MAC’60s Chapter 62.1

The postman who delivered the letter had a few extra words: “Do you have relatives in the northwest? This letter wasn’t easy to get here, it took almost two months to arrive.”

Grandma Xu’s eyes moistened when she saw the letter. Her youngest son was right in front of her every day, but her eldest son had gone far away to endure hardship. How could a mother not feel heartache for that?

Wang Ying chatted with the postman for a bit and then sent him off.

This is one of the problems with having no entertainment nowadays—everyone ends up chatting with anyone they come across. But seeing Grandma Xu so emotional, Wang Ying quickly ushered the postman away so they could open the letter.

Xu Shuang had graduated from middle school, so he could easily read the letter.

“I’m doing well here. The sky is particularly high, the wind is strong, and there are yellow sheep running around everywhere. The herders say that yellow sheep meat is particularly fresh, but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. The stir-fried noodles you sent are delicious, but a bit hard to swallow. Next time, remember to add some crushed walnuts… Tell Mom I’m doing fine here, and a girl even gave me some eggs…”

Xu Ming rambled on, writing seven full pages.

Grandma Xu’s eyes glistened with tears as she laughed and scolded, “This big-headed kid!”

Though Wang Ying had never met this eldest uncle, she could tell from his writing that he was quite a lively person.

Not everyone could write about things like yellow sheep meat and blue skies in the northwest. Even though he hadn’t had any yellow sheep meat himself, he went into detail about the taste as described by the herders… And he even mentioned a girl giving him eggs with a playful tone.

Wang Ying instinctively felt that Xu Ming’s personality was much more cheerful than Xu Shuang’s.

At the end of the letter, Xu Ming also sent his regards to Wang Ying, his unseen sister-in-law, saying he’d send her a cashmere hat later. He mentioned that the herders knew how to weave them, and they looked incredibly warm.

Wang Ying felt a warm feeling in her heart, thinking that Xu Ming was indeed very thoughtful.

After Xu Shuang finished reading the letter, Grandma Xu wiped away her tears and hurriedly asked Xu Shuang to write a reply.

Wang Ying said, “No need to hurry, let’s send something over in the next few days and include the letter with it. We can send it all together when we go into town.”

The journey from here to the northwest was so long—it would take over a month. A round trip would take three months, which was simply too long to wait.

The stir-fried noodles they sent last time were probably mostly eaten by Xu Ming by now, so they needed to send more things. Wang Ying thought it would be good to send some dried vegetables and white sugar. Vegetables were hard to come by in the northwest, and from what Xu Ming had said, there wasn’t a shortage of coarse grains, but vegetables were scarce.

After Wang Ying suggested it, Xu Shuang agreed, and Grandma Xu, a bit embarrassed, held Wang Ying’s hand.

Wang Ying didn’t think much of it. This was family—who could ignore daily life? Besides, Xu Ming’s current situation was really unfair. He had been doing well in the provincial capital, doing research, but was suddenly sent to the northwest to do manual labor. Sigh, if she could help, she would.

Before going into the county, Wang Ying took the time to notify Cheng Shufen and Cheng Yu. Their rations had always been a problem. Neither of them had any private land in the commune, and they relied on Qian Juhua’s family for vegetables. In return, Cheng Yu occasionally brought some wild food to add to their meals.

Wang Ying felt that Qian Juhua probably knew that Cheng Yu could get fish, but Cheng Yu quietly told Wang Ying that Qian Juhua never asked where she got the fish from. Instead, Qian Juhua always helped cover it up.

This was quite practical, and Wang Ying reminded Cheng Yu.

“Recently, discuss with Aunt Qian, and secretly go up the mountain to gather more wild food, and get more fish too. You can either hide it in Aunt Qian’s water tank or dry the fish. Just make sure to stockpile some extra food. Also, save some dried vegetables…”

She gave these instructions because, now that the two families had a good relationship and often ate together, Wang Ying felt that keeping things at Cheng Shufen’s home wasn’t very safe, but storing them at Qian Juhua’s would be no problem.

Qian Juhua raised pigs, and since pigs had a strong smell, few people came by. Plus, Qian Juhua had gained a bit of a reputation. Whenever people peered over suspiciously, she would immediately tell Tian Youfu that someone was trying to steal the pigs’ tails.

At first, Wang Ying found it ridiculous. “What crime is stealing pig tails?”

But Qian Juhua explained that she had heard of such things before. Pigs didn’t die if their tails were cut off, and people would take the tails home to add some meat to their meals. So some people had started sneaking around to steal pig tails.

Thanks to Qian Juhua’s vigilance, no one dared to come and try to steal anymore.

Now, cutting pig tails was like cutting the tail of socialism.

No one would dare to do that.

In any case, with Qian Juhua keeping watch, it was like having a stabilizing force. Cheng Shufen and Cheng Yu wouldn’t be bullied when they were alone.

When Wang Ying explained all this, Cheng Yu understood. She nodded and agreed, “I’ll go soon.”

Wang Ying had warned her earlier this year that food supplies would be tight, so she had to be extra careful.

As for what she needed to be careful of? Of course, it was to stock up early.

Cheng Yu hadn’t gone into detail, but she had already found a dry cave in the mountains. She had placed some edible wild fruits, vegetables, and dried grass there.

That cave was usually her resting place, where she would sometimes take an afternoon nap.

Now, Cheng Yu thought it was time to start stockpiling.

She planned to prepare supplies in both places: first, she would store some meat and wild vegetables at Qian Juhua’s, then put some dried meat into the cave. After all, only she knew the location of the cave. Better safe than sorry.

After talking things through with Cheng Yu, Wang Ying went inside to check on the two sisters, Qian Mai Miao and Qian Mai Sui, who were practicing writing characters.

They both wore new clothes, but these weren’t made by Qian Juhua; instead, they had been prepared by Qian Juhua’s family from her maternal side.

The last time Qian Juhua took the three daughters and visited her family, she had changed their surnames. She told her family what had happened.

Her maternal family was completely taken by surprise when they learned what Qian Juhua had done. They were all confused.

In the end, it was Qian Juhua’s father who went to consult the family’s clan elder. The elder took a puff of his pipe and said, “Let’s put the clan registry aside for now. After all, the children are now using our surname, and that makes them part of the Qian family. Ask your daughter if she plans to return to our commune; if she does, I’ll talk to the commune head to see if that’s acceptable.”

When this question was raised, Qian Juhua immediately refused.

Changing her children’s surname wasn’t about returning to the family roots—it was just because she didn’t want her children to carry the surname of Tian Dazhu.

As for the clan registry, she had no interest. Why should she return to her maternal family? It wasn’t her home anymore. Her brother’s wife had entered the family, and her brother had started his own family. It was no longer her home.

Her home was in Kaoshan Village, where she had friends.

When Qian Juhua returned and told her family what had happened, she explained that it was just to give her parents some peace of mind, so that the people in the commune wouldn’t gossip.

Qian Juhua’s father passed the news to the clan elder, who didn’t make much of it, but he did advise Qian Juhua’s father.

“Since they’re using our surname, they are part of the Qian family. Regardless of whether they’re boys or girls, you and your wife should be more supportive of your daughter. Raising three children alone is no easy task.”

As for the clan registry, there was no need for that if they didn’t plan on coming back.

Qian Juhua’s parents thought about it and agreed with this reasoning.

As for the children’s surname, since they had taken their mother’s surname, their maternal grandparents should also show some care.

So, despite Qian Juhua’s sister-in-law’s displeasure, Qian Juhua’s mother took a piece of fabric that was meant for a quilt and made each of the two girls a top.

Although it wasn’t the finest material, it was still a first.

For the first time since her marriage, Qian Juhua received something from her maternal family, which left her feeling a mix of emotions.

But the sisters, Mai Miao and Mai Sui, didn’t think much of it. They had never worn new clothes like this, and it wasn’t even the New Year!

She was so beautiful, unwilling to undress, her hair braided neatly, her face washed clean, and she looked so adorable that it made people want to cherish her.

Wang Ying gave each of the two a piece of candy. She had been dealing with children a lot lately, and was like a peddler who always carried some candies in her pocket.

Mai Sui put the candy in her mouth, her cheeks puffed up like a small bundle, while Mai Miao carefully tucked hers away, planning to split it in half—one half for Qian Juhua and the other half for herself.

Qian Juhua had been busy lately, with the village head announcing that before and after the “Double Harvest” period, they needed to slaughter a pig. If it weighed at least 150 pounds, she would get full work points. Qian Juhua had been busy fattening a few pigs, hoping one would reach 150 pounds.

As usual, Wang Ying sprinkled some spiritual water, then leisurely went home.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was time to go to the city.

This time, there was a lot to do. First, she needed to send things to Xu Ming, deliver dried vegetables to Chen Dong, take an exam, and buy a sewing machine.

After calculating, one day wouldn’t be enough. Xu Shuang’s exam would take up most of the day, and it was an early morning start.

Wang Ying suggested they stay in the county town for one night to handle everything in two days.

Xu Shuang would stay at Chen Dong’s house for the exam, and Wang Ying and Xu Lao Tai felt it was inconvenient for them, so they decided to stay at a guesthouse, as it was not far from Chen Dong’s house.

So, both sides prepared separately. Wang Ying went to Tian Youfu to get a recommendation letter, saying she was taking Xu Lao Tai to the county hospital for a check-up, and he issued a two-day recommendation letter. Along the way, Wang Ying also took many of her homemade medicinal herbs, even those she hadn’t completed yet.

Since she anticipated not going to the city for the next two months, Wang Ying took all the ration tickets at home, intending to do some shopping.

What would she buy?

They were running out of oil at home.