In late February in the Northeast, the temperature outside at night would drop to more than twenty degrees below zero.

But despite the frigid weather, Jin Xiaomei and Wang Meilan had been chatting outside for over ten minutes.

When Wang Meilan returned to the house, she pulled a small stool over to the stove pit and sat down to warm her hands before getting up to continue slicing pickled cabbage.

Inside, Zhao Jun was being pestered by his two younger sisters. The two little girls wouldn’t stop nagging him for soda. Zhao Jun managed to stick his head out the door for a quick peek. Seeing his mother’s grim expression, he couldn’t help but rejoice inwardly.

Tonight, Wang Meilan was making wild boar stew with pickled cabbage, served with mixed-grain steamed buns.

The stew simmered on the bottom while the buns steamed on top, a one-pot meal. After putting the food in the pot, Wang Meilan went into the main room and said to Zhao Jun, "Son, everything’s in there now. Keep an eye on the pot. When it’s ready, you kids can go ahead and eat."

"Alright." Zhao Jun nodded. "You go on, Mom."

Wang Meilan said nothing. She just untied her apron, tossed it aside, and headed for the west room.

"Brother! Can you get us some soda?" While Wang Meilan had been in the room, Zhao Hong was quiet and perfectly behaved. But the moment their mother left, the little girl started tugging on Zhao Jun’s arm and wheedling.

Seeing the other little one about to pounce on him as well, Zhao Jun—who had been straining his ears, eager to listen in on the drama—quickly raised an index finger to his lips in a shushing motion.

"No noise. You can have some after dinner," Zhao Jun said, getting to his feet. He tiptoed out to the kitchen, but he couldn’t hear any sound coming from the opposite room.

Just as Zhao Jun finished helping his two little sisters with their dinner, he heard the door to the opposite room open.

Wang Meilan came in, her face like stone. She climbed onto the kang and pulled an old pair of cotton-padded trousers from the cabinet there.

Zhao Jun paused. He recognized them as a pair he had worn several years ago. After he outgrew them, his mother had bought more cotton and fabric to make him a new pair.

And even though he couldn’t wear this pair anymore, they hadn’t given them away, just kept them in the cabinet.

’Could it be...’ Zhao Jun wondered. ’Don’t tell me Dad hid his private stash in my old padded trousers? If so, that’s a pretty clever move.’

"Mom, why don’t you eat something first?" Zhao Jun suggested.

"Are you all finished?" Wang Meilan glanced at the low table on the kang. "If you’re done, then clear it off."

"Right." Zhao Jun quickly stacked the bowls, gathered the chopsticks, and began carrying them out to the kitchen.

Just as Zhao Jun finished tidying up, the two girls were about to start pestering him for soda again. But the door to the west room suddenly swung open, and the two of them scrambled deeper onto the kang, pretending to be absorbed in their games.

This time, it wasn’t just Wang Meilan. Zhao Youcai followed behind her, and he was now wearing Zhao Jun’s old padded trousers.

Wang Meilan climbed onto the kang, pulled down two sets of quilts and pillows, piled them up, and said to Zhao Jun, "Take these to your room. The two little ones are sleeping with you tonight."

’So it’s going to be an all-night interrogation, complete with torture to force a confession.’

"You got it." Zhao Jun gathered the bedding in his arms and said to his sisters, "Come with me. I’ll get you that soda."

At the mention of soda, Zhao Hong and Zhao Na scrambled off the kang and ran after Zhao Jun, heading for the west room.

The moment the three siblings were out of the east room, the door was slammed shut behind them with a loud SLAM! 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

That night, the two little girls fell asleep, content after having their soda, but Zhao Jun couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

He got out of bed, left his room, and went into the kitchen area.

It was almost eleven o’clock, but he could see light still shining from the crack under the door to his parents’ room.

Zhao Jun crept to the door, pressing his ear against it, but he couldn’t hear any shouting or scolding.

In fact, it was dead silent.

"Mom," Zhao Jun called out as he pushed the door open. "It’s the middle of the night. You and Dad should get something to eat."

Zhao Jun pushed the door open and stepped inside. He saw Wang Meilan sitting cross-legged on the kang by herself, surrounded by the pieces of two padded jackets and one pair of padded trousers that she had ripped apart.

’Wow, she’s torn apart all of Dad’s winter clothes.’

Piled by her feet was a scattered heap of money: ten-yuan bills, five-yuan bills, and even some ones and twos.

Looking to the side, he saw his father, Zhao Youcai, standing stiffly by the edge of the kang, glaring daggers at him.

He was a sharp man; how could he not realize this little punk had come to gloat at his old man’s expense?

’Eat? If I could eat, don’t you think I would have by now? I need you to tell me?’

Wang Meilan pulled another roll of one-yuan bills from the cotton padding. She unfurled it and counted with her thumb—five bills.

Wang Meilan set the money down, glanced up at the clock on the wall, and then turned to Zhao Jun. "Go on back to bed."

"Alright." Zhao Jun quickly shut the door and beat a retreat.

Zhao Jun was up early the next day. He gently moved Zhao Na, who had been cuddling up to him, into Zhao Hong’s quilt. Then he threw on his own padded jacket, climbed off the kang, and went out to the kitchen to find Wang Meilan already lighting the stove.

"Mom, let me," Zhao Jun said, reaching for the stove poker.

"I’m fine," Wang Meilan said, setting a full kettle on the stove.

Zhao Jun noticed the outer fabric of his father’s jackets in a large iron washbasin nearby. He chuckled, "So, Mom, planning to wash Dad’s jackets?"

Wang Meilan sighed softly, then cracked a smile. "Well, since I’ve already ripped them all apart, I might as well wash them."

Zhao Jun leaned in close to his mother and whispered, "So, Mom, how much did Dad squirrel away?"

"Hmph. A lot," Wang Meilan snorted. "From the sale of a single Bear Gall, he kept fifty and split it evenly with your Uncle Li."

"That’s a pretty big cut," Zhao Jun said, surprised. "Did Auntie tell you that?"

"Your aunt didn’t mention that part," Wang Meilan said. "She came by yesterday to tell me that Baoyu’s father confessed. Your dad sold the tiger cub skins for three thousand four hundred. He gave me one thousand two hundred, and of the remaining two thousand two hundred, he and his partner each took one thousand one hundred. Your aunt was asking if that’s the number your dad gave me."

Zhao Jun found this hilarious. It looked like Jin Xiaomei was afraid Li Dayong wouldn’t tell her the truth.

There was just one thing he didn’t get. "It’s not like Uncle Li to rat on Dad," he said. "That couldn’t have been easy."

Wang Meilan chuckled at that. "At first, he refused to say a word. But then your aunt gave him a couple of whacks with a broomstick, and he became much more cooperative."

"What?" Zhao Jun asked, astonished. "Auntie told you even that?"

"Sigh..." Wang Meilan let out a long sigh. "Your aunt was just in a panic. After she hit him, she realized Baoyu and Ruhai were standing right there. Since Baoyu saw it, he was bound to tell you, right? So your aunt figured she might as well not hide it from me."

"Whoa!" Zhao Jun’s eyes went wide. "Baoyu is one thing, but if Ruhai saw it... won’t the whole village know before noon?"

"He... wouldn’t, would he?" Wang Meilan said, uncertainly. "Would he really tell outsiders about something like this?"

Zhao Jun just blinked. He offered no further comment on Li Ruhai, asking only, "So, did Auntie get the information about the Bear Gall money out of him too?"

"No," Wang Meilan said. "As soon as your dad heard that your Uncle Li had caved, he confessed everything. Between what I found in his jacket and trousers and the money from the tiger cub skins, it’s almost two thousand yuan."

"How many years did it take to save all that?" Zhao Jun chuckled. "Hey Mom, I won’t be home for lunch."

"Where are you off to now, Son?"

"I think I’ll go see Brother Zhang—Zhang Yuanmin," Zhao Jun said.