Chapter 22

In early November, Zhang Hao returned from the provincial city. As soon as he got off the bus, he hurried to wait for the public transport. After waiting for a while without seeing a bus, he looked around and then ran all the way to He Cheng’an’s residence.

When Zhang Hao knocked on the door, he wiped his face, and when the door finally opened, he could barely say a complete sentence. He had run so fast, and the cold air had left his throat sore, making it difficult for him to speak.

After a long moment, he finally managed to say, “It worked; we did it. Now there are a total of thirteen families.”

Now, they would earn much more than they had anticipated.

Zhang Hao had not expected things to go so smoothly. He thought that if they continued this way, how much money could they earn in the future? He shared his hopes for the future with He Cheng’an, his eyes shining with optimism.

Zhang Hao said, “You know, there are so many buildings in the provincial city. If we keep going, won’t there be a day when we can buy a building and move in? All those buildings have heating, unlike us; we’re still relying on stoves for warmth in the winter. With central heating, it’s so warm that you can wear short sleeves inside.”

He Cheng’an replied, “You should come in and rest for a while; I’ll step out for a bit.”

Zhang Hao asked, “Where are you going?”

He Cheng’an smiled and said, “I’m going to find Lu Yun.”

—o—o—o—

While Zhang Meili was looking for clothes at home, she found a blue sweater that Lu Dong had bought for her several years ago.

The sweater was too small to wear, so Zhang Meili called for Lu Yun to help her unwind the yarn. Lu Yun held the sweater and pulled at the yarn that had been taken apart, turning it into a ball of yarn.

Lu Yun asked, “Now that this is unraveled, what are we going to knit it into?”

Zhang Meili said, “I haven’t decided yet. How about I knit you a blue scarf? But I want it to be thicker and longer. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough yarn. It’s your dad’s fault—he bought a sweater without knowing what size I wear.”

She continued, “Look at this color; it’s so beautiful! You can’t even find a similar color when you buy one; there’s always a color difference.”

While she was talking, Zhang Meili heard a neighbor calling her, saying that sweet potatoes were being sold again at the market over in the countryside. As soon as she heard that, she hurriedly threw the yarn to Lu Yun, called Lu Dong to join her, and dashed out to buy sweet potatoes.

Recently, Lu Yun had been making caramelized sweet potato chips at home, and they were going through the sweet potatoes quickly.

Lu Yun kept winding the yarn into a ball at home, and as she worked faster, she found it surprisingly enjoyable.

Li Xiaohong came over to find Lu Yun. She was wearing a new cotton coat that wasn’t particularly stylish but was very thick. Her face was also beaming with happiness, which made her look a bit more attractive.

As soon as she approached, Lu Yun knew that He Cheng’an had sent her. She quickly finished winding the yarn ball and used scissors to cut the yarn.

Lu Yun asked, “Where is he?”

Li Xiaohong replied, “He’s just outside the alley.”

Since the two of them hadn’t officially met each other’s families, He Cheng’an wouldn’t come in to find Lu Yun.

Lu Yun tied on a scarf and put on her gloves. As she was about to go out, she looked at the yarn ball she had just wound up. She reached out and picked it up, holding it with both hands.

Only then did she leave the yard.

When she saw He Cheng’an, before she could say anything, he handed her a sweet potato wrapped in paper. As he watched Lu Yun holding the yarn ball, he continued to help her hold it while also warming the sweet potato in her hands.

Lu Yun told him, “This is the yarn ball I just unraveled from the sweater. Isn’t it fun?”

As she spoke, she waved the yarn ball in front of He Cheng’an.

He Cheng’an nodded and said, “It is fun! But why did you unravel the sweater? What do you want to knit?”

Lu Yun explained, “It’s from Ms. Zhang Meili. This sweater can’t be worn, so I’m unraveling it to knit a scarf for her. I’m just helping her with the yarn; I don’t know how to knit a sweater!”

He Cheng’an replied, “If you can’t knit, then don’t worry about it. But you know how to wind yarn, right?” He looked at the yarn in Lu Yun’s hands and said earnestly, “See? Your yarn is wound rounder than others’.”

Lu Yun let out a small laugh and then asked, “So, what did you come to see me about?”

He Cheng’an said, “The thing I talked to you about last time has been finalized. We now have thirteen familys in total. I might be a bit busy lately because I need to take those homeowners to the building materials market.”

While he spoke, he fixed his gaze on Lu Yun and said, “In the future, I will make a lot of money, and it will all be for you.”

Before Lu Yun crossed over, her parents had made solemn vows when they got married. She had watched them be affectionate with each other, but later, when they divorced, it was a terrible scene. It was even hard to imagine how they had once loved each other so much. When He Cheng’an talked about the future, Lu Yun couldn’t help but wonder: would their future really be like this forever?

Perhaps because of her parents’ situation, Lu Yun hadn’t thought much about her future with He Cheng’an.

After a while, Lu Yun finally asked, “Will you always give to me? Will you always like me?”

He Cheng’an, as if making a promise, said seriously, “Lu Yun, I will always like you, and I will always give you the money I earn.”

After he finished speaking, He Cheng’an pressed his lips tightly together and asked, “Is it because I’m not doing well or not doing things right?”

Lu Yun took a bite of the sweet potato, feeling warmer. She smiled and shook her head, saying, “He Cheng’an, I forgot to mention earlier that you did an amazing job in getting these businesses going.”

Hearing Lu Yun’s praise, He Cheng’an, despite the cold wind, felt warm inside. He didn’t even notice the chill; instead, he felt like he could run a lap around the block. Being complimented by Lu Yun made the whole endeavor feel more meaningful to him.

—o—o—o—

When Lu Yun returned, Li Xiaohong was still waiting for her. Lu Yun walked over and asked if Li Xiaohong wanted to join her for some caramelized sweet potato chips, as she was planning to make them soon.

Li Xiaohong replied, “I bought this coat at the market for two yuan; it’s really thick and filled with cotton.” She seemed a bit shy as she added, “I know you were worried I didn’t have a jacket, so you gave me yours. Later, when I went back to the countryside, my parents told me to give the coat to my younger brother, saying that it would keep him warm at home. They weren’t worried about whether I was cold or not, so when I got my paycheck this month, I didn’t give all of it to them. I bought myself some clothes and even saved a few yuan.”

After listening to Li Xiaohong, Lu Yun felt even happier. Since Li Xiaohong had opened up to her, she decided to share her thoughts as well: “If I had my own house, life would probably be much more comfortable in the future. Even renting would be better.”

It was certainly better than living under someone else’s roof. Li Xiaohong had done a lot for her relatives, but no matter how much she contributed, it was all seen as her obligation to help as a guest.

Li Xiaohong didn’t dare to think about having her own house, but just the thought of it excited her. She kept nodding at Lu Yun, saying, “Even if I can’t buy a house for now, I can rent one and move out from my relatives’ home. I hope to work hard at the Cotton Textile Factory and eventually become a formal employee.”

Lu Yun listened to Li Xiaohong and nodded after a long while.

—o—o—o—

That evening, the Lu family returned with pork and cabbage buns from the cafeteria. Although it was the weekend, Lu Dong had to work overtime at the factory, and the cafeteria was still serving meals. The factory where Lu Dong worked was very close to the alley where they lived.

In addition, there was white rice porridge and some pickled vegetables that had been prepared earlier.

After eating a bun and finishing half a bowl of porridge, Lu Yun returned to her room.

She leaned over the table, casually flipping through the book *How the Steel Was Tempered*. She had read it quite a few times and even made a bookmark for it, although she had read it before crossing over.

When Lu Xiang’an entered the room, he brought Lu Yun an apple and asked, “Why did you eat so little tonight? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?”

Lu Yun tossed the apple back to him and said, “You’re the one who probably had a fight with your girlfriend.”

Lu Xiang’an caught the apple and threw it back to Lu Yun, asking, “What’s going on? You didn’t eat much at all.”

Lu Yun recounted Li Xiaohong’s situation to Lu Xiang’an, asking, “You know, she wants to transition from a temporary worker to a formal employee, which must be really hard. She might not even be able to become a formal worker, yet she looked so happy when she talked about it. Why is that?”

Lu Xiang’an replied, “Because she really hopes to become a formal employee.”

He looked at Lu Yun seriously and continued, “Besides, you can’t just accept your current situation without trying to improve it just because you’re afraid of not being able to succeed. And what about divorces? If you’re so afraid of divorce, you shouldn’t get married at all.”

Lu Yun took a bite of the apple and fell silent.

Lu Xiang’an didn’t press further and returned to his own room.

—o—o—o—

After taking a day off, Zhang Hao was in high spirits the next day.

Since Lu Yun and He Cheng’an started dating, he hadn’t seen Lu Yun yet.

As both he and He Cheng’an were heading to the provincial city, and unsure how long they would be gone, Zhang Hao decided to invite Lu Yun and He Cheng’an out for a meal together.

Zhang Hao said, “I’ll go ask her. What if she agrees? It’s also my fault—I was so eager to return after the deal was finalized that I didn’t bring anything back for her.”

He Cheng’an, who initially planned to refuse, glanced at Zhang Hao when he mentioned “sister-in-law” and nodded, saying, “Let’s go to the Cotton Textile Factory together during lunch.”

Feeling a bit anxious, Zhang Hao worried that Lu Yun might dislike him.

Before heading to the Cotton Textile Factory, he even took a shower and changed into clean clothes.

As they prepared for the outing, he couldn’t help but wonder how Lu Yun would react. Would she be excited to see him? Would she think of him as just a friend, or would there be something more? The anticipation mixed with anxiety kept him on edge as they made their way to meet her.

Lu Yun came out of the Cotton Textile Factory and spotted Zhang Hao and He Cheng’an. After speaking with He Cheng’an, she greeted Zhang Hao, saying, “Long time no see!”

Zhang Hao was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Lu Yun to say that to him. He glanced at He Cheng’an and quickly replied, “Sister-in-law, I’ve been busy in the provincial city for a while. I finally made it back. Do you think you and Brother He could have a meal with me? If you’re busy, it’s okay; I can pick out a gift for you when I return to the provincial city and have Brother He bring it back for you.”

Lu Yun paused for a moment when Zhang Hao called her “sister-in-law,” but after she heard his invitation, she nodded and said, “Wait for me to go back and speak with the people in the office.”

There was no need to ask He Cheng’an; since he had brought Zhang Hao along, it was clear that he had already inquired about his thoughts on the matter.

“Thank you, sister-in-law!” Zhang Hao said gratefully.