Chapter 41 Hmph, still denying you’re in a relationship!…

Chapter 41 Hmph, still denying you're in a relationship!...

The harvest of Yangliu Brigade this year is quite good, as can be seen from the heavy and plump rice ears. With such a harvest, how could the yield be bad? Thinking about being able to distribute more grain this year, the commune members are all very pleased.

Equally pleased is Zhou Mancang. Of course, he is happy about the good harvest, but he is even happier about the children winning awards!

After all, with a good harvest, he had already expected it as he roams the fields every day. But the children winning awards and making it to the finals was something he never saw coming.

For several days straight, he couldn’t stop smiling.

Because of this event, even the big news about Shen Moer’s family getting a bicycle didn’t make much of a splash in the village.

Buying a bicycle is indeed a big deal, but it's not the first bicycle in their village. Brigade leader Zhou Mancang has one, and the accountant Ding Shouchang’s family, with a temporary worker at the commune textile factory, also has one. Since Shen Laoqi has started working at the kiln factory, it was just a matter of time before his family got a bicycle.

Moreover, their bicycle is a second-hand one, fixed up after someone else threw it away, so it's even less of a novelty.

It's normal; Shen Laoqi's family has just built a new house. How much money could they possibly have left? Many people have a rough idea, estimating that even for this second-hand bicycle, they probably had to scrape together every last penny.

In comparison, what’s really shocking is that two kids are heading to the provincial capital for a competition!

Yes, two.

Even though six kids entered the preliminary competition, only two won awards and advanced to the finals. One is Zhou Zhaodi, the daughter of Zhou Xiaoshuan's family, who won the second prize, and the other is Chen Yu, also known as Mao Mao, from Chen Zhuangzhuang's family, who won the third prize. The other four got excellence awards but didn’t make it to the finals. It is said that the city, county, and commune may all issue prizes later.

What really stunned everyone was Zhou Xiaoshuan’s daughter—skinny, tiny, and too shy to speak up—yet she painted better than anyone else, even better than several boys!

Moreover, Zhou Zhaodi and Chen Yu, at such a young age, are going to the provincial capital!

They don’t have to pay a dime—travel and food are all covered by the public. A free trip to the provincial capital!

You should know, most villagers have never been farther than the commune, let alone know where the county town is, much less the provincial capital.

Rumor has it that when the kids went to the city, they feasted on white rice, pork stir-fried with carrots, and scrambled eggs with green peppers. If the city food’s that good, imagine what they’ll eat in the provincial capital?!

Even though everyone’s worn out from the autumn harvest, during any little break, they can’t help but daydream about it. Such little kids, getting to see the big world—even the grown-ups can’t help feeling a bit jealous.

Shen Moer didn’t expect the children to win awards for sure, but she didn’t think they couldn’t win either. She was a bit surprised by the outcome, but not as shocked as the villagers.

Although it hasn’t been long, she really put a lot of effort into teaching these little kids. Isn’t it only fair that they won awards?

Even the few from the commune elementary school, who only followed her father like apprentices for a while, also won two third prizes.

This time, only seven kids from the whole county made it to the finals, and Liugiao Commune snagged four of those spots. It's said that the commune leaders were overjoyed.

Of course, the next step is to polish the kids’ painting skills even more. But as they say, nothing can be more important than the autumn harvest. They still have to work, so Shen Moer squeezes in extra tutoring before and after classes or meals.

"Phew, we should wrap up cutting the rice in another day or two, right?" Wang Qiutong plopped down on the ridge, hammering her stiff shoulders and sighing.

Their "group of four" has been working together for many days. Wang Qiutong initially joined them shamelessly, and she was actually quite afraid of Fu Mingze, having seen him kick Shi Wei into the stream, so she was always a bit nervous.

However, over time, she gradually integrated into this "small group." She is still afraid of Fu Mingze, but she gets along well with Shen Moer and Zheng Jiamin.

Shen Moer took out an enamel mug from the bamboo basket, drinking water while gazing at the distant fields: "It should be about right. The brigade leader said it would be several days faster than previous years."

A few days ago, when they finished work, Fu Mingze suddenly took their sickles, saying he wanted to go back and modify them. Then, somehow, the next day, the sickles he brought back were quite different from the original ones. The handles were longer, the blades were sharpened, and they were much easier to use than the original sickles.

He explained a lot about mechanics and such, but unfortunately, the other three couldn't understand a word. But it didn't matter; as long as the sickles worked well, that was enough.

That day, they finished their work an hour earlier than usual.

Then, the matter was told to Zhou Mancang by Shen Zhiguo, the team leader of the twelfth team, and Fu Mingze was dragged away by Zhou Mancang.

After that, the sickles of the commune members were gradually modified, and efficiency improved noticeably.

Wang Qiutong glanced at Fu Mingze secretly, thinking to herself that Fu Zhiqing was really quite capable—why hadn’t he shown it before?

Zheng Jiamin patted Fu Mingze on the shoulder: "It’s still our old Fu. And by the way, Comrade Shen Moer, if it weren’t for you asking this guy to tutor you, I wouldn’t have discovered how good his grades were before!"

Fu Mingze glanced at him indifferently: "Can you now tell good grades from bad ones just because you can’t understand what I’m saying?"

Zheng Jiamin: "..."

This guy can be really sharp-tongued sometimes. I wonder if he’s ever been punched for it.

However, Zheng Jiamin quickly chuckled and shifted the blame: "Comrade Shen Moer, did you hear that? Fu Mingze is making fun of us for not getting it."

Fu Mingze choked, subconsciously glanced at Shen Moer, and seeing her smiling without any concern, he said, "Isn’t it normal for someone who hasn’t learned this material yet to not understand? You’re different, aren’t you a high school student?"

Shen Moer watched them bicker with amusement. Wang Qiutong touched her stomach, leaned over, and whispered, "Comrade Moer, do you need to use the restroom?"

Shen Moer looked at Wang Qiutong and nodded: "Let’s go together."

She had actually noticed earlier that Wang Qiutong seemed very afraid of being alone, whether it was working or using the restroom, she would try to pull someone along. At first, when she didn’t notice, she would refuse if she didn’t want to go, but then Wang Qiutong wouldn’t go either, waiting until she wanted to go before following along. Judging by her expression, she must have been really struggling to hold it in that time.

Since then, whenever she asked, Shen Moer would agree to go together.

After letting Fu Mingze and the others know, the two walked along the ridge to the nearest outhouse.

The outhouse was built behind a small bamboo grove, so although it was right next to the rice fields, it still had a certain degree of privacy, unlike some other communes’ outhouses that were built by the roadside, where anyone squatting inside could be seen by passersby.

After all, Yangliu Commune is close to the township, and it is one of the top communes in Liuqiao Township, so in all aspects, it consciously aligns with the township, even when building an outhouse, it learned from the advanced experience of the township.

In any case, this is very considerate for the women.

As they reached the edge of the bamboo grove, they heard someone talking: "...I believe in Comrade Shen’s character. You are so kind and responsible. What you said was actually for the sake of the students. After all, who could have predicted the outcome of the awards?"

Wang Qiutong acted fast, almost at the same time as hearing the voice, she grabbed Shen Moer and hid in the small bamboo grove, quickly darting behind a clump of grass and pulling Shen Moer down to squat.

Shen Moer: "..."

Why do you look so experienced?

But Shen Moer had already recognized the speaker as Zhang Zhiqiang from the educated youth group, and she had also guessed who he was talking to.

Sure enough, Shen Lingling’s voice followed. She first sighed leisurely, then said with a mix of gratitude and hurt: "Comrade Zhang, you are truly a wise person. Unfortunately, in this backward place, everyone lives ignorantly and foolishly, only seeing the surface, not the essence. It’s fine, even if someone slanders me behind my back, I won’t care. After all, I just said what I thought was right. As a teacher, one shouldn’t just think about showing off oneself without considering the fragile and young minds of the students."

"I know, Comrade Lingling—can I call you that?—I know you have a heart of gold. It’s just that those people don’t understand you." Zhang Zhiqiang’s voice sounded somewhat excited.

"Oh, well, you can’t call me that in front of others..." Shen Lingling said with a hint of shyness.

"Okay, okay, I’ll just call you that in private, Comrade Lingling. In my heart, you are the kindest and bravest person in the world. You are like Pavel from *How the Steel Was Tempered*, with a will of steel. You are the kind of person I admire the most." Zhang Zhiqiang’s voice gradually lowered as he spoke, "Comrade Lingling, actually, I... I want to..."

Shen Lingling suddenly interrupted him: "Comrade Zhang, it seems someone is coming. We’ll talk later."

Zhang Zhiqiang: "Ah? Ah! Oh, okay, then, you go first..."

Then there was a rustling sound of footsteps, as if Shen Lingling quickly left. Then, with a regretful sigh, Zhang Zhiqiang left too.

Shen Moer and Wang Qiutong, hiding in the bamboo grove, exchanged glances: "..."

They exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.

Wang Qiutong suddenly stood up, stomping her feet in small steps: "I can't hold it any longer; I really need to use the restroom."

Shen Moer: "..."

She, too, felt somewhat puzzled. Couldn't Shen Lingling and Zhang Zhiqiang have picked a better spot for their "heart-to-heart"? Look at the trouble they've caused, nearly making Wang Qiutong suffer again.

Upon returning, they saw Shen Lingling sitting on the field ridge, peeling a yellow-skinned orange. Not far off, Zhang Zhiqiang was vigorously swinging a sickle, occasionally glancing at Shen Lingling, his square face beaming with joy.

Wang Qiutong couldn't stand to watch, whispering to Shen Moer, "Shen Lingling used to barely notice him. He was just infatuated. Now it's worse; he's probably going to go all out for her. Tsk, she's just using him to get help with the work."

The villagers were well aware of the bad blood between Shen Moer's family and Shen Lingling's, especially after the incidents involving Wang Jinbao and the stolen bricks. The two families could hardly tolerate each other without outright hostility. So Wang Qiutong didn't hesitate to speak her mind in front of Shen Moer.

Shen Moer smiled: "It's a case of one willing to give and the other willing to take. As long as they're both willing, who are we to interfere?"

Wang Qiutong pouted: "That's the truth. Zhang Zhiqiang's got a screw loose, trying to draw water with a bamboo basket. He'll regret it one day."

As they talked, a man suddenly popped out from the rice field. Wang Qiutong gasped softly and quickly stepped behind Shen Moer, instinctively grabbing her sleeve.

Shen Moer raised an eyebrow, glanced at the male educated youth, and recalled that his name was Shi Wei. She didn't know him, and after a brief glance, she moved on.

To her surprise, Shi Wei stopped, smiled, and said, "Comrade Shen Moer, congratulations on your outstanding performance in the competition."

As the saying goes, you don't slap a smiling face, so Shen Moer nodded and said, "Thank you, Comrade Shi."

Shi Wei beamed, "I wish Comrade Shen Moer continued success."

Shen Moer didn't reply, just smiled and kept walking.

Wang Qiutong held onto Shen Moer's sleeve, refusing to let go. After walking a fair distance, she glanced back, and seeing Shi Wei was gone, she finally let go of Shen Moer's sleeve with a sigh of relief.

Shen Moer glanced at her, "Are you scared of Comrade Shi?"

Wang Qiutong thought for a moment, lowered her voice, and said, "He's no good, and neither is Yang Qingqing. Keep your distance from them."

Shen Moer gave her a deep look but didn't ask further.

The rice in the fields was harvested in just a few days, just as Shen Moer had expected. However, the next tasks were no easier: threshing, winnowing, drying, and dusting. Once the rice was fully dried, it had to be bagged and delivered as public grain. Only after all the public grain was delivered would this round of work be considered complete.

However, the teachers and students of the brigade's elementary school no longer needed to participate in these tasks. Shen Moer thus returned to her original routine of teaching all day, and she also had more time to give Mao Mao and Zhou Zhaodi extra lessons.

At noon that day, after finishing her meal, Shen Moer prepared to give Mao Mao and Zhou Zhaodi their usual extra lessons at home. However, Mao Mao had been there for a while, and Zhou Zhaodi was nowhere to be seen.

Shen Moer had no choice but to teach Mao Mao first. It wasn't until the afternoon work bell rang that Zhou Zhaodi still hadn't appeared.

"Let's go to her house and see."

Shen Moer packed up the paper, pens, and the books she was reading on the table, closed the courtyard gate, and took Mao Mao to Zhou Zhaodi's house.

Zhou Zhaodi's father was named Zhou Xiaoshuan. His brother, Zhou Dashuan, lived on the other side of the brigade headquarters, in a house he built after getting married. Zhou Xiaoshuan lived in the old Zhou family house with his parents.

Generally, parents live with their eldest son, but their family was clearly not like that.

It was said that when Zhou Dashuan's wife married into the family, she gave birth to two girls in a row. During the birth of the second child, she suffered greatly from a difficult delivery. So the couple decided not to have any more children. However, the Zhou family patriarch wanted a grandson to carry on the family line and insisted they continue having children. The conflict became quite intense, and Zhou Dashuan and his wife simply moved out.

Zhou Xiaoshuan was said to be a "filial son," very understanding of his father's desire for a grandson. His first wife gave birth to three daughters in a row, and during the birth of the third, she hemorrhaged and died. Within a year, he married again, this time to a widow with a son. Now, that woman was five months pregnant.

Since this woman had previously given birth to a son, the Zhou family was certain she could continue to bear male children, and the whole family treated her like royalty.

——All of this, Shen Moer had gradually learned from Aunt Chen and others after selecting Zhou Zhaodi for the competition.

Shen Moer, holding Mao Mao's hand, walked to the gate of the old Zhou family house and heard a woman's voice from the yard: "Stop crying, are you mourning someone? What a jinx! Didn't you already win an award? They said there would be prizes, but so far, nothing! Since you can already win awards, why bother studying anymore? There's so much work at home, do you expect me to do it all alone?! I'm carrying the precious golden grandson of your Zhou family in my belly. If I get tired and something happens to my belly, can you take the responsibility?"

Another weak, sobbing voice said: "I do the chores, I get up early and stay up late, I can manage all the work, sobbing, I just want to take some time to go to Teacher Shen's house."

"Isn't it only fair that you get up early and do more work? The family feeds you, clothes you, and even sends you to school, can't you contribute a little to the family? Forget about the night, it's pitch dark, and using a lamp costs money, doesn't it?!"

The woman's temper flared as she spoke, scolding: "Zhou Xiaoshuan, you spineless man, are you just going to listen to this dead girl talk back to me? Do you want her to go painting? Do you want to work me to death?!"

A man's voice: "How could that be, didn't I tell her not to go? Zhaodi, you need to listen. As a girl, it's enough to know a few words. The family is supporting your education, you should be grateful. Your mother is heavily pregnant now, you should be more considerate of her."

The weak voice didn't argue back, just kept sobbing.

With a clatter, something was thrown to the ground, and the woman angrily said: "Are you deliberately cursing me? If you keep crying, see if I don't beat you to death!"

Inside, all hell broke loose.

Shen Moer banged on the courtyard gate several times and called out: "Is Zhou Xiaoshuan home?"

The yard fell silent for a moment, and soon someone came to open the door. The man who opened the door looked about the same age as Chen Zhuangzhuang, but his face bore a look of distress. Seeing Shen Moer, he was momentarily stunned, then somewhat embarrassed: "Teacher Shen."

Shen Moer stood at the door without entering and said: "I'm here to see Zhou Zhaodi. She didn't attend today's tutoring session, and I may need to keep her for an extra lesson this afternoon. I wanted to let you parents know in advance."

Zhou Xiaoshuan opened his mouth, his brows furrowed, looking troubled.

A woman with a slightly protruding belly walked out, leaning on her waist, and looked Shen Moer up and down, saying: "Teacher Shen, our Zhaodi is done with studying. Drawing these silly pictures not only wastes paper and pens but also time. There's a lot of work at home, Zhaodi needs to help with washing clothes and gathering firewood, she has no time for extra lessons, so don't bother."

Before Shen Moer could speak, Mao Mao snorted angrily: "You bad woman, talking nonsense! The drawing paper and pens were paid for by the brigade leader and Sister Moer, they didn't use your money! You, an adult, don't work, you make Zhou Zhaodi do it, and you don't even feed her properly, you evil stepmother!"

The woman's eyebrows shot up: "Hey, you little brat, who do you think you're talking to?!"

She was still holding the laundry paddle she had used to hit someone earlier, and she raised it to strike Mao Mao. Shen Moer quickly grabbed Mao Mao and stepped back, angrily saying: "Yang Daniu, is this your child? How dare you hit him?!"

Yang Daniu glanced at Mao Mao, thinking of Chen Zhuangzhuang and his wife, and Aunt Chen, none of whom were easy to deal with, and awkwardly withdrew her hand: "I was just trying to scare him, I wouldn't actually hit him!"

Shen Moer ignored her and called out, "Zhou Zhaodi." Zhou Zhaodi had been clinging to the door frame and, hearing her call, immediately darted out: "Teacher Shen."

Accidentally catching her stepmother Yang Daniu's eye, she shrank back and instinctively hid behind Shen Moer.

Shen Moer patted her head: "It's time for school, come on."

She glanced at Yang Daniu and said: "The competition isn't just about your family, it concerns the honor of the brigade, the commune, the county, and even the city. If you continue to interfere and hinder Zhou Zhaodi's studies, I will have to report it to the brigade leader."

Yang Daniu pouted: "I don't believe the city or county can meddle with us small commune members?"

She didn't say anything more.

Shen Moer led the two kids towards the school, thinking she might need to talk to Zhou ManCang about this. She had a feeling Yang Daniu wouldn't cooperate just because of her words.

Just as she was thinking this, someone called out from behind: "Comrade Shen Moer!"

She turned around and saw Fu Mingze walking over from the direction of the educated youth point. When he reached her, Fu Mingze looked at her carefully, slightly furrowing his brow, and asked: "Has something happened?"

Shen Moer's furrowed brow relaxed, and she smiled, shaking her head: "Just a minor issue."

After she finished speaking, she noticed that Fu Mingze was still looking at her, apparently dissatisfied with her response. So she patted Zhou Zhaodi's fluffy head and said, "The parents aren’t cooperating much, but I’ll talk to the team leader and sort it out as soon as I can."

Zhou Zhaodi touched her head, her small frame visibly relaxing, the tension in her face melting away.

Maomao poked her messy short hair with a finger, laughing heartily.

Fu Mingze sighed in relief, glanced at Zhou Zhaodi, and said, "If parents are hitting or abusing their children, you can seek help from the women’s director or the commune’s women’s federation, or even involve the police."

Their team’s women’s director, surnamed Shen, was a distant relative of Shen Moer. Married within the village and backed by both her birth and marital families, she’d held the position for over a decade.

But Director Shen was the type to avoid conflict and steer clear of offending anyone. She was very active in organizing women to study, supporting the military and their families, and helping those in need, but when it came to issues like conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law or abuse of women and children, she tended to turn a blind eye.

Shen Moer knew it was useless to seek her help, but the women’s federation and the police station could be considered, especially since Yang Daniu dared to wield such a big stick at Maomao, and who knows what she might do to Zhou Zhaodi, her stepdaughter.

In Great Liang, parents scolding or beating their kids was the norm, so Shen Moer hadn’t realized that here, the police could arrest parents for that.

The original host didn’t seem to remember this either.

However, Shen Moer naturally trusted Fu Mingze. She had already noticed that Fu Mingze actually knew a lot, but he seemed reluctant to draw attention to himself, so he mostly kept quiet.

"Understood, if they go too far, I’ll call the cops," Shen Moer said.

Fu Mingze nodded, glanced at the two kids watching them curiously, and pulled two oranges from his pocket. He handed the bigger, rounder, and brighter orange to Shen Moer: "This one’s for you. Don’t share it."

He gave the smaller, a bit green one to Maomao: "You two share this."

Maomao blinked his puppy eyes, feeling that this scene was somehow familiar... like when Fu Mingze gave him and Shun’er candies, favoring one over the other.

He couldn’t help complaining, "Moer’s orange is big and red, but ours is small and yellow, and we have to share!"

Fu Mingze glanced at him, nodded, and said seriously, "This one’s probably sour and not as good, so I didn’t give it to her."

"Otherwise, would there be any left for you, little brat?"

Maomao: "..."

Hmph! Still saying you’re not in a relationship! You’re lying!