Chen Lan hurried towards the fifth building, taking two steps at a time. Her mind occupied with matters at hand, she barely felt the biting cold as she walked. The two houses were not far apart, and she soon arrived at the gate of the fifth building's courtyard.
Pushing open the courtyard gate and about to head towards the main door, she bumped into Liu Man'er, who was just about to leave, and a young wife named Xiao He, who looked to be in her early twenties. Noticing they each held a basket for firewood, it seemed they were preparing to go outside the courtyard to the woodpile to gather some fuel for the stove.
Chen Lan didn't actually know Xiao He's surname. It had been too chaotic in the living room, and no one had specified. She had only heard Zhou Sixi calling her "Xiao He, Xiao He."
Upon seeing them about to leave, Chen Lan immediately greeted them with a smile, "Sister Man'er, Sister Xiao He!"
Seeing that the person pushing open the gate was Chen Lan, they immediately set down their firewood baskets and rushed forward to welcome her. Liu Man'er warmly clasped Chen Lan's hand and said joyfully, "Xiao Lan, you're such a rare visitor! What wind blew you here today? Do you have time to visit today? It's cold outside! Come, quickly inside, let's warm up."
She then turned and called out loudly to Xiao He, "Xiao He, you take Xiao Lan inside first. I'll go outside to gather some firewood."
With that, she picked up the two firewood baskets from the ground and quickly walked out of the courtyard gate.
Xiao He readily agreed and enthusiastically invited Chen Lan inside.
As soon as Chen Lan stepped into the living room, she found it filled with smoke. Through the haze, she could vaguely see a structure near the floor-to-ceiling window, made of six wooden poles forming two triangular stands. A long wooden pole was laid across the top, and a large basket hung from the middle of the pole. There seemed to be a child in the basket, likely asleep.
Zhou Dama, Zhou Sixi's mother, and Zhao Dama, Zhao Tie's mother, were both sitting cross-legged on the sofa near the window. Each held a pipe, puffing on it as they chatted, occasionally pushing the hanging cradle with their hands.
Chen Lan quickly greeted them, calling out with a smile, "Grandma Zhou, Grandma Zhao, are you two chatting?"
Upon seeing Xiao He bring Chen Lan in, they immediately put down their pipes, stood up together, put on their shoes, and stepped off the sofa to welcome her. They warmly invited Chen Lan to sit on the sofa and offered her a tobacco pouch, which contained air-dried tobacco leaves and a box of matches.
Chen Lan waved her hands repeatedly at the offered pouch, indicating she didn't smoke. Xiao He, thinking she was being polite, said, "Xiao Lan, why don't you use my pipe? I just bought this one before coming to the valley and haven't used it much."
Saying this, she took out a brand new, long-stemmed pipe from another sewing basket and handed it to Chen Lan.
Chen Lan was stunned. She hadn't expected such a young wife like Xiao He to also smoke. While she was dazed, she quickly waved her hands repeatedly at the pipe offered to her, hastily explaining, "Sister Xiao He, I really don't know how to smoke this."
Seeing that Chen Lan truly didn't want to smoke, Xiao He didn't press further.
Zhao Dama, seeing that Chen Lan really didn't smoke, extinguished her pipe, fearing the smoke might bother her.
Only then did Chen Lan get a clear look at the cradle. Two infants, about four or five months old, were sleeping soundly inside.
Seeing Chen Lan staring at the cradle, Grandma Zhou immediately introduced, "Inside are my little grandson, Little Potato, and your Grandma Zhao's little grandson, Little Dumpling."
Chen Lan quickly responded, "Grandma, why don't I see Little Lotus Flower, or Grandpa Zhou, Brother Zhou, and Brother Zhao?"
Just then, Liu Man'er pushed open the door and happened to hear Chen Lan's questions. She burst out laughing, set down her firewood basket, and said with a smile, "Oh, them! They're so bored with nothing to do every day, they get restless! So, the several of them go to the greenhouses to check on the vegetables every day, at irregular hours. Lotus Flower also can't stay idle at home and insisted on going with them."
After saying this, she nimbly patted the dust off her clothes and wiped her hands with a towel. She put down the towel, walked over to Chen Lan, and sat down. She casually picked up a shoe sole from the sewing basket and began to sew. Chen Lan looked up and saw that Xiao He, at some point, had also picked up a shoe sole and was stitching it.
Seeing them all busy, and feeling a bit uncomfortable because the two grandmas weren't smoking, coupled with the fact that the room was too smoky and she was unaccustomed to it, Chen Lan hastily explained her reason for visiting.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Zhou immediately clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Xiao Lan, what a coincidence! My Grandma Zhao and I are both from near Gaizhou. Our family is just a bit closer to Gaizhou. Years ago, when the harvests were good, we did raise Gaizhou cashmere goats. Your Grandpa Zhou was a good hand at tending cashmere goats, he learned it while working for a wealthy family since he was young."
With that, she reached out and gently patted Chen Lan's hand, saying, "Xiao Lan, don't worry. When you go to Gaizhou, bring your Grandpa Zhou along. Let him help catch the goat kids over there. I guarantee every single kid will be lively and easy to raise."
Seeing that her matter was settled, Chen Lan thanked Grandma Zhou profusely and asked her to relay a message to Grandpa Zhou. She then got up to say goodbye to everyone.
Grandma Zhou, Grandma Zhao, Liu Man'er, and Xiao He all invited Chen Lan to stay for lunch before leaving. Chen Lan declined, citing that her twins were waiting at home.
Since everyone also had young children at home, they understood and didn't insist further. The two families walked Chen Lan to the gate and watched her leave before returning inside.
As Chen Lan stepped out of the smoky room, her mind suddenly cleared. She then remembered the strange sights she had just witnessed. Wasn't this one of the "Three Oddities of Northeast China" she had heard about in her previous life?
The folk custom of the "Three Oddities of Northeast China" refers to "window paper pasted on the outside," "young girls with large pipes," and "raising a child in a hanging cradle."
She had seen two of these in Liu Man'er's home, but not the "window paper pasted on the outside."
Chen Lan recalled that in her past life, she had been very curious why girls in the Northeast smoked pipes and had even looked up related information.
One theory suggested that the Northeast had long winters and short summers, with little work to be done in winter. Villagers would "hibernate," visit neighbors, chat, and smoke pipes. Large groups would gather, puffing clouds of smoke, and thus even demure young girls joined the ranks of "smokers."
Another theory proposed that smoke could repel snakes and insects. In earlier times, those who panned for gold, rafted logs, dug ginseng, or hunted in the mountains would smoke a pipe during breaks. The exhaled smoke could deter snakes.
Additionally, ashes were a common folk remedy for stopping bleeding. If injured deep in the mountains, ashes could sterilize wounds and stop bleeding.
Chen Lan thought that one shouldn't underestimate these folk customs. They were products of local people following and adapting to nature, embodying cultural logic and the wisdom of the masses. They were the crystallization of collective popular wisdom.