Chapter 40: Full of Joy, Rushing Towards His Hope (Revised)

After spending the entire afternoon harvesting rice, Shen Mo’er’s arms were almost too tired to lift. When she got home, she was too exhausted to do anything else. So she simply steamed the leftover buns from lunch, sliced some ham, washed a few spinach leaves she’d pulled from her small personal plot, and beat an egg to make a savory salted meat, spinach, and egg drop soup.

With the long working hours during the autumn harvest, Shen Mo’er returned home later than usual. Before the soup was ready, Shen Shaoyuan had already come back.

Seeing her hand stiff from holding the soup ladle, Shen Shaoyuan washed his hands and took the ladle from her, frowning as he looked at her. “Go rest over there.”

Shen Mo’er clenched her fists and tapped her arm, sighing, “Doing farm work is really exhausting!”

Shen Shaoyuan frowned. If it weren’t for the kiln factory job, which was also tough, he might have considered switching it with Shen Mo’er.

This world was strange—jobs could be passed down “from father to son,” traded secretly, or even swapped. Shen Shaoyuan couldn’t imagine maids in the prince’s mansion suddenly switching places with the sisters at home or someone else coming in to work—it would be chaos!

“I won’t go to work tomorrow. I’ll take your shift for a day,” Shen Shaoyuan said.

Having raised his daughter with his own hands, Shen Shaoyuan naturally felt protective. He thought about how she had been raised in comfort and luxury, and now she had to endure such hardships—it brought tears to his eyes.

Shen Mo’er glanced over. Wow, her father rarely shed tears since arriving in this world. Seeing him like this was a bit unfamiliar.

“Oh, my poor little Mo’er…”

Hearing that opening line, Shen Mo’er immediately interrupted, “Dad, you don’t need to take my place. I still have class tomorrow morning and only work for half a day in the afternoon. It’s actually not too bad. But we’re all busy this season; we should eat something nutritious. Didn’t I find some sea cucumbers and fish maw in the treasury before? Since you’re off tomorrow, why not cook some?”

Shen Shaoyuan’s attention was diverted. After thinking it over, he said, “I’ve saved some meat coupons lately. Tomorrow, I’ll borrow a bicycle from the team leader and go to the commune to buy half a chicken. I’ll cook sea cucumber and fish maw chicken soup.”

That wasn’t difficult—just add some ginger slices and cooking wine, then simmer it slowly over low heat.

After dinner, the father and daughter chatted as usual. Since Shen Shaoyuan started working at the kiln factory, he’d been very busy—not only handling kiln matters but also being occasionally borrowed by various commune departments for help. He was mild-mannered and humorous, able to chat with anyone and maintain good relationships with all departments. The commune had even hinted that they wanted to transfer him.

Xu Weiguo, however, was unwilling. He wasn’t good at publicity and had finally found a talented worker. The last few months had been much easier for him, so he wasn’t about to let Shen Shaoyuan be poached.

“He said he would try to help me get a formal position earlier,” Shen Shaoyuan said.

Currently, his monthly salary was eighteen yuan, but because of extra work, the factory had given some subsidies. In the past two months, he’d been earning more than twenty.

Once formalized, he could get thirty-six yuan, and as his rank rose, he would get yearly raises. Besides salary, food ration tickets and festival benefits would also increase.

Two people who owned countless treasures got excited talking about the pay raise and benefits after formalizing their positions.

Shen Mo’er cheered him on, “That’s my dad—still amazing, even in another world you manage to thrive.”

Shen Shaoyuan smiled happily. Though he didn’t say anything, he felt proud inside.

*

Since they had to work the next day, the two chatted for a while before washing up and going to bed. They still lived in their old house. They’d been too busy recently with autumn harvest work and planned to tidy up and move to the new house after the harvest.

Though they hadn’t moved yet, they had already bought quite a few things. Shen Mo’er’s bedroom used to have only an empty bed, but now it had a desk and a chair.

Leaning against the headboard, Shen Mo’er suddenly recalled what Fu Mingze had said that afternoon—he said he would come find her at night, but he hadn’t shown up yet.

She guessed he might have been held up by something. Since she would see him at work tomorrow anyway, she thought she’d ask him then.

With that in mind, she adjusted her pillow and lay down to sleep. She was quite tired today. Though not very sleepy mentally, her body craved rest badly.

However, just after lying down, while still in that hazy half-asleep state, she suddenly heard tapping sounds from the window—tap tap.

In the deep quiet of the night, the sudden noise felt strangely familiar. Shen Mo’er suddenly remembered the last time some younger Shen family members sneaked out at night to steal bricks, which startled her awake almost completely.

She focused carefully. Amid the tapping, she also heard a clear ringing sound. Curious but brave, she got up, grabbed a wooden stick from the corner, and gently unlatched the window.

“It’s me.”

Outside came a familiar, clear voice.

Shen Mo’er’s heart stirred. She pulled the window wide open and saw Fu Mingze leaning sideways against a bicycle under the pale moonlight, one hand gently pressing the bike bell, a slight smile lifting the corner of his lips.

His bright eyes seemed to reflect the moonlight.

“Come out,” he whispered.

He patted the seat of the bicycle behind him and said with a smile, “Your bicycle.”

Shen Mo’er blinked, feeling as though this scene was somehow surreal.

This man had come all the way over just to deliver her a bicycle in the middle of the night?

Still, she quickly tiptoed outside—after all, if he rang the bell a few more times, her father would definitely be woken up… Actually, the whole neighborhood might wake up. Old Wang in the cowshed to the right, and the former landlord mother and son living in the backyard of the brigade office to the left, would likely be disturbed too.

When she came out, Fu Mingze had already wheeled the bicycle outside the yard wall. Only when she got closer did Shen Mo’er realize his forehead was covered in sweat, and a large part of his shirt was soaked through.

It really made her wonder if he hadn’t actually ridden the bike back—but carried it all the way.

“I’ll go get you some water.”

She turned back into the courtyard, went into the kitchen, grabbed an enamel mug and the thermos, poured water on the windowsill under the moonlight, then brought the enamel mug back outside.

“The water’s not hot, you can drink it now,” she said, handing it to Fu Mingze.

He really must have been quite thirsty—he took the mug and drank more than half of it in one go without saying a word. Only then did he explain, “I went to the commune this evening to get the bike from Brother Bao. Took the chance to fix it up a bit too, so I came back late.”

He actually didn’t have to rush like this. He could’ve brought it over tomorrow instead. In fact, when he decided to go to the commune today to get the bike, he already knew it wouldn’t be an early return. And yet, he had still agreed to meet her tonight.

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t really seen her much lately. Even though they’d just seen each other in the afternoon and would meet again tomorrow, Fu Mingze still wanted to see her once more tonight.

Sure enough, he had rushed to the commune to fix up the bike piece by piece even though Brother Bao hadn’t finished repairing it, then raced back at full speed and knocked on her window without hesitation… And now, under the cool autumn moonlight, looking into her bright eyes, Fu Mingze felt that all his impulsive efforts tonight had been worth it.

He had even prepared himself mentally for the possibility that she might open the window only to scold him and send him away.

Just moments ago, while he was speeding along the village path on the bicycle, the white moonlight poured over the quiet fields. The mechanical sound of the wheels turning, the faint chirping of frogs and insects in the distance—all of it felt so tranquil, so free—

Fu Mingze suddenly thought of the night before he was sent to the countryside.

That night, his elders had taken turns trying to persuade him to protect himself after arriving in the village, to accept reality, and if things got too tough, to settle down there. He had felt irritable and packed his bags with a dark expression. After a while, his father came in and sat silently beside him for a long time.

Before leaving, his father had patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, “Mingze, suffering or hardship won’t destroy a person’s will. But despair will. Once you’re in the countryside, live well. If you live well, there will be hope.”

At the time, Fu Mingze didn’t understand what it meant to “live well so that there’s hope.” In such a chaotic era, there didn’t seem to be much room left for anyone to live well.

But just now, drenched in sweat and speeding down that quiet country road, he suddenly understood what it meant.

He was running headlong—joyfully—toward his hope.

*

Shen Mo’er glanced at the bicycle a few times and couldn’t resist pressing the bell lightly. A clear, crisp ring echoed far into the night, and she quickly let go, raising her head and beaming at Fu Mingze. “Is this the one? The one that cost eighty yuan?”

She had been paying attention to bicycle prices for a while. Aside from the fact that bicycle ration tickets were precious and rare, the bikes themselves weren’t cheap either. A regular-brand bike usually cost about 150 yuan, and well-known brands like Phoenix or Forever could go for as much as 180 yuan.

Even a full-time worker in a state-owned factory would have to save for several months without spending anything else.

So when Fu Mingze mentioned getting one for just eighty yuan, Shen Mo’er had mentally prepared herself for a poor-condition bike—most likely one that was no longer usable, and had been passed on to Brother Bao for resale.

Now that she saw it in person, she was pleasantly surprised. Even though it was night and visibility wasn’t great, she could still tell that while the bike wasn’t new, it had been cleaned thoroughly. The bell, the spokes on the wheels—everything gleamed silver in the moonlight.

It was nothing like the piece of junk she had imagined.

Seeing her eyes shining like that, Fu Mingze became even more certain that he’d made the right decision tonight. He smiled. “Yep, this is the one.”

Shen Mo’er grinned with delight but quickly frowned.

That afternoon, when Fu Mingze mentioned getting an eighty-yuan bicycle, she had thought it wouldn’t be until after the autumn harvest, when she and her father would get paid and money wouldn’t be so tight.

But now he had brought the bike back the very same day. Her family currently had a total of 82.76 yuan. They could afford the bike, but if they handed over the money, they’d only have just over two yuan left. They’d basically be flat broke.

Fu Mingze noticed how happy she was one second and how troubled she looked the next. He quickly guessed why and said, “Just push the bike inside for now. Your uncle can start using it to commute to work. You don’t need to pay me just yet. It’s autumn harvest season—I won’t have time to go to the commune again anyway, and keeping money at the educated youth dorm isn’t safe.”

Shen Mo’er let out a breath of relief. If they could delay payment until after the harvest, that would be perfect.

Still, she asked, “Is it really okay to owe for that long? Will Brother Bao mind?”

Fu Mingze shook his head. “It’s fine.”

In truth, he had already paid.

The two of them fell silent for a moment.

After a while, Fu Mingze said, “You should head back now.”

Shen Mo’er nodded. “Then I’ll push the bike in, okay?”

Fu Mingze stepped aside to give her room. Shen Mo’er took hold of the handlebars and turned to speak, only to realize he was still standing right there. When she turned, the two of them were suddenly very close—her arm brushed against the sweat-dampened fabric of his shirt, and she could even feel the heat radiating from his body.

Her heart skipped a beat. She instinctively took a small step back, a little flustered. Fu Mingze also seemed to realize what had happened and quickly took a step back too.

The air suddenly felt still, filled with a faint, indescribable tension and awkwardness.

Shen Mo’er tightened her grip on the handlebars, paused for a few seconds, then mustered her courage and said stiffly, “Thank you, Comrade Fu.”

Fu Mingze cleared his throat, though his voice was still a bit hoarse. “Mm, you’re welcome.”

Only after Shen Mo’er had pushed the bike into the yard, said “See you tomorrow,” and closed the gate in front of him, did Fu Mingze finally exhale and let out a quiet laugh.

Then, bathed in moonlight, he walked lightly and cheerfully back to the educated youth dormitory.

*

The next morning, when Shen Shaoyuan woke up, he found a bicycle in the courtyard. It didn’t look new, but neither was it too old. There wasn’t a trace of rust or damage, and it had been cleaned thoroughly.

He asked in surprise, “Where’d this bicycle come from? Even the team leader’s bike doesn’t look like this!”

Shen Mo’er poked her head out from the kitchen, glanced at the bicycle parked in the corner of the courtyard, and said, “The educated youth Fu brought it over last night.”

She then briefly explained how Brother Bao had fixed up the bike and sold it to them, and mentioned that after buying it, the family only had a little over two yuan left.

Shen Shaoyuan didn’t seem to mind and said, “Eighty yuan is actually a bargain for us. And this bike, being semi-new, suits our household just fine. Not to mention new ones are hard to come by—you don’t even know when you’ll be able to get a bicycle ticket. Even if you could buy one, it would still stand out too much. It doesn’t fit our identity as a poor family. As for the money, we’ll have more once our wages are paid.”

Despite the lengths he had gone to in the past to collect treasures from his older brother, Shen Shaoyuan didn’t actually care that much about money deep down.

He was a proper prince born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he’d never had to worry about money since childhood—how much could he possibly care about it?

The reason he had gathered all those valuables was simply because his daughter didn’t even have a brother. He didn’t know what her future would be like after marriage, so he figured the more she had to rely on, the better.

Shen Mo’er knew her father’s temperament well. She had only brought it up to give him a gentle reminder that their household probably didn’t have much money left at the moment.

Then Shen Shaoyuan suddenly asked, “He brought it over last night? How come I didn’t know?”

Shen Mo’er glared at her father. “You were sleeping so deeply. I could’ve banged a gong right next to your ear and you still wouldn’t have noticed. You’re so tired—you should just make a soup today and not bother with anything else.”

He had been sleeping so soundly—she had gone in and out multiple times and he hadn’t heard a thing. He was clearly exhausted.

In fact, what Shen Shaoyuan found odd was: if the bike was being delivered, why bring it at night instead of during the day? And surely the door would’ve been knocked on—so how did he not hear any of that?

But since Shen Mo’er said he had been in too deep a sleep, he didn’t think too much about it. He really was quite tired. Being busy with work was one thing, but the long walks to the commune every day were something he wasn’t used to at all—after all, in his old life, he never went anywhere without a carriage or a sedan chair.

Thinking about it that way, being able to bike to and from work in the future really was something to be happy about.

After breakfast, Shen Mo’er headed off to school, and Shen Shaoyuan cheerfully rode the new bicycle out the door.

From then on, Shen Mo’er began a routine of attending school in the morning and working in the fields in the afternoon. By the second day, her arms had slowly adapted to the repetitive and monotonous labor. Aside from being so tired each night that she practically passed out after dinner, she gradually got used to everything else.

What’s more, now that they had a bicycle, Shen Shaoyuan spent significantly less time commuting. Apart from lunch, he was now the one cooking both breakfast and dinner.

Shen Shaoyuan wasn’t exactly skilled at cooking, but he made up for it by being generous with ingredients. Compared to the bland meals in most households at the time, his dishes were actually quite decent.

During this period, Shen Lingling got even closer with the educated youths. She had a way with flattery, and by blaming everything that had happened before on the rest of her family, she gained sympathy. The male educated youths felt sorry for her and believed she shouldn’t be punished for her family’s faults. One by one, they competed to help her with her work.

Shen Lingling, buoyed by their attention, became increasingly smug and even resumed mocking Shen Mo’er. She was especially condescending about the students participating in the art competition, sneering that Shen Mo’er was daydreaming—like a wolf trying to grow antlers on its head.

“Planting a tree takes ten years; educating a person takes a hundred,” she said in one of her little speeches. “Education isn’t something you can rush. I’m not saying it’s bad to join a competition, but sending students who’ve only learned the basics to compete shows a lack of respect for the event itself. And if they lose, the emotional blow to the students could be heavy. As teachers, we shouldn’t be thinking only about gaining fame. We should be more mindful of the students’ fragile hearts…”

Maybe because she had so many people helping her, Shen Lingling didn’t look tired at all from the ongoing harvest. She often stood in the fields, holding a sickle, giving impassioned speeches.

Besides the four people in Shen Mo’er’s group, who were too far away to hear her and didn’t care anyway, only Yang Qingqing consistently gave her looks of disdain. The other educated youths, however, were so moved by her so-called passion for education that they couldn’t help but applaud.

But just as Shen Lingling finished one of her grand speeches, the village leader, Zhou Mancang—who had been at the commune attending an autumn harvest meeting—came riding up on a bicycle.

Zhou Mancang was usually very serious. Because he often frowned, deep vertical lines had formed between his brows. But today, his mood was clearly excellent. His brow was smooth, and even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes carried a faint, excited glow.

He parked his bike at the edge of the field and asked Zhang Zhiqiang, who was closest, “Where’s Shen Mo’er?”

Zhang Zhiqiang turned his head in confusion and pointed toward a group of people in the distance. “Over there.”

Zhou Mancang said, “Someone go call her over.”

Zhang Zhiqiang simply set down his sickle and went himself.

Someone nearby asked casually, “Captain, you got business with Teacher Shen?”

It was just a polite question, the kind of small talk like asking someone if they’d eaten—it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously, and the person asking certainly didn’t expect an answer. After all, whatever Zhou Mancang wanted from Shen Mo’er had nothing to do with the rest of them.

To everyone’s surprise, Zhou Mancang broke into a smile. “You’re a clever one. I do have business with Teacher Shen—good news to share with her.”

Well, that was clearly an opening. The person who asked the question went along with it and asked, “What kind of good news?”

Zhou Mancang pumped his fist in the air, his voice loud and full of excitement: “The kids from our village’s elementary school won second prize in the painting competition—they made it to the finals!”

His voice was full of pride.

And he was visibly emotional.

Second prize! Out of the whole county, only their Yangliu Village Elementary School had achieved it. The kids from their own village were going to the provincial finals!

This was a matter of great pride and glory!