“And this is…” Xing Zhaozhao inquired.
“Oh, this is Zhang Zhiqing,” Aunt Hao introduced with a smile.
Then she turned to Zhang Zhiqing and said, “Wenming, come, let me introduce you. This is the wife of the Gao family’s second son, Mingcheng, whom I mentioned to you before. You can call her Sister-in-law Xing.”
Zhang Zhiqing smiled at Xing Zhaozhao and greeted, “Sister-in-law Xing.”
Xing Zhaozhao nodded and responded, “Ah, hello.”
After that, Aunt Hao brought Xing Zhaozhao into the house to sit down and poured brown sugar water for her and Hongfei.
Not seeing Hongyu, she asked curiously, “Why didn’t you bring Little Hongyu along?”
Xing Zhaozhao told her about their trip into the mountains yesterday afternoon: “He’s too mischievous. Usually, it’s fine, but he wouldn’t settle down even in the mountains. If something really happened, wouldn’t it break my heart? I made him stay home alone to reflect on his behavior.”
Aunt Hao nodded in agreement: “That’s the right thing to do. The mountains are nothing like the village. If something happens there, you might not even find a trace of bones left.”
“But why did you suddenly think of going into the mountains at this time? In the middle of winter, animals are nearly extinct. What could you possibly find?” Aunt Hao asked.
“I just set up my own household, and we have nothing at home. I wanted to find something, anything, to let the two children have a treat,” Xing Zhaozhao explained.
“Did you find anything?” Aunt Hao asked with a smile.
Xing Zhaozhao smiled mysteriously without speaking, directly taking the small basket from Hongfei’s back and pulling out the handful of wild raspberries stored inside.
Aunt Hao’s eyes lit up at the sight: “Oh, you actually found these in the mountains in this season?”
“Discovered a treasure trove,” Xing Zhaozhao said with a laugh.
Aunt Hao gave her a disapproving look: “You must have gone quite deep into the mountains, didn’t you? If it were just the outskirts, they would have been picked clean long ago, and you wouldn’t have had a chance. You’re really bold—there are wild beasts deep inside. Aren’t you afraid something might happen, especially with a child along?”
Xing Zhaozhao brushed it off: “In this season, if you don’t go deeper, where would you find anything? But I grew up following my dad and brother, running around in the mountains and forests. I’m used to it and have experience, Auntie. You don’t need to worry.”
“Regardless, you have three children. You can’t be careless,” Aunt Hao said, pushing the wild raspberries she had taken out back toward her. “Such precious things, you should keep them at home for your two children to eat. Why bring them here?”
Xing Zhaozhao pushed the wild raspberries back: “I found quite a lot this time. There are still some at home; we’re not short of these. It’s rare to find them in this season, so let Little Qiangzi have a taste too.”
Hearing Xing Zhaozhao mention her little grandson, Aunt Hao hesitated for a moment but then accepted cheerfully: “Alright then, I’ll thank Auntie Xing on Little Qiangzi’s behalf.”
After saying that, she called Hao Xiuning, who was helping look after the child in the inner room: “Your Sister-in-law Xing brought these for Little Qiangzi. Go wash them and let him have a taste.”
Hao Xiuning’s eyes immediately lit up when she saw the vibrant handful of wild raspberries, looking at Xing Zhaozhao in surprise: “Where did you find these, Sister-in-law?”
“In the mountains. They were hard to find, but I got lucky. Brought some over for you all to try,” Xing Zhaozhao replied with a smile.
“Thank you, sister-in-law.” Hao Xiuning said, then carried the wild raspberries to the kitchen to wash them with water. She divided them into several small bowls—one bowl she brought into the room for Little Qiangzi, one she left for her elder brother and sister-in-law who weren’t home, one she placed on the table, and another bowl she shyly carried outside. “I’ll take this for Dad to try.”
Though she claimed it was for her father, after feeding him a couple of berries, she immediately crouched beside Zhang Zhiqing and pressed the remaining berries along with the bowl into his hands.
Zhang Zhiqing looked at her in surprise, saying something as if he wanted to decline and return the bowl to her.
Hao Xiuning shot him a playful glare, replied with something, then turned and went back inside without another word.
Watching Hao Xiuning leave, Zhang Zhiqing’s face broke into a gentle, happy smile. He lowered his head and slowly savored the wild raspberries she had given him, eating them one by one.
Xing Zhaozhao and Aunt Hao, sitting inside the room, had witnessed the entire scene.
“A grown daughter cannot be kept at home forever,” Aunt Hao sighed, shaking her head. However, the smile on her face showed she was quite pleased with how things were unfolding.
Xing Zhaozhao frowned slightly as she looked at Zhang Zhiqing, feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
“Why do I feel like I’ve never seen this Zhang Zhiqing before?” she wondered aloud.
Having returned to her hometown for nearly a year, she had met almost all the educated youth at the settlement and couldn’t recall anyone named Zhang Zhiqing.
“Zhang Zhiqing only arrived in our village half a month ago. You were still in postpartum confinement at that time, so you really haven’t met him. But I did mention to you that new educated youth had come to the settlement—have you forgotten?” Aunt Hao said.
Xing Zhaozhao then remembered that indeed, there had been such an occurrence.
“This Zhang Zhiqing is quite unusual. It’s rare for someone to blend in so well with your family in just half a month,” she remarked with some surprise.
Most educated youth couldn’t handle much work when they first arrived in the countryside. Moreover, due to differences in their original living environments, there was often a gap between them and the locals. For someone like Zhang Zhiqing to integrate so actively in just half a month, even taking a liking to a village girl and seemingly planning to settle down permanently, was exceedingly rare.
Aunt Hao chuckled. “It is rare indeed. This must be fate. Our Da Han and my husband went to pick up this batch of educated youth. Coincidentally, Xiuning was on her way back from town after visiting her brother and hitched a ride with them. That’s how they took a liking to each other. Not long after settling in, Zhang Zhiqing came to our house to introduce himself. Since then, he’s often come by to help with chores. Even the brigade leader has praised him. Among all the educated youth who’ve come and gone in the village, none have been as proactive as him.”
“Xiuning is already 18. It’s not easy to meet someone suitable. I’m thinking of observing them a bit longer. If there are no issues, after the New Year, we’ll have them officially commit,” Aunt Hao continued.
“So soon? Isn’t that a bit rushed?” Xing Zhaozhao asked with concern.
Aunt Hao shook her head. “It’s not rushed at all. After they commit, there’s still the betrothal process and wedding preparations to arrange. Since Zhang Zhiqing’s family isn’t from here, we’ll need to write letters to inform his elders. Back and forth, it’ll take at least a year or more.”
Since it was someone else’s family matter, Xing Zhaozhao didn’t feel it was her place to say much. She casually agreed with a couple of remarks and let the matter drop.
“By the way, didn’t you say you needed my help with something?” Aunt Hao suddenly remembered and asked.
“Yes, Auntie. Do you still have any dried mushrooms and dried wild vegetables? I’d like to trade for some,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
“If you want to eat them, I’ll just pack some for you to take home. No need for trading,” Aunt Hao replied, standing up to fetch the jars containing dried mushrooms and dried wild vegetables from the kitchen.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head. “That won’t do. I need quite a lot – I can’t let you suffer the loss.”
Aunt Hao brought the jars from the kitchen. “How much is ‘quite a lot’?”
Xing Zhaozhao then brought over Hongfei’s small carrying basket and opened the rice bag placed at the very bottom. “I’d like to trade with this. You decide the exchange rate – whatever you think is fair.”
Aunt Hao’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the snow-white refined rice in the bag.