Chen Xiaolin took a soccer ball out of her space again. She planned to give it to Gou Dan. She had only dared to give it because she had seen a similar one at the department store. As for Shi Tou, she decided to give him a toy.
She then took a small wooden horse out of her space—these toys were all ones Chen Xiaolin had stockpiled in Yiwu.
Just as she packed everything into a bag, she heard Grandma Chen talking to Chen Mu outside.
Chen Xiaolin carried the large bag out of her room. “Big brother, come help me! It’s really too heavy.”
“What’s in this? Why is it such a huge bag?” Chen Mu turned around when he heard Xiaolin calling him, almost startled out of his wits. All he saw were two legs walking under a giant bag straight toward him.
“Just carry it over first, you’ll know in a moment,” Chen Xiaolin said. She really couldn’t hold it any longer. Although the items weren’t that heavy individually, once packed, the bag was so big she couldn’t manage it alone.
“Xiao Mu, why aren’t you helping your sister yet? Stop dawdling!” Grandma Chen slapped Chen Mu on the shoulder when he hesitated to ask questions.
After Chen Mu took the bag, Chen Xiaolin finally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t extremely heavy, but holding it for so long had made her arms sore.
“Xiaolin, are you hungry? I’ve already set aside meals for you and your brother to eat together.” Grandma Chen had originally planned to start lunch when Xiaolin got back, but the others had to return to work in the afternoon. So she set aside meals for the siblings, letting the rest eat first. Grandma Chen, not seeing Xiaolin return, hadn’t had the heart to eat either, keeping her food warm in the pot.
“Let’s go then! I’m starving. Grandma, you haven’t eaten either, have you?” Chen Xiaolin had just heard Grandma Chen’s stomach growling and realized she must have skipped her meal waiting for her. Xiaolin decided to come back earlier next time she went up the mountain.
After lunch with Grandma Chen, Chen Xiaolin and Chen Mu returned to find everyone who had been resting in their rooms up and about.
Seeing Xiaolin, everyone came over to ask if she had gone up the mountain that morning.
Seeing everyone gathered, Xiaolin quickly dragged the large bag Chen Mu had helped carry.
“Wait a moment, everyone. I brought gifts for all of you this time.
Grandpa, this military coat is for you—keep it for winter. It’s much warmer than your cotton-padded jacket.
Aunt, this is a military coat for Uncle and a uniform for you. These were worn by my parents, I hope you don’t mind that they aren’t new.
Here’s some fabric especially for my eldest sister-in-law, and these are liberation shoes for my big brother. I remember he wears size 43—hope I remembered correctly.
Grandma, this cotton jacket is for you. I had it custom-made by a tailor in the capital. Go try it on quickly.
This soccer ball is for Gou Dan, the wooden horse for Shi Tou. Big sister-in-law, please keep them for them for now.
And these are my second brother’s liberation shoes. Grandma, hold onto them for now, and give them to him when he comes back tonight.”
To avoid affecting everyone’s work, Chen Xiaolin immediately distributed the gifts.
Everyone was happy to receive their gifts, except Liu Xiaojuan, who stomped off angrily.
Chen Xiaolin didn’t care what Liu Xiaojuan thought. Let her be angry! They didn’t live under the same roof, so it wouldn’t be easy for Liu Xiaojuan to make trouble for her in the future.
Grandpa Chen was overjoyed holding the military coat Xiaolin gave him. Although he already had one, it was old and not very warm.
Grandma Chen immediately took the coat from Grandpa. He wasn’t worried since it was almost time to go to work.
Aunt Chen returned her things to the room and noticed that nobody had left for work yet. “Hurry up, everyone! Work time is almost here. Put your things back!”
Hearing Aunt Chen, everyone quickly put down their belongings and went off to work.
After everyone left, Chen Xiaolin returned home.
She didn’t plan to go up the mountain that afternoon. Instead, she decided to cut the weeds in the backyard garden and prepare the soil to plant cabbage and radishes.
By the time Grandma Chen brought Shi Tou and Gou Dan to find her, she had finished cutting the weeds and was digging the soil with a hoe.
The ground was really hard. If Chen Xiaolin hadn’t been training in martial arts recently, she probably wouldn’t have been able to dig it.
“Xiaolin, what are you doing? Are you planning to plant vegetables?” Grandma Chen saw Xiaolin digging and felt her heart ache. What had her little granddaughter, spoiled since childhood, gone through to be able to endure this?
“Yes, Grandma. I saw how big the backyard is, so I thought I’d clear some soil to plant more vegetables to eat.” Chen Xiaolin kept working while speaking. It was almost an acre, and she aimed to finish it today and plant the vegetables.
“You could wait until your brother comes back from work this afternoon. After he received such a big gift from you today, it’s only fair he does more work.” Grandma Chen thought Xiaolin didn’t want to trouble anyone after yesterday’s events. She was now so annoyed with Liu Xiaojuan, who constantly meddled and obsessed over others’ things.
“My brother works so hard every day. How could I wait for him to come back? Grandma, don’t worry, I can handle this. I’ve been practicing martial arts with my father since childhood—digging this little patch isn’t hard for me,” Chen Xiaolin said, understanding Grandma Chen didn’t want her to suffer, but she could endure it.
“Sigh! You’re too stubborn. What vegetables do you want to plant? We still have seeds for cabbage, radish, spinach, and celery. I’ll go get them for you.” Grandma Chen left Shi Tou and Gou Dan to play and went next door for the seeds. Xiaolin didn’t even try to stop her—she had plenty of seeds in her own space and didn’t plan to use Grandma Chen’s.
Gou Dan was overjoyed with the soccer ball from his little aunt. He wanted to go out to show it off to his friends, but Great-Grandma wouldn’t let him. He had to stay home and play with his little brother, which he didn’t enjoy at all because the little one kept crying.
Chen Xiaolin couldn’t help laughing at his sighs. She couldn’t understand how such a tiny person could have so many worries. “Gou Dan, what’s the matter?”
“Sigh! Grandma won’t let me go out. It’s so annoying. Little Aunt, I really love the soccer ball you gave me today. Thank you!” Gou Dan’s favorite person now was his little aunt—she gave him candy and a soccer ball.