Chapter 21

“No, Nian Nian, I’ll pay you back!”

Bai Mei looked at the items on the table and came up with another excuse, “Nian Nian, you bought the wrong things. I wanted regular soap, but you got milk soap. I wanted Friendship brand snowflake cream, but you got Shanghai brand.”

Yu Xiangnian felt like hitting someone!

Seeing that Bai Mei was now trying to avoid paying, she didn’t want the items anymore.

Yu Xiangnian smiled, “I remember I bought these same two things for you before, and you kept saying the more expensive ones were better. Who knew you’d suddenly want the cheaper ones? But now that they’re bought, they can’t be returned. I’ll remember to get the cheaper ones next time.”

Today, she was determined to get her money!

Bai Mei: “…”

Still trying to think of another excuse, Yu Xiangnian had lost her patience. She grabbed Bai Mei’s hand, “Let’s go get our pay now, before it gets crowded.”

Bai Mei was reluctantly dragged to the payroll office by Yu Xiangnian, and they both collected their wages.

Yu Xiangnian took out the forty cents she had prepared and handed it to Bai Mei, “Give me three yuan, and I’ll give you these forty cents as change.”

Bai Mei tightly held a ten yuan note, a five yuan note, and three one yuan notes, refusing to let go.

Yu Xiangnian pulled out the three one yuan notes from Bai Mei’s hand, stuffed the forty cents into her hand, and walked away humming a tune.

That’ll teach you to take advantage of people!

As Yu Xiangnian walked away happily, Bai Mei angrily squeezed something in her pocket.

When Yu Xiangnian left the payroll office, she saw a long line of soldiers marching past.

Despite not having slept all night, everyone looked energetic, walking with their heads held high and in perfect step.

Their hands held various pieces of equipment, and their pants and shoes were covered in mud, some even had dirt on their bodies.

In contrast to their dusty appearance, Yu Xiangnian was clean and well-dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt with a turned-down collar, a dark blue long skirt, and her shirt tucked into her skirt, highlighting her slim waist. Her bare arms and legs were fair, and she stood tall and graceful.

Unlike other women who tied their hair in two braids, she wore her hair in a ponytail. Her makeup-free oval face, with fair skin and red lips, and her bright eyes, made passing soldiers sneak glances at her.

Yu Xiangnian stood there, looking for Cheng Jingmo and Yu Xiangyang. Within a few minutes, she spotted the two familiar faces, with Cheng Jingmo walking in front and Yu Xiangyang behind him.

They both saw her as well. She smiled and waved at them, Yu Xiangyang grinned back, while Cheng Jingmo showed no expression.

Yu Xiangnian thought she saw Cheng Jingmo frown, looking like he didn’t want to see her.

After the line passed, Yu Xiangnian returned to her office.

Bai Mei still hadn’t returned, but Yu Xiangnian didn’t care if she came back or not.

Everyone in logistics was busy today, and no one cared if Bai Mei was working or not.

Bai Mei rode the bicycle Yu Xiangnian had lent her into town.

Without a sugar ration ticket, she spent twenty cents to buy a pound of white sugar, then rode back to the army base.

By the time she returned, it was lunchtime.

They usually ate at the army canteen, where the food wasn’t great, but it was filling.

After lunch, they went back to work.

Yu Xiangnian was very busy today, with many soldiers returning equipment, and she had to check and sign off on each one.

As a temporary worker, she hadn’t been asked to work overtime last night, so the logistics soldiers had handled the equipment distribution for her. Today, she had to handle the returns herself.

She was busy until almost the end of the day. Just as she returned to her office, Bai Mei brought over a cup of water.

“Nian Nian, you’ve worked hard today. I made you some sugar water. Please drink it.”

Showing sudden kindness without reason is suspicious!

Someone as stingy as Bai Mei offering her a cup of sugar water—there had to be something wrong with it.

Naturally, Yu Xiangnian wouldn’t drink it, but she couldn’t find a valid excuse to decline.

“Why the sudden urge to drink sugar water?” She stalled for time. “Where did you get the sugar?”

“I had an upset stomach yesterday, so I wanted some sugar water today. I specifically bought some,” Bai Mei said, handing the enamel cup to Yu Xiangnian.

The end-of-day bugle had already sounded, so Yu Xiangnian said, “Just leave it here. I still have some work to finish, and I’ll drink it after I’m done.”

“We’re off work now. You can finish tomorrow; you’ve been busy all day.”

Seeing Bai Mei’s insistence, Yu Xiangnian decided to stage an accident where she would “accidentally” spill the sugar water.

Just as she was about to act, Ding Yunfei came running in, covered in sweat.

Yu Xiangnian smiled, took the cup from Bai Mei, and walked over to Ding Yunfei. “Brother Ding, you look exhausted. Bai Mei made some sugar water just for you. Drink up.”

“No…!” Bai Mei started to protest but stopped herself.

Ding Yunfei, parched, took the cup and downed the water in one go. “Bai Mei, this sugar water tastes weird. Did you buy bad sugar?”

Yu Xiangnian beamed even more, “Let’s go, it’s time to go home.”

Yu Xiangyang was coming over for dinner tonight, so she decided to go home and help Cheng Jingmo a bit.

Halfway home, she saw Cheng Jingmo and Yu Xiangyang ahead. She walked up and overheard Yu Xiangyang’s angry voice.

“Cheng Jingmo, are you stupid? They say they’re going to give you a demerit, and you just take it?”

“This has nothing to do with you. They went to pick bananas and got bitten by wolves. Why should you be punished for that?”

Cheng Jingmo said, “Alright, someone has to take responsibility.”

Yu Xiangnian stepped forward and blocked their path, “The army wants to punish you? What did you do?”

Cheng Jingmo, emotionless, replied, “It’s nothing.”

Yu Xiangnian looked at Yu Xiangyang, “You tell me!”

Yu Xiangyang explained the situation.

Yesterday afternoon, Cheng Jingmo went to cut bamboo and picked a bunch of bananas. When he returned to the family quarters, some family members saw the bananas and asked where he got them.

Cheng Jingmo told them, so a few family members decided to go to the bamboo grove to pick bananas.

Unexpectedly, they encountered wolves in the dark. Several family members were bitten and were only saved by nearby villagers who arrived in time.

Three were seriously injured, and two were lightly injured, all being treated at the military hospital.

Last night, the army mobilized to capture the wolves but found nothing.

Today, the military leaders decided to give Cheng Jingmo a demerit, with the official notice to be issued tomorrow.

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiangnian felt partly responsible. It all started because she wanted a bamboo basket.

But how could Cheng Jingmo have known the family members would go to pick bananas or that there were wolves?

“Cheng Jingmo, are you stupid? You didn’t do anything wrong. Why should you get a demerit? Can’t you defend yourself?”

Cheng Jingmo remained silent.

“If you won’t, I’ll go talk to your superiors!” Yu Xiangnian turned to leave.

“Don’t go!” Cheng Jingmo grabbed her wrist. “It’s just a demerit, nothing more.”

Yu Xiangnian shook off his hand, “If you made a mistake and got punished, I’d accept it. But this is clearly the army making you a scapegoat. Why should you take it?”

Cheng Jingmo reached out to stop her again, but Yu Xiangnian warned, “Stop me again, and I’ll really lose it!”