Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The house suddenly felt much quieter with two fewer children, so much so that even Wang Guizhi found it a bit strange. She came out of the kitchen holding an enamel cup, glanced at Xiao Jie and Little Stone spaced out on stools, and said, "Come get some chestnuts."

Back when they caught the wild boar, they had also gathered quite a few chestnuts, which were all dried and stored away. The family had been eating pretty well lately, so other than using some once in a stew, the rest had been left untouched.

The roasted chestnuts smelled wonderful, and Wang Guizhi had even splurged and added a bit of sugar, making them sweet.

Xiao Jie and Little Stone were distracted and began prying the chestnuts open with their teeth, eating eagerly.

Xiao Dizi held a chestnut, unsure how to tackle it like a dog confronted by a hedgehog, unsure where to bite. After gnawing on it until it was all slobbery, she still hadn’t managed to open it. Puzzled, the little one tilted her head and handed the wet chestnut to Shen Banyue. "Sister, eat."

Shen Banyue: "..."

Thank you so much.

The chestnuts had already been scored with a knife. Shen Banyue picked one up, squeezed gently at the cut, and effortlessly peeled off a golden, perfectly round chestnut.

She handed the chestnut kernel to Xiao Dizi, who beamed a sweet smile at her, happily snatching the fragrant kernel and munching away delightedly.

Shen Banyue casually shelled a few more, distributing them to the children before giving some to Wang Guizhi and Shen Dechang.

Shen Dechang, who was chopping wood, paused, then took it.

The sweet, soft flavor filled his mouth, and a faraway look came over his face for a moment. After a while, he lowered his head again and continued chopping wood.

Wang Guizhi brought out an old cotton-padded jacket of Shen Guoqiang’s to unpick.

As the weather grew colder by the day, she had to get winter clothes made for the kids while she could.

Shen Guoqiang and his wife were both wage-earners with decent incomes and no children, so money wasn't really tight for them. One was a master worker with over ten years under his belt, and the other was a teacher. They dressed decently enough too. When clothes became old or worn out, they would bring them back to their family in the production brigade.

Wang Guizhi would usually alter these hand-me-downs for the family.

Back then, nobody turned up their nose at old clothes. The saying went, "New for three years, old for three years, mended and patched for another three years." Opportunities to wear new clothes were few and far between. Clothes without too many patches were prized possessions in the village.

Luckily, they'd split off from the main family, so Hu Huaihua hadn't managed to snatch up every last piece. Otherwise, Wang Guizhi really wouldn’t have known where to find fabric and cotton to make winter clothes for the children.

As she collected the picked-out cotton into a winnowing basket, Wang Guizhi said, "Next week, the brigade will organize the militia to go up the mountain. The commune’s militia will join too. Any game hunted will be shared with the commune militia, and the rest will be distributed among the brigade based on headcount. If they manage to catch a wild boar, they’ll butcher it at the threshing ground and make a proper feast. Then you’ll have meat to eat again."

Xiao Jie immediately asked, "Will Sister Yue go?"

Wang Guizhi was taken aback, then laughed. "The militia won’t take children up the mountain."

Xiao Jie let out a long sigh. "But Sister Yue is really good at it!"

Little Stone also sighed. "If Sister Yue could go, she’d definitely catch lots and lots of pheasants, and we could eat chicken every day."

Xiao Jie licked his lips. "And wild boar meat, we could have braised pork every day."

Ever since the brigade leader forbade everyone from going up the mountain, they hadn’t had any pheasant or fish to eat.

There was still some wild boar meat at home, but even though eighty pounds sounded like a lot, Wang Guizhi had used twenty pounds to make jerky. The rest couldn’t be eaten freely either—only occasionally, she would cut a piece to stir-fry with vegetables.

Even so, the jar of preserved meat was visibly dwindling rapidly.

With so many mouths to feed at home, supplies didn’t last long.

Wang Guizhi had been thinking that if the militia managed to bring back some game this time, she’d stew some meat to give the children a treat. She never expected these two kids to have such big ambitions—wanting to eat chicken and braised pork every day.

She chuckled. "You two sure know how to dream."

Just as they were laughing and chatting, Shen Wenyi suddenly arrived. He greeted Wang Guizhi and Shen Dechang but didn’t enter the house. Instead, he waved and said, "Xiao Yue, come here."

Shen Banyue shoved the peeled chestnut meat she was holding into Lin Mian’s hands. "You distribute these to everyone." Then she ran out of the yard.

Wang Guizhi muttered, "This Wenyi, now he’s playing with the kids."

Shen Wenyi had no idea Wang Guizhi was teasing him for acting more and more like a child. He had come to find Shen Banyue for a serious matter.

"I’ve found out. The story about Shen Guoqing being looked down on during his blind date was spread by Aunt Liu’s daughter, Zhao Yingzi."

Shen Wenyi pulled Shen Banyue to squat in the wasteland outside the yard, lowering his voice and looking mysterious. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were spies exchanging information.

"Aunt Liu is quite shrewd. How did she end up with a daughter who’s so messed up in the head? Last time, it was her who told Sister-in-law Huaihua about Guoqiang adopting a child. I heard Aunt Liu beat her badly afterward, but look at her—she’s doing it again. She really never learns."

After offering his commentary, Shen Wenyi continued, "As for how it spread throughout the entire brigade, that was Shen Aizhen’s doing."

Shen Wenyi’s expression turned complicated, and he couldn’t help but comment on his own niece. "Shen Aizhen might also have something wrong with her head. Last time, she splashed boiling water on Aunt Guizhi, and now she’s pulling this stunt. Sure, Shen Guoqing is pretty hateful, but they’re still uncle and niece. Ruining his reputation like this—what is that girl thinking?"

Not only did he comment, but he also slipped in some personal bias.

Shen Banyue gave him a speechless look.

Shen Wenyi suddenly asked with great interest, "So what now? Last time, you told me to first investigate the whole story, and then we’d figure out a way to teach the culprits a lesson directly. Well, are you planning to teach Zhao Yingzi and Shen Aizhen a lesson?"

He looked Shen Banyue up and down, taking in her small, thin frame, and stroked his chin. "You are strong, but Zhao Yingzi and Shen Aizhen are both much bigger than you. Teaching them a lesson might be a bit difficult, don’t you think? If you ask me, kids should fight kids. How about we just beat up Shen Ailin instead?"

Shen Banyue: "..."

This guy really had his heart set on beating up Shen Ailin.

She said expressionlessly, "Shen Ailin hasn’t done anything to me. Why should I beat him up?"

Shen Wenyi was speechless. "You’re quite principled for a kid." If it weren’t for Shen Wendong’s dislike of fighting, why would he need to coax this little girl? He really was worrying himself sick over the three little ones at home.

"Alright, alright. If I see him bullying kids later, I’ll definitely beat him up." Shen Banyue waved her hand. "You can go now."

"You really are something—burning bridges after crossing the river, using people and then tossing them aside!" Shen Wenyi sighed, then suddenly let out a weary sigh. "Maybe we should just forget it. After all, Guoqing isn’t really affected by this anymore. Let’s just drop the matter here. Otherwise, if you end up losing a fight and getting beaten up instead, wouldn’t that be even worse?"

Originally, he had really wanted to teach those gossipmongers a lesson. After all, they just flapped their lips without any effort, but the consequences could directly affect Shen Guoqing’s chances of finding a partner.

But looking back now, he realized he had been worrying over nothing. What effect did it have on Shen Guoqing? The guy was becoming a worker and had even found a partner—he was practically reaching the peak of life.

If it really came down to it, he’d find an opportunity to beat up Zhao Rui and Shen Aimin instead.

Shen Banyue didn’t respond to Shen Wenyi’s suggestion. She just glanced at him calmly and said, "I know what I’m doing."

Shen Wenyi thought she had taken his advice and nodded, standing up and patting the dust off his pants. "Next week, I’ll go into the mountains with the militia. I’ll bring you back some meat." Even though their plan had been aborted halfway, they had still schemed together, forging a deep revolutionary friendship.

Shen Banyue gave a couple of perfunctory replies and told him to go ahead. Shen Wenyi thought she wanted to play there a little longer, so he waved and quickly left.

Watching Shen Wenyi walk away, Shen Banyue picked up a small stick from the ground and began poking at the dirt aimlessly.

The soil in this wasteland was poor, filled with small stones. Usually, only Xiao Zhuzi, Xiao Jie, and the others came here to dig for earthworms or collect stones.

If anyone saw Shen Banyue squatting like this, they would simply think she was playing around.

Kids could turn anything into a toy.

After idly poking at the dirt for several minutes, a rustling sound finally came from the small thicket at the edge of the wasteland. Someone emerged from behind a few small trees.

Shen Banyue turned her head to look and couldn't help raising an eyebrow in surprise when she saw who it was.

She had actually noticed the movement in the thicket earlier, but she thought it was a fellow villager or a kid from the brigade. She never expected it to be one of the people living in the cowshed.

This bespectacled man, Shen Banyue remembered, was called Nie Yuanbai.

In the original story, Xiao Dizi was close to an auntie named Xie Tingqin, but that was several years later.

At that time, it wasn't long before Xie Tingqin and the others were rehabilitated.

That year, several communes in Shanxi County were hit by disasters. Every household in the brigade was short on food, and the food for the few people in the cowshed was stolen, and they nearly starved to death.

Xie Tingqin went up the mountain on an empty stomach to dig for wild vegetables. She barely found any, but almost fainted. By chance, she came across a few kids, including Xiao Dizi.

After all, Shen Guoqiang and his wife both worked and used their money to buy food and send it back to Xiaodun Brigade, so the Shen family was actually doing okay.

Xiao Dizi gave Xie Tingqin two pieces of candy, then later went home and snuck out a small bag of sweet potatoes to the cowshed. After that, she met with Xie Tingqin in secret a few more times.

Later, when Xie Tingqin and the others were rehabilitated, grateful for the girl's kindness in saving her life, Xie Tingqin would send Xiao Dizi things every year. When Xiao Dizi went to Beijing, Xie Tingqin also found ways to watch out for her.

However, since Xiao Dizi mostly interacted with Xie Tingqin, the original book didn't dwell on Lv Fang and Nie Yuanbai.

Lv Fang, being Xie Tingqin's husband, appeared a bit more often. Nie Yuanbai barely had any lines.

All that was known was that he later joined some kind of confidential unit and was quite a big deal. When Xie Tingqin stood up for Xiao Dizi, he also sent his students to help.

One benefit of knowing the original plot was that by combining the book's descriptions and plot with their actual behavior, it was easy to judge their general character.

At least this Nie Yuanbai probably wasn't some treacherous villain.

It was just unclear why a future scientific research big shot was hiding in a thicket eavesdropping on her and Shen Wenyi's conversation?

What Shen Banyue didn't know was that Nie Yuanbai was also quite helpless.

He was a person who liked to plan ahead. Others sent down to the cowshed might just keep their heads down and stay put all day, but Nie Yuanbai wasn't like that. He found that Xiaodun Brigade's management was relatively lax and didn't restrict their movement. Whenever he had free time, he would wander around the village, learning the terrain and coaxing information from children to understand the village's situation.

Because of his status, he stuck to out-of-the-way places and avoided people when he saw them.

Probably because of this, since being sent down to Xiaodun Brigade, he had been forced to learn many secrets, as many people also liked to go to remote places for their private business.

Take today, for example. He not only heard those two educated youths hatching a bad plan, he even heard that young man named Shen Wenyi and a child discussing beating people up... Nie Yuanbai momentarily didn't know which group was more outrageous.

He wasn't one to stick his nose in, especially given his current situation, which didn't allow him to meddle.

But this child had helped them before, and he already knew that these children were being raised by the Shen family after being rescued from trafficking. If something happened to the Shen family, it might affect them, and they might even be abandoned.

After careful consideration, Nie Yuanbai decided to come and warn them.

It's just that he hadn't actually figured out how to warn the Shen family yet.

Instead, he first overheard a bunch of "secrets."

Being stared at so clearly by a child, Nie Yuanbai felt oddly uncomfortable.

This child's gaze was too sharp, not at all like a ten-year-old. He, an adult, actually had the illusion of being seen through by this child.

Nie Yuanbai firmly believed this was an illusion and thought that running into this child here actually saved him a lot of trouble.

He walked over, imitating Shen Wenyi's posture, squatted next to Shen Banyue, and lowered his voice, "I was relieving myself over there earlier and accidentally heard you talking."

The sharp gaze might be an illusion, but the child's eyes indeed told him she knew he had heard.

Shen Banyue let out an "Oh," not saying whether she believed him or not.

After all, this lie was told with too little skill. He lived in the east end of the village but came to relieve himself behind someone's yard at the west end. Even if she weren't really nine, even a real nine-year-old probably wouldn't believe that!

Nie Yuanbai didn't care if she believed him and continued, "I was outside the educated youth point earlier, uh, just like now, also relieving myself, uh, and accidentally heard some things too."

Shen Banyue: "…………"

Listen to what you're saying.

Are you some kind of animal, running around everywhere, relieving yourself everywhere?

If you're going to lie, at least don't slander yourself like that!

Nie Yuanbai cleared his throat, also feeling a bit awkward, but continued, "Xiao Yue, I know you're a good child. Can you promise not to tell anyone later that it was me who told you what I'm about to say?"

With any other mischievous child, Nie Yuanbai wouldn't dare risk believing them, but this little girl was clever, kind, and very methodical. Nie Yuanbai was willing to believe her once... Of course, he was also prepared to be "betrayed."

Shen Banyue blinked, showing the confused expression appropriate for her age, then obediently nodded, "I won't tell."

Nie Yuanbai also nodded, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Do you know Hu Caidie and Zhu Juncai from the educated youth point?"

Shen Banyue inwardly raised an eyebrow, thinking this person truly lived up to being a future big shot. In such a short time, he already knew the educated youths in the village.

She hadn't even recognized them all yet!

After thinking for a moment, she nodded, then shook her head, saying, "I know Educated Youth Hu. Once when we went up the mountain to pick mushrooms, we saw her sprain her foot. At first, she said she couldn't walk, but then she quickly got better and walked off by herself. Anyway, it was strange."

Nie Yuanbai's expression was complicated. After weighing his words, he said, "There are good people and bad people in the world. Those who traffic children are bad people. This Educated Youth Hu and Educated Youth Zhu are also not very good people. Educated Youth Hu saying she sprained her foot was probably lying to you, just like some bad people use candy to trick children. Actually, they do it to achieve some bad purpose."

He tried to explain in terms a child could understand. Seeing Shen Banyue nod as if she somewhat understood, he continued, "Because using the sprained foot excuse last time didn't achieve their goal, they thought of an even worse plan."

Shen Banyue opened her mouth slightly, looking surprised.

Nie Yuanbai continued, "Does your Uncle Guoqing go to the private plot every morning?"

Shen Banyue thought for a moment and nodded, "Seems like it."

Comrade Shen Guoqing was quite diligent, especially after the family split up. The work on the private plot was mostly done by him. The private plot was each family's own land, so people generally chose to work there before going to work in the morning, during the noon break, or after finishing work in the afternoon.

Shen Guoqing was used to waking up early, so he always went in the morning.

Thinking of this, Shen Banyue narrowed her eyes. It seemed Hu Caidie and that Zhu Juncai had been observing Shen Guoqing for a long time, clearly figuring out his habits.

Nie Yuanbai weighed his words again before saying, "Educated Youth Hu and Educated Youth Zhu discussed ambushing your Uncle Guoqing at the private plot, uh, beating him up, and then doing some bad things. So, can you find a way to remind your Uncle Guoqing later? You can say you heard it while relieving yourself, uh, playing in the grass outside the educated youth point."

Shen Banyue: "..."

I heard you. You want to teach me to slander myself.

But.

Nie Yuanbai, constrained by her being a child, spoke vaguely. However, Shen Banyue wasn't really a child, so she naturally understood.

These two educated youths planned to ambush Shen Guoqing at the private plot, attack him, and do some bad things. Hmm, probably things that would give them leverage over Shen Guoqing, forcing him to give them some benefits.

Given the timing, their motives are actually quite easy to guess—most likely, they're after the job quota.

Shen Banyue cast her eyes down, and when she looked up again, she wore an expression of wide-eyed innocence, surprise, and unease. She seemed a bit frightened but quickly composed herself, nodding firmly and saying, "I understand. I'll remind Uncle Guoqing about it. These people are just too awful!"

After a moment of hesitation, she added, "Don't worry, Uncle. I won't give you away."

Nie Yuanbai sighed in relief and smiled, saying, "I believe you."

He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then stood up. "Alright then, I'd better get going."

Shen Banyue, still squatting on the ground, looked up at him and gave him a smile. "Uncle, you're a good person. Thank you."

Nie Yuanbai chuckled. "You're a good kid too." With that, he quickly walked toward the small thicket and soon disappeared among the trees and weeds.

Shen Banyue remained squatting for a while longer. When she finally stood up, her legs had gone numb. She shook her hands and slowly made her way back to the courtyard.

As soon as she entered, Wang Guizhi asked curiously, "What did Nie Yuanbai want with you? Why were you out for so long?"

Without thinking, Shen Banyue blurted out, "I went to the outhouse."

Immediately after saying it, her expression froze.

It's true what they say: learning good habits is hard, but picking up bad ones happens in an instant. In just this short while, she had already learned to badmouth herself.

Wang Guizhi laughed. "No wonder you were massaging your legs. They must have gone numb from squatting, right?"

Shen Banyue: "...A little."

As she spoke, she scooped some water to wash her hands, then went into the room where she slept. From her "treasure bag," she pulled out a tiny pencil stub that was almost too small to hold and found two scraps of paper she had picked up. On each piece, she wrote a sentence.

After finishing, Shen Banyue put the pencil stub back into the "treasure bag," habitually checked the contents, and then left the room.

Shen Guoqing didn't return until almost evening. He said the two families had given their accounts again at the commune, had their photos taken with the commune staff, and gone through some formalities. Later, Dai Xianghua personally escorted them to catch the last bus.

They would spend the night in the county town, and the next day, the county would send a car to take them to Jiangcheng, where they would each board trains back to their hometowns.

Besides this, Shen Guoqing brought back another piece of news. Just before boarding the bus, the two families told him they had left something under the beds where they had slept—gifts for them and the kids.

The children went into the rooms and dragged out what the families had left—two large bags. One bag was filled with candies, biscuits, malted milk, fabric, and the like. The other contained dried sweet potatoes, bamboo shoots, fruit, and fish.

"I wondered why they came with so many bags but seemed to have fewer when they left," Wang Guizhi said, suddenly understanding.

"Exactly. We were in such a rush this morning that we didn't notice. Later, I realized their luggage was lighter than when they arrived." Shen Guoqing scratched his head. "What should we do about this?"

Wang Guizhi waved her hand. "They said it's for the children, so let's keep it. Before the Lunar New Year, we can put together some things to send them."

Shen Guoqing nodded. "Alright."

He was about to put the things away when, before he could straighten up, his mother suddenly swatted him on the back. "You little rascal, you're something else, hiding things from me like this?"

Shen Guoqing looked bewildered. "What have I hidden from you?"

Wang Guizhi gave him a once-over and chuckled, then asked, "Didn't you run into anyone on your way into the village?"

Shen Guoqing was even more confused. "Huh? At this hour, everyone's busy cooking or eating. There was no one at the village entrance. I rode my bike straight in and didn't really run into anyone."

Well, except when he returned the bicycle to the production team leader, the leader had a strange expression and patted his shoulder, saying something like, "You're all grown up now. Make sure you live well."

Shen Guoqing thought he was referring to the job—the leader already knew about it, and the paperwork had to go through him anyway, right?

Xiao Jie quietly grabbed a handful of candies from the bag, distributed one to each of his little friends, and then said loudly, "You're dating Nurse Zhou, and Grandma Wang didn't know!"

He chattered on, imitating Wang Guizhi's tone: "That little rascal, how old is he and still so unreliable? How could he not mention something like this? With his silly ways, if he doesn't consult me, he might end up ruining things with his future wife. That little rascal, I might as well have given birth to a piece of roast pork. Even the kids know about it, but his own mother is left in the dark. What kind of son did I raise? That little rascal, always causing trouble for me. This really caught me off guard. I don't know if they'll get married before or after the New Year. Forget about money—I don't even have time to save up ration coupons. That little rascal, that little rascal, that little rascal!"

He rattled it off without pausing for breath, showing a real talent for comic storytelling.

Shen Guoqing: "..."

Wang Guizhi: "..."

For a moment, neither mother nor son knew what to say. After a while, Wang Guizhi gently patted Xiao Jie. "Oh, you little rascal!" He had repeated everything she had muttered behind her son's back.

With all this commotion, Wang Guizhi found it hard to continue interrogating her son. Instead, she slapped her pant leg, stood up, and said, "Alright, alright. Hurry up and tidy up, then go fetch water. I didn't know when you'd be back, so I haven't started cooking yet."

She hurried into the kitchen with slightly rushed steps.

Shen Guoqing scratched his head, picked up the shoulder pole and buckets, and went out to fetch water.

Shen Banyue glanced at the sky and turned to Lin Mian. "I'm going out for a bit. Keep an eye on Xiao Dizi." With that, she also left.

The sun had already set, and even the last traces of sunset glow had faded from the horizon. The sky was in that ambiguous stage between day and night—there was still some light, but it was hazy.

Shen Banyue circled to the back of the courtyard, took the same small path Nie Yuanbai had used earlier, and quickly ran toward the eastern end of the village.

Before long, she reached the outside of the Shen family's old house. After observing the surrounding terrain, she leaped lightly onto the camphor tree outside the courtyard wall.

Shen Guoxing's family was also still preparing dinner, with Hu Huaihua cursing and grumbling in the kitchen.

One moment, she cursed Shen Guoxing for being useless—both his brothers had become workers, while he remained a peasant, stuck in the mud of Xiaodun Brigade for the rest of his life. The next, she cursed the heavens for being blind—why should a fool like Shen Guoqing live a good life and even land a nurse as a girlfriend? Then she cursed everyone in the family for only knowing how to eat and not lifting a finger to help. She called Shen Aizhen lazy by name and made sarcastic remarks about Liu Tingting. Basically, nothing pleased her.

Before long, Shen Aizhen walked out of the kitchen with a dark expression.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Banyue accurately threw a stone wrapped in a note right in front of her.