The fourth child, Ma Xiangmei, had been married for three years. Her husband, Wang Jianguo, was a comrade-in-arms of Ma Xiangdong, who had played matchmaker for the couple. Because the two had left for their post just three days after their wedding, they hadn't had a single home leave in the following three years.
Every Lunar New Year, however, Ma Xiangmei would send twenty yuan to the original owner of the house, along with some nutritional supplements. This year, before the holidays even arrived, Ma Xiangmei sent another twenty yuan to Yuanchun. After receiving the money, Yuanchun had Ma Xiangdong write a reply, and they sent back several dried rabbits and two jin of dried mushrooms as a return gift.
On the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month, Ma Xiangmei and Wang Jianguo returned with their eighteen-month-old daughter. The day after arriving at her husband's family home, the couple brought the child and several large bags of gifts to Qinghe Village to visit Yuanchun.
Chapter 496