Chapter 10: Farmers and Farmyards
Zhang Dayou and his brothers chose the North Mountain Foot; this place had lots of wasteland, allowing room for future expansion when the children grew up. Plus, it was convenient to quarry stones at the foot of the mountain. Being far from the village entrance, the whole family could hide on North Mountain if needed. The three brothers helped each other build houses, and they could hear each other's shouts from 100 meters away.
Zhang Dayou's house was closest to the mountain foot, so its wall was the highest, made entirely of large blue stones, typical of northern courtyard homes.
The vermilion gate was freshly painted last year during the festivities. Entering the gate, you could see three fruit trees on the east and west sides of the courtyard. On the west side were two jujube trees, transplanted directly from the mountain, their tall leaves providing shade in summer.
Near the west wing, a tall grape trellis was erected, with a large blue stone table and several stone stools beneath it. In summer, the family liked sitting here to eat and cool off.
The persimmon tree near the kitchen was also transplanted from the mountains, and each year its fruit delighted the children.
Not far from the trees, they dug a well. With this well, the family didn't need to haul water from the village entrance all year round. Except for washing clothes at the village river, the well met the family's needs. Since the children were young, the well was built high with an iron plate on top.
The space in front of the east wing was well leveled, and usually used for drying corn, sweet potato chips, wild fruits, mushrooms, wood ears, and other mountain goods during autumn. The courtyard was very tidy and well-organized.
Upon entering the courtyard, on the left against the wall were three rooms: the outer kitchen, the middle small warehouse storing dried vegetables from autumn, winter pickles, and some coarse grains. The last room was for miscellaneous items, storing farming tools, baskets, and some odds and ends. The kitchen had a cellar above ground, storing the family's coarse grains.
In Father and Mother Zhang's main eastern wing, a small cellar was dug, known only to Father Zhang, Mother Zhang, and Zhang Guoqing. Here, the family's hidden wealth was stored — Mother Zhang's dowry of a pair of gold bracelets and two gold rings, along with a box of Jade Pendants, jade tokens, and jade rings secretly acquired during the village's landlord liquidation, plus three gold bars and two packets of silver coins exchanged pre-liberation, and some wooden and jade ornaments secretly collected by Mr. Zhang — some with cracks.
Young Zhang Guoqing once asked Mr. Zhang, whose understanding was limited, only recalling from childhood how the landlord carefully polished the ornaments, making them seem valuable.
Mother Zhang planned to pass one of her gold bracelets to the eldest daughter-in-law after her passing, while the two gold rings were given as dowries to the two sisters.
Mr. Zhang had warned young Zhang Guoqing not to disclose this wealth; otherwise, it could be stolen, or even lead to imprisonment. He promised Zhang Guoqing half first, with the rest divided among the three brothers after their passing. Young Zhang Guoqing wisely kept this secret.
Past the kitchen lay the east wing with three rooms; this was where the eldest, Zhang Guofu's family lived. With young children, the eldest nephew, now ten years old, had a room to himself, while the eight-year-old twins shared another room. The youngest niece stayed with the eldest brother and his wife.
On the right of the front yard were five rooms in the west wing; the first two were for the second, Zhang Guoqiang, whose family only had two children, providing plenty of space.
The last two rooms belonged to the third, Zhang Guoqing, who turned it into a suite after marrying last year. Villagers tended not to mind sitting on the pit directly, but Zhang Guoqing knew Zhou Jiao was particular, so he arranged a small living room and study outside, with the bedroom hardly opened, usually accessed via the small living room.
The vacant room of the west wing became Mr. Zhang's granary; during the quiet nights in the countryside, one could hear children's cries distinctly, especially from the second child's room. The second daughter-in-law was quite loud, so the granary in the middle eliminated sibling conflicts.
The east wing adjacent to the main house served as the elderly couple's bedroom and warehouse, where Mother Zhang stored dried wild chickens, rabbits, fine grains, eggs, brown sugar fruit preserves, bacon, and other mountain goods. Only Mother Zhang had the key; others couldn't enter. The second daughter-in-law had tried but was scolded by Mother Zhang. Aside from Zhang Guoqing, no other family members had been inside.
The eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Cuilan, only had a key to the kitchen cellar, which only had two keys — one with Mother Zhang, allegedly to prevent the second daughter-in-law from stealing grain to take to her mother's home.
As for Zhou Jiao, having moved in newly after marriage and quickly becoming pregnant, she wouldn't secretly take anything to her family. Except for her grandparents, no one considered giving anything to the eldest brother's family.
Additionally, the Zhang Family gave her a dowry of 300 yuan, plus 500 yuan to buy the Three Turns and One Sound; she only spent 220 yuan on a branded sewing machine. Already having a wristwatch, she didn't buy a new one, and Zhang Guoqing already had a bicycle, bought when he was in junior high, still in good condition; she brought the fabric her grandmother gave her, personal clothes, and the wardrobe arranged by her grandfather when she married.
The Zhang Family hadn't separated, but each daughter-in-law could keep her dowry. Rumor said the 800 yuan came from merging the eldest son's 300 yuan dowry and the second son's 500 yuan. It wasn't clear how it was calculated, but for the third, it was 800 yuan, whether lessening or increasing was for the small third room's own stash.
Reportedly, the second son, Zhang Guoqiang, and his wife had a fight since Lin Juhua, the second daughter-in-law, came without even a box and wearing clothes with no patches; the second son was upset, distressed by the 500 yuan, and usually borrowed the eldest brother's bicycle.
Hence, Zhou Jiao's current possession of the additional 300 yuan Zhang Guoqing gave her, with cash nearing 3000 yuan alone, estimated to be more than the rest of the family's combined amount.
Zhang Guoqing alone knew of this money and feared others would take notice, especially when family asked, clinging to claims of only having 300 yuan in dowry money, 100 yuan remaining from purchasing bridal trousseau, plus nearly 500 yuan from Zhou Jiao's private savings, while detailing expenditures like wedding costs, previous expenses on him, random small buys during pregnancy, and many more, regardless of others' doubts.
Actually, aside from keeping secret the pension amount requested by his grandfather, anyone really attentive knew approximately how much was held; say, his mother likely knew but played smart, making others believe otherwise.
Besides the family eating and chatting in the main hall, the right side of the west wing housed two rooms for the Zhang Family's two sisters — typically empty when they visited, accommodating relatives and guests.
Out of the main house, the backyard was vast, three times larger than the front yard. Divided into three parts, the middle part was planted with vegetables, sweet potatoes, and potatoes.
Each corner within the wall crowded with loofahs in summer, pumpkins in autumn, and wax gourds, with pumpkins being substantial enough for staple food, raising the most of them.
At the farthest right corner by the mountain, a row of thatched huts stood, holding a simple kitchen for cooking pig feed. Nearby, two pigs were raised in the sty, and not far from the sty was a small fenced space with bamboo where about ten chickens were kept to prevent them from spoiling the vegetable plot.
The left side of the backyard wall held the family toilet, conveniently fitted with blue stones to create a squat toilet like in the towns. After use, a bucket of water was poured for cleanliness. Though, Northern winters gave a comforting feeling during usage.
A few steps from the toilet led to a back gate in the wall, utilized for fetching firewood from North Mountain. Visiting North Mountain meant not circling back through the front gate—one could leave directly through the back.
Northeast autumn ignited the family's firewood collecting, necessary for the whole winter until the snow thawed the following spring; not to mention the several kangs needing firewood.
In the countryside, obtaining coal was difficult; moreover, free mountain wood meant no one would buy coal in town for burning. Rather, townspeople bought wood for combustion, while now some households in the village sent laborers to gather and bring wood to town for sale.
After Northeast's first snow, families settled in for winter, arduously collecting firewood, preparing warm clothes and provisions for winter. Now entering the winter, it was possible to buy grain or exchange fine grain for coarse grain at high prices in town. The Zhang Family lately kept fetching firewood and hunted wild chickens and rabbits as treats, laboring diligently; piles of tall stacks of wood were amassed near the backyard's back gate.