Under the supervision of the eldest uncle, the eldest cousin Wang Lianqi brought along Wang Lianfa, Wang Lianzhong, Wang Lianhua, and several of their brothers, as well as a dozen young and strong laborers from the village, to repair the roof, inner and outer walls, and courtyard walls of the educated youth point, and also to repair the stove and the kang, and to clear the chimney.
Spring was dry and windy, the doors and windows were open for a day and a night to air out, and after a fire was lit to warm the kang, just two days after the family division, Ling Chengyan, the second daughter-in-law of the Wang Family's second branch, moved her two children out of the old house and into the educated youth point.
Ling Chengyan had just picked up the children from her aunt and was about to make formula for little Shi Tou when she heard a knock on the door and turned around to see two young women standing at the door.
She quickly went forward to greet them, "Is it Xiao Juan and Cui Cui? Come in, have a seat."
Ling Chengyan's main room didn't even have tables or chairs, so she invited the two of them directly to the inner room to sit.
She poured two bowls of water and took out half a packet of biscuits from the box to offer them: "From now on, we'll be living in the same courtyard. I have kids with me, crying and all that morning and night, you two will have to bear with it."
She casually picked up the formula that was almost ready, poured it into the bottle, and started feeding little Shi Tou.
Xiao Juan, who was younger at only twenty-one, seeing Ling Chengyan feeding formula, asked, "Sister-in-law, do you have no breast milk?"
Ling Chengyan nodded, "The milk supply has always been bad, and it dried up completely a few days ago. We have no choice but to ask some sister-in-laws who have extra to feed him once. When that's not enough, we have to supplement with formula..."
Cui Cui, who was a bit older at twenty-four, said, "Formula isn't easy to buy; it's really in demand."
"Oh, tell me about it. Even with a certificate from the county hospital, we could only buy one bag."
Xiao Juan glanced at Cui Cui, hesitated a bit, and said, "We saw you also have a dog..."
Upon hearing this, Ling Chengyan immediately understood their intention and quickly called out, "Xing'er, bring Da Huang in to meet the two aunts."
Xing'er agreed hastily, and after a shout, Da Huang wagged its tail and came into the main room.
Xing'er fed Da Huang a small piece of biscuit and said to Xiao Juan and Cui Cui, "Aunts, don't be afraid. Our Da Huang is very well-behaved and never bites familiar people."
As she spoke, she broke off two small pieces of biscuit and handed them to the two ladies.
Xiao Juan and Cui Cui exchanged looks, seeing as they were no longer the city girls they were when they first came to the countryside. They've seen many local dogs and mustered the courage to throw the biscuits in their hands to Da Huang.
Da Huang looked at Xing'er but didn't actively eat.
Xing'er petted its head, "Go ahead and eat. These two aunts will be living with us and are part of the family now."
Only then did Da Huang lick Xing'er's hand, lower its head, and eat the two small pieces of biscuit.
Xiao Juan's eyes widened in surprise, and she laughed, "This dog is really intelligent."
Ling Chengyan smiled without commenting. Xing'er nodded, leading Da Huang to the yard and pointing to a shed built against the east wall.
There were two sheds, a big one against the mountain wall with a stove set inside for Ling Chengyan and the kids to use for cooking in summer, and a small one beside it, just a thatched shed with some dry grass, which Xing'er had begged her third uncle to build as a doghouse for Da Huang.
Xiao Juan and Cui Cui sat for a short while without touching the biscuits before saying goodbye and leaving.
Both of them had signed up for this year's college entrance exams, which were in three months, so they basically didn't leave the house, spending every day burying themselves in studies and exam preparation.
After making some arrangements, Ling Chengyan asked Xing'er to watch her brother and went out after saying goodbye to Xiao Juan and Cui Cui.
Shortly after, her aunt arrived with her eldest and third sisters-in-law.
The aunt carried a basket containing four or five two-sided pancakes. Both sisters-in-law came with half a pound of lard, a handful of eggs, onions, ginger, various seasonings, and some dried vegetables.
When Ling Chengyan's division was settled, the elders were fair, and she didn't lose out in terms of money or grain, but the day-to-day necessities were different. She only got some vault-stored sweet potatoes and radishes but not even a salted pickle chunk.
The aunt and two sisters-in-law knew all about her situation, which is why they brought these things from home as emergency aid.
They came in to find only Xing'er watching her brother in the house. When asked, Xing'er knew her mother had gone out with a basket, saying she would be back shortly, but didn't know where she had gone.
The aunt looked around the two rooms at the simple furniture, the cold stove, and the bare kitchen, feeling truly sorry.
She had the eldest sister-in-law tidy up and asked the second sister-in-law to call some of the younger children at home to bring over a few baskets of firewood.
When Ling Chengyan divided the family, it was agreed that the firewood for the spring and summer months could still be taken from the old household's woodpile, but she now had to carry firewood a long distance while tending to her two kids. The aunt silently blamed her husband for not being thorough enough—why didn't he have someone bring the firewood over for the three of them!
What, should they have to carry firewood three times a day and endure the looks of others every time they went?!
The three daughters-in-law were still cleaning up when Ling Chengyan returned with her basket, only to see a new, not-too-large stack of firewood in a corner of the yard and the house door open with her aunt sitting by the stove, making a fire.
Suddenly, she recalled something a fellow soldier once said, that whenever he missed home, he would remember his mother cooking in the house, and when he stepped in, he would call out "Mom!"
Her own mother was long gone. In this life, Ling Chengyan had also lost her mother early and her father and brothers were far away, out of contact.
In her daze, Xing'er noticed her mother standing at the door and ran to greet her, "Mom."
Ling Chengyan snapped out of it, smiled at the little girl—she may have lost her mother, but now she was a mother of two, and someone was still waiting for her at home.
Refusing Xing'er's offer to take the basket, Ling Chengyan held the girl's hand as they entered the house, laughing and calling out, "Aunt."
"Ah, Chengyan's back!" Her aunt replied with a smile, standing to check the pot, "I thought I'd cook some porridge for you, steamed a few pancakes, and made some egg pickles..."
As she spoke, she uncovered her neckline, took a handkerchief-wrapped package out of her inner pocket, and handed a few tickets to Ling Chengyan, "These are from your elder uncle, just some small change for you to use. You've just separated and probably find a lot is lacking, so plan to add some things. If you're ever short of anything, just come to us. Although you've started a separate household, don't distance yourself from the family. If anything happens, call on your cousins and their wives, don't be shy..."
While her aunt was chattering on, Ling Chengyan felt warmth spreading in her heart. She didn't refuse and took the tickets with a smile, "Thank you, Aunt and Uncle, for your care; we will inevitably still rely on you two elders in the future, and our cousins and their wives too."
"Oh, what's the point of saying such things among family," the aunt, Qu Cui, said with a smile, having a fondness for Ling Chengyan's straightforwardness. She waved her hand cheerfully before leaving without delay.
Ling Chengyan walked her to the door and swung a bamboo basket into her aunt's hands, "I set traps last night and didn't expect to catch two. Aunt, take one back to treat the kids."
The aunt lifted the cloth covering the basket in surprise and found a plump wild rabbit inside, weighing five or six pounds.
"Oh, you're such a child, you three..." The aunt started to refuse, but when Ling Chengyan blocked her, she gave in and accepted it with a smile, "The kids at home will be thrilled to see this."