Chapter 20: A Pleasant Surprise (Part 1)

Mu Mian made two or three trips, and soon, all the borrowed items were returned.

The courtyard, which had been crowded with tables earlier, was now back to its usual spaciousness.

Liu Shuangcui was stringing small dried fish onto bamboo skewers when Mu Mian glanced over. “Are they already dried?”

They didn’t seem fully dried to her.

These were the fish she and her mother had caught earlier. Aside from the two big ones they had given to her aunt and cousin, and the ones they ate today, these small ones were all that remained.

Liu Shuangcui replied, “Not completely dry yet. I’ll hang them from the ceiling beams for a bit longer. I just heard rustling in the firewood shed, so there are probably mice sneaking around again. If I leave them outside, they might get eaten.”

Mu Mian offered, “Do you need a ladder? I’ll go get it.”

Liu Shuangcui chuckled. “You really can’t sit still, can you? Aren’t you tired after running around all morning? Go rest with your grandma. Your dad already went to the backyard to get it.”

Hearing that, Mu Mian didn’t insist.

After all the excitement, the house felt quieter, and meals became noticeably plainer.

Even in the city, families in this era couldn’t afford to eat meat regularly. After half a month of bland soups and simple dishes, Mu Mian felt like her face had thinned a little.

Besides the lack of hearty meals, the sweltering June weather was also to blame.

Ever since it rained heavily for two days, there hadn’t been a single drop of rain for half a month. The skies weren’t even cloudy.

The sun shone brightly every day, from morning until dusk, with barely a cloud in sight.

The good thing about this kind of weather was that the days were long. It got bright early and dark late, which was convenient for Mu Fugui, who had to travel back and forth to the commune every day.

As for the bicycle, he still talked about it often, but he still couldn’t buy one. Getting a bicycle ticket was just too difficult.

Meanwhile, among the children in the brigade, catching cicada larvae had become a recent craze. They would roast them for a snack—it was at least some source of protein.

Mu Mian followed them up the mountain a few times but could never bring herself to eat them. No matter what, she couldn’t eat insects.

She didn’t mind catching them, but putting them in her mouth? Absolutely not. Just watching others eat them gave her goosebumps.

Whenever she caught some, she gave them to Xiao Chengzi and Lele instead. Most of the time, though, she focused on gathering mountain goods that could be sold.

Every little bit added up.

So far, she had collected four to five ounces of dried honeysuckle flowers. Liu Shuangcui had already told her that once she sold them, she could keep the money for herself.

Mu Mian was well aware that relying solely on this wouldn’t earn much money.

If it really could, wouldn’t everyone have gotten rich long ago?

She did have some other ideas, but many things had to be done gradually. Rushing wouldn’t get her anywhere.

Even though her parents often praised her for being smart, they still saw her as a child.

She wanted to find some magazines or illustrated storybooks for reference, but the commune only had a small bookstore. Such books were rare, and if there were any, they had already been bought by others.

Last time, when she went to make a phone call to her eldest brother, she had wandered around with her father but didn’t find what she was looking for.

Mu Mian actually wanted to go to the county. It was bigger, had more variety, and she would definitely be able to find what she needed.

But even without thinking too hard, she knew she couldn’t go alone. She had to wait until either her father or mother had time to take her.

For now, they were too busy, so she could only wait.

That afternoon, Mu Mian and Xu Lele ran into the mountains again. Compared to home, the hillside was much cooler.

They didn’t do much—just wandered around, picking up dry branches to bring home for firewood.

After walking for a while, they sat under a tree and started weaving flower crowns with the wildflowers around them.

The colorful flowers looked quite pretty when worn on their heads.

Xu Lele swayed her head proudly and asked, “Doesn’t it look good?”

Mu Mian nodded and sincerely praised her, “Yes, it looks great!”

At their carefree age, everything looked good.

Xu Lele grinned, “I’ll make one for my mom too.”

Mu Mian was also weaving a second one. Just as they were halfway through, they suddenly heard a group of boys shouting from a distance.

Mu Mian looked in that direction, but the trees blocked her view, so she couldn’t tell what was happening. She wondered aloud, “Are they using that slope as a slide again?”

She remembered that last time, they had been playing there.

Xu Lele’s eyes lit up. “I want to play too. Let’s go see!”

Before Mu Mian could refuse, Xu Lele had already pulled her up. Watching her friend run ahead excitedly, Mu Mian couldn’t help but remind her, “If you get covered in mud again, be careful—your mom will scold you.”

She knew for a fact that the last time those “mud monkeys” played, many of them got punished.

But that never stopped them.

They got scolded today and played again tomorrow.

Their philosophy was simple—ignore the scolding and keep having fun.

Xu Lele was just as fearless. She waved off the warning, “Getting spanked doesn’t even hurt.”

As they ran, they kept chatting. But before they even got close, they saw that the boys weren’t playing on the slope at all.

Instead, seven or eight boys were running around in chaos. Some had taken off their shirts and were waving them, while others used large tree branches to swat at the air as they ran.

Before Mu Mian could figure out what was going on, a few boys suddenly ran straight toward them.

Leading the group was none other than Dazhuang.

Holding his head in panic, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Sister Xiao Mian! Don’t come over! Run! Run! There are wasps!”

The moment he spoke, Mu Mian spotted the swarm and even heard the buzzing.

The two girls’ eyes widened, and without hesitation, they spun around and ran.

Mu Mian’s legs moved fast. A wasp sting wasn’t a joke—it would be painful and swollen for at least a week.

Not every commotion was worth joining in on.

In the panic, Xu Lele ran downhill, while Mu Mian dodged around a tree and turned left.

Even without witnessing it, she could guess what had happened. The boys must have poked at a wasp nest.

Wasps wouldn’t sting for no reason, but every year, some kids would provoke them. Some did it out of curiosity, while others were hoping to find honey.

Regardless of their reasons, almost no one ever got away unscathed. Even adults covering their heads with clothes while trying to remove a nest could still get stung.

After running a good distance, Mu Mian stopped, panting. She turned to check behind her but saw no one. She had no idea where everyone else had run off to, and thankfully, the wasps didn’t seem to be chasing her anymore.

Just as she let out a sigh of relief and was about to take another path home, she stepped forward without watching where she was going.

The next second—whoosh!—she slipped and slid straight into a ditch.

With a heavy thud, she landed hard on the ground, hitting her backside.

Mu Mian: π_π

It hurt. It really, really hurt!

She whimpered in pain, her eyes watering, and reached back to rub her sore backside.

Why did she even bother coming to the mountains today?!

She should have stayed home and chatted with the old hens. Maybe if she had kept them company, they would have laid an extra egg or two.

Or she could have sat with her grandmother and read the newspaper, proving that she was getting better at recognizing words.

After rubbing the sore spot, the pain eased a little. Once she was sure she hadn’t injured her tailbone, Mu Mian grabbed a handful of grass for support and prepared to stand up.

As she placed her other hand on the ground for balance, she suddenly felt something unusual under her palm.

Frowning in confusion, she pushed aside the grass and looked closer.

The next second, her fingers brushed against a small bundle wrapped in fabric, about the size of her palm.

At first, Mu Mian thought it was just a piece of torn cloth. But when she turned it over, she realized it was a handkerchief-wrapped package.

The fabric was already dirty and covered in dust.

Curious, she unfolded it, revealing a layer of oil paper.

Inside that was another layer of oil paper.

It was like a Russian nesting doll—wrapped in one layer after another.

The innermost layer was something she recognized—it was the cover of their school exercise books.

But that wasn’t the important part. The important part was…

The cover had the words “Shi Dabao” scrawled on it in crooked handwriting.

Feeling the texture in her palm, Mu Mian had a bold guess.

Sure enough, when she unwrapped the layer covering the notebook, she saw several folded ten-yuan bills.

Mu Mian: “!!!!”

Guessing was one thing, but actually seeing the money left her utterly shocked.

So, could this money be the one Shi Dabao stole from Old Lady Shi when Li Guiyan took him and ran away?!

Mu Mian counted. Each bill was worth ten yuan, and there were exactly ten of them—making a total of one hundred yuan.

Not to mention, the money was wrapped up layer upon layer, packed so tightly. It must have been Old Lady Shi’s secret stash, which she carelessly revealed to her beloved grandson.

Mu Mian sat on the ground, staring at the unexpected fortune in her hands, her heart in turmoil.

A hundred yuan was a huge amount. She was certain that in their brigade, many families didn’t even have that much in savings.

But then she thought of Shi Xiaolian, her mother, and her sister—along with Shi Xingfu, who had already passed away.

How could an old rural woman like Shi Chuncao have any way to earn money? This money must have come from the compensation for Shi Xingfu’s death.

Shi Xingfu had gotten along well with her father. For one, they both worked at the commune. For another, Shi Xingfu was a genuinely good person.

Compared to him, Shi Xinggui was nowhere near as decent.

Shi Xinggui was the type to loiter around people’s homes, and if he saw peanuts drying in their yards, he’d grab a handful and leave.

Shi Xingfu, on the other hand, not only wouldn’t take anything but would also bring a handful of peanuts over to someone else’s home, handing them to the children as a snack.

People liked being around someone like him. It was a pity that good people didn’t always live long.