"Yuan Yuan, take this with you."
"Mom, there's no need to bring all this." Seeing how much Mother Lu had prepared, Meng Yuan couldn't help but speak the blunt truth, "They don't deserve it!"
It wasn't really a question of deserving or not.
Mother Lu said, "It's the New Year, it doesn't look good to show up empty-handed, people might talk."
"Mom, I'm not going empty-handed, don't worry. I've already got everything prepared."
As she said this, Meng Yuan took a burlap sack and went straight to the kitchen.
The others, seeing this, curiously followed her.
Then they saw Meng Yuan squatting by the corner, rummaging through the coal briquettes.
No, they weren't even proper briquettes, but coal cakes.
When coal briquettes were delivered, there would be a lot of coal dust and cinders at the bottom.
These were also paid for, so they couldn't be wasted. They'd mix them with yellow clay, spread the mixture into thin cakes, and stick them on the wall. Once sun-dried, they'd scrape them off with a shovel.
These weren't as long-burning as proper briquettes, but they could make do for kindling the stove.
Something was better than nothing.
In no time, Meng Yuan had filled half the sack with these coal cakes.
Father Lu and Mother Lu were utterly stunned. "Yuan Yuan, you... you plan to take this over?"
"Exactly!" Meng Yuan signaled Huo Zhankai to tie the sack opening tightly with rope before she explained. Previously, whenever they called, they'd always whine about being poor, saying the family was so broke they couldn't even afford coal briquettes!
Now that it's cold, this gift is perfect.
Coal briquettes were cheap, about one yuan thirty-five fen per hundred catties.
This half sack, at most, was worth twenty or thirty fen.
Seeing it was about time, Meng Yuan said, "Dad, Mom, we should get going now."
Mother Lu nodded, but her feelings were complicated.
Her daughter-in-law was always thorough and proper in her actions. This was the first time Mother Lu had seen such a childish side of her.
It showed just how deeply her own family had hurt her.
In that case, let her do as she pleased.
She just wondered what her in-laws would think when they saw this big sack of coal cakes.
Meanwhile, at the Hao household.
Meng's mother, Qi Fang (Fangzi), and her stepfather, Hao Chunlai, were completely unaware of Meng Yuan's impending visit. At that moment, the couple was inside their room, smashing bowls and throwing basins, arguing fiercely.
That was the downside of these tube apartments—the soundproofing was practically non-existent.
The moment the couple started bickering, everyone on the floor could hear.
This year, the factory's performance was poor, operating at half capacity. The younger generation had all gone to their in-laws' for the holiday, leaving only the older folks at home.
Bored during the cold winter, they were eager for any bit of entertainment.
So, a few aunties, with nothing better to do, hurried over to Auntie Li's place, which was diagonally opposite the Hao's.
"What's the matter today? It's barely the second day of the new year, how come they're fighting again?" The moment they entered, they couldn't wait to ask.
"Pfft, isn't that just how second marriages are? Always at odds!" Auntie Li, who had clearly been listening for a while, seemed unfazed.
Ushering them to sit, Auntie Li added in a hushed tone, "From what I can gather, they're arguing about the holiday gifts."
Everyone living in the tube apartments were old-timers from the electric motor factory, and they all knew the Meng family situation well.
When Qi Fang and Hao Chunlai got married, each brought children from their previous marriages.
Qi Fang had two daughters and a son, with Meng Yuan being the eldest.
Hao Chunlai had two sons and a daughter.
For the first few years of their marriage, they seemed quite harmonious, and nothing seemed amiss.
But when the children grew up and it was time for them to start families and careers, the conflicts between the two slowly surfaced.
First, Hao Chunlai, to gather bride price for his eldest son, schemed against Meng Yuan, forcing her to go to Xinjiang and taking over her temporary worker position.
Later, when his second son was getting married, he schemed against Qi Fang's second daughter.
This time it didn't cost money; it was a marriage exchange.
Essentially, he traded Qi Fang's second daughter to get a wife for his own second son.
But when it came time for Qi Fang's youngest son to marry, Hao Chunlai, apart from spouting sweet words, didn't contribute a single penny.
Even someone as soft-spoken and muddled as Qi Fang had, over the years, begun to sense something was off.
Because of this, the couple had fought countless times over the past two years.
Just then, another "CRASH!" came from next door, sounding like an enamel basin hitting the floor, making the aunties' hearts pound.
Fortunately, one of them, Auntie Fan, kept her cool.
While pricking up her ears, she didn't forget to perform a live 'simultaneous interpretation' for her old sisters!
"Fangzi is cursing Hao Chunlai for being inhuman, saying his greed is too obvious!"
"Hao Chunlai retorted, calling her petty, asking why a family should distinguish between yours and mine?"
"Now Fangzi is unhappy. She says if we don't distinguish, then why all these years, whenever his younger daughter sent holiday gifts, did he not even ask her before directly giving them to his eldest son Hao?"
"She also said, why is it that when it's her own youngest son's turn to marry, he doesn't contribute a cent!"
"What then, what did Hao Chunlai say back?" The aunties were eagerly following the drama, growing impatient.
Auntie Fan frowned, listening carefully, then shook her head. "Hao Chunlai is hemming and hawing, can't make it out clearly."
The aunties exchanged glances, sharing a knowing look. "Hemming and hawing? That's a clear sign of a guilty conscience!"
"Here it comes, Hao Chunlai is speaking again. This time his voice is even louder than Fangzi's. He says she's being unreasonable, always dragging up the past every time they argue."
"He also said these are all old, stale matters, is there any need to keep bringing them up?"
"Fangzi says, why shouldn't I bring them up!"
Exactly, why shouldn't she! The aunties mentally agreed.
Others might not see it clearly, but they, as neighbors, saw everything plainly.
"Who knows what Fangzi was thinking back then. When her first husband passed, her youngest child was already over ten."
"If she'd just toughed it out a few more years until all the kids started working, she would've been through the hard times. How good would that have been!"
"Absolutely right. Two daughters and a son, and she even had a permanent worker position. Such good conditions."
Auntie Fan felt both envy and confusion. "Yet she was in such a rush to become someone else's stepmother. Is being a stepmother that easy?"
"Yeah, Old Hao is a shrewd one."
Another auntie couldn't help chiming in. "Before marrying Fangzi, he'd come home to no hot meal, the place was a pigsty."
"Now look, he gets food as soon as he's home, someone washes his dirty clothes. I heard when his two daughters-in-law were in confinement, it was Fangzi who went to take care of them."
The auntie's words were blunt but true. "This deal was a total loss for her. Who knows what Fangzi was after."
"Exactly. With my temper, back when Old Hao signed Meng Yuan up for that assignment, I would've made sure to sign up his two sons as well!"
It's just Fangzi being foolish, not making a peep even when her daughter was sold off.
"To put it bluntly, thank goodness the Meng family had a son. Otherwise, with Fangzi's muddle-headedness, she'd have been completely taken advantage of by Old Hao and his whole family sooner or later."
"Speaking of which, that child Meng Yuan hasn't been back for seven or eight years, has she?"
"Yeah, that's about right. I remember she left for Xinjiang in '63."
Mentioning Meng Yuan, the aunties couldn't help but sigh.
What a pretty and sensible girl she was. What a shame, to be saddled with such a muddle-headed mother.
Just as everyone was sighing and lamenting, a figure hurried past the window.
Someone with sharp eyes recognized her immediately.
"Hey, isn't that Meng Yuan?"
At these words, the other aunties stopped their discussion and craned their necks to look.
"It really is her!"
Meng Yuan was already eighteen when she left, and her features hadn't changed much since then.
Of course, it was true she had grown more beautiful, and she carried an air of maturity and calmness about her now.
Seeing the large bundle Meng Yuan was carrying, the aunties' expressions turned complicated.
For a moment, they didn't quite know what to say.
...
Inside the house, Qi Fang and Hao Chunlai were in the middle of a heated argument when they heard a knock at the door.
Hao Chunlai yelled irritably, "Who is it?"
Meng Yuan's voice was calm. "It's me."
That voice...
It sounded so familiar.
Qi Fang was taken aback, but before she could fully process it, Hao Chunlai had already stepped forward and opened the door.
Seeing Meng Yuan,
a flicker of surprise crossed Hao Chunlai's face.
But soon, his gaze was drawn to the burlap sack beside her.
"Oh my, Yuan Yuan is back." Hao Chunlai exclaimed with a mix of surprise and delight, rubbing his hands together. "Coming back to your own home, why bring so much stuff? Come in, come in."
With that, he stepped forward.
Without another word, he took the bundle from her hands. Hefting its weight, his heart instantly swelled with joy.
Qi Fang, still reeling from the earlier quarrel, immediately said, "That's my daughter's gift to me. It's none of your business. Let go!"
She emphasized the words "my daughter" heavily.
Being shown up in front of his stepdaughter, Hao Chunlai's face instantly darkened.
But he held back his temper. "Look at you, what kind of talk is that? Yuan Yuan has finally come back. Can't you say less and avoid making a scene in front of her?"
Hearing this, Qi Fang seemed to realize her misstep.
Seizing her moment of hesitation, Hao Chunlai quickly carried the things into the room.
After a thought, he found a lock and secured the bundle directly inside a cabinet.
In the living room, Qi Fang looked at her daughter's expressionless face and felt a twinge of displeasure. "When did you get back? Why didn't you write ahead of time to let us know?"
Then, she peered behind Meng Yuan. "And your husband? Why didn't he come with you for the New Year..."
Before she could finish, Meng Yuan cut her off. "He doesn't have time."
"He's that busy? Too busy to even come back for a meal?"
Perhaps having been repressed at home for too long, Qi Fang's temper had grown considerably compared to before.
"Alright, alright, she just got back. What's all this for?"
Hao Chunlai was always good with smooth talk. "You two haven't seen each other in so long. Catch up. I'll go out and buy some groceries. We'll have a proper family reunion lunch at noon."
His words were truly nauseating.
Meng Yuan stated directly, "Don't trouble yourself. I came back to get something. I'll leave as soon as I have it."
Hearing this, both Qi Fang and Hao Chunlai's expressions froze.
"Get what?"
