Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Shen Guoqing was twenty years old, but never in his twenty years had he received so much attention.

On the short walk from his house, he kept getting stopped by folks wanting to chat. Some asked about his job, some about his girlfriend, and others about whether he had gone to the private plot that morning.

Who could blame them? These past couple of days, one strange thing after another had happened in the village, and every single one seemed to be connected to him.

He had no choice but to repeat himself over and over: "Ah, yep, I'm going to work in the county town. It wasn't my brother who helped; it was that soldier comrade from last time."

"Ah, yep, I am seeing someone. We just started, don't know when we'll get married yet. It depends on her."

"Ah, uh, no, no, no. I *was* thinking about going to the private plot this morning, but my hoe broke halfway there, so I didn't go. Since I had to go to the commune anyway, I figured I'd just skip it. The work on the private plot isn't much anyway. The educated youth, Zhao Yingzi, Shen Aizhen? I did hear about the incident, but I really don't know what happened. That private plot isn't just ours; you should ask others."

...

Then Shen Banyue chimed in: "Auntie, if you keep holding up my uncle, he'll be late to see his girlfriend. If she gets angry and refuses to marry him, Grandma Wang will definitely come looking for you for an explanation."

"Grandma, and you, uncle, if you want to know about the private plot incident, why not go to the educated youth point? Or Auntie Liu's house, or the east end of the village? I just saw several aunties heading in those directions."

Originally, the commune members would have been too embarrassed to go watch the spectacle right at people's doorsteps. But now, hearing that someone had already taken the lead, they exchanged eager glances. Soon, they were all making excuses: "Oh, I need to ask Old Liu where to find chicks," "I'm going to fetch a bucket of water from the stream at the east end," "Oh, right, I heard Xiao Qian borrowing a shoe pattern the other day. Whose pattern is better than mine? I'll go deliver it to her." And off they hurried.

As for not seeing the trailblazers when they arrived—well, they all had legitimate business, so what was there to fear? Besides, there were so many of them.

Shen Guoqing, Shen Banyue, and Xiao Dizi, the three of them, like celebrities navigating a crowd in later years, finally pushed their way through the crowd to borrow a bicycle from Shen Zhenxing's house.

Comrade Shen Zhenxing's expression was one of utter reluctance as he wheeled out his prized possession.

Shen Guoqing had borrowed it several times these past few days. The problem was, he couldn't refuse. Going to work in the county town, sending the two kids, and seeing his girlfriend—these were all legitimate matters.

It's just that this silly kid Shen Guoqing had an awful lot of legitimate matters lately.

Before they left, Shen Zhenxing couldn't help but remind him again: "Ride carefully, don't go charging into potholes. You'll ruin the tires." Then he instructed Shen Guoqing to watch his mouth and stop spouting nonsense about labor reform farms. Only then did he watch with longing eyes as Shen Guoqing rode off into the distance with the two girls.

In these times, young men and women being alone outside together could easily lead to reports. Plus, with that incident in the private plot just this morning, Wang Guizhi was worried. She simply had Shen Guoqing take the two girls along to the commune.

And so, Shen Banyue and Xiao Dizi became Comrade Shen Guoqing's glorious love escorts—also known as third wheels.

—

In the village, the educated youth point, Auntie Liu's house, and the old Shen family residence at the east end had clearly become the "hotspot check-in points" of Xiaodun Brigade. The commune members spontaneously used their brains to come up with all sorts of strange and wonderful reasons to drop by and join the excitement.

Check-in Point One: The Educated Youth Point.

"My, educated people are different, huh? Going to the private plot to recite poetry early in the morning." Inside the educated youth point, a sister-in-law who had used the excuse of asking the educated youth about a character exchanged glances with those around her. While her words said one thing, what she was thinking was: Regardless of education, young men and women just love sneaking into groves, huh? I heard their clothes were torn, tsk tsk tsk.

Hu Caidie's face was still bruised and cut, the corner of her mouth was split. Her complexion shifted between green and pale, her fingernails digging tightly into her palms as she forced a stiff smile: "It just felt nice in the morning, so we went for a casual stroll."

Another auntie, who had used the excuse of delivering a shoe pattern, was much more direct: "You and Educated Youth Zhu are seeing each other, right? Even though you're both far from home and your elders can't oversee you, you still can't mess around when you're dating. Our brigade has always had good morals; we have to pay attention to our influence."

Hu Caidie's face grew even uglier, but she didn't make a sound.

After a slight pause, the auntie simply asked: "When are you and Educated Youth Zhu getting married?"

Hearing this question, Hu Caidie was slightly taken aback.

She wanted to marry someone with good conditions and live a good life. If, as Zhu Juncai said, she could become a worker in a factory, that would be best... But given the current situation, it seemed she could only marry Zhu Juncai.

Marrying Zhu Juncai would actually be fine.

She still liked Zhu Juncai quite a bit; otherwise, she wouldn't have listened to him in everything. Besides, Zhu Juncai was from Beijing. Thinking this, Hu Caidie's expression finally improved a little: "We'll discuss it and decide later."

The various aunties and sisters-in-law didn't really have any ill intent; they were purely bored and looking for excitement. Besides, they were properly dating, not engaging in illicit affairs, so they wouldn't look at Hu Caidie with prejudiced eyes.

Hearing Hu Caidie say this, everyone immediately enthusiastically offered her advice.

The male educated youth dormitory next door wasn't as lively. After all, the aunties were too embarrassed to barge into the young men's living quarters, and the village men usually looked down on the educated youth for not being good at farm work, so they didn't interact much with the male educated youth either.

To be precise, not only was the male educated youth dormitory not lively, it was actually very quiet. The air was thick, the atmosphere oppressive.

The educated youth point housed five male educated youth in one large room. Three beds were placed against the walls on either side, with some clutter piled on an empty bed.

Zhu Juncai's face was also marked with injuries. Since returning from the brigade headquarters, he had been leaning against his bed with a cold expression, his face so grim that the other educated youth didn't dare to speak.

The dormitory window was open. The village aunties spoke loudly, and their voices drifted in intermittently. The word "marriage" appeared with very high frequency.

Zhu Juncai was practically fuming with rage.

His reason for seducing that foolish woman Hu Caidie, aside from emptiness and loneliness, was mainly to use her to gain some benefits.

No matter what, he had never once considered marrying her.

But now, he was being forced, compelled, to marry this idiot.

And he had to go collect manure too.

Damn it.

Everything was going so smoothly. He had already knocked out Shen Guoqing. How could it all fall apart at the last moment? How?!

Who was it who knocked them out?

When he first saw Zhao Yingzi, he thought it was a ghost. After waking up and getting a clear look at Zhao Yingzi's appearance, he understood it wasn't a ghost at all. Ironically, Zhao Yingzi also claimed she was knocked out and didn't see who the attacker was.

Ahhhhh, who was it? Who?!

Zhu Juncai screamed inwardly, wishing he could drag out the person who ruined his plans and grind their bones to dust.

Check-in Point Two: Auntie Liu's House.

"Yingzi, so early in the morning, before it was even light, what were you really running out to do?" After asking Auntie Liu which nearby brigade had chicks for sale, this auntie immediately got straight to the gossip.

Zhao Yingzi, her face swollen like a pig's head, sat on a stool picking beans. Hearing this, she said angrily: "I already said! Someone told me Shen Guoqing was having an illicit affair. I was going to take care of business!"

Zhao Rui was chopping firewood nearby. Hearing this, he immediately threw down the axe, stood up, and pointed at Zhao Yingzi, scolding: "Are you out of your mind?! What did Guoqing ever do to you for you to spread such rumors? Those two educated youth both said they didn't see Guoqing! Damn it, I'm telling you, if you keep being this unreliable, don't blame me for beating you!"

After visitors arrived, Auntie Liu had hidden in the kitchen. Now she hurried out: "What's going on? What are you two arguing about? Zhao Rui, your sister is still young. If there's something, talk to her properly!"

Zhao Rui said furiously: "She's still young? She's almost seventeen, and she's still young?! Just you wait. If you keep spoiling her like this, she'll cause a huge disaster sooner or later!"

Auntie Liu was stunned and began to wail: "Then what am I supposed to do? I only gave birth to you two. She's my only daughter. Could I possibly beat her to death?"

Zhao Rui's face was icy cold.

Auntie Liu trembled all over. Suddenly, she grabbed a short broom from the corner and started whacking Zhao Yingzi fiercely: "You wretched girl! What exactly are you trying to do? What's going on in that head of yours all day?"

Zhao Yingzi cried out from the beating, running around wildly in the courtyard.

The people who had come to watch the excitement, seeing this chaotic scene of chickens flying and dogs jumping, hastily left.

Oh man, kids are nothing but trouble!

Next stop, the old Shen family house at the east end of the village.

Back when they lived in the brick house with a tiled roof, Hu Huaihua actually had a pretty good temper. She would greet people with a smile, and everyone said Shen Guoxing had really lucked out with his wife—she was capable, hardworking, and got along well with her stepmother.

But after the family split up, Hu Huaihua either revealed her true nature or underwent a drastic change. She spent her days throwing things around and making a racket at home, yelling at everyone, one after the other.

No wonder the commune members who came to gawk at the drama didn’t dare step inside the Shen family’s gate.

“You good-for-nothing! Instead of wasting time watching the commotion, why don’t you make breakfast, wash the clothes, or fetch two buckets of water from the stream? You have nothing better to do than watch others screw around? You’re something else. If I don’t beat you, you’ll think you can fly. I’ll beat you to death, you shameful brat!”

“Ahhh! Dad, save me, Dad! Ahhh! Why are you hitting me? Didn’t you say yourself that it’d be better if Shen Guoqing couldn’t get a wife? You said if he ends up a lifelong bachelor, everything in the family will be ours! Ahhh! If I report him for screwing around, he won’t be able to find a partner anymore! Ahhh! I did it all for you, for all of you!”

…

Honestly, even though they couldn’t enter the courtyard, the juicy gossip they overheard outside was explosive!

The nearby commune members poking their heads around were stunned. They had come to watch the commotion, but they never expected to witness something like this.

“Who would’ve thought Old Shen Guoxing’s wife could be so vicious?”

“Hey, hey, do you remember? Do you remember? Originally, their family wanted to find a wife for Guoqing first. Then the Hu family came for a visit, and afterward, they started looking for a wife for Aimin instead.”

“Oh, I actually know about this. The Hu family said their great-grandmother was waiting to hold a great-grandchild. Once she held one, she’d be content to die anytime. So all the young people in their generation, once they reached the right age, had to hurry up and get married and have kids. Think about it—if someone says they won’t rest in peace without holding a great-grandchild, what could Wang Guizhi say?”

“Good grief, so that’s what happened. No wonder—Guoqing is of a senior generation, and they’re about the same age. It should’ve been Guoqing getting married first.”

“Hey, hey, do you think the Hu family said that on purpose? To cut off Guoqing’s marriage prospects? I heard about this practice back in the day—if you cut off someone’s marriage prospects, it becomes hard for them to find a partner later. If they can’t find a partner, they’ll stay single and childless. And if both Guo Qiang and Guoqing brothers end up without children, everything in the family really will go to the children of the eldest branch.”

“Shut your mouth! You keep spouting this feudal superstition nonsense. I think you really want to be sent to a labor camp. Besides, hasn’t Guoqing already found a partner? He’s even going to work in the county town as a worker. How could he stay single? That’s ridiculous.”

“What did I say? I didn’t say anything. If anyone should go to a labor camp, it should be someone as vicious as Hu Huaihua. It wouldn’t be my turn.”

…

As they were gossiping, someone suddenly tugged on another person’s sleeve. “Hey, hey, stop talking. Shen Dechang is over there!”

The others turned to look, and sure enough, Shen Dechang was standing under a tree not far from the courtyard, though no one knew when he had arrived.

Getting caught bad-mouthing their family to their face was a bit awkward. Someone wanted to greet him and make small talk to ease the tension, but then they saw Shen Dechang turn around and walk away slowly.

—

Meanwhile, Shen Banyue, completely unaware of what was happening in the village, was dutifully playing the role of a third wheel at the commune. However, besides her and Xiao Dizi—the two small-sized third wheels—there were quite a few large-sized third wheels around as well.

It couldn’t be helped. Originally, Zhou Yaoyao wasn’t supposed to work today, but Nurse Mao, who was close to her, had an emergency and swapped shifts with her. So, her first date with Comrade Shen Guoqing turned into her working while Shen Guoqing brought the two little girls to keep her company at work.

“Why don’t you take them to the supply co-op for a stroll?” Zhou Yaoyao had just started IVs for two patients and given another patient an injection. Finally catching a break, she immediately walked over to discuss with Shen Guoqing.

Shen Guoqing glanced at Shen Banyue and Xiao Dizi. Shen Banyue was leaning back leisurely in her chair, playing a game of “I pinch your nose, you try to catch my hand” with Xiao Dizi using one hand, while shaking her head. “Not going to the supply co-op. I spent a lot of money buying a fountain pen recently. I don’t feel like spending money lately.”

Zhou Yaoyao had already heard about her buying a fountain pen for a friend. She smiled and said, “Have your uncle pay for it.”

Shen Banyue pinched Xiao Dizi’s nose, then deliberately let the little one catch her hand. The little one immediately grinned, showing her tiny white teeth. Shen Banyue’s lips curved into a smile too, then she looked at Zhou Yaoyao and said sincerely, “But Uncle doesn’t have any money. He’s even poorer than me.”

Zhou Yaoyao: “…”

She couldn’t help but burst out laughing. After laughing for a bit, she glanced at Shen Guoqing and said, “It’s fine. I’ll give you money. Go to the supply co-op and buy some candy. My candy box is empty. I forgot to buy more.”

Shen Guoqing scratched his head, about to say something, when Doctor Ma—Ma Guangrong—who was passing by, snorted disdainfully and said in a very snide tone, “These days, even country bumpkins can live off women. Hmph.”

Zhou Yaoyao, furious, turned around to scold him, but Shen Banyue spoke first. “Doctor Ma, do you know what conditions are needed to live off women?”

Ma Guangrong looked at the dark, skinny little girl in front of him and sneered. “Oh, you’re so young, yet you know what ‘living off women’ means?”

Shen Banyue nodded. “Of course I know. I’m a smart kid. It seems Doctor Ma doesn’t know. I can tell you. The condition for living off women is, first and foremost, you have to be good-looking! If you’re not good-looking, no one will want you!”

Under her clear, piercing gaze, Ma Guangrong inexplicably understood the unspoken words of this child: *You’re just not good-looking, so you can’t live off women!*

Ma Guangrong was so angry he almost choked, but he couldn’t very well argue with a child. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard Shen Banyue say again, “Sister Zhou, do you know why my uncle is so poor?”

Zhou Yaoyao let out an “ah,” thinking the child didn’t understand and wanted an answer from her. She glanced at Shen Guoqing, thinking this guy didn’t seem like the lazy type. Maybe he was poor recently because he had spent money on something urgent.

She said, “Your uncle isn’t poor. His family has land and a house. As long as he’s hardworking and willing to work, he can definitely live a good life.”

Shen Banyue nodded, agreeing with Zhou Yaoyao’s words, but then she added, “My uncle is poor because he’s not a worker; he doesn’t have a salary. But that won’t be the case anymore. Soon he’ll have money.”

Zhou Yaoyao didn’t react immediately and looked at Shen Guoqing in confusion. Shen Guoqing scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. “You’ve been busy lately, and I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to work at the county machinery factory.”

Looking at Zhou Yaoyao, he quickly added, “I’ll come back every Sunday.”

Zhou Yaoyao opened her mouth in surprise, taking a long moment before she found her voice. “You’re going to work in the county?” She thought for a moment and asked, “As a temporary worker?” Then immediately said, “Temporary work is good too. Actually, farming is fine too, but having a job is also good. You can earn a bit more.”

Shen Guoqing scratched his head again and chuckled sheepishly. “It’s a permanent job. But I have to work as an apprentice for a while first, one to three years, depending on the situation, before becoming a full-fledged worker.”

Zhou Yaoyao really liked Shen Guoqing. She had a job herself, her family’s financial burden wasn’t heavy, and Xiaodun Brigade wasn’t far from the commune, so she thought marrying into Xiaodun Brigade was actually okay.

But suddenly her boyfriend had a job, and a permanent one in the county at that—of course she was happy, no, very happy!

She smiled. “Comrade Shen Guoqing, you’re so amazing!”

This girl was quite clever. After a little thought, she understood that when Shen Banyue said Shen Guoqing was very poor earlier, it was probably because he had spent some money to secure this job.

A permanent factory job in the county—you can’t get that just by spending money. That money was spent so wisely!

Hearing that Shen Guoqing was actually going to work in the county, Ma Guangrong cursed inwardly and tried to slip away. Who would have thought Zhou Yaoyao seemed to have eyes in the back of her head? She immediately turned around and glared at him. “Ma Guangrong, stop being so sarcastic all the time. You want to live off women yourself, yet you keep slinging mud at others. Let me tell you, if you keep spouting nonsense and piss me off, from now on, every time someone tries to set you up with someone, I’ll ruin it for you. I’ll make sure you can’t live off women even if you want to!”

Ma Guangrong’s face flushed bright red, clearly hit a raw nerve. After a long moment, he squeezed out a sentence: “You shrew!” Then he turned and left without looking back.

Zhou Yaoyao snorted, then turned to look at Shen Guoqing, her face slightly reddening. “You don’t think I’m too shrewish, do you?”

Shen Guoqing chuckled. “Being a bit shrewish isn’t bad. Makes it harder to be bullied. My mom is quite shrewish too. Not many people in the brigade dare to argue with her.”

Zhou Yaoyao originally wanted to say this blockhead didn’t even know how to say nice things, but hearing him say his own mother was also quite shrewish, she couldn’t help but giggle. “That’s right. Being a bit shrewish means no one dares to bully you. My mom taught me that since I was little.”

Shen Guoqing smiled and said, “Then your mom taught you well.”

Zhou Yaoyao widened her almond-shaped eyes. “What do you mean by that?” Then she laughed herself. “That’s right. I’ve been formidable since I was little.”

Shen Guoqing: “That’s for sure.”

…

Shen Banyue looked at one, then the other, and quietly moved with Xiao Dizi to sit a bit farther away.

The sour-sweet smell of love in this place was too strong. She couldn’t take it anymore!

Probably for couples in love, where they go on a date isn’t important, and what they do on the date isn’t important either. As long as they’re with “that person,” even the most boring things can be full of flavor.

In any case, Shen Banyue felt that both Shen Guoqing and Zhou Yaoyao were quite happy.

They had lunch at the state-owned diner, ordering just three bowls of plain noodles. Sister Li (the proprietress) ladled some braised pork broth over them—no meat, but the flavor was there—and everyone ate very contentedly.

In the afternoon, Shen Guoqing took the two girls back to the brigade. He had to catch the early bus to the county town the next morning, so he needed to go home and pack his bags first, and also tackle any heavy chores around the house.

Back in the village, people still stopped Shen Guoqing to chat, but when they heard he needed to pack, they had the sense to let him go on his way.

Besides packing, Wang Guizhi also prepared some dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots for him to give to Section Chief Chen Yucheng, who had helped him with the money. She also suggested giving some later to the master worker assigned to mentor him at the factory.

The gifts weren’t valuable, but it’s always better to err on the side of courtesy.

Early the next morning, Shen Banyue half-heard the courtyard gate creak open. She opened her eyes to check the sky, then quickly fell back asleep.

And so, Shen Guoqing left for the county town, and the house felt emptier with one less person.

Starting from that day, the continuous sunny weather came to an end. It rained on and off for several days, and the planned hunt by the militia into the mountains was temporarily postponed. The meat the village children had been longing for would have to wait for now.

On rainy days, the children couldn’t run around everywhere. Besides going to school, they stayed at home.

Out of boredom, Shen Banyue finally remembered the "Height Growth Plan" she had designed for her little classmate Lin Mian. Of course, she didn’t let Xiao Jie and Xiao Shitou off either, dragging them into daily "training" as well.

Though called a "Height Growth Plan," it actually included exercises to enhance physical fitness, reaction speed, and even some combat moves Shen Banyue had learned from a teammate skilled in fighting after finding herself in a post-apocalyptic world.

Lin Mian and the others were forced to learn, but Xiao Dizi, whom no one asked to participate, joined in enthusiastically. Every day, she followed behind the older kids, chanting "hi-yah!" in her childish voice, often making Wang Guizhi, who was watching from the sidelines, double over laughing.

The rain continued intermittently for over ten days. During this time, Shen Guoqing returned twice. Reportedly, work was going smoothly—his assigned master was kind and taught him carefully, and he himself was learning quickly.

When the rain gradually stopped, the weather grew colder. Amid the anticipation of all the adults and children in the brigade, the militia finally entered the mountains.

Several more days passed. On Saturday, Shen Banyue was at school as usual, diligently playing her role as the "elementary student suspected of being held back by her birth family, who hadn’t attended school until age nine but immediately displayed exceptional learning talent upon finally getting the chance, mastering many characters in a short time."

Near the end of the school day, Shen Banyue, who was leaning against the desk behind her—seemingly listening to the lesson but actually lost in thought—suddenly tilted her head and glanced out the window. A little while later, the other children in the classroom also curiously looked outside.

One child suddenly said, "Is the militia coming down from the mountains? Last year when I was little, I saw the militia come down. So many people, so much game, it was really lively—just as lively as what we’re hearing now."

Although his voice was soft, the classroom wasn’t large, and Wang Lihua at the front podium heard him clearly. She gave the child a helpless look, then glanced at the other children whose minds had clearly already flown away, and simply said, "Alright, let’s end today’s lesson here. Class dismissed."

As soon as she finished speaking, the children immediately stood up and rushed out excitedly: "To the threshing ground! To the threshing ground!"

Xiao Dizi was still scribbling with a pencil stub when she looked up and saw all the other children running out. The little one blinked, tilted her head, and let out a puzzled "Huh?"

Shen Banyue had already packed her things. She stood up and scooped Xiao Dizi up. "Stop 'huh'-ing. Let’s go see what the fuss is about too."