Chapter 15

The next day, before dawn, Su Heng knocked on his sister’s door:

“Little sis, hurry up, we need to set off early for town.”

Su Wanwan got up groggily. Remembering she had the county exam today, she didn’t dare waste time. She washed her face, changed clothes, and went to the kitchen.

When Su Mother saw her daughter:
“Hurry and eat, I’ve already set the food on the table.”

“Okay.” Su Wanwan then remembered the grain she had hidden away last night:
“Mom, I’ve stashed the grain and chickens. There’s only one left in the coop. Kill it tonight, since grandpa and grandma will be coming over.”

Su Mother looked around:
“Where did you hide them? If your grandparents find out, they’ll scold us again.”

Su Wanwan sat down to eat her porridge:
“Don’t worry, they won’t find it.”

Su Mother nodded and reminded her:
“Don’t rush during the exam. Write slowly. Even if you don’t do well, your father and I won’t blame you.”

Su Wanwan smiled:
“Mom, I’ll bring you back a first-place score. I never wanted to study before, but now that my brain has cleared, studying isn’t so hard.”

Her mother thought she was joking. First place wasn’t that easy:
“Just eat quickly. Your brother will take you.”

On the bike, Su Wanwan sat on the back and teased:
“Second brother, if I score first place in the exam, will you reward me?”

Su Heng was surprised:
“What? You, first place?” Then he chuckled, “If you can just graduate, that’ll be enough. Whatever you want, I’ll find a way to buy it for you.”

“That’s all I need from you. I don’t want anything else—just promise me you’ll take the college exam with me, okay?”

“Alright.” Su Heng grinned slyly. Colleges had been abolished; there was no guarantee they’d be reinstated anytime soon. If his sister could graduate, that was already a blessing.

At school, he reminded her:
“I’ll come get you at four. At noon, just eat at the state-run restaurant across the street. Don’t pinch pennies.”
He pulled ten yuan and ration tickets from his pocket and pressed them into her hand.

“Okay.”

Then Su Heng rode back to the village, a slab of pork belly hanging from the handlebars. Just then, Liu Caixia, on her way to work, spotted him.

In this era, bicycles were rare in the countryside, let alone with pork hanging on them. She swallowed hard. Thinking of Su Heng’s decent looks—no worse than Ma Zhiming—she wondered why she hadn’t noticed him before.

Meanwhile…

Lin Yu and Xie Beishen carried baskets toward the cornfield. Up ahead were their neighbor Aunt Liu and some other village women.

One asked:
“Big Sis Liu, I heard your daughter Xiaofeng also took a leave today?”

Aunt Liu replied:
“Yes, I learned from the brigade leader’s family. His daughter was pampered at home for half a month, grew all fair and delicate, so she could marry a city man. I’m raising Xiaofeng the same way. In half a month, I’ll arrange a match for her.”

Another aunt said:
“No wonder when I suggested to Zhao Hefen that my son should meet her daughter, she flatly refused. So she’s aiming higher.”

Aunt Liu sneered:
“Exactly. The brigade leader’s smart. Marrying off a daughter to a rich family—wouldn’t the dowry be huge? Everything good goes to the daughter first. That’s how you marry rich. We all need to change our thinking. He’s clever.”

The women all nodded.
“Of course. You don’t get to be brigade leader if you’re dumb.”

“But she’s uneducated and unemployed. Would city folks really want her?” one woman said.

Aunt Liu shot her a look:
“She’s pretty, has a good figure. That’s what rich men like. I even saw the brigade leader carrying gifts to town the other day—must’ve been to set up a match.”

The cornfield path was narrow, and Xie Beishen and Lin Yu heard every word.

At the field, Lin Yu couldn’t hold back his gossip:
“No wonder there are no young girls working today. Brother Shen, I didn’t expect the brigade leader’s family to be like that. I thought Su Wanwan was seeing Ma the educated youth, but now she’s aiming for a city man? Yesterday she looked so innocent—I didn’t think she was this calculating.”

Xie Beishen shot him a cold glance and stayed silent, an icy aura radiating off him. For some reason, he felt angry—especially since he’d dreamt of that kiss again last night, which had left him washing his underwear in the morning.

He hadn’t realized he was so full of energy. No wonder boys his age in the compound were already married. After just half a month, he understood all too well.

He snapped corn off the stalk with unnecessary force.

—

That afternoon, Su Wanwan finished her last exam early. Middle school papers were simple for her. She might’ve missed a bit on politics and Chinese, but overall it was fine.

Glancing at the clock on the school wall, she saw she had more than an hour before her brother came. She decided to shop around and buy something for the family.

The department store stood in the county center.

Stepping inside, her eyes went straight to the slogan on the wall: “Serve the People, Ensure Supply.”

Behind the long glass counters were neatly displayed daily goods.

She had wanted to buy ready-made clothes for her father, but nothing looked good. Even if she bought them, they might not fit. Her mother always sewed their clothes—better to buy fabric.

So she picked a trendy navy-blue Terylene fabric and a small-floral print, enough for two outfits for her parents. She learned that a Zhongshan suit needed about 16 feet of cloth and 11 feet of ration coupons. Together, the two bolts cost 15 yuan and 20 coupons.

At the counter, she spotted white cotton shirts. Her brother didn’t own a decent shirt—all his were gray and patched. She bought him one for 7 yuan and 7 coupons, using up the last of her cloth rations.

She eyed the watches too—she really wanted one. Checking the time every day was a pain.

But after lunch at the state restaurant and today’s shopping, she had only 23 yuan and a few coins left. She sighed. In her past life, money had never been a problem. Now she couldn’t even afford a watch.

Making money was urgent. How else could she afford college next year? But in this era, private business wasn’t allowed. She’d have to think of something else.

She asked the shop clerk for the time. It was almost when she had arranged to meet her brother, so she headed to the school gate.

Su Heng had brought a straw hat for her. On the way home, the sun was scorching.

Seeing the bag in her hand, he asked curiously:
“What did you buy? And by the way, how come I didn’t see yesterday’s fish or the grain and chickens? Mom said you hid them. Where are they?”

Su Wanwan put on the hat he handed her:
“I bought fabric for mom and dad. Don’t worry about the food, no one will find it.”

She didn’t give him the shirt, just urged:
“Second brother, let’s hurry home. The sun’s too harsh.”

She’d worked hard to keep her skin fair—no way she was getting tan again.

Once she was settled on the back seat, Su Heng pedaled hard. By the time she felt her backside going numb, they had arrived home. She muttered how inconvenient transport was.

At home, Su Heng pulled the pork from the well and handed it to her:
“You’re so good at hiding things—hide this too. Tonight, we’ll treat Dad.”

Su Wanwan smiled, taking the meat. It was a nice cut—perfect for red-braised pork.
“Alright. Then go help kill the chicken.”

Su Heng knew she’d never tell him where she hid things, so he headed toward the coop.