Chapter 34 Sunday Morning…

Chapter 34 Sunday Morning...

On Sunday morning, Shen Moer chose a dress with the least patches, braided her hair into a single plait tied with a red ribbon, and even applied some rouge and powder from her stash, sprucing herself up to look lively and pretty.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day approaching, the commune's promotional duties were heavy, and they had even borrowed people from the kiln factory. So, even though it was Sunday, Shen Shaoyuan still had to work overtime at the commune. After a simple breakfast, the father and daughter carried bamboo backpacks and went to the neighboring brigade courtyard to take the donkey cart.

Shen Shaoyuan usually walked to work, but on days when the commune had a market, Uncle Liu would drive the donkey cart to give everyone a ride. Not wanting his daughter to endure hardship, Shen Shaoyuan specifically asked Xu Weiguo to arrange the meeting on a market day.

The donkey cart was already occupied by several aunties, with Zheng Jiamin, a young man, sitting among them. He didn't seem out of place at all; in fact, he blended in perfectly, deep in lively conversation with the aunties.

Seeing Shen Moer and Shen Shaoyuan, Zheng Jiamin immediately waved: "Comrade Shen, Uncle Shen!"

After Shen Moer and Shen Shaoyuan sat down, he quickly scooted over to sit next to Shen Shaoyuan: "Uncle, heading to the commune market today?" He addressed him as "Uncle" so naturally.

Shen Shaoyuan: "I'm going back to work overtime, Moer is going to buy some things."

Zheng Jiamin offered eagerly: "Comrade Shen Moer, if you need help carrying things later, just call me!"

When it was about time, Uncle Liu, estimating no one else was coming, started driving the donkey cart.

Zheng Jiamin was clearly a favorite among the aunties, and soon one of them started chatting with him again: "When are Comrade Yang and Comrade Shi from your educated youths getting married? We all saw it that day, they were so close, surely they must get married, right? With the autumn harvest coming up, if they don't hurry, it won't be good timing."

At this, Zheng Jiamin couldn't help but show an awkward yet polite smile: "They both say they see each other as siblings."

Shi Wei said he always treated Yang Qingqing like a sister, and that it was an emergency to save someone, so they couldn't get married over such a small matter, or they'd end up resenting each other.

Yang Qingqing also said they were just revolutionary comrades-in-arms helping each other, and anyone who brought up gender differences was promoting outdated feudal ideas.

Actually, everyone could see that neither of them was interested in the other, and neither wanted to marry the other.

No one understood why they had been so close before.

The auntie burst out: "Siblings?! So, according to that, anyone who flirts can just say they're siblings."

The auntie winked and asked: "When Comrade Yang grabbed Comrade Shi that day, she was calling out for Comrade Fu. So, Comrade Yang didn't fancy Comrade Shi, but Comrade Fu, right? Tsk tsk, as the old saying goes, girls love handsome men, and Comrade Fu is much better looking than Comrade Shi."

The other aunties all chimed in, acting as if they had seen through the truth long ago. Zheng Jiamin silently sympathized with Fu Mingze in his heart and futilely tried to explain: "This has nothing to do with Comrade Fu, he and Comrade Yang are just ordinary acquaintances."

The auntie waved her hand: "Oh, well, the flower is willing, but the stream is not, right? I get it."

Zheng Jiamin weakly corrected: "It's 'the flower is willing, but the stream is not.'"

The auntie: "Isn't that the same thing?"

Zheng Jiamin, overwhelmed, quickly steered the conversation elsewhere by talking to Shen Shaoyuan: "Uncle, why are you working overtime on Sunday? Is the propaganda task at the kiln factory that heavy? Last time I went to the commune with Mingze, I saw the slogans you wrote outside the kiln factory. The handwriting, wow, was truly beautiful!"

Zheng Jiamin gave a thumbs up and continued: "Not to mention the slogans, but there were also paintings on the wall. The images of workers, peasants, and soldiers were vivid and full of life! Uncle, you're really amazing!"

Shen Shaoyuan smiled: "Not bad."

He was used to flattery, and Zheng Jiamin's compliments weren't particularly original, but they were sincere. Though aware Zheng was just dodging the aunties, Shen Shaoyuan appreciated the compliment.

Shen Moer had heard about the incident at the village stream, but she had heard about it from Aunt Cai and others, who arrived late and missed the beginning.

Even so, Shen Moer couldn't help but silently sympathize with Fu Mingze. Yang Qingqing not only followed him around all day, but even in her confused state, she still wanted to cling to him. She marveled at how Comrade Fu could stand living under the same roof with her.

After arriving at the commune, Shen Shaoyuan went to work. It was still early, so Shen Moer went to the small market to browse.

Before the new house was built, they weren't sure how much money they would need later, so they had held off on buying much. Now that the house was finished and all the bills were paid, Shen Moer had 83 yuan and 60 cents left. She decided to allocate 20 yuan for some essentials.

Actually, there could have been more left, but some was spent on building the restroom.

Shen Moer wandered around the Sparrow Market and saw an old man selling self-woven rattan boxes. The style was a bit rough, but the material was sturdy and the weaving was meticulous. There was even a small handle for a lock after the box was closed, which was quite practical.

"Uncle, how much for this box?"

The old man hesitated for a long time before whispering, "Six yuan each, eleven yuan for a pair."

As if afraid Shen Moer would think it was expensive, he quickly added, "The materials are good, it took a lot of time to weave, and, and, the design of this box was thought up by my granddaughter, you won't find it elsewhere."

Shen Moer didn't think it was expensive. The boxes were indeed sturdy, and what surprised her was that the old man, who seemed reserved and honest, was quite good at business. Six yuan each, eleven yuan for a pair, wasn't that just a strategy to sell more by offering a discount?

Unfortunately, she had only planned to spend twenty yuan today. Buying a pair of boxes would cost eleven yuan, leaving her with little money to spare.

"Are you buying or not? If not, move aside; you're blocking the way." A slightly plump middle-aged woman came over, pushed Shen Moer aside, and asked the old man selling the rattan boxes, "How much for this box?"

After the old man repeated his earlier words, the middle-aged woman immediately raised her voice, "Just a few rattan strips woven together, and you dare to charge six yuan each?! This isn't handicraft; this is profiteering! Which production brigade are you from? This stuff has no cost, two yuan each at most. Will you sell for two yuan? If not, I'll have to ask your brigade leader."

The old man was frightened by her scolding, his face turned pale, and he waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, it took a lot of time, two yuan isn't even worth the work points I could earn from plowing the fields, I really can't, my brigade agreed..."

"Fine, I'll add fifty cents, five yuan for the pair, no more." The middle-aged woman said as she reached for the boxes.

The old man stammered, protecting the boxes with his hands, "I can't sell, my granddaughter said, absolutely not below five yuan..."

A man who had been honest all his life suddenly encountered a pushy buyer and was at a loss, unable to speak clearly.

In his panic, he even revealed the minimum price.

Shen Moer couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but say, "Comrade, buying and selling should be based on mutual consent. If you think the price is not right, just don't buy it. Why make it hard for this old man?"

The middle-aged woman, holding onto the two boxes, turned and glared at Shen Moer, "Mind your own business!"

She called out to someone else, "Junliang, Junliang, come and pay for this!"

The old man was still saying, "I can't sell, I can't sell..."

Shen Moer couldn't bear it any longer and gave her a chop on the hand. Taking advantage of her cry of pain, she quickly snatched the rattan boxes back, "He said he won't sell, are you trying to rob him?!"

Placing the boxes on the ground, Shen Moer pulled out a few rolled-up bills from her pocket. A ten-yuan bill and a one-yuan bill, she handed both bills directly to the old man, "I'll buy two, eleven yuan, right?"

The old man only took the ten yuan and returned the one yuan to Shen Moer, "Eleven yuan is the asking price, but ten yuan is enough."

Shen Moer nodded, "Thank you, then."

There were only three rattan boxes on the old man's stall. After Shen Moer bought two, only one was left. The middle-aged woman didn't expect Shen Moer to pay so quickly. Seeing Shen Moer about to leave with the two boxes, she quickly grabbed her,

"What's wrong with you? I was the one who wanted to buy first; how can you cut in line? Don't you know it's first come, first served? These boxes are mine; you can't take them!"

Shen Moer, "I've already paid, the transaction is complete, these boxes are mine now, why can't I take them?"

The middle-aged woman, "No, if you take them, I can't have a pair. I saw them first, it's just ten yuan, I'll pay!"

She directly took out a ten-yuan bill from her pocket and threw it on the old man's stall, "I've paid, give me the stuff!"

Shen Moer narrowed her eyes, before she could do anything, a young man hurried over, "Mom, what did you buy? How much, I'll pay."

"Two rattan boxes, I've already paid ten yuan. These boxes are good, when you get married, this pair will make a nice betrothal gift." The middle-aged woman seemed to have completely forgotten how she had belittled these rattan boxes earlier, now looking very pleased with herself.

The old man gathered his courage this time, picked up the ten yuan she had thrown, and returned it to the young man: "That lady bought it first, I can't take your money."

A cheapskate who tried to lowball, and a woman who didn't even haggle and instead spoke up for him—clearly, the old man leaned towards her side.

The young man caught on right away, took the wicker basket, and returned it to Shen Moer: "Miss, I apologize. This basket is yours, please take it."

Shen Moer glanced at him and took it.

The middle-aged woman didn’t expect her son to end up siding with an outsider and immediately got angry. The young man talked her down, bought a wicker basket from the old man with the money, and talked her into leaving.

After the two had gone far, the old man expressed his gratitude to Shen Moer and insisted on giving her a little wicker basket as a gift. Then he gathered his belongings and went on his way, pleased.

Before coming, to his surprise, he couldn’t believe that the few baskets he had woven, which only took some time to make, could sell for fifteen yuan—almost half a month's pay for a regular worker!

Shen Moer felt that the name Junliang rang a bell, but she couldn’t recall where she had heard it at the moment, so she didn’t give it much thought. She didn’t give this incident much thought and continued to browse the market, buying some odds and ends.

When there was nothing else to buy, she loaded all her purchases back onto the donkey cart and made her way empty-handed to the designated meeting spot: the gate of the local commune's elementary school.