Chapter 79: Childlike Fun

In the main hall, Father Zhang watched as Zhang Guoqing had already seen their guests out the door. Seeing his wife come in, he said, “Wife, tidy up the house a bit and let the old man get some rest. He’s been busy all day and hasn’t had a proper lie-down. Also, make sure the other rooms are in order.”

Mother Zhang replied cheerfully, “Don’t worry, everything’s all set. Sister, these two rooms in the main hall are prepared for you and the old man. The quilts are all newly made from when Jiaojiao got married. You and the old man can rest for a while, and when you’re refreshed, you can chat with Jiaojiao. Tonight, just have a good rest. Tomorrow, Xiao Wu won’t be home, so we’ll keep Jiaojiao company. You can help arrange things for the old man. I’ve also tidied up two rooms in the east wing for the young men—there’s plenty of space for them.”

Hearing this, Lin Lishan stood up and followed Mother Zhang to the rooms. “Elder sister, I’m really troubling you. Is the kitchen cleaned up? Do you need my help? Just let the old man have this room—I’ll sleep in the inner one. As for those young lads, let them sort themselves out.”

“No need, it’s all taken care of. I didn’t even have to help, they did it themselves. You’ve come such a long way and haven’t had a break yet. Do you want to rest first?”

“No need. Life in the army is much tougher than this, always moving with the unit. The conditions there can’t compare. I’d rather chat with Jiaojiao—my daughter is so sweet, just talking to her makes me happy. We’re all family, so there’s no need to stand on ceremony. You go ahead and do your thing.”

With that, Lin Lishan walked over to her father. “Dad, do you want to lie down and rest for a bit? Elder sister has already tidied up the room for you—it’s that one.”

“No, I’ll chat with Old Zhang for a while longer. Later, I’ll let Xiao Zhou come in, and you can go keep Jiaojiao company.”

Lin Lishan nodded, greeted the others, and headed to the west wing. Inside, she found several children gathered around Jiaojiao and her son, chatting animatedly.

“What are you all talking about? So lively! Little Ping’an isn’t asleep yet?”

Zhou Jiao looked up happily. “Mom, you’re here! I thought you’d be chatting with Grandpa. I haven’t had a good talk with him yet, and I can’t go out. Has Grandpa been drinking? Did he drink a lot? Who’s with him now?”

Lin Lishan laughed, “Slow down. Your grandpa is chatting with your father-in-law. I told him to rest, but he wanted to talk first and let me keep you company. He hasn’t drunk much—Xiao Wu’s been watching him closely.”

Maimiao piped up excitedly, “Grandma, my little uncle just took a big bag of lamb bones to the kitchen to make soup—there’s so much meat! Grandma, you should stay here with us from now on. Then we’ll always have white rice and meat to eat.”

Shitou grinned at her, “Sis, my little uncle said if we behave, we can have soup and meat. But what if I’m already full?”

Xizi chimed in, “Don’t worry, after you go to the outhouse, you’ll be hungry again. Besides, the soup will take a long time to cook. By the time Ping’an falls asleep, it’ll be ready.”

“Big brother, you’re the smartest! Do you know if the barbecue Uncle mentioned is tasty? Is it like when we roast sweet potatoes or corn? I don’t like roasted sweet potatoes. If Uncle grills meat, that’d be the best—I love meat the most.” Xiao Zuo looked at Xiao You, then decided to ask his big brother.

Xizi frowned, thinking, and then asked Zhou Jiao, “Auntie, is barbecue just grilling food over a fire? Can you grill anything?”

Zhou Jiao and her mother burst out laughing. Zhou Jiao nodded, “Xizi, you’re so clever! Yes, barbecue is grilling food over a fire—you can grill anything, as long as you cut it into pieces and skewer it. But you kids can’t do it yourselves—it’s too dangerous.”

Maisui looked at everyone. “Auntie, can Ping’an eat barbecue? Poor thing. I’ll save some for him.”

“Good idea. When Ping’an is a bit older, as big as you, he can have some. Maisui, you’re such a good big sister.”

Shitou looked at Lin Lishan, then at Zhou Jiao, then at little Ping’an, full of envy. “I like Ping’an the most. He has a beautiful grandma. My grandma isn’t pretty at all—she’s old like my other grandma. Ping’an also has good-looking parents and so much delicious food.”

Lin Lishan and her daughter laughed. “Well, if you want something to eat, just ask Auntie. She has things Ping’an can’t eat yet.”

Shitou jumped up with joy. “Yay! I get to eat something! I still have five candies in my pocket, but I don’t want to eat them now. I’ll take them home for my dad.”

Xiao You patted his pocket. “I want to give my grandpa and grandma some. They gave me all their candy. Big brother, you give some to grandpa and grandma, second brother, you give some to our parents. I won’t eat mine—I’ll give them to you.”

Lin Lishan watched the happy children, got up, opened a drawer, and grabbed a big handful of candy. “There’s more. You can have some, but only two pieces a day to protect your teeth. Open your pockets—Grandma will hand out candy. Ten pieces each, but you can’t eat them before bed. Have them tomorrow morning, and when you finish, come to Grandma for more. If I run out, I’ll buy more.”

Maimiao looked at big brother Xizi, and the other kids looked at him too. Xizi said, “Let’s thank Grandma this time, but we can’t ask for more next time. If you still have candy in your pockets, you can’t ask for more—wait until you finish them. Don’t waste them. Grandma says candy coupons are hard to get. When Uncle got married, he only got two jin of candy coupons, and it was a real headache.”

“Big brother agreed! Thank you, Grandma. Next time, don’t buy more—Grandma says candy coupons are really hard to get.”

“Big brother, how much is two jin of candy? Is it a lot? Show us. I’ll save mine for Grandma, so she won’t worry anymore.”

“Yeah, I’ve decided. Every time I want to eat candy, I’ll just take a tiny bite and save the rest. If I have too much, I’ll give it to Grandma.”

Xizi thought for a moment. “One jin of hard candy is about 80 pieces. Milk candy is heavier, so only 50 pieces per jin. The ones we’re eating are hard candy—one jin is 80 pieces. Grandma gave us 10 each, and there are six of us, so that’s 60 pieces. 80 minus 60 is 20, so if Grandma gives us 20 more, that’s a whole jin of candy coupons.”

“Wow, big brother, you’re amazing! How do you know there are 80 pieces in a jin?” Xiao Zuo looked at him with stars in his eyes.

Xizi rolled his eyes. “Big uncle said so last time, but you didn’t remember. Grandma asked him why he bought more candy when we already had some at home. Big uncle said there wasn’t much—one jin of hard candy is only 80 pieces, milk candy is heavier and only 50 pieces. If everyone grabs a handful, it’s gone. Isn’t that right? Uncle said we should remember these things.”

Xiao Zuo thought for a moment and shook his head. “I wasn’t paying attention—I was playing with Xiao You. Big brother, you’re as smart as big uncle.”

Xizi smiled at Xiao Zuo. “That’s not being smart. Big uncle isn’t smart—he always forgets things. Grandma always calls him pig-headed. Big uncle works at the supply store and sells things every day, so he knows. The really smart one in our family is little uncle. He can buy meat without coupons—no one else can, but he can. If Grandma doesn’t have coupons, she asks little uncle, and he goes to the city to find his classmates and brings meat back. You all need to be smart, too. If outsiders ask, don’t tell them we have white rice, meat, or candy at home. If you do, that’s just being foolish.”

“We’re not foolish! Grandma says I’m really smart. When Gou Dan asks me for candy, I always say I don’t have any. I don’t take candy with me when I go out.”

“I’m smart too. At New Year, when I went to Grandpa’s house, he asked what we ate at home. I told him we had nothing left—just wild vegetable buns and veggie porridge. When Dad came home, he praised me for being clever. Grandpa always asks Mom for grain, but I know what’s going on.”"