Chapter 15

It was just a small favor at first, but the next day, Shu Yuan unexpectedly brought him a large piece of roasted roe deer meat, saying it was caught by the educated youth by the riverside.

Chen Zai didn’t like interacting with anyone, but perhaps fate had arranged for them to have more contact than others. Not long after, Shu Yuan came down with pneumonia, and he had no choice but to take care of her. In the spring, he sprained his ankle while collecting herbs in the mountains, and it was Shu Yuan who cooked for him, catching fish from the river and making fish soup. His cold, dark, and drafty thatched hut suddenly gained a sense of warmth and vitality.

Shu Yuan was optimistic, cheerful, and full of spirit, all qualities he did not possess.

As a village doctor, physical hardship didn’t matter much. What weighed heavier was the uncertainty of the future, which brought confusion and helplessness. He was gloomy, quiet, and closed off. Shu Yuan, to him, was like a small flame in the darkness, clearing away the clouds and mist in his heart, keeping him from being engulfed by the darkness.

He thought, they were probably considered to be in a relationship.

However, what happened later made him realize that all of this had been wishful thinking on his part, or perhaps it was merely an illusion.

In the summer, a flood broke out in the Baichao River. A pair of sisters were swept away by the rushing water, and Shu Yuan, without a second thought, leapt into the flood to save them. Both sisters were rescued, but she herself was swallowed by the torrent.

The production team organized many able-bodied workers to search for her. But as the rain kept pouring and the risk of another flood increased, everyone concluded that she had no chance of survival and gave up the search.

But he was unwilling to accept that. How could such a bright, lively girl, brave enough to risk her life for others, be washed away by the flood? As long as he hadn’t seen her body, he would never give up.

Amid the vast curtain of white rain, he was the only one walking along the riverbank, searching farther and farther away. The disappointment and despair in his heart gradually drowned out the last trace of hope. But it seemed that Heaven had eyes, because he did find Shu Yuan. He carried her into a nearby abandoned mill.

Perhaps it was the merit of saving lives, but Shu Yuan had not died.

The two young people held each other tightly. Outside, the rain poured down in torrents, thunder and lightning raged, and the old, leaky wooden house trembled as if it might collapse at any moment. The harsh environment and the euphoria of surviving a disaster sent both of their adrenaline levels soaring.

Just that one time.

And it became the worst mistake Chen Zai had ever made in his life.

He found out Shu Yuan was pregnant four months later. She had come down with a high fever, and when he rushed over to treat her, he discovered she was expecting.

After that, Shu Yuan’s attitude toward him changed drastically. She became cold, distant, and indifferent. She said the child was not his.

They parted ways.

After Xiao Man was born, he went to see the child. She still insisted it wasn’t his.

As someone who had been sent down, his career progression had been unusually smooth. He worked as a village doctor for two years, then was transferred to the commune health clinic, and later to the county hospital. After working at the county hospital for a year, he applied to support the Northwest and soon arrived in this remote border town. There, his medical skills improved even further, and he found a sense of self-worth.

He actively applied for rehabilitation, and after being vindicated, he was quickly promoted based on his medical expertise, becoming first the deputy director, then the director of the hospital.

He had looked into Shu Yuan’s situation and believed that Xiao Man was probably the son of Shen Zhongcheng, a talented writer who had also been sent down. That man attracted many female comrades with his talent, and Shu Yuan had greatly admired him.

Chen Zai felt guilt, remorse, and regret, unable to let go of the mistake he had made.

Shu Yuan had no further contact with him, except to ask for a breakup payment. At the time, he had no money, so he asked someone to sell a gold bar and gave her twelve hundred yuan (1.200 yuan).

He thought that would be the end of things between them. However, after he went to the Northwest, she contacted him again, and he gave her another twelve hundred (1.200 yuan).

She was cold and resolute, saying there would be no further ties between them.

Since then, he had kept a respectful distance from all women and children, intending to settle down in the remote Northwest. That idea of settling down included only his work; marriage and children were absolutely not part of his plans.

Who could have predicted that she would call him again and deliver such a thunderous piece of news?

She and Xiao Man had completely unsettled his mind.

Three times is the limit.

He returned to Lucheng with two goals: first, to confirm whether Xiao Man was truly his son; second, to put a final end to everything between them.

—

Meanwhile, Shu Yuan was considering how she had to rely on traffic and attention to keep making a few extra yuan by selling at her street stall. In a moment of urgency and inspiration, she thought of the man at the gate who had been buying lunchboxes, and suddenly had an idea. Holding Xiao Man, she turned around and headed back toward the main gate.

Li Hongxia walked beside the mother and son with a dark expression. Selling at a stall was one thing, but publicly announcing that Xiao Man was her son, what was that about? She had been planning to have Shu Yuan quietly hand the child over to his father.

Did Shu Yuan not hear all the people calling her shameless and saying Xiao Man was a bastard child? Li Hongxia herself was so angry she wanted to start a fight with them.

She was just about to question her when she turned around, and the mother and son had disappeared.

Evening was the prime time for selling goods, and that window passed quickly. As the crowd thinned, Shu Yuan walked briskly, catching sight of the young man pulling a two-wheeled cart and selling lunchboxes. She called out, “Hey, you, the one selling lunchboxes.”

The young man stopped, thinking he was finally getting some business. He greeted her warmly, “Sis, you’re the one selling pine nuts.”

He was extremely envious. His lunchboxes weren’t selling at all, while her pine nuts had been snatched up in no time.

“Where did you get your lunchboxes from? How many do you have left?” Shu Yuan asked. She had actually been eavesdropping a bit.

The young man, who looked to be in his early twenties, showed her an aluminum lunchbox. “These were part of the earthquake relief supplies. They weren’t all distributed, so these are the surplus. I’m a sales agent from the factory. There are over a thousand left.”

Shu Yuan looked at the lunchbox. Its size, dimensions, and thickness were no different from an ordinary one. If the price was right, and the young man couldn’t sell them, then with the popularity she and her son had, they would definitely sell.

“How much are you selling them for?” Shu Yuan asked.

The young man scratched his head. “The supply and marketing cooperative sells them for one yuan eighty (1.8 yuan), and you need ration coupons. I’m selling them for one yuan thirty (1.3 yuan) , no coupons needed. Even at that price, they’re hard to sell.”

Shu Yuan actually felt that lunchboxes were a basic necessity. Every household had at least one, and having an extra one or two was never a bad thing.

She threw out the line she had already prepared in her mind: “I’ll help you sell them. For every one sold, you give me a commission of two mao (0.2 yuan). How about it?”

The young man was delighted at first, of course it was good to have someone help him sell, but then his face showed hesitation. “Sis, two mao (0.2 yuan) commission is too much. At most I can give you one mao five (0.15 yuan).”

He looked honest and sincere.

Shu Yuan agreed readily. “Alright, one mao five (0.15 yuan) it is. Come back tomorrow and bring more lunchboxes. I’ll help you sell them.”

Having struck a business deal, Shu Yuan was in a great mood. On the way home, she said to Xiao Man, “Tomorrow we’re going to sell lunchboxes.”

Xiao Man was secretly impressed by how quickly his mom’s mind worked to make money. His voice was full of excitement. “Mom, you’re amazing.”

Back at home, Li Hongxia was serving the dishes, while Shu Yuan was busy trying clothes on Xiao Man.

Without needing Shu Yuan’s help, Xiao Man changed into the new clothes by himself. Shu Yuan said in delight, “Grandma, the clothes you made are really nice.”

And they saved money too.

Olive green pants and a navy blue corduroy top, paired with Xiao Man’s handsome little face, made him look sharp and full of spirit.

“Thank you, Grandma,” Xiao Man said happily as he took off the new clothes.

Having so many new clothes all at once, Xiao Man felt overwhelmed by the attention.

So it turned out, he could also be a child who had lots of new clothes.

Hearing the child’s soft and sweet voice saying thank you, Li Hongxia finally felt her anger ease a little. Xiao Man was sensible and polite, a good child.

One set of new clothes wasn’t enough; more needed to be made. She had to prevent Shu Yuan from running off to the department store to buy clothes.

Dinner was still cabbage stewed with tofu. Li Hongxia couldn’t help but speak up. “Shu Yuan, don’t you have any shame? Other people keep things hidden, but you go around airing your own affairs. Those gossiping busybodies say such awful things, and it’s all reached my ears. Can’t you hear it?”

Shu Yuan was unconcerned. “Making money from the stall is what matters most. Didn’t you see me and Xiao Man sell over twenty jin (10 kg) of pine nuts? I can’t stop people from talking. If what they say isn’t too nasty, I just ignore it. If it’s really bad, I’ll curse them right back. Do you think I’m scared of being scolded?”

Shu He agreed. “Second Sister has a really good mindset. If she doesn’t care, why are you worrying so much, Mom?”

Li Hongxia sighed. “If I were you, I’d be too embarrassed to go out. But if you don’t care, then fine.”

Stay at home and not go out? Impossible. Seizing this sudden wave of attention to make some money was what truly mattered.

The next morning, Shu Yuan went to the canteen to return the steelyard balance and stopped by the factory’s bulletin board to check the newspapers.

“Xiao Man, can you read?” Shu Yuan asked as she lifted him up.

Xiao Man stared wide-eyed at the densely packed characters that looked like a swarm of ants and answered truthfully, “Not many.”

Before, he had thought that Old Zhang would never let him go to school, and he had no chance to study. Now that he was with his mom, he was sure he’d be able to go to school like other children.

Shu Yuan searched for quite a while but didn’t see any job recruitment information on any of the newspapers. She still hadn’t figured out how to find a job, and it seemed like it would be difficult. Even so, she wasn’t anxious. She carried Xiao Man home to rest and recharge, waiting for the evening to come so they could sell lunchboxes.

After a full day of rest, they set out around four o’clock, heading toward the front gate of the electronics factory. Xiao Man’s brow furrowed slightly as he said, “Mom, don’t tell people I’m your son. Just say you picked me up. That way, no one will talk nonsense.”

From Grandma’s attitude, he had realized that his existence would bring a lot of gossip to his mom.

Causing trouble for her made him feel guilty.

Shu Yuan’s lips curved into a lovely smile. She reached out and poked Xiao Man on the right side of his chest with her index finger. “You’re so young and already worrying about these things. Xiao Man, we need to have strong hearts and not care about what others think.”

Xiao Man tried hard to understand Shu Yuan’s words and said, “Okay, Mom. I want to have a strong heart like you.”

Yang Shengli had arrived early with his two-wheeled cart of lunchboxes and was already set up outside the electronics factory gate. He was worried Shu Yuan might not show up, but when he saw the mother and son walking toward him, he immediately waved to them.

“How many lunchboxes did you bring today?” Shu Yuan asked.

Yang Shengli patted the wooden crate on his cart and replied, “Over four hundred. Sis, can we really sell that many?”

Shu Yuan couldn’t make any guarantees, but she encouraged both Yang Shengli and Xiao Man. “Of course we can. When the time comes, I’ll draw the crowd over. You focus on pitching the product.”

At the same time, Chen Zai had already secured a train ticket to Lucheng. He still had a lot of work to handle, but tomorrow, on the train, he would finally have time to think through the big issue of Xiao Man. He believed his approach was right. First, confirm whether Xiao Man was his child, then make a clean break with Shu Yuan.