Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Carrying the sacks back to his own yard, Shen Guoqing stared at the group of little rascals, his expression looking utterly bewildered: "You all skipped school to go pick up trash, just to sell it for money to help me pay a bride price to get married?!"

The words "get married" were pitched so high they practically soared all the way to Qishan Commune.

Shen Zhenhua stood to the side, ruffling his son's hair, a barely suppressed smile leaking from the corner of his mouth. His words were just as cheeky: "You bet! You getting rejected by that girl from another village and failing the matchmaking isn't just your own embarrassment—it's a loss of face for every man in Xiaodun Brigade. Hahahaha!"

Well, he finally lost it.

It was just too funny.

Shen Zhenhua had heard some gossip these past few days, but he understood Shen Guoqing's personality. He wasn't a worrier. Even if he really was rejected by a potential match, he'd probably just find another matchmaker.

But Shen Zhenhua never imagined things would develop to this extent, with even a bunch of kids worrying his bride price wasn't enough... He couldn't resist needling him again: "Hey, nephew, if you're really short on bride price money, your old uncle here can lend you some. Can't have you end up a bachelor just because you're short on cash, right? Hahahaha!"

Shen Guoqing: "..."

"It's not about the bride price money being insufficient; it's something else."

Shen Guoqing hesitated for a moment, then looked back at his mother, Wang Guizhi, who was leisurely watching the commotion with her legs crossed. Wang Guizhi chuckled and beckoned Shen Zhenhua over. Shen Zhenhua walked over, and Wang Guizhi whispered something to him. Upon hearing it, Shen Zhenhua's eyes widened: "Oh my, there's such a good thing?!"

Wang Guizhi smiled and glanced at Shen Banyue, saying, "I called Guo Qiang a couple of days ago and borrowed five hundred yuan from him. The rest we'll scrape together from home, but we're still a bit short. I guess they must have overheard us discussing it last night, which led to today's little performance."

Kids have sharp ears, and adults often don't pay attention when they're talking around them, so it's not strange they overheard. It's just surprising these kids came up with this method.

"Xiao Yue, how did you all think of picking up scrap to sell?" Wang Guizhi asked, amused.

Shen Banyue blinked innocently and said, "That day after we hauled the wild boar back, the uncles and older men dug everything out of the pit. One of them said at the time that this stuff could be taken to the commune's scrap station to sell."

Of course, in the end, it wasn't taken to sell. The brigade leader collected it and gave it to Old Liu, telling him to take it to the commune's blacksmith shop during the winter farming slack season to be forged into farm tools.

Old Liu and the blacksmith at the commune's shop were cousins. If he took it, the blacksmith would charge less for the labor. Any extra scrap could also be directly sold to the blacksmith shop.

Wang Guizhi laughed, "This child is truly clever."

Someone says one thing, and she remembers it, even able to apply it in other ways.

Wang Guizhi asked again, "And where did you manage to pick up so much?"

Zhao Xuehai, unable to hold back any longer, rushed to answer: "On the mountain, in the bamboo grove, and by the stream! We brought small hoes and shovels; we dug all this out from the ground! Auntie Wang, with this much, can we sell it for a lot of money? Is it enough for Brother Guoqing to marry a plump wife?"

Wang Guizhi laughed heartily: "Yes, it's more than enough!"

Actually, it wasn't enough.

The purchase price for this scrap metal at the station was probably around twelve to eighteen cents per jin. These bags added together might weigh around two hundred jin, probably able to sell for thirty or forty yuan.

They had calculated before; even after scraping everything together at home, they were still eighty or ninety yuan short of eight hundred.

But a group of kids going out for one morning and picking up thirty or forty yuan's worth—that's equivalent to an ordinary worker's salary for a month or so. Calculated that way, it's a bit startling.

This wasn't picking up trash; this was practically picking up gold.

Even Shen Zhenhua couldn't help but say, "Is it really that easy to find? Then what's the point of going to work?" As farmers, toiling hard for a year, they probably only earn about a hundred yuan or so. What these kids picked up in one morning equals several months of his work.

"Kids just have good luck," Wang Guizhi also found it unbelievable, but she didn't believe one could get rich just by casually picking up trash. Making a living still required keeping one's feet on the ground.

The kids meant well, so the adults could only give them a stern talking-to before "letting them off lightly."

Before Shen Zhenhua took his son and left, he patted Shen Guoqing's shoulder, telling him to come by his house later to get some money. He would lend a bit, his brother would lend a bit, and the money could be gathered.

Who would have thought? This kid working like a madman lately wasn't for a bride price; it was for a job.

Shen Zhenhua thought of his own nephew, Shen Wenyi, who had sneakily come to ask him yesterday if he knew about Guoqing's matchmaking, and couldn't help but laugh.

Zhao Xuehai left with Shen Zhenhua and his son. Before leaving, he still worriedly reminded Shen Guoqing to definitely use the bride price to marry a plump wife and win back face for the men of Xiaodun Brigade.

Considering his good intentions, Shen Guoqing forcefully restrained himself from hitting him.

Turning around, looking at his own group of "gourd kids," Shen Guoqing's feelings were so complex!

Xiao Dizi pattered over to him, tugging on his pant leg, stretching her little arm as far as she could: "Uncle, give."

Shen Guoqing crouched down and ruffled the little one's head. Xiao Dizi let out a tiny sigh and stuffed the small bead in her hand into his palm: "Bead, gold one, bead, give uncle!"

"Oh, a bead, right? Okay, this bead is quite pretty, shiny and golden. Mom, look at this bead, it really looks like gold." Shen Guoqing scooped up Xiao Dizi, holding the child as he sat on the stool next to Wang Guizhi. He opened his palm, revealing a perfectly round golden bead.

Wang Guizhi took a closer look and could only sigh in exasperation: "Silly boy, this doesn't just look like gold; it is gold."

"Ah?!" Shen Guoqing immediately held the gold bead up to his eyes, his eyes nearly crossing. "How can you tell it's real?"

Wang Guizhi curved her lips into a smile and said, "Just by looking at it."

Shen Guoqing exclaimed, "Oh!" and asked Xiao Dizi, "Where did you get this?"

Xiao Dizi giggled, showing her little corn kernel-like teeth: "Dig, me, Xiao Dizi, dig!"

Shen Banyue vouched for her: "Right, she dug it up herself. Huffing and puffing, all morning she only dug up one small iron piece and this little bead." So, the one with the cheat was this three-year-old; it had nothing to do with her.

"This child couldn't be the Wealth-Bringing Boy reincarnated, could she?" Shen Guoqing's superstitious mind started racing. Of course, if there are ghosts and monsters, there must also be immortals; otherwise, the world would be in chaos.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became: "It must be. Look at you kids, going out and casually scooping up such a big fish. Every time you go up the mountain, you either run into pheasants or wild boars, and they all inexplicably end up on the dinner table. And now, going out and casually picking up trash, you bring back this much scrap... Looking at it this way, your luck is really exceptionally good."

It even improved his own luck.

Xiao Dizi looked back at him with a confused expression, tilting her head: "Uncle?"

What was uncle saying? She didn't understand.

Wang Guizhi couldn't take it anymore and slapped Shen Guoqing on the back: "What nonsense are you spouting? Are you afraid no one will cause trouble for us? Let me tell you, if you don't control that mouth of yours, once you go to the county, I don't think you'll need to go to work; you can go straight to the Revolutionary Committee and sit in a black room!"

Shen Guoqing scratched his head and chuckled: "I only say this at home. Outside, I definitely won't talk recklessly."

But in his heart, he was already convinced.

Xiao Dizi was the darling daughter of Heaven, a little lucky star!

Shen Banyue: Remaining anonymous, hiding her contributions.

Regardless, these kids had worked hard all morning to help him gather money. Shen Guoqing was actually deeply touched inside. Of course, he wouldn't take the money, but this scrap still had to be sold.

Moved, and on an impulse, he waved his hand grandly and said, "This afternoon, I'll borrow an ox cart from the brigade. I'll take you all to the commune. We'll sell the stuff and go to the state-run restaurant for a good meal!"

Since it wasn't market day, the commune wouldn't be too crowded. He'd also call Shen Zhenhua and Shen Wenyi; keeping an eye on these little rascals wouldn't be a problem.

Thus, a group of little rascals, who had originally taken leave or skipped half a day of school, were now "forced" and "with tears" to extend it by another half day.

—

The oxcart had its work cut out for it. Not only were there over a dozen people of all ages, but also five bags of scrap, plus a big sack of dried bamboo shoots and mushrooms to sell at the purchasing station—all sun-dried by Shen Guoqing over the past couple of days.

The children were overjoyed, especially Xiao Zhuzi and the others. Since arriving at Xiaodun Brigade, they hadn’t left the village, so everything along the way felt fresh and new.

Not only was everything new to them, but they also had a leftover scavenger's instinct. Whenever they spotted something that looked like scrap along the road, they’d beg to stop and check it out.

Go figure, even though ninety percent of it turned out to be useless junk, they did manage to pick up two rusty hunks of metal and a worn-out shoe.

And so, with frequent stops and starts, they finally reached the commune. First, they sold the dried bamboo shoots and such at the purchasing station, then headed straight for the scrap yard.

The old man at the scrap yard had never received so much scrap metal all at once. Some of it was still caked with mud, and he couldn’t help muttering, “You didn’t just pick this up, did you? Where on earth did you dig this out? I’ve been collecting scrap for over a decade, and today I’ve really seen something new.”

After weighing everything, the old man deducted some weight due to the mud. Finally, separating pig iron, wrought iron, aluminum, and other scrap, the total came to thirty-two yuan and sixty-five fen.

After some discussion, it was decided that each child would get three yuan and fifty fen, with the remaining one yuan and fifteen fen pitched in for the meal. Any shortfall, along with the necessary coupons, would be covered by the adults.

They had set out late, and the frequent stops along the way had eaten up a lot of time. By now, it was already dinnertime—perfect timing. Without waiting around, the group hurried the oxcart toward the state-run restaurant.

On the way from the scrap yard to the state-run restaurant, they passed by the clinic.

As the oxcart rolled past the clinic, the children craned their necks to look inside. They had stayed there overnight once, and the nurses had been kind to them, so they couldn’t help wondering if they were around.

Xiao Jie had the sharpest eyes. Pointing in one direction, he said, “Nurse Zhou and Doctor Ma!”

Shen Banyue was resting with her eyes closed, holding the soft, cuddly Xiao Dizi like a pillow. Hearing this, she looked up and indeed saw the two standing by the outer wall of the clinic.

It was a small corner formed between the clinic and the slightly farther doctor’s duty room. If not for Xiao Jie’s sharp eyes, one might easily miss someone standing there.

However.

Shen Banyue narrowed her eyes. It seemed like the two were arguing, and Nurse Zhou’s face was flushed—whether from anger or the cold, it was hard to tell.

The oxcart noticeably slowed down.

The two over there clearly hadn’t noticed the “audience” and were still talking. Suddenly, Nurse Zhou raised her hand and slapped Doctor Ma across the face. Doctor Ma froze for a moment, then lifted his arm—

Almost simultaneously, a figure shot out from the front of the oxcart.