The villagers didn't give much thought to the concept of celebrating birthdays.
Especially the adults.
If the parents were still alive, they might take advantage of the occasion to cook a couple of dishes and enjoy some laughter together.
For someone like Li Qiao'er, who didn't have her family in the village, and whose husband had died and left her childless, forget about celebrating a birthday. Given the character of her father-in-law and mother-in-law, they probably wouldn't even remember the day she was born.
Like today, all she wanted was to have a bowl of Zhajiang Noodles to improve her life a bit.
But after she returned from the small shop, her mother-in-law never stopped finding chores for her to do. She was first told to take apart the quilts and sheets for washing, and as soon as she finished that, she had to carry water.
