Chapter 88: Departure

The Zhang sisters, Zhang Meili and Zhang Meihao, had already finished attending the baby’s three-day celebration. They carried little Ping’an and followed Lin Lishan back to the west wing to visit Zhou Jiao.

The two sisters entered the inner room with cheerful smiles. The outspoken elder sister, Zhang Meili, said to Zhou Jiao, “Jiaojiao, how does it feel being stuck inside for your confinement? Isn’t it a pity you can’t join the fun? Ping’an’s cries were really loud today—must be a good sign.”

Zhou Jiao invited them to find seats. “Big Sis, Second Sis, have you eaten yet? Why didn’t you eat before coming in? You’ve met my mom, right? I just told her you’d all be back today. Where are the kids?”

Zhang Meili teased with a laugh, “Just now Xiao Wu told me this was your mom, and I was so surprised—Auntie is so young and pretty! We were going to call her ‘Grandma,’ but I just couldn’t get the words out, so we called her ‘Auntie’ instead. Auntie, please don’t mind us being a bit informal. We’re planning to stay a while this time and keep Jiaojiao company.”

Lin Lishan gently set Ping’an down on the kang bed and turned around with a smile. “I’m already old, not young anymore. You two sisters are the pretty ones—you take after your mother.”

Zhou Jiao covered her mouth and grinned. “Mom, did Xizi come looking for you today?”

“He did. I told him, if his grandma agrees, he can come along, but he has to behave and not run off, or else if he gets lost, we won’t be able to find him.”

Zhou Jiao burst out laughing and said to the Zhang sisters, “Last night, Xizi wanted to go to the provincial capital with my mom, so he went to talk to his uncle. He said a few things in the kitchen and left his uncle speechless. Let me imitate him for you: ‘Uncle, are you really okay with Grandma driving alone? I’m worried about Auntie. You can’t be like this. My uncle always says you have to put your mother-in-law at ease, then your wife will be happy. I think your mother-in-law is so young, about the same age as my mom, and really pretty. If Grandma’s going out, someone needs to protect her. Not too old, not too young.’ How about that? I almost choked from laughing.”

Everyone burst out laughing—it was just too funny. Lin Lishan, while putting used diapers into a basin, laughed and said, “Just for those few words, I almost had to bring him along. That kid is clever—he was trying to get his uncle to agree.”

The Zhang sisters couldn’t stop laughing.

“That little rascal knows how to go in circles, but Auntie, it’ll be a hassle to take him along. Don’t listen to him.”

“It’s no trouble. I’m just driving over, and having a little one along keeps me company. Besides, you think he doesn’t know how to scheme? That kid is smart.”

Just then, a group of children burst in from outside, all shouting and crowding around the kang to see Ping’an, chattering away as they looked at him.

The two jin of candy bought that day had already been distributed, so Zhou Jiao had nothing else to hand out. “Have you all eaten noodles yet?”

“Auntie, we’ve all eaten—they were delicious, with meat!”

“Auntie, I ate too! I had three big pieces of meat. My mom said I can’t eat any more or my stomach will hurt.”

Zhang Meili quickly called for order, “Slow down, all of you! Didn’t you just get candy before leaving? How come you’re back in here again? And you little ones, don’t jump on the kang with the baby there. And why didn’t you greet Grandma when you came in?”

Zhang Ziwen looked at his mom, a little embarrassed. “Mom, Grandma looks about the same age as you, so I didn’t know what to call her.”

“Silly boy, it’s about seniority! Your nephew is the same age as your dad, but you still call him Uncle, right? Now, everyone, greet Grandma.”

The kids all shouted “Grandma!” in unison, making Lin Lishan laugh out loud. She quickly pulled out a handful of bills from her pocket. “You’re all good kids. You’ve already got candy, so Grandma will give you each a yuan—save it for snacks.”

“No, we already got candy.”

“Thank you, Grandma, but we’ve already eaten, we can’t take more.”

“Grandma, I already got candy from you, I can’t take anything else.”

Zhang Meili and Zhang Meihao hurriedly held Lin Lishan’s hand. “Auntie, please don’t. Wait until New Year’s, then you can give them lucky money—they’ll accept it then. Right now, they just won’t take it. See, they’ve all run off.”

Lin Lishan had no choice—she couldn’t chase after each child to give them money. There were so many village kids visiting today. She thought maybe she’d buy something for them when she went to the provincial capital.

“Alright, you don’t have to hold me back. They’ve all run off, I won’t go after them.”

The three women looked at the pile of clothes at the end of the kang and helped tidy them up. Zhang Meili noticed a particularly pretty little sweater, knitted in a blue-and-white diamond pattern she’d never seen before. “Jiaojiao, who gave you this? It must have taken a lot of work.”

Zhou Jiao glanced at it and knew right away. “It’s from my classmate Zhao Yuanyuan, the daughter of Zhao Dashan from the military office. She and two boys are my close friends. They probably didn’t get the afternoon off, so they dropped it off and left in a hurry.”

Zhang Meihao picked up a few pairs of tiger-head shoes and showed them off. “Look how delicate these shoes are—must be from her family too. There’s a set of leather shoes, and inside there’s a set of cotton-padded clothes. That’s a really generous gift.”

Lin Lishan took a look and agreed. “Yes, that must be from Zhao Dashan’s family, right? Jiaojiao, remember to keep up good relations with them.”

Zhou Jiao nodded as she looked at the sweater and clothes. “I know, Mom. She gave us a generous gift when we got married too. She was my bridesmaid.”

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Jiao asked Zhang Meili, “Big Sis, Aunt sent over a basket of eggs, clothes, and shoes. I heard from Sister-in-law that it’s more than what she gave for the other kids. Should we let Mom know? I think she’s already left, and their family isn’t well-off. Maybe we should prepare a return gift for her.”

Zhang Meili stood up. “Good thing you remembered. I’ll go now. Aunt is just like that—she doesn’t want to trouble Mom. Their family’s been better off these past two years, so she gave more.”

Zhang Meihao saw that mother and daughter were both a bit confused, so she explained, “Aunt doesn’t like taking advantage of others. A few years ago, when their family was struggling, Xiao Wu visited and brought back a big sack of coarse grain. After that, every holiday, Xiao Wu would bring wild chickens and rabbits. Aunt remembers his kindness—otherwise, she would have sent her eldest daughter-in-law today.”

Zhou Jiao nodded and asked, “I remember their family lives in the mountains. Why would Xiao Wu bring wild chickens and rabbits?”

Zhang Meihao laughed. “You think mountain folks don’t lack wild game? Not necessarily—it depends on the mountain and whether anyone in the family can hunt. Grandpa’s family ended up with just these two uncles, and they wouldn’t let them go up the mountain because it was dangerous. None of the kids can hunt—see, even our eldest and second brothers can’t. At best, they might get lucky and find something at the edge of the woods.

Xiao Wu was clever from a young age and learned to hunt from Grandpa and Dad. Grandpa was an old hand at hunting and taught him everything. Dad used to hunt a lot too, but now he doesn’t dare go deep into the mountains. When Xiao Wu was little, their parents spoiled him and wouldn’t let him go, but if he disappeared for a while, he’d come back with a few wild chickens or rabbits. His best catch was a sika deer once. After that, Dad made a deal with him—he could only go halfway up the big mountain, no deeper. Otherwise, he’d be too reckless. Hasn’t he ever told you about this?”"