Staying up on New Year’s Eve, visiting relatives on the first day of the New Year.
However, apart from each having brothers or sisters, Lianshan and Shuzhen have no other relatives.
Oh no, actually, there are quite a few relatives.
But those who stood by doing nothing in times of trouble, and sometimes even made things worse, don’t count. Lianshan, with his tough spirit and stubborn temper, had long severed ties with them. He made it clear that although the three siblings of the Lian family were poor, they had their pride; they’d rather starve than beg at the doors of those so-called uncles, aunts, and relatives. If one day, these three siblings were to prosper, those so-called relatives should have the decency not to come around to try to reconnect.
With few relatives, and the current situation growing worse, people began judging each other based solely on class. Supervision and mutual reporting among fathers and sons, husbands and wives, grew increasingly intense.
The bustling scenes of the whole village celebrating the New Year with singing and dancing naturally faded away.
Instead, the newly appointed women’s director organized a group to sing revolutionary songs and perform characteristic dances at the brigade’s entrance all morning, claiming to celebrate the Spring Festival in a revolutionary manner.
Seeing from afar the gate adorned with couplets promoting the learning of Xiao Jinzhuang and multiple Dazhai Fields, Shuzhen couldn’t help but feel thankful in her heart: Luckily, it’s cold enough here in winter that even during the day it stays below minus ten to twenty degrees, making it hard to do anything but collect dung and chop wood. Otherwise, if the village leader had a whim, they might have had to turn the New Year into a full revolutionary affair, working even in the darkest, coldest hours.
The second day was traditionally a day for married daughters to visit their parents’ home, considering the second sister-in-law would be visiting her family, and they’d be welcoming the little sister-in-law’s family themselves. Shuzhen sent Lianshan early to deliver the message that the second sister-in-law should visit her family as planned, and Shuzhen would visit her brother, sister-in-law, and nephews on the third day.
Hearing this, Su Hongying, who was contemplating how to inform her family or postpone her visit, couldn’t help but chuckle. After warmly seeing off Lianshan, the young brother-in-law, she praised him to her husband and elder brother-in-law.
Comments on the couple being considerate, understanding, and thoughtful came freely, making Liu Shouren and Liu Shouyi smile: Isn’t that right? Our daughters of the Liu family were raised quietly with the manners of a lady from a noble family. Cooking, needlework, managing accounts, there was nothing the young sister couldn’t excel in. Not only was she skilled in embroidery, but she also had a bit of knowledge in the elegant arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Being divorced wasn’t her fault; it was the foolishness of the surname Dai, who stupidly abandoned a watermelon for a sesame seed!
On the second day, they received the little sister-in-law’s family, and on the third day, they spent a pleasant day with her brother, sister-in-law, and nephews.
Despite the banning of traditional activities related to welcoming deities due to the campaign against the "Four Olds," people got used to staying home during the day. In the evening, the family gathered for leftovers, and the ritualized act of casting away poverty.
Early on the fifth morning, Lianshan got up to cook the leek and meat dumplings they wrapped the night before, and took advantage of the cold and empty morning hours when no one was around to deliver two large aluminum containers of dumplings to the five at the cowshed.
The good food of New Year’s Eve, the dumplings of the family reunion night, and this meal on the fifth all allowed Old Yang, Wu Liguo, and Dong Shu, those three uncles, as well as Wu Hao and Wei Lai, these two elder brothers, to have a fulfilling and complete New Year.
After the fifth, the New Year was pretty much considered over!
Managing to have a genuinely prosperous New Year, and having set a good start for their future decades with his wife, all of Lianshan’s attention now focused on how to take good care of his wife, who was about to give birth.
He had already washed and dried all the small quilts, clothes, and diapers that would be needed for childbirth.
From buying rice husks to fill the child’s grass bags to acquiring a brand new steel pair of scissors for cutting the umbilical cord, anything the midwife said was necessary for the childbirth, he made sure to have it all prepared.
To ensure Shuzhen suffered as little as possible during childbirth, he accompanied her on walks inside and out of the house every day.
Afraid of causing her belly any discomfort or letting the child feel cold or tired, household chores such as washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning the house did not require any effort from Shuzhen.
If it weren’t for Shuzhen’s strong opposition, complaining about the cold and discomfort of squatting in unsafe toilets outside, Lianshan would have even let her use a chamber pot inside and taken it out himself.
Thinking he had made thorough preparations, covering all bases, he believed that when the time came, he could handle everything in an orderly manner without panic, taking perfect care of his wife.
But when the moment finally came, Lianshan realized it was all wishful thinking!
After two cases of complicated labor in the neighboring villages from the sixth to the twentieth day of the first lunar month—one with a stillborn child and one where the mother and daughter both passed away—
Knowing his wife was about to pay a visit to death’s door, Lianshan felt nothing but terror, waking up from fear more than once at night.
While his wife remained unfazed, it was the seven-foot-tall man of the house who nearly suffered from prenatal anxiety out of fear. Shuzhen, both touched and heartbroken, assured him countless times of their safety, promising they’d grow old together.
Their relationship improved significantly with these daily expressions of love, yet not even a bit managed to reassure her husband.
By the time Shuzhen was in her ninth month of pregnancy, Lianshan carried canned food and malted milk to pay a respectful visit to his second brother-in-law Liu Shouyi’s house. Saying that they were young, inexperienced, and lived in a remote area with no one around, he feared Shuzhen might suddenly go into labor, leaving him unable to manage everything. So he invited his second brother and sister-in-law to stay in their west house for some time.
However, it’s clear the main invitation was for Su Hongying, this experienced mother of two, who was both rough and attentive, perfect for this role. Liu Shouyi was merely a complementary invite!
The joint invitation wasn’t to avoid the wagging tongues of gossipers, speculating about the brother-in-law and sister-in-law living under one roof.
With a son-in-law so considerate of his sister-in-law, Su Hongying could only feel pleased and relieved, with no room for objection.
Quickly, take the stuff over, we’ll tidy up and head over with your brother.
It seemed fate had perfect timing, for all the days Lianshan kept a close watch, Shuzhen showed no sign of labor. Yet today, of all days, while buying gifts and asking for favors took him a couple of hours, she started having contractions.
Fortunately, Lianshan was meticulous and entrusted his brother’s wife Qiu Fang to keep Shuzhen company.
When Lianshan and the Liu Shouyi couple reached the halfway mark, they ran into Qiu Fang, who was rushing to find the midwife.
Finding out his wife was in labor left Lianshan at a loss. He immediately tumbled forward into the snow, rolling and scrambling on all fours, rushing to the midwife’s house in the village. Even as he ran, he shouted reminders to take good care of his wife...