In recent years, natural disasters have become more and more frequent.
The year before last, it started snowing in the north as early as autumn. It kept snowing for several months straight. Not a single grain was harvested from the fields, and later a severe snow disaster broke out. Countless people starved or froze to death.
…
Wanxia Village is a small village under Tongjiang Town, Guangping County, Qingzhou Prefecture. It is remote, so remote that even wars outside rarely affect it.
How remote is it? It takes a full four hours of walking on mountain roads just to get to the town.
Information travels slowly. By the time news of the snow disaster in the north reached here, two years had already passed.
The setting sun hung slanted in the west, and golden light spread across the land, adding a bit of warmth to the green mountains and waters.
When Old Man Zhao and his eldest son returned to the village carrying two large, fully loaded baskets, smoke was already rising from the kitchens of every household.
Someone with sharp eyes spotted them and quickly ran out of the kitchen, shouting to the neighbors, “Uncle Dagen and Dashan are back!”
Old Man Zhao set down his load under the big tree at the village entrance. Before he could rest, he was immediately surrounded by a group of older women, chattering nonstop until his head hurt. Some of them even reached into the baskets without asking. Furious, he shouted in his hoarse, dry voice, “Don’t touch! If you mess it up, how am I supposed to divide things? Sister Wu, you’re still reaching in? Do you want me to say it again? If you keep digging around, don’t blame me for hitting you with this pole!”
The road to the town is too difficult. Unless there is something important, villagers usually do not leave.
So whenever someone goes to town, others ask them to bring things back—coarse salt for daily use, needles and thread for the women, or malt candy that children beg for. No one ever returns empty-handed.
Old Man Zhao used to be one of those who asked others to bring things back. But ever since his youngest daughter was born, he goes to town every ten days or half a month. Even if it’s just to buy her a candied hawthorn stick, he is willing to walk for hours.
This time, however, it wasn’t for candy. The family had saved up a lot of eggs, so he took his eldest son to sell them at the market and also see if they could find some temporary work.
The autumn harvest had just ended. Because the weather was bad this year, the yield was poor. After working for seven or eight days to bring in the crops, once they dried and bagged them and counted everything—after setting aside the portion for taxes—what remained made his heart sink.
Every household had a bad harvest this year. The hardworking men would rest a few days after the harvest and then go to town to look for work. But their family had no connections in town. After wandering around twice, they found nothing and were even looked down upon by a snobbish steward, who spat at them and drove them away.
Seeing that it was getting late, the father and son sold the eggs, bought coarse salt, soy sauce, and sewing supplies for the villagers, and also bought a pack of malt candy for the youngest daughter waiting eagerly at home. Then they hurried back.
After walking all day without finding work, Old Man Zhao was already in a bad mood. Seeing people crowd around and rummage through the baskets made him even angrier. He slammed his carrying pole on the ground and shouted, “Line up! Everyone line up properly! You—Erzhu’s wife—take your hands back! If you damage someone else’s things, you’ll pay for it!”
Erzhu’s wife quickly pulled back her hand and said awkwardly, “Sixth Uncle, I’ve got a fire going at home. I was just in a hurry. Don’t be angry…”
Old Man Zhao holds a senior position in the village. Even though Erzhu’s wife looks about the same age as him, she still has to call him “uncle.”
With his stern face, the other women didn’t dare argue anymore. They lined up properly and waited as he distributed the items.
The village entrance became very lively.
The two baskets were packed full, and carrying them back was not easy. Old Man Zhao had a good memory and quickly divided everything clearly. He didn’t want to hear their polite chatter, so after finishing, he waved them all away, his head buzzing with a headache.
After resting for a while on a stone stool, he and his eldest son walked home in the fading sunlight.
The Zhao family lived at the end of the village, backed by a mountain, with a forest on the left, vegetable fields on the right, and a small path leading to the village in front. Across several rice fields and slopes, you could faintly see a few other houses.
In the bamboo-fenced yard, a few hens were pecking at vegetable stalks.
Nearby, a tall, sturdy man was chopping firewood with an axe. Behind him, smoke rose from the kitchen, where two figures were busy cooking.
Seeing them return, Zhao Ertian turned his head and called out, “Dad, big brother.”
The yard gate was open. Old Man Zhao walked in, set down the baskets, and said to his eldest daughter-in-law in the kitchen, “Bring me a ladle of water. I’m thirsty.”
He wiped his sweat with a towel from his neck. They had finished all the water they brought, and his lips were so dry they could crack and bleed. Sitting heavily on a chair under the eaves, he asked his second son, who was chopping wood, “Why is it so quiet today? Where are those little troublemakers? And Xiaobao? Why isn’t anyone home?”
Last night, Xiaobao heard he was going to town and clung to his leg, insisting on going with him. He had to promise to buy her malt candy to calm her down. He thought she would be waiting eagerly at home, but now it was almost dark and she was nowhere to be seen.
Seems like she’s had too much candy and doesn’t even care anymore!
Before Zhao Ertian could answer, Mrs. Zhu came out with two bowls of cool water and said with a smile, “It was too hot in the afternoon, so they stayed inside. Later, the kids got restless and took Xiaobao into the mountains, saying they’d dig out rabbit holes to add some meat to the family meals. It’s shady in the woods, and Third Brother was cutting firewood there too. If anything happened, they could call out, so Mother let them go.”
Old Man Zhao and Zhao Dashan took the bowls and drank them down in big gulps, clearly very thirsty.
After resting for a bit, seeing that it was getting dark, Old Man Zhao couldn’t sit still. He walked out of the yard, passed the vegetable field, and climbed up the slope behind the house.
He stood outside the forest and shouted loudly, “My little one…”
“Xiaobao…”
“It’s getting dark—time to come home…”
After calling for about half a quarter of an hour, a response came faintly from the mountain. A childish voice echoed through the trees, “Dad! Dad! Xiaobao is coming back!”
Soon came the sound of running, along with laughter and shouting. With his sharp eyes, Old Man Zhao soon saw five sturdy boys running out of the forest. In front, Zhao Xiao Wu carried a chubby little girl on his back. He was running so fast that she was grinning widely, laughing happily.
“Dad!”
Seeing Old Man Zhao, Zhao Xiaobao—who was holding tightly onto her nephew’s neck—brightened up. She patted Zhao Xiao Wu’s shoulder, urging him to run faster.
Old Man Zhao smiled widely, showing all his teeth. Seeing his eldest grandson charging downhill like a calf, he shouted in alarm, “Slow down! Slow down! Don’t let your aunt fall!”
Even as he spoke, his legs moved on their own, hurrying forward with his arms outstretched. Smiling warmly, he said, “Oh, my Xiaobao! So happy to see Dad, huh? Look at that bright smile… Be good, slow down. Dad bought you malt candy. Let’s go home and eat something sweet.”
When Zhao Xiao Wu reached him, he immediately got a slap on the arm. Before he could complain, he felt the weight on his back lighten—his little aunt had already been scooped up.
Old Man Zhao carefully checked Xiaobao’s arms and legs. Seeing that she was only a bit dirty and not injured, he finally relaxed and glanced at the other grandchildren.
There were five boys in total, all strong and sturdy. Except for Zhao Xiao Wu, who was carrying Xiaobao, the other four each held a rabbit. Their catch was quite good.
Old Man Zhao bounced his chubby youngest daughter in his arms, said nothing, and turned back home.
The brothers looked at each other and grinned, relieved that their grandfather didn’t scold them.
They didn’t want to bring their little aunt into the mountains, but she pouted and pretended to cry. Besides, the family didn’t have enough food to last until next year. The adults hadn’t hidden this from them. Since food was scarce, they wanted to try their luck in the mountains.
Why bring their little aunt along? Because she’s lucky.
This is their family’s big secret. Ever since she was born, they could even pick up copper coins on the ground when going out.
Grandmother said their little aunt was a fairy sent from heaven to bring them good fortune. It’s a secret—if they told others, the gods would be displeased and stop blessing them.
Looking at the rabbits in their hands, Zhao Xiao Wu remembered how they had worked so hard digging rabbit holes, only for these foolish rabbits to suddenly run out and bump into their little aunt’s legs—and not even run away afterward, just staring at her blankly.
Catching them took almost no effort.
They had worried that their grandfather would punish them for taking Xiaobao into the mountains, but since they had a good catch today, he let it go.
The five boys were overjoyed. As soon as they got home, they rushed into the kitchen and handed the rabbits to Mrs. Zhu, who was in charge of cooking.
They left one sentence: “We’re eating rabbit tonight. We have to!”
Then they ran out again. Zhao Deng and Zhao Xi went to help Zhao Sandi carry firewood, while Zhao Gu and Zhao Feng went to the fields to help their grandmother with tools.
After her father set her down, Zhao Xiaobao was given a pack of malt candy wrapped in oiled paper. She sat under the eaves, swinging her short legs, looking up at the sky where the first star had appeared.
Everyone in the family was busy with something.
Only she was completely carefree.