Chapter 98: Returning to the Village

It was a little after three in the afternoon. A car slowly made its way to the entrance of the Zhang family home at the foot of North Mountain and came to a stop. At this time, Xizi had just woken up from a nap. Seeing his home, he was so excited that he quickly greeted Lin Lishan, then rushed into the yard, calling out for his grandmother. He knew the rest of the family was out working, so he called for his grandma to come out and help carry things.

Lin Lishan looked around and, seeing no one else nearby, went straight to help carry things. She brought them into Zhou Jiao’s room in the west wing. There was no time to say much to Zhou Jiao before she went out again to help Zhang Mother, who had come over after hearing the commotion, move the rest of the things from the car.

Zhou Jiao watched her mother come in and out, guessing there must be quite a lot of stuff. When she saw them come in, she quickly told them to take a break and leave the things on the car—no one would dare steal them anyway.

After Lin Lishan took a sip of warm water, she waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not that much, just some small things that aren’t too noticeable. I brought everything in. The only big item is the radio—this is for you to listen to during your confinement so you won’t get bored. The things at Friendship Store really are cheaper than outside. As for the rest, you don’t need to get up and look. Just rest. I’ll sort everything out later, and you’ll see. I bought all the necessities.”

With that, she started unpacking each bundle, putting the contents into the wardrobe and boxes one by one. When everything was stuffed full, she was stunned to see there were still packages piled on the floor. She patted her head in exasperation.

Zhang Mother had been watching with her mouth open since Lin Lishan started unpacking, wanting to say something but holding back. Now, seeing Lin Lishan’s reaction, she burst out laughing and pointed to the top of the wardrobe.

The two of them worked together to lift several bolts of fabric onto the top, then placed the radio there. Zhang Mother shook her head repeatedly, muttering that her in-law shouldn’t buy so much next time.

At first, Zhou Jiao watched with interest, but gradually fell silent, shooting her mother meaningful looks. Thankfully, Lin Lishan caught on and stopped opening the rest of the packages, instead stuffing them into the outer room’s cupboards and boxes until they were full.

The only things left that couldn’t fit were some snacks and pastries.

Zhou Jiao glanced at the corner and spotted two more packages. “Mom, where did those two packages in the corner come from? Why is one of them so big?”

Lin Lishan immediately realized they were from Fang Jianmei—she’d forgotten about them. She dragged the two packages to the center, making Zhou Jiao’s eye twitch. Opening them, they found two military coats, two pairs of military boots, and three military bags. The smaller package contained two cans of malted milk, a piece of fabric, about a kilo of yarn, and a piece of red paper placed carefully on top.

Zhou Jiao looked at her mother in confusion. The red paper meant this was a gift that required reciprocation.

Lin Lishan smiled. “These are from Xiao Fei’s aunt, Fang Jianmei. Her niece is planning to join a performing arts troupe in Beijing, so just accept it. Normally, we’re not that close, but now that I’ve made the decision, she’s reaching out. Xiao Wu will explain more when he gets back.”

With that, seeing Zhou Jiao understood, she didn’t explain further.

Zhou Jiao watched her mother take out a piece of wrapping cloth and start packing up candies and pastries. She also stuffed books and pencils into a military bag for Xizi to carry.

Lin Lishan checked the gifts for the children and said to Xizi, “Take the military bag to your own room first. Once you’ve put it away, come back to Grandma’s. You’re in charge of your younger siblings’ gifts—Grandma has given them all to you.” With that, she pushed him out the door.

Xizi adored his beautiful grandma—she even thought of letting him hide the military bag first.

The little guy secretly stashed it away, then went out to call his younger siblings back and brought them to Zhou Jiao’s room.

Seeing them all noisy and excited, he put on a stern face and warned, “Anyone who isn’t good won’t get a present. And you all have to thank Grandma first.” Seeing them behave, he nodded like a little adult.

Meanwhile, Lin Lishan wasn’t in a hurry to tidy up. She was thinking about where to install the coal stove in the outer room. After discussing with Zhang Mother, she found out that when the new house was renovated, Zhang Guoqing had already thought of this and had installed a vent and even the pipes.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Jiaojiao, I still have 300 overseas remittance coupons, plus the 300 from Fang Jianmei, all saved for you. After your confinement, you can go see for yourself—the stuff there is really good. I bought two stoves, one for coal and one for alcohol. The alcohol one can be used in the room—I’ll try it out later.

The coal stove needs to go in the outer room. When Xiao Wu comes back, he can install it. In winter, you can stew things or boil water, and with the doors open, both rooms will be warm. We also have a 300-jin coal ration, so you won’t have to worry about running out this winter. Just keep the stove going and the room will stay warm.”

Lin Lishan unpacked the coal stove. This model was more finely made than most, and the damper was designed so even someone with little strength could open it easily.

Zhang Mother quickly said, “No need to wait for Xiao Wu to come back—let his brother help install the stove early. That way, we can stew something and not worry about Jiaojiao getting hungry at night. You can have her father borrow an ox cart to go to town for coal.”

Lin Lishan nodded happily. When Xizi finally came in, she handed him all the gifts for the children to distribute to his siblings. Zhang Mother tried to stop her, worried about spoiling the kids, but Zhou Jiao and her mother persuaded her otherwise. Xizi handed out the gifts, excitedly sharing stories from the provincial capital, making the children buzz with excitement.

After some chatting, it was time to prepare dinner. Zhang Mother took Xizi and the others out, leaving Zhou Jiao and her mother in the room.

Zhou Jiao watched her mother finish tidying up and couldn’t help but ask, “Mom, you bought so much and drove all the way here—aren’t you tired? Take a break. Is Xiao Wu doing well over there?”

Lin Lishan sat down and smiled, “He’s doing great. He told me today not to worry, he’ll be back in a few days. Your grandpa took him to meet people at the military district last night and even praised him. He’s adapting well and doing a good job.”

Zhou Jiao was relieved to hear this. Watching her mother pack up two small bundles, she couldn’t help but twitch—was she planning to give gifts to her two sisters-in-law as well?

“Mom, you’re not giving those to Xiao Wu’s two sisters, are you? Don’t give away the military coats and bags—keep them for me.”

Lin Lishan laughed and gave her daughter a look. “Don’t be so stingy. You and Xiao Wu already have military coats, so let’s give these to them. I didn’t prepare gifts for them, but seeing them yesterday reminded me. This way, everyone gets one and it’s fair. Don’t worry about two coats—when yours wears out, I’ll get you new ones. Tomorrow, ask your father-in-law to take them over, along with some fabric and candy. I bought a lot of fabric today—pick out any you don’t like and give those away.”

Lin Lishan took out all the loose fabric.

Zhou Jiao looked them over and frowned. “Forget it, all this fabric is good—let’s save it for later. I still have yarn, right? How about giving each family a kilo of yarn? They both work at the textile factory, so they’re not short on fabric coupons. Pick out some nice yarn for me, okay?”

Lin Lishan looked at her, speechless. She’d met Zhang Meili and her sister and their kids yesterday—how did Zhou Jiao know they weren’t short on fabric? Seeing her daughter’s ingratiating smile, she decided to let it go and do as she wished. After all, the gifts were for her sake—otherwise, why would she bother?"