"Grandma——!"
A mournful cry tore through the festive cheer of New Year's Eve.
Old Grandma Shen was gone. On this brilliantly lit night when every family gathered in celebration, she had passed away with unfinished wishes and deep regret.
"Ah!"
Chuntao bit down on the dumpling Zhou Zhijun offered, but accidentally bit her own tongue instead. She couldn't help but cry out in surprise, and a metallic taste of blood spread through her mouth.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Zhijun quickly set down his chopsticks, looking at her with concern. "Bit your tongue?"
Chuntao's heart raced wildly. For some reason, all she wanted to do at that moment was burst into tears.
She couldn't say a word, only nodded slightly, her voice trembling. "Mm..."
Zhou Zhijun rested his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl, picked up a dumpling with them, and held it out to her. His voice was gentle but carried a hint of hoarseness. "Hungry? There's meat in the dumpling filling!"
Chuntao's mind was in a daze. It felt as if a piece of her heart had been scooped out, leaving a hollow ache. She didn't even catch the teasing in Zhou Zhijun's words.
She lifted her red-rimmed eyes to look at him, her voice shaky. "Brother Zhijun, I... I feel so uneasy..."
"It's New Year's Eve. Don't overthink things. Nothing's wrong."
Zhou Zhijun knew well that this girl was sensitive and prone to worrying. If it weren't for that nature, she wouldn't have stayed faithfully in the Wang family for over four years.
Chuntao's eyes grew warm, and tears spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them.
She didn't want to dampen the holiday spirit, but the unease flooding her heart was like a tide she couldn't hold back.
Zhou Zhijun put down his bowl, and his warm, broad hand gently brushed her ice-cold cheek. His fingertips, carrying warmth, traced softly as he wiped away her tears.
"Silly girl, what are you thinking about again? Tell me." His eyes were full of tenderness as he gently pulled her trembling shoulders into his embrace, letting her lean against his chest.
"I'm afraid... I'm afraid I'll never see Grandma again..."
Chuntao wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and cried in muffled sobs. She didn't dare cry loudly, afraid of disturbing Aunt Zhou and her two sisters.
Crying and wailing during the New Year was considered bad luck, especially in someone else's home.
Zhou Zhijun patted her back gently, offering patient comfort. "Tao'er, your grandma is still strong and healthy. Nothing will happen to her.
Once you give birth to our child, I'll go to Li Family Village to bring her the happy news and take her back to stay with us. You two can have a good, long visit."
"After I left, I wonder if Wang Lanhua gave her a hard time? She's so old now, she can't take much torment..." Chuntao buried her face in his chest, speaking between sobs.
"She won't. Wang Lanhua has a son and a daughter now. Your grandma and your brother treated her well. She has no reason to ruin her good life by bullying an old woman."
Under Zhou Zhijun's gentle coaxing, Chuntao gradually calmed down.
She wiped the tears from her face and turned to look out the window. Her gaze settled in the direction of Li Family Village, and she silently prayed: Grandma, you have to hold on.
After the New Year, the weather will turn warm. Once I have my baby, I'll come see you.
A hundred li away in Wang Family Village, firecrackers crackled nonstop from dusk till late, making the festive mood even thicker.
Zhou Hongxia finished her dumplings, took out a blue cloth bundle from the cabinet, and placed it on the bed, untying it gently.
Inside were fruit candies wrapped in red paper, and a brand-new pair of black leather shoes.
Yesterday she had meant to call on Wang Xiaohong to go with her to Qingshan Street for the market, but Xiaohong was busy steaming New Year's buns and couldn't make it.
Though the two of them were a good bit apart in height, they wore the same size shoes, so Zhou Hongxia had bought two identical pairs of black leather shoes—one for herself, one for Wang Xiaohong.
Today was New Year's Eve. In past years, they always stayed up together to see the old year out, and most of the time it was Xiaohong who came looking for her first.
This year Xiaohong hadn't shown up, so Zhou Hongxia decided to go to her place, and bring the leather shoes along while she was at it.
Tucking a cloth bundle under her arm, she hurried to the courtyard of Xiaohong's house.
The main room door was half shut, and a dim yellow light glowed through the inner window. She crept up to the windowsill, raised her hand, and tapped gently on the plastic sheeting stretched over the window frame. “Xiaohong?”
Xiaohong was sitting in bed, staring blankly into space. She heard the sound by the window, turned her head, and saw a blurry figure.
In past years at this hour, the two of them would already be huddled together cracking sunflower seeds and whispering secrets. But this year, she just couldn't muster the energy. To her surprise, Zhou Hongxia had come looking for her instead.
Zhou Hongxia spotted the figure in bed, smiled, and called out, “Xiaohong! I've come to keep you company through the New Year!” With that, she pushed the door open and came inside.
A kerosene lamp burned in the inner room, its wick capped with two big soot blooms, casting a dim and murky light.
Hongxia set the bundle on the bedside cabinet, picked a needle from the basket of mending supplies nearby, and carefully picked off the soot from the wick. The room immediately brightened up a good deal.
She caught a glimpse of Xiaohong's red, swollen eyes, and remembered the day she'd bumped into her crying as she ran out of the workers' compound gate. She had her suspicions, but she didn't dare bring it up.
She undid the bundle, pulled out two fruit drops, handed one to Xiaohong, and popped the other into her own mouth.
“Xiaohong, look what I've got here,” she said, and from the bundle she brought out the gleaming little pair of leather shoes, holding them up in front of Xiaohong.
The girls and young wives in the village all wore cloth shoes they'd made themselves. Being able to wear a pair of corduroy shoes from the supply-and-marketing co-op was already enough to turn heads.
And Zhou Hongxia had gone and bought leather shoes—not surprising for a proper worker at the oilfield, with all that money coming in and a way of spending that set her apart.
Xiaohong stared at the black leather shoes, her heart a tangle of bitterness and sorrow.
That regular job Hongxia had—Xiaohong was the one who had given it up and let her take it.
Now she had been made permanent, and her life was going from strength to strength. What's more, she had won the heart of the man Xiaohong had set hers on.
And now here she was, flaunting these flashy leather shoes, rubbing salt right into the wound.
“Nice.” Xiaohong pulled at the corner of her mouth in something that was not quite a smile, her tone cold and flat. “For a proper oilfield worker, you sure do live in style.”
Of course, Zhou Hongxia caught the sourness and resentment in her words.
Xiaohong had always been a proud one. Hongxia had taken the job Xiaohong had given up, and now she was a permanent worker besides. It was natural she'd feel a bit left behind.
But the anger in those words seemed to run deeper than that. There must be some other misunderstanding.
Zhou Hongxia wasn't the kind to hide things. If there was something to say, she said it outright, so misunderstandings wouldn't fester.
Her smile faded, and her voice turned serious. “Xiaohong, what's gotten into you? If you've got something to say, just say it straight. Beating around the bush isn't your way, and I don't like it either.”
The grievance and frustration had been bottled up in Xiaohong for days. Now that Hongxia had brought it up, she didn't want to hold it in anymore, so she let it all spill out.
“Hongxia, I've got a question for you. You have to answer me honestly—no holding back!”
She stared directly into Zhou Hongxia's eyes and asked, word by word, "Those embroidered shoe pads with the mandarin ducks playing in the water – who were they meant for?"
Zhou Hongxia hadn't expected her to suddenly bring up the shoe pads. She froze for a moment, puzzled. "Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?"
Wang Xiaohong let out a cold snort and turned her face away. "You don't dare to say? Then forget it. Pretend I never asked."
It wasn't that she didn't dare to say – it was that she didn't know how to say it.
She really had wanted to give them to that person, but she was afraid it was just her own wishful thinking, and that it would end up awkward and embarrassing.
Zhou Hongxia mulled it over in her mind, and suddenly a figure flashed through her thoughts. In an instant, she understood exactly why Wang Xiaohong was so upset.
A relieved smile spread across her face. "Xiaohong, actually those shoe pads…"
Before she could finish the sentence, they heard Zhou Xiaowei's urgent shouts from outside the courtyard gate.
"Hongxia! Come home quick! Someone's here to see you – it's urgent!"
