Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Lifting the heavy cotton curtain, a wave of heat, mixed with the smells of soy sauce, vinegar, raw cotton cloth, and fruit candy, hits you.

The counter was very tall, and the glass was polished to a shine. Several female sales clerks in dark blue overalls were gathered around the stove, their knitting needles clicking rapidly, and none of them even glanced towards the door.

Zhao Shanhe stamped the snow off his feet, walked to the counter of the daily necessities section, and knocked on the glass.

"Get two pairs of socks."

The plump woman inside was knitting up to the cuffs, not even looking up, her needle and thread moving like butterflies: "The socks are underneath, two cents a pair. See for yourself."

Zhao Shanhe glanced at the counter and pointed to the top row: "I don't want the socks. I want those bright red, thick acrylic socks."

The plump woman stopped what she was doing. As soon as the rapid clicking sounds ceased, the air suddenly became still.

She pulled her reading glasses down a bit, revealing half an eye above the lenses, and her gaze swept over Zhao Shanhe's patched old cotton-padded jacket.

"That's one dollar and two cents." She lowered her head again, picked up a needle and thread, and didn't even lift her eyelids: "You still need industrial coupons."

Zhao Shanhe didn't speak. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the brand-new "Great Unity" banknote, along with the industrial coupon, held them between two fingers, and slapped them onto the glass counter.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound made the plump woman's hand tremble as she held the needle.

She looked up, her gaze lingering for a second on the crisp ten-yuan bill. The next moment, she pushed her sweater aside, stood up abruptly from the stool, and her face beamed with a smile:

"Oh, young man, are you buying this for your daughter? This red one is great, the perfect red!"

She climbed the ladder to take the socks down and handed them to Zhao Shanhe, casually dusting off some dust that wasn't actually on the packaging: "Feel it, it's acrylic, sturdy!"

Zhao Shanhe took the socks, squeezed them, and found they were indeed thick.

"Two more pounds of White Rabbit milk candy, please," Zhao Shanhe added.

"What?" The plump woman's hand, holding the scale, froze in mid-air. She turned to look at Zhao Shanhe: "Two jin? That's three yuan a jin..."

"Weigh it. The child is greedy." Zhao Shanhe said calmly, pushing the money in his hand forward.

The plump woman stopped talking and turned around to scoop sugar out of the large glass jar.

The sound of milk candy rolling into the tin scale pan was crisp and pleasant, attracting the attention of several villagers buying soy sauce nearby.

The plump woman skillfully wrapped the candy, tying a neat cross knot, then deftly weighed the clam oil and tore off the floral fabric. At the final checkout, the scissors snipped the fabric with a "rip," and the plump woman grinned from ear to ear.

"Take care, buddy! Next time you come, I'll save the best for you!"

Zhao Shanhe shouldered the heavy basket and, amidst envious glances, pushed open the curtain.

The wind and snow continued to sting his face. But he touched the remaining money in his pocket, listened to the crisp sound of candy clattering in his basket, and strode into the wind and snow.

At the west end of the village, a dilapidated mud house.

The room was cold and quiet, and the fire in the stove seemed about to go out in the wind.

Lin Xiu was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), mending her old cotton-padded jacket, her eyes glancing anxiously toward the door every now and then.

Niu Niu huddled under the covers, only her big eyes peeking out: "Mommy, why hasn't Daddy come back yet? Is it...is it because Uncle won't let Daddy leave again?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Lin Xiu comforted the child, but the needle in her hand went astray.

After the tense argument last night, she was really afraid that Zhao Shanhe would suffer losses outside, and even more afraid... that the meat her husband brought back wouldn't sell, and that he would be tricked by those people again.

Just then.

"Squeak—" The drafty wooden door was pushed open.

Zhao Shanhe strode in, covered in snow. His face was red from the cold, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, and his mouth was stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

"Xiuer! Niu Niu! Look what Daddy brought back for you!"

Zhao Shanhe slammed the door shut and unloaded the heavy basket onto the kang (a heated brick bed). The sound of the contents being dumped was like heavenly music in this impoverished home.

A large bag of fine, snow-white wheat flour, two rolls of thick white paper for pasting windows, and a neatly folded piece of red floral fabric...

Lin Xiu's needlework faltered. Her eyes widened as she stared at the bag of flour, her voice trembling, "Husband...this...how much does this cost? You sold all the meat?"

"Sold! All sold!" Zhao Shanhe chuckled and, as if by magic, pulled out a handful of colorful things from his pocket and stuffed them directly into Niu Niu's little hand.

"That's..." Niu Niu's eyes widened instantly as she looked at the candy wrappers with white rabbits drawn on them, her mouth forming an "O" shape. "White Rabbit! It's milk candy!"

"Eat! Dad bought a whole two jin! From now on, our sugar jar will always be full!" Zhao Shanhe waved his hand, his domineering manner making Lin Xiu's eyes redden.

Before the mother and daughter could react, Zhao Shanhe took out two exquisite seashell boxes, pulled Lin Xiu's cracked hands over, and placed them in her palms: "This is clam oil, the best kind. Don't be stingy with it, apply it morning and night, and it will heal your hands."

Lin Xiu held the cool yet warm seashell, and finally couldn't hold back her tears, which fell onto the back of her hand.

How many years has it been? Ever since she married into the Zhao family, she has worked like an old ox, not to mention clam oil, she can't even bear to use a little more hot water to wash her hands.

Looking at these things today, she realized that she was a woman cherished by her husband, not a working animal.

"Why are you crying? The best is yet to come." Zhao Shanhe smiled and wiped away his wife's tears, then scooped Niu Niu out of bed: "Come here, daughter, stretch your legs!"

A pair of thick, bright red acrylic socks were slipped onto Niu Niu's little feet, which were covered in chilblains. The vibrant red color, contrasting with the purplish chilblains, made them look exceptionally warm.

"Dad... these socks are so soft, they don't prick my feet." Niu Niu jumped up and down happily on the kang mat, then carefully touched the socks: "They're even softer than Auntie's red scarf!"

Mentioning the red scarf, Zhao Shanhe's eyes darkened for a moment, then brightened again. He patted his daughter's head: "Of course. What Dad buys has to be the best."

At noon, a long-lost aroma wafted from the dilapidated mud house. It was the wheat fragrance of steamed buns mixed with the simmering aroma of roe deer meat in an iron pot.

This meal included plenty of white steamed buns, bowls piled high with meat, and a bowl of sweet White Rabbit milk syrup for each person. The family of three ate with gusto, their mouths glistening with oil. Lin Xiu ate while feeling sorry for the meat, but Zhao Shanhe kept piling meat into her and Niu Niu's bowls.

This is the kind of life a human being should live.

After dinner, Niu Niu fell asleep, clutching her bag of candy and with her round little belly sticking out.

Zhao Shanhe sat cross-legged on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding the remaining thirty-five yuan in his hand, looking at the dark, cracked roof beam.

"What are you thinking about, sir?" Lin Xiu touched the new floral fabric, admiring it, her face flushed with a long-lost rosy glow.

"I'm thinking, this house won't do." Zhao Shanhe reached out and touched the cold wall plaster, which was full of cracks, scars of time, and evidence of poverty.

"Although we bought window paper, it's only a temporary solution. The Great Cold is in half a month, and if there's a blizzard, this dilapidated roof will definitely collapse."

Lin Xiu stopped what she was doing, a worried look on her face: "But... we need timber to repair the house, and we need to hire people, and we only have so little money..."

Although I made sixty yuan from selling meat this time, I spent twenty-five yuan on this "revenge spending" spree, leaving me with only thirty-odd yuan.

It's fine for minor repairs, but it's simply not enough for a complete overhaul to prepare for winter.

"Don't worry about the money."

Zhao Shanhe turned his head and looked out the window at the snow-capped mountain.

His eyes were like those of a lone wolf that had been starving all winter, eyeing an even fatter prey.

"Since there are roe deer in our mountains, there must be other kinds as well."

Zhao Shanhe pulled out the bloodstained knife from under the straw mat, and while slowly sharpening it with a whetstone, he muttered:

"Xiuer, these next few days you stay home and paper up the windows and make the new clothes."

"I'm going deep into the mountains early tomorrow morning."

Lin Xiu's heart tightened: "Deep in the mountains? That's too dangerous! We have thirty yuan, if we're careful, it'll be enough for the New Year..."

"not enough."

Zhao Shanhe shook his head. The blade made a "shh-shh" sound on the whetstone, a sound that sent chills down one's spine.

"I want more than just a New Year celebration."

"I want to get my daughter and me a sturdy brick house before the heavy snow closes the mountain passes!"

He raised his knife, blew away the iron filings on the blade, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes: "I remember, that's the direction of Black Bear Gully... There's a big one hiding there."