“Auntie Yu, I heard Xiaocao is back from the capital?” A familiar voice could be heard at the gate.

Little Shitou’s eyes lit up and he didn’t care that his mouth was still full of shaomai as he cheerfully exclaimed, “Older Brother Han, I heard that you’ve been assigned at the local company near our village. That’s too good! In the future, it’ll be more convenient to see you. Tomorrow I’m on my break. If you have free time, then you, my second sister, and I can go to that secret place to catch small fish. Second Sister hasn’t been home for half a year, so whenever I went there alone I wasn’t able to catch fish. Ai...I miss those days when we were able to catch fish in a half-broken pottery jar to make fish soup!”

“Even food can’t make you be quiet! Have we ever stinted you on food or drink? You miss the days of before, when we had to eat coarse grain flatbread, drink bean porridge and couldn’t eat our fill? What’s to miss about that?” Madam Liu heard the sound of Zhao Han’s voice and walked out of the back courtyard. She leveled a glare at her youngest son and then smiled in welcome at Zhao Han and invited him in to rest.

Little Shitou gnawed on a shaomai as he walked next to Zhao Han. He made a funny face at Madam Liu and said, “I’m trying to express the good memories I had with Older Brother Han in the past. Mother, you misunderstood me.”

Madam Liu laughingly glared at him and then turned to...