After breakfast and a short rest, Lin Heng and Xiulan went to deal with the pig head and offal. The pig head needed to be singed clean of hair before it could be skinned |
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After breakfast and a short rest, Lin Heng and Xiulan went to deal with the pig head and offal. The pig head needed to be singed clean of hair before it could be skinned and braised.
The offal just needed a thorough cleaning. What they bought probably hadn’t been washed properly, so they had to soak it in lye and scrub it again.
Once Lin Heng finished handling the pig head, he looked at Xiulan and said, “Let’s kill a chicken too. We can make some braised chicken.”
“Then kill two chickens and two ducks,” Xiulan suggested after thinking for a moment. “That should be enough for the New Year.”
“Alright, you boil the water, I’ll go do the killing.”
Lin Heng grabbed a rope and headed to the back hill. The chickens and ducks were still penned up and hadn’t been let out yet. He picked two unlucky ducks at random, and for the chickens, he purposely chose two aggressive roosters that had eaten centipedes and scorpions and liked to attack people.
He tied their wings and legs together and carried them back to the backyard. Their frantic clucking was useless.
Once Xiulan had the water boiling, Lin Heng began slaughtering the chickens. Killing a chicken takes skill. You have to hold down the wings, legs, and neck with one hand, pluck the feathers around the neck, then use a forged steel knife to slice through the trachea and main artery in one clean cut.
In no time, the blood had drained and the chicken stopped moving. He set it aside and moved on to the next one.
Lin Heng and his older brother had been in charge of slaughtering chickens since they were kids, so their technique was flawless. It only took a minute to kill a chicken or duck.
“Water’s ready!”
By the time Lin Heng finished, Xiulan came over carrying a bucket of boiling water.
The water was straight off the fire, no cold water mixed in. They dunked the slaughtered birds into it for a quick scald, which made the feathers come off easily.
With nothing better to do, Xiao Xia ran around the backyard with the Qinglang Dog, Lai Fu, pretending to go hunting. Meanwhile, Lin Heng and Xiulan plucked feathers for half an hour until the chickens and ducks were completely clean.
“I’ll go get the scale.”
Xiulan went inside and brought out a balance scale. After weighing them, both were satisfied. The two plucked roosters weighed six and seven jin respectively, and the ducks were each over four jin.
These chickens had been raised for half a year, so that weight was pretty good.
Another half hour went into gutting and cleaning the birds. Only then were they considered properly butchered.
By the time they finished, it was already past 2 p.m. Xiulan cooked the chicken and duck blood and had Lin Heng take it to his parents, while she started preparing lunch.
“Daddy, let’s go together.”
As Lin Heng went to deliver the food, Xiao Xia followed along with Lai Fu. She was absolutely smitten with the Qinglang Dog and took it everywhere with her, barely playing with Xiong Ba anymore.
Lai Fu howled like a husky, its babyish yelps incredibly endearing. A few little girls in the village were quite envious.
After giving the chicken and duck blood to his mother, Lin Heng strolled outside for a bit. In the courtyard next door, several kids were playing with wooden tops, their laughter echoing far and wide.
Down on the road, a few people were playing with rolling iron hoops, using hooks to push the rings and see who could roll theirs the farthest. They were having a lively competition.
Lin Heng felt like it was just yesterday he was playing those games too, yet it also felt like those memories were shrouded in mist, blurred by the winds of time.
He wanted to join in, but then shook his head and led his daughter back inside. He figured he’d save those games for when he could play them with his own kids.
For lunch, Xiulan made stir-fried garlic sprouts with pork, using fresh pork his father had given them. The aroma was absolutely mouthwatering.
These two ingredients were flavorful enough on their own, and with Xiulan’s excellent cooking skills, the dish was irresistible.
“This is amazing.”
Lin Heng couldn’t stop praising it. A bite of garlic sprout and pork with a spoonful of rice—this was the peak of culinary satisfaction.
“Meat is so yummy!”
Xiao Xia didn’t eat the garlic sprouts, but she couldn’t get enough of the meat.
“As long as you like it.” Xiulan smiled as she ate, her heart full of joy.
After the meal, Lin Heng washed the dishes. With nothing else to do, he decided to use some leftover wood scraps from his furniture projects to build a small wooden cart for Xiao Xia—one she could sit in.
Knock knock knock!
“Lin Heng, open up!”
Just as he finished the base of the cart, Liu Sheng’s voice rang out from outside.
Lin Heng opened the gate to see Liu Sheng walking in with two bottles of Erguotou in hand, grinning from ear to ear. “Didn’t have much to bring, so I just brought you two bottles of Erguotou. Hope you don’t mind.”
“You really didn’t need to. With our friendship, you don’t have to bring gifts when you visit.” Lin Heng gave him a helpless look.
Liu Sheng entered the house and placed the bottles on the long grain cabinet. Smiling, he said, “It’s not really a gift. New Year’s is coming—didn’t feel right to come empty-handed.”
“Alright then.”
Lin Heng shook his head with a sigh and was about to take him to the study for tea. But Liu Sheng waved it off, saying he wasn’t thirsty. He greeted Xiulan and said he wanted to help Lin Heng build the wooden cart for Xiao Xia.
“There’s nothing fun about this. We won’t even finish it in a day,” Lin Heng said, shaking his head.
Liu Sheng, like his father, had a long horse face. In the village, this type of face was often joked about as “crying a tear last year that still hasn’t reached the mouth this year.” When they were kids, he used to get into fights over it, and Lin Heng always had his back.
Now, Liu Sheng had grown out his bangs a bit, which made him look better. He wore a black cotton coat and had put on some weight compared to before.
Liu Sheng laughed heartily. “Just reliving childhood memories. Back then I always wanted a wooden cart of my own. Now I’m making one for my niece—kind of like fulfilling a childhood dream.”
When they were kids, they loved playing cart-pulling games. One kid would tie a rope to a wooden board and pull another kid down the road.
A few children in the village eventually got wooden carts made by adults and would show them off everywhere. Liu Sheng wanted one too, but his dad had no intention of making one. Instead, he’d just whip him with willow branches, scolding him for being lazy and unserious.
Lin Heng chuckled and said, “If you’re not up for tea, let’s go out. I’ll take you to see the cabin I built on Red Maple Mountain.”
Having their own secret base out in the wild had been one of their childhood dreams too.
“Sounds good. I’d love to check it out.” Liu Sheng nodded with interest.
Lin Heng glanced over at Xiulan, who was cracking walnuts. He lowered his voice and asked, “Honey, I’m taking Liu Sheng to Red Maple Mountain. Want to come?”
Xiulan looked up at him and said gently, “You two go ahead. I won’t interrupt your catch-up time. Just be back before dark.”
“Got it.” Lin Heng nodded and added, “No need to crack the walnuts. I’ll do it for you tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
With everything settled, Lin Heng grabbed the keys, his bow and arrows, and called Xiong Ba. Then he and Liu Sheng set off for Red Maple Mountain.
“Looking back now, we probably shouldn’t have dragged you into our mess back then,” Liu Sheng said as they left the courtyard, his tone full of emotion. He was genuinely envious of the bond between Lin Heng and Xiulan.
“All for the sake of making money,” Lin Heng said with a smile. He had gone out into the world simply to earn money. His only mistake had been trusting Zhao Hu too much.
“But now you’re making money from home. I’m really jealous. What made you suddenly decide to come back?” Liu Sheng asked curiously.
Lin Heng smiled faintly. “I had a long, vivid dream. When I woke up, I realized that while money is important, so is family.”
“Fair enough. Sounds like you’ve figured things out.” Liu Sheng wasn’t surprised. People often change a lot once they’ve had a true epiphany.
With Xiong Ba running ahead and Lin Heng leading the way, the two chatted as they walked. Before long, they arrived at Red Maple Mountain.
Standing in front of the wooden cabin, Lin Heng smiled and said, “Look, this is the cabin I built this year. Not bad, right?”
Liu Sheng’s eyes lit up when he saw it. “Not just ‘not bad’—this is amazing! It’s beautiful.”
As he spoke, he tried out the swing, then examined the wooden platform, and finally stepped inside the cabin. After inspecting it inside and out three times, Liu Sheng took a deep breath. “If only we could’ve built something like this when we were kids.”
Back then, he, Lin Heng, and Lin Hai had spent over half a month gathering wood to build a shabby little cabin they called their secret base. Whenever they were upset at home, they’d hide out there. They even roasted frogs and stream trout inside.
Unfortunately, that secret base didn’t last even a month before it was deliberately knocked down by the now-deceased old man from the Tian family, who took the wood home to burn. The boys were so furious they secretly killed two of his chickens and tore up his vegetable garden. The old man cursed them loudly in the village for days.
Lin Heng sighed with emotion. “It’s because we didn’t have something like this when we were kids that I built it now.”
People are often haunted for life by the things they longed for in youth but never had.
There was no wind in the forest today. Lin Heng took out some charcoal, lit it, boiled a pot of water, and brewed a cup of tea.
It hadn’t snowed this winter, and the distant scenery wasn’t much to look at. The two of them wandered around the woods for a bit before Liu Sheng suggested they catch a couple of fish to roast.
Only the two of them would be crazy enough to wade into an icy mountain stream in the dead of winter to catch fish. Before long, Lin Heng had already pulled one out from under a rock.
“Your technique hasn’t changed a bit,” Liu Sheng said in amazement.
“Of course not,” Lin Heng replied with a faint smile. Catching fish was a skill etched into his bones.
They caught about ten stream trout, all small, cleaned them in the stream, and roasted them over the charcoal fire.
“Not bad at all—tastes just like before,” Liu Sheng said with a grin after taking a bite.
Lin Heng nodded. Stream trout didn’t have much of a fishy smell, and once roasted, the meat was tender and fragrant, with a hint of sweetness.
After playing around for a while, Lin Heng took Liu Sheng to explore the nearby woods, but unfortunately, they didn’t spot any game.
That was expected. These days, hunting meant going deeper into the mountains or staking out the green wheat and rapeseed fields, where wild boars might appear. Otherwise, they’d have to wait until nightfall and check near the ravines.
Not catching anything didn’t surprise Lin Heng. As dusk approached, the two of them headed back. On the way, they ran into Liu Ciwen, who was out herding cattle. Lin Heng chatted with him for a bit.
Back home, Liu Sheng insisted on fixing Xiao Xia’s little wooden cart. Lin Heng didn’t stop him and went to help Xiulan instead. Then the two of them worked together on the cart.
By 6:30, Xiulan had finished cooking. Lin Heng called Liu Sheng to come eat.
When Liu Sheng saw the dishes on the table, he was stunned. “My god, are you throwing a New Year’s Eve feast? This is way too lavish!”
Four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes—eight in total. It was even more extravagant than his own family’s New Year’s dinner.
“I’ve got more wild boar meat than I can eat. Let’s enjoy it. First, a drink.” Lin Heng smiled and raised his glass.
“This is incredible. Xiulan’s cooking is amazing,” Liu Sheng said as he lifted his glass with a grin.
“You’re praising it before even tasting it. It’s just barely edible,” Xiulan said modestly. She and Xiao Xia were drinking rice wine and occasionally chimed in.
“It smells delicious. Tastes even better than what you get at restaurants.”
After a few compliments, Liu Sheng and Lin Heng started drinking.
By the end of the meal, Liu Sheng felt more satisfied than he ever did eating out. He was full and content.
After dinner, when Lin Heng walked Liu Sheng out, he handed him a piece of meat. “Take some wild boar meat home for your parents to try. You’ve seen how much I have—don’t refuse.”
“Alright, thanks.” Liu Sheng didn’t argue. He took the meat and left with a big smile.
After seeing Liu Sheng off, Lin Heng helped Xiulan clean up the table.
The next morning, the weather suddenly turned colder. After his morning exercise, Lin Heng cracked some walnuts—he knew Xiulan planned to use them for dumplings.
In the south, reunion dinners must have rice cakes. In the north, dumplings are a must. Since they lived near the Qinling Mountains, right on the border between north and south, it all came down to personal preference. Lin Heng’s family preferred dumplings.
Xiulan quickly made breakfast, then got busy braising meat. She had some old marinade saved up, and both her sister-in-law and Mother Lin came over to ask for some to braise their own meat.
Lin Heng helped tend the fire all morning. Around noon, he rode his sidecar motorcycle into Huangtan Town.
Today was the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, which also happened to be January 31 on the solar calendar. Since the shop was closing for the holiday, he needed to go settle the accounts and pay Wang Zhou so he could head home for the New Year.
He also brought some of his homemade rice cakes, honey, and a braised golden chicken for Old Man Gao. Even though the old man probably didn’t lack any of these things, it was a token of Lin Heng’s appreciation.
The golden chicken wasn’t one he hunted himself—it was bought from Wang Kaidian in the village.
Before the New Year, Lin Heng had also given gifts to Manager Jin, Li Chengguo, Guo Xu, and even Ge Qingshan.
Old Man Gao was naturally pleased to see Lin Heng bringing all these things. As the saying goes, no one complains about receiving too many gifts.
“Brother Lin, I’ve finished calculating this year’s accounts. We opened on September 7, and it’s been just under five months. Total profit is 2,020 yuan.”
When Lin Heng came out of Old Man Gao’s place, Wang Zhou smiled and handed him the ledger.
Lin Heng nodded, took the ledger, and flipped through it. He didn’t spot any issues.
The initial estimate for annual profit from the convenience store and procurement station was just over 3,000 yuan. Now they’d already made 2,000 in five months.
This had a lot to do with Lin Heng’s sales strategy. Also, his procurement prices for mountain goods weren’t too harsh, so people from other towns came to sell too—especially those with valuable goods.
“How much cash is on hand right now?” Lin Heng asked.
“Eight hundred twenty-three yuan and seventy-eight cents,” Wang Zhou said, handing over a black cloth pouch.
Lin Heng counted it. The amount was accurate, and with what he took earlier, it balanced out perfectly.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Heng pulled out four ten-yuan bills and handed them to Wang Zhou with a smile. “Twenty is your salary, and the other twenty is your year-end bonus. You’ve done a great job this year.”
“This… this much?” Wang Zhou’s eyes widened in shock. He had thought a five-yuan bonus would be generous. He never expected to get an entire month’s salary as a bonus.
It was an incredible surprise.
“What’s wrong? Not enough?” Lin Heng chuckled.
“Of course not. Thank you, Brother Lin!” Wang Zhou shook his head quickly, then nodded hard as he accepted the money, clearly overwhelmed.
“Same as always—just sign the payroll slip. Wait here for me. Once I’m done with my errands, I’ll give you a ride home,” Lin Heng said with a gentle smile.
(End of chapter)
— Translator’s Notes —
- long grain cabinet: A traditional piece of Chinese furniture, typically a tall, narrow cabinet used for storing food grains or other household items.
- rolling iron hoops: A popular traditional game in China, especially in the mid-to-late 20th century. Children use a metal hook to roll a large metal hoop, often from a bicycle wheel, and compete in balancing and distance.
- wooden tops: A traditional Chinese toy, often spun using a whip or string. It’s a common pastime for children, especially in rural areas.
- Qinling Mountains: A major east-west mountain range in central China. Geographically and culturally, it is often considered the dividing line between Northern and Southern China.
- golden chicken: Likely refers to the ‘Golden Pheasant’ or ‘Chrysolophus pictus’, a brightly colored bird native to forests in western China. It is sometimes hunted for food.
- no one complains about receiving too many gifts: A common Chinese saying, similar in sentiment to ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,’ meaning it is impolite to criticize a gift, and more gifts are always welcome.