. Luckily, the car was driven into the garage last night (Ard Forces Departnt)."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiao could no longer stay in bed. Besides the in-laws being nearby, their Ping’an practiced horse stance punctually at five o’clock, and she was more worried about the child freezing in the yard.
"Auntie is making breakfast, you can lie a bit longer. Last night you all chatted so late, Mother won’t mind."
"Once awake, I can’t sleep."
The snow had already been shoveled from Zhang Guoqing in the yard, and Little Ping’an was practicing his breathing following the improved ntal thod by his master, steadily maintaining his horse stance, occasionally with snowflakes landing on his long eyelashes, yet he didn’t blink.
Watching this, Mother Zhang felt a pang in her heart. She couldn’t disrupt the child’s exercise, so she took a large black oil-paper umbrella to shield the child’s head, exhaling warmth alongside him.
Seeing his wife going in and out, Mr. Zhang was amused and stood with arms akimbo nearby to watch, feeling secretly proud of a grandson so promising!
Having washed up, Zhou Jiao checked on the twins who were sleeping soundly. As she stepped out of the living room, she saw this scene of the three generations and couldn’t help but smile.
After breakfast, the three houses of the Zhang Family gathered in the courtyard, waiting for the two rental carriages to appear at the door as scheduled, with quilts and coats being loaded into the carriage.
Ping’an was quite worried about the car he was to ride in breaking down, thus unable to go to the provincial city to et his grandfather in the afternoon. Yet seeing the crowded seats filled with brothers, he didn’t dare to speak up, only casting frequent looks towards his parents.
Only when Zhou Jiao nodded to him did the little guy breathe a sigh of relief. The free ti left him inwardly regretting that there probably wouldn’t be a chance to go hunting in the mountains today.
The carriage stopped at the North Mountain Foot of Zhang Family Village, but Mr. Zhang, instead of taking the children to the grave first, went back to the room to fetch a few wolf tooth pendants and peach wood pendants, hanging them personally on the younger grandchildren and granddaughters.
Once the children ward up, carrying the basket of prepared offerings, Mr. Zhang quietly led the group from the backyard heading to North Mountain.
During the cat winter season, besides where the production team’s fields and the breeding farms had mbers at work, not a shadow could be seen in the wide open fields, thus avoiding any bother.
In front of Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang’s grave, the three Zhang Guoqing brothers cleaned off the piled snow, while Mr. Zhang, setting offerings calmly, prayed for the safety of his descendants.
After burning the gold and silver spirit paper in a used bronze plate, Mr. Zhang led the children each to kneel to kowtow thrice, before reluctantly cleaning up and leaving.
Seeing his father’s unwavering expression, Zhang Guoqing held the twins closer, whispering a comforting, "Dad, just wait, when the future looks brighter, I’ll definitely build a good house for Grandpa and Grandma."
Mr. Zhang comfortingly patted him, "No need, your Grandpa always said once a person is gone, everything is gone, spending money unnecessarily is unneeded. Dad just worries the envious villagers might occupy our family’s land."
Zhang Guoqing almost laughed out loud.
This feng shui superstition has such an impact, it seems everyone has their eyes set on his Grandpa’s feng shui spot. But don’t they realize his big uncle, his little uncle, and that muddled old aunt are all his grandparents’ biological children too?
"How many feng shui masters did Wang Baiwan invite back then to Wang Family’s Village to find burial land?" Zhang Guoqing chuckled, "But look where his descendants are today?"
"You just wait to enjoy a blessing, don’t overthink. So things might indeed have an influence, but it ultimately relies on the descendants to strive. No matter how good the feng shui, if the descendants lie there doing nothing, what’s the use?"
Zhang Guoqing fully agreed with his second brother’s words.
After descending the mountain and returning to the old courtyard, the kang in the main room was already warm. Zhang Guoqing didn’t bother to chat with them, heading first to deliver pastries to several village elders.
The gifts weren’t many, just like previous years, two boxes of pastries for every elder in the family; Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhang, Old Captain, and Mr. Zhang still got an extra bottle of Northeast high spirits.
After greeting and exchanging a few pleasantries with the elders, Zhang Guoqing found upon returning ho that his mother had already started preparing lunch with the daughters-in-law. A few people were chatting warmly in the corner of the courtyard.
"Dad?"
Seeing Ping’an’s expression, Zhang Guoqing understood everything. Seeing there was enough ti for himself and his son to climb up and return down the mountain, he made a casual excuse with Zhou Jiao to take his eldest son back to their yard.
The fruit trees in the backyard had been entirely plucked clean by Mr. Zhang, and several rooms kept tidy by his parents were exceptionally clean. If he didn’t have to return to work in Beijing overnight, he would’ve planned to stay a few nights with the warm kang.
The father-son pair embarked from the snow-laden backyard, advancing toward Daqing Mountain. After three challenging months at military school, Zhang Guoqing was eager to test his skills again.
This father-son pair had been in the mountain for almost an hour when Zhou Jiao finally leisurely tugged the twins back ho from the old courtyard. At noon, without the north wind, the warm sun shone on their bodies, making the winter’s dreariness retreat slightly.
Thinking about the pig slaughter she’d miss these days, Zhou Jiao couldn’t help feeling regretful. These days are just in ti for the New Year, and even the three work team mbers who ca to the production team have already gone ho to celebrate.
—— Such a good opportunity to acquire native pigs couldn’t be grasped, making her sigh with regret.
Especially when she saw Zhang Guoqing carrying a wild boar on his back, holding his son as they entered from the backyard, it made Zhou Jiao furrow her brows with heartache.
"What’s wrong?"
Calming the two hopping little sons, Zhou Jiao softly replied, "Originally, the wild boar could have counted towards the mandatory pig sacrifice, what a pity, such a pity."
Zhang Guoqing couldn’t help but laugh. With her clear and lively expression, resembling a neighboring girl, Zhou Jiao’s expression was so vivid that he only wanted to playfully nibble her.
"Brother?"
Seeing her stomp and draw out her voice in a pout, Zhang Guoqing teased, "How about calling brother several more tis, one pig per call?"
"Do you already have a plan? Will you make it back in ti tonight?"
The three brothers munching on lons curiously examined the amused parents, shooting glances at each other, giggling aloud. They’d heard these words and realized the house wasn’t lacking for at anymore.
"Sons, keep it a secret." Zhang Guoqing gestured, seeing how the three sons gleefully nodded. It filled him with amusent and a pang of sorrow.
Apart from having a housekeeper at ho, despite maintaining appearances, their living standard wasn’t lagging behind much, yet why did they impart a sense of crisis to their children?
This wild boar, weighing two to three hundred pounds, was discreetly processed by Zhang Guoqing, with Zhou Jiao storing it in a space out of the children’s sight. He planned to leave it with coal briquettes and fine grains for his parents before they departed.
After tidying up, the family had lunch in the old courtyard, Zhang Guoqing using the excuse of visiting Mr. Wang, leaving the children with their grandparents, and driving off with Zhou Jiao to the several families they had agreed upon, purchasing a total of six pigs at double the purchase price four dis higher than the at union factory.
It was only due to ti being tight, otherwise, there would have been even more. Nowadays, families with slightly better conditions in rural areas would raise two pigs, one as a task submission and the other for personal use.
Under high profits, reasons like reserving for festive occasions must be put aside. Zhang Guoqing wasn’t worried about not spending money to get what he wanted.
User Comments
0 comments from readers