Chapter 40: The Mysterious Dumpling Delivery

A live wild chicken was suddenly placed right in front of Zhong Zhicheng. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. When he opened them again, the chicken was still there. Without hesitation, he dashed out the door.

When he returned, he carried a basin of hot water and a kitchen knife.

“Quick, quick, quick!” Zhong Zhicheng called. “Tonight we’re having an extra treat, we finally get to eat wild chicken!”

Fang Bo Song handed him the chicken, and the two of them worked inside, cutting its throat to drain the blood. Once that was done, they dunked it in hot water to pluck the feathers and gut it.

The fully wild chicken, once cleaned and gutted, weighed roughly four jin, just as Fang Bo Song had estimated.

Since they suddenly had a wild chicken, the group decided to save the more luxurious dishes for dinner, keeping lunch simple.

After the meal, Old Yu began stewing the chicken. He chopped it into pieces, added it to the pot, and let it cook for about half an hour before adding the dried mushrooms. He poured in the soaking water as well.

After covering the pot to let it simmer a little longer, he sprinkled in some chopped scallions from the small vegetable garden just before serving. The aroma instantly filled the room.

The evening meal also included stir-fried chili with pork. Without oil, they used the fat trimmed from the chicken as a substitute. The chilies came from the back garden, along with a plate of steamed cabbage, egg soup, and a small bowl of rice for each person.

Fang Mingxi and Tang Yao each grabbed a chicken leg, holding it in their hands as they gnawed. The legs were as large as both their palms combined, and the sisters ate until their mouths were greasy.

This was the first time in six months that everyone had eaten meat. Fang Mingxi was used to it, she occasionally managed to get a meat bun at the black market to supplement her protein intake.

But Tang Yao had no such luck. Since arriving here, apart from the chicken leg, she hadn’t eaten meat at all.

The chicken was fragrant. She ate politely, chewing slowly and savoring the flavor.

After dinner, darkness fell. According to Fang family tradition, New Year’s Eve was for staying up all night, and the family would make dumplings together.

But there was no strong flour here, and Fang Bo Song and Tong Lingxian didn’t have tickets. They had no choice but to skip it.

They watched Fang Mingxi’s head nod off on the bed and gently tucked her in, making sure the covers were snug. Their voices automatically lowered.

They were about to give up on staying awake and go to bed themselves, but just as they put their things down, a knock came at the door.

Fang Bo Song immediately got up, alert, and quietly asked who it was.

No answer came. Instead, the knocking repeated, and soon something was placed on the ground outside.

Fang Bo Song and Tong Lingxian stepped out into the night. When they opened the door, the figure outside had vanished, leaving only a bamboo basket covered with a patterned cloth.

Carefully, Fang Bo Song brought the basket inside. Lighting the kerosene lamp, he removed the cloth.

Inside were a slab of pork belly, half fat and half lean, and a bowl of steaming dumplings.

Both of them were stunned. They instinctively ran outside to look for whoever had left it.

But it seemed the person had no intention of revealing themselves. The moment the items were set down, they had vanished. After searching in vain, the two returned inside.

Fang Mingxi had been woken by the knocking. Sleepy, she stared at the steaming dumplings on the table. “Grandfather, Grandmother… who is it?”

Who was playing the part of Lei Feng, delivering dumplings and pork late at night? A bowl of dumplings like this couldn’t come from just anyone.

Fang Bo Song and Tong Lingxian shook their heads slowly. They had a guess as to who it might be but had no proof, so they couldn’t speak the name recklessly.

Since the person clearly didn’t want to meet them, they decided it was best to act as if they knew nothing.

Tong Lingxian picked up a pair of chopsticks and held half a dumpling to Fang Mingxi’s mouth.

“Eat quickly! You have to have dumplings on New Year’s Eve.”

Fang Mingxi blew on the dumpling to cool it and bit in. The fragrant leek-and-pork filling filled her mouth.

She exhaled a puff of steam and covered her mouth with her hand. “Grandfather, Grandmother, eat quickly! The dumplings are delicious.”

Tong Lingxian set the chopsticks down, got on the bed, and wrapped Fang Mingxi in the quilt. “Grandfather and Grandmother aren’t eating. We’ve had plenty of good food before. Xixi, you eat.”

Fang Mingxi wiped the grease from her mouth, climbed into her lap, and skillfully picked up dumplings with chopsticks.

“No, let’s eat together.”

Tong Lingxian smiled and bit into a dumpling. “Alright, we’ll eat together.”

The three of them finished the entire bowl of dumplings. Since it wasn’t easy to explain the source to everyone else, they apologized and quietly enjoyed this little feast on their own.

The pork was saved to be air-dried. Tong Lingxian decided to hang it up soon to dry.

Finally, everyone went back to sleep. Fang Mingxi kept glancing at Grandfather and Grandmother. Who had delivered the dumplings? Judging by their expressions, they seemed to know, but why didn’t they say?

As night deepened, He Daixing delivered the goods under cover of darkness. Having learned from last time, he deliberately circled through the woods several times before sneaking back to the house.

Zhang Guihua and He Daixing’s wife, Zhao Hongying, were waiting inside. When they saw him return, they hurried over.

“How did it go? Did they accept it?”

He Daixing nodded. “They took it. They’re as sharp as always. If I hadn’t run quickly, I might have been discovered.”

Zhang Guihua rolled up her sleeves and handed him a pair of chopsticks after washing them.

“The other day, I noticed Xixi didn’t have any thick clothes. I’ll go to the county clothing factory to see if they have any leftover fabric or cotton. It’s fine if adults are cold, but children mustn’t catch a cold.”

Her youngest daughter worked as a workshop supervisor at the clothing factory and often had scraps of fabric. She could probably get a few pieces back.

Cotton was harder to come by, but they still had an old quilt at home. She could tear it apart and sew a new winter coat for Xixi.

Zhao Hongying added, “Mom, I’ll go too. Call me when you go. I’ll get something for the children. We can’t give New Year’s money, so let’s give them something practical.”

The two women quickly finalized their plan, they’d head to the county after the New Year.

He Daixing swallowed a dumpling and, without noticing, glanced at the scar on Zhang Guihua’s hand, feeling deeply moved.

“Mom, you really thought of everything. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known to consider these things.”

Zhao Hongying glared at him. “You’re just like when you were in the army, only thinking about brute strength, not about how a one-year-old like Xixi will survive the winter.”

“If you had told me earlier, I’d have prepared everything before New Year,” He Daixing said, blushing and grinning.

“True, I didn’t think it through. Wang Dazhu was watching them, and I was afraid of causing them more trouble,” he continued.

And now, with Liu Damazi and his group added to the mix, the situation was even more dangerous.

He glanced at a black-and-white photo hanging on the wall and let out a long, quiet sigh. He wondered how long days like these would continue.