Song Ning handed him the bowl. “Qiu-ger, I brought you a bowl of eight-treasure porridge.”

Qiu-ger took it with a smile. “Thanks.”

The two sat together basking in the sun, with Xiao Caili lying obediently on Song Ning’s lap. They began to play with the little cat.

Granny Sun, however, was bustling about, grabbing some roasted nuts and pouring hot water for them to drink. It was the holiday season, after all—what household hadn’t stocked up on some treats? She even brought out some dried fruit for the two of them to eat.

“Mom, you don’t need to go to all this trouble. Weren’t you going to warm yourself by the fire at the village entrance?”

Only then did Granny Sun leave. “You two stay here and play. If you want anything to eat, just go get it from the house.”

Qiu-ger whispered to Song Ning, “She’s being quite generous today.” 

“Don’t let Dazhuang hear that.”

“He won’t hear us. We’re speaking quietly.” Qiu-ger chuckled. “If anyone else came by, she wouldn’t be willing to bring out food for them. She’s only this generous because you’re here.”

Song Ning laughed too. It was simply because he’d taught Qiu-ger how to cut paper cutouts this year, and the family had earned a few copper coins—that was why Granny Sun was being so attentive to him.

“I also bought some dried persimmons—they’re so sweet. I’ll get some for you.”

Qiu-ger went inside and brought out a plate of dried persimmons. He knew Song Ning liked them, and he liked them too. They each took one and began to eat. “The persimmon tree at my house bears plenty of fruit, but I don’t know how to make dried persimmons. Otherwise, if we turned them into dried persimmons, we could eat them all winter long.”

“I think you have to pick them before they get too soft. I saw instructions in a book once, but I don’t remember them clearly. I’ll ask my mother when I get home to see if she knows how to make them.”

“Great! If we can make dried persimmons, I won’t let this year’s crop ripen on the tree.”

The two chatted idly as they ate the dried persimmons. Wei Hu and Song Ning said their goodbyes and left with Sun Dazhuang, leaving only Song Ning and the other person in the courtyard.

After Sun Dazhuang had left, Qiu-ger said, “My mother-in-law got sick from eating them last year. She won’t touch a single one of the dried persimmons I bought for the New Year.”

He chuckled as he spoke. “It’s strange, though. My mother used to love gossiping about others, but now she hardly ever does. Who knows why she’s suddenly changed her ways? She’s even been nicer to me at home and helps out with some of the chores.”

“That’s great—it must make your life a lot easier.”

“That’s true. Things have definitely been a lot better lately as the year comes to a close. She doesn’t scold me anymore—it’s actually been pretty good.”

Qiu-ger didn’t know that Granny Sun had been scared out of her wits. Earlier, she’d exposed Li Xiaolian’s true feelings right at Li Guifen’s doorstep, causing Li Xiaolian to throw herself into the river in the dead of winter. That incident had frightened her so much that she’d never dared to gossip about others again.

“Ning-ger, do you have any relatives coming over for the New Year?”

Song Ning shook his head. “Not many. I’ll just head into town on the third day to visit Granny Zhang.” It seemed the Wei family didn’t have any relatives visiting either, but that saved them the trouble—it was actually quite peaceful.

Qiu-ger was delighted. “Tomorrow’s the second day of the New Year. I’m going back to my natal home. Things are going well this year—I even cut a whole piece of meat for my father. It’s bigger than the one Dazhuang picked up from my house last year.”

“That’s wonderful.” Seeing that Qiu-ger was doing well, Song Ning was happy for him too.

Qiu-ger grabbed Song Ning’s hand and looked at him with sparkling eyes. “It’s all thanks to you, Ning-ger. Guess how much silver we made selling paper cutouts this year?”

“Two taels?”

After all, Qiu-ger’s family only sold window decorations, whereas he and Wei Hu Ge had sold couplets and firewood as well, earning over seven taels of silver in five days.

“Four taels!”

Qiu-ger didn’t hide anything from Song Ning. “When I first married into this family, we couldn’t even scrape together a single tael of silver. We had very little land, and the money Dazhuang and I earned was barely enough to cover our daily expenses. But now that the year is coming to an end, we’ve actually managed to earn this much all at once!”

“That’s quite a lot!”

“You bet. My mother-in-law helped me sell the paper cutouts, too. I’d count them out for her, and for every set she sold, I’d give her half the copper coins. Wasn’t she thrilled to see you today?”

Song Ning smiled broadly. “These four taels of silver will last us half a year. You can take a break, too.”

“I’ve discussed it with Dazhuang. We plan to use these four taels of silver to buy a good piece of land. Our plot isn’t right next to the village chief’s—it’s full of rocks and doesn’t grow much of anything. The village chief usually sets aside some of his land to grow vegetables. I was wondering if we could talk to him about buying those two mu of poor soil for four taels of silver. That way, we’ll have enough grain to feed the three of us.”

“That’s a great idea. If we have more children in the future, our lives will be a bit more comfortable.”

Qiu-ger blushed and gently scolded Song Ning, “Oh my, Ning-ger, what are you saying? Just tell me—why aren’t you talking about you and Brother Wei Hu? How’s it going? Any news?”

Song Ning also blushed at the question. “It’s… It’s just the same. It’s hard to conceive as a ger, and it’s not something that just happens overnight.”

“No rush. You’ve only been married to Brother Huzi for a short while. It’s been a year for me and still nothing—I’m getting a bit anxious. But you know, you should spend more time with Brother Huzi. It’s the first month of the lunar year now; if you get pregnant, the baby will be born in October. The weather will be just right then—not too cold, not too hot. How wonderful would that be?”

“Enough, enough. Some families go three or five years without having a baby.” Song Ning’s cheeks flushed. If a little one were to join the family, things would certainly liven up.

“True. My father said it took him three years after getting married to have my eldest brother, then he had me, and after that, my little brother—another ger.”

“By the way, my family has saved up some silver too. We’re planning to buy an ox. My mom says it’ll come in handy when spring plowing starts.”

Qiu-ger let out a surprised “Whoa! Ning-ger, your family’s amazing—you’ve actually saved up enough silver to buy a cattle!”

“Not really. We were a little short before, but we got those ten taels of silver back, so we had enough to buy the ox. It’ll make working in the fields a lot easier from now on, and come winter, it can help Brother Wei Hu haul firewood—then he won’t have to struggle carrying it all the way to town to sell.”

Qiu-ger teasingly nudged Song Ning. “Oh my, you’re so protective of your husband.” 

Song Ning blushed at the remark. “Not at all—we’re just a family trying to get by.”

Song Ning stayed out playing until the sun was low in the sky before heading home. Wei Hu had returned from who-knows-where and gave him a ride back. As they walked, Qiu-ger even wrapped up several dried persimmons for Song Ning.

By the second day of the New Year, the village was bustling with activity. Daughters and sons-in-law who had married out were returning to their parents’ homes, each carrying a basket.

Those who could return in oxcarts or mule carts were the envy of the village; those without such means walked back as a couple. The women and Fulang were all dressed up, looking their best, afraid that others might think their family was struggling.

Song Ning didn’t visit his mother’s family at the Song household—after all, Wu Cai’e wasn’t his real mother. As for Chen Cuihua’s side, her mother had passed away years ago, and she hadn’t kept in touch with her brothers either. They were snobs who looked down on Chen Cuihua, a widow raising a young boy, fearing she might come to take advantage of them.

Chen Cuihua was a proud woman; she didn’t care for any of them, so she simply stopped visiting altogether.

The three of them at home either steamed meat or boiled chicken. Except for breakfast, two out of every three meals that day included meat. Even Song Ning’s little face turned rosy from eating so much, and his belly was filling up with plenty of rich food.

Although they’d never been short on meat before—they usually had pork two or three times a month, and with Wei Hu going into the mountains to hunt, there was always plenty at home—it was only during the New Year’s festivities that they feasted on such lavish meals. With so much meat bought for the house, they ate to their hearts’ content.

It was the second day of the New Year, and the aroma of meat wafted from every household. With everyone hosting their siblings and parents who had returned from their maternal homes, what family wouldn’t prepare a meat dish?

Chen Cuihua’s family didn’t have many relatives, so everything they prepared was for their own enjoyment. At noon, she made braised crispy pork, chive and vegetable meatball soup, and steamed a whole pot of white buns—a meal that was every bit as good as what others served to their relatives.

Qiu-ger had gone to visit his mother’s family today, so he didn’t come to play with Song Ning. Song Ning played with Xiao Caili in the courtyard, while the two hunting dogs basked in the sun. Song Ning was no longer afraid of Hei Dou and Hua Dou; he could even reach out and pet them.

Early this morning, Qiu-ger happily put on his new clothes and went back to his parents’ home with Sun Dazhuang. His parents’ home wasn’t very far from Daliushu Village—it only took half an hour to walk there.

Qiu-ger’s new jacket was actually part of the dowry he received when he got married. The Sun family was poor; they certainly didn’t have any extra silver to make him a new jacket.

Qiu-ger’s basket held a bundle of fresh fruit and another of dried persimmons. He slung the basket over her arm, carried a string of meat in his other hand, and set off for home with Sun Dazhuang.

Qiu-ger had come back once during last year’s wheat harvest, and a couple of times in between, but all he’d brought home were pumpkins and sweet potatoes. Though there were eggs at home, his mother-in-law wouldn’t let him take them to his parents’ house, let alone carry a whole chicken home.

Back then, he didn’t have much money, so that was all he could manage. This year, however, he’d saved up some silver by embroidering and cutting paper cutouts. Now he held his head high, and even when his mother-in-law saw him bringing meat back to his parents’ home, she didn’t dare say a word—after all, he’d earned it himself.

Qiu-ger made quite a grand entrance this time, walking home with his head held high, the meat in hand.

Last year, when he came back from the wheat harvest, he hadn’t carried his things properly, and the other gers returning to the village had seen him and made fun of him. Now that he had meat, let’s see if they’d still laugh at him.

Just as Qiu-ger reached the village entrance with the meat in hand, he ran into the ger who had mocked him before. Qiu-ger’s eyes widened, and he immediately waved the meat in his hand. “Oh, heading back to your parents’ place? You’re here pretty early. What goodies did you bring for your little father?”

“Nothing much—just some meat.”

The ger’s basket was still covered with a cloth. Qiu-ger didn’t buy it for a second. If it were meat, he would’ve been showing it off ages ago—why would he keep it covered?

“Let me see.” Qiu-ger craned his neck to look, but the young man and his husband hurried away. “My dad’s waiting for me at home.”

Watching the young man walk away, Qiu-ger chuckled. “Serves him right for making fun of me earlier.”

He turned and gave Sun Dazhuang a light kick. “Don’t ever embarrass me again when we visit my mother’s family. Let’s work hard together so we can buy a mule cart of our own.”

Sun Dazhuang scratched the back of his head and laughed. “Deal!”

He knew his family was poor. During this visit to his in-laws, there was bound to be some one-upmanship among the families. If his ger didn’t bring back decent gifts, people would inevitably mock their ger for marrying into a poor family.