She trudged along the snowy mountains, leaving uneven imprints behind her.
She could barely make out the rows of houses, unequal in size, built by the villagers. Occasionally, she could see smoke billowing from the chimneys, and hear dogs barking.
She looked down. Snow and wind rushed into her collar. She shrunk her neck, heaved the bundle of firewood on her back, and pressed on, toward the faint outline of the village that stood amidst the winter storm.
The sky was dusking, and the growing darkness was suffocating.
The village was secluded from the rest of the world, and there wasn’t any news but the usual village gossip: whose chicken had died, whose dog had fallen sick, and so on and so forth. Neither was there any form of entertainment in the quiet village at night, and there was nothing to do besides sleeping.
The villagers were early risers, ate crops grown by their own hands, drank alpine water, and breathed in unpolluted air that was unique to the mountains. In such an environment, the villagers were all very healthy. In a way, they lived off the mountains, but not without hard work.
The villagers were exclusive, but hardworking and honest people.
Yan Huan set five eggs on the kitchen counter. She had received that from a single customer that day. It wasn’t a bad deal; five eggs for half an hour of haircutting. Five eggs were enough to last them for a week.
With the extra protein from the eggs, Changsheng grew stronger and more muscular. Even Yan Huan had put on weight, and no longer looked as gaunt as before, though a strong gust would still knock her over.
“New Year’s coming,” commented Changsheng’s mother as she worked on her knitting. “I’ll get Changsheng to buy a new piece of cloth when the snow melts. Aunty will make you a nice pair of new clothes.”
“There’s no need for that. I have enough clothes,” smiled Yan Huan. She tugged at her padded jacket, indicating that it was enough for her.
Plus, she might leave the village come spring. Why would she need so many clothes if she had made up her mind on leaving? The cloth would do Changsheng and his mother much more good than her.
“Bah! I insist,” said Changsheng’s mother. She had already made up her mind to purchase cloth and make all of them a new set of clothes. Clothes from the stores may look good, but they’ll never come close to the comforts of homemade clothes. None of the villagers wore store-bought clothes.
Yan Huan tried to protest, but Changsheng’s mother stretched her face in a way that brooked new arguments. “If Aunty says she’s making new clothes for you, you are getting new clothes, and that’s that. Our field wouldn’t be looking so good without your help.”
“That’s Changsheng’s work. I did nothing to help,” said Yan Huan. She didn’t know how to work in the fields, and the only useful skill she had was haircutting. In this village, she was practically useless.
“Nonsense,” said Changsheng’s mother, biting off the thread and dusting the shirt in her hands. She was mending Changsheng’s clothes, since there was a tear in it. That was the way of life in the village; unlike the city folks who would throw out anything with a hole in it. Down here, a single piece of clothing can last for a long time with some mending.
“Would he have had the strength to plow the lands had he not eaten the eggs you cooked for him?”
Yan Huan smiled and said nothing. She hadn’t heard about anyone gaining immense strength from eating eggs.
“You are always thinking about him,” continued Changsheng’s mother. “And giving him all the good stuff. For all that he had eaten, he better work his damned hardest.”
Changsheng’s mother’s fondness for Yan Huan grew as she went on. Yan Huan was diligent and unselfish, and always reserved the best things for her and her son. She was the one that ate the least of the eggs she brought back, and most of it had gone into her and her son’s stomachs.
She thought of Yan Huan as considerate and thrifty. If she looked past her less-than-pretty face and lame leg, she was a woman who knew how to deal with people and solve problems, and also well-versed with her craft. With her, the future would be worth looking forward to. A woman like her was the cream of the crop in the village.
If she was beautiful, and wasn’t limb… Wouldn’t that be something?
Yan Huan didn’t think about that at all; she was married with children after all. She was infinitely grateful to the Changsheng family, though all she could do now was put an additional dish on their tables. Once she gets home, she would make sure to repay their kindness by folds.
Her mind drifted away as she gazed into the distance, and she didn’t hear anything Changsheng’s mother said afterwards.
She vaguely remembered that Changsheng’s mother had talked about many things, about when Changsheng’s father was alive, about when Changsheng was little, and about other memories. Yan Huan was in a dreamy daze as she recalled her own life.
The village grew livelier during the New Year, and many villagers set off to a distant town to buy New Year goods.
Yan Huan wanted to go. She wanted to try her luck and see if she could get into contact with Lu Yi. That way she could go home sooner. Yet she was afraid at the same time. She felt her face. Will Lu Yi be able to recognize her like this?
She decided to bury the thought. She had to find a chance to get out of the village. Going out and coming back to the village was a difficult expedition that required a lot of effort. The lack of a road had always bugged the villagers, and they firmly believed that having a road would change their lives. At the very least, they would have access to electricity and water, and wouldn’t have to rely on oil lamps or travel a long distance to the river to fetch water.
