Li Xianglu stood at the entrance of a courtyard, carrying a bundle and sizing up the small courtyard in front of her.
In the early spring, the farmyards in Guanzhong were mostly hung with yellow-orange corn and chili peppers; the yards always housed grinding stones and many corn stalks, and the ground was littered with chicken droppings, filthy.
But this courtyard, much like the ones the rich people would purchase in her previous life, was tidy and clean. The red brick walls on both sides were well-repaired and neat, the gate was not the usual fence door but a proper iron door painted red. On the west side of the small courtyard, there was a stone table with four stone stools, and two cave dwellings. The one on the east side was covered with a small roof that seemed like a kitchen, but was by no means crude—covered entirely with red bricks.
Li Huai Ren, with the door to the western cave dwelling already wide open, said to Li Xianglu who was in a daze at the entrance of the yard: "Xiang, come, you’ll live over here, but it needs some tidying up. No one has lived here for a good while."
It took quite some time for Li Xianglu to snap back to reality. She opened her mouth but no sound came out, and she followed the old man into the cave dwelling.
This was the Western cave dwelling, with a very large window, much bigger than typical cave dwelling windows. On the west side was a four-meter-long kang (heated brick bed), and the floor was laid with neat red bricks. On the kang stood two dark brown cabinets.
Li Xianglu’s eyes brightened—these cabinets mustn’t be made of ordinary wood.
She wanted to climb up to take a closer look, but Uncle spoke to her: "These two cabinets are yours, good for storing clothes and such. There are larger wardrobes in the city house, if they’re not enough, when there’s a car, we can have them brought over."
Li Xianglu blinked back tears and said softly: "I only have these few belongings, I don’t need big wardrobes."
Li Huai Ren, the old man, blustered: "What nonsense are you talking about? My granddaughter Li Huai Ren will have endless clothes to wear in the future!" After finishing, he seemed to stomp off gruffly.
Li Xianglu was stunned. The old man turned out to be somewhat of a tsundere.
Seeing that he had left, Li Xianglu tossed her bundle to the side and quickly climbed onto the kang, her hands reaching for the big boxes right away.
Her nose pressed against them and took a sniff.
A faint scent, barely there—it was a camphor wood box!
Li Xianglu’s eyes sparkled, her hands felt around the box, meticulously examining the patterns and the craftsmanship, which were just products of the period of the Republic.
However, even that was pretty rare, especially since both boxes were a matching pair. But she couldn’t just open them right away.
She remembered in a public lecture in her past life, the lecturer had brought a camphor wood box to use for the demonstration.
One has to admire the wisdom of the general populace; beneath that box was a double layer, with a compartment below that could hide things, and the craftsmanship of the top movable inlay was exquisite—virtually undetectable with the naked eye.
So Li Xianglu itched to open it right away, but being new to the place, she decided against it.
Thus, she simply crammed the bundle inside before climbing down.
The bundle contained some old clothes of Li Xianglu’s, which Li Jianqing had gathered and brought over.
Stepping outside, she heard the old man with a big ceramic basin covered in flour. Seeing Li Xianglu come out, he said with a beaming smile: "Today, let’s steam some buns to eat."
Li Xianglu nodded and quickly stepped forward to take the washbasin, saying, "Grandpa, you should rest. I’ll do it."
Li Huai Ren, hearing Li Xianglu call him Grandpa, agreed with a wide smile, "Alright, make a bit more, and take some to the Qin Family next door. The two elder sons of the Qin Family put in quite an effort to save you a while ago."
Li Xianglu’s eyes reddened immediately. Carrying the porcelain basin, she entered the kitchen. She herself had been saved, and by rights, she should thank those who had saved her. It’s only human to repay such kindness, but neither the main branch of the Li Family nor her own birth parents from the second branch had gone to thank them.
Yet this grandpa she had just acknowledged was mindful to have her thank her benefactors, an expression of the most basic decency one should have.
The kitchen here was spacious, with a countertop of one and a half meters, a cabinet for bowls beside it, and three stoves against the eastern wall cavity—a large one, a medium one, and a small one, all finely made. The stovetop was even tiled with snow-white porcelain tiles, and next to the window, just like the Li Family’s, there was a dining table.
Seeing Li Xianglu kneading dough, the old master started a fire himself.
While tending the fire, he said, "Wash up and tidy yourself tonight. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the county town, buy some ready-to-wear clothes, and also visit the home of my wartime comrade."
Li Xianglu secretly added a whole bag of baking powder into the basin, with some hot water, and slowly began to knead the dough. Once the dough became smooth, she turned it out onto the board and began chopping green onions and preparing the cabbage.
At this time of year, even Chinese cabbage was a rarity. The few heads of cabbage grown in each family’s private land or vegetable garden wouldn’t last more than a few meals.
But next to the kitchen window of Li Huai Ren’s house, there were two neat rows of Chinese cabbage—peeling off the wilted outer leaves revealed crisp and tender hearts inside.
The meat was cured meat, with no fresh meat available, so she could only cut some cured meat to add in. However, there was an entire jar of rendered pork fat.
Li Xianglu happily scooped a big spoonful, melted it, and added it in.
The dough rose after a short while, and once the old master had two pots of water boiling, he sat down at the table and began quizzing Li Xianglu about the knowledge she had learned.
After a few questions, Li Huai Ren was amazed. This girl knew so much—it would truly be a waste if she didn’t attend school.
So, he spoke to Li Xianglu, who was making buns: "Xiang, tell Grandpa, do you want to go to school?"
Li Xianglu looked up, saying, "I do, but not right now."
Li Huai Ren was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean by not right now?"
A small, smug smile appeared on Li Xianglu’s face as she said, "I want to self-study at home, and when it’s time for the college entrance exam, I’ll go and try to get into a university."
College entrance exam? Li Huai Ren’s expression changed, looking at Li Xianglu, who was making buns, with some disbelief. It was 1974, and the college entrance exam had been suspended for nearly ten years. This child suddenly saying she would wait for the college entrance exam to resume before studying—what did she mean? Did she know that the college entrance exam was going to be reinstated?
Li Xianglu, noticing the old man’s puzzled look, immediately realized she’d let something slip, and casually replied, "Last year, I went to the commune’s bookstore to read. There were lots of people reading and discussing there, saying that the country would one day restore the college entrance exam, so I thought I’d wait until then to give it a try."
The old man’s expression softened. So that was it. Indeed, the topic of reinstating the college entrance exam was what all the students were discussing, with many saying it would surely be restored. A country’s foundation is its talent. Without opening up higher education institutions, how can talent be cultivated?
However, as much as that was the case, the policies from above changed by the day, and it was hard to say exactly when it would happen.
When the first basket of buns was ready, the old man had Li Xianglu pick out ten of them and took her personally to the neighbors’.