Starting a new chapter in life

He Zhijun thought this idea was feasible. "How about we go to the post office after lunch and send a telegram to my older brother?"

Jingyan shook her head: "It's too slow to send a telegram. This afternoon, take me to the post office and I'll call his workplace directly and ask him to buy it and send it to me as soon as possible, so that the stove can be set up before your school starts."

He Zhijun readily agreed: "Okay, I'll make the call. But we still need to pay for the industrial vouchers and money for the iron pot. Do we have any industrial vouchers? If not, I'll go home and get two from my mom. I'll send them back with the money later. It wouldn't be right for my older brother to spend so much money."

Although Jingyan didn't want to get tickets from her in-laws, she couldn't bear to trouble her older brother, so she agreed: "Our family really doesn't have any industrial tickets. If you want to go home, it'll take a whole day..."

“My family has industrial ration coupons, the kind that are valid nationwide. How about I exchange them with you?” Yuan Xiaoling couldn’t help but interject.

Jing Yan and He Zhijun exchanged a glance and nodded in unison: "Yes."

Lunch was quite good. Hand-pulled noodles were made with tomatoes and green peppers as a base, then stir-fried with minced garlic and scallions. Vegetables were added when the noodles were almost cooked, and salt and sesame oil were added before serving. Mmm, it smelled wonderful. A large pot of noodles, steamed in a pot, was devoured by just a few people, not even a drop of broth was left. A pot of stewed green beans was also completely finished. After lunch, everyone immediately started eating without resting. Yuan Xiaoling stopped Jingyan from clearing the dishes: "Go make a call, I'll take care of things here."

Jingyan followed He Zhijun to the nearby post office. Jingyan took out a small notebook, turned to Zhang Jingtian's contact information page, which contained mailing address, work phone number, and her sister-in-law's work phone number. The information was very complete.

Jingyan made a call, told Zhang Jingtian she needed to speak, and then hung up. She waited fifteen minutes before calling back. When the call was answered, she heard Zhang Jingtian's loud voice: "Jingyan, what happened? Do you need me to take a few days off?"

Zhang Jingyan… coughed lightly: “Brother, it’s nothing, it’s just that the weather here is too cold for me, so I asked someone to help build a kang (heated brick bed) and a stove. I wanted to make a traditional earthen stove like the ones from our hometown, but I didn’t have an iron pot. The construction workers said I should get an iron pot first, and they’ll build the stove according to the pot’s dimensions.”

They're all going to university, and their work time is limited, which is why I called. Do you have any industrial invoices? How many do you need to buy an iron pot? You can borrow some from someone first, and I'll mail them to you later. I have invoices here, valid nationwide. Also, tell me how much you need, I have them here.

If you go home sometime, could you please tell your fourth sister to mail me some green bean seeds? I don't like the green beans here, and I'd like to plant some in the yard. Can I read you my mailing address?

Zhang Jingtian didn't stand on ceremony with her: "Give me the address, I'll go buy it in a bit. I have three industrial tickets, that should be enough. I'll send you the amount of money and tickets, along with the iron pot, later. Don't worry, I won't be polite. I'll write to you about the details later, phone calls are too expensive."

Jingyan handed the phone to He Zhijun: "Brother, can you write this down?" He Zhijun took the phone and confirmed it immediately.

"Okay, go ahead, I'm ready." Government staff like Zhang Jingtian always carry a notebook and pen with them, so he's quick.

He Zhijun read the address aloud, Zhang Jingtian confirmed it, and then hung up. Although it was considered fast, it still cost about seven yuan in phone charges. Jing Yan silently wondered when this problem of expensive phone charges would finally be resolved. In her memory, it wasn't until after 1990 that people started getting telephone lines installed in their homes, which seemed like a long way off.

After settling the phone bill, He Zhijun took her hand and said, "Let's exchange the iron pot and letter with Yuan Xiaoling for industrial tickets once they arrive."

Jingyan thought so too. When the two returned home, Yuan Xiaoling was measuring around with a tape measure, and occasionally making notes in her notebook. The small stove in the main room was already mostly built, and the kang (heated brick bed) in one of the bedrooms was also mostly built. The couple looked at each other in shock, and couldn't help but think, "So fast?"

Yuan Xiaoling turned around and saw them return. She quickly put away the measuring tape and notebook, walked over, and asked, "Did you make the call?"

Jing Yan nodded: "Yes, I've called. My brother will buy it today, but I don't know if he can get it in time. Anyway, I gave him my address. I'll check how many industrial invoices he used when I receive the goods, and then I'll ask you to exchange them."

Yuan Xiaoling smiled and nodded: "No problem, I see that your house is very well-equipped, did you move it from your home?"

Jingyan shook her head: "These are things from when we were in Northeast China. I couldn't bear to throw them away. Everything is expensive now. My mother-in-law found someone to help us arrange for them to be shipped back from the train station. We spent money to ship them back. You don't know, the shipping and handling fees were almost a hundred yuan. It really hurt my heart. But now that they're here, I don't feel bad anymore. If we hadn't brought them back, we would have really had to spend a lot of money now."

Yuan Xiaoling also agreed: "When we came back, a lot of things had been sold cheaply locally. Fortunately, my family already had the basics, so we didn't need to buy anything. Otherwise, I would have regretted it."

"They really work very fast," Jingyan exclaimed to her.

"Because we were in a hurry, my husband and I are okay, but the other three aren't from around here. Their acceptance letters were sent to our area, and since they weren't familiar with the area, they came with us. They're currently renting a place nearby, the three of them sharing a room, paying three yuan a month in rent. With living expenses added, they've almost run out of money."

"It's so hard to find work, and each of us got fifteen yuan, which solved our immediate problem. We're working like crazy, hoping to get the full payment before school starts. But don't worry, even though they work fast, the quality will never be compromised," Yuan Xiaoling explained.

Jingyan just sighed, not thinking too much about it, and smiled: "Then you continue with your work, you don't need to keep me company."

Yuan Xiaoling smiled and waved the ruler in her hand: "I'm just doing data collection, and I'm almost done."

By the end of the first day, the stove, kang (heated brick bed), and chimney in the first bedroom were all finished. Before they left, Liu Qiang instructed them: "Let the soil dry out today. When we come back tomorrow morning, we'll light the fire and let it burn for a day. Then the kang will be ready to use. Tomorrow, we'll finish the other room as well. Then we can spare some time to paint the walls white and make the bedroom floor cement. It won't be long before it's ready to use."

After everyone left, the couple locked the front door. He Zhijun looked at the finished product with a curious expression. Jing Yan didn't want to pay attention to him. Just as she was about to go out to cook, he grabbed her arm. He pointed to the ground-mounted chimney on the side of the house and asked her, "In Northeast China, chimneys are always on the roof. This one is so low, will it work well?"

Jingyan smiled and patted him: "That's because you didn't see that brick factories and other places all have those long, floor-standing chimneys. Ordinary houses have chimneys on the roof. But we have no choice, the house already has them, and we can't change the chimneys. This is already good enough."

Don't underestimate this chimney. The base of the chimney is made of bricks. The upper layer is the cavity in the middle of the kang (heated brick bed) to vent smoke and heat. The lower layer is the cavity on the inside of the bottom layer of the kang that we saw at the beginning. We call it the "dog hole". When cold air flows back into the chimney, it first swirls in the base. Then, because the cold air is heavier, it enters the "dog hole" in the lower layer, gradually heats up and expands inside before being squeezed out.

This ensures that even in the coldest winds, the firewood won't be blown out of the firebox. This iron pipe will replace the brick chimney; it should be reinforced with cement between itself and the base, which they should be doing tomorrow.

He Zhijun looked at Jing Yan with surprise: "How do you know how to do that? You can do it too?"

“These are the craftsmen’s secrets. I only know the principles. If I were to actually try to do it, I would be useless.” Jingyan had a clear understanding of herself. “Okay, take your time looking at it. I’ll go make dinner. Let’s keep it simple tonight. We’ll steam some rice, stir-fry some tomatoes and eggs, and have some meat stewed with potatoes.”

He Zhijun was engrossed in his study and nodded haphazardly before continuing to examine the chimney.

Jingyan didn't disturb him and went to cook dinner under the awning. By the time they ate, it was already dark. The remaining food was covered with plates. Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Liu Qiang and the others arrived and started a fire. Soon, the fire on the stove was burning. Chef Chen told Jingyan:

"This is a double stove, meaning you need to light fires on both sides. Whichever stove you light, the kang (heated brick bed) in that room will be heated. They are not connected to each other because if they were connected, they might get blocked over time, and then it would be more complicated to reconnect the stoves. So I did it in the simplest way possible, and I'll explain it to you."

Jing Yan read it carefully and nodded: "I understand."

“I finished the stove and chimney yesterday. Today, we’ll make sure there are no problems with the kang (heated brick bed) that’s already been built. Tomorrow, after we’ve turned on the fire over there, we’ll use cement to seal the chimney area tightly. I won’t feel at ease unless I’m sure it’s all right,” Master Chen continued.

Jing Yan had no objections.

Master Chen and his assistant went to the kitchen. Seeing the holes in the kitchen wall, they understood how to build the stove. However, they still went to ask Liu Qiang for advice. They learned that Liu Qiang was planning to build a simple brick and mud-brick heating system in the bathroom. They also felt that the smoke passage was not a problem. However, since it was to be a large stove, the base and such could be built first. When it came time to build the stove opening, the pots would arrive, and it could be completed on the same day.

Everyone got to work, and they were even faster today than yesterday. By the time they were leaving, they had even cleaned up the remaining bricks and dirt on the floor inside the house. Liu Qiang told them, "Tomorrow we're going to paint the two rooms white first. If all goes well, we'll also clean up the cement floors in those two rooms and seal up the chimney outside. In a couple of days, you'll be able to move in tonight."

Jingyan was overjoyed to receive such good news, and even the chill of the night seemed less unbearable.

Six days after Jingyan made the call, someone from the post office delivered a pickup slip. He Zhijun didn't let Jingyan go out; he took the slip to the post office and retrieved the package himself. When Jingyan saw the large package, she happily sat in the yard and opened it. A pot immediately caught her eye, estimated to be about 70 or 80 centimeters in diameter. Jingyan frowned: "Isn't it a bit small?"

There was a small package inside the pot. They took it out and opened it. Inside were a bunch of seeds and a letter. Jingyan opened the letter, read it, and then handed it to He Zhijun. He Zhijun took it, looked at it, and smiled, "Brother's concerns are correct. There are only a few of us, so there's no need to make a big pot. This size is enough for four or five people. Besides, there are only two or three people in our family most of the time. We also have two small stoves outside and two coal stoves in our yard. That's enough."

Jingyan thought about it and agreed. It would be troublesome to use such a big one, and there was no need for it. She nodded and said, "Send this to Chef Chen. Our stove can be ready now."

Jingyan opened the package containing a series of paper packets, one on the left and one on the right. It contained a variety of seeds, including scallions, chili peppers, tomatoes, green beans, round beans, eggplants, cucumbers, and more. It seemed that her fourth sister had gathered all the different kinds of vegetable seeds from home and brought them over.

They carefully stored these away, planning to plant them when the weather warms up. The temperature here is different from that in Northeast China, so as long as the temperature is suitable, they can be planted. Jingyan is quite satisfied with this aspect, as at least she won't have to worry about vegetables all year round, and she won't need to stock up on winter vegetables, which saves her trouble.

She exchanged two industrial tickets with Yuan Xiaoling and gave her two yuan. With the thirty yuan she spent on the pot, Jingyan also wrote a thick letter, earnestly and truthfully recounting everything that had happened since she arrived here and how kind the He family had been to her. She thought that this way, not only her brother but also her fourth sister could feel more at ease.

By the end of February, after a busy period, Jingyan had been sleeping on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) for five or six days, which was truly comfortable. The renovation of the house was completed, and Liu Qiang and the others even helped move all the furniture from the yard into the house and arrange it properly. The once dark and empty house was now completely transformed.

The main room, which originally felt dark with only one window, has become much brighter thanks to the newly added window at the back. The protruding fireplace and the small stove, with their blue and white porcelain-style tiles covering the top and sides, are cleverly designed to match the patterns at the joints. Upon entering, one might mistake it for a specially constructed countertop—it's not unattractive at all. In short, perfect!

A cabinet made of wooden planks was built in the kitchen and lined up along the wall opposite the door. Now, pots, pans, grains, oils and seasonings can all be hidden in the cabinet, making the kitchen much cleaner and tidier. A floor heating system was built in the bathroom, so the bathroom gets warmer after cooking, and you won't feel cold when taking a shower.

The upstairs area remained largely unchanged, except for the walls being repainted white and the floor being changed from brick to cement, which looked much smoother. Not only was Jingyan happy, but He Zhijun was also very satisfied. The house was completed before he started school, which put his mind at ease.