«Household Chores»
Her mother hadn’t realized her cooking skills had improved; she still held onto her old impression of her. She didn’t ask her to help with the cooking, but instead carried the child into her room and went off to prepare the afternoon meal.
Normally, they didn’t cook dinner here—it was too wasteful of food—but with a child in elementary school, they had no choice but to make it!
Otherwise, after an afternoon of classes, the child simply couldn’t go without a substantial meal.
That said, the meal wasn’t particularly lavish—food was still in short supply. Her mother made some tomato dumpling soup, not the kind with small dumplings, but the proper kind made by kneading a whole bowl of dough into larger dumplings.
This skill isn’t easy to master—if the dough is too thin, the dumplings clump together; if it’s too thick, they’re tough to chew. It really tests one’s skill.
But her mom always makes them perfectly, and they’re quite appetizing in the summer.
Her dad and Wang Dashan were back in no time. They didn’t have much time to spare this afternoon, so they just weeded the fields a bit.
Before long, the kids came back too, saying they had exams the next day or the day after.
With everyone home, it was time to eat!
Li Lanlan happily polished off two bowls of dumpling noodles, topped with the family’s homemade chili oil—it was absolutely delicious. The kids were eating from their own little bowls as well.
Her mother had already fed the two youngest before dinner was even served, and now the two of them were waddling back and forth across the floor.
After finishing dinner and cleaning up, Jia Fanghua sent her eldest niece out back to call her father, stepmother, and several brothers over so they could divide up the things they’d brought back.
She led everyone to the main hall to distribute the gifts. Whether adults or children, no one could refuse a present. The kids couldn’t wait.
The girls grabbed their dolls and new clothes and ran to the kitchen to change. The boys, clutching their Ultraman figures and clothes, were taken home by their parents to change into their new outfits.
Li Lanlan had even brought them the trendy plastic sandals that were all the rage right now.
The children skipped and jumped with joy, but their fun was short-lived as Grandma shooed them off to do their homework. After all, exams were coming up soon—her eldest niece was about to start seventh grade, and her second niece was in fourth grade.
Her eldest daughter had just finished her first semester of preschool; education in her hometown had always been quite good.
During the years when educated youth were sent to the countryside, some young people from the county town came to their village. Their home was about three kilometers from the town, making it an ideal place for the assignment.
The teachers were all wonderful. When she was a child, she was taught by educated youth teachers; those from the provincial capital and the city eventually returned home.
The county teachers lived nearby—it took only about ten minutes by bicycle to get from the county seat to the school—so they settled down right there.
“Mom, is Lanlan back yet?” The front door, which had been slightly ajar, was pushed open. As expected, it was her older sister, Li Xiaolan.
She really did come as soon as she caught a whiff of the scent. Who knows if her sister has some kind of radar that can pinpoint things so precisely—she showed up before we even had a chance to send word over.
Well, that saved her a trip over there. Li Xiaolan ran her fingers over the items Lanlan had given her. The fabric was truly exquisite!
The pastries were fragrant and sweet—truly worthy of Beijing. Everything looked so good!
“Lanlan, these treats you brought are absolutely delicious. I can tell these weren’t cheap—you really went out of your way!” Although Li Xiaolan was someone who liked to get a good deal, she knew a good thing when she saw it.
“It’s not too bad. The two little ones aren’t out of school yet! Once they’re done, I’ll bring them all over to Mom’s so the kids can play together!”
This was the same old routine every year. Since her parents were well-off, Li Xiaolan would send the kids over to “milk the family” every year, and she herself would often visit her parents’ home to bring some treats back.
In her previous life, Li Lanlan had looked down on this kind of behavior. She always felt her older sister was too materialistic—her parents had never let her go hungry or go without when she was a child, so why, after getting married, was she so eager to milk her parents for all they were worth?
But it turned out her older sister, who was “milking the family,” was doing better and better, while her own burdens kept growing heavier. So, she realized you shouldn’t be too proud—you should ask your parents for help when you need it.
At worst, they’d scold her a bit, but it wouldn’t cost her a thing. What you actually get in your hands is what counts!
By the time Li Xiaolan arrived, the family had already finished dinner. Judging by the scene, she must have rushed over without eating at her own place.
But there wasn’t much food left by then. While scolding her, Jia Fanghua heated up two steamed buns and some pork mince.
Li Xiaolan didn’t complain; she ate right away. After finishing, with nothing else to do, she grabbed her things and rode her bicycle back at full speed!
In truth, neither Li Lanlan nor her eldest sister Li Xiaolan had married into particularly wealthy families—in fact, they were far less well-off than their own parents’ households.
But these two families shared one thing in common: they had plenty of sons. Her parents had never had a son of their own; aside from her second sister staying home to marry into the family, the other two daughters had all married into similar situations—poor families with lots of brothers!
There were endless squabbles between the sisters-in-law—complaints about one’s porridge being too thick or the other’s too thin—all sorts of nonsense. There were even instances of younger brothers-in-law beating their sisters-in-law, yet their parents wouldn’t intervene, spending their days meddling in the family’s affairs!
Li Lanlan almost got beaten up too, but she wasn’t as easy to bully as Wang Dashan’s second sister-in-law. For one thing, she was very tall—those two younger brothers-in-law were about the same height as her. Back when she was eating white flour bread at home, those two were still munching on cornbread!
Poor nutrition meant they naturally didn’t grow very tall. Li Lanlan was in the prime of her youth back then. When she saw the two of them coming at her, she turned around, grabbed a knife from the kitchen, and started swinging it.
The two of them were instantly terrified, and from that day on, they never dared to show their teeth at her again!
At that moment, Li Lanlan really wanted to call her parents over to see this—this is the wonderful in-law family you found for me!
After this incident, Li Lanlan learned her lesson the hard way. She vowed never to marry her daughter into a family with so many brothers. Not only would there be endless drama, but without the support of the elders, life would be nothing but misery!
Li Lanlan’s family didn’t build a new house until last year, after the two youngest children were born. Those were such hard times—they were practically living on air.
Although it was tough, they finally had a home of their own. No longer did they have to live in a crumbling, dilapidated pit house that could collapse at any moment, and life finally had something to look forward to!
But her eldest sister’s family never built a new house—they lived in a dilapidated brick hut until the early 2000s, when her parents finally moved from their mountain hut to a new house down the hill!
Her eldest sister’s family still lives in the same hut they moved into when they got married. Although the hut stays cool in summer and warm in winter, it could collapse at any moment!
Li Lanlan remembers when she’d just given birth to her first child. It was right after the family split up, and since her own family had nowhere to live, they had to stay in an old house belonging to relatives. One day, while she was out for a short walk holding her baby, the mudbrick hut collapsed.
When she returned and saw the scene, she broke out in a cold sweat!
After waiting a while to make sure no more chunks of earth were falling, she went back inside and carried out the bedding, bowls, chopsticks, and other belongings.
People today, more than a decade later, would never understand—risking a collapse at any moment just to retrieve those rags and trinkets simply wasn’t worth it.
But back then, those belongings were the entire fortune of Li Lanlan’s family of three. To them, those rags were worth a fortune, and there was even some grain stored inside!
If they hadn’t managed to get them out, they truly wouldn’t have been able to survive. It’s no exaggeration—at that time, they hadn’t even paid off the debt they owed to her parents’ family!
That night, Li Lanlan, her mother, her two nieces, and her two daughters all slept together on the heated brick bed in the main room. Although people in the countryside go to bed early all year round, they can chat until the wee hours of the morning!
“Lanlan, I heard from Dashan that you’re planning to take the whole family to Beijing. How are you going to make a living once you get there?”
“I’ve made some money working for Sister Caixia. I see the street vendor business there is doing pretty well. I can’t handle it all by myself, so I asked Dashan to come work with me.
These kids grow like weeds—there are so many expenses when they first start school! We can’t make enough money here at home, so we have no choice but to go elsewhere!”
“How much can you make in a month?”
The room suddenly fell silent. “Not much, Mom. I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted after sitting on the bus all day!”
Jia Fanghua didn’t ask any more questions, and everyone went to sleep in unspoken agreement!
Li Lanlan wouldn’t tell anyone how much she’d earned. So many families had fallen apart over this very issue. Besides, she’d long known why her mother was asking about the money, but she wouldn’t say—it wouldn’t do any good no matter who asked!
Her mother’s questions about the money were definitely not for her own sake!
When her mother passed away, they opened the wardrobe to find so many new clothes and bedspreads that looked brand-new, while the clothes she wore herself were always tattered and worn.
She had loved cleanliness her whole life. Although her clothes were washed spotlessly clean, every single one had been worn for over a decade. When they were too worn to wear, she’d still save them to use as soles for shoes!
Those multi-layered cloth shoes were all hand-stitched, stitch by stitch!
She saved up all that money but never spent a penny of it her whole life!
Early the next morning, as if nothing had happened, Jia Fanghua cooked breakfast as usual. Li Lanlan and Wang Dashan took the two little ones back to the village, just as they had left.
The couple first stopped by to see the old man, chatted for a bit, and mentioned their plans to go to Beijing in a while.
Wang Dashan’s father had passed away less than a year after they got married, so now it was just Wang Dashan’s mother living with her youngest son.
As for the food they’d left behind, it was entirely up to the old man to decide who would eat it, but the clothes were in styles suited for the elderly—too old-fashioned for younger people to wear!
Li Lanlan, however, wasn’t worried about that!
Back at their own home, the fruit on the peach and pear trees in the yard had been picked almost clean; only a few scattered pieces remained hanging on the branches. There wasn’t much to tidy up inside, so they just checked the doors and windows.
Li Lanlan didn’t get involved with the land matters. There was just over three mu in total. Wang Dashan had leased the plot near his second older brother’s house to him—his family had many children but little land, so they were always short on food.
The remaining small plot, which was quite a distance away, was leased to a friend of Wang Dashan’s for fifty yuan per mu as well.
These matters were settled quickly. The two men wrote Wang Dashan a note, and the deal was done; the lease payments would be made at the end of the year.
With nothing else to do that afternoon, Li Lanlan and her husband locked up and set off for Yulong Village. By the time they arrived, the children had just gotten out of school, and her mother had just finished cooking dinner. After they ate, another day had passed.
Early the next morning, Li Lanlan went to buy train tickets to Beijing. For the two adults and four children, they purchased two full-price tickets and two children’s tickets, ensuring their family had four spots on the train.