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On the first day of the Lunar New Year, while others were visiting friends and relatives to exchange New Year greetings, Ye Fangfei and Tang Zhicheng went to the courtyard to pay their respects to Aunt Zhao and Aunt Gui.
After that, the three of them set off to buy dumplings for lunch at their new house. The house had been unoccupied for several days, so as soon as Tang Zhicheng entered, he lit the stove. Fortunately, Liu Ge and the others had left in a hurry, and there were still plenty of coal balls and firewood left at home.
“Wife, hold our daughter for a moment. Wait until the room warms up before taking off your coat,” he said. “I’ll take down the bedding from the kang and put it outside to sunbathe since it’s sunny today.” With that, he got busy.
He removed the sheets from both the east and west rooms, tossing them into a basin to soak in hot water later. Then he took out the kang mat and quilt to dry in the sunlight. The water in the kettle on the stove was heating up, so Tang Zhicheng added some disinfectant and sprayed it inside and outside the furniture to sanitize everything. Finally, he wiped everything down with hot water.
As the temperature in the room rose, Ye Fangfei unwrapped her daughter from the blanket. However, there was nothing on the kang yet, so she couldn’t lay her down; she could only continue holding her. Seeing this, Tang Zhicheng quickly spread his thick cotton coat on the kang. “Wife, put our daughter on my coat; the kang is warm now.”
“Alright. I’ll place Xiao Yueyue here; keep an eye on her while I check on the kitchen to boil some water for the pot and basin,” Ye Fangfei replied, eager to help.
In the kitchen, all the pots and bowls had been used by others, and Ye Fangfei definitely wouldn’t use any of the dishes. However, she couldn’t bear to throw away the pots and basins. Buying a new large iron pot not only required money but also ration tickets.
People in this era weren’t that particular; as long as something could be used, they wouldn’t care if it had been used by someone else. Ye Fangfei decided to go along with this custom and boiled two pots of water in the large iron pot, placing the basin inside to simmer for half an hour. This way, any bacteria would be eliminated.
“Wife, you rest; I’ll handle it myself later,” Tang Zhicheng said as he noticed how cold it was in the kitchen without a fire. He didn’t want his wife to suffer from the cold.
“It’s fine; you go do your work while I stay here?” Ye Fangfei replied.
Knowing that his wife was concerned about him made Tang Zhicheng feel warm inside. However, he couldn’t help but worry about her getting cold since it had been several days since they last cooked in that kitchen.
"Wait a moment, my dear daughter-in-law. I'll go light the big pot first. Once the kitchen is warm, you can come in," Tang Zhicheng said, suddenly coming up with an idea.
The man felt sorry for himself, and Ye Fangfei wouldn't be foolish enough to refuse.
"Alright, you go ahead and start the fire. I'll come in later," Ye Fangfei nodded in agreement.
After about ten minutes, estimating that the water was probably boiling, Ye Fangfei headed to the kitchen.
Sure enough, the water in the big pot was already boiling. Ye Fangfei couldn't find a basin, so she tossed it into the pot to cook.
Then she and Tang Zhicheng cleaned out all the jars—rice jars, noodle jars, pickled vegetable jars—big and small alike.
They took out all the bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard. They definitely wouldn't need them, but it felt wasteful to throw them away, so they decided to put them in the yard for anyone who might want them.
"Zhicheng, let's not keep these plates and bowls. We'll temporarily store them in the entrance room and see if anyone needs them later," Ye Fangfei quickly organized everything from the cupboard.
Tang Zhicheng brought over some disinfectant and sprayed both inside and outside the cupboard, then wiped it down with hot water twice.
They placed the bowls and chopsticks they had brought from home into the cupboard.
The pots and basins were also done cooking, so they fished them out and set them outside to dry in the sun.
Finally, they put the cutting boards and surfaces into the pot for a thorough wash. After cleaning, they took those outside as well to bask in the sunlight.
At noon, the two made a simple meal of dumplings. In the afternoon, they spread out the bedding on the kang (a traditional heated bed) and laid down a sheet.
This sheet was also brought over by Ye Fangfei; she had only one, which she used to cover the kang in the east room. For now, they just laid down bedding in the west room as well.
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