In the early morning, Ping’an woke up on time. Zhang Guoqing prepared the milk powder, skillfully feeding his son while holding him in his arms. After he was done drinking, Zhang Guoqing changed the diaper that was prepared the night before. By the faint light, he glanced at his son, who was drinking with his eyes closed and fell asleep as soon as his diaper was changed. Amused, he kissed his son’s head. He listened to the inner room, hearing no sound. It seemed like the past few days had been tiring, and the red wine helped with sleep. Gently, he placed his son on the kang, slowly lying down beside him and tucked them in with the quilt.
Before dawn, the roosters crowed. Zhang Guoqing jolted awake and checked on his son, noting that it was almost five o’clock. Soon his parents would wake up, and today, his mother-in-law had to get up to catch a train. Carefully moving away from his son, he adjusted the small quilt under his son’s neck, worried that his face might get covered. Then he wrapped him with his own big quilt to keep the wind out. He put on his clothes and, carrying a towel and toiletries, gingerly opened the door and squeezed out, quickly closing it behind him.
The weather was growing colder as the year drew to a close, resembling the winters of the Jiangnan region in the South. He wondered if they would hibernate as in previous years. His breath turned into fog in the chilly wind, making him shudder.
Zhang Guoqing immediately felt his way to the kitchen, skillfully lighting the kerosene lamp with the kerosene lighter brought back from the provincial city. He ran to the well to draw a large bucket of water. This well stayed warm in winter and cool in summer, which was what he liked best, so he quickly washed up.
The kerosene lamp was already lit in the East Wing of the main house. He walked to the window and quietly called out a greeting inside. Then he quickly took his things and ran to the outer room of the west wing. Once he warmed up, he dared to approach the kang to check on his son. Satisfied that the coal stove wasn’t too hot and the room temperature wouldn’t freeze his son, he felt reassured.
Next, he went outside, took down two hares from the eaves, and returned to the kitchen. He removed the iron pot from the stove, propped the hares on an iron rack, and roasted them slowly. There was no alternative, as roasting outside was inconvenient. He had to rotate the iron rack from time to time and ran back to check on his son. Luckily, they used firewood at home, so he didn’t have to stay there all the time. After half an hour, the aroma of grilled meat overtook the smell of stewed meat. He added one more piece of wood to another burner to roast it slowly. Amidst the rich aroma, he slashed a few cuts with a small knife and ran back to check on his son. He felt he was extremely busy. If an oven were available, he would buy it no matter the cost. It was exhausting. After an hour of tiring work, the meat finally cooked. He plated it directly, put back the iron pot, added water to the stove, and returned to the room with the platter. The aroma immediately filled his nostrils, the whole room enveloped in the scent of roasted meat.
Zhou Jiao, drowsy in her sleep, dreamt of biting into a chicken leg when the aroma wafted through, stirring her from a state of half-sleep. After a while, she stared at her mother, remembered where she was, and noticed the door to the outer room was ajar. Zhang Guoqing was there poking the coal stove, worried about waking her mother, and was frantically waving his hand.
Zhang Guoqing felt eyes on him from behind and quickly turned around. He was amused to see Zhou Jiao waving her hand vigorously, with exaggerated eye-rolls and silently mouthing words.
He returned to the kang and gently carried his son, still wrapped in the small quilt, back to Zhou Jiao, signaling her to move inward. He placed his son on the outer side softly, then silently went to the outer room, built a barrier with his own quilt around his son’s body. Once done, he sighed with relief. The two of them smiled at each other silently.
Worried she was hungry, Zhang Guoqing pointed to his stomach and mouth, mimicking a drinking soup motion. Seeing Zhou Jiao shake her head, he gestured, indicating he would accompany them to sleep and gestured towards their son, reminding her to be careful. Watching her nod, he signaled that he was going out.
Zhou Jiao wanted to ask what was smelling so fragrant but thought better of it. Seeing his exaggerated gestures amused her to no end. She waved her hand for him to go out.
Zhang Guoqing breathed a sigh of relief—what a workout! Leaving the room, he walked towards the kitchen, noticing that his mother wasn’t in sight either. It was nearly six; usually, they would be up by now. Checking the East Wing of the main house, he saw a light was on. Anxiously and worriedly, he entered the house and found they were just getting up.
"Dad and Mom, are you feeling unwell?" Zhang Guoqing asked worriedly, glancing at his father and mother.
Mother Zhang laughed heartily, teasing, "What are you thinking? There’s no work today, and meat is stewing in the pot; there’s no rush to make breakfast. I told your dad to rest a while, but he can’t stay in bed, so we’re getting up now."