When Wu Jun returned home, his grandparents were out. He put down the supplies he was carrying and, after thinking for a moment, summoned his refrigerator. He added some pork, beef, and a few apples. After organizing everything, he checked his watch. Seeing that his grandparents still hadn’t returned, he decided to go out and look for them.
Just as he was about to leave, the courtyard gate opened. His grandparents came in together, carrying a small clay pot. Wu Jun hurried over to greet them. “Grandpa, Grandma, where did you go? You were gone so long I was about to come looking for you.” As he spoke, he took the clay pot from his grandfather and opened it. Inside was his aunt-in-law’s signature pickled cabbage. This kimchi was made by pickling napa cabbage for just three days, resulting in a spicy, appetizing flavor.
“Grandpa, did you just come from Uncle’s house?”
“Yes, your uncle wanted to discuss something with me. After the New Year, a group of educated youths will be sent to our brigade. But the last blizzard collapsed the educated youth dormitory, and now he’s worried about where to house them. The last batch had few people, so they were arranged to stay at Liuwan Brigade because there was no housing. That probably won’t work this time. From what people at Liuwan Brigade say, these educated youths don’t work hard and spend all their time thinking about frivolous things. He’s afraid they’ll corrupt the brigade’s atmosphere once they arrive.”
“That’s just the policy—there’s no way around it. Does Uncle have any idea how to house the educated youths?” Wu Jun thought about all the absurd antics these educated youths would get up to later and found it somewhat speechless.
“As things stand, they’ll likely be housed with the commune members first. Once the ground thaws in spring, they’ll build a new dormitory for them. Right now, I just hope they don’t assign too many female comrades to our village. Women are harder to accommodate.” Grandpa Wu said helplessly.
“Don’t you two worry about it. Shengli will figure it out—he’s known far and wide as a capable man. Old man, come take a look at the supplies Jun brought back. Why did they give so much meat this year? And there’s beef—that’s really rare. It’s been years since I’ve had beef.”
Wu Jun smiled a little guiltily. “Factory Director Hua took care of us. This time, the benefits are the same as what the factory’s regular workers get, so there’s more meat. Grandma, tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s use this beef to make dumplings. I haven’t had them in so long.”
Grandpa Wu looked at the large amount of meat and felt a faint suspicion stir in his heart. He wondered if his grandson had resorted to speculation and black-marketeering. Even a regular factory worker—or even the factory director himself—probably couldn’t get this much meat. His grandson was the only descendant left in the family. They had enough to eat and drink. There was no need to take such risks.
“Old woman, we’ve both eaten. Go make some dough drop soup for Jun in the kitchen. Jun, come inside with Grandpa. I have something to ask you.” With that, the old man walked into the main hall with his hands behind his back.
“Grandpa, what did you want to talk to me about?” Wu Jun knew his grandfather was suspicious, but he couldn’t bear to let his elderly grandparents eat poorly just because of that. He wanted his grandparents to live long, happy lives.
“Be honest with me. Where did this meat come from? Did you go to the black market?”
“Grandpa, trust me. I haven’t done anything dangerous. I’m going to tell you something now, but please stay calm and don’t get upset.” With that, he summoned the refrigerator. Watching his grandfather’s eyes widen, he said, “The factory only gave one catty of pork. The rest came from here.”
Grandpa Wu stared in disbelief as Wu Jun opened the refrigerator and showed him all the various ingredients inside. “Jun… what is this iron contraption? How did you make it appear? And how is there so much food inside?”
Wu Jun didn’t dare reveal the full truth about his rebirth. But regarding the refrigerator, he felt he could let his grandfather know everything. Since they lived together, being honest about the refrigerator’s existence would allow them to use its ingredients to improve their meals together. So Wu Jun explained to his grandfather, in terms he could understand, how to use the refrigerator and the fact that the supplies inside could be infinitely refreshed.
“So you’re saying… after the meat is used up, more meat will appear? This won’t make people sick, will it?” Grandpa Wu was full of doubt about this unfamiliar iron contraption.
“Grandpa, don’t worry. I’ve already tested it. Everything inside is safe. Last time I went to the county town, I sold some of the meat from inside to get those fabrics.”
Grandpa Wu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, “Since you’ve already tested it, Grandpa will trust you. But we live in a village after all, and people occasionally drop by. When you use this iron contraption, be careful not to let the villagers discover it. Coincidentally, your Uncle’s German shepherd just had a litter of puppies that haven’t been given away yet. After you finish your soup, go bring one back. With all this food you have, you can certainly raise it well. It can keep watch for you and alert you when strangers approach.”
Wu Jun’s heart swelled with joy at the thought of getting a puppy. In his past life, his family had barely scraped by—they never had enough surplus food to keep a pet. Back then, he had envied Brother Hongqi. Suppressing his excitement, he slurped down his soup in a hurry and dashed off toward the brigade captain’s house.
“Brother Hongqi, open up! It’s Jun!”
“Jun, it’s so late. What do you need?”
“Brother Hongqi, where are your puppies? I want to take one home to raise.”
“Come with me. They just turned a month old today. Did Grandpa agree to let you have one?” Hongqi knew his younger cousin loved his dogs, but Grandpa had always refused to let him have one, worried that he wouldn’t take good care of a puppy.
“Grandpa agreed. I’m going to pick the most majestic and sturdy one to raise—it’ll definitely be better than yours!” Wu Jun said, a little annoyed at his cousin’s teasing.
When they reached the doghouse, Wu Jun saw a brown-black Chinese rural dog, over a meter long. Nursing at her side were five puppies that looked just like their mother, their tiny mouths working as they eagerly swallowed milk. As he watched more closely, he noticed something unusual. Beneath the pile of five puppies’ bodies, a sixth gray puppy was pressed down. Compared to its littermates, it looked so small and delicate. It struggled to move out from under their bodies, but after several attempts, it couldn’t push off the mountain of siblings on top of it and could only whimper softly.
“Brother Hongqi, why is this little one a different color from its littermates?”
Hongqi was equally puzzled. “I don’t know either. This time, little Hua gave birth to six puppies. This gray one was the last to come out. It was a full circle smaller than the others from birth, and its color was different too. If I hadn’t watched them all being born, I would’ve thought this gray puppy came from a different litter. Mom said it’s probably too small to survive, so she didn’t pay it much attention. But it’s held on until now—it just can never get any milk.”
Wu Jun looked at the tiny gray puppy and knew that if it stayed here, it probably wouldn’t last much longer. “Brother, I want this gray one. I’ll take good care of it and keep it alive.”
“Jun, this little gray one looks like it won’t make it. Why don’t you take one of the others? Didn’t you say you wanted a majestic and sturdy one? Or better yet, take two. If the gray one doesn’t survive, you’ll still have another.”
“Brother, no need. I’ll take the gray puppy.”
“Are you sure? People will be coming by in the next few days to ask for these puppies. They’ll probably be gone soon.”
“Brother, I’m sure. I’ll raise this little one well,” Wu Jun said firmly.
Seeing that his younger cousin wouldn’t change his mind, Hongqi didn’t argue further. He got a small basket lined with clean straw, bent down, and gently picked up the tiny creature, placing it inside. “For the first few days, try feeding it some rice gruel or something similar. Otherwise, it’ll be hard to keep alive.” Hongqi thought to himself that his cousin’s family was relatively well-off; they could spare some rice gruel, which should be enough to keep the little thing alive.
Wu Jun carefully took the basket with the small puppy, thanked his cousin, and headed home.