Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 151

So Zhao Da'e shivered in the cold winter of the North, imagining the envious expressions of those little potatoes in the South who longed for heavy snowfall...

For those who have never seen snow, a snowy day is something to look forward to, a beautiful thing, a scene of pristine white snow in spring, breathtakingly beautiful.

But for the villagers of Dongtaizi Village, snowfall meant only two things: cursing and shoveling snow.

Snowy days make one sleepy, and Zhao Da'e drifted off to sleep. When he woke up again, it was already the next morning.

Because the kang (heated brick bed) was too hot, Zhao Da'e's mouth and throat became dry.

Moreover, my back hurts...

This is what a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) looks like. If you put enough firewood in it, it will heat up quickly, and the temperature is not very controllable. Zhao Da'e was asleep, and Zhou Chunwen was afraid that Zhao Da'e would get cold, so he kept adding firewood and heating the kang.

The kang (heated brick bed) was so hot it was practically burning hot (a physical reaction of swelling to a certain extent). Zhao Da'e was asleep and unaware, and as a result, her waist was practically cooked meat. Therefore, she had back pain.

As soon as Zhao Da'e woke up in the morning, he heard his cousin Zhou Chunwen muttering and cursing outside: "This damn weather is really damn bad. It's still raining, and it won't stop."

Zhao Da'e knew immediately that the snow hadn't stopped.

But even if the snow keeps falling, we still have to shovel it. The reason is simple: if you shovel snow, and I shovel snow too, it makes me look diligent, and those who don't shovel snow will be considered lazy by the villagers.

What is the specific purpose of snow removal? For single-story houses, it's to prevent secondary frost from forming when the snow melts, which could damage the cement on the roof. Snow removal is essential for single-story houses, as most of the houses in the village are substandard. While some cement has been stored, it's not much, and most are poorly constructed. Therefore, they are not well-suited to withstand the repeated freezing and thawing.

We need to shovel the snow too. What if someone comes to visit? If they see that we haven't shoveled the snow, won't we look lazy?

So Zhou Chunwen was outside cursing while clearing the snow from the yard.

However, the snow kept falling, so shoveling wouldn't be very effective. After all, it would just pile up again soon. But Zhou Yuren was a meticulous person, conscientious and meticulous. Zhao Da'e knew this all too well. "Meticulous" refers to Zhou Yuren's pursuit of perfection in his work.

Zhao Da'e nudged Zhou Chunhong, who was still sleeping: "Second sister, second sister, let's go shovel snow."

Zhou Chunhong was stunned for a moment, then got up, dressed, and went out to shovel snow.

Zhao Da'e found the half-cup of tea left over from last night, poured in some hot water, and drank it before he felt less thirsty.

He then got dressed and came out wearing cotton glove sleeves.

Zhou Chunwen pouted and was sweeping around in the yard with a broom.

"Big sister, can't we wait until the snow stops before we fix it?"

Zhou Chunwen scoffed, "You know your uncle-in-law. Do you think he'd let me be idle? He gets uncomfortable if he sees me sitting around for even a short while."

Zhao Da'e comforted him, "Isn't he shoveling snow outside in the yard too?"

Zhou Chunwen scoffed, "My dad swept the street so clean it looked like a dog had licked it clean, four or five times already. He could even sweep up rainwater, let alone snow. He went to sweep the backyard of your old house early this morning, and your dad, having reformed, went too. I'm so confused, these two guys seem to be sucking up to you. They're probably up to no good, Da'e, you'd better be careful. My dad and your dad must need something from you soon."

Zhao Da'e shrugged: "It's just that little thing. Your dad wanted me to tell him about his older cousin getting married. I already told him there's nothing wrong. But he's really anxious. My dad sees that it's almost Laba Festival and my mom really isn't coming back. He's even arguing with my grandparents, and he's caught in the middle. He just wants to cling to me and get my mom back."

Zhou Chunwen nodded, and as he watched Zhou Yuren walk into the yard, he lowered his head to sweep the snow and stopped cursing.

Zhao Da'e ran to the wall, where there was a large jujube tree, a very small jujube tree, and a bunch of tiny jujube saplings. Some jujubes that had fallen in autumn had dried and were buried in the snow. Zhao Da'e squatted down, dug through the snow, and pulled out a few jujubes. She wiped them, put one in her mouth, and found it hard and sweet, somewhat like the Hetian jujubes that someone had given her in later years.

Zhao Da'e rummaged through the trees and pulled out a few more dates, stuffing them into his pocket. Then he looked up at the big date tree. Seven or eight large dates were still hanging on the branches, not yet fallen. They were all exceptionally large, the kind that looked very appealing. If he ate them, they would surely be incredibly sweet.

Zhao Da'e then began climbing the tree, preparing to pick it down.

Zhou Chunwen, watching from the side, quickly said, "Oh dear, goose! What are you doing? Climbing a tree in the snow, what if you fall?"

Ignoring her cousin Zhou Chunwen's fear, Zhao Da'e climbed up the tree branch. Small in stature but nimble on her feet, she quickly reached the top, picked a jujube, and popped it into her mouth.

"It's so sweet, here's one for you, cousin." Zhao Da'e said, tossing down a date for Zhou Chunwen.

Zhou Chunwen was in no mood to eat. Although she caught the dates, her face was full of worry. What if Zhao the goose fell down? Her family would be in big trouble.

"Big goose, be good. Get down."

"Oh dear, oh dear, what are you afraid of, sister? It's nothing serious for a kid to climb a tree. Look how scared you are. There are so many branches, I won't fall down." Zhao Da'e pouted and tried to brush it off.

"No, I just think you're overdoing it. Why don't you just knock the dates down with a stone? Why do you have to go up there to eat them? What's the point?" Zhou Chunwen said, puzzled.

Zhao Da'e looked down at Zhou Chunwen: "What do you know? Dates that have been knocked down have no soul. It's like, me..."

Zhao Da'e used to often fantasize about stealing jujubes from other people's houses. Since she didn't have any at home, she constantly imagined going to other people's houses in the village to steal some. This wasn't because the jujubes themselves were particularly delicious, but because stolen jujubes tasted better.

So dates picked by climbing trees taste better. Dates knocked down with stones or wooden sticks don't taste good.

"You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Food only tastes good when you're in danger and the food is exciting and stimulating. If it's ordinary food that you can eat every day, it just tastes bland."

Zhou Chunwen didn't understand Zhao Da'e's twisted logic and just kept urging her to come down.

So, the two sisters kept urging each other, but the other wouldn't budge.

Until Zhou Yuren swept the snow in the yard clean...

Zhao Da'e then came down and whispered to Zhou Chunwen, "Hehehe, big sister. I know you want to slack off, so here's an excuse for you."

Zhou Chunwen was stunned, clutched his chest, and said with lingering fear, "Don't talk nonsense, you're just greedy."

Zhao Da'e and Zhou Chunwen lingered by the jujube tree for a long time. Zhou Yuren swept the snow and went inside, while Zhou Chunhong prepared the meal.

It wasn't really cooking. It was just steaming hot sticky rice dumplings and some stewed sauerkraut.

In the north, due to the low temperatures, people in remote areas like Dongtaizi Village steam bean buns during winter. They use millet (also known as sorghum) with the husk removed, mixed with some cornmeal to make the dough. They add cooked red beans, scientifically known as red beans or small red beans, but according to custom, they are called small beans here.

The steamed bean buns are simply placed in an outer jar to freeze. When you want to eat them later, take some out and place them on the steamer rack inside the pot to reheat them. Once the bean buns have thawed and are warm, they're ready to eat.

Convenient and simple.

If the family was well-off, they would make steamed buns with white flour. The Zhou family was relatively well-off, but even the best family couldn't withstand Zhao Da'e's nearly month-long feast. They had long since run out of rice and white flour, leaving only steamed buns.

Upon seeing the steamed buns, Zhao Da'e asked Zhou Chunhong, "Did my aunt steam these before she passed away?"

Zhou Chunhong nodded.

Zhao Da'e sighed, "I'm not eating anymore. Nine out of ten of the steamed buns my aunt makes are sour. I don't know what she does, what she puts in them, they're always sour. I don't eat sour things."

Zhou Chunwen was quite helpless. She knew that Zhao Da'e's reason wasn't because the steamed buns were sour, but because Zhou Chunwen had seen Zhou Chunhong get the steamed buns without washing her hands after blowing her nose. She didn't want to eat them either.

My own sister is indeed not very hygienic: "Chunhong, go wash your hands."

Zhou Chunhong was stunned for a moment, then went to wash her hands.

Helpless, Zhou Chunwen took out a bowl of noodles from the bottom of the bag, found four eggs, and made an egg pancake for Zhao Da'e.

Only then did Zhao Da'e eat breakfast.

After breakfast, Zhao Da'e noticed that the snow seemed to have lessened a bit, so he decided to go into town today to see Cai Xiaofeng, the girl Xiangzi had mentioned.

Zhou Chunwen said he was going to make shoe soles. Since there wasn't much to do in winter, and making shoe soles seemed like a good option, he didn't go out with Zhao Da'e. It must be said, Zhou Chunwen is indeed someone who sees opportunities for work.

After leaving his aunt's house, Zhao Da'e followed the road back to his own home. When he reached the backyard, he found Xiangzi looking around, seemingly waiting for him.

"I'll go into town today. Is it possible to drive? There's snow on the roads."

Xiangzi said impatiently, "Don't worry, little aunt, my driving skills are excellent."

Zhao Da'e scoffed: "I don't believe you, you big dummy!" Xiangzi had fallen for Cai Xiaofeng and was wholeheartedly devoted to her. Men... never fall in love, they're too easily swayed by love. Of course, there's nothing that can be done about this era; the village is only so big, and the population is limited. Finding a beautiful woman is rare. It's not that all the women in the village are ugly, but they're all struggling financially, barely managing to make ends meet. They don't have time for fancy clothes and makeup.

Moreover, they generally marry at an absurdly young age, often as young as sixteen or seventeen. By the time they mature and become more beautiful, they're already someone else's wife.

For example, Zhou Chunwen is sixteen years old this year. At most, people who see her might say that she's a pretty girl with fair skin. But she doesn't seem to be considered beautiful. After all, Zhou Chunwen is still young, a teenage girl who hasn't fully blossomed yet; she's just a flower bud.

But by the time she grew up, she was already married.

Therefore, the process of achieving beauty is overlooked in the middle.

The Cai Xiaofeng that Xiangzi met must have been very beautiful and womanly. In her thirties, and being a city dweller, she wouldn't be toiling in the fields, so her skin should be fair, and her face wrinkle-free, making her appear much more refined. No wonder Xiangzi was always so distracted.

"Xiangzi, you know, I may not be much, but you need to be careful. You can't trust pretty women. What if this Cai Xiaofeng tries to swindle you out of some money or something?"

“How could that be? She’s not that kind of person.” Xiangzi decisively rejected Zhao Da’e’s explanation.

Zhao Da'e: Fine, fine, you love-struck fool. You actually sided with an outsider... Oh well, I won't argue with a junior.

"Drive slowly, the road is slippery."

"Do not worry."

Zhao Da'e then got into Xiangzi's van. Xiangzi first delivered water, and then slowly parked the van on the west side of the county town.

Zhao Da'e noticed a small restaurant nearby called "Zhengzheng Dumpling Restaurant" and knew that Xiangzi was planning to treat him to a meal so he could meet Cai Xiaofeng there. It must be somewhere near Cai Xiaofeng's house, saving her the trouble of walking.

That's incredibly thoughtful.

Fortunately, Zhao Da'e knew that Xiangzi had always been a good person, otherwise Zhao Da'e would have worried that Xiangzi might listen to Cai Xiaofeng and run off with the money he earned from selling water.

In his past life, Zhao Da'e knew that Cai Xiaofeng had married Xiangzi, but he knew nothing else about her. Although Zhao Da'e knew that Cai Xiaofeng had made money in business, he knew nothing about her character.

"You've thought of everything." Zhao Da'e pouted, stretched his legs, put on his little red hat, got out of the car, and went into the steamed dumpling restaurant.

Perhaps because of the snowy day, there was no one else in the shop except for the owner and his wife.

The owner was a middle-aged man in his forties, speaking with a strong local accent: "Want some steamed dumplings? To eat here or to take away?"

"Let's eat here," Zhao Da'e said. "We'll order later. You can cook a few dishes first. I'll make braised pork intestines, stir-fried pork with two kinds of peppers, a beef and persimmon hot pot, and a daylily and mutton hot pot."

The boss then went to the kitchen to start cooking.

Zhao Da'e took out his newly bought thermos, warming his hands while drinking tea.

The shop actually had tea. Zhao Da'e and Xiangzi sat down, and after a while, the owner brought them tea, but Zhao Da'e was too lazy to drink it.

How can you drink tea that they can't even bear to put in tea leaves?

A short while later, a woman entered. She was wearing a light red jacket, high heels, and tight pants, with big curly hair. She was quite pretty, but not stunning.

Zhao Da'e thought she was probably just an ordinary person. If there was anything unusual about her, it was that she was very tall and thin.

He was a full 1.75 meters tall, half a head taller than Xiangzi.

Actually, the woman had some freckles on her face, so Zhao Da'e was a little confused: Is this Cai Xiaofeng? What's so special about her that she's made Xiangzi so infatuated?

When Xiangzi saw the woman arrive, he quickly stood up and introduced her: "Little aunt, this is Cai Xiaofeng, whom I mentioned to you. Xiaofeng, this is Zhao Da'e, the water vendor I told you about."

"Hello." Cai Xiaofeng extended her hand somewhat stiffly.

Zhao Da'e was taken aback for a moment, but she still politely stood up, extended her little hand, and symbolically shook hands: Oh no, I'm too young, shaking hands is so awkward.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard from Xiangzi that there's a great beauty in our county. She's known in the underworld as the 'Sister of Beauty,' and nicknamed the 'Flower of Kashi County.' Seeing her today, she truly is a great beauty. Come, come, don't mind the small space, have a seat."