Xinyan naturally remembered what they said that day: "Yes, yes, yes, I said it. I just didn’t expect my dad would agree with you so readily."
He Jinxuan joked, "Naturally, it’s because he saw how good I am to you. I’ll keep working hard in the future."
Xinyan smiled with her eyes, "Your mouth is getting smoother and smoother."
He Jinxuan pulled her into his embrace, "Yanyan, I’m speaking sincerely."
Xinyan hugged him tightly, "Mm, I know."
They lingered at the gate for a while, and then Xinyan pushed him away, "Okay, if you wait any longer, you really won’t catch the last bus. You’ll have yourself to blame then."
He Jinxuan reluctantly let her go, "You go inside, I’m leaving."
Xinyan knew that if she didn’t go inside, he probably wouldn’t leave either, so she simply turned around and entered the yard, "Be safe."
Only after she secured the latch from inside did she hear He Jinxuan leave.
Granny Zhang opened the door and came out, "Yanyan, you’re back. Who were you talking to?"
Xinyan headed inside, "It was He Jinxuan. He picked me up from my master’s place. He had to catch the last bus, so he didn’t come in."
Granny Zhang glanced at the still-falling snow, "This snow probably won’t stop anytime soon."
Xinyan stood under the eaves, "Granny Zhang, I’ll come back a bit late tomorrow afternoon to pick up the things you wanted. I’ll send them off directly in the afternoon. Even if it snows, it won’t delay their wedding."
After chatting briefly, Xinyan fetched some hot water and went back inside.
*
The next morning, the snow had stopped, but it had piled up to her ankles.
Last night, Xinyan left the shovel by the door, planning to clear a path in the yard first.
Granny Zhang was worried that the snow would delay sending things back home and went to bed late. As a result, she woke up late.
Hearing noise in the yard, she woke up.
When she opened the door and saw the snow in the yard, "Wow, it really snowed a lot last night."
Xinyan called out to her, "Wear an extra layer, it’s windy now, and quite cold."
Knowing not to trouble Xinyan, Granny Zhang went back inside, put on another garment, and came out to make breakfast.
After Xinyan cleared paths in the front and back yards, she opened the gate and began shoveling the snow on the path outside her yard.
When she had cleared about half of it, the Tong Family’s gate opened too. Many people came out from the Tong Family to clear the snow, and Xinyan greeted them with a smile, "Hello Uncle Tong, Uncle Tong, and all the brothers."
They all greeted Xinyan with smiles too. Many hands make light work, and soon they had cleared the Tong Family’s section of the alley’s snow. Then they helped Xinyan clear the remaining part.
Xinyan smiled and thanked them, "Thank you all."
Uncle Tong waved it off, "We’re neighbors; there’s no need to be so polite. Your Grandma Tong has surely enjoyed plenty of meals at your place."
Xinyan replied, "Grandma Tong earned her meals fair and square, being kind and getting along well with Granny Zhang."
Everyone burst into laughter at this.
Just as they finished laughing, they heard noise from the Chen Family next door to the Tongs, "We never invited you back. If you don’t want to stay, take your child and leave. No one is stopping you."
Right after that, they heard a child crying, "Mommy, mommy."
Then came Old Mrs. Chen’s shout, "She’s still sick, you push her out again, what are you going to do?"
Following that was the Chen family’s eldest daughter’s-in-law’s voice, "Mom, you know our family situation, we can’t afford to keep idle people."
Old Mrs. Chen, hearing her daughter-in-law’s words, shouted hoarsely, "Eldest, Manjuan is your own sister. They have helped you a lot before. Now that she’s in trouble, are you really going to ignore her?"
The eldest of the Chen family, who was afraid of his wife, didn’t dare to respond to his mother’s pleas.
Noticing her son’s cowardice, Old Mrs. Chen slapped her thigh and cried, "Are you deaf too, Second?"
That’s when they heard the voice of the second son from the Chen family, "Mom, get up first, the ground is cold with snow. As for Manjuan coming home, my wife and I have no objections. We’ll do as you say."