Chapter 5: If You Meet the Right One, You Can Also Marry in the Countryside…

At dusk, every household hurried to the grain drying yard to wait for the brigade’s grain distribution. Everyone’s faces were full of joy, and the children were especially excited. The braver ones even took the chance to ask their parents to make a simple dry meal for dinner.

Recently, the work in the fields wasn’t busy, so meals were very simple for every family. Some particularly thrifty ones even chose not to cook dinner at all, directly saving one meal.

But grain distribution was definitely a happy occasion. After all, carrying burdens through wind, snow, and blazing sun all year was just for this small reward of grain. This was the moment of harvest after hard labor, so many parents generously waved their hands and said they would make a dry meal, letting everyone eat their fill!

Immediately, cheers from the children erupted among the crowd.

The educated youth (Zhiqing) were mixed among the crowd as well. Zheng Jiamin cheerfully said, “Why don’t we also make a dry meal tonight? My stomach hasn’t known what being full means for a long time.”

Many of the educated youth showed expressions of interest. Zhang Zhiqiang frowned, “What if the food is all eaten before the grain distribution? What do we do, just drink the northwest wind? Or do we end up like that Shen Mo’er who ran out of food and collapsed in the field?”

Zheng Jiamin: “…If it happens, it happens. Why bring up Shen Mo’er? That’s way too harsh to say.”

Zhang Zhiqiang: “I’m just stating facts.”

He also glanced at Fu Mingze. Zhang Zhiqiang was among the first batch sent down to the countryside, earlier than Fu Mingze and Zheng Jiamin, and he was the “team leader” of the educated youth group. Although this leader was not an official title, Zhang Zhiqiang cared about it a lot. After all the educated youth who had come and gone, why was he chosen as the leader? Because he was outstanding.

Zhang Zhiqiang had a high opinion of himself, believing he was an excellent youth, but inside he secretly feared Fu Mingze.

Fu Mingze was well-educated, good-looking, and from the capital city. Though usually quiet, other educated youth respected him, thinking he was knowledgeable and experienced. Especially among the female educated youth, most unconditionally supported whatever Fu Mingze said. This made Zhang Zhiqiang feel very threatened.

Zhang Zhiqiang looked at the many patches on Fu Mingze’s clothes and thought to himself, “So what if he’s from the capital? He’s still so poor that he doesn’t even have decent clothes.”

Thinking this gave him an inexplicable sense of relief.

Fu Mingze didn’t notice Zhang Zhiqiang’s gaze at all. He had heard the conversation between Zheng Jiamin and Zhang Zhiqiang but was instead thinking about whether he could find an excuse in the next few days to take leave and go to the county town for a proper meal.

There were many eyes and ears in the educated youth group. He never stored anything in the youth point; he only occasionally made trips to the county town to treat himself. The frequency wasn’t high because everyone lived together, and any slightest movement was monitored.

Fu Mingze couldn’t help but recall the night before going down to the countryside, when his grandfather earnestly advised him: “They say you shouldn’t show off poverty or wealth. Nowadays, showing off wealth is definitely not allowed, but showing poverty can be done openly. When you go to the countryside, just pretend you are an orphan, poor and destitute.”

His father adjusted his glasses and said, “Yes, just pretend to be poor, the poorer the better. The clothes and bedding are all the oldest and most worn-out prepared for you. I don’t think the situation will change anytime soon. Later, if you meet the right person, you can get married and settle down in the countryside. The conditions don’t have to be too strict. Eight generations of poor farmers, three generations of poor farmers, all is fine. Otherwise, if you waste your whole life in the countryside, you can’t stay a bachelor forever, right?”

Other family members chimed in. His grandmother sighed, “Luckily your mother gave birth to you with a handsome face. At least with that, you can trick some girl, right?”

With all these voices buzzing around, any feelings of impending doom or separation vanished. Fu Mingze immediately scowled and went to his room to pack.

However, Fu Mingze also knew that what the elders said was not entirely unreasonable.

The elders sent him down before the family troubles happened. His household registration and file were fine, and most people wouldn’t investigate deeply. But if he drew too much attention by showing off, trouble might arise. So after going down, he still followed the elders’ instructions to pretend poverty.

At first, on the train, he almost slipped up. Some fellow educated youth secretly asked if his family was once well-off. Later, he observed the poorest people in the carriage, imitated their speech and behavior, and by the time he got off the train, he almost showed no flaws.

Now, having lived in Yangliu Brigade for more than nine months, he was even more skilled.

Still, living with so many people together was inconvenient.

“If you meet the right person, you can also marry and settle down in the countryside… You can’t stay a bachelor forever…”

Thinking about his father’s words, Fu Mingze’s face darkened.

Speaking of marrying and settling in the countryside, the only good thing about that was being able to move out of the educated youth point, and not having to squeeze in with so many people.

But don’t be fooled — though rural houses are more spacious than city ones, the population is actually higher. Almost every household had a long string of siblings, many didn’t split the household, with several generations living together. At meal times, gathering around could fill several tables.

It wasn’t necessarily quieter than the youth point.

Moreover, no matter what, he wouldn’t sell himself out just to have a tiny place to live.

While the educated youth were bickering, not far away, Cao Mei was scolding her two grandsons black and blue: “Eat, eat, eat, you only know how to eat! The grain is all gone, but you’re still eating? Forget dry meals, you won’t even get porridge anymore! Each and every one of you are ungrateful debt collectors and thankless wolves!”

The ten-something children, who had just said a few words about wanting to eat dry meals like the other kids, were caught and scolded badly by their grandmother, immediately wilting like rice seedlings after a heavy rain.

Shen Lingling standing nearby couldn’t stand it and tried to reason: “Third Aunt, Xiao Wei and the others are happy because it’s grain distribution. Why are you scolding them?”

She took a candy from her bag and put it in Xiao Wei’s hand: “Share this with your little brother.”

Cao Mei actually had some grudges against Tian Fang. Even though the grain was distributed to both families together, all the gossip and blame fell on her.

But Shen Lingling was the village’s private school teacher, and all the children relied on her to take care of them in school. Besides, she had given a candy, so Cao Mei couldn’t really show a bad attitude. She awkwardly replied, “Where’s your mother?”

Tian Fang had obviously stayed home out of shame.

Shen Lingling was also a little annoyed at her mother for being so petty and ruining their good name over a few dozen pounds of grain. But since things were already like this, she still had to protect her mother’s reputation in public, so she said, “She’s not feeling well, and besides, carrying grain is hard work. Me and my second brother will do it.”

Her second brother, Shen Jianshe, was standing nearby as well.

Cao Mei was speechless. The men in the family had all gone to repair the reservoir during the day. When they heard about Old Shen Seven coming to ask for grain, they felt ashamed and didn’t want to come wait for grain distribution. The daughter-in-law had long disappeared somewhere. In the end, she was the only adult from her family who came.

Both had lost face, yet the treatment for her and Tian Fang was worlds apart.

Many people saw this scene. Zhang Zhiqiang once again sighed, “Comrade Shen Lingling really is beautiful and kind-hearted.”

This time, Zheng Jiamin didn’t argue back. Shen Lingling was a good comrade—beautiful and kind-hearted—which was widely recognized among the male educated youth… except for Fu Mingze, who never commented on the appearances of female comrades.

Soon, the grain distribution began.

The first few squads went smoothly. When it came to the eighth squad and the grain was to be distributed at Shen Lao’er’s (Shen Second Brother’s) house, Zhou Peijun stepped forward to explain the situation to the brigade leader and the brigade accountant.

Brigade leader Zhou Mancang frowned. Their Yangliu brigade was one of the biggest villages for miles around, frequently competing for honors from the commune or even the county. The issue with Shen Lao’er and Shen Lao San’s (Shen Third Brother’s) families was really tarnishing the brigade’s reputation.

However, he didn’t want to escalate this scandal, so he gestured to accountant Ding Shouchang to follow Zhou Peijun’s instructions and quickly top up the grain for Shen Laoqi’s (Shen Seventh Brother’s) family, and that would be the end of it.

“Has Shen Laoqi’s family arrived?” Ding Shouchang calculated the amounts, then called out loudly after setting aside some grain from Shen Lao’er’s family.

“They’re here, they’re here.” Shen Shaoyuan helped Shen Mo’er slowly make their way out from the back of the crowd, explaining as they went, “Our house leaked; the bedding was all wet. Moving things in and out delayed us a bit. We’re late, we’re late.”

The kind-hearted Auntie Chen immediately said, “Oh dear, the bedding is all wet? One day of sun won’t dry it all, what will you do tonight?”

Shen Shaoyuan smiled naively, “It’s getting warmer, so it’s fine without covering ourselves. It’s been raining all this time; we’ve been living like this.”

Auntie Chen frowned, “No wonder Mo’er caught a cold. The weather may be warm, but it’s still chilly at night. You can’t just not cover up at all.”

Shen Shaoyuan showed a helpless look, “No choice. Fortunately, today’s sunny, so the clothes dried. We’ll just cover ourselves with a few layers of clothes at night.”

They had soaked bedding and clothes—Auntie Chen sighed, “Then you better hurry up and fix the house while the sun’s out.”

Shen Shaoyuan also sighed, “I climbed up and tried fixing it this afternoon, but many tiles are too broken. I could only patch the corners and move some tiles to the middle. We really don’t have money to buy more tiles.”

He didn’t say it was his own daughter who repaired the roof while “sick.” Besides, the original Shen Mo’er wasn’t as capable as his daughter.

No money, indeed, or else they wouldn’t have starved his daughter to the point of fainting.

Auntie Chen glanced meaningfully at some of the people from Shen Lao’er and Shen Lao San’s families and remarked, “Your house was the landlord’s firewood shed, what kind of good house could it be? You’re just too easygoing. Back then, your father… ah!”

But since it was someone else’s family matter, Auntie Chen swallowed the words she was about to say. Shen Laoqi himself couldn’t stand up for himself, so no matter how much others said, it wouldn’t help.

Auntie Chen thought that even if she started talking about it, Shen Laoqi, an honest man, wouldn’t dare mention the house issue. Unexpectedly, Shen Laoqi grabbed her hand and, choking on his words, shouted loudly, “Auntie Chen, you understand me! I am just too easygoing! Back then, my father had prepared a big brick-and-tile house for me. At that time, I wasn’t married yet and planned to let my nephews get married first, so I lent it to them. Later, when I got married, they said they got used to living there and it was troublesome to move, so they bought the house from the brigade for me. Actually, I don’t mind living anywhere. My wife is a kind woman; she fled famine and has endured all kinds of hardships, so she doesn’t care about these things. But, but my Mo’er can’t stand it—sob sob sob!”

Not only Auntie Chen, but everyone nearby waiting for grain was startled.

Shen Laoqi was usually a man of few words—he never said more than necessary and usually spoke quietly. Their family was very low-profile in the village.

Who would have thought he would suddenly explode like this today?

People had said before that Shen Mo’er fainted from starvation, and that had shocked Shen Laoqi. It seemed to be true!

“My house was a two-room big brick-and-tile house. My father invested all the money he had to marry me off, plus a little dowry my mother brought. They hoped that even if they were gone, I could settle down properly and live a good life.”

Shen Shaoyuan wiped his tears and said, “I’ve failed my parents’ hopes!”

Normally, a grown man crying like this wouldn’t be proper, but maybe because Shen Laoqi cried so miserably, the watching villagers felt no discomfort at all—

Of course, if the crying were unpleasant, how could he have fooled the emperor his whole life?

Someone in the crowd muttered, “Oh dear, what should we do?”

This was just a sigh. Unexpectedly, Shen Shaoyuan wiped his tears and suddenly his eyes grew firm: “I’m going to get my house back!”