Chapter 26
◎Moving into the New House◎
On the day before the New Year of 1968, the continuous snowfall finally showed signs of stopping. Su Huimin’s family of six moved into their newly built house.
Including the main hall, the new house had a total of eight rooms. The courtyard was large and had been swept clean. Pushing open the wooden gate of the courtyard, the main hall was in the center. The first room on the left was Su Huimin and Yu Juanfang’s room, the second was Tangtang’s room. The first room on the right was Su Juesheng’s room, the second was Su Juexiao’s room, and the third was Su Juesheng’s room.
To the left of the entrance was a place for storing firewood, which was neatly stacked. A little further was the kitchen. To the right of the entrance was a chicken coop that had been built, and then a space that had been reserved for a vegetable patch, which had not yet been cultivated.
Su Huimin had specially borrowed a tricycle and made two or three trips to finally move all the furniture from the old south room into the new house.
The empty house was filled with furniture. Golden corn cobs hung under the eaves, and spring couplets and lanterns were already hung on the door. Tangtang stuck red paper-cuts on the windows, and the small courtyard was soon filled with a festive and lively atmosphere.
Tangtang arranged the textbooks she had moved onto the desk one by one. Her room didn’t have a kang. In the corner was a small bed, one and a half meters wide, with a soft blue floral quilt on it. In front of the window was a desk, and there was also a dark brown standing wardrobe for clothes. The window lattice was painted green, and white hollowed-out curtains were hung. Just walking into this room, one could feel a fragrance filling the nose, making one feel comfortable and pleasant.
Tangtang lay down on the bed and took a deep breath of the fragrance from the quilt and pillow.
She also had her own room. It all felt so dreamlike and unreal.
After they had moved all their belongings to the new house, it started to snow again. Today was the first day in the new house. Thinking of eating something hot, Yu Juanfang had Su Huimin go to the meat stall at the village entrance to buy a catty of pork belly in the morning. She cut the green peppers she had bought a week ago into sections and made a fragrant dish of stir-fried pork with green peppers.
Next was to make noodles. Yu Juanfang scooped out half a ladle of white flour from a bag, beat in two or three eggs, stirred them, and then slowly added water, stirring the flour into a flocculent state before kneading it by hand. The dough didn’t have much water, so it was very firm when kneaded, but noodles made this way were also particularly chewy and delicious.
After kneading it enough, Yu Juanfang began to press the dough back and forth with a rolling pin. After rolling it out, she folded it up and repeated the process several times until the dough became a thin sheet. She took a kitchen knife and cut the folded dough into wider noodles.
“Mom, the water is boiling,” Tangtang reminded her mother.
This stove was newly built, well-ventilated and bright. The fire burned much more smoothly than the decades-old stove in the old house. The fire was strong and even.
Hearing this, Yu Juanfang quickly walked to the stove. She had already stir-fried lard, green onions, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce in the pot, so the pot was very flavorful. Yu Juanfang added the noodles she had just cut into the pot.
After a while, the noodles were cooked. She used a strainer to evenly scoop the noodles into large noodle bowls, added a spoonful of soup to each bowl, and finally topped it with the stir-fried pork with green peppers she had prepared earlier, and then called the family to eat.
At the round dining table, Tangtang picked up her chopsticks and mixed the stir-fried noodles with the stir-fried pork with green peppers on top. The bowl was full. She swallowed her saliva several times while mixing the noodles. Finally, after mixing the noodles, she eagerly slurped a mouthful.
“Mmm, mmm, these hand-pulled noodles with eggs are so fragrant,” Tangtang said indistinctly. Each noodle had absorbed the soup. With a light bite, the noodles bounced with a full, chewy texture.
Tangtang picked up another piece of pork belly. The fat had been rendered out, and it was crispy and not greasy at all. The green peppers were also delicious, crisp with a slight spiciness, just the right amount of heat.
Her dad, Su Huimin, had many books, but some he wouldn’t let the children read, while others he would actively give them to read.
After dinner, Tangtang helped wash the few bowls. After a simple wipe-down, she lay on the bed and read. The book in her hand was called The Secret of the Magic Gourd, which was mainly about a boy named Wang Bao and his story after getting a magic gourd. The story was full of wonder and novelty, and it was very interesting to read. At first, Tangtang also envied Wang Bao for having a magic gourd that could easily give him whatever he wanted, but later, with the appearance of various troubles, she also understood that getting something for nothing was not desirable.
“Tangtang.” Yu Juanfang knocked on the door and came in, holding a new set of pink clothes.
“These clothes are ready. Try them on to see if they fit. I’ll see if I need to alter them.”
Hearing this, Tangtang put down the book in her hand, took off her thick cotton-padded jacket, and changed into the newly made pink cotton-padded jacket. This jacket was even embroidered with peonies, looking very delicate and beautiful.
This was the second set of new clothes Yu Juanfang had made for her since the family was divided. In the past two years, she had always worn Wani’s old clothes. Since the family was divided and Yu Juanfang had saved up her own money, she no longer took the old clothes from Yu Yahong and directly made new ones for Tangtang.
“It fits perfectly. The Spring Festival is next year. You can wear new clothes for the New Year.” Yu Juanfang nodded with satisfaction and straightened the cotton-padded jacket. Tangtang had grown a lot in the past few years. She was no longer the thin and small girl she was when she first came to the Su family. In a blink of an eye, she had been at the Su family for four years.
Tangtang was a perceptive girl, smart and considerate. Although it was not Yu Juanfang’s intention to adopt her at first, after getting along for these few years, Yu Juanfang had already regarded her as her own daughter.
“Mom, thank you.” Tangtang reached out and hugged Yu Juanfang from behind.
She didn’t know why she said this. Perhaps it was because the New Year was approaching, and her heart was also filled with warmth and gratitude.
“Silly child, you are my daughter. It’s only right that I’m good to you. Study hard in the future and strive to make something of yourself.”
Tangtang nodded seriously, taking her words to heart.
“Mom, are we still going to make and sell braised meat next year?” Tangtang felt that it was too tiring for her mother to make braised meat while also working in the production team. In the past year, she had been doing it purely on the desire to save enough money to build a house quickly.
Moreover, the black market business was not without risks. Now that their family had moved into a new house and was not short of food or money, there was no need to take that risk anymore.
Yu Juanfang thought for a moment. “We won’t do it next year. I have to work in the production team during the day. Your older brothers are both in middle school, and you and Juesheng should also focus on your studies now. We don’t have enough hands, and we can’t manage. Your dad’s salary is enough to support our family of six.”
After building the house, Yu Juanfang still had over a hundred yuan left. In those days, you needed coupons for everything. The coupons issued to everyone were limited, and the available goods were scarce. It was useless to save so much money.
The sound of firecrackers crackling in her ears woke Tangtang up. She lifted the quilt, got out of bed, and rubbed her hands. A light snow was falling outside again. She blew on the window, and it immediately fogged up.
Tangtang couldn’t help but smile. She reached out and wiped the fog from the window, then put on her shoes and socks, changed into the new clothes Yu Juanfang had made for her yesterday, and then combed her hair smooth with her fingers, tying it into two small pigtails.
Last year, Yu Juanfang had bought a pink silk flower hair tie for Tangtang at the supply and marketing cooperative. She was usually reluctant to wear it. Today, it was just right to match this outfit. It looked beautiful and festive.
This year’s New Year’s Eve dinner was particularly sumptuous. Early in the morning, Yu Juanfang had Su Huimin catch a chicken from the chicken coop. Su Huimin didn’t dare to slit its throat, so Yu Juanfang had to do it. After she had drained the chicken’s blood, the water in the kitchen was also boiling. She scalded the chicken with boiling water, and the task of plucking the feathers was left to the children.
The New Year’s Eve dinner was chicken stewed with potatoes. The chicken, which had been stewed for over an hour, was soft and flavorful. The potatoes had absorbed the soup and were soft and flavorful. They also fried sweet potato and brown sugar pancakes. The outside was fried until crispy, and the brown sugar filling inside had melted, feeling so sweet it could reach the heart. There was also a dish of stir-fried shredded cabbage with vinegar, white radish cake, and a vegetable and egg drop soup. Four dishes and one soup were plentiful. The staple food was white, fragrant white flour buns.
Looking at the meal before him, Su Huimin was filled with emotion. He hadn’t expected that just by dividing the family, their life would improve so much. They had been treading water for the past decade. He now felt that breaking his leg back then was actually an opportunity. If he hadn’t broken his leg, how could this family have been successfully divided so quickly?
His throat felt a little choked. In the end, he chose to fill the wine glass in front of him and raised it.
Tangtang and the others couldn’t drink alcohol, so they drank orange water bought from the supply and marketing cooperative.
“Juanfang, thank you.”
Yu Juanfang raised her wine glass and drank it in one gulp. A thousand words were all in this glass of wine.
Su Juesheng stood up gracefully. “Dad, let’s have a toast as a family.”
“Good, good, good. Our family should have a toast.” Su Juesheng’s proposal was approved by Su Huimin.
Tangtang happily stood up, raised her wine glass, and clinked glasses with her parents and brothers. The orange water was so delicious, sweet and sour.
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Tangtang and Su Juesheng pestered Su Juesheng to tell them what Yuanlin County and Yuanlin Middle School were like. They had never been to a big place like the county town.
Su Juesheng had already been studying at Yuanlin Commune for a semester and only came home once a month. He knew that his younger brother and sister would be interested in the county town, so he had spent the weekend exploring the streets and alleys of the town.
“Yuanlin High School has about four hundred students. It’s actually not as big as you’d imagine. There’s a playground, classrooms, and dormitories. We usually have 12 people in one dormitory. There are students from all the communes. There might be one or two from well-off families, but basically, they are all children from ordinary rural families.”
“As for the county town, it’s much more interesting than the middle school. If you go out the back door of the school and walk along the road for a li or two, you’ll find the location of the various government offices. The county party committee office is very impressive. The roads are so clean it’s like another world. There are several retro-style buildings, and there are even stone lions at the entrance. I heard there’s also a large auditorium for meetings inside.”
“There’s also a library in the county. After getting a library card, you can go and read books for free. There are all kinds of storybooks and textbooks. You can read whatever you want.”
“There are a lot of people in the county town. You can see people everywhere. There are stalls selling cloth in front of the shops. The colorful cloth has more colors than our New Year’s clothes.”
Tangtang listened intently. “I will definitely go to school in the county town in the future. Then I’ll go to the library and borrow all the good books to read.”
Su Juesheng also rested his chin on his hand, his eyes full of longing. “I want to go too! Brother, when I grow up, I’ll go to school in the county town like you.”
Seeing them, Su Juesheng couldn’t help but smile. “As long as you study hard in the future, you will definitely be able to go to the county town. Maybe you can even go to bigger places.”