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Although the house had not collapsed, the ancestral hall felt empty and eerie, much colder than the warmth of their homes. The Jiang family, with the help of the villagers, moved the remaining intact belongings and food into the hall, but clothes and straw mats could do little to block the biting cold wind that blew in from all sides. The youngest Jiang shivered from the cold, and with Jiang Daya nursing an injured leg... The villagers sighed; it seemed these two children might not survive this winter. The Jiang family shared this sentiment, each face reflecting a despairing hopelessness.
"..." Li Zhoule thought of the thick cotton coat at home, too long for anyone in the Li or Wen families to wear. Li Zhoule had repurposed it into a quilt, using the cut-off sleeves to make a vest originally intended for Li Yishu. The youngest Jiang was two years younger than Li Yishu and had grown quite a bit; although the vest was two sizes too big, it would still provide enough warmth.
"Uncle Jiang, I still have a quilt and a vest at home. I'll have Li Yishu bring them over to you."
Uncle Jiang's eyes lit up at this news, and he wiped away his tears as he said, "Er Ya, thank you so much. Without that, my eldest daughter and the youngest might not make it through this winter..."
While Uncle Jiang was relieved that his family would not freeze, he worriedly asked, "If you give us your quilt, what about you and Li Yishu? Won't you get cold?"
Li Zhoule smiled and shook his head. "Look at how thick and large our clothes are; they could even serve as blankets. How could we possibly get cold?"
The villagers had already noticed that both families were dressed in thick cotton clothing. Out of envy and curiosity, they wondered: The Wen Family Three Brothers wore fabric that everyone recognized; it made sense that after inheriting some wealth, the Li family could afford to make cotton clothes for their future brothers-in-law. But what material were the Li siblings' cotton clothes made from? They had never seen anything like it before.
A straightforward villager's wife asked aloud.
Li Zhoule smiled as she prepared her answer: "This material was sent back by my elder brother through someone else. It keeps warm, but we don’t know exactly what it is made of."
Upon hearing this, all the villagers gathered around: "Your brother sent word back? What’s he doing? Did he mention when he would return? Did he say anything about my Si Hai?"
"Did he mention my Zhang Zi?"
"Any news about my San?"
"Any word about my Mu Tu?"
"Did he...?"
“……”
The buzzing in Li Zhoule's ears made her regret using her older brother as an excuse.
“Everyone, please be quiet,” Li Zhoule raised her voice.
The villagers stopped talking and turned their expectant gazes toward her.
Li Zhoule could only come up with a reason: “My brother just sent some things over and left a message saying that everyone is well. There’s nothing more.”
Hearing this, the villagers felt disappointed, but the words "everyone is well" eased their anxious hearts. Many young men from Li Family Village had been conscripted, and every household was affected. They had been worried, fearing that they would receive news of death like the Wen Family did not long ago. Little did Li Zhoule know that her fib had inadvertently turned out to be true; aside from Wen Fu, those conscripted from Li Family Village had survived, though some were injured or disabled. The death of Wen Fu had spurred Elder Brother Li into action, gathering the villagers for training and teaching them many life-saving techniques for the battlefield, which allowed them to survive despite their injuries.
After a while, Li Yishu returned to the kitchen with blankets and vests. Upon seeing the thick cotton blankets, everyone envied Jiang Family for their good fortune in receiving such a warm bed. The aunt helped Youngest Jiang put on the vest, which hung down to his backside, restoring a bit of color to his pale face. The other villagers also contributed what they could, and the Jiang Family gratefully accepted it. The once despondent eyes of the villagers regained vitality and hope.
“Zhou Le, let’s go together,” Wen Zixia said gently as he walked up to Li Zhoule. His family didn’t have much to spare, so he brought a bundle of firewood for the Jiang Family.
“Okay.” Although she hadn’t seen her fiancé’s shyness, Li Zhoule felt very happy inside. The two walked side by side; though their movements weren’t intimate, anyone with eyes could see the unspoken understanding between them.
“Zhou Le, don’t use Brother Li as an excuse anymore,” Wen Zixia reminded her softly.
Li Zhoule lightly responded with an “mm”: “I couldn’t think of any other reason at the moment; I could only use my brother as an excuse. I hope he and everyone who went out from the village are safe and will return.”
“They definitely will,” Wen Zixia comforted Li Zhoule, giving her confidence. “Brother Li is skilled; he can certainly protect himself. As for the others in the village, as long as they learn a few tricks from Brother Li, they should be able to come back alive.”
Li Zhoule gazed at the overcast sky: “It would be wonderful if there were no more wars.”
………………
After finishing the Laba Congee, the New Year was just a few days away. Hanno and Mom Han began preparing for the festivities. Every year, as soon as December arrived, D City would set up tents in the gymnasium to hold the New Year Goods Fair, offering everything from food to clothing. Hanno joined the throngs of people, browsing through the stalls: walnuts from J, bought; cured pork ribs from Azure River, bought; black fungus from Northeast, bought; this shirt looks nice for Dad, bought; this pearl necklace looks lovely for Mom, bought; authentic sorghum wine, homemade by farmers, bought; honey, bought...
Fortunately, Hanno had brought a cart; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to carry all these items home.
"You girl, buying so much stuff?!" Mom Han was taken aback by Hanno's extravagant spending.
Hanno exclaimed, "It's not that much! It's all food and necessities; it'll be gone before long."
Once they reached the sandbank, Hanno sat down and began pulling out items one by one. Mom Han came over to help, moving all the food into the kitchen to organize it neatly. Hanno placed the clothes and necklace she bought for her parents in their room. There were still a couple of items left in the cart.
Mom Han pulled out a package and asked, "What are you doing with all these toasted bread slices? You don’t eat them, and your dad and I certainly won’t."
Toasted bread slices were made from poorly baked or leftover bread that had been sliced and dried. They could be stored for a long time but were hard and dry. Perhaps some people liked them, but no one in the Han family did.
"They were cheap, so I bought them," Hanno said, not revealing her sudden whimsy. She found an excuse: "I got them to feed the birds."
In the middle of the river outside their neighborhood lay patches of greenery where many waterfowl would winter every year. On nice days, many citizens would come to the riverbank to toss breadcrumbs and other food into the water to feed the birds. The sight was quite spectacular.
Hanno carried the toasted bread slices and a printed Fortune Character into her room. Nowadays, businesses were quite clever; they had actually printed out the character "Fortune" written by Kangxi. Just this gimmick alone attracted many buyers, not to mention that Kangxi's calligraphy was already impressive in its own right.
Hanno tossed the bread slices and Fortune Character into a porcelain jar and said to it, "Though I don't know where you will go, no matter which time or space it is, I hope whoever receives these gifts can feel our New Year spirit here. Wishing you a Happy New Year."
Mom Han's voice came from the kitchen: "Oh look, there's still half a bottle of honey! You bought another big bottle—how are we going to finish it?"
"Our family drinks a cup of honey water every morning; it'll be gone quickly," Hanno replied as she walked out of her room and took the remaining half bottle of honey from Mom Han's hands. "I just bought this new wild chrysanthemum honey from this autumn; it's good for calming the liver and improving eyesight while clearing heat and phlegm. Don't you and Dad feel like there's phlegm in your throats every morning? This is perfect for making warm water with wild chrysanthemum honey."
"What about this bottle then?" Mom Han asked.
"Throwing it away." Hanno took the half bottle of Honey back to her room. "It's from last year, it's leaking and has been sitting around for so long that the taste has changed. I'll throw it in the trash downstairs later to avoid attracting ants in the house."
Mom Han felt it was a pity, but she also thought that eating Honey that had gone bad wasn't a good idea. Besides, they weren't short on money, so she approved of Hanno's decision. However, Hanno didn't actually throw the Honey in the outdoor trash; instead, she tossed it into the Porcelain Jar. She thought that this half bottle of Honey might be helpful to someone.
...
Every morning, Li Yishu's first task was to check the "Fairy Treasure" Porcelain Jar in the Storage Room. Although the "deity" hadn't bestowed anything upon them for a long time, Li Yishu still maintained this habit. He didn't insist on finding something inside, but even when he saw the empty Porcelain Jar, he could still feel the beauty of life. This Porcelain Jar had brought them hope during their most difficult times.
That day, just like every other day, Li Yishu entered the storage room. Moments later, he let out a joyful shout: "Sister, the Deity has sent us New Year gifts!"
Li Zhoule hurried into the storage room and helped Li Yishu bring the contents of the Porcelain Jar into the Hall. The bright light in the Hall allowed them to see clearly what three items were inside.
"What a beautiful Fortune Character!" Li Zhoule exclaimed as he picked it up. They had never seen such an elegant and grand character before. Even the scholars in the county's academy couldn't write as beautifully.
"I'll practice writing this character from now on," Li Yishu said, looking at the Fortune Character with admiration.
Li Zhoule handed the Fortune Character to Li Yishu: "You should paste this Fortune Character in your room."
Li Yishu was overjoyed as he took it and carefully placed it back in his room.
Li Zhoule looked down at the remaining two items and immediately spotted a plastic bottle containing Honey. He became excited; another Glass Bottle!
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