The twenty-eighth was market day, so Er Niu and Da Bao left for the town early on the ox cart, while the rest stayed home with Huang Shi to fry the guǒzi and similar treats.

The guǒzi they speak of were a rare sort of snack in this era. The preparation involved mixing the dough with sugar, water, flour, one egg, and lard—the dough couldn't be too soft, needing to be firm enough not to stick, then shaping it into desired patterns, whether coiled or simply cut with a knife, before deep-frying it until the color changed, then flipping it to finish.

Watching Huang Shi fry the guǒzi, Lin He was reminded of something she used to eat in her previous life called jiānbing guǒzi, which was also fried. So, she decided to try making it. Lin He first mixed the batter, ensuring it wasn't too thin, poured it into the pan, smeared a very thin layer of oil, and once the pancake was set, cracked an egg onto it.

Then she folded it over the guǒzi. Once the egg side cooked, she flipped it. If desired, chili sauce or sweet bean sauce could be spread on the side without egg, and adding chopped scallions, chives, or cilantro would make it even tastier, but lacking those ingredients, she made a simple jiānbing guǒzi.

Huang Shi, seeing the jiānbing guǒzi Lin He produced, asked how she knew how to make it. Lin He replied, "I saw Mother making guǒzi and thought this might taste better."

Huang Shi looked at her skeptically. This girl had such a talent for cooking; perhaps all the household tasks could be taught to her from now on. It was always better for a woman to learn more skills. Seeing Xiao Bao and Chen Er abandon the fried guǒzi to eat Lin He’s jiānbing guǒzi only solidified this belief.

Er Niu and Da Bao didn't return at noon, likely having eaten at the market. Huang Shi and the younger children made do with a few jiānbing guǒzi for their meal—not worrying about going hungry, as they usually managed to prepare something for the evening anyway.

The afternoon allowed for some rest. Huang Shi took Lin He into the courtyard to do embroidery. As she worked on her sachet, Lin He remembered Zhou Shi. "Mother, do you think Third Aunt has finished preparing her New Year’s provisions? Xiao Shan and Xiao Yun haven't come over these past few days. Maybe we should take some things over to see them later."

Huang Shi nodded and immediately stood up to see what they had that could be given away. Lin He thought that bringing food to Zhou Shi would be the most practical gesture. Their own family wasn't overly fussy, so they could send some white flour, a bit of pastry and candy, some of the guǒzi fried that day, and perhaps a few links of their homemade sausages for them to taste.

When Da Bao and Er Niu finally returned, a large pile of goods was unloaded from the ox cart. Huang Shi gasped and scolded, "Old Man, what is the meaning of this? I told you we had plenty of things at home, yet you bought so much. Honestly, we don't need so many things."

Lin He also noticed something was amiss; many of the items were rare, including several bolts of top-grade fur pelts. She suspected Er Niu hadn't bought them. Indeed, Da Bao explained, "Mother, we didn't buy these. Uncle Wen sent them. See these pelts? Boss Wen sent them over, asking Sister to make a few more of those hand-warmers for him, which he will collect after the first month. He said he intends to use them as gifts."

Lin He looked at the large stack of furs, enough, she estimated, for twenty hand-warmers. Just how many did Uncle Wen plan to give away? She shook her head with a smile.

Hearing they were from Uncle Wen, Huang Shi immediately looked embarrassed. "How could Boss Wen send so many things again? Our family has truly benefited too much from Boss Wen; I don't know how we can ever repay him."

Da Bao explained, "Uncle Wen said that the hand-warmers Sister made helped him immensely. These things are his thank you, and also an early New Year's gift. He said it felt awkward to refuse, so we brought it all back."

A moment later, Da Bao added, "Oh, Sister, Uncle Wen also mentioned that the designs on this batch of hand-warmers must all be different—he needs ten distinct patterns."

Lin He smiled wryly and nodded. This Uncle Wen truly knew how to make things difficult. Right before the New Year, having to make so many hand-warmers—what hard luck.

Lin He examined the items Uncle Wen sent: several bolts of cloth, both hemp and silk. The hemp cloth could be worn at home, while the silk could be used for gifts or personal wear. There were also over ten packages of pastries, several strips of cured meat, and a few salted chickens and ducks—another large haul unloaded.

Lin He carefully inspected the furs; all were high quality. There was one whole piece that looked like silver fox fur, exceptionally beautiful in color and remarkably smooth. Lin He held it, unable to put it down; it would make for truly warm hand-warmers. This single silver fox pelt could yield three such items, likely exquisite, warm, and very precious.

The remaining pieces were ordinary fox and rabbit furs, not especially expensive but very beautiful, their white coats flawless.

Er Niu remarked, "Seeing how many things Boss Wen brought, he didn't buy much for his own household, only necessities for New Year's Eve dinner. With these items, plus the reciprocal gifts from relatives during the New Year, we probably won't finish eating them until after the first month."

After storing the purchased goods, Lin He and Huang Shi took the already prepared items to give to Zhou Shi. When they reached Zhou Shi’s courtyard, Zhou Shi was also preparing for the New Year, but her household was much simpler. She hadn't prepared any fried guǒzi, only some white flour steamed buns and mostly dark flour wōwōtóu (cone-shaped steamed bread).

They hadn't prepared any fried treats at all. Seeing Lin He and Huang Shi arrive with items in hand, she quickly welcomed them in. Huang Shi noticed how little Zhou Shi had prepared and asked, "Are all your New Year’s provisions ready? If you don't have enough food, come over and take some more from our place."

Zhou Shi smiled and replied, "It’s enough. There are just the two of us in Third Daughter’s household; we can’t eat much. Relatives rarely visit since I’m just a woman, so we mostly interact with my own brothers and my maternal family. This is plenty."

Huang Shi handed over the things, saying they were early New Year’s gifts. Zhou Shi accepted them without comment and returned the empty basket to Huang Shi. Lin He also took the opportunity to ask Zhou Shi for advice on embroidering sachets before they headed back.

On the way back, they encountered Yu’er. Seeing them heading towards Zhou Shi's place, Yu’er greeted Huang Shi and then hurried home.

Lin He noticed the look in Yu’er’s eyes as she glanced at the basket in her mother’s hand—a complex mixture of jealousy, anger, and envy. Lin He figured Yu’er would certainly tell He Shi about them bringing gifts to Zhou Shi when she got home.

So, Lin He looked up and asked, "Mother, should we send anything to Elder Uncle’s house for the New Year?"

Huang Shi replied, "We'll see when the time comes. Elder Uncle’s family is different from Third Aunt’s. Third Aunt is a woman living a hard life; we should help when we are able. Elder Uncle’s family is quite large, and Eldest Aunt usually manages their household well; they don’t rely on things from our house."

Lin He understood the implication in Huang Shi's words: they wouldn't proactively send anything to Elder Uncle's house. The "we'll see" meant seeing if Elder Uncle's family sent gifts first; if they did, they would reciprocate; if not, they wouldn't bother.

Lin He felt that was correct. Between relatives, there should be reciprocity; they couldn't always be the sole ones giving. Moreover, Eldest Aunt wasn't an elder, merely Father's older brother; it wasn't necessary to send them anything.