Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Han Jiming had gone through that stage himself and knew how tough it was. Mostly, he just felt bad for her.

But there wasn’t much he could do to help beyond occasionally bringing her snacks to cheer her up. At times like these, the May Day concert felt like a rare moment of relaxation. Starting from May, Xu Meng hardly ever went out, so the lively atmosphere of that concert became a little break from her exhausting routine.

Besides, Han Jiming was busy himself.

Amidst all this hustle and bustle, June arrived.

Once June began, the capital city really started heating up. While most people could endure it, Feng Yanwen found it unbearable. As she put it, she’d die without a fan. Looking back now, she realized just how tough it had been when she left home last year.

July was even hotter than June. Back then, she and Xu Meng had been selling watermelons together at the train station.

This year, as soon as the hottest days of summer set in, more people started selling watermelons at the train station, making it harder to turn a profit than the previous year. Not just the train station—even outside the school gates, vendors set up stalls, and business picked up the moment school let out.

Every time this happened, Xu Meng would recall last year’s watermelon-selling experience and wonder if Zhang Guifen’s business was doing better this year.

Sometimes, when she went to the market, she’d spot Zhang Guifen hauling a cart to sell watermelons. Whenever Feng Yanwen saw her, she’d buy one.

But this year, watermelon prices were relatively lower, and the family wasn’t as financially strained as before. With the heat making her crave fruit, Feng Yanwen bought a watermelon almost every day. If they couldn’t finish it, she’d take the leftovers to school to share with the teachers—nothing ever went to waste.

Since Feng Yanwen got pregnant, Huang Xiaoying had stopped fooling around so much and would often swing by to keep her company.

Xu Meng, however, rarely saw her these days. Feng Yanwen had been sleeping a lot lately, and if Xu Meng came home even slightly late, she’d already be out cold.

Right now, Feng Yanwen was resting at home and happened to see Huang Xiaoying and three kids feeding the tomato plants in her yard, chattering away.

"I told you, once the tomatoes turn redder, the birds’ll swipe them. There are so many birds around here."

"What should we do then?"

"We should catch every last bird."

"How do you catch things flying in the sky?" Feng Yanwen stepped out of the house, waving a palm fan.

She still went to school in the mornings but took the afternoons off, scheduling all her classes for mornings and evenings instead.

The school had hired over a dozen teachers and even brought in a capable person to manage academic affairs. Now, Feng Yanwen only needed to focus on teaching a few handpicked classes, so she wasn’t as busy as before.

Originally, when decorating, they had planned to build flower beds like the ones in Liu Jin’s yard. But Granny Huang’s courtyard was small, so they only built a row along the wall. The beds were too cramped to grow vegetables properly, but Feng Yanwen thought climbing plants might work well. So she bought tomato and cucumber seedlings and planted them along the wall. They somehow fruited with barely any care.

The cucumbers were fine—with some fertilizer, they grew really well.

But the tomatoes kept getting stolen by birds. When they were still green, it wasn’t so bad, but as soon as they started turning red, the birds would peck at them before they fully ripened. Annoyingly, the birds didn’t just eat one tomato—they’d take a few bites from one, then move to another, which just made it worse. After all their hard work, the four of them hadn’t managed to eat a single tomato.

Though Huang Xiaoying was from the countryside, the birds in her village probably had plenty of other food and didn’t bother with tomatoes, so she didn’t have a clue either.

Just then, Sister Liu walked in and, seeing them huddled together discussing something, asked with a smile, "What are you all up to?"

Huang Xiaoying was the first to call out, "Master Liu!" and the others followed suit.

Sister Liu walked over cheerfully and saw them gathered around two tomatoes that had been pecked by birds, plotting their next move. She burst out laughing. "Birds only steal what they can see. Just pick some leaves and cover the tomatoes that are about to turn red. These birds aren’t too bright—if they can’t see the red, they won’t know the tomatoes are there."

Liu Jin: "Really?"

Sister Liu had lived in a bungalow before and had grown these herself, so she nodded with a smile.

With that, the three kids ran off to gather leaves.

Feng Yanwen hurriedly ushered Sister Liu inside and offered her a seat. Sister Liu smiled and waved her hand, then, knowing her way around, she went inside to fetch a chair herself, bringing it to the corridor to sit. Among this row of single-story houses, only a few were kept tidy; most were makeshift shacks with roofs right above the windows, making them baking hot this time of year. Granny Xue’s house used to be like that too, but after Wang Shuanzhu took over, it was renovated entirely, keeping the appearance of a shared courtyard. The house was raised significantly, and even a platform was added on top, covered with an oilcloth for insulation.

They'd rushed the initial renovation, leaving the roof unfinished. Recently, workers were in and out, and when Sister Liu visited, she noticed an iron staircase had been built next to the previously empty space, leading up to the second floor.

Sister Liu said, "We have height limits here—no second stories allowed."

Feng Yanwen fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan and replied, "We’re not building a house, just putting up a frame. It’s been so hot lately, and Shuanzhu suggested growing grapevines or something else up there for shade."

Since they weren’t constructing a house, the neighborhood association looked the other way. Most buildings in the area were single-story, with some adding an attic at most. Otherwise, people had to expand underground—some squeezing out half a floor from below and half from above, turning one floor into two. It was a last resort.

Sister Liu glanced upstairs, where only a few wooden frames had been set up, and workers were hauling soil up.

Only their place, renovated entirely with new materials, could take it. Other families’ shacks might collapse from the strain.

Sister Liu sighed enviously, "Only Wang Shuanzhu could afford this and be willing to spend the money. Must've cost as much as a condo—he sure knows how to provide."

No wonder people said Wang Shuanzhu had guts. Ordinary people bought such houses because they couldn’t afford real apartments. Who wouldn’t envy a life with electricity, telephones, and multiple floors? The original buyer had even tried to back out after paying the deposit, but if not for Wang Shuanzhu taking over, the house might still be unsold.

Later, Tang Hui had wanted to cause trouble, but seeing the house completely renovated, she lost her nerve about claiming it back.

Feng Yanwen smiled faintly and asked, "Did you come to ask about the upstairs?"

Sister Liu seemed to remember only then and gave her forehead a light smack. "Oh, look at my memory! You being the educated one, I wanted to ask your opinion on something."

Meanwhile, the children had gathered leaves and were working out how to tie them to the tomatoes.

Huang Xiaoying tied one, but Liu Jin wasn’t satisfied and wanted to redo it.

Teacher Feng was good people, with a good family atmosphere. If not for her care, Liu Jin and the others would still be at loose ends. When Sister Liu heard Feng Yanwen might move away, her stomach dropped, thinking finding new tenants would be a huge task. But to her surprise, they kept renting and maintained a good relationship with the landlord.

Seeing them still struggling, Sister Liu jumped in to show them how to tie the leaves properly before returning to Feng Yanwen.

"Here’s the thing—the city's putting on a National Day celebration in October, and our district might start early. Our neighborhood needs to contribute a performance. You know the kind of people living here—we can't pull off singing or dancing. I figured we could do a skit."

The inspiration came from Granny Xue.

After explaining the idea and her creative approach, Feng Yanwen hesitated. "I haven’t been doing much at home lately, and I should help if you ask, but I’m not good at writing scripts. I hardly even watch TV."

Earlier, Wang Shuanzhu had insisted she rest in bed during her pregnancy and even suggested watching TV to pass the time, but Feng Yanwen was climbing the walls. She left home to work after just two days, worrying Wang Shuanzhu so much he even asked Sister Liu for advice.

Sister Liu didn’t think the couple was scheming to avoid the task long in advance.

But after reaching out to many people, she found those willing to help lacked the skill, while those capable weren’t interested.

Seeing Feng Yanwen’s reluctance, Sister Liu sighed, realizing it was no dice.

Just then, Huang Xiaoying looked over. "A skit?"

Sister Liu nodded. "Yes, do you know someone who can write one?"

Huang Xiaoying hesitated. "Can I try?"

She enjoyed reading novels and watching TV, sometimes even writing small scripts for fun—though just as a hobby.

"I’m afraid it might not be good enough. You should ask others too. I’ll write a draft, and if it’s usable, you can take it."

Sister Liu knew the girl well and didn’t expect much. Still, she didn’t want to discourage her. Huang Xiaoying’s suggestion gave her an idea—if she couldn’t find someone, she could put out a call for ideas from the community. Maybe there was hidden talent after all.

Thinking this, Sister Liu's eyes lit up with excitement, and she patted Huang Xiaoying's shoulder in encouragement: "Alright, go ahead and write it. Our neighborhood's also collecting scripts from the community. You can just give the script to me directly when it's done."

Huang Xiaoying nodded.

When Xu Meng returned home that evening, she noticed Huang Xiaoying sitting at the table, writing away furiously, and praised her a few times.

Later, she realized Huang Xiaoying had been writing something this whole time, or whispering and discussing things with Liu Jin and the others, looking all secretive.

Xu Meng even said to Wei Xiang: "Huang Xiaoying must have some secret."

She secretly went to ask Liu Jin, but Liu Jin also got all defensive with her, refusing to rat out his teammate no matter what, absolutely unwilling to tell her what they had been up to lately. But afterward, he would still get together with Huang Xiaoying, as if they had many little secrets.

It was awful being the only one out of the loop, unaware of a secret everyone else seemed to know.

So Xu Meng went to Feng Yanwen to complain.

Feng Yanwen seemed to remember something, smiled as she fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan, and kept her mouth shut.

"Mom, so you know what Huang Xiaoying is up to too?"

"Hmm, I can probably guess."

"What is she doing?"

"Why don’t you ask her yourself?" Feng Yanwen blinked at her daughter. "Aren’t you two living together?"

Alright, so even Mom knew.

Was she really the only one in the whole world who didn’t know Huang Xiaoying’s little secret?