After breakfast, the family of three, neatly dressed and carrying numerous bags of gifts, headed out.
The second day of the Lunar New Year was traditionally the day for married daughters to visit their parents’ homes. Combined with Jiang Qingning’s birthday, it was the perfect occasion for a lively gathering.
Su Guiying’s parents were also veteran employees of the cotton mill. However, the Su family home wasn’t in the same area as Jiang Qingning’s; they were separated by a factory zone, one in front and one in back. The Su family lived in Zhaojia Hutong near the East Gate.
That area was inhabited by long-time employees of the cotton mill, allocated housing back in the 1950s.
At that time, the No. 2 Cotton Mill had just been established. The factory director then had gone to great lengths to secure that particular stretch of well-built hutongs from under the nose of the No. 1 Cotton Mill.
Later housing allocated by the factory to employees were the newly built tube-shaped apartment buildings.
Initially, many people were quite taken with the idea of living in apartments. Several families even pulled strings to swap their places for units in the tube buildings.
They had running water, toilets, and were made of reinforced concrete—so convenient and sturdy!
But after living there for a few years, they realized the tube apartments weren’t as comfortable as the siheyuan (courtyard houses). Before, they might have complained about the many households in a courtyard, how noisy and crowded it was. But compared to the dozen-plus households crammed on a single floor of a tube building, the siheyuan felt positively tranquil!
Especially a few years back, when running water was finally connected to all the hutongs in this area—those who had swapped their homes were filled with regret.
The No. 2 Cotton Mill was a large factory. After decades of development, it was fully equipped, with its own hospital, school, stores, barbershop…
Along the way, they ran into familiar faces everywhere. It being the New Year, everyone greeted each other with smiles.
“Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year!Guiying, visiting your parents?”
“Oh!Qingning’s outfit is so festive! Looks like a little star from TV.”
Jiang Qingning was wearing a bright red down jacket. Su Guiying had taken her to Qianmen to buy it before the New Year. It cost 120 yuan—almost half a month’s wages for Su Guiying.
“Uncle Zhang, Happy New Year! Best wishes for the New Year!”
“Auntie Chen,Happy New Year! Wishing you happiness and great fortune in the coming year!”
“Auntie Zhao,Happy New Year! You look so beautiful today, I almost didn’t recognize you!”
“Wow,Uncle Qian, I heard your Xiaofang got first place in her exams. That’s amazing!”
“Grandpa Chen,Happy New Year! Wishing you good health.”
There wasn’t a single person Jiang Qingning didn’t know along the way. As she chatted, she would raise her plump, down-padded arms, folded in a polite bow. With her snow-white little face tilted up and a beaming smile, she looked utterly adorable.
“Ahaha! I’ll take your kind words, little lady!”
“Qingning,you sweet-talker! Here, Auntie gives you lucky money for peace throughout the year.”
Jiang Lifeng and Su Guiying walked behind, greeting people while watching their daughter with fond smiles. Both were quiet, honest folks who rarely spoke much. Who would have thought their daughter would turn out to be so articulate?
Whenever someone gave Jiang Qingning lucky money, the couple silently noted it down, planning to return the gesture when they later met those people’s children.
By the time they reached Grandma’s house, one pocket of Jiang Qingning’s down jacket was filled with several red envelopes, and the other was stuffed full of candy.
Ah, children love the New Year the most~
“Grandma! Grandpa! We’re here to wish you a Happy New Year!”
Jiang Qingning’s clear voice rang out in the courtyard even before she entered the house.
Grandma Su came out of the house with a chuckle, bending down to hug her granddaughter. “Oh, you came so early! Are you cold?” she asked with concern, feeling Jiang Qingning’s little hands. They were warm, which reassured her. She then greeted her daughter and son-in-law behind. “Come in, come in. Have you had breakfast? I’ll go make some noodles for you…”
“No need, Mom, we’ve already eaten,” Su Guiying quickly said.
Jiang Qingning chimed in, “Grandma, Daddy made noodles for me this morning. They were super yummy!”
Grandma Su nodded. “Alright, as long as you’ve eaten. We’ll have a feast at noon—Grandma stewed a big pork knuckle for you.” As she spoke, she led Jiang Qingning into the house by the hand.
A stove warmed the room, making it very cozy. As soon as they entered, Grandma squatted down to help Jiang Qingning take off her down jacket. “It’s warm in here. You have to take your coat off, or you might catch a chill going in and out between the cold and heat.”
“Oh my, why are your pockets so bulging? What’s inside?”
Jiang Qingning deliberately leaned her little head close to Grandma’s ear and whispered, “Grandma, this is the lucky money and candy I got from wishing people a Happy New Year just now. I’m giving it all to you.”
Her words made Grandma beam with delight. She affectionately patted the little girl’s forehead. “Our Qingning is so pretty. Everyone loves seeing her.” She tapped the jacket pockets and smiled. “Lucky money is for children. Grandma doesn’t need yours. Grandma prepared a big red envelope for you too. I’ll give it to you later.”
Jiang Qingning fished out some candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and held it to Grandma’s lips. “Thank you, Grandma! Here, have a candy. It’s so sweet.”
Grandma’s smile deepened the lines at the corners of her eyes. She gently pushed the candy back. “You eat it. Grandma feels even sweeter watching you eat it than eating it herself.”
While the grandmother and granddaughter were chatting affectionately, Su Guiying, familiar with the place, set down the things they’d brought on the living room coffee table. She glanced around the room and asked, “Mom, where’s Dad?”
“He went to the market. Should be back soon.”
“Ah?If you needed anything, you should have told me. It’s freezing out there; I worry about Dad slipping and falling.”
Jiang Lifeng quickly said,”I’ll go meet Dad,” and headed out.
Once her son-in-law had left, Grandma Su turned to her daughter, lowering her voice slightly. “Did you go to the Jiang family for dinner on New Year’s Eve?”
Su Guiying was pouring boiling water from the stove into a thermos. Without turning her head, she replied, “What kind of question is that? Which family doesn’t have dinner together on New Year’s Eve?”
Grandma Su, however, pursed her lips. “That cramped little place of the Jiangs—can a whole crowd of them even move around properly?”
Su Guiying paused. “Why wouldn’t they? Not to mention other places, right here in our factory compound, how many families have over a dozen people crammed into one apartment?”
“Other people’s places have at least two rooms. Who else is like his family, with men, women, old, and young all squeezed into one room…” “Mom!”Su Guiying sounded a bit angry. “Our family of three doesn’t live there! Qingning’s Third Uncle has his own place, Fifth Uncle usually stays in the school dormitory. At home, it’s just Qingning’s grandma, her aunt, and her Fourth Uncle and Aunt. How can you make it sound like a refugee camp?”
Grandma Su gave a light humph. “I doubt a refugee camp is any more cramped. I don’t worry about other people, I just feel sorry for our Qingning, having to squeeze into that shabby place.”
“How is it shabby!” Su Guiying set the thermos down on the table with a thump.
“Mommy, I’m thirsty.” Seeing the two on the verge of an argument, Jiang Qingning spoke up just in time to interrupt.
Su Guiying took a breath. “Alright, Mommy will get you some water.”
“Qingning’s thirsty? Grandma will get you a drink. We have soda. Do you want orange flavor or cola?” As she spoke, Grandma Su went into the inner room and brought out two glass bottles. “Your aunt brought over several crates before New Year. Said they’re foreign brands.”
Jiang Qingning pointed at the black bottle. “I want cola.” “Okay,Grandma will warm both bottles up for you. We can drink them slowly.” “No,I don’t want it warmed,” Jiang Qingning refused, shaking her head. Who drinks warm cola?
Grandma Su looked concerned. “But… drinking cold things in winter will upset your stomach. Grandma will put them in hot water to warm them up a bit.” Jiang Qingning shook her head again.”No, I don’t want it warm. I want it cold.” Su Guiying cleared her throat.”Qingning, be good.” Jiang Qingning pouted.”O…kay,” she said, very reluctantly.
How could Grandma bear to see her granddaughter unhappy? Grandma Su immediately said, “Well, it’s warm in here. The drinks don’t need to be heated. Grandma will warm them up for you with her hands.”
Jiang Qingning was delighted. “Okay, thank you, Grandma! You’re the best to me. I love you the most!”
“Grandma loves you the most too.” She led her granddaughter to sit on the living room sofa. “Come, let’s rest and watch some TV.”
The Su family’s home was a three-room main house in an old-style siheyuan, very spacious.
Grandpa Su was an accountant at the factory. Grandma Su’s family had run a tailor shop for generations. After Liberation, she entered the cotton mill and was soon rated as a Grade Five worker. When housing was allocated, the couple had a significant advantage and were assigned two rooms in the main house of this siheyuan.
Over a decade ago, when the eldest Su child, Su Guilin, joined the factory, he was also allocated housing—a unit in a tube building behind the factory zone. At the time, tube apartments were still quite coveted, so he swapped his room with the occupant of the adjacent one. That’s how all three rooms of the main house ended up belonging to the Su family.
Grandma Su turned on the TV, then grabbed sugar-roasted sunflower seeds, sugar-roasted chestnuts, milk candies, and preserved fruits from the TV cabinet, piling a plate high and placing it on the coffee table.
Jiang Qingning lounged lazily on the sofa watching TV, taking a sip of soda and a bite of snacks now and then.
Soon, a robust voice came from outside: “Qingning, come see what Grandpa bought you!”
Hearing this, Jiang Qingning tumbled off the sofa with a whoosh and darted outside.
In the courtyard, Grandpa Su wore a slightly worn military overcoat and a black felt cap. He wasn’t tall, and the long cotton coat almost dragged on the ground. Smiling at his little granddaughter running out, he said, “Qingning, look at how big this fish is!”
Beside him, the tall and sturdy Jiang Lifeng held up a bighead fish, a full meter long.
“Wow! What a huge fish!”
Jiang Qingning’s mouth fell open in surprise, her face full of curiosity as she circled around her father to look at the fish. She was currently 1.2 meters tall, and the fish, if stood upright, would be almost as tall as she was.
“Qingning, put your coat on quickly before you catch a chill!” Grandma came chasing out with the down jacket, helping her granddaughter into it while scolding her husband beside her. “You too, calling the child out in such cold weather!”
Grandpa Su chuckled and scratched his head. “I wanted her to see it! Once this fish comes inside and thaws, it’ll drip bloody water.”
Su Guiying also came out. Seeing such a large fish, she exclaimed, “Dad, where did you buy such a big fish?”
Grandpa Su smiled. “Playing chess with Old Li the other day, he told me someone was bringing several truckloads of freshly caught fish from Beidaihe to the Dongdan Market today. Goodness, when I got there, there were only two trucks! Luckily, I went early. A moment later, and I wouldn’t have gotten any.”
Grandma Su added, “Your dad left home at five thirty this morning.”
In Beijing during this season, the sky doesn’t lighten until around seven.
“Dad, really… Going to fight over fish in such cold weather, weren’t you afraid of falling?” Su Guiying felt a pang of worry just thinking about it. “Even if we didn’t have this fish, it wouldn’t matter. Why go through all that trouble, getting up so early before dawn? Even the street sweepers weren’t out yet. Weren’t you afraid of slipping?”
Grandpa Su, however, said, “Hey, I wasn’t buying it for you. I wanted to get up that early.”
Jiang Qingning looked up and asked, “Grandpa, did you buy this fish for me to eat?” “Of course I did,”Grandpa Su replied with a smile. “Today is our little lady’s birthday. Such a big occasion calls for celebrating with something special.” “Thank you,Grandpa!” Jiang Qingning hopped over to Grandpa Su’s side. “Grandpa, you love me the most. When I grow up, I’ll buy a huge fish for you to eat too!” She stretched her arms out wide to illustrate.
“Haha, so I’m going to enjoy the blessings of our little lady! Well then, I’ll be eagerly waiting for that day!” Grandpa Su laughed heartily.
After admiring the big fish for a while, Grandma Su began urging them, “Alright, let’s get back inside. It’s too cold out here.” She then led Jiang Qingning back into the house.
Jiang Lifeng carried the fish over to the faucet to clean it. The weather was freezing, so the faucet and pipes were wrapped in thick layers of cloth to prevent the water from freezing.
Su Guiying called out to her husband, “Wait a moment. Let me get a thermos of hot water to mix in. The tap water is too cold.” “It’s fine,I’m not cold,” Jiang Lifeng replied with a grin, reaching for the faucet handle.