Chapter 31: Inquiry

After talking with Luo Ying this time, Tang Wan kept the matter in mind.

Luo Ying was a pretty good girl. Since she had such thoughts, regardless of the outcome, she could first help inquire a bit.

However, Tang Wan did not tell Luo Ying to help her ask about Dongzi, so as not to raise her hopes for nothing.

The easiest person for Tang Wan to ask was naturally Grandma Bai.

After finishing washing clothes and returning, Tang Wan took the small bag of grain to Grandma Bai.

After putting the grain in the kitchen, Tang Wan sat down and started talking to Grandma Bai, who was working in the courtyard.

“Isn’t Dongzi from our village? I haven’t seen him working lately,” Tang Wan said as she sat down beside Grandma Bai.

Grandma Bai was busy dismantling the winter quilts; the weather had been good these days, so she had taken out the winter quilts to wash and re-sew them.

“He’s from the neighboring brigade, of course he hasn’t been here these days,” Grandma Bai worked efficiently, and Tang Wan could only help with some trivial tasks nearby.

“Oh, so he’s not from our village. Hasn’t gotten married yet?” Tang Wan shifted a bit into the shade.

“No, he hasn’t. That kid’s had bad luck,” Grandma Bai sighed, and once she started talking about this, it seemed she couldn’t stop.

“Still unmarried?” Tang Wan asked, feigning some surprise.

Grandma Bai’s movements slowed: “That’s right. He’s not young anymore—just two years younger than Ah Zheng. Kids his age are already out working in the fields, but there’s not even a trace of him [having a family].”

Grandma Bai sighed again as she spoke.

“What happened? He looks decent enough…”

“It’s because there’s no one at home for him. He’s the only one in his family. Even setting up a matchmaker is hard. Forget others, he himself isn’t willing to look. That’s why it’s been delayed.” Grandma Bai seemed very worried about Dongzi, even more so than about Qin Zheng’s marriage.

“No family support?”

“He used to have a mother, but she passed away a few years ago due to poor health. Now it’s just him. His family is originally outsiders here. His father died early, and the orphan and widow were often bullied in the village,” Grandma Bai shook her head.

In rural areas at this time, having many family members was a good thing.

When fighting with others, if only one’s own family stood up, they had absolute authority.

So the preference for sons over daughters was considered normal. Without male heirs, even their land couldn’t be kept.

Unlike later times, being an only son like Dongzi wasn’t a blessing.

Without an uncle or other relatives nearby, he was doomed to be bullied in the village.

Grandma Bai didn’t say it outright, but it was obvious.

Only families like Qin Zheng’s, who were unique and strong, could avoid being bullied — and those were the minority.

“Does he not want to find a wife himself?” Tang Wan brought up the other point Grandma Bai had mentioned.

“This kid has been following Ah Zheng these years. I treat him like my own child. I told him several times, but he said he didn’t want to look. I don’t know the specifics, and Ah Zheng told me not to meddle, so I haven’t asked anymore.” Grandma Bai sounded a bit upset mentioning this, clearly troubled that neither of them had married.

Tang Wan knew roughly what Grandma Bai had said; probably Grandma Bai didn’t know much more, and she might need to ask Qin Zheng.

Thinking this, Tang Wan stopped talking.

At noon, Tang Wan ate lunch at Grandma Bai’s house.

It was true that Grandma Bai’s cooking was good. The same cornmeal, but Grandma Bai mixed in some wheat flour and a bit of sugar, steamed it into soft, fragrant cornmeal cakes with a hint of corn aroma. It was completely different from eating wild vegetables mixed in at the youth worksite.

After finishing the meal, Tang Wan didn’t return to the youth worksite.

There weren’t many youths there anyway. The male youths weren’t familiar and she wanted to avoid suspicion. The female youths, aside from Sister Yan Hong and Li Qing, were not interesting. She’d rather stay with Grandma Bai.

The mushrooms that had been drying were still kept at Grandma Bai’s. Tang Wan planned to go to the post office the next day to mail those to her father, and also buy some things in the city.

However, just going from the village to the town took almost until noon, and going from town to the city would take even longer.

But Tang Wan had to go — the supply and marketing cooperative in town didn’t have everything.

Essentials like underwear were fine if brought from the capital.

But items like sanitary napkins were only available in the department stores in the city at this time.

Tang Wan couldn’t imagine having to use ash from plants during her period.

“Grandma, is there a bus from the town to the city?” Tang Wan recalled hearing Luo Ying say that Qin Zheng had gone to the city to pick up Grandma Bai.

So Grandma Bai should know how to get to the city.

“There’s a bus. Why? You want to go to the city?” They had just finished eating and went inside because it was too hot outside and work had to wait until it cooled down.

“Yes, there’s a bus, so I want to go to the city department store tomorrow to buy some things.” Tang Wan didn’t say what she wanted to buy, and Grandma Bai had no objection.

“The bus from the town to the city leaves a little after nine in the morning,” Grandma Bai said, looking at Tang Wan.

“So early?” Tang Wan was a little surprised.

An ox cart would take almost until eleven to get to the town; the nine o’clock bus would definitely be missed.

“That’s okay. Tomorrow let Ah Zheng ride the bike to take you to town; there’ll be plenty of time. Then you two can take the bus to the city and ride back by bike in the evening — you’ll make it.” Grandma Bai made all the arrangements nicely.

“Wouldn’t that trouble Qin Zheng too much? I think I can ride the bike to town myself… maybe…” Tang Wan was a bit uncertain, mainly because the bicycle still had the carrier rack in front and was quite tall, so her feet wouldn’t reach the ground when riding.

Tang Wan’s words made Grandma Bai laugh: “What trouble? It’s perfect that Ah Zheng goes to the city with you tomorrow; he can bring some things for his aunt. Besides, you don’t know how the bike is stored in town, and you might be in a rush and lose it.”

Hearing Grandma Bai say this, Tang Wan felt at ease.

It was convenient to go with Qin Zheng and hitch a ride, then split ways in the city when buying things, so no time wasted.

“Alright, then when Qin Zheng comes back, please tell him. I’ll pack my things tonight.”

“Okay. The dried mushrooms are packed for you. I’ll also get some dried winter melon and dried beans I dried before. Soaking these and stir-frying with meat tastes better than fresh ones,” Grandma Bai said as she got up to get them.

Tang Wan got up to stop her but couldn’t; in the end, Grandma Bai packed a full cloth bag of goods.

If Tang Wan hadn’t stopped her, Grandma Bai would have even packed some leftover pickles.

Only after Tang Wan said there wasn’t much left and could wait for next time did Grandma Bai stop.