1983, Northeast China

Chapter 14 Open the door if you dare!

"Firewood is considered a good thing?"

"How can it not count?" Chen Shi deliberately put on a stern face. "Without firewood, the pot won't even get hot. You'd be eating the northwest wind and your teeth would freeze."

Ya Ya looked down at the old oak log and realized that her uncle was right.

After waiting for so long, all she could think about were rabbits and hawthorns.

The little girl was a little disappointed, but she didn't dare to say anything. She could only mutter softly, "But I can't eat that."

Chen Shi almost burst out laughing at her words.

He didn't rush to take out the good stuff; first, he dragged the old oak branch to the side of the woodshed and placed it against the wall.

A good piece of firewood, a handful of dry grass, and a rag that can be used to mend a window are not considered useless in these days.

Chen Shi turned and glanced at the door.

Chen Xiulan should still be on the kang (heated brick bed), but Aunt Wang is not there, and the courtyard gate is closed.

He then quietly told Ya Ya, "Lock the door."

Ya Ya's eyes lit up immediately.

She was all too familiar with that tone.

Her uncle used to bring her treats, and he always spoke to her in this tone.

She tiptoed, pushed the latch inside, then jogged back and squatted down beside the willow basket.

Chen Shi pulled away the few thin pieces of firewood at the top.

There was a bundle of dry straw under the firewood. When the straw moved, something inside fluttered.

Startled, Ya Ya sat back down and landed on her bottom.

Afraid that her shouts would disturb the people inside, she covered her mouth.

The spotted pheasant, its feet tied with hemp rope and its wings bound, had been cooped up all the way. Now that it was exposed to the light, it stretched and shrank its neck, as if it wanted to overturn the willow basket.

"chicken!"

Upon seeing that it was a chicken, Ya Ya couldn't help but cry out, only to belatedly cover her mouth.

Chen Shi reacted quickly, pinning the pheasant down. "Isn't Uncle amazing?"

Ya Ya nodded quickly, her hands still covering her mouth, only a little smile peeking out from between her fingers.

Hearing the commotion inside, Chen Xiulan propped herself up and asked, "Shizi, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, sis, don't get out of bed," Chen Shi replied.

Ya Ya circled around Chen Shi, wanting to touch him but hesitant. "Uncle, does it peck people?"

"Peck," Chen Shi said, "and especially pecks disobedient children."

Ya Ya immediately put her hands behind her back. "Can obedient children drink the soup?"

"Yes." Chen Shi carried the pheasant to the stove. "A well-behaved child can even get a chicken leg to eat."

Chen Xiulan finally couldn't resist and came out of the house, wearing a cotton-padded coat. Her eyes immediately fell on the pheasant. "You really caught it?"

"Yes, we chased it out from under the bushes." Chen Shi put the pheasant aside. "Sister, go back to bed and rest well during your postpartum period, otherwise you'll be sick all the time."

Chen Xiulan watched as he skillfully found salt, boiled water, and killed a chicken.

Her gaze slowly settled on his hands. His fingers were red from the cold, and the chilblains on the back of his hands were new, just swollen and red, not yet scabbed over, with two or three cracks.

That hand wasn't like this before.

This younger brother used to think that killing chickens was unacceptable, and even wiping his hands with soot from the bottom of a pot was too dirty.

It's like I've suddenly grown up.

No.

Not like.

They've really grown up.

Chen Xiulan's eyes stung a little, but afraid he would see, she turned and went inside. "Don't make it too oily, the baby still needs to be breastfed."

"I know," Chen Shi replied, deftly catching the chicken blood, sprinkling it with a little salt, and leaving it outside to freeze.

Chicken feathers should not be thrown away carelessly.

The larger ones jump out, wash them clean, and dry them in the sun. If you collect enough, you can sew a small mat for Yaya. The fine down mixed into the old cotton will make patching a cotton-padded coat warmer.

Seeing that he even divided the chicken feathers into two piles, Ya Ya couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, are feathers considered good stuff?"

"Yes." Chen Shi smiled as he looked at the young girl in front of him. "Most people who come from the mountains are useful; it's a waste not to know how to use them."

Ya Ya nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

She couldn't be of much help, so she squatted down and neatly stacked the firewood branches one by one.

Chen Shi glanced at her, his heart softening.

Once the water in the pot boils, the chicken pieces are added, and steam immediately rises up.

There aren't many proper seasonings; I just add whatever I have on hand.

But as soon as the meat goes into the pot, the smell in the house changes.

The firewood crackled, the chicken soup bubbled and simmered, and droplets of oil slowly floated to the surface of the noodles.

Ya Ya leaned over the stove and sniffed, her nose almost touching the pot.

Chen Shi pulled her back a little, "Stay away, or you'll get burned. You won't even get to eat the chicken, and you'll be filled with tears first."

Ya Ya swallowed hard. "I'll just smell it."

"Smelling it won't fill you up."

As Chen Shi spoke, he pulled out two handfuls of hazelnuts from his pocket, but in his busy chatter, he forgot about them.

"There's more good stuff here. Uncle, how are you so amazing?"

"Borrowed from a squirrel."

"Do the squirrels know?"

"Uncle asked, and the squirrel didn't say anything, so it must have agreed." Chen Shi picked out a few new ones and placed them in her hand. "Don't eat too many, they'll hurt your teeth. I'll crack them open for you later."

Ya Ya held the hazelnuts, thought for a moment, and asked, "What do squirrels eat in winter?"

Chen Shi was stunned.

While he was digging squirrel nests in the mountains, he even found reasons for himself.

But a child's words are more direct than anything else.

"I didn't take them all; I left some for it." Chen Shi cracked open a hazelnut and handed the kernel to her. "Next spring, your uncle will take you to the mountains to plant a few hazelnut seedlings as a way of returning the favor to it."

Ya Ya was relieved and put the hazelnut kernel in her mouth.

"tasty."

When the stew was almost done, Aunt Wang arrived.

Before she even entered the hospital, her voice came first, "Xiulan, I brought you two tofu dregs pancakes."

After saying that, he arrived at the door.

She lifted the curtain, her nose twitching first. "Oh dear, what's that smell?"

"We chased a pheasant in the mountains." Chen Shi didn't intend to hide it from her.

Wang Ershenzi was practically family to him, and his relationship with Li Cheng remained quite good.

"Good lad!" Aunt Wang slapped him on the shoulder. "You've actually picked up some of the skills your father left you? It's only been a few days, and you've already got rabbits and pheasants."

"I don't have any special skills, it's all just luck," Chen Shi said. "Second Aunt, don't tell anyone. You've seen the situation at home. If you keep talking about it, everyone will be running up the mountain tomorrow. Forget about catching chickens, they'll even trample all the footprints."

"Do you think I don't know what's important?" Aunt Wang rolled her eyes at him.

"There's something else. Around noon, I saw Tian Guizhi at the village entrance asking people about you. She asked if you had gone into the mountains and which path you took."

Chen Shi paused for a moment, the spoon in his hand still.

Tian Guizhi inquired about what he was doing in the mountains.

Han Changgui's things weren't with him either.

As Chen Shi was pondering this, Chen Xiulan came out again, holding an old cotton-padded jacket in her hand.

Seeing Chen Shi looking at her with a puzzled expression, Chen Xiulan stretched out the sleeve of her cotton-padded jacket. "Han Changgui's stuff, it's just taking up space anyway. The sleeve isn't completely rotten, so I'll make you a glove. It may look ugly, but it'll keep out the wind."

"Come on, stretch out your hand and let's compare."

Chen Shi did not move.

Without a word, Chen Xiulan grabbed his hand and measured it with her fingers; the sleeve was two fingers wider than his palm.

She folded the cuffs inward and cut along the old stitching with scissors.

The scissors had just snapped shut when Tian Guizhi's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Chen Shi, I know you're home. Go ahead and open the door if you dare!"