Chapter 33 Her family was so poor that they would fight over something as trivial as six baskets of bricks…

Chapter 33 Her family was so poor that they would fight over something as trivial as six baskets of bricks...

While on his way, Fu Mingze ran into Zheng Jiamin. After hearing about the earlier incident, Zheng Jiamin was furious: "Shi Wei's been making a scene all over the educated youth group, saying Yang Qingqing is missing. I told him Yang Qingqing's a grown woman, and in broad daylight, where could she have gone? I thought he was acting strange today. Turns out, they were teaming up to set you up!"

He thought for a moment, then chuckled, "No way, I gotta see this for myself."

At first, Shi Wei was rallying people to check by the stream, but Zheng Jiamin wasn't too eager. Lately, Yang Qingqing had been eyeing Fu Mingze, and by extension, Zheng Jiamin found her annoying too. Besides, he didn't think anything could go wrong in broad daylight.

So while Shi Wei and the others hurried ahead, Zheng Jiamin lagged behind, taking his time. But now, hearing there was some excitement to see, Zheng Jiamin immediately sped up.

Fu Mingze ignored them and headed straight back to the educated youth group. He grabbed some water, cleaned up a little, and then leaned back against his bed to rest.

The back of his hand was stinging slightly. He looked at it and saw two spots where the skin was broken.

Probably from when he decked Wang Jinbao earlier.

Tsk.

Fu Mingze's bunk was in the innermost corner, against the wall with no window, making it the darkest spot in the room. The dormitory door was wide open, and the midday sunlight poured in, making the inside seem even darker. Fu Mingze sat in the dim light, his eyes half-closed, his fingers absentmindedly rubbing the wounds on the back of his hand.

Why had he punched Wang Jinbao?

Because he'd wanted to do it half a month ago.

After a while, the sound of quick footsteps came from outside. Zheng Jiamin rushed in, holding his stomach and laughing: "Yang Qingqing actually got a leg cramp. She must've swallowed a lot of water and was totally out of it, clinging to Shi Wei for dear life. Shi Wei kept saying he couldn't swim and was calling for people to save them, especially the female comrades. Finally, Zhang Zhiqiang couldn't take it anymore and went in to pull him up. And get this—when Shi Wei stood up, the water didn't even reach his chest! Hahaha, he'd been bending his knees the whole time to make it look deeper!"

"You should've been there. Even then, Shi Wei tried to push Yang Qingqing onto Zhang Zhiqiang. But Zhang Zhiqiang isn't stupid. Yang Qingqing had been thrashing in the water for so long, completely soaked, and she was out of her mind. Physical contact was inevitable, and who knows how that would be interpreted later."

Moreover, with all the commotion, not just the educated youths, but also many commune members had gathered to watch.

Seeing Fu Mingze's indifferent expression, Zheng Jiamin smirked and said with a wink: "You weren't there to see it. Yang Qingqing was clinging to Shi Wei so tightly, my god, she was practically wrapped around him. But who knows if she was really out of it, because she kept calling out..."

He paused, his expression turning odd: "She kept calling, 'Fu Zhiqing, save me! Fu Zhiqing, you're such a good person! Fu Zhiqing, don't leave me!'"

Zheng Jiamin mimicked Yang Qingqing's tone in an exaggerated manner, successfully making Fu Mingze grimace in disgust.

Zheng Jiamin burst into laughter: "She really was trying to set you up! You should've seen the looks on everyone's faces."

Fu Mingze frowned: "Were there many villagers there?"

Zheng Jiamin: "Elders, uncles, aunts, and even kids. Probably everyone who didn't have to cook at home came out to watch. Comrade Shen Moer..."

Fu Mingze looked up at him, but Zheng Jiamin, oblivious, took a deep breath and continued: "Comrade Shen Moer was so close, yet she didn't come out to watch the spectacle."

Fu Mingze inexplicably felt relieved and said, "She was probably cooking."

Mentioning Shen Moer reminded Zheng Jiamin: "Oh, right. Comrade Shen Moer came to the educated youth group earlier looking for you. She seems to be self-studying high school material and wanted your help with tutoring."

Upon hearing this, Fu Mingze stood up: "I'll go check on her."

He picked up the bamboo basket he had brought from the commune and slung it over his shoulder. As he reached the entrance of the educated youth group, he ran into the returning group. Shi Wei, soaked and scowling, led the way, while Yang Qingqing, equally drenched, was supported by two female educated youths behind him. The rest followed.

Seeing Fu Mingze, Shi Wei stormed over angrily: "Fu Mingze, how could you stand by and do nothing! You're so cold-hearted. We're all educated youths sent to the countryside, shouldn't we help each other? Even if we're not from the same group, even if it's just a commune member, or even a stranger, shouldn't you lend a hand when someone is about to drown?!"

He was clearly trying to morally condemn Fu Mingze.

Fu Mingze replied calmly, "I can't swim."

Shi Wei was momentarily speechless, then became furious: "What does it matter if you can't swim? The stream isn't deep at all. You just needed to go in and pull her up."

Fu Mingze retorted: "Didn't you go in?"

Fu Mingze stared at Shi Wei with a blank expression, and Shi Wei inexplicably felt a chill in his heart, unsure if Fu Mingze had noticed the push he gave him earlier.

Actually, Shi Wei suspected that Fu Mingze had kicked him into the water, but at the time, he had tried to push someone and missed, making him lunge forward. Moreover, when he fell into the water, Fu Mingze seemed to have tried to stop him, so Shi Wei also wondered if Fu Mingze had accidentally bumped into him.

In any case, Shi Wei absolutely dared not bring this up, as he was the one who pushed first, and Wang Qiutong was also there at the time. If Wang Qiutong stood up to speak for Fu Mingze, he would be in trouble.

Overthinking makes people hesitate and turn timid, and their words and actions lose their boldness and decisiveness.

This was exactly the case with Shi Wei. As various thoughts swirled in his mind, the bravado fueled by his pent-up anger quickly deflated, and his voice dropped several notches: "But you still shouldn't have just walked away after I went into the water, right?"

Fu Mingze: "You said it yourself, the water isn't deep."

After saying that, he couldn't be bothered to engage with Shi Wei anymore and walked straight through the crowd.

If it weren't for the fear that Shi Wei might drag him into more trouble later, Fu Mingze, true to his nature, wouldn't have bothered to say a single word to Shi Wei.

As for Yang Qingqing, he didn't even glance at her.

Fu Mingze knew that Yang Qingqing wanted to frame him, though he never understood how she had set her sights on him. However, Fu Mingze felt that if he could be framed by someone like Yang Qingqing and Shi Wei, he deserved it.

Fu Mingze walked away without looking back, so he naturally missed Yang Qingqing staring at him with a mix of resentment and hatred in her eyes.

Of course, even if he had seen it, Fu Mingze wouldn't have cared.

After leaving the educated youth group, Fu Mingze headed toward the village entrance. On the way, he ran into Aunt Cai and her little grandson. Aunt Cai greeted him with a smile: "Fu Zhiqing, have you had lunch yet? Oh, right, something happened at your educated youth group, so you probably haven't had time to make lunch, right?"

Fu Mingze nodded in acknowledgment.

Aunt Cai had clearly just returned from watching the commotion at the village entrance and couldn't resist gossiping: "You city folks are just too inexperienced. That stream at the village entrance can't drown anyone except for little kids. I think that Yang Qingqing just panicked and froze in the water, causing her leg to cramp. If she had just stood up and taken a couple of steps, she could have climbed out on her own."

She then asked Fu Mingze curiously: "Yang Qingqing and Shi Zhiqing seem to get along well usually, right? They were all tangled up like that—are they going to get married now?"

Fu Mingze: "...I'm not sure about that."

Aunt Cai nodded: "You weren't there earlier, so you didn't see the scene. Goodness, it was so embarrassing, I didn't even let my little Bao watch..."

She went on and on until her grandson tugged at her clothes, complaining that he was hungry. Only then did she reluctantly leave, muttering as she walked: "Fu Zhiqing is really quite a good person, knowledgeable and easy to talk to."

Fu Mingze, who hadn't gone far yet: "..."

He had only said two sentences, totaling less than ten words.

*

Shen Shaoyuan had gone to work, so Shen Moer was eating lunch alone. However, she was used to a life of luxury, and even though her circumstances had changed and life was now more frugal, she didn't believe in skimping on meals just because she was alone, nor did she think of subsisting on meager food.

Aunt Chen had planted some mung beans this year, and Shen Moer had exchanged some with her a while back. For lunch, she first made a large pot of mung bean soup, then cleaned the pot and mixed flour to make a thin egg pancake.

The pancake was thin and crispy, topped with beaten egg, shredded cucumber, greens, scallions, and a bit of minced meat, rolled up and ready to eat. One bite was crispy, savory, and delicious.

Paired with the sweet mung bean soup, it was a perfect match.

Just as the egg pancake was finished, Shen Moer heard a knock at the gate. She put the pancake in a bowl, wiped her hands, and went to answer the door.

Opening the gate, she saw Fu Mingze standing in the midday sun, tall and straight like a young poplar tree. Shen Moer couldn't help smiling: "Fu Zhiqing, you're back from the commune?"

Fu Mingze nodded in acknowledgment, then caught the tempting smell of the egg pancake.

He had a nagging feeling he'd forgotten something as he left the educated youth group, and it wasn’t until this moment, when he smelled the aroma of food, that he suddenly realized it was lunchtime. Dropping by at this time wasn’t exactly proper.

But the moment he heard that Shen Moer had been looking for him, he didn’t consider anything else.

Shen Moer stepped aside: "Fu Mingze, please come in first."

Fu Mingze hesitated slightly but followed her into the courtyard.

Shen Moer: "Fu Mingze, you haven’t had lunch yet, have you? I just made some egg pancakes. Would you like to join me?"

The batter she had prepared could make three pancakes. Shen Moer had originally planned to bring two to Fu Mingze when she went to find him later. Now that he was here, he could enjoy them fresh.

Since she needed his help with her studies, offering some food and drink seemed like the right thing to do.

Although the new house was built, Shen Moer and Shen Shaoyuan hadn’t moved in yet. The new house still had a damp feel, and Shen Shaoyuan was worried that his daughter might suffer from the dampness if she lived there. He wanted to let it air out a bit more. The father and daughter still lived in the old house and continued to eat in the kitchen.

Shen Moer had wanted Fu Mingze to sit under the eaves where it was breezy, but Fu Mingze put down his bamboo basket and followed her into the kitchen.

Although the End of Heat had passed and White Dew was approaching, the weather was still stiflingly hot, and the kitchen was even hotter.

Shen Moer stirred the batter and gently spread it into the pan to make the egg pancakes. Occasionally, she glanced up and saw Fu Mingze sitting behind the stove, his fair and handsome face illuminated by the faint glow of the fire, with beads of sweat glistening on his temples.

Making two pancakes only took a single piece of firewood, but neither of them thought to mention it.

Once the pancakes were done, Shen Moer served two big bowls of mung bean soup. There was still some left in the enamel pot, which she placed in the water jar to keep cool, saving it for Shen Shaoyuan to drink when he returned in the evening.

The kitchen was sweltering, so Shen Moer opened the door after cooking. She set up a small table near the entrance and brought out two small stools, smiling as she invited Fu Mingze to eat.

The small table and stools were made by Zhao Zhengyang and his brother during their spare time, using leftover materials from building the house.

In the mountains, getting anything was a hassle, so most household items were made by hand.

"I’m studying high school textbooks on my own. Chinese, politics, and history-geography are manageable, but math and science are quite challenging. Fu Mingze, you seem knowledgeable. Could I trouble you to spare some time to teach me in the future?"

Shen Moer placed the egg pancakes and mung bean soup in front of Fu Mingze and got straight to the point: "Consider this a little bribe for the teacher. Fu Mingze, feel free to eat."

Fu Mingze raised an eyebrow slightly: "Then I won’t stand on ceremony."

He picked up his chopsticks and started eating, taking his time.

After a busy morning, he was already quite hungry, especially when he stood at the courtyard gate and smelled the aroma of the egg pancakes. It immediately made him feel ravenous.

The egg pancakes were crispy and flavorful, and the mung bean soup, now slightly cool, was sweet and paired perfectly with the pancakes.

Both were quiet eaters, dining in silence. Fu Mingze had two pancakes on his plate, but by the time he finished them and drank the mung bean soup, Shen Moer still had a third of her pancake left.

Once Shen Moer was done, Fu Mingze offered to wash the dishes: "You cooked, so I’ll wash the dishes."

Shen Moer took the dishes back from him: "Next time. You’ve got those cuts on your hands, right? It’s just a few dishes; I’ll wash them quickly."

Fu Mingze glanced at the two wounds on the back of his hand that he had almost forgotten about and couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t just sit around, though; he grabbed a broom and started sweeping.

As they worked, they discussed their future "teaching schedule." They were both busy during the day, so noon and evening were their only free times. To avoid gossip, Shen Moer planned to invite Aunt Chen’s two elementary school-aged grandsons over to do their homework.

Once they’d settled the details, Fu Mingze got up to go. Shen Moer asked him to wait a moment and went inside to fetch something: "This is burn cream. It’s good for other cuts and scrapes too. Fu Mingze, take it and give it a try."

Fu Mingze looked down and saw a round, plump jar of clam ointment in her fair and rosy palm. He was taken aback: "You call this burn cream?"

Shen Moer explained, "This clam oil container has been used up long ago, washed and dried. I used it to hold a bit of burn ointment."

Though referred to as burn ointment, it was actually a medicinal paste personally prepared by the imperial physicians of Great Liang, effective for all kinds of injuries, including bruises, sprains, burns, and scalds.

However, the jar that held this ointment was too fancy, not something a family that had just spent all their savings building a new house and couldn't even afford new cotton quilts should have. Coincidentally, the previous owner had left a few old clam oil shells, which Shen Moer cleaned and filled with a bit of the ointment to keep on hand for emergencies.

Originally, Fu Zhiqing thought that the minor wounds on his hand didn't need any attention and would heal on their own in a day or two, so he hadn't even considered needing any ointment.

But upon seeing this chubby clam oil shell, he couldn't help but take it.

Fu Zhiqing opened the clam oil shell and saw a beige paste inside, which at first glance really resembled clam oil, and it had a faint fragrance. He dabbed a bit on the back of his hand; it felt cool and quite soothing.

"Here, take this. If it's not better by tomorrow, put a bit more on," Shen Moer said.

Fu Zhiqing nodded, didn't refuse further, and simply put it away. Then he took a paper bag from the bamboo basket he had brought and handed it to Shen Moer: "A gift in return, this is my way of saying thanks."

Shen Moer was surprised that giving him just a tiny bit of ointment, no bigger than a fingernail, would make him offer a return gift right away. The paper bag was stuffed, showing it had quite a bit inside.

However, she quickly realized that the return gift was likely just an excuse, and the items were probably prepared in advance. No wonder he didn't refuse when invited to eat.

Shen Moer then said, "I haven't even paid you a teacher's fee, and now I'm getting a gift from you. Isn't that a bit off?"

Fu Zhiqing looked at her, a glint of amusement in his eyes, and said, "You only asked me to help you with a few things you don't understand; that doesn't make me a teacher."

Shen Moer confidently replied, "There might be more things I don't understand than you think."

Fu Zhiqing just opened the paper bag himself and pulled out a neatly folded piece of light blue cotton fabric: "You and Uncle Shen were saving cloth coupons to buy fabric for a new quilt, right? This piece should be enough for one."

Shen Moer knew all too well how tough it was to get fabric in this world. Once, Liu Yingshuang got into a huge argument with a sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative just to buy some flawed fabric without coupons.

The treasury was full of silks and satins, but lacked the most common cotton or linen fabrics.

Shen Shaoyuan had asked Xu Weiguo to help trade cloth coupons, but even after a long time, they'd only gotten a few feet of fabric, still not enough for a quilt.

If Fu Zhiqing had given her anything else, Shen Moer would have definitely turned it down, but since it was fabric, and just enough for a quilt, she couldn't bring herself to say no.

After thinking it over, Shen Moer felt she couldn't pass up this chance to get fabric for a quilt. By suggesting an exchange, she was really asking Fu Zhiqing to name a fair price.

Fu Zhiqing was about to say no payment was needed when Shen Moer added, "Fu Zhiqing, you mentioned last time that you're strapped for cash. If you don't take money, I really can't accept it."

Fu Zhiqing was at a loss for words for a moment, then said, "This was sent by a friend of mine who's doing well financially. My own bedding is still fine, so I don't need this. It's just passing on a favor."

Shen Moer remembered him mentioning a good friend whose family was financially well-off. She guessed that the friend, knowing Fu Zhiqing's financial difficulties, had sent him things.

The more this was true, the less Shen Moer could accept Fu Zhiqing's gift without offering something in return.

She knew her family's situation well; they only appeared poor on the surface. In reality, the treasury was full of items, and they could always find something to exchange for money. Besides, both she and her father now had jobs, with a combined monthly income of thirty yuan, which was considered high in the village.

They were actually worried about how to maintain their image as a poor household.

Since her family wasn't truly poor, how could she accept something from someone who was genuinely financially struggling? Shen Moer felt guilty just thinking about it.

She firmly refused: "Fu Zhiqing, if you took this fabric out, you could exchange it for many things with the commune members, or even make yourself a new set of clothes. I'm already very grateful that you're willing to exchange it with me. How could I shamelessly take it for free? If I can't offer help in times of need, at least I shouldn't add to your burdens, right?"

Fu Zhiqing: "..."

He wasn't sure whether to be pleased that his image as a poor man was so deeply ingrained.

Fu Mingze couldn't convince Shen Moer, so he finally settled on a price that was one-third less than the actual value: "Last time you said your family was strapped for cash, and the money for building a new house isn't very ample. I figure that after building the house, there won't be much left, and you'll still have to shell out a lot for furniture and everyday items. I'm not exactly rolling in dough either, but since I live and eat with the educated youth group, I don't have many costs to worry about. Truth be told, I'm better off than you guys, so Shen Moer, you don't need to stand on ceremony with me."

Shen Moer: "..."

Yes, her family was so poor they'd fight tooth and nail for six baskets of bricks.

One wanted the other to take more money to ease their money troubles, while the other wanted to pay less to avoid putting more financial strain on an already struggling family. Both did their best to convince the other, and in the end, Shen Moer got the cloth for a quarter less than the going rate.

After the deal was done, both sighed to themselves.

What could they do? They had to keep up the act of being poor.

That evening, when Shen Shaoyuan got back from work and found out Fu Zhiqing had given them enough cloth for a quilt, he also sighed, thinking Fu Zhiqing was really a good soul, even though he was dirt poor himself, not wanting to take a single penny more from them, truly noble.

Thanks to the help with the new house, Shen Shaoyuan thought pretty highly of Fu Mingze, even privately thinking this young man had a good head on his shoulders and a solid character, and was really easy on the eyes. Out of everyone he'd met in Yangliu Brigade and even Liuqiao Commune, he was definitely a pretty good catch for a son-in-law.

But Shen Shaoyuan and Shen Moer both figured Fu Mingze, with his kinda standoffish personality, would never go for being a live-in son-in-law. So, while both father and daughter thought Fu Mingze was great, they didn't really see him as a live-in son-in-law material.

"Xu Weiguo set you up with someone, a technician from the textile factory. Sounds like a decent match. He asked if you could meet this weekend," Shen Shaoyuan mentioned during dinner that Xu Weiguo had helped introduce a potential match for her.

"Alright."

Shen Moer agreed.

She was already planning to hit up the commune on the weekend to grab some household stuff, so meeting someone wouldn't throw a wrench in her plans.

Shen Moer figured she'd meet more people; after all, the more she met, the better her chances of finding someone as easy on the eyes as Fu Zhiqing.