Ever since a nameless brat bruised his nose and face in a snowball fight, a young educated youth surnamed Chen in Shenjiaba stayed indoors for four to five days, too embarrassed to go out.
With the New Year approaching, the days passed by quickly, as if Heaven, like the people on Earth, was also looking forward to the holiday.
In the blink of an eye, it was the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month. Shenjiaba celebrated the Little New Year on this day, while a little further south, it might be the twenty-fourth.
In the cities and prefectures of Anhui Province, the northern part celebrated on the twenty-third, and the area closer to Jiangxi Province celebrated on the twenty-fourth for the Little New Year. Each city and prefecture celebrated on its own.
The Little New Year is also known as the Stove God Festival, on which day the Stove God is sent off to heaven.
Village elders say that on this day each year, the Stove God ascends to heaven to report the merits and demerits of each household to the Jade Emperor. It’s unavoidable; unlike later times with food delivery, every household had a stove.
No family could do without a Stove God. This fellow was like a spy sent by the Jade Emperor to inspect the human world. If he reported any major mistakes, the Jade Emperor would reduce that household's lifespan by three hundred days.
To save their lives, people would sweep their houses and clean up cobwebs and dust because it was rumored that these things were the Stove God's petty accounts. If they were all swept away, the Stove God would have no grounds to accuse them.
There was also the custom of making Stove God candy. Candied fruits were used to block the Stove God's mouth. Right on cue, Chen Yang's mother-in-law woke up early and made sugar cakes from sweet potato syrup, which she respectfully placed on the stove for the Stove God to enjoy.
After finishing breakfast, Chen Yang borrowed a donkey cart from Old Mr. Tu with his father-in-law, planning to go to the county town to pick up his younger sister-in-law to come home for the New Year.
The twenty-third marked the start of the official winter break for high school, which would last until after the Lantern Festival before classes resumed.
Although the college entrance examination was stressful in those days, schools were much more lenient with holidays compared to students in later times.
Ultimately, it was because they didn't place as much importance on it.
The college entrance examination in later times was like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge. Families would even conceal the death of a close relative to ensure their child could take the exam.
It was as if failing this exam and not attending this university meant they couldn't do anything in life.
In those days, state-owned enterprises could still be entered through substitution. There were no requirements for university degrees to enter state-owned enterprises or government units, so people did not attach as much importance to the college entrance examination as they did in later times.
During these days, several snowfalls had occurred intermittently. The snow by the roadside had not yet melted and was expected to remain frozen until the New Year.
When Chen Yang and his father-in-law arrived at the school with the donkey cart, Shen Rong, carrying her schoolbag, ran towards them with clumsy steps. The girl was dressed like a plump penguin.
"Dad, brother-in-law."
Having not seen each other for over a month, the girl was very excited to see them. Not long ago, Chen Yang and Shen Xue had come to the county town and, during the school's lunch break, took her to a tailor shop to get measured for a set of clothes.
This year, she could wear new clothes for the New Year, and the little girl was very happy.
"Get in, let's go. We'll pick up your clothes and buy some meat to take home for the Little New Year."
Because the weather was cold due to the snow, food didn't spoil easily. The family had bought quite a bit of New Year's goods during market days and stored them. Besides buying some meat, there wasn't much else needed.
"Brother-in-law, you're so nice."
Shen Rong's face lit up when she heard they were going to pick up new clothes and buy meat.
With new clothes to wear and meat to eat, this New Year was sure to be happier than any previous one.
As Chen Yang was about to turn the donkey cart around, he suddenly saw a lonely figure walking with difficulty towards the school's dormitory building.
"Pan Di?"
Chen Yang glanced over. The figure, seeing him look, quickly turned and ran. It seemed she had secretly followed Shen Rong to the school gate. But upon seeing Shen Rong get into the donkey cart, she turned back, not expecting to be seen by Chen Yang.
"Is that Pan Di?"
For some reason, looking at the solitary figure in the school, Chen Yang felt as if something was stuck in his throat.
"Brother-in-law, it's Sister Pan Di. I remember now. Didn't Sister Pan Di fall out with her family? I heard she wrote a letter severing ties with them. She has no home to return to."
"Teacher Liu mentioned before that she wanted to take Pan Di home for the New Year, but Pan Di refused, saying she would stay in the school dormitory. The canteen is closed, so she borrowed a stove and pot to cook for herself."
Shen Rong looked at the retreating figure, her eyes suddenly tearing up.
They were all around the same age, but during the New Year, they all had homes to return to and family members to pick them up. Only Shen Pan Di had no one.
She still had to live alone in the dormitory, watching familiar classmates being picked up by their families one by one. Thinking about it, Shen Rong felt she was too pathetic.
"That girl Pan Di has such a hard life," sighed her father-in-law, watching Shen Pan Di's disappearing figure.
This girl was known in the village for her capability. From a young age, she gathered pig feed, worked in the fields, and helped her father take care of the family, doing laundry and cooking for her younger sisters. There was nothing she couldn't do.
But she happened to have such a partial mother. Many people in the village felt sorry for this girl.
In those days, most rural people favored sons over daughters, but it wasn't to the extent of not treating daughters as humans.
At least not like Luo Yuzhen, who completely disregarded her daughter, willing to marry her healthy daughter off to a single man in his thirties or forties for a bit of money.
"Brother-in-law, Sister Pan Di is so pitiful. Why don't we take Sister Pan Di home to spend the New Year with us? She can sleep in my room."
"My bed is big enough. I used to sleep with my sister, and now Sister Pan Di can fit too."
Shen Rong glanced at Chen Yang. If it were in the past, no matter how pitiful she thought Shen Pan Di was, she wouldn't have dared to say this.
The family was poor, and one more person meant one more mouth to feed. From the twenty-third for the Little New Year to the fifteenth of the first lunar month after the Lantern Festival, it was almost a month. With the financial situation of her elder sister's family, they couldn't afford so much grain.
But now, the family's conditions were much better, so she dared to speak up.
"You silly girl, it's not just about a meal. Her parents are still alive. If we take her home for the New Year, what will her parents say? What will the villagers say?" Shen Futang glared at Shen Rong, knowing his younger daughter was kind-hearted, but sometimes, one couldn't control things.
Even with good intentions, others might twist it into something else, and gossip could be vicious.
Chen Yang fell silent upon hearing his father-in-law's words.
When he helped Shen Pan Di sever ties with Luo Yuzhen, Luo Yuzhen kept accusing him of having ill intentions. Now, if he took Shen Pan Di home for the New Year, even if she shared a room with Shen Rong, Luo Yuzhen would inevitably spread rumors.
Not only would he lose face, but Shen Pan Di would also feel uncomfortable hearing it.
Yet, looking at the girl's lonely, receding figure trudging through the snow, he felt a pang in his heart.
He was the one who pulled her out of her suffering, and he was also the one who had made Shen Pan Di a child with no home to return to.
Should he bring her home to celebrate the New Year, or not?