**Chapter 39**

  The next morning, Daniu woke up to the sound of her father shoveling snow in the yard. The snow had stopped falling outside.

  When she checked the time, it was already six o'clock. Her two younger sisters were still sound asleep. Daniu quietly got up, put on her thick cotton pants and a short fur coat, and went outside.

  "Why are you up? Go back inside," Song Yuncheng frowned when he saw her.

  "Dad, let me help you shovel," Daniu said, grabbing a shovel to push the snow her father had cleared outside the yard.

  Seeing that she was wearing gloves and a hat, Song Yuncheng didn't object. "Let's start with this side. I'll handle the well ptform ter; it's all frozen."

  Daniu took the shovel and started pushing the snow toward the vegetable garden in the east. The front yard of their house was paved with rge bluestone sbs. The three main rooms were built on a high foundation of bluestone and brick, with tiled roofs. Even the rooms where the educated youth stayed were made from the old materials of the Ma family compound, which were much better than the common mud-and-thatch houses of the time. That's why the Zheng family had demanded the front courtyard's main rooms, though their request was likely just a way to make the Ma family back down.

  The bluestone pavement was of excellent quality, and every time it snowed, the yard was cleared, keeping it clean and slip-free.

  After shoveling the snow, the old man in the house also got up. Song Yuncheng used the shovel to chip away the ice on the well ptform. He then went to the stove to fetch hot water and poured it into the well pump. After a while, when he felt it was ready, he reassembled the pump and started pumping water. In cold weather, the well pump was prone to freezing, so they only pumped water every two days.

  Daniu noticed movement in the west wing and turned to see Xie Yun coming out of her room with a water bucket. "Xie Yun, you're up early."

  "Yeah, I knew we'd need to pump water today, so I wanted to get some before it ran out," Xie Yun said, pcing the bucket by the well ptform. Song Yuncheng finished pumping water for their own use and was about to help Xie Yun, but she quickly stopped him. "Uncle, it's fine. I can do it myself."

  Song Yuncheng didn't insist and carried two buckets of water to the rear courtyard with a shoulder pole. Xie Yun positioned her bucket and started pumping vigorously. Daniu noticed that both of Xie Yun's hands were swollen and red from the cold, like little radishes.

  "Xie Yun, why aren't you wearing gloves? Your hands are going to get frostbitten," Daniu said.

  "It's fine; I'm used to it. I'll warm up once I go back inside," Xie Yun replied with a smile.

  But Daniu felt that this smile was different from before.

  * * *

  That day, with nothing much to do and knowing that Dali would be returning the next day, Daniu went into the mountains and caught two rabbits. As she entered the yard, she heard Zhang Xiaoran cursing and dragging Xie Yun by the arm. "Give that to me!"

  Xie Yun clutched something tightly in her hand. "This is mine. I can't give it to you."

  The two struggled, and Zhang Xiaoran suddenly spped Xie Yun hard across the face. Xie Yun didn't dodge but used the moment to pull her hand free from Zhang Xiaoran's grip. She then threw whatever she was holding into the stove, where water was boiling and the fire was strong. The object caught fire immediately and was soon reduced to ashes.

  Xie Yun stared at the ashes, her entire being seeming to burn along with them.

  Zhang Xiaoran gred at Xie Yun with hatred in her eyes before turning and leaving.

  As Daniu walked toward the house, she saw Meizi standing there with a bundle of straw in her hands, her eyes shining. When Meizi noticed Daniu, she stuck out her tongue and quickly ran to the door while holding the straw to open it for Daniu. As Daniu approached, Meizi whispered, "Sis, it's not like I meant to eavesdrop. It was just a coincidence."

  Daniu smiled and tapped Meizi's little nose. "You, huh?" Could this be her natural talent?

  Inside the house, Ma Hongmei was cooking, while Daniu prepared the rabbits she had caught.

  During dinner, Ma Hongmei said to Song Yuncheng, "Find some time to talk to Old Fifth Song and see if he can arrange a pce for those three girls in the lower room sooner. We can't keep having these disturbances. It's starting to look like our family is always fighting." Clearly, she had also heard the commotion in the lower room.

  "Yeah, I'll ask, but I don't think it's likely. The brigade doesn't have any spare houses right now. They are pnning to build some in the spring when the ground melts. We might have to tough it out for another two months," Song Yuncheng replied.

  "I noticed that the forest farm over there has already started building houses. Why can't we do the same here?" Ma Hongmei asked.

  "What kind of houses are those? You'll see, they'll need repairs every year," the old man scoffed.

  "Grandpa, I don't think that's necessarily true. If they burn the ground to harden it and y stones as a foundation, it should hold up. It might be a bit drafty, but once spring comes, they can seal it with a couple of yers of mud, and it'll be fine," Daniu said.

  "You don't understand. Building a house requires careful pnning," the old man shook his head.

  "It's not a big deal. They need it urgently, so they can make do for now and fix it up ter. It's just a temporary solution anyway. Eventually, they might even build a proper house, maybe even a multi-story building," Song Yuncheng said.

  "Come on, a multi-story building here? Will they light the fires upstairs? That's just asking for trouble," Ma Desheng said, before taking a sip of his liquor.

  "Second, Grandpa's family can heat their kang bed upstairs," Daniu added.

  "That's still no good. I wouldn't be able to live like that. Imagine having the toilet inside the house—how uncomfortable would that be?" The old man found the idea too inconvenient.

  Daniu smiled. "Many people want to live in a building with an indoor toilet but can't afford it."

  "No, we're not that fortunate," the old man shook his head.

  "Their area is spacious, so they'll probably stick to single-story houses. I just wonder if Dali will be able to get one," Ma Hongmei said.

  "Why would he need one? Dali has a house at home. It's just because of the cold weather. Once spring comes and the snow melts, he can ride his bike to work. It'll only take half an hour." The old man didn't want his grandson living so far away.

  "We'll talk about Dali when the time comes. His household registration hasn't been transferred yet. Once he becomes a full-time employee, he might have to transfer it. Then he won't have any cim to the vilge's residential nd," Song Yuncheng said.

  "Why is that?" Ma Hongmei asked.

  "We'll have to ask Dali when he gets back. Whether he has residential nd or not doesn't matter. We never pnned for him to live elsewhere anyway. We just need to crify his work situation," Song Yuncheng had long-term pns. He never intended for Dali to work at the forest farm forever. If a good opportunity arose, he wanted Dali to move to the county, or even the city or provincial capital. They had to strive for better opportunities.

  * * *

  The next morning, the family waited for Dali to return for breakfast. However, by eight o'clock, Dali still hadn't arrived.

  "Maybe Dayong should go look for your brother. Why isn't he back yet? Didn't he take the cart? He always leaves early when he comes home, so he should have been here by now," Ma Hongmei was getting anxious.

  "It's fine, Mom. Brother must have been deyed by something," Daniu reassured her. Dayong had already put on his coat and hat.

  Before they could head out, they saw a rge group of people approaching from a distance.

  "Something's happened," the old man said, his heart sinking.

  Daniu rushed outside. As soon as she stepped out, she heard Old Fifth Song shouting, "Daniu, hurry! Your brother jumped into the water to save someone. Tell your mom to prepare some ginger soup. Dayong, go to your sixth grandpa's house and get some herbs to ward off the cold."

  Daniu turned back to inform her mother and then ran to open the gate. She saw someone lying on their family's cart and her older brother, wrapped in a thick quilt, sitting on the cart's shaft, his face pale. "What happened?"

  Daniu asked, only then realizing that the person lying down was Xie Yun from the west wing. Xie Yun looked even worse. "Why wasn't she taken to the hospital?"

  "It's fine. She's just cold. Staying at home will warm her up better than the hospital," Old Song Five replied.

  "Take her to my room," Daniu said, thinking it would be easier to care for Xie Yun there.

  After settling the two in her room, Daniu found some of her own clothes and a cotton-padded jacket for Xie Yun. Fortunately, she had some unused undergarments. Once Xie Yun changed, she looked a bit better. Meanwhile, Ma Hongmei had finished preparing the ginger soup and brought a bowl for Xie Yun. "Drink it while it's hot."

  Xie Yun, her eyes vacant, took the bowl and shakily asked, "Is Dali okay?"

  Ma Hongmei's face darkened. "He's fine," she said before leaving the room. Both of them drank the ginger soup, and Dayong brought some herbs from his sixth grandpa's house. After brewing and drinking the herbal concoction, they began to sweat a little and finally started to recover.

  Perhaps due to her discomfort, Xie Yun fell asleep. Daniu went to the east room, where her brother was in better condition, sitting on the kang bed and eating porridge.

  Old Fifth Song stayed behind and expined what had happened. The incident was reted to the fight the previous day. After Xie Yun burned the letter that Zhang Xiaoran had taken, Zhang Xiaoran was furious. Early in the morning, she went to the brigade office to report Xie Yun, ciming that Xie Yun had overseas connections and that her fiancé was abroad.

  Zhang Xiaoran said many harsh things, and Xie Yun, overwhelmed with anger, suddenly ran out.

  Old Fifth Song, worried that something might happen, asked the educated youth staying at the brigade office to look for her. However, they were too slow and lost sight of Xie Yun.

  In their area, the river froze over in winter, but people would still cut holes in the ice to fish. That morning was no exception. Dali, on his way back with the cart, happened to pass by the river and saw people fishing. Thinking his grandfather would enjoy some fresh fish, he went over to see if he could trade for one.

  As he was negotiating with the fisherman, they suddenly saw a dark figure appear, followed by a spsh as someone jumped into the ice hole.

  Without a second thought, Dali pulled off his fur coat and jumped in after them.

  "It's a good thing it was Dali. Anyone else might not have made it back up," Old Fifth Song said, still shaken. If something had gone wrong, he wouldn't have known how to expin it. Fortunately, Dali was an excellent swimmer. When Dali was younger and often sick, Song Yuncheng had taught him to swim, which had helped improve his health. He had even practiced winter swimming, though he stopped after a severe fever following one session, as Ma Hongmei forbade him from doing it again.

  Thanks to his swimming skills, Dali was able to pull Xie Yun out of the water safely.

  **Chapter 39**

  The next morning, Daniu woke up to the sound of her father shoveling snow in the yard. The snow had stopped falling outside.

  When she checked the time, it was already six o'clock. Her two younger sisters were still sound asleep. Daniu quietly got up, put on her thick cotton pants and a short fur coat, and went outside.

  "Why are you up? Go back inside," Song Yuncheng frowned when he saw her.

  "Dad, let me help you shovel," Daniu said, grabbing a shovel to push the snow her father had cleared outside the yard.

  Seeing that she was wearing gloves and a hat, Song Yuncheng didn't object. "Let's start with this side. I'll handle the well ptform ter; it's all frozen."

  Daniu took the shovel and started pushing the snow toward the vegetable garden in the east. The front yard of their house was paved with rge bluestone sbs. The three main rooms were built on a high foundation of bluestone and brick, with tiled roofs. Even the rooms where the educated youth stayed were made from the old materials of the Ma family compound, which were much better than the common mud-and-thatch houses of the time. That's why the Zheng family had demanded the front courtyard's main rooms, though their request was likely just a way to make the Ma family back down.

  The bluestone pavement was of excellent quality, and every time it snowed, the yard was cleared, keeping it clean and slip-free.

  After shoveling the snow, the old man in the house also got up. Song Yuncheng used the shovel to chip away the ice on the well ptform. He then went to the stove to fetch hot water and poured it into the well pump. After a while, when he felt it was ready, he reassembled the pump and started pumping water. In cold weather, the well pump was prone to freezing, so they only pumped water every two days.

  Daniu noticed movement in the west wing and turned to see Xie Yun coming out of her room with a water bucket. "Xie Yun, you're up early."

  "Yeah, I knew we'd need to pump water today, so I wanted to get some before it ran out," Xie Yun said, pcing the bucket by the well ptform. Song Yuncheng finished pumping water for their own use and was about to help Xie Yun, but she quickly stopped him. "Uncle, it's fine. I can do it myself."

  Song Yuncheng didn't insist and carried two buckets of water to the rear courtyard with a shoulder pole. Xie Yun positioned her bucket and started pumping vigorously. Daniu noticed that both of Xie Yun's hands were swollen and red from the cold, like little radishes.

  "Xie Yun, why aren't you wearing gloves? Your hands are going to get frostbitten," Daniu said.

  "It's fine; I'm used to it. I'll warm up once I go back inside," Xie Yun replied with a smile.

  But Daniu felt that this smile was different from before.

  * * *

  That day, with nothing much to do and knowing that Dali would be returning the next day, Daniu went into the mountains and caught two rabbits. As she entered the yard, she heard Zhang Xiaoran cursing and dragging Xie Yun by the arm. "Give that to me!"

  Xie Yun clutched something tightly in her hand. "This is mine. I can't give it to you."

  The two struggled, and Zhang Xiaoran suddenly spped Xie Yun hard across the face. Xie Yun didn't dodge but used the moment to pull her hand free from Zhang Xiaoran's grip. She then threw whatever she was holding into the stove, where water was boiling and the fire was strong. The object caught fire immediately and was soon reduced to ashes.

  Xie Yun stared at the ashes, her entire being seeming to burn along with them.

  Zhang Xiaoran gred at Xie Yun with hatred in her eyes before turning and leaving.

  As Daniu walked toward the house, she saw Meizi standing there with a bundle of straw in her hands, her eyes shining. When Meizi noticed Daniu, she stuck out her tongue and quickly ran to the door while holding the straw to open it for Daniu. As Daniu approached, Meizi whispered, "Sis, it's not like I meant to eavesdrop. It was just a coincidence."

  Daniu smiled and tapped Meizi's little nose. "You, huh?" Could this be her natural talent?

  Inside the house, Ma Hongmei was cooking, while Daniu prepared the rabbits she had caught.

  During dinner, Ma Hongmei said to Song Yuncheng, "Find some time to talk to Old Fifth Song and see if he can arrange a pce for those three girls in the lower room sooner. We can't keep having these disturbances. It's starting to look like our family is always fighting." Clearly, she had also heard the commotion in the lower room.

  "Yeah, I'll ask, but I don't think it's likely. The brigade doesn't have any spare houses right now. They are pnning to build some in the spring when the ground melts. We might have to tough it out for another two months," Song Yuncheng replied.

  "I noticed that the forest farm over there has already started building houses. Why can't we do the same here?" Ma Hongmei asked.

  "What kind of houses are those? You'll see, they'll need repairs every year," the old man scoffed.

  "Grandpa, I don't think that's necessarily true. If they burn the ground to harden it and y stones as a foundation, it should hold up. It might be a bit drafty, but once spring comes, they can seal it with a couple of yers of mud, and it'll be fine," Daniu said.

  "You don't understand. Building a house requires careful pnning," the old man shook his head.

  "It's not a big deal. They need it urgently, so they can make do for now and fix it up ter. It's just a temporary solution anyway. Eventually, they might even build a proper house, maybe even a multi-story building," Song Yuncheng said.

  "Come on, a multi-story building here? Will they light the fires upstairs? That's just asking for trouble," Ma Desheng said, before taking a sip of his liquor.

  "Second, Grandpa's family can heat their kang bed upstairs," Daniu added.

  "That's still no good. I wouldn't be able to live like that. Imagine having the toilet inside the house—how uncomfortable would that be?" The old man found the idea too inconvenient.

  Daniu smiled. "Many people want to live in a building with an indoor toilet but can't afford it."

  "No, we're not that fortunate," the old man shook his head.

  "Their area is spacious, so they'll probably stick to single-story houses. I just wonder if Dali will be able to get one," Ma Hongmei said.

  "Why would he need one? Dali has a house at home. It's just because of the cold weather. Once spring comes and the snow melts, he can ride his bike to work. It'll only take half an hour." The old man didn't want his grandson living so far away.

  "We'll talk about Dali when the time comes. His household registration hasn't been transferred yet. Once he becomes a full-time employee, he might have to transfer it. Then he won't have any cim to the vilge's residential nd," Song Yuncheng said.

  "Why is that?" Ma Hongmei asked.

  "We'll have to ask Dali when he gets back. Whether he has residential nd or not doesn't matter. We never pnned for him to live elsewhere anyway. We just need to crify his work situation," Song Yuncheng had long-term pns. He never intended for Dali to work at the forest farm forever. If a good opportunity arose, he wanted Dali to move to the county, or even the city or provincial capital. They had to strive for better opportunities.

  * * *

  The next morning, the family waited for Dali to return for breakfast. However, by eight o'clock, Dali still hadn't arrived.

  "Maybe Dayong should go look for your brother. Why isn't he back yet? Didn't he take the cart? He always leaves early when he comes home, so he should have been here by now," Ma Hongmei was getting anxious.

  "It's fine, Mom. Brother must have been deyed by something," Daniu reassured her. Dayong had already put on his coat and hat.

  Before they could head out, they saw a rge group of people approaching from a distance.

  "Something's happened," the old man said, his heart sinking.

  Daniu rushed outside. As soon as she stepped out, she heard Old Fifth Song shouting, "Daniu, hurry! Your brother jumped into the water to save someone. Tell your mom to prepare some ginger soup. Dayong, go to your sixth grandpa's house and get some herbs to ward off the cold."

  Daniu turned back to inform her mother and then ran to open the gate. She saw someone lying on their family's cart and her older brother, wrapped in a thick quilt, sitting on the cart's shaft, his face pale. "What happened?"

  Daniu asked, only then realizing that the person lying down was Xie Yun from the west wing. Xie Yun looked even worse. "Why wasn't she taken to the hospital?"

  "It's fine. She's just cold. Staying at home will warm her up better than the hospital," Old Song Five replied.

  "Take her to my room," Daniu said, thinking it would be easier to care for Xie Yun there.

  After settling the two in her room, Daniu found some of her own clothes and a cotton-padded jacket for Xie Yun. Fortunately, she had some unused undergarments. Once Xie Yun changed, she looked a bit better. Meanwhile, Ma Hongmei had finished preparing the ginger soup and brought a bowl for Xie Yun. "Drink it while it's hot."

  Xie Yun, her eyes vacant, took the bowl and shakily asked, "Is Dali okay?"

  Ma Hongmei's face darkened. "He's fine," she said before leaving the room. Both of them drank the ginger soup, and Dayong brought some herbs from his sixth grandpa's house. After brewing and drinking the herbal concoction, they began to sweat a little and finally started to recover.

  Perhaps due to her discomfort, Xie Yun fell asleep. Daniu went to the east room, where her brother was in better condition, sitting on the kang bed and eating porridge.

  Old Fifth Song stayed behind and expined what had happened. The incident was reted to the fight the previous day. After Xie Yun burned the letter that Zhang Xiaoran had taken, Zhang Xiaoran was furious. Early in the morning, she went to the brigade office to report Xie Yun, ciming that Xie Yun had overseas connections and that her fiancé was abroad.

  Zhang Xiaoran said many harsh things, and Xie Yun, overwhelmed with anger, suddenly ran out.

  Old Fifth Song, worried that something might happen, asked the educated youth staying at the brigade office to look for her. However, they were too slow and lost sight of Xie Yun.

  In their area, the river froze over in winter, but people would still cut holes in the ice to fish. That morning was no exception. Dali, on his way back with the cart, happened to pass by the river and saw people fishing. Thinking his grandfather would enjoy some fresh fish, he went over to see if he could trade for one.

  As he was negotiating with the fisherman, they suddenly saw a dark figure appear, followed by a spsh as someone jumped into the ice hole.

  Without a second thought, Dali pulled off his fur coat and jumped in after them.

  "It's a good thing it was Dali. Anyone else might not have made it back up," Old Fifth Song said, still shaken. If something had gone wrong, he wouldn't have known how to expin it. Fortunately, Dali was an excellent swimmer. When Dali was younger and often sick, Song Yuncheng had taught him to swim, which had helped improve his health. He had even practiced winter swimming, though he stopped after a severe fever following one session, as Ma Hongmei forbade him from doing it again.

  Thanks to his swimming skills, Dali was able to pull Xie Yun out of the water safely.

  "This girl, she really didn't want to live anymore. In such cold weather, jumping into the water like that—anyone would die in a few minutes," Old Fifth Song sighed. "Daniu, keep an eye on her tonight. If she gets a fever, make sure she takes the medicine right away."

  Daniu nodded. "Don't worry, Fifth Uncle. I'll take good care of her."

  "Ah, what a mess. Before the New Year, I went to a commune meeting, and they said another group of people would be arriving in the spring. These few are already so difficult to handle. If more come, it'll be chaos."

  "No one could have predicted this," Daniu comforted him.

  "Alright, I'll head back now. Let Xie Yun stay here for a couple of days until she recovers. As for the other two educated youths, I'll have them move to the brigade office tomorrow. Today, I'll find someone to partition the room. They can't stay here anymore," Old Song Five said before leaving.

  "Take care, Uncle Five," Daniu saw him out.

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