Early the next morning, Meng Qiufeng got up before dawn. Looking at the sleeping Chen Rou, his heart was filled with satisfaction.
In the kitchen, Wang Cuilian opened the cupboard and looked at the eggs in the basket. After a moment of thought, she took out four eggs and decided to steam a large bowl of egg custard.
The custard was divided into two bowls. Wang Cuilian carried them into the eldest son’s room.
“Xiaorou, Mom steamed you a bowl of egg custard. Eat it while it’s hot. I left the other bowl warming in the pot. Feed it to Zhuzhu when she wakes up. I’m heading to work now.”
Originally, Wang Cuilian did not work in the fields, but now that Chen Rou had joined the family, Wang Cuilian chose to earn work points herself so Chen Rou would not have to do farm labor.
As for cooking, the task was rotated among the three daughters-in-law.
“Got it, Mom.”
Supporting herself with one arm, Chen Rou sat up in bed and scooped a spoonful of smooth egg custard into her mouth.
Wang Cuilian had even drizzled a few drops of sesame oil into it. The rich aroma of eggs mixed with the fragrance of sesame oil whetted Chen Rou’s appetite, and she quickly finished the entire bowl.
— Third Son’s Room —
Xu Chunhua sat before the mirror, wrapping a headscarf tightly around her face. Whenever she worked outside, she always bundled herself up thoroughly—afraid of sunburn in summer and frostbite in winter.
The weather was freezing. Meng Qiushi tucked his hands into his sleeves, stomping his feet for warmth while sucking on a piece of malt candy.
Xu Chunhua glanced at him leaning against the cabinet. When she noticed the dry winter air had caused the skin on his handsome face to peel, she frowned.
“Look at what your face has become. I told you to drink more water and use face cream. Why won’t you listen?”
She opened the cabinet drawer. Her hand paused briefly over the expensive Snowflake Cream before finally landing on a tin of clam oil balm instead.
The clam oil cost ten cents; the Snowflake Cream cost five yuan.
In winter, people’s hands cracked from work. Families with better conditions would smear lard on their skin.
Only Xu Chunhua was willing to spend money on things like clam oil and Snowflake Cream.
She kept only one tin of clam oil and one box of Snowflake Cream in the drawer. The rest she stored in Xiaoyu’s special space.
Xu Chunhua used Snowflake Cream on her face and clam oil on her body.
“Here, put on some clam oil before heading out,” she said, stuffing the tin into Meng Qiushi’s hands.
Meng Qiushi complained, “This stuff smells so strong. Huzi and the others are definitely going to laugh at me later.”
Still, he opened the tin, scooped out some balm with his finger, and roughly smeared it over his face. Then he leaned close to Xu Chunhua, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.
“Come on, smell me. Don’t I smell nice?”
Laughing, Xu Chunhua used her hand to evenly spread the balm across his face, then grabbed his cheeks and planted a loud kiss on him.
“So fragrant!”
Meng Yu had just woken up and was unexpectedly force-fed a display of affection.
Xu Chunhua turned toward the bed and saw her daughter sitting up against the headboard, cheeks flushed red from sleep like a ripe peach.
“Yu’er, wake your brothers and sisters up. Dad’s going to make rice cereal for you all.”
Breakfast in the Meng household was usually corn grits porridge. The grains floated sparsely in mostly water, nowhere near enough to fill anyone’s stomach.
Meng Qiushi had already carried his wife and children’s portions back to the room and eaten them himself.
Xu Chunhua paired her rice cereal with a few peach pastries.
Meng Yu answered in her soft, sweet voice, “Okay!”
She nudged the siblings sleeping beside her.
“Wake up, it’s breakfast time!”
Meng Qiushi mixed four bowls of rice cereal with hot water and placed them on the small table in the room. Beside them sat a bag of peach pastries.
The weather was cold, and the children naturally did not want to get out of bed. But Xu Chunhua cared greatly about health and insisted that all three meals be eaten on time.
First, she used a hot towel to wipe the children’s faces clean. Then she climbed onto the bed holding the Snowflake Cream, scooped out small amounts with her fingers, dabbed it onto their cheeks, and gently rubbed it in.
By the time she finished, the children were fully awake.
“Xiaowei, Xiaoqing, you two stay in the room and look after your younger siblings. Mom and Dad are going to work.”
Xu Chunhua and Meng Qiushi stepped outside into the biting cold wind. Xu Chunhua rubbed her hands together.
“When’s it finally going to snow?”
Once it snowed, no one would have to work in the fields anymore. Everyone could stay home and hibernate through winter.
Chen Rou lay beneath the blankets holding Meng Zhu. Looking at her daughter, she let out a deep sigh.
Meng Zhu looked up at her in confusion and stretched out a tiny hand, trying to smooth away the crease between Chen Rou’s brows.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
Chen Rou felt miserable.
“Zhuzhu, we couldn’t borrow money from your aunt yesterday. Without money, how are we supposed to stockpile grain? How will we survive those three years of famine?”
She did secretly have over twenty yuan hidden away, but she did not dare take it out.
Back when the Zhao family wanted the child, she had refused to reveal the money. If she brought it out now, what would everyone think of her?
Meng Zhu felt bitter inside. Everything in this lifetime was good—except they were too poor.
By the time work ended that evening, tiny snowflakes had begun drifting from the sky.
Meng Qiushi and Xu Chunhua instantly lost their earlier exhaustion and practically ran home.
As soon as they entered the house, Meng Qiushi brushed the snowflakes off Xu Chunhua’s clothes.
“This is great. We can finally spend the winter indoors.”
That night it was Wang Yun’s turn to cook. Using the limited ingredients available, she made a pot of vegetable soup and steamed corn buns.
Chen Rou had no appetite. After drinking a few mouthfuls of soup, she left the table.
Wang Cuilian and Meng Qiufeng both set down their chopsticks and watched her retreating figure worriedly.
“Qiufeng, ask Xiaorou what’s wrong when you get back to the room. She doesn’t seem right.”
Meng Qiufeng stuffed the rest of the corn bun into his mouth. Without caring whether he was full, he got up and followed after her.
Wang Cuilian sighed. Watching everyone else eat so heartily made her feel uneasy.
“All you people think about is eating!”
Back in their room, Meng Qiufeng gently shut the door and looked at Chen Rou sitting by the bed in silent distress. His chest tightened painfully.
“Xiaorou, what’s wrong? Don’t bottle things up. Tell me, okay?”
He sat beside her and held her hand.
Chen Rou looked up at him and sighed softly.
“Zhuzhu gave us knowledge of the future, but we don’t have money to buy grain.”
“This famine… is it really true?” Meng Qiufeng found it hard to believe. After all, this year’s harvest had been excellent.
Chen Rou immediately yanked her hand away and turned her back to him.
“What do you mean by that? Do you think we’re crazy too, like Meng Qiucan does?”
Meng Qiufeng panicked and hurriedly explained.
“Xiaorou, that’s not what I meant…”
“Three months ago, the neighboring county flooded and an entire village was submerged with terrible losses,” Chen Rou said, staring at him. “And Zhuzhu told us about it the day before it happened.”
Angrily, she added, “Forget it. I’ll find a way to borrow money myself.”
Meng Qiufeng dropped to one knee before her and tightly clasped her hands, refusing to let go no matter how she struggled.
“Xiaorou, don’t be angry. I have a way to get money.”
Chen Rou stopped struggling and looked at him quietly.
“Really?”
“Really!”
Meng Qiufeng nodded vigorously.
“Come with me.”
Outside, snow fell softly, covering the ground in white.
Meng Qiushi cracked open the window and watched Meng Qiufeng and Chen Rou leave together under an umbrella.
“Huh? What are those two doing going out in the snow?”
Meng Yu had been munching on a biscuit. Hearing him, she immediately stretched out her arms toward him.
“Daddy, carry me.”
Meng Qiushi frowned deeply in thought before slowly walking over and picking her up.
“Let’s follow them,” Meng Yu said, pushing his shoulder.
In the original storyline, Meng Qiufeng discovered a hidden treasure site and used the gold and silver there to buy large amounts of grain. More than ten years later, he even used that treasure to start a business.
Those valuables had no owner now. If Meng Qiufeng could take them, then they could too.
Looking at his daughter, Meng Qiushi’s expression gradually relaxed into an approving grin. Turning toward Xu Chunhua, he dragged out the word playfully:
“Wifeee~”
Xu Chunhua shot him a glare tinged with affection before finding a coat and wrapping Meng Yu tightly inside it.
“Go then. Be careful on the road.”
In the snowy night, Meng Qiufeng and Chen Rou walked slowly.
“Careful.”
Meng Qiufeng supported Chen Rou with one hand while holding the umbrella with the other.
The umbrella was a bamboo-handled oil-paper umbrella made by Xu Chunhua’s second brother, Xu Chunming.
Once it entered the Meng household, however, it had immediately become communal property.
Trailing behind them, Meng Qiushi wrapped his scarf tightly around himself and sneakily followed the pair ahead.
When he saw them entering the mountains, he hugged his daughter closer and followed.
Leaning close to Meng Yu’s ear, he whispered softly,
“Little Yu’er, when Daddy tells you to bring us into your space later, send me in immediately, okay?”
He was worried they would be discovered if they followed too closely.
Meng Yu nodded and whispered back,
“Okay.”
Chen Rou carried an oil lamp in her hand, barely illuminating the path ahead.
Meng Qiushi had it much worse. He could only rely on moonlight and the faint glow ahead to move forward. Fortunately, his night vision was good, and he made no mistakes along the way.
“Brother Qiufeng, why exactly did you bring me into the mountains? I’m worried there might be wild animals here.”
Chen Rou nervously glanced around the pitch-black surroundings.
“Don’t be afraid,” Meng Qiufeng reassured her. “Wild beasts stay deeper in the mountains. Besides, it’s so cold now. People are all staying home for the winter, let alone animals.”
Chen Rou relaxed slightly.
“But what exactly are we doing here?”
The snowfall had grown heavier, and the crunch of footsteps on the mountain path muffled their voices, so Meng Qiufeng raised his volume slightly.
“Do you remember the landlord our village had years ago?”
Chen Rou nodded, feeling lingering fear at the memory.
“That landlord was crafty. He secretly hid a chest of gold and silver in the mountains, probably hoping to make a comeback one day. Unfortunately for him…”
Meng Qiufeng smiled.
“I noticed him acting suspiciously back then, so I secretly followed him and saw with my own eyes where he buried the treasure chest.”
Chen Rou’s voice trembled with excitement as she looked up at him.
“Brother Qiufeng, are you serious?”
Meng Qiufeng gazed at her with smiling eyes.
“I wouldn’t lie to you. Once we dig it up, you’ll see.”
Suddenly Chen Rou no longer felt cold. Heat surged through her body with excitement as she rubbed her frozen hands together.
“That’s wonderful! We’ll finally have money to buy grain.”
Meng Qiushi followed closely behind and clearly overheard everything. Internally, he cursed Meng Qiufeng for being so sly.
Then he grinned broadly.
The landlord had died of illness the previous year and had neither wife nor children. The treasure now belonged to no one.
The next second, however, Meng Qiushi pressed his lips tightly together—his teeth were freezing.
Still, tonight’s trip had absolutely been worth it. He hadn’t suffered through the cold for nothing.