Chapter 29: Going to the Commune to Buy Furniture – The Poor Educated Youth!

After collecting the note from the team leader, Ming Dai took Zhou Sinian straight to the village entrance, where a horse cart was already waiting.

Seeing someone approach, Liu Laosan swayed as he tried to get up.

But the moment he saw who it was, he stumbled back down with a thud. His old bones nearly shattered from the fall.

“Grandpa Laosan?”

Ming Dai looked at the grimacing Liu Laosan and asked with concern, “Are you alright?”

Liu Laosan scrambled to his feet and shot a wary glance at Zhou Sinian behind her. “I’m fine!”

His missing front teeth made him whistle as he spoke.

Zhou Sinian glanced at his gap-toothed smile. It looked familiar—like something he might have caused. Why had he hit him again? He couldn’t remember.

Liu Laosan, on the other hand, both feared and resented him. He had once kindly delivered a package for Zhou Sinian, but out of curiosity, he had peeked inside. That single act had earned him a punch that sent him flying. He had spent his whole life protecting his front teeth, only to lose two of them in an instant. He could’ve cried to death!

Ming Dai had no idea about this past incident. Seeing that Liu Laosan was fine, she showed him the note and called Zhou Sinian onto the cart.

Once the two of them were seated, Liu Laosan cautiously climbed up as well. Only after confirming multiple times that he wouldn’t be punched again did he finally relax enough to start driving. Still, he kept glancing over his shoulder throughout the ride, just in case he got sent flying again.

When they arrived in the commune, Liu Laosan let out a visible sigh of relief.

Zhou Sinian, on the other hand, was no stranger to this place—he had been here many times, either on his way to beat someone up or after already having done so.

For Ming Dai, however, this was only her second visit. The first time, she hadn’t seen much, so this time, she planned to take the opportunity to explore.

After setting a meeting time with Liu Laosan, she led Zhou Sinian to the furniture workshop.

As soon as they stepped inside, they saw rows of finished wooden furniture. Ming Dai reached out to touch them. They were all solid wood, unpainted, and very eco-friendly.

After walking around and selecting what she wanted, a young man approached.

“Comrade, what would you like to buy?”

His clothes were covered in wood shavings, likely an apprentice working in the shop.

“I need two kang cabinets, two kang tables, a large dining table, two chairs, two stools, and a dish cabinet.”

The man took notes as he listened. Seeing that this was a big order, he was quite pleased.

“Alright, alright! Anything else?”

Ming Dai thought for a moment. “That should be all for now. But do you have wooden boards? I need a kneading board for making dough.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll custom-make one for you to match your table and throw in a rolling pin as well.”

That was a nice bonus. Ming Dai smiled and agreed. She also picked out a few small furniture items and requested two bags of leftover wood shavings from their cutting process.

The man noted everything down, calculated the total, and said, “That’ll be thirty-five yuan and eighty cents.”

After paying, she arranged for delivery and confirmed the time before taking Zhou Sinian to the post office.

At the post office, she handed over a receipt, and the staff quickly retrieved the package.

This package had been sent regularly for three years, with only a few interruptions. The post office workers were already familiar with it.

Ming Dai handed the package to Zhou Sinian to carry and then led him to the local supply and marketing cooperative.

Since it was work and office hours, the cooperative wasn’t crowded.

Ming Dai asked Zhou Sinian to wait under the shade of a tree while she carried her travel bag inside.

The cooperative wasn’t very large, mainly stocked with daily necessities like rice, oil, and salt.

The black wooden counters had a glossy sheen from years of use, clearly old furniture.

Inside, a woman was knitting a sweater. When she saw Ming Dai enter, she didn’t even lift her head.

Ming Dai didn’t mind. She walked around the entire store, then picked up her bag and left.

As soon as Ming Dai left, the saleswoman knitting the sweater rolled her eyes. “Ugh, broke and nosy! Looking around for nothing!”

However, the moment Ming Dai stepped outside, the bag she was carrying had noticeably puffed up, filled with items from the cooperative.

Reuniting with Zhou Sinian, they headed to their final stop—the state-owned restaurant!

On the way, Zhou Sinian took the bag from Ming Dai without a word. His initiative made her even more satisfied with him as a laborer.

At the restaurant, she asked if he wanted to come inside, but he preferred to wait outside.

So, Ming Dai went in alone. She glanced at the chalkboard menu and, ignoring the waitress’s cold expression, ordered a box of braised pork, a box of crispy fried fish, two servings of rice, and ten large meat buns—all packed in aluminum lunchboxes.

The waitress stared at her with jealousy as she handed over the food stamps and payment. With a bag full of delicious food, Ming Dai left the restaurant.

Outside, Zhou Sinian stood there holding everything, motionless, waiting for her.

The moment he saw her, his eyes locked onto the food bag.

Ming Dai patted it. “We’ll eat in the cart.”

Zhou Sinian nodded happily, his steps obviously quicker as they headed back. Ming Dai had to jog a little to keep up.

When they arrived, they saw that the furniture had already been loaded onto the cart. Liu Laosan was curiously touching it.

Ming Dai called out to him. Startled, he quickly ducked behind the horse.

Meanwhile, Zhou Sinian didn’t spare him a glance. He simply placed the things on the cart and fixed his gaze on the food bag in Ming Dai’s hands.

Ming Dai opened it and pulled out a grease-paper-wrapped bundle of meat buns.

She took out four for herself and handed the rest to Zhou Sinian.

He eagerly accepted them, stuffing them into his mouth one after another, leaving Liu Laosan in shock.

Then, Ming Dai walked behind the horse and handed two buns to Liu Laosan.

“Grandpa Laosan, thank you for your trouble. We brought quite a few things, so here, have some buns.”

Liu Laosan was still in shock over Zhou Sinian devouring the buns in one bite, and now he was getting some for himself?

“For me?!”

Ming Dai nodded. “We’ll probably be needing your help often in the future.”

Liu Laosan grinned from ear to ear. “No trouble at all! Just let me know anytime you want to go to the commune!”

He completely forgot that even he needed a travel permit to enter the commune.

Holding a bun in each hand, he was overjoyed. These were fluffy white meat buns—something he wouldn’t even get to eat during the New Year!

As they ate, the distance between them naturally closed.

By the time they were on their way back, he wasn’t afraid of Zhou Sinian anymore. Instead, he chatted away happily, filling the ride with laughter.

Ming Dai enjoyed listening, though it was a bit exhausting since she had to guess half of what he was saying due to his missing front teeth.

Meanwhile, Zhou Sinian, still holding his warm food package, grew anxious as he felt the heat fading away.

Irritated, he shot a sharp glare at Liu Laosan, who had just turned to chat with Ming Dai again.

Terrified, Liu Laosan immediately turned back around and focused on driving the cart properly.

This time, they got back much faster, and Ming Dai let out a sigh of relief.

When they arrived at the village, most of the villagers were still out working in the fields, so no one saw how much they had brought back.

Liu Laosan dropped them off, helped unload everything enthusiastically, and then left in high spirits.

Ming Dai directed Zhou Sinian on where to place each piece of furniture. Though there still wasn’t much in the house, it was finally starting to look like a home, and that made her incredibly happy.

She fetched a basin of hot water and had Zhou Sinian wipe down all the furniture while she went to the kitchen to reheat the food.

On her fourth day in the countryside, she finally got to sit at home and enjoy a proper meal.

Ming Dai was delighted!

After such a long time without eating meat, Zhou Sinian was delighted, especially with the braised pork. Every bite he took was filled with reverence.

After finishing the meal, as usual, Zhou Sinian was the one to wash the dishes.

Meanwhile, outside, the villagers who had finished work once again heard gossip about “Xiao Ming the educated youth” and the “madman.”

According to Liu Laosan, who drove the cart, poor Xiao Ming had been forced by the madman to buy ten large, oil-dripping meat buns!

The madman only gave Xiao Ming two of them and devoured the rest in a single bite each.

After hearing this, the villagers felt even more sympathy for Xiao Ming. Such a good child, yet entangled with the madman—how could he possibly afford it? They figured that even his father’s retirement stipend wouldn’t be enough.

“Xiao Ming really has it tough!” they sighed.