The Little Darling of the 1980s

The first snow of 1980 came earlier than in years past.

In the shared kitchen on the second floor of Building Three in the Hongxing Machinery Factory residential compound, several apron-wearing women chatted as they prepared vegetables. Their breath turned to white mist in the freezing air.

"Have you heard? The Tong family's daughter-in-law is about to give birth!" Auntie Zhang, a plump woman, lowered her voice mysteriously. "They took her to the county hospital in the middle of the night."

Auntie Li, tall and thin, perked up at once. "If she has another boy this time, Old Madam Tong will probably tear the roof off!"

"You're telling me," Auntie Wang said with a curl of her lip. "Old Madam Tong is so set on having boys. When her first two grandsons were born, she slaughtered chickens and boiled red-dyed eggs. Last year, when Zhou Shufen was expecting her third child, the old lady burned incense and prayed to Buddha every day for a grandson..."

Before she could finish, the sharp ring of a bicycle bell interrupted their gossip. Zhao, an accountant from the factory office, came rushing upstairs, panting, snowflakes still clinging to his cotton cap.

"Good news! Master Tong's family has a new daughter! A chubby little girl weighing seven jin and eight liang!"

The kitchen fell silent. The women exchanged glances. At last, Auntie Zhang was the first to react. "A girl? Old Madam Tong didn't make a scene?"

"That's the strange part!" Zhao said excitedly, slapping his thigh. "Auntie Wang, the midwife, said the baby was born with a cinnabar mole in her palm. She said it was a sign that the girl was a lucky star reborn. And just then, someone from the factory came to tell Master Tong he'd been named an Outstanding Worker. Double the joy! Old Madam Tong took the silver bangle off her own wrist right there and put it on her granddaughter!"