Chapter 95

In the past, life at home was hard. The three weak women in the family couldn’t earn much, and every month they relied on Uncle Ye’s salary remittance to get by.

Mother Ye had been stingy for so many years that she couldn’t bear to spend money on good food.

She had already figured it out: when they hold the college celebration banquet for the young couple, she would buy at most twenty jin (about 10 kg) of pork, and together with the twenty jin of pork distributed by the brigade at the end of the year, that would be enough to host relatives and friends for a good meal.

Using an entire fat pig for the banquet—just think how grand that would be!

Back when they built their house and held a completion feast, each guest got only a small piece of meat—if you wanted another, there was none left.

Compared to a feast made from a whole pig, that was downright shabby.

Now that the village cadres had rewarded them with an entire big fat pig, Mother Ye’s heart felt as sweet as if she had drunk syrup.

She lifted her head and readily agreed.

It would look stingy to push it back and forth; that would just make the children lose face. The Ye family used to be poor, but with two children admitted to top universities—would they stay poor forever?

When they got home, Ye Qingshui drafted a banquet list. Although the Ye family had been given a pig to use for the dishes, they couldn’t just rely entirely on that and contribute nothing else—otherwise it wouldn’t be thrift, it would just be taking advantage.

She opened Xie Tingyu’s award allowance—inside was 800 yuan.

Ye Qingshui took out 200 yuan. “Use this to buy some chicken, duck, fish, flour, rice, and vegetables…”

In the past, whenever the Ye family held a banquet, Ye Qingshui handled all the purchasing herself. But the previous two banquets were small—only a few dozen guests—and twenty jin of pork was enough.

Now, though, the Ye family’s feast would require hundreds of jin of meat and vegetables. They were hosting a full-scale “flowing-water banquet” for the whole village—it couldn’t look shabby.

Since Ye Qingshui was pregnant, all the running around fell on Xie Tingyu.

Not wanting his pregnant wife to overwork herself, once the menu was decided, he took the list and got busy—buying ingredients, sending invitations, borrowing tables and chairs, setting up stoves, hiring cooks—every step had to be done properly.

Fortunately, he had a few strong brothers, and the women at the educated youth station were brave, meticulous, and quick with their hands, so everything came together smoothly.

Xie Tingyu did the math: instead of buying chicken, duck, and fish from the supply and marketing cooperative, it was better to buy directly from the countryside—no ration tickets needed, and they could skip the middleman’s markup.

After two days of work, he collected twenty chickens, twenty ducks, and forty jin of live fish from the villagers. Just on meat and vegetables, he spent over a hundred yuan.

When Mother Ye heard that her daughter and son-in-law had spent 200 yuan on the banquet, her mouth hung open in shock for a long time.

Ye Qingshui smiled and said, “Yuge and I got a total of 1,400 yuan from our exam rewards, A-Niang, don’t worry. Money’s meant to be spent.”

Even so, that huge unexpected sum did nothing to ease Mother Ye’s heartache.

She muttered, “There’ll be plenty of things to spend on later.”

If she had known the village would give them a whole pig, she wouldn’t have agreed in the first place—who would’ve thought that getting a pig meant spending even more money!

In her view—didn’t going to college cost money too?

Everything in the capital was expensive. Her daughter couldn’t go there looking too shabby, could she?

Xie Tingyu poured a glass of milk for his wife and said with a smile, “A-Niang, we’ll earn even more money in the future.”

When the actual banquet day arrived, Mother Ye was again stunned—her mouth hung open the whole time.

The Ye family set up twenty banquet tables, taking over the basketball court in front of the village committee office.

Pickled cabbage and vermicelli stewed fish—the clear noodles absorbed the fish’s freshness, while the pickled cabbage and chili whetted the appetite.

Taro braised pork—alternating layers of fat and lean meat, rich but not greasy. The villagers bit into the meat, oil dripping down their chins, chewing with relish.

Fat ducks were made into soy-braised duck—soft skin, tender meat, glossy as if coated in honey, so tender that chopsticks could pierce straight through.

Old hens were stewed into soup, and the shredded chicken mixed with vermicelli became another dish.

Pig bones simmered into a creamy white broth, used for dumplings filled with thick, juicy meat.

Jellied pork-skin aspic mixed into soup dumplings, fragrant and flavorful.

The dumplings gleamed like smiling maidens; the soup buns looked like chubby boys. Rice, dumplings, buns—all you could eat.

And there was still more—the ribs became sweet-and-sour spare ribs; belly pork braised into Dongpo meat; pig lungs turned into spicy marinated lung; pig trotters braised in rich sauce; pig ears and twice-cooked pork fried crisp and fragrant…

Mother Ye had never in her life eaten such a feast.

She stuffed her mouth full, oil glistening on her lips, and thought to herself: “Well, for over 200 yuan, this banquet was worth it.”

Though Ye Qingshui hadn’t cooked these dishes herself, she had taught the chef every step—and the results were quite good, not a waste of such fine ingredients.

For villagers who had lived through years of scarcity, a feast like this was a first in living memory.

But no one had time to talk—everyone was too busy eating, stuffing themselves until their bellies bulged, yet still taking more.

“The Ye family’s banquet is really something,” thought the village party secretary.

Even though the village had provided the pig, there were also chicken, duck, and fish—fine flour and rice—all clearly paid for by the family.

Indeed, with so much good food freely available, everyone ate heartily. If they’d had to pay for it themselves, the thought would’ve made them wince.

Uncle Ye went from table to table toasting guests, his face flushed with drink.

For the first time in years, the village elders of standing toasted him sincerely, and even the cadres gave him due respect. He could sense that everyone looked at their family differently now—with genuine admiration.

Grandma Ye was surrounded by people chatting.

His sister-in-law was in the group of women, repeatedly asked how she raised her children and how they studied.

Even his wife holding the baby wasn’t forgotten—so many people came to congratulate her and ask for advice that she couldn’t count them all.

After the banquet ended, the villagers went home in small groups, chatting along the country paths.

There was plenty of envy in their talk.

Some, however, were sour: “Looks like the Ye family’s really turning things around, spending so much on a banquet…”

“Well, of course! Two top university students in one family—just the government bonuses must be several hundred yuan.”

When one of the village cadres overheard that, he scowled and sternly corrected the remark.

“Don’t be ungrateful! They used their bonuses to benefit the whole village—and you call that showing off? I don’t want to hear talk like that again.”

The top scorer in the entire national college entrance exam came from their village—other villages could only envy them. The Ye family was no longer one that others could look down on.

No one could yet tell how far Xie Tingyu and his wife would go in the future, but the village committee certainly wanted to stay on good terms with them.

……

In the Capital.

This year, the Xie family was waiting for Xie Tingyu to return from the countryside.

Their family had produced the top national scorer in the college entrance exam—a glory known not only among relatives and friends, but even mentioned by Xie Jun’s old superiors.

Just as Xie Jun was feeling a rare flicker of paternal pride and preparing to hold a banquet for his son’s success, Grandma Xie received a letter from the countryside:

“Tingyu won’t be coming home for the New Year, so don’t make preparations.”

“How can he not come home for New Year?” Xie Jun’s face darkened.

Grandma Xie said cheerfully, “Shuiya’s pregnant—it’d be too hard for her to travel north.”

Though Xie Jun said nothing, his silence was consent.

Still, his expression was far from happy.

Taking advantage, Xu Maofang fanned the flames: “Pregnant and she can’t even go out the door? Didn’t they both get into schools in the capital? When classes start in late February, they’ll have to return then anyway…”

That made Xie Jun waver—New Year and school were only half a month apart. Couldn’t they come home even for ten days?

Seeing his face soften, Xu Maofang pressed on: “Everyone’s waiting to see Tingyu. The Zhou family already held a banquet, and their son didn’t even score as high as Tingyu—are we really not holding one?”

But Grandma Xie didn’t take the bait.

She gathered up the invitation cards and said, “If Tingyu isn’t coming home, what’s the point of holding a banquet?”

To her, the great-grandchild mattered more.

If anything happened on the road, she’d regret it for life. She had thought she’d have to wait a long time for a great-grandchild, and now there was already good news.

Though it was a pity they wouldn’t be home for New Year, the thought that they’d both be studying in the capital made her happy again.

“Let’s wait. I’ll send a telegram to check how things are going. If Shuiya isn’t feeling well, we can help her delay enrollment.”

The eldest son, Xie Tingjue, who had only recently recovered from a leg injury, casually asked, “Aunt Fang, you seem awfully eager for them to come back to Beijing?”

Xu Maofang laughed lightly. “I’m just concerned for Tingyu. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could spend New Year here? The countryside’s so dull—it can’t compare to home.”

……

Ye Family Village.

New Year in the countryside was quite lively.

People went to the market fair, pasted red couplets, made lanterns, cleaned their homes, steamed “fortune cakes” and “lucky peaches,” and braised pork. Everyone was busy inside and out—it finally felt like New Year.

Xie Tingyu bought red paper and wrote the couplets himself. His calligraphy looked so proper that many villagers came to buy couplets from him.

It was his first New Year in Ye Family Village. He and Uncle Ye were in charge of the New Year’s Eve dinner.

His wife’s morning sickness was severe—just smelling meat made her retch. So he made her a few light vegetarian dishes separately.

When Ye Qingshui saw the feast and smelled the aroma, she lingered at the doorway, hesitant to go in.

Xie Tingyu set a small table with several sour-and-spicy vegetarian plates and called, “Shuiya, come eat.”

She nibbled a few slices of pickled radish, and the tightness in her chest eased.

In her previous life, Ye Qingshui hadn’t been so delicate—back then the Ye family was poorer and couldn’t afford meat every meal.

She hadn’t even realized she was pregnant then. She often worked in the fields hungry, paying no mind to her loss of appetite.

Who had time to care about something like being unable to eat meat?

Now, looking at the rich dishes on the big table, then at the man who had prepared a special meal just to keep her company, her heart warmed with guilt and tenderness. “You don’t have to eat with me—go eat with everyone else.”

Xie Tingyu smiled. “I already snuck a bite or two while cooking.”

He handed her a bowl of red date and shredded chicken porridge. “Drink while it’s hot—eat more so you’ll have strength.”

He watched with satisfaction as she ate spoonful after spoonful—but when she got to the last bite, she suddenly covered her mouth and ran out to vomit.

He sighed and brought her a fresh bowl of plain porridge.

After throwing up, her legs were weak. She shook her head. “I can’t eat anymore—I’ll just stay hungry.”

“It’s New Year’s Eve—you have to eat something.”

He gently touched her braid. “How about this—I’ll feed you. Even one bite at a time is fine. No pressure.”

And so—on that New Year’s Eve, Grandma Ye, Mother Ye, Uncle Ye, and Aunt Ye were all force-fed a mouthful of “dog food” (public displays of affection).

When he finally finished feeding his wife, Xie Tingyu sighed in relief.

Never mind not going to the capital for New Year—he was starting to worry she wouldn’t even be strong enough to attend school.

Fortunately, after the holiday, Xie Tingjue sent a telegram saying he had already arranged for their enrollment to be postponed. The young couple could finally relax and didn’t return to the capital until the end of March.

When Ye Qingshui was alone, she gently touched her belly, emotions swirling.

“You really are a clever little one.”

“Are you worried about Daddy? Is that why you didn’t want him to go back?”

By now, February had passed—and the date when Xie Tingyu had died in her previous life had also safely gone by.

At the end of March, more than three months pregnant, Ye Qingshui’s morning sickness had eased. She and her husband took the train north with their university admission letters in hand.

Xie Tingyu booked sleeper tickets for comfort. He placed his hand on her belly—though almost four months along, it still wasn’t very noticeable.

Her face, however, had thinned slightly.

He smiled and spoke to the baby, “Mama’s riding the train now—be good, little one.”

……

When they got off the train, it was Wen Zhihua who came to pick them up.

She arrived in her car—something so rare back then that Xie Tingyu was momentarily stunned.

Ye Qingshui was startled too—a family that could afford a car in those days was extraordinary.

Though her mother-in-law’s expression was cold and she spoke little, Ye Qingshui didn’t mind.

In such cold weather, it was already kind of her to come in person.

Xie Tingyu quickly composed himself.

He greeted her politely: “Thank you for coming, please drive carefully—Shuiya’s feeling carsick.”

When they reached the military family compound, Grandma Xie and Xie Tingjue were already waiting at the door.

Seeing her elder son, Wen Zhihua’s face softened slightly.

Xie Tingjue, relieved to see his younger brother unharmed, said, “I’m glad you’re back safe.”

Still haunted by the shadow of the car accident from his last life, he had specifically asked his mother to drive there herself.

Grandma Xie warmly took her granddaughter-in-law’s hand. “Come inside, don’t stand out here—it’s windy. What if Shuiya catches cold?”

Pulling her along, she added, “You’ve suffered, haven’t you?”

“When Tingyu’s mother was pregnant with the two boys, it was just as hard—she couldn’t eat or sleep properly. In a few days, Grandma will go with you to handle the leave-of-absence paperwork.”

“Pregnancy is tough.”

Originally, Ye Qingshui had planned to attend classes for at least one semester, but with her symptoms so severe, she could only agree to take leave from school.

She nodded obediently.

Grandma Xie shot her grandson a stern look. “Don’t just focus on your own studies. Go to the physics department to listen in when you can, and teach your wife what you learn. She’s taking a break for your sake—you must take responsibility.”

What else could Xie Tingyu say but, “I will.”

When writing home from the countryside, Ye Qingshui hadn’t mentioned her exact exam score—only that she had luckily been admitted to a university in the capital.

Even so, Grandma Xie was deeply impressed. Universities in the capital were the most competitive—students all over the country fought for admission.

Physics was a top “red-rooted” field then—getting in was no easy feat.

This way, the couple wouldn’t be separated by distance, which pleased Grandma Xie immensely.

“Shuiya really made us proud this time—it’s all Tingyu’s fault for delaying you.”

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