After spending a good part of the morning with the Liang siblings, Xiao Man heard her Grandpa calling for her from the front yard. She said to Liang Xiuzhen, "When you have some free time, come visit me at the courtyard by the Knowledge Youth House!"

"Okay," Liang Xiuzhen agreed. "You have to come play at my house, too!"

Liang Xiuzhu took Xiao Man’s hand and led her toward the front yard. They passed the main hall and stopped at the door of the east room to say goodbye to Aunt Liang, who told her, "Come over and play whenever you have time."

It was unclear what method Grandpa used, but Uncle Man Cang readily accepted his thank-you gift. It included two pounds of pork, a whole chicken, a bottle of liquor, two packs of cigarettes, a two-pound package of noodles, a bag of sweet biscuits, and a flashlight. In a rural village, this was an exceptionally generous gift.

Normally, they would have been expected to stay for a meal, but Grandpa explained that Grandma’s eyesight was poor, she was home alone, and she absolutely refused to go out. Since Uncle Man Cang also had an ailing family member, he sympathized and didn’t insist. Instead, he packed four or five pounds of various dried fish and shrimp he’d cured, placing them in Xiao Man’s back basket. He patted her on the head and said, "Come play with Xiu and the others when you’re free. This uncle doesn’t have many nice things, but I can always rustle up some fish and shrimp for you!"

"I will, Uncle Man Cang," Xiao Man replied with a smile. ’I’ll have to come back a few more times,’ she thought, ’give Aunt Liang some spiritual spring water, and figure out how to nurse her back to health. Good people deserve good fortune. Uncle Man Cang shouldn’t have to struggle on his own like he did in my past life, toiling his whole life away only to never enjoy the happiness of having children and grandchildren.’

When she got home, Grandma and Second Granny Qiu were sitting under the pear tree, talking with someone. It turned out to be Ahua.

’Even though Ahua had remarried,’ Xiao Man thought, ’she still looked after Grandpa’s mother and donated money for her funeral when Grandpa had been away for years, his own fate unknown. That proves she had genuine feelings for him.’ So, Xiao Man decided to show her due respect. ’Should I call her "Granny Ahua" or "Grandma Hua"?’ she wondered.

But her grandma instructed her, "Call her Aunt He."

Xiao Man called out, "Aunt He," and immediately felt it was a much better fit than "Grandma Hua."

Aunt He had come empty-handed last time, but this time she brought a gift: a paper packet with two large brown sugar cakes inside.

Grandpa watched as Xiao Man obediently took the cakes from Aunt He and said, "Thank you, Auntie." He beamed. "You really shouldn’t have, coming all this way and bringing her sweets. My granddaughter is perfect in every way, except that Ayue spoils her rotten. She’s always snacking. No matter how much you give her, she’ll take it without a moment’s hesitation."

Grandma said, "She’s our precious granddaughter. If we don’t spoil her, who will?"

Aunt He laughed a bit sheepishly. "Of course, of course. Children need to be doted on!"

Second Granny Qiu, unaware that Aunt He was there to borrow money, glanced back and forth between everyone with a gossipy look on her face. When Aunt He made an excuse to go to the backyard and beckoned for Grandpa to follow, Second Granny Qiu immediately hurried after them. She claimed she had seen a lot of wild vegetables growing by the backyard patch and, since she was short on greens for her chickens, she would just pull some up to take home.

Xiao Man ran to the kitchen and peeked out the small, square window. She saw Aunt He and Grandpa standing and talking at one end of the vegetable patch. At the other end, Second Granny Qiu was squatting, pretending to pull up wild vegetables while constantly darting sidelong glances at them. Xiao Man couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ’That Second Granny Qiu is such a character.’

She went back and quietly described the scene to her grandma, who also started to laugh. "You can’t blame Second Granny Qiu," Grandma said. "Your grandpa and I never had a son of our own. Your great-aunt used to come and cause a scene all the time, telling him to find another woman who could bear children. She said that even marrying Ahua, who was a widow back then, would be better than staying with me. Later, after I went blind, your great-aunt personally brought Ahua to our home, and she stayed for nearly a month. Ahua was willing, saying the three of us could live together. She said that if she and your grandpa had a child, the child would call me ’Mother’ too... But I never gave in. Because of that, your great-aunt came over to shout and curse at me every single day. Things were so hard for me then. Luckily, your grandpa always took my side. For my sake, he and his sister argued so much they nearly became enemies. All the women in the village sympathized with me. They all came over to help mediate, and eventually, they convinced Ahua to go home... Your Second Granny Qiu, she’s still on guard against her to this day."

Xiao Man squeezed her grandma’s hand and sighed internally. ’Grandma is such a wonderful person. Even though she married Grandpa and he treats her with all his heart, she still had to suffer so much!’

Second Granny Qiu was too efficient. Before Grandpa and Ahua had even finished talking, she had already plucked the sparse patch of wild vegetables clean. She had no choice but to head back to the house.

Grandpa and Ahua followed a few steps behind. Ahua’s face was beaming, and Xiao Man knew at once that Grandpa had given her the money.

Now that she had the money, Ahua had no intention of staying. She politely declined Grandma’s invitation to stay for dinner, eager to head home. Before she left, she told Grandpa the date of her youngest son’s wedding and invited him to the feast.

Grandpa readily agreed. Second Granny Qiu, standing nearby, pursed her lips in disapproval. The moment Ahua left, she pointed a finger at Grandpa. "You’re just too blunt! Why did you have to agree so quickly? Look at all her sons—every time one gets married or has a baby, you rush over to celebrate. Just think of how much money you’ve spent on gifts and red envelopes! Whatever you thought you owed her, you’ve paid it back and then some! Don’t be such a simpleton! You’ve gone to all their family’s celebrations, but have they ever come to one of yours? What celebration could you possibly host to invite her to? All that money is just being given away for nothing. You’ll never get any of it back!"

Grandpa replied earnestly, "Who says my family won’t have a celebration? Look at my Xiao Man. In a few years, when she’s grown, she’ll bring a husband home to marry. I’ll throw a huge wedding banquet and invite all our relatives and friends from near and far. And when that day comes, you’d better remember to bring a gift!"

Second Granny Qiu was left speechless with indignation, while Grandma just giggled.

Xiao Man was at a loss for words. ’Grandpa, you change your mind so fast!’ she thought. ’What happened to the three-day, three-night banquet you promised if I get into university? You didn’t even mention it! Now you’ve skipped right ahead to me bringing someone home for a wedding in a few years...’

After dinner, Grandpa headed out to the reservoir. Xiao Man latched the courtyard gate and sat with Grandma in the kitchen, stoking the fire to heat water for their baths. As they did, they waited for the inevitable nightly "rain of pebbles" in the yard, accompanied by Mo Xiaoqiang’s rabid shouting from beyond the gate. Grandpa always said Mo Laoer’s family were only brave behind their own walls, and Mo Xiaoqiang was a classic coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong. He never dared to throw stones during the day when Grandpa was home, waiting until nightfall after he’d left for the reservoir.

But Grandma firmly forbade Xiao Man from going outside to confront him. Not wanting to worry her, Xiao Man had no choice but to put up with it. Every morning, she would sweep up several shovelfuls of pebbles, toss them back onto the road, and keep a mental tally. ’Just wait until school starts,’ she fumed. ’If Mo Xiaoqiang dares to show his face, I’ll beat the living daylights out of him.’

Tonight, however, Mo Xiaoqiang unexpectedly failed to show up. Instead, Mo Shuixia, Mo Linghui, and Guan Ailan arrived together to see Xiao Man.

Mo Linghui brought half a pocketful of roasted soybeans to share, admitting she had pilfered them from her father’s drinking snacks. Guan Ailan brought two large pomelos; her family had two old pomelo trees in their back garden that were laden with fruit every year. Today was market day and her mother had picked them to sell, but Guan Ailan had secretly stashed two away to share with her friends.