Chapter 712: Lana Steiner Gives Birth

Tang Xiaonan was completely unaware of what was happening back at the old house. After the reunion dinner, she watched the Spring Festival Gala for a bit, then watched Amanda Chapman and Jim Thorne play with firecrackers. She was in bed before nine o’clock. Kids didn’t have to stay up for the New Year’s vigil, so Felix Thorne and the other adults gathered around the stove to welcome the first day of ’79.

As the first day of the new year arrived, the grandfather clock began to chime. It struck twelve long, resounding notes. Goldie Thorne went out into the courtyard to set off firecrackers, welcoming the new spring. Meanwhile, Byron Thorne went to the kitchen stove and bowed a few times in reverence, while Raina and Phoebe Huxley started boiling dumplings for everyone.

Lana Steiner had already gone to bed, but her stomach felt a bit off, and she couldn’t sleep soundly. She got up to walk around a bit and caught the fragrant aroma of dumplings filled with shepherd’s purse and pork. Suddenly, she felt hungry. It was a rare craving, but she ate a large bowl. The moment she finished the last dumpling, her labor began.

Faced with welcoming a new life for the first time, the usually composed Frederick Thorne descended into a complete panic. He spun around foolishly, flailing his arms and legs, with no idea what to do. Felix Thorne gave him a disgusted shove and yelled, "What are you spinning in circles for? Go get the bag Mom prepared! And you, Third Brother, go find Golding the Fourth and tell him to start the tractor!"

The equally flustered Goldie Thorne took off running to find the village’s tractor driver, Golding the Fourth. The village owned only one tractor; it was communal property. The driver was Jethro Golding’s son, Marlon Golding, though everyone just called him Golding the Fourth, since he was the fourth child in his family.

Felix Thorne, a father of four, was far more experienced. He calmly and methodically directed everyone. Golding the Fourth soon arrived with the tractor. Several of them wrapped Lana Steiner in a thick quilt, lifted her onto the tractor, and set off, the engine CHUG-CHUG-CHUGGING its way toward the town’s health clinic.

Tang Xiaonan knew nothing of all this. She was fast asleep and having a wonderful dream. She dreamed she was all grown up, an enviable landlady known as "Half-Wraven." The name came from the fact that she owned half the market stalls in the city of Wraven. When she went to the market to collect rent, the stall owners treated her with more reverence than they would an empress. An entrance that grand deserved to be accompanied by the theme music from "God of Gamblers"—nothing less could capture the magnificent style of Half-Wraven.

"Haha..."

Tang Xiaonan let out a smug laugh in her sleep, waking herself up. She rubbed her eyes. Blinding light streamed in from a gap in the curtains. Outside, a vast expanse of white met her eyes; it was already broad daylight.

She could hear a child shouting outside, "It’s snowing!"

A jolt of excitement went through Tang Xiaonan. She hopped out of bed and rushed to the window. Sure enough, the world outside was white. A thick blanket of snow, at least six inches deep, covered the rooftops and balconies. Flakes were still drifting down from the sky, and it looked like it would continue all day long.

*(PS: When I was a child here in Zhejiang, the snow used to be incredibly thick—definitely over a foot deep. But now we get less and less snow each year; getting six inches is a gift from the heavens. I truly worry that children in the future will never get to experience the joy of snowball fights and building snowmen.)*

Some children were already having a snowball fight, their little faces and hands flushed red, but they didn’t seem to mind the cold at all and were having a blast. Other kids were setting off firecrackers in the snow. They would stick a firecracker halfway into a snowdrift, light the fuse, and then—BANG!—snow would spray everywhere, sending the children into fits of joyous shouting and jumping.

With just firecrackers, the children could invent countless games. They’d grab a metal can, toss a firecracker inside, and watch the can go flying. They also stuffed them into tree hollows and cracks in walls. These were simple games, yet from them, the children experienced the purest form of joy.

The infectious joy spread to Tang Xiaonan, and she was suddenly bursting with energy. She ran back to the bed to wake Amanda Chapman. "Cousin, it’s snowing! Let’s go build a snowman!"

Amanda Chapman rolled over, mumbled a few drowsy words in response, and fell right back to sleep, smacking her lips a couple of times.