Every year at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, it was time to prepare winter storage of Chinese cabbage.
Auntie Liu slapped her forehead. “That’s right! I’ve been so busy I almost forgot. Let’s buy early this year—otherwise we’ll have to get up in the middle of the night to fight over it later.”
Across both her lifetimes combined, this was Wang Ying’s first time experiencing the rush to stock up on winter cabbages.
Curious, she asked, “How much are you all planning to buy?”
Judging by the scale of this operation, it seemed like everyone was planning to stock up heavily.
Ma Dalian replied, “Cabbage is calculated by headcount. We have six adults and six kids. That adds up to at least 350 jin or more.”
Wang Ying: !!!
Auntie Liu added, “We’re about the same. Five adults and two kids—no less than 300 jin.”
Wang Ying: ???
Even Old Madam Xu, who was usually calculating, said, “Four adults and one child in our family. We can’t get by with less than 200 jin.”
Wang Ying: …
It wasn’t that she was ignorant. It was just that during her years in the countryside, although there was less cash compared to the city, food came from the land. In summer they dried extra vegetables, so winter meals still had variety. But in the city, everything depended on wages and ration tickets. Naturally, there were fewer choices.
Auntie Liu continued, “Three hundred jin of cabbage, plus two baskets of radishes—that should be enough for our family this year.”
Old Madam Xu nodded. “About the same for us. Among the households here, probably only Wang Ying’s family won’t need to stock much. After all, no children yet—just the two of you living freely. Oh right, Wang Ying, you’re not using your bicycle recently, are you? Why don’t you lend it to Auntie? You see, hauling back 200 jin of cabbage won’t be easy.”
Wang Ying smiled sweetly. “What are you saying? Of course I use my bicycle. I need it morning and evening for work. Sister Yun has a bicycle too, right? Isn’t that so, Sister Yun? Since your mother-in-law said so, maybe you can walk to work tomorrow? Otherwise Auntie Xu will have trouble transporting the cabbages.”
Ever since Xu Shuang had embarrassed her, Zhang Yun’s feelings toward the couple weren’t just mild displeasure—they were deep resentment.
She used to think Xu Shuang was good-looking—only slightly inferior to her husband—and had felt Wang Ying was lucky. But she didn’t think that anymore.
Every time her mother-in-law said something inappropriate, a few days later Xu Shuang would start cooking something delicious.
He didn’t cook meat every single time—no one had that many meat ration tickets—but the man was too scheming!
He rendered lard from fat pork and used animal oil for stir-frying. And every so often he’d bring back meat dishes from the restaurant and stew them at home. The moment he poked the stove fire, Dabao would start crying next door. Zhang Yun would scold her son and curse Xu Shuang at the same time—calling him heartless despite being a chef at a state-run restaurant.
Now, whenever Zhang Yun saw Xu Shuang’s handsome face, she felt only irritation.
And now Wang Ying was openly and subtly mocking her mother-in-law again. Instantly, Zhang Yun leapt to her defense.
“Mom, you don’t need to borrow anyone’s bicycle. I’ll just wake up two hours earlier tomorrow and walk to school. We’re family—we’re not like certain selfish, mean-spirited people. Don’t worry, I won’t need the bicycle lately. I’ll leave it at home for you.”
After saying this, she shot Wang Ying a look—part contempt, part self-satisfaction, part disgust, part flaunting.
Old Madam Xu beamed. “Good Xiaoyun! I knew you’re the most considerate in this family. I must have accumulated blessings for eight lifetimes.”
Zhang Yun continued, “Mom, don’t say that. We’re family. Since I married Brother Lei, I should be as filial to you as he is. I’m not like some people who move to the city to enjoy themselves and completely ignore their elders suffering back home. If someone isn’t filial, are they even human? No warmth at all. I don’t think their future will turn out well. As they say, among all virtues, filial piety comes first…”
“Oh! Auntie Liu, look over there—there’s a crowd gathered. Should we go take a look?”
Without another word, Wang Ying grabbed Auntie Liu and ran to the front.
Behind them, Zhang Yun was left mid-lecture, furious.
Auntie Ma hurried to follow. Her two daughters-in-law had already gone ahead to squat by the cabbage trucks. At the scene, two small factions had formed—Old Madam Xu and Zhang Yun on one side, Wang Ying and Auntie Liu on the other. Naturally, she chose to stick with Auntie Liu. She didn’t enjoy listening to Zhang Yun’s preachy tone either.
The three of them ignored whatever sour remarks the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were making behind them and pushed their way into the crowd.
“Popcorn!”
In the middle stood a man in his sixties, wearing a vest and sitting on a small stool. With his left hand he pulled the bellows; with his right he turned a gourd-shaped metal popcorn maker. Red flames licked beneath it as it rotated. Children crowded around, staring eagerly at the pot—some had already covered their ears.
Wang Ying was overjoyed. Auntie Liu immediately instructed her eldest daughter-in-law, “Quick, go back and bring two enamel mugs of corn kernels. And grab a sack. Wang Ying, does your family want some?”
“Yes!” Wang Ying replied. “Please tell Xu Shuang to prepare a mug too.”
It was rare to see old-fashioned popcorn being made—how could she miss it?
Auntie Ma quickly added, “Xiao Tang, stop by my house too! Yongjun is sleeping—have him give you three mugs and two sacks!”
Tang Min acknowledged and hurried off. Just then, Zhang Yun and Old Madam Xu squeezed into the crowd.
Seeing Tang Min about to leave, Old Madam Xu tried to call out for her to bring some for their family as well.
But Tang Min walked quickly. Amid the noisy crowd, it was unclear whether she didn’t hear or pretended not to—she had already disappeared.
Wang Ying watched excitedly as the old man coughed and rasped loudly, “Stand back!”
He removed the gourd pot from the fire and fitted its mouth into a long cloth sack stitched together from several pieces of fabric.
With one foot pressing down on the lid and holding a long metal rod-like lever, he pried it open with force—
Bang!
The children cheered as a burst of white steam exploded outward. Amid the mist, bits of popcorn scattered, and quick-handed children rushed in to snatch them up.
The old man poured the steaming, sweet-smelling popcorn out of the long sack. The sight made all the children drool.
“Eight fen per batch. Add sugar for ten fen.”
The owner of that batch hoisted a half-sack of popcorn onto her shoulder while her child circled her like a puppy. “Mom, give me some! Give me some!”
“Eat, eat, eat! If it weren’t for you little brat, would I have spent eight fen? Move out of the way—we’ll eat at home!”
Mother and child muttered as they walked off, and someone immediately stepped forward.
“My turn! My turn!”
Wang Ying watched with fascination as the old man poured more corn kernels into the pot.
Tang Min soon returned with six mugs of corn and her two children in tow.
Tang Min sighed helplessly. “They insisted on coming.”
Both children were hers. Her younger sister-in-law had been married for seven or eight years without conceiving, so the family doted a little on these two. Once they heard about popcorn, they insisted on coming.
The older boy was named Yangyang, the younger girl Yueyue.
Yangyang clung to Tang Min’s leg. “Mom, I want to stay here and watch the popcorn.”
Yueyue nodded vigorously. Just over three years old, she was usually her brother’s little shadow.
“I want to watch too!”
Auntie Liu said, “Then stay here and keep an eye on the kids while waiting for the popcorn. We’ll go buy fruit.”
Old Madam Xu complained, “Why didn’t Dabao come? Xiao Tang, did you see him just now? Oh dear, I called you earlier to bring corn for us, but you didn’t hear.”
Tang Min only smiled silently.
She had helped Old Madam Xu before, but it always ended badly—either the Xu family “didn’t have any” and Tang Min’s family had to cover the cost, or Old Madam Xu would grumble even after receiving help.
Since Tang Min hadn’t brought corn for them, Old Madam Xu was unwilling to spend eight fen on her own batch. She’d been hoping to mix her corn in with others and grab a larger share when dividing it. Paying eight fen herself? Forget it.
Leaving Tang Min to queue for popcorn, the others squeezed their way toward the shop selling pears and tangerines. By then it was packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
But Auntie Liu relaxed. “Not too many people today. Hurry and line up—we should still get some.”
It was as crowded as Spring Festival travel season, but in the end Wang Ying successfully secured three jin of pears and half a jin of tangerines.
Just as they squeezed out, Auntie Ma’s eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Yulian, came running.
“Hurry! Several truckloads of cabbage just arrived!”
Auntie Ma nearly lunged at her, furious. “Couldn’t you find somewhere quiet to tell us?”
Indeed—people nearby with sharp ears had already heard and begun shouting, “Go home and grab your ration books! The cabbages are here!”
Auntie Ma glared resentfully.
Just because you have a mouth!
Dizzy from the chaos, Wang Ying ran home with the crowd, then dragged Xu Shuang out again to grab cabbages.
After three bicycle trips, they finally transported over a hundred jin of cabbage back home.
Wang Ying collapsed onto the bed and let out a heavy sigh.
City life was really exhausting.
You had to fight for everything.
Xu Shuang came in holding a chunk of pumpkin. “Master said we’re having grilled fish tonight. How about salted egg yolk pumpkin for lunch? We still have two salted duck eggs.”
Wang Ying sprang upright. “Yes!”
The pumpkin was cut into strips, salted to draw out moisture, dusted with starch, and deep-fried. The salted egg yolks were minced and stir-fried until foamy, then the pumpkin strips were tossed in.
Golden strips coated in sandy salted egg yolk—rich, savory, and slightly sweet. The crisp outer layer carried salty fragrance, while the inside remained soft and sweet. The mingling of sweet and savory made Wang Ying utterly addicted.
The morning passed like a battlefield. In the afternoon, Wang Ying completely gave up.
She lay drowsily on the bed, watching Xu Shuang move in and out. The winter cabbages couldn’t simply be stored right away—they had to be processed first.
Xu Shuang spread the cabbages out on the roof to dry. Once the outer leaves wilted a bit, he removed the rotten outer layers, tied the heads together with rope, and stacked them neatly with ventilation in mind. Their hundred-plus jin didn’t look too bad. But when Wang Ying occasionally peeked over at Auntie Ma’s house, she couldn’t help clicking her tongue.
Over three hundred jin of cabbage—stacked up, it was truly a spectacular sight.
Auntie Liu’s house was no less impressive. Each household had built a “mountain” of cabbage at their doorway.
By calculation, the only person in the entire courtyard not participating in this winter stockpiling was Chen Dong in the back courtyard—the man who only needed to feed himself.
Chen Dong picked up a piece of crispy-outside, tender-inside grilled fish and scoffed at his apprentice’s behavior. “What’s the point of hoarding that stuff? Eating cabbage all winter long—your face will turn green.”
Wang Ying felt conflicted. After years of living together, she now understood why Chen Dong was so keen on dabbling in gray-market trading.
The old man didn’t eat vegetarian.
The money he saved during spring and summer would be nearly all spent by winter.
Restaurant meals weren’t enough—he’d go to the black market to hunt for meat ration tickets and other food coupons. Every winter, he’d cook up elaborate dishes for himself in the back courtyard.
Wang Ying said, “Master, wake up. Now that we’ve both moved to the city, we probably won’t be able to bring you mountain goods next year.”
She and Xu Shuang had already discussed this.
It used to be convenient—living near the mountains in the countryside, they could bring things along when visiting relatives without raising suspicion.
But now that they were both city residents, time was tight. Going back and returning with large quantities regularly would eventually arouse suspicion.
They had converted to urban household registrations. If reported, they could lose their jobs.
Speculation and small-scale trading weren’t policed too harshly in the countryside—at worst, goods would be confiscated. But the city was different. So many people were eyeing every job position. If one person fell, another would take their place.
Chen Dong’s status protected him, but they wouldn’t be so lucky.
Chen Dong lost his appetite mid-bite and muttered, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let you two move to the city…”
Sure, he got to eat his apprentice’s cooking more often—but suddenly money felt tight.
Wang Ying waved it off. “Alright, finish eating and lie down. I’ll take your pulse. Winter’s coming—perfect time for you to slim down.”
Chen Dong’s health had never been great. Wang Ying planned to use this opportunity to properly regulate his condition.
Chen Dong asked nervously, “You’re not going to make me eat vegetarian every day, are you?”
If that happened, he’d sever the master-disciple relationship immediately!
Wang Ying replied calmly, “No.”
Reassured, Chen Dong resumed eating heartily.
Wang Ying exchanged a glance with Xu Shuang. After this meal, she planned to create a proper diet plan for the old man.
With Xu Shuang working at the restaurant, he could keep an eye on him daily.
Winter didn’t arrive with slow footsteps. It came suddenly—one morning, waking early to find snowflakes drifting outside.
Wang Ying rubbed her hands and breathed warm air onto them. “I wonder if the roads back to the brigade are already blocked.”
They had gone back twice recently and tried to persuade Old Madam Xu to move to the city. She refused, saying she was fine in the countryside. She had a sewing machine now, and people from neighboring brigades often came to her for mending and tailoring.
One egg per mending job. Up to ten eggs for making a new outfit.
When Wang Ying and Xu Shuang returned to the city, Old Madam Xu had packed them a large basket of eggs—several dozen.
Xu Shuang said, “They’re probably blocked already. Our brigade gets snowed in every year. What do you want for breakfast?”
Lately, Wang Ying had been getting hungry easily. Sometimes she’d wake up in the middle of the night starving. She wondered if moving to the city had somehow affected her “golden finger.” The hunger felt even stronger than when she had just transmigrated and was rebuilding her health.
“Let’s steam an egg custard and have some soup noodles?”
“Spicy soup noodles?”
“Okay~”
Xu Shuang paused. Recently, Wang Ying’s voice had grown soft and clingy, always ending with a sweet little tone. It reminded him of certain… moments.
“I want a poached egg in the spicy soup noodles~”
With so many eggs from Old Madam Xu, Wang Ying didn’t hold back at all.
Xu Shuang responded with a quiet “Mm,” his movements suddenly a bit hurried.
The spicy soup base was Xu Shuang’s own creation. Since Wang Ying had developed a strong love for chili, he gathered various spices and developed a rich red chili oil broth. On busy mornings, he’d simply boil some noodles and ladle the spicy broth over them—steaming hot and deeply satisfying.
Wang Ying had offered plenty of suggestions while he perfected the recipe—adding shredded beef, red chili peppers, and lantern peppers—but she only provided inspiration. Xu Shuang tested several methods before getting it right.
Wang Ying held her steaming bowl of noodles. The red oil shimmered, numbing and spicy. One bowl in the morning made her forehead sweat. After finishing it happily, she followed with a silky bowl of steamed egg custard.
Breakfast done, the two headed to work together.
At the gate, they ran into Zhang Yun’s husband, Xu Lei, dressed neatly.
Xu Lei was tall—around 1.8 meters—in an era when most people were undernourished. His features were refined and gentle. Compared to Xu Shuang’s sharp and striking looks, Xu Lei appeared softer and more delicate.
Wang Ying thought it was fortunate he had refined features. Otherwise, Zhang Yun probably wouldn’t have chosen him. You could say Xu Lei lived off his face.
Since they ran into each other, Xu Lei greeted them. “Heading to work?”
Wang Ying replied smoothly, “Of course. Brother Xu, going out for something?”
Xu Lei’s eyes flickered slightly. “Mm, going out to meet a friend.”
Wang Ying found it a little strange. Since moving in, she had become familiar with most of the women in the courtyard. As for the men, she had mostly just seen them in passing without much conversation. After all, they all had jobs, and the chances of running into them daily were small.
Counting everyone in the courtyard, all the men had work.
Except Xu Lei.
He was the only one who stayed idle. Either he remained at home without coming out, or if he did go out, no one knew where he went.
Everything Wang Ying knew about Xu Lei came from Zhang Yun and Old Madam Xu. As for Old Madam Xu, there was no need to mention her. Zhang Yun, however, constantly bragged about her husband.
She would talk about how well Xu Lei treated her, how the two of them got together. Even though they had been married for years, whenever Zhang Yun mentioned Xu Lei, her face would still light up with pink bubbles of adoration.
Wang Ying didn’t think Xu Lei was that great. If he were truly a good man, would he feel at ease staying home and living off others?
Zhang Yun carried herself with a certain pride, almost aloof from the mundane, yet she was beyond reproach in how she treated her in-laws. Sometimes Wang Ying felt tired just watching her—busy all day long without a moment’s rest.
In contrast, the rest of the Xu family was something else entirely. Old Man Xu, once awake, would either go fishing or find someone in the neighboring courtyard to play chess with. Xu Lei either slept at home or disappeared somewhere unknown. And Old Madam Xu was even worse—she would sit idle at home without lifting a finger for housework, using all her energy instead to scheme against her daughter-in-law.
Compared to them, the Ma family might be noisy and quarrelsome, but at least everyone worked diligently.
At the street corner, Wang Ying and Xu Shuang parted ways. She pedaled her bicycle toward work.
Just as she reached the clinic entrance, she heard a burst of commotion—sounding very much like Zhang Na’s voice.
Wang Ying was surprised. Wasn’t Zhang Na usually mild-tempered? What had happened today?
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