On a winter morning, Wen Qian's neighbor was pulling out a handful of bean sprouts from a jar.
The jar was placed near the fire, slightly warm, and the bean sprouts inside, deprived of light, had grown plump and white.
Mixed with some dried chili peppers and stir-fried, they tasted incredibly delicious. These beans were the ones Wen Qian had given them, and they had saved them until now.
After finishing their meal, they went to the small river, where the thick ice had formed and they could walk on it.
While the adults were drilling holes and pulling nets, the children crossed the river and went to the shore.
These days, they didn't have many opportunities to go out, and they had no homework or distractions, so they told the adults they wanted to go and chat with Aunt for a bit.
The river surface had frozen, there was no snow, and it was a sunny day.
The children walked along the shore and discovered Wen Qian fishing in the middle of the river by the door.
Wen Qian had drilled a hole in the ice and laid a small wooden stick horizontally across the hole, with a fishing line attached in the middle. She was afraid her hands would get cold, so she laid the stick across the hole.
Occasionally, she would pull the wooden stick to see if there were any fish. She seemed quite pleased when she saw them coming.
The children ran over to Wen Qian and saw that she had already caught two fish, lying on the snow and not yet frozen solid, so they must have been caught not long ago.
The older child told Aunt that the bean sprouts they had for breakfast that morning were grown from the beans she had given them, and thanked her again.
The younger children also had fishing lines, which they kept in a rusty little iron box in their pockets.
So Wen Qian invited the children to fish at that spot.
Since they had nothing else to do, they agreed. There was only one hole, so they set up several lines and fished while chatting.
Perhaps it was because Wen Qian used better bait, but soon every one of them caught fish. However, the children felt a bit awkward about it.
They felt that if they didn't catch any fish, Aunt would be able to get more for herself.
Wen Qian told them to take the fish home and bring their own bait next time they came to fish, and then they could give her some in return.
In her opinion, fishing here was just a leisurely pastime, and it didn't matter whether she caught fish or not.
But for them, fishing was really a means to survive the winter, as there were so many mouths to feed in their family, and it was better to have more food.
She took out the rope she had made from dry grass and helped them string the fish so they could easily carry them home.
The two children thanked her and happily headed home. Wen Qian reminded them not to walk on the ice but to return along the shore as they had come.
The obedient children went to the shore, being extra careful not to slip and get hurt, as there was no medicine available.
The adults on the other side had finished pulling in their nets and went home. They knew the children had gone to visit their neighbor and had warned them not to take anything from others without permission.
But the two little children came running back excitedly, carrying several big fish in their hands.
Their Dad's face darkened: "Are you going door-to-door begging already? Didn't I tell you not to take other people's things!"
In these times, everyone had to fend for themselves. If they got used to asking for things, they would grow up to be good-for-nothing ruffians.
Fortunately, the children relayed Wen Qian's words and mentioned that Aunt had also caught fish, so their parents' expressions eased a bit.
When Old Granny heard about it, she didn't scold them either. Instead, she praised them for being good at fishing and told her grandchildren to let her know next time they were going to fish with Aunt, so she could prepare better bait for them.
The two children finally nodded in agreement.
Afterward, they took one of the fish they had caught and made it for lunch, while the rest were buried in a snow pile beside the house to freeze.
But after that, the wind and snow grew much heavier, and the family stayed indoors except for going out regularly to collect their nets.
Wen Qian's family was probably doing the same, so the children's plan to go fishing again was put on hold, and they decided to wait until after the new year when the weather improved.
Meanwhile, Wen Qian was roasting fish at home. She cleaned the frozen fish with snow and removed the innards with a knife.
She brought them inside and roasted them over the kang, also slow-roasting an egg beside it.
She turned the fish over from time to time, and when they looked ready, she took them out and pulled off the scales from the tail upwards.
She then placed the fish on a plate and sprinkled them with a seasoned sauce, ready to eat.
The time from catching the fish to eating them was short, so they were incredibly fresh and tender.
After lunch, she drank milk tea through a reed straw.
Yes, the cheap plant-based milk tea powder she had bought a while ago still had quite a bit left, so she would make a cup occasionally to enjoy.
Reed stalks made very convenient straws. She had never thought of making paper from reeds, but reed flowers could be used to make pillows, which she was currently trying to do.
Apart from herself, there were only a few rabbits in her home, all still alive and well. Wen Qian fed them every day.
It wasn't that she had a good memory, but rather that the rabbits were kept right by the kang hole, so whenever she lit the kang, she would see them and remember to feed them.
Otherwise, knowing her usual forgetfulness, the rabbits would probably have starved to death long ago.
The rabbits were mainly fed dry grass and the fresh grass she had stored in her space.
Previously, her impression of rabbits was that they ate carrots, but she later learned that wasn't their main food - they preferred all sorts of grasses.
The new year came quickly, and Wen Qian put up spring couplets on the kitchen door.
Since there was a grass curtain outside, she wasn't worried about them being blown away by the wind. She also put a "fu" character on the bedroom door.
Even now, she hadn't forgotten some new year traditions. On new year's eve, Wen Qian burned paper offerings in the courtyard, facing the direction of her old home, for her Grandpa and Grandma.
It was just to let them know she was doing well and not to worry about her.
Many elderly people had died in the catastrophe back then. Her Grandpa and Grandma had passed away before that, which was a blessing in a way.
When they died, many people lamented that the elderly couple had suffered their whole lives but didn't get to enjoy the good times for very long before passing away.
On this cold winter day, Wen Qian watched the paper offerings gradually turn to ashes in front of her, recalling those who had spoken at her Grandparents' funerals.
They probably never imagined that the so-called good times would end so quickly and never return.
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