Chapter 17.1

The remaining days were so busy that Xu Meng barely knew what to do with herself. During this period, she was both reviewing her schoolwork and selling watermelons.

Apart from the few hours they spent doing business, Feng Yanwen hardly disturbed Xu Meng at all. So in the mornings, Xu Meng could get up and study English for over an hour. Then she would head out to set up the stall during the day, and after returning from the train station in the afternoon, she could still review for another four or five hours.

Perhaps it was the advantage of having been reborn, but Xu Meng found her memory had improved significantly, and her ability to understand things had risen rapidly as well. Questions she had once found difficult now became easy to grasp, and even Feng Yanwen was surprised by how much she had progressed.

To keep up with her daughter’s review schedule, Feng Yanwen always studied right alongside her. Wherever her daughter was in her studies, she would follow suit. Even during this busy stretch of time, she never let herself slack off, not even a little.

Mid-August brought a small business peak. First, there were more tourists coming to the capital, and second, quite a few people were bringing their children here for school. Sometimes, entire families would come to buy watermelons, and Xu Meng couldn’t slice them fast enough. She had no choice but to put Liu Jin and the others to work. Xu Meng paid them two yuan a day to run errands—taking out the trash, refilling water, fetching supplies. On the busiest day, they sold as many as twenty watermelons, and over five or six hundred maps. Adding in the income from the kids running around selling maps, they made over a hundred yuan in net profit in just one day.

Even Liu Jin and the others made a tidy sum.

That day alone, they made more than ten yuan just from selling maps, and Xu Meng even gave them an extra two yuan as a bonus.

Even the youngest had learned to contribute. Of course, it was out of the question for him to do any actual work, but just by behaving and not causing trouble, he ended up being a big help to his older brothers.

With the money they earned, and at Xu Meng’s suggestion, the three boys each bought themselves two new sets of clothes and a new pair of rubber shoes. Before the new school term started, they gave themselves a full makeover. Their daily meals also improved significantly. With the neighbors as witnesses, the changes in Liu Jin and the others over the course of a month were nothing short of remarkable.

Their appearances were cleaned up, and the house no longer looked like it used to. Every time someone came over before, the place was a mess, like a dog’s den.

Most astonishing of all, they were no longer as hard to manage. In the past, when they got rowdy, they wouldn’t even listen to what Sister Liu said. Now, they were as obedient as a few soft, cuddly little puppies.

Sister Liu couldn’t help but praise the mother and daughter pair outside, saying, “It’s all thanks to Xiao Feng renting this place. I think Liu Jin and the others have really started to improve.”

As business kept booming, Xu Meng knew that things were probably reaching their peak.

Sure enough, one day in late August, Zhang Guifen once again delivered a cart full of watermelons and said to her, “I’m out of the ones from my own fields. I collected this batch from other villagers. This time of year, watermelons tend to get hollow centers, but I’ve gone through these one by one — there’s no problem. Just store them in a cool place, and they’ll stay fresh for two or three days, guaranteed. After this, I won’t be coming anymore.” She said this with a smile on her face.

She had also made quite a bit of money this year.

In previous years, even when a lot of watermelons were planted, they didn’t always sell out. But this year, nearly all the melons from the fields had been sold, and she even helped her relatives and friends sell quite a few.

She took out another bag of vegetables and said, “These chili peppers are for you two. Lately, vegetables have been a bit in short supply. Once the chili peppers are harvested, you can start planting leafy greens. Also, here are the seeds your mom wanted.”

Knowing that the mother and daughter hadn’t been cooking much lately, Zhang Guifen often brought over some vegetables. They were usually things like cucumbers, tomatoes, and corn, meant to be eaten as light snacks. The cucumbers grown in the countryside were crisp and sweet, with an incredibly good flavor.

Naturally, Xu Meng accepted them happily, thanked Zhang Guifen, then cheerfully said, “Auntie Zhang, leave me your phone number. If any profitable business opportunities come up later, we can bring you in too.”

Zhang Guifen said, “Look at my memory. I almost forgot. You can contact me even if there’s nothing urgent.” She then gave her the phone number.

The two of them chatted for a while longer before Zhang Xiufen pedaled her tricycle and headed back.

The morning sunlight fell across her back, casting a long, deep shadow. Only then did Xu Meng suddenly realize that Zhang Guifen was about the same age as Feng Yanwen, but years of hard labor had made her skin dark and her appearance noticeably more aged than Feng Yanwen’s.

As soon as Zhang Guifen left, Feng Yanwen returned.

When she heard that Zhang Guifen had delivered the final batch of watermelons, Feng Yanwen let out a sigh. Business had been so good lately that she had almost forgotten—the watermelon season was coming to an end.

It looked like, once these watermelons were sold, it would be time to take a proper break.

Even so, Feng Yanwen was still in very high spirits. Yesterday, she had done the math. In just a little over a month, the two of them had earned more than three thousand yuan in net profit from selling watermelons alone. After deducting the costs of moving, buying household necessities, and daily expenses, they still had three thousand yuan saved up.

Three thousand yuan, what kind of concept was that?

It was equivalent to her entire annual salary in the past. But who could ever save up their whole salary anyway?

When material supply began picking up in the 1980s, it greatly stimulated people’s desire to spend. And with wage-earning jobs being quite stable during this period, many households still couldn’t manage to save money. Yet she and Mengmeng had managed to save up three thousand yuan in just over a month. Feng Yanwen felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and went out early in the morning to buy breakfast.

“Soup dumplings and soy milk, all your favorites.” Just as Feng Yanwen lifted the lid of the lunchbox, Xu Meng quickly pinched one of the dumplings and grabbed it into her hand. Feng Yanwen frowned and looked at her. “Look at you, so greedy. You just finished hauling watermelons and now you’re grabbing food with your hands. Do you still think you’re a little kid?”

At this time, plastic bags weren’t widely used yet. When buying breakfast outside, people still had to bring their own containers.

The soy milk was stored in a thermal lunchbox.

Xu Meng playfully stuck out her tongue and obediently went over to the faucet to wash her hands.

There was a small bucket placed under the tap to catch the water. Once it was full, they would pour it into the vegetable sink. Xu Meng glanced at the scallions and Chinese chives they had planted earlier—it looked like they were growing well. Remembering the packet of vegetable seeds Zhang Guifen had given them, she curiously asked what kind of vegetables they were.

“Baby bok choy,” Feng Yanwen said. “You’ve always hated napa cabbage, right? This winter, we’ll try setting up a small plastic greenhouse and see if we can grow some baby bok choy. This place isn’t big, and getting some plastic sheeting won’t cost much. The main thing is being able to eat some fresh greens of our own, so things taste a little lighter. We’ll see what else we can plant when the time comes.”

Xu Meng was moved to tears—her mom really knew her best.

In the past, once winter hit, every household would start stockpiling cabbage. If you didn’t buy a few hundred jin (1 jin = 0.5 kg), even up to a thousand or more, it was like you weren’t prepared for winter. By the time those napa cabbages were nearly finished, the outer layers were all rotten. Before her rebirth, greenhouse technology had already advanced in every aspect, and stockpiling cabbage was a thing of the past. She had long tossed that idea out of her mind. She never imagined her mom would still remember that she hated eating napa cabbage.

Feng Yanwen went to wash her hands, shook the water off, then went inside to get two pairs of chopsticks and two bowls. She stuffed one set into Xu Meng’s hand and picked up a soup dumpling for herself, starting to eat. Northern-style soup dumplings were slightly larger than their southern counterparts. After taking a big bite, she nodded and said, “The soup dumplings from this stall at the morning market are good. Next time we’ll buy from them again. It’s that new place on the east end.”

She added, “In past years, your grandma only let you eat cabbage stalks. This year, the napa cabbage we buy, we’re only eating the leaves. Braised with pork, it tastes great too.”

Xu Meng felt even more like crying. What she hated most in her previous life was napa cabbage.

There was no particular reason—she had simply eaten too much of it.

Granny Xue was a domineering person. Every time they cooked cabbage at home, she wouldn’t trim off even a bit of the stalks, and she was too stingy to use much oil when stir-frying. Yet whenever the cabbage was served, she would always be the first to pick out the leafy parts with her chopsticks, then give another helping of leaves to Xu Dawei. The tender leaves in the dish would be almost gone after that. Then it would be the men’s turn to pick, and what was left for Xu Meng at the end were the oldest, toughest bits—completely flavorless.

“I’ll ask around later and see if there are any other vegetables available.”

“This year, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just focus on your studies. Even if I don’t work, I can still support you.” Feng Yanwen straightened her back. Of course, there was no way she wouldn’t work, but she still had to say it like that.

Xu Meng pressed her lips into a smile. “I know I can count on you.”

Looking at the pile of chili peppers, Feng Yanwen found herself troubled. How were they supposed to eat all that?

But Xu Meng had an idea. “Chop them all up and make chopped chili. I remember we still have some fruit preserve jars at home. You can boil them in hot water and let them dry. I’ll chop the chili peppers later.”

Just thinking about it made her happy. Making chopped chili would be perfect. She could even bring some to school to eat.

As they were talking, Chang Xi peeked her head in from outside, holding a bucket in her hand.

Seeing the two of them eating soup dumplings, she smacked her lips with longing.

Xu Meng quickly picked one up and stuffed it into Chang Xi’s mouth.

Chang Xi took a big bite and started munching noisily. She casually lifted the cloth covering the bucket, revealing the plump, white buns inside. “Here, my mom specially bought these and told me to bring them over to you.”

Xu Meng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “So many buns, but this kind of weather isn’t great for keeping them.”

Her appetite was quite large these days, but at most she could eat four buns in one sitting. Add three more for Feng Yanwen, and these buns would last no longer than tomorrow.

Chang Xi told her to grab something to transfer the buns into, then said, “After my mom came back and heard that Teacher Feng was helping me with English and you were pushing me to study, she was overjoyed and insisted I bring something over to you. These buns are from the canteen. Underneath are steamed buns. Eat the stuffed buns today, the steamed ones can last until tomorrow. If you really can’t finish them, just give the extras to those little brats. I knew it was too much the moment she brought it home. I already took out more than ten buns for myself.”

With that, she picked up the now-empty bucket and ran off.

Feng Yanwen glanced at the number of buns, did a quick count to figure out how many they could eat today, then waved to the second child who was playing nearby.

The second one came running over, all excited.

Feng Yanwen brought out a plate from the house, picked out three stuffed buns and three steamed buns, and handed them to the second child with a smile. “Chang Xi just gave us some buns. We can’t finish them all. You guys take these and eat them.”

From the moment Chang Xi came in, the second one had been staring at the buns. Now that he got some, he ran off happily with them. Feng Yanwen thought for a moment, then covered the small basin of buns with a layer of gauze and carried it into the kitchen for storage.

Xu Meng muttered, “It’d really be nice to have a refrigerator.”

That same day, they washed and dried the chili peppers. The next day, they chopped them up into a jar of preserved chili and sealed it. With that, the two of them brought their watermelon business to a close for the time being.

Xu Meng started thinking about making preserves again. Since it was the season for yellow peaches, it would be a good time to make some canned ones.

Two days later, the watermelons were all sold, and with her hands finally free, Feng Yanwen began preparing to take care of some serious matters.

Xu Meng immediately understood what she intended—she was planning to get a divorce. But she wasn’t going to go through it in a cowardly or submissive way. If it wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t going to carry the blame for even a single day.

“You know that Tiger’s grandma^[1]Tiger’s Grandma (虎子奶奶): In Chinese culture, it’s common to refer to older women by the names of their children or grandchildren, such as “Tiger’s Grandma” or “Xiaobao’s Mom.” … Continue reading and your grandma have never gotten along,” Feng Yanwen said with a somber expression. “These past few nights, I’ve been sneaking over to Dahuaishu Alley, trying to talk to our old neighbors. Honestly, some of them knew the truth, but not one of them told me anything all these years. I’ve finally come to terms with it. That’s just how people are in this world. In the end, it was only Tiger’s grandma who secretly told me that Xu Jiefang had an injury when he was little.”

She felt a bit disheartened. Some of those people had always put on a friendly face with her and acted as if they cared, yet not one of them was willing to say a single word that might have enlightened her.

Still, she had come to see it all with a clearer, more detached perspective.

Outsiders—well, that’s just how they are.

Even Xu Meng was surprised this time. In her previous life, Feng Yanwen had gotten divorced before things had ever reached this point.

Once someone’s dead, who still cares about whose fault it was for not being able to have children?

The truth was, Feng Yanwen wasn’t particularly hung up on whether she could have children or not. What she couldn’t accept was having the blame dumped on her if it wasn’t even her fault to begin with.

Feng Yanwen let out a sigh. “The more I thought about it later, the more wrong it seemed. Wasn’t their attitude just like a thief crying ‘stop thief’? The eldest and second eldest both married city women, but Xu Jiefang deliberately sought out someone from the countryside. I used to think I was just lucky. I really was stupid.”

Today, she had a strong urge to talk it all out, as if she couldn’t wait to unload all the grievances she had kept bottled up for years.

Feng Yanwen didn’t understand because she had limited access to information. In the 1970s, let alone proper educational outreach on the topic, most people didn’t even know basic hygiene or reproductive health. Just because someone had good grades or a high level of education—did that mean they automatically knew everything? Weren’t there even news stories about PhD couples who had slept under the covers for years without conceiving, only to finally go to the hospital and discover the real reason?

Back in the 1970s, many places didn’t even have televisions, and access to knowledge was even scarcer. Some books weren’t even allowed to be sold publicly at the time.

Such an embarrassing issue was naturally not something she could talk to outsiders about. The only people she felt she could trust were the elderly and doctors. The Xu family had gambled on Feng Yanwen’s lack of knowledge—and they’d gambled right. Then they exploited her sense of guilt to keep her under their thumb for more than ten years.

Of course, why would Xu Jiefang be willing to divorce?

Once he divorced her and married someone else, and that person still couldn’t have children, then it would become obvious at a glance whose problem it really was.

Feng Yanwen was still young and beautiful—she could easily find someone else. And if she did get pregnant, the Xu family would be thoroughly and publicly humiliated.

Xu Meng was truly stunned by the scheming of that entire family. “Doing things like this over and over, she’s really not afraid of karma?”

In her previous life, Granny Xue did get her comeuppance. Later, she developed throat cancer, and once she fell ill, her sons all stopped caring about her. In the end, unable to eat, she howled in hunger and literally starved to death, shriveled and neglected.

Xu Meng suddenly stood up from her chair with a loud scrape. “Tell me where the medical clinic is.”

Seeing how furious she looked, Feng Yanwen nearly burst into tears. What if she actually went and smashed up the clinic? They would end up having to pay for the damages.

“It’s been so many years… the person may not even be there anymore.”

But Xu Meng didn’t care about any of that. She got up and walked straight out the door.

On this matter, she was even angrier than Feng Yanwen.

Why? She wanted to ask that exact question—why?

Just thinking about everything Feng Yanwen had endured over the years made her want to slap the entire Xu family across the face.

Feng Yanwen didn’t manage to catch up. Watching her daughter storm off, she could only shake her head.

As soon as Xu Meng stepped outside, she ran into someone she knew.

“Heading out?” Han Jiming looked at her with curiosity. “You look furious. What happened?”

Xu Meng said, “Just handling something.”

Han Jiming replied, “I’ve got my bike. I’ll give you a ride.”

“Is that convenient for you?”

“What’s inconvenient about it?” Han Jiming said. “I was just nearby clearing my head, nothing important going on.”

Why did he have so much free time to go out and clear his head?

Xu Meng didn’t ask when exactly he had ridden his bike over. The place she needed to go was quite far, and having a bike would definitely make things a lot easier. The place she was headed to wasn’t exactly close.

Han Jiming’s motorcycle was parked not far away. Xu Meng noticed that he had attached a sidecar today and thought to herself that he really did enjoy going out with people. She’d heard that he only brought the sidecar when he was out for leisure. Normally, he didn’t like anyone riding behind him on his motorcycle.

Just as Xu Meng was about to step into the sidecar, she noticed there were a few pieces of clothing inside, along with a bunch of miscellaneous items.

“Sit in the back instead. It gets really windy in the sidecar,” Han Jiming said.

So Xu Meng resigned herself to climbing onto the motorcycle’s back seat.

Only once they were on the road did she realize why Han Jiming had insisted on her sitting behind him. He was tall and broad-shouldered, perfectly blocking all the wind. Her upper body didn’t feel cold at all. Only her legs were exposed, especially her ankles. After getting on the bike, her pants had ridden up, leaving her calves completely uncovered.