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Chapter 62

  Chapter 62

  The room warmed up quickly after the firepce was lit, and not just the living room—the temperature of the bedroom also rose.

  There was still some old rice at home, and after checking that it wasn't infested with bugs, they cooked a pot of porridge. The two of them had a simple dinner with pickles and pastries from Daoxiangcun.

  Although they spent three days on the train, they had traveled in soft sleeper css and weren't too tired, so they decided to tidy up the house. The nice house had been left empty for too long, but Zheng Sen might come often in the future since the vehicles from their forest farm would periodically come to Harbin.

  The bedding was still usable, since it had been stored properly, so there was no strange odor.

  Early the next morning, the two got up. They had already bought their tickets for the afternoon and pnned to visit Second Grandpa's house at noon to pay their New Year respects. This year, Second Grandpa hadn't gone back for the holidays, saying that all the children were coming home, especially his second son, who had managed to adjust his working schedule to be home for New Year's Eve.

  First, they went to buy some local specialties: red sausage, smoked fish, and rge loaves of bread. These were not only for Daniu's family but also for Zheng Sen to take back to his friends. These items were convenient as they could be eaten directly.

  At noon, they went to Second Grandpa's house, where only the elderly couple was home. The whole family worked on the railways, and the uncles and aunts were often on trains, so they rarely had time to meet. They brought some Beijing specialties for Second Grandpa, who was especially happy. He hadn't expected the eldest granddaughter of the family to find a partner so quickly. He had met Zheng Sen before and thought he was a fine young man. Since they had already visited his parents in Beijing, the matter was almost set in stone. He also said that they must tell him when they got married so he could come to attend the wedding.

  After lunch, they went to catch their train. Knowing someone at the railway station made it easier for them to board with their luggage, but there were no seats, so they had to stand all the way to Mo City.

  It was already evening when they arrived, but Zheng Sen had sent a telegram earlier to inform the forest farm, which had arranged for a vehicle to wait for them in Mo City, so they rode back.

  The journey back from Harbin was a bit tough, but overall, it went smoothly. However, the whole trip took almost four days and nights, which made Daniu really miss the high-speed trains of the future.

  They arrived home te at night, and Zheng Sen didn't go back but followed Daniu to her house. It was too te to disturb anyone, so Zheng Sen went to sleep on the north kang in the old man's room, and Daniu went back to the west room. The old man woke up after hearing the noise and was overjoyed to see Daniu and Zheng Sen, but he didn't say much, just told Zheng Sen to sleep on his kang. "The north kang hasn't been heated much; it's cold. Let's sleep together on this kang."

  "Alright, I'll sleep on Grandpa's kang," Zheng Sen said as he climbed onto the kang.

  Daniu quietly returned to her room, where Xiao Cui woke up. "Sister, you're back."

  Daniu gestured, "Go back to sleep; we'll talk tomorrow."

  Xiao Cui was just about to get up when Daniu pressed her back down so she needed and went back to sleep. Daniu spread out the mattress, covered herself with the bnket, and y down. Feeling the warmth beneath her, she let out a long sigh. Traveling was really not easy.

  She slept until a little past eight in the morning. When her mother came to the backyard, the old man was already up, and she saw Zheng Sen lying diagonally, sound asleep. "They're back; I didn't hear anything st night."

  "They took the afternoon train and got home in the middle of the night."

  "I'll go make breakfast; let them sleep a bit longer," Ma Hongmei said.

  Just as she went out, Xiao Cui came out dressed. "Mom, my sister is back."

  "I know. Go to the backyard and tell the others," Ma Hongmei said.

  "Okay, I'll go now."

  Daniu was woken up by the heat. Her mother had lit the fire in the morning, and it heated the kang.

  She got up, dressed, and just as she went out, she heard ughter from the west room. When she went over, she saw Zheng Sen sitting on the kang in his cotton-padded jacket, talking with her second brother. The second brother was sitting on the north kang, and a young woman was next to him, looking at them with a smile.

  "Second brother," Daniu called out, then looked at the woman. "This must be my second sister-in-w," Daniu said.

  "Hello," her second sister-in-w said with a smile.

  "This is your second sister-in-w; you two don't need to be so formal," Dakui said as he rubbed his goosebumps.

  Daniu smiled. "Second brother, you love to joke now that you got married."

  "Aren't you about to get married too?" Dakui had long been prepared for their marriage and wasn't too surprised when he heard the news after he returned home.

  "Big sister," Dazhi ran in from outside. "Sister, did you bring me any goodies? What's fun in Beijing?"

  Daniu tapped Dazhi's forehead. "You only think about eating; how could I forget you?"

  Daniu went to get the luggage, and Zheng Sen quickly got off the kang. "Don't strain your hand." He knew where everything was and quickly brought over the rge bag for the family. He opened it and started pulling things out: pastries from Beijing, first a rge box for the old man. "These are softer and will st; you can eat them slowly."

  "These are for you all; share them," Zheng Sen said as he took out two packs of candy, one of milk candies and one of chocotes, which Lin Zhibo had managed to get.

  Dazhi was about to take them when a rger hand intercepted them. He was about to protest, but when he saw it was his mother, he gave Zheng Sen an aggrieved look, but Zheng Sen only shrugged.

  "He can't have these all at once; we should eat them slowly," Ma Hongmei said to her youngest son. "Save them for ter."

  Zheng Sen also brought some fabric, which he distributed to the family. It was new patterns from Beijing that weren't avaible locally. He gave two pieces of fnnel to the sisters-in-w, enough to make a set of clothes. The other pieces of fabric he gave to Ma Hongmei to distribute as she saw fit. He also bought Nei Liansheng (Nei Liansheng (内联升) is a well-known Chinese brand specializing in traditional handmade shoes, particurly cloth shoes.) cloth shoes for the adult men in the family.

  Besides these, there was a whole ham that Lin Zhibo had packed, various cans bought from the marketing cooperative, and Maotai liquor bought with tickets, etc.

  When the bag was packed, it didn't seem very big, but when they unpacked it, it covered the entire kang.

  "Thank God you two are finally back. If you had been one day ter, your brother would have already left," Ma Hongmei said after breakfast as she and Daniu went to the backyard to put away the fabric.

  "Brother is leaving tomorrow?" Daniu asked.

  "Yes, he doesn't have much vacation time and must return tomorrow. He also needs to visit his in-ws. Since it's the first year of marriage, he should stay there for a few days during the New Year," Ma Hongmei said.

  "How is Second Sister-in-w?" Daniu asked.

  "She's quite good, with a nice personality. Although she's not as straightforward as your eldest sister-in-w, she doesn't beat around the bush either and handles things steadily. She's a city girl, so she is not quite used to the life here, but that's okay since it's unlikely your brother will come back anyway."

  Daniu nodded. Her second brother, being a soldier, wouldn't be coming back often, so they really wouldn't have much time together.

  "I've seen her. She's good at cooking and quite diligent. She knows how to manage a household, and she gets along well with your brother," Ma Hongmei added.

  "That's good," Daniu said.

  "By the way, Daniu, I was thinking that when your brother leaves tomorrow, I'll give your sister-in-w the cotton you brought back. Since she and your brother will be gone for a year or two, I thought that soft cotton would be good for her. If she has a baby, she can use it to make swaddling clothes or little outfits," Ma Hongmei discussed with her daughter.

  Daniu nodded. "You can do whatever you want with what I brought back. That cotton was also saved up by Zheng Sen's mom, and it's hard to come by now. If it's for swaddling clothes, let's make two for each of them—one for each sister-in-w. They might have trouble finding good cotton ter. Xiao Cui and I don't need those extra clothes anyway."

  Ma Hongmei thought for a moment. "Then let's hurry and make them. It's already past the fifth day of the New Year, so there's no taboo against sewing now."

  Once they decided, they acted quickly. Since her brother was leaving tomorrow, they had to make the most of the time. "Go to the front yard and call Xiao Cui over. Her needlework is fine and fast. I'll prepare the cotton, and she can sew."

  Daniu went to call Xiao Cui, and the two sisters-in-w, knowing the family was making something for them, followed along.

  "Yingchun, I'll make Yaqiong's first since they're leaving tomorrow. Yours will have to wait, but don't worry, nothing that is yours will be missing," Ma Hongmei said, concerned that her elder daughter-in-w might feel left out.

  "It's fine; I'm not in a hurry," Zhou Yingchun replied.

  The fine cotton cloth Daniu had brought back was originally for making undergarments for the women in the family. It was also provided by Zheng Sen's mother. The pure white fabric was for the lining, and they had some red floral cotton fabric at home, bought when they were preparing wedding quilts for the two couples. However, the red wasn't as vibrant as the fabric Daniu had bought in the county, so they had swapped it out. At the time, they had said it would be used for baby swaddling clothes, and now it was coming in handy.

  The baby hadn't arrived yet, and they didn't know when it would be born, so they made one thin and one thick quilt, which would surely be useful. Ma Hongmei was in a hurry because Dakui had mentioned during his visit that their unit might be relocated, which could disrupt communication. He was worried that the family might not receive letters and would be anxious without replies. However, Ma Hongmei thought further ahead, concerned that if the baby came and she couldn't go to help, the couple would have a hard time. She also wondered if they would even be able to send things by mail.

  With several women working together, the work went quickly, and the two quilts were finished without deying dinner. They would be enough for the child until they were five or six years old.

  That night, the family enjoyed a vish meal, all made from the ingredients Daniu had brought back from Beijing. There was ham stewed with dried bamboo shoots, lion's head meatballs with water chestnuts, potatoes with canned beef, and the roast duck they had brought back. Although the fvors weren't as good as the local dishes, they offered a unique taste, and the whole family got to try something new.

  Daniu and Zheng Sen, however, kept reaching for the pickled cabbage. The homemade pickled cabbage, stewed in bone broth with a rge slice of pork belly, was simply delicious.

  Since they pnned to invite Daniu's grandpas over in a couple of days to taste the fvors of Beijing, the meal, while varied, wasn't overly abundant. As the ptes were nearly empty, Daniu went out and cut a rge pte of smoked salmon and sausages they had brought from Harbin.

  "Here, sister-in-w, you haven't tried our smoked fish, have you? It's quite good," Daniu said, and pced the pte in front of her two sisters-in-w. She wanted to make sure they felt comfortable, unlike the boys, who didn't need such attention, as another rge pte was pced on the men's side.

  Before she could return to her seat, she heard two retching sounds. Turning around, she saw that both of her sisters-in-w turned their heads away and retched, looking very uncomfortable.

  Ma Hongmei gnced at them, and immediately her face lit up with joy.

  "Could you two be pregnant?" Ma Hongmei said, feeling more and more convinced as she looked at them. She quickly moved the pte of smoked fish aside.

  "Mom, what's going on?" Dali, who had been drinking, didn't catch on and asked with a red face.

  "What do you think? Dayong, you're fast; go find Auntie Wu. She knows how to check. Ask her to come over."

  Dayong quickly put on his shoes and hurried out.

  By now, the whole family had caught on, and the atmosphere was filled with excitement.

  "Mom, it's not confirmed yet, is it?" Zhou Yingchun said, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had actually missed her period before the New Year and had mentioned it to her mother, who had told her not to say anything until it was confirmed, to avoid making a fuss just for it to turn out to be a false arm.

  Over the New Year, she hadn't had any symptoms and had been fine eating fish earlier. But for some reason, the smell of the smoked fish with its salty fvor had suddenly made her feel nauseous.

  Zhou Yaqiong was in the same boat, but she was more certain. However, according to her family's customs, you shouldn't announce a pregnancy before three months, so she hadn't said anything.

  Auntie Wu arrived quickly. Besides being a matchmaker, she had a special skill—she could accurately determine pregnancy by feeling the pulse.

  When she entered the room, she first looked at the two women's complexions and was almost certain. Then she observed their figures and was even more convinced. Even though it was early, someone with experience could still detect subtle changes.

  "Let me check your pulses," she said, starting with Zhou Yingchun. After a moment, her smile widened. "Congratutions, you are pregnant."

  Dli jumped off the kang in excitement. "I'm going to be a dad?" He looked a bit dazed.

  Auntie Wu ignored him and moved on to check Zhou Yaqiong's pulse. As she did, she studied her carefully. She had only met her once before, and now she looked at her carefully and realized that she was a blessed child. "You're also pregnant. Wonderful, double happiness!"

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