CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 60: THE RELIEF GRAIN HAS ARRIVED

"You’re amazing, big sister!" Bai Ruxia exclaimed, holding a huge pile of clothes with stars in her eyes.

"You don’t need to bother with these clowns anymore! Just a small admirer of your brother-in-law!" Bai Ruxue said, "Let’s go buy some hair ties for you all!"

In the end, the two sisters spent over a hundred yuan.

Meanwhile, Aunt Sun Hong and the second aunt seemed unaware of what they were buying. There were so many people, and they didn’t pay much attention. They bought some red hair ties and left.

Everyone was already there, just waiting for the two of them. They quickly took a few steps onto the ox cart, and so returned to the village.

The whole trip took less than an hour.

It was barely past one o’clock by the time they got home.

"Xiao Xue, why did you bring back so many thermal clothes again?" Wang Cuihua asked as she saw her two daughters carrying in the things. Everything else was needed at home, but the thermal clothes they were wearing hadn’t even worn out, so they didn’t need to be bought.

"The supply and demand cooperative has a promotion, so we bought a set each! For variety," Bai Ruxue replied simply, as if explaining.

"These enamel mugs..." Wang Cuihua pointed at the many enamel mugs, wondering how to ask.

"One for each person! Convenient to use! They’ll come in handy when the younger siblings go to school!" Bai Ruxue explained again, "Alright, Mom, we’re going to make dumplings! Don’t ask any more questions!"

"Sister, are we making dumplings? Are we having dumplings for dinner?" Bai Ruxia’s face was red from the cold, but she was bouncing around again at the mention of dumplings.

"Yes! We’ll make more and freeze them, so it’s convenient to eat during the New Year!" Bai Xue had this habit in her later years, and almost every day during the New Year, dumplings were a must.

"Yay, we’re making dumplings!" Bai Ruxia was beyond excited.

"I’ll make dumplings too. The clothes are all done, big sister, there’s still this much fabric left!" Bai Ruyun handed Bai Ruxue over two feet of fabric.

"Keep it for Mom. When Xiao Feng and Xiao Cai grow up a bit, we can make clothes for them!" Bai Ruxue said.

"Alright!" Bai Ruyun handed the fabric to Wang Cuihua.

The three sisters left the room and went to prepare the dumplings.

Bai Ruxue had already taken out more than twelve pounds of pork filling from the supermarket space yesterday, along with ten pounds of white flour. The pork filling wasn’t frozen but chilled, so it was perfect for mixing.

They washed and chopped three heads of cabbage from the ground to make the filling.

The three sisters spent over two hours making dumplings, wrapping them until dusk.

As they wrapped, they took the finished dumplings outside to freeze, then put them into cloth bags and stored them in the meat clay jar outside. By the time they finished wrapping over three hundred dumplings, ready to cook, Bai Daliang and his two sons returned, along with Zhang Yuan.

When the cabbage and pork dumplings were served, it was another evening meal where they ate too much.

Everyone had an enamel cup in front of them, and even the few picky ones drank an extra cup of water.

They’d never eaten dumplings with so much meat before. Apart from Wang Cuihua, who ate this once, everyone else devoured them eagerly.

Zhang Yuan too, despite having access to good food in the Capital City, couldn’t stop eating Bai Ruxue’s deliciously mixed filling.

It was six o’clock, and everyone, having eaten their fill, lit candles to busy themselves when the villagers’ clamor was heard outside.

"What’s going on outside? It sounds like a lot of people running?" Bai Daliang leaned against the window, but the frosted glass blocked the view outside.

"I’ll go take a look!" Bai Ruchuan, the quickest on his feet, promptly put on his shoes and ran out.

He came back soon, gasping for breath, "The brigade... brigade office got... several tractors came, saying... saying relief grain has arrived!" He was so out of breath.

"That’s great, the relief grain has arrived before the year ends!" Bai Daliang clapped his thigh in excitement.

But this clap startled both babies, making them cry loudly.

"Watch your strength! Look, you’ve scared the kids!" Wang Cuihua, also pleased, but picked up the children to soothe them, while Bai Ruyun picked up the other to help comfort.

"Oh dear, Dad is happy, stop crying now!" Bai Daliang was so happy he was incoherent, patting Xiao Cai’s head to calm her.

"Dad, she doesn’t understand!" Bai Ruyun reminded him.

"Dad, why are you so happy, we don’t lack food!" Compared to the cheerful couple, Bai Ruxue was quite calm.

She knew the relief grain, even if it came, would be coarse grain, not anything special.

"This child, food is life! Our family doesn’t lack anything, but how many families in the village now struggle to fill their bellies? Isn’t being able to eat a hearty meal during New Year a good thing?" Bai Daliang didn’t agree with Bai Ruxue this time, scolding her lightly.

"Alright then! Little Chuan, do you know when the relief grain will be distributed?" Bai Ruxue looked at her brother who had caught his breath.

"I didn’t ask, but everyone’s holding burlap bags, so I guess it’ll be distributed soon? Otherwise, why would they be in such a hurry?" Bai Ruchuan relayed what he had seen to his big sister.

"True, regardless of adults or children, their stomachs are empty, they’ll definitely want to receive the grain quickly when it arrives." Wang Cuihua chimed in.

"Should we go now then?" Bai Ruxia asked Bai Daliang.

Bai Ruxue, knitting a scarf, showed little interest.

"I’ll go take a look!" Bai Daliang said, intending to step down.

"I’ll go too!"

"Me too!"

The two brothers spoke in unison.

"Take the burlap bag with you. If the grain is distributed tonight, you won’t need to run back and forth!" Wang Cuihua reminded them from behind.

Each of the three father-son trio grabbed a burlap bag and hurried out.

Bai Ruxue, knitting her scarf by candlelight, realized it was already the twenty-seventh of December, and had to finish quickly, so she could give it to Zhang Yuan as a New Year’s gift.

In the end, she knitted until eleven at night, and Bai Ruyun had already sewn all the cloth bags.

"Big sister, aren’t you going to sleep?" Bai Ruyun yawned as she climbed onto the kang, into Bai Ruxia’s bed who was sleeping soundly, and asked Bai Ruxue.

"I’ll finish knitting soon and sleep in a bit! I’m also waiting for Dad and them to come back!" Bai Ruxue said, since Bai Daliang and his two sons hadn’t returned yet.

"Big sister, you’re way better at knitting than me. This scarf is so beautiful!" Bai Ruyun said as she half-sat up to touch the scarf Bai Ruxue knitted.

"Beautiful, isn’t it? I think Zhang Yuan will definitely look even more handsome wearing it!" Bai Ruxue showed a look of infatuation.

"I knew it, this must be for brother-in-law!" Bai Ruyun teased Bai Ruxue, speaking softly.

"Once I’m free, I’ll knit each of you a scarf too! Go to sleep!" Bai Ruxue smiled at her gentle and introverted sister who was meticulous about everything.

"That’s great, big sister, I want a red one!" Bai Ruyun said.

"Your personality is introverted and gentle, you’re more suited for wearing light pink! Red is too flashy; Xiao Xia would fit it better!" Bai Ruxue analyzed.

"But, where can we get light pink yarn?" Bai Ruyun hadn’t even visited Pingyang Town, nor seen anyone in the village wearing it, so she didn’t know.

"Don’t worry! I’ll find it for you to knit! It’ll definitely look good!"

"Okay, thanks big sister, I’ll sleep! You should sleep soon too!" Bai Ruyun yawned as she lay down.

Bai Ruxue knitted until midnight. The scarf was finally done, feeling a bit hungry, she noticed everyone was asleep and secretly drank a bottle of yogurt, just in time to hear Dad and her two brothers returning.