Qiu-ger came over after breakfast, carrying only a pair of scissors. Since Sun Dazhuang was heading to town to sell firewood today, Qiu-ger called out to him and took a few copper coins from the family’s money box. “Bring me some red paper on your way back.”

Sun Dazhuang didn’t ask what his Fulang needed them for, nor did he ask what he intended to do with the red paper. After all, Qiu-ger wasn’t the type to waste copper coins—he’d just buy them and bring them back.

Sun Dazhuang gave a nod, tucked the coins into his pocket, and headed out the door.

Only after Sun Dazhuang had left did Granny Sun speak up in a sarcastic tone, “It’s not a holiday or anything—what’s the point of buying that red paper? We’re so poor, and yet he’s wasting copper coins.”

“Mother, if you were as hardworking as Aunt Cuihua, our family might actually have an easier time of it.”

Granny Sun had wised up; she didn’t mention Qiu-ger in front of her son, lest she provoke Dazhuang into joining in on the criticism. She waited until he had left the house before speaking.

“I’m asking you—what on earth are you going to use that red paper for?”

“I’m learning paper-cutting from Ning-ger. It pays better than embroidery.”

“Why not use scrap paper to practice? Buying that red paper and cutting it up is such a waste of copper coins.” When Granny Sun heard he was going to learn paper-cutting from Ning-ger, she didn’t accuse Qiu-ger of wasting money, but she still felt it was a shame to buy red paper so early in his learning.

Qiu-ger didn’t pay her any mind. He grabbed his scissors and went to find Song Ning. The copper coins in his family’s household were all earned through hard work by him and Dazhuang. He didn’t realize that using red paper right off the bat would be a waste of money; he was just thinking that once he’d mastered the craft, he could save some for later and even give some to Ning-ger.

Yesterday, Ning-ger had mentioned that his family had some scrap paper he could use for practice, and Qiu-ger had agreed—it saved him the trouble of having to find materials to learn paper-cutting.

When Qiu-ger arrived, Song Ning was still sitting in front of the stove in the kitchen, holding a bowl of porridge. As soon as Qiu-ger stepped into the courtyard, he saw Song Ning and Wei Hu’s clothes hanging on the line. In the middle of winter, the cold had frozen them stiff, and icicles were dangling from below.

“Ning-ger, are you doing laundry first thing in the morning? Your hands must be freezing.”

Song Ning blushed slightly at the remark. “Brother Wei Hu did it.” Qiu-ger let out a drawn-out “Oh.” 

“Brother Huzi really does dote on you.”

Qiu-ger sat in the kitchen for a while, then offered to help scoop out the smoldering embers from under the stove—it was the end of the year, and the coldest time of the year.

Chen Cuihua came over with some things as well. She simply shut the kitchen’s rickety wooden door, and the three of them sat down around the small table. Song Ning had actually learned the art of cutting paper window decorations from Granny Zhang. Every year during the New Year, Granny Zhang would cut paper decorations for the Song family, and Song Ning, finding it interesting, picked them up.

Back then, she’d just done it for fun; he never imagined these paper cutouts could actually be sold to earn a few copper coins.

Song Ning folded the paper and first taught the two of them how to cut the simplest designs. Qiu-ger and Chen Cuihua were both dexterous; on their first try, following Song Ning’s lead, they managed to cut out shapes that were seven or eight parts accurate.

Qiu-ger was so delighted his eyes crinkled with a smile. “I thought I’d never be able to learn this, but it turns out I’ve actually managed to cut something that looks the part.”

Chen Cuihua did slightly better than Ning-ger. “It’s not hard to learn with Brother Ning showing me, but I’m worried I won’t know how to do it on my own later.”

“Don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time before the New Year. If you can’t master the complicated ones, you’ll definitely be able to handle the simple ones.”

Qiu-ger had picked it up quite well on his first try, and now he was even more confident. Red paper wasn’t cheap to begin with, and cutting a window decoration was certainly much faster than embroidering a handkerchief—he could surely sell it for a few wen.

The three of them were practicing paper-cutting together when they heard a commotion in the courtyard. The two hunting dogs began barking loudly. Chen Cuihua put down the scissors in her hand. “Who’s here?”

Chen Cuihua opened the door to find Granny Sun approaching with a basket slung over her arm. No wonder her dogs were barking so fiercely—since Qiu-ger came by often, Hei Dou and Hua Dou recognized him. Whenever Qiu-ger visited, the two hunting dogs never barked indiscriminately.

Chen Cuihua didn’t care for Granny Sun to begin with, so she didn’t put on a friendly face. What good could come of Granny Sun showing up at her house? “Granny Sun, what brings you here?”

Granny Sun flashed an ingratiating smile. “Qiu-ger is here with you, isn’t he? I came to check on him.” 

“What’s the matter? Are you afraid your Qiu-ger is hiding here to slack off?”

Chen Cuihua didn’t call the two dogs at the gate over, nor did she invite Granny Sun into her courtyard. Qiu-ger came out when he heard his mother had arrived. “Mom, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see what you’re up to.”

Out of respect for Qiu-ger, Chen Cuihua finally called over Heidou and Huadou. Only then did Granny Sun shuffle inside.

Without waiting for Chen Cuihua to invite her, she squeezed her way into the kitchen, found a stool, and sat down.

“Oh, learning to cut paper cutouts? I saw Ning-ger cut some really well yesterday.”

None of the three paid her any mind, wondering what on earth she was doing there all of a sudden.

Although Song Ning had a good temperament, he wasn’t a pushover. The old woman had previously called him lazy and accused him of slacking off even while looking after Qiu-ger; just thinking about it now made him feel uneasy.

Seeing that no one was paying Granny Sun any mind, she didn’t feel the least bit awkward. She loved to gossip anyway, and even if no one was listening, she could still talk.

She held out the basket in her hands. “Cuihua, since you don’t keep chickens, I have some eggs left over from my own hens. Here, take some to try. These dried broad beans were sun-dried by me this summer—they’re delicious when stewed.”

Chen Cuihua raised an eyebrow. The sun must be rising in the west today—Granny Sun was actually bringing her gifts?

Chen Cuihua didn’t want to be rude, so she said, “Why are you giving us things for no reason? Take them back home. If we run out, we’ll just buy some in town.”

Qiu-ger was also quite surprised. After all, there were only a few eggs at home to begin with, and his mother was usually so stingy she wouldn’t even give him any to eat. Yet this time, she’d actually been willing to give five of them away.

Usually, she’d crack open just one when cooking noodles—and that was for all three of them to share, meaning the whole family only got to eat one every few days. Yet now she was being so generous. His mother’s things weren’t something to be taken lightly. Qiu-ger felt uneasy; he wondered if he had some ulterior motive.

Chen Cuihua, of course, knew Granny Sun well. She wouldn’t have accepted them without a proper explanation. Once you accept a gift, you’re indebted to the giver; if she took her things, she wouldn’t be able to scold Granny Sun if she ever gossiped about her family in the future.

“Mom, have you lost your mind from the fever?” Qiu-ger asked bluntly. Unless she was possessed by a ghost, when had his old lady ever been this kind?

Granny Sun felt a bit awkward at the question. “You silly boy, when you go to learn something from someone, you can’t very well show up empty-handed. That’s why I brought you some things.”

Only then did the group realize why Granny Sun had come bearing gifts—it was because Qiu-ger was learning paper-cutting here. Chen Cuihua declined, “My Ning-ger and your Qiu-ger get along just fine. You should take these things home and keep them for yourself.”

Granny Sun insisted on giving them to her. Qiu-ger hadn’t expected that this time he’d actually misunderstood his mother—this time, she really was looking out for him.

Qiu-ger hadn’t intended to come empty-handed either. But if he brought something from home, he’d just get scolded again, so he decided not to bring anything at all. He’d planned to buy some red paper to give to Ning-ger, but he never expected his mother-in-law to come over with gifts herself.

Qiu-ger also spoke up: “Aunt Cuihua, please just take the eggs. Dried broad beans aren’t worth much—if you don’t want them, just say so.” 

“That won’t do—I won’t let you refuse them.”

Granny Sun pushed her basket forward, insisting on giving them away. The kitchen turned into a commotion, and Song Ning said, “Mother, let’s just take the dried broad beans. We already have eggs at home.” 

“Alright then.” Chen Cuihua finally took out the dried broad beans from inside; she didn’t accept the five eggs.

Seeing that Chen Cuihua had accepted them, Granny Sun was delighted. “You two keep cutting; I’ll just watch.”

The three of them resumed cutting. Granny Sun produced a pair of scissors from somewhere. “It looks pretty simple to me. I’ll give it a try so I can help Qiu-ger cut later.”

Qiu-ger’s breath caught in his throat—he knew his mother wouldn’t be that kind-hearted! So she’d been waiting here all along!

Qiu-ger looked at Song Ning with a sense of embarrassment. Song Ning gave him a slight shake of the head to signal it was fine—if she wanted to learn, let her. After all, she was Qiu-ger’s mother-in-law, and he couldn’t very well refuse her.

Chen Cuihua exclaimed, “Oh, well, let’s all learn together then.”

Granny Sun even took the initiative to hand her a piece of old paper. Granny Sun hadn’t expected Chen Cuihua to be so easygoing; it seemed she really couldn’t bring herself to refuse after accepting her gift.

They each sat on one side and began cutting. Chen Cuihua watched Granny Sun cut and remarked, “Granny Sun, you’re really clumsy. Look how your hands are shaking.”

“Oh, that’s not how you do it. Look how clumsy you are.”

“That’s supposed to be a bird? Why did you cut such a big hole? Look, Qiu-ger does it much better.”

Granny Sun was so flustered she broke out in a sweat. She’d thought that if she learned this, she could earn a few copper coins, but it turned out she just couldn’t get the hang of it. She had no choice but to give up. “I’m not learning this, I’m not learning this. It’s got me all worked up and sweating. Let my Qiu-ger learn here. I’m going out for a walk.”

Knowing she’d never get the hang of it, Granny Sun picked up her basket and left, not forgetting to tell Qiu-ger to study hard as she walked out.

Once Granny Sun was gone, the three of them burst out laughing. Song Ning’s eyes crinkled with amusement. After all, Granny Sun had called her lazy, and now her own mother had called her slow, making her break out in a sweat. He wondered how his mother could have agreed to let Granny Sun learn alongside them in the first place.

Qiu-ger clicked his tongue. “I was wondering why she was being so kind. My mother isn’t stupid either. Even if I learn this and earn some copper coins, she’d get to eat meat too.”

Granny Sun thought the same way. Giving away some supplies wasn’t a loss—Qiu-ger was learning alongside him. Once he’d mastered it, they could sell paper cuttings in town during the New Year, and then they’d be able to buy meat. She’d get to enjoy a proper meal too, wouldn’t she?

Although Granny Sun hadn’t learned the skill herself, she still walked home in high spirits, carrying her basket.

As she passed by the Li family’s house, Li Guifen was leaning against the doorframe, cracking sunflower seeds. “Oh, Granny Sun’s gone to see Chen Cuihua. What did she bring with her? You don’t like Song Ning—why are you suddenly sucking up to her now?”

“Who’s sucking up to her? I just went over to check on my Qiu-ger.”

“Come on, everyone in the village knows Chen Cuihua’s Fulang can read and write—she’s so proud of it. You’re just going over there because you want to get a little something out of it—why did Chen Cuihua kick you out?”

“Li Guifen, stop being so sarcastic. You should worry about your own business.” Granny Sun stepped closer and said, “Isn’t your daughter Xiaolian engaged? What’s all this fuss about? Don’t you know?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Then why are you asking what I was just out doing?” Granny Sun used to get along well with Li Guifen—one loved to gossip, and the other loved to spread Chen Cuihua’s family—that’s how they got along.

Granny Sun said, “Your Xiaolian, you know, has taken a fancy to that Wei Hu. She wants to marry him. You didn’t know that, did you?”