**Chapter 38**

  Daniu followed Ma Yunting back to the commune. After waiting for over three hours, Ma Yunting finally emerged from the interrogation room.

  "You took too much of a risk. Leaving Liu Tiezhu, who has several lives on his hands aside. The other one, Zhang Dashuan, works at the commune sughterhouse and has been killing pigs for over ten years. He's strong and daring. If they had discovered you, do you think you could have taken them on?" Ma Yunting was visibly shaken after learning about Zhang Dashuan's background.

  Daniu smiled, "I didn't pn to confront them directly. I waited for you guys to come, didn't I?" She then asked, "What's the retionship between Zhang Dashuan and Liu Tiezhu?"

  "Zhang Dashuan is Liu Tiezhu's mother's adopted brother. When he was young, his family was poor, so they sent him away. He was adopted by Liu Tiezhu's mother's family. After the old couple passed away and his sister got married, he returned. Because of this debt of gratitude, he treated Liu Tiezhu very well. After Liu Tiezhu got into trouble, he helped him hide," Ma Yunting expined. Zhang Dashuan, knowing the gravity of the situation, had confessed everything. "I'm telling you this so you can be careful. Zhang Dashuan doesn't have much on him—he'll be out in three to five years. I'm just worried he might hold a grudge against you."

  Daniu nodded, "Don't worry, Uncle Seven, I'll be careful."

  It was already very te when she left the commune. Fortunately, Dayong had left the Dahuang (big yellow horse) for her. She rode Dahuang towards home through a snowstorm that was now so heavy that it was almost impossible to see the road ahead. As she rode, she noticed two figures trudging through the snow.

  "Zheng Sen," Daniu called out as she got closer, recognizing the figures.

  Zheng Sen turned around in surprise, "Ma Shun!"

  "What are you doing out in this snowstorm?" Daniu asked.

  "Hongda and I went to the county, but we didn't expect to run into this heavy snow."

  The snow was already up to their ankles. "You two will be walking until midnight if you go back like this. Come to my house first. We have a sled you can use. You can return it when my brother comes back the day after tomorrow," Daniu offered.

  Zheng Sen nodded, "Thank you so much."

  They reached the intersection, and Daniu dismounted, leading the two back to the vilge. As they entered the yard, a person in a military-green cotton jacket emerged from the west wing, shivering. Seeing them, she paused. "Daniu, you're back."

  "Sister Xie Yun, what are you doing?" Daniu asked.

  "There's no firewood left in the house, so I'm going to fetch some."

  Daniu frowned, "There are some chopped logs at the base of the south wall. Go grab a couple of those. They should st until tomorrow morning. It's going to get colder tonight."

  "Thank you," Xie Yun said, quickly running outside.

  "You guys go inside. I'll feed the horse first," Daniu said, leading the horse to the stable. The stable had a half-wall with a heating system and a door installed for the winter, so it was retively warm inside. She gave the Dahuang some hay mixed with bean pulp and some warm water, then left.

  When she came out, she saw Xie Yun busy tending to the fire in the outer room. A voice from inside the house scolded, "Don't you know how to close the door? Are you trying to freeze me to death?" Xie Yun coughed twice and said, ""There will be smoke ter. It will be fine in a while." She looked a bit embarrassed when she saw Daniu.

  Daniu nodded and walked toward the main house. Through the window, she saw the other two educated youths sitting on the kang, covered with bnkets, chatting and cracking melon seeds.

  When she entered the house, the whole family was there. Zheng Sen and Li Hongda were already chatting with everyone. Li Hongda was quite the talker, and whatever he was saying had made Grandpa ugh heartily.

  "Daniu, haven't eaten yet, have you?" Ma Hongmei, who was pouring hot water from a thermos, asked as soon as Daniu walked in.

  "No, I haven't. I'm starving," Daniu replied. She hadn't eaten since lunch.

  "I'll get it right away. It's all ready; I won't take long," Ma Hongmei said, sealing the thermos.

  "Mom, bring a bit more. They probably haven't eaten either. Let them eat before they leave," Daniu suggested.

  "Got it."

  Daniu went to the west room first to take off her coat and change into a home cotton-padded jacket. It had been a long and exhausting day.

  She then went to the east room, where the kids were listening to Li Hongda's stories.

  "Sis, how did it go? Did they catch the guy?" Dayong, who had gone to deliver a message earlier, took the opportunity to ask.

  "Yeah, they caught him," Daniu replied briefly, not wanting to eborate. She turned to Zheng Sen and Li Hongda, "Stay for dinner."

  Zheng Sen didn't hesitate and nodded, "Okay." Li Hongda, however, scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

  Soon, Ma Hongmei brought in the food from the outer room. Instead of cooking a fresh meal, she served pickled cabbage dumplings that had been made the day before. After sending off the guests, the women in the family had frozen hundreds of dumplings and stored them in a vat for whenever they wanted to eat them.

  The side dishes were pork stewed with vermicelli and a dish of meat tripe. "Hey, where did you get the tripe?" Daniu asked in surprise.

  "Your third's Grandpa family sent it over. Your sixth grandpa got half of it," Ma Desheng replied, tapping his pipe.

  "You two should try this. It's a rare treat," Daniu said, taking a bite. Her mother's tripe dish was delicious and simple to make. The tripe was cleaned, boiled until tender but not too soft, and then cut into strips. It was seasoned with sugar, salt, minced garlic, a bit of soy sauce, and a dash of vinegar. Finally, it was topped with crushed roasted chili peppers. If roasted chili peppers weren't avaible, fresh chili peppers drizzled with hot oil were fine. The roasted chili peppers were her mother's specialty—long red chili peppers slowly roasted over the stove until they were half-charred, giving them a spicy, smoky fvor. They could be crushed and mixed into sauces or eaten directly.

  The dish was indeed fantastic.

  "Wow, this tripe is amazing," Li Hongda excimed as he took a bite. It was chewy and fvorful.

  Zheng Sen nodded in agreement, "I've only tasted tripe at Dongishun in Beijing, but it's different from this. I'll treat you to Dongishun sometime if I get the chance." He said it casually but then felt a bit embarrassed. Luckily, they were eating on the north kang, and the others had left the room.

  Daniu didn't think much of it. "Sure, I'd love to visit Beijing someday." She meant it. The Beijing of this era was different from what she knew, and she was curious to see it.

  Zheng Sen smiled, "I'll be your tour guide."

  Li Hongda, his mouth full of dumplings, mumbled, "Tour guide? Who knows when we'll even get back there."

  "Stop talking with your mouth full. You're going to spit it out," Zheng Sen said, annoyed.

  Li Hongda swallowed the dumpling. "These dumplings are so good. Even better than the ones we had at the forestry center during New Year's."

  Daniu smiled, "My mom's dumpling fillings are famous in the vilge." It was true. Every New Year, several families would ask her mother to help prepare the fillings. This year, with things going a bit better, people had started asking her mother for help right after the Little New Year. They would make enough dumplings to fill a vat, sting until the second day of the second lunar month.

  After the meal, Li Hongda was so full he could barely move. Zheng Sen teased him for having no self-control, though he himself felt a bit stuffed too. Before leaving, Zheng Sen took out some coupons and handed them to Daniu, "Here, take these."

  "No need, it's just a meal," Daniu said, feeling he was being too polite. After all, they had been through some tough times together and could be considered friends. It was just a meal.

  "I know your family isn't short on food, but we don't have much use for these anyway," Zheng Sen said, handing the coupons to Daniu again.

  Daniu took them and saw they were ten industrial coupons and two oil coupons.

  "This is too much," she said, trying to hand them back.

  "Keep them. Next time Hongda and I pass by on our way to the commune or county, we'll stop by for another meal. You know how bad the canteen food is. I'd love to taste your mom's cooking again," Zheng Sen said, addressing Ma Hongmei, who had just come out of the west room.

  "Come anytime you want to eat," Ma Hongmei said warmly. She quite liked these two educated youths. A meal was no big deal.

  Hearing this, Daniu didn't insist on returning the coupons.

  Dayong had already prepared the sled. The old horse was wrapped in leather, with its legs also covered, as the cold weather affected the horse too. "Brother Zheng, I've loaded some bean pulp and hay on the sled. Make sure to give it some warm water in the morning."

  "Got it. Don't worry, I'll take good care of it," Zheng Sen assured.

  Zheng Sen led the horse out of the yard, sat on the sled, and headed west. Daniu watched from behind as the sled moved steadily away.

  Back in the house, she overheard her mother and father talking, "That young Zheng is quite impressive. No wonder he's from a big city."

  "Zheng is indeed a good kid. He's only been here for a short time, but he gets along well with everyone," Ma Yuncheng agreed.

  "Mom, what's going on with the three educated youths in the lower room? When I came back, I saw only Xie Yun tending to the fire. The other two were lying on the kang and didn't seem very polite to her," Daniu asked.

  "Who knows?" Ma Hongmei casually replied, seemingly unwilling to eborate. "Alright, you should go to bed early. Your dad and I are heading back to the rear courtyard."

  She stood up and said to Ma Desheng, "Dad, we're going back. Don't get up too early tomorrow morning, and don't bother shoveling the snow at the entrance. Be careful not to slip and fall."

  "Yeah, Dad, leave the snow for me to shovel tomorrow morning. You should go to bed early. Both kang beds have been heated with plenty of firewood to st until tomorrow morning, so you don't need to get up in the middle of the night to add more," Song Yuncheng added.

  "I know, you two should go back and rest early too," the old man replied.

  After seeing her parents off, Daniu helped her grandfather set up his bedding. "Grandpa, you should sleep now. If anything happens at night, just ring the bell." There were two holes drilled between the east and west rooms, with a bell strung through them, just in case the old man needed to call for help during the night and no one could hear him.

  "Go on, what can possibly happen to me?"

  Daniu returned to her room and saw that her two younger sisters were already in bed. "Aren't you two going back to the rear courtyard?"

  "We told Mom we're staying here until the 15th," Xiaocui said with a grin, while Meizi also smiled. During the New Year period, the house was crowded with people, so they had been allowed to stay in the front courtyard. Once they settled in, they didn't want to go back.

  "Sis, I know what's going on with the educated youth in the lower room," Meizi said mischievously, looking at Daniu.

  "How did you hear what I was saying to Mom?" Daniu found it strange that Meizi always seemed to overhear things others didn't. "A girl shouldn't eavesdrop; it's not good for your reputation."

  Meizi stuck out her tongue. "I didn't mean to. I just happened to hear it when I went to fetch water to wash my feet."

  "Be more careful in the future. Even if you hear something, don't go around spreading it," Daniu advised.

  "I only tell Big Sis and Second Sis. I'm tight-lipped, really. If you don't believe me, ask Second Sis. I never gossip in front of outsiders," Meizi said, nudging Xiaocui.

  Xiaocui smiled and said to Daniu, "It's true, Sis. Meizi is very tight-lipped…"

  Daniu nodded. "Alright, then tell me, what's going on in the lower room?"

  Meizi pointed at Daniu and ughed. "Sis, you're criticizing me, but you're just as curious."

  Daniu rolled her eyes.

  "On the fifth day of the New Year, when you went to our (paternal) grandfather's house, I went to the lower room to get some frozen pears. That's when I heard the three of them arguing," Meizi expined.

  "What were they arguing about? Why didn't you tell me?" Xiaocui was surprised that Meizi had kept this to herself.

  "I didn't hear how it started, but it seemed like that Zhang Xiaoran had opened and read Xie Yun's letter. There must have been something compromising in it because Zhang Xiaoran said, 'Be careful, or I'll report you.' After that, Xie Yun didn't dare argue anymore and just kept begging her to return the letter," Meizi recounted.

  Daniu frowned. This Zhang Xiaoran was clearly trouble. It would be best if she moved out soon, or who knows what she might do next.