**Chapter 47**

  Zheng Sen had pretty much figured out what was going on. After some thought, he whispered something to Li Hongda.

  Li Hongda's eyes lit up. "I knew you were a cunning guy. Leave it to me; I'll handle it perfectly."

  Zheng Sen trusted him. "If you do this well, I'll take you to the Ma family for a meal. Auntie will make you some braised pork bones."

  "Really?" Li Hongda's face lit up, and he became animated. "Just wait for the news."

  Li Hongda worked quickly, and within a few days, news came in—though a bit deyed. The wife of the eldest son of the Zheng family had smashed up the Liang family's house. The whole vilge knew about it, as the commotion was huge. She accused Zheng Fen, the second aunt, of meddling in her niece's marriage, engaging in feudal superstitions, and even keeping a fortune teller at home.

  Because the quarrel was too big, Zheng Fen was taken to the commune for ideological education. Her two sisters-in-w had opinions about her, since as a married woman, she often interfered in her natal family's affairs, which had already caused tension. Her sisters-in-w had been holding back their anger and couldn't say much since their husbands still treated their sister well.

  Later, because of Liang Wen's job, the conflict between them deepened. Their brother-in-w found a good job as a driver in the county, but instead of giving it to his family, he gave it to Liang Wen, an outsider. This was unacceptable. However, since Zheng Fen had arranged her daughter's marriage, she couldn't say much. Little did she know that her daughter's previous good marriage had been ruined by her sister-in-w and also tarnished the Zheng family's reputation along the way.

  So, with the new hatred and old hatred erupting all at once, the Zheng family was in complete turmoil.

  Early in the morning, Daniu went to work. As soon as she arrived at the entrance, she saw Zheng Sen riding a bicycle with a basket in his hand, waiting for her. "Why are you here so early? Aren't you going to work today?"

  "I'm heading back soon. Take this at noon and tell Auntie that Li Hongda and I will come over for dinner tonight," Zheng Sen said, handing the basket to Daniu.

  Daniu took it and opened the lid. "Wow, so many bones! Where did you get the meat coupons?"

  Zheng Sen smiled and whispered, "Traded for them." After saying that, he was about to ride off. "We're off tomorrow, so we'll come over with Dali in the evening."

  Daniu nodded. "Alright." As soon as she finished speaking, Zheng Sen pedaled away quickly.

  There wasn’t much to do at the office today. Coincidentally, there were some documents to deliver to the vilges below. A few days ago, Zheng Fen from Shuangmiao vilge was exposed by her sister-in-w for engaging in feudal superstitions. A shrine and some talismans were found in her home; the evidence was conclusive, and the matter was serious, so some punishments were imposed. Today, official documents arrived, instructing all vilges to educate the public on the w and eradicate superstitions.

  After picking up the documents, Daniu headed straight to the vilges. She first went home to deliver the meat bones to her mother, then went around various vilges to distribute the documents and expin the situation to the vilge cadres.

  By the time she returned home, it was already dark. The lights were on in the east room and the main hall. Their vilge had received electricity earlier in the spring, being one of the first near the commune to get electricity.

  As she entered the house, the rich aroma of stewed meat filled her nostrils. "You're back just in time. Your brothers just got home too," said Zhou Yingchun, who was bent over, using a strainer and chopsticks to scoop out the meat.

  "Sister Yingchun, when did you get here?" Daniu thought that it must be her mother who asked Dayong or Dazhi to call her, but she herself forgot.

  "Dayong came to get me this morning," Zhou Yingchun replied cheerfully. She wasn’t shy at all. After getting engaged, Ma Hongmei often invited her over for meals, and she never declined. Now, she got along very well with the family.

  Daniu went to her room to change clothes, then headed to the east room. The men were already sitting on the south kang, drinking. When they saw her come in, Zheng Sen greeted her and then turned back to listen to the old man telling stories. Daniu went to the outer room, where Zhou Yingchun was adding bnched bok choy and peril leaves to the bone soup.

  "Sister Yingchun, what's that?" Daniu asked, noticing Zhou Yingchun pouring a kind of spice into the pot that she hadn’t seen before.

  "It's ground peril seeds. My mother is from the Xian ethnic group, and she always likes to add this when making soup. This spring, I pnted fresh peril leaves in a pot, and when the weather warmed up, I transpnted them to the east side of the house. They’ve grown really well, and I picked a lot," Zhou Yingchun expined, pointing to a rge pte filled with scallions and peril leaves for dipping in sauce.

  "Oh, I see. I ate this once in the county town. It tastes really good," Daniu said, recognizing it.

  Zhou Yingchun saw that the soup was almost ready and added chopped scallions and small chili peppers. After letting it boil twice, she dled it out and brought it into the room in a rge bowl.

  The men sat on the south kang, while the women and children were on the north kang. Thanks to Zheng Sen, the family had a rare meaty meal today. Since Daniu stopped going to the mountains, meat had become scarcer at home, but they never cked food.

  It was unclear where Zheng Sen had gotten so many bones from, but there were several tube bones, chiseled in the middle, with thick bone water oil inside, and ribs. Seeing there were plenty of ribs, Ma Hongmei decided to chop each bone once and make braised bones. A rge ceramic pte was filled with the savory bones, which looked incredibly appetizing. Crushed garlic was mixed with soy sauce and sesame oil for dipping, and Zhou Yingchun’s soup, with its unique peril leaf and seed fvor, combined with the rich bone broth and a hint of spiciness, was delicious.

  Everyone ate until they were sweating, and Li Hongda, in particur, kept patting his full stomach and burping.

  "You two can stay here tonight. Have breakfast tomorrow before you leave," Ma Hongmei said, knowing they had the next day off.

  "Then we’ll trouble you. We won’t have breakfast tomorrow, though. We’ll take the early bus to the county town," Zheng Sen said.

  "That’s fine," the old man said without further comment.

  "What are you going to the county town for tomorrow?" Daniu asked.

  "Just to look around," Zheng Sen replied, wiping his face.

  Daniu gnced at him, sensing he wasn’t telling the whole truth. "I’ll go with you in the morning. I’m going too."

  "Going shopping? Do you have enough coupons?" Zheng Sen asked.

  "Yeah, I need to buy some things. Do you have any brown sugar coupons? I have the rest," Daniu said.

  Zheng Sen nodded, washed his hands, and went to the east room. He returned with a stack of coupons. "See if there’s anything you want."

  "So many?" Daniu took the stack and was amazed—there were coupons for everything. "Where did you get all these?" She took out the brown sugar coupons and handed the rest back to him.

  "Secret," Zheng Sen said with a smile, taking them back. He flipped through them and gave Daniu a few fabric coupons. "The county department store just got a new batch of white fabric with light prints. It’s quite thin and would be perfect for a blouse or a dress in the summer. I was pnning to buy some, but since you’re going, you can pick it out yourself. There are several patterns."

  Daniu looked at him. "What do you mean by giving me this?"

  Zheng Sen looked at her and smiled. "What do you think? I’m trying to pursue you."

  Daniu pursed her lips and smiled. "Well, you can try. I’m not thinking about marriage right now." She did have a good impression of Zheng Sen. Among the many educated youths and young men she had met, Zheng Sen seemed the most suitable. With him, she didn’t have to overthink things and felt more rexed. So, why not give it a try? After all, who doesn’t go through a few retionships in their lifetime?

  Zheng Sen shrugged. "I’m in no rush either."

  The next morning, they left for the commune and caught the first bus to the county town. After their conversation the night before, there was no awkwardness between them. In fact, they felt even more at ease than before.

  The bus had plenty of empty seats, so Daniu went to the back and sat by the window. Zheng Sen casually took the seat next to her, which surprised Li Hongda, who followed behind.

  The bus picked up passengers along the way, and it took about two and a half hours to reach the county town. The slow ride and poor road conditions meant that what would take half an hour twenty years ter was now a much longer journey.

  After getting off the bus, Daniu felt a bit hungry. She had only had some fried flour paste for breakfast, so the three of them went to a state-run restaurant near the station to eat some noodles. "Where are you going today?"

  "I’m heading to the department store. I’ve saved up enough cotton coupons to make a new quilt for my brother and sister-in-w. I’d better buy the materials early to avoid shortages ter," Daniu said.

  "Anything else?" Zheng Sen asked.

  "I’ll see when I get there," Daniu replied. Dali’s wedding was set for October, still a few months away, but it was better to prepare early to avoid shortages when the time come. Besides, with her second brother getting married in a rush, many of the things prepared for her eldest brother had been sent to him instead. Now, they needed to replenish those items.

  "Don’t buy the cotton yet. What’s avaible now is from st year’s stock. This year’s new cotton will be on the market soon, and I’ll get you some of that. October is still a ways off, so there’s plenty of time," Zheng Sen said.

  "Alright, then I won’t buy it now," Daniu agreed. Her mother was the one in a hurry, and she was already regretting setting the wedding date for October.

  The two agreed to meet at the station at 2 p.m. and then went their separate ways. Daniu didn’t ask what Zheng Sen and Li Hongda were up to. She could tell that Zheng Sen was a resourceful and thoughtful person with a sharp mind. Coming from the future, Daniu had a different perspective on many things and naturally didn’t pry into Zheng Sen’s matter. It was likely reted to some kind of trade or business.

  Not in a hurry, Daniu strolled leisurely to the county department store. It was the weekend, and the store was quite busy. She saw the fabric Zheng Sen had mentioned—white with small floral prints—and it was indeed pretty. However, Daniu preferred a piece of linen fabric nearby. Linen was comfortable to wear, though it didn’t hold up well after washing. She bought floral fabric for her mother, sister, and Yingchun and chose a white linen fabric with blue butterfly prints for herself, pnning to make a new outfit.

  She also bought brown sugar, cakes, and some snacks that weren’t avaible in the commune. Soon, she was carrying several bags.

  Just as she was about to buy some women’s necessities, a woman carrying a child walked past her in a hurry and accidentally knocked the bags out of Daniu’s arms.

  "Sorry, sorry!" the woman quickly apologized.

  Daniu shook her head. The child in the woman’s arms was fussing and reaching for candy. "It’s fine."

  Seeing that Daniu didn’t make a fuss, the woman went to the candy counter to buy some sweets. Daniu gnced back and noticed the woman buying several types of candy, including a new brand of milk candy that was quite expensive.

  Daniu thought to herself that the woman seemed to spoil the child.

  As she was pondering this, a man walked over to the woman. He reached out to take the child, who had quieted down after getting the candy. The child hesitated slightly but then allowed the man to hold him.

  Daniu heard the man and woman referring to each other as "Mom" and "Dad," but something about the scene felt off to her.

  (T/N: In China, once a couple has a child, they often refer to each other as my child’s mother/my child’s father.)