Chapter 15: Truly a Delight to the Eyes

Some, like Shen Mo’er and her family, returned fully loaded; others, like Fu Mingze, came back empty-handed.

On the way back to the Yangliu Brigade, Yang Qingqing tried several times to casually probe Fu Mingze about what he had gone to the commune for and why he hadn’t bought anything, but Fu Mingze showed little interest in responding. As a result, Yang Qingqing’s eyes turned red again.

Even Brigade Leader Zhou Mancang couldn’t help glancing a few times at Fu Mingze—probably thinking that while this young man was indeed good-looking, his temperament left something to be desired, particularly his indifference toward female comrades.

Shen Mo’er cast Fu Mingze a sympathetic glance.

They’d exchanged a few words when they met at Qiao-jie’s house. Although this Fu educated youth wasn’t particularly enthusiastic or warm, he didn’t come off as cold or arrogant either.

In fact, Shen Mo’er thought he looked quite endearing when he had nervously explained that he had traded eggs he earned from writing letters for someone in exchange for a few steamed buns.

His handsome face, not yet darkened from working in the sun every day, flushed slightly—truly a delight to behold.

So, when Yang Qingqing once again found an excuse to strike up a conversation with Fu Mingze, Shen Mo’er tilted her head with an innocent expression and said, “Comrade Yang, so you’ve been following Comrade Fu around all this time just to find out what he was doing at the commune? Honestly, going to the commune usually just means running errands or buying things—what’s there to be so curious about?”

Putting the pieces together, Shen Mo’er actually understood why Fu Mingze didn’t want to engage with Yang Qingqing. If it were her being followed around like that every day, she wouldn’t be too thrilled either.

Yang Qingqing’s expression changed slightly as she forced a laugh. “Comrade Shen Mo’er, you’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t following Comrade Fu. We’re all educated youths—I was just thinking we should care for and help one another. That’s all, really.”

Shen Mo’er didn’t look convinced. “Comrade Yang, saying it like that makes you sound too distant from us local members. Educated youths are also part of our brigade. Caring and helping shouldn’t be limited to just fellow educated youths—we should all look out for one another.”

Auntie Chen was the first to chime in with agreement. “Exactly! We all live in the same brigade. No need to be so standoffish.”

Zhou Mancang nodded as well. “Mo’er is right. You’ve all come to join the production team—you’re part of us now. No need to separate ‘us’ and ‘them,’ and you definitely shouldn’t form cliques.” His biggest fear was that these educated youths would band together and go against the brigade.

Yang Qingqing, looking aggrieved, insisted she hadn’t meant it that way. Her eyes rimmed red again as she shut her mouth and remained silent for the rest of the walk.

Fu Mingze hadn’t spoken the whole time. It was only when Shen Mo’er mentioned that Yang Qingqing had been following him that he lifted his eyes briefly. Then, when she said they should all care for and help one another, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch slightly.

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The commune’s brick kiln was desperate for skilled workers, and Xu Weiguo asked Shen Shaoyuan to report in the next day. Coincidentally, they had just secured ten feet of flawed fabric—off-white in color—so Shen Mo’er thought she’d make her father a shirt like the one Xu Weiguo wore.

Once home, she first cooked a pot of porridge, then stir-fried a small bowl of cowpeas. After eating a small bowl of porridge with the cowpeas, she went to Auntie Chen’s house to borrow scissors and tailor’s chalk for cutting and marking fabric.

Shen Mo’er had learned needlework from one of the top embroiderers in Daliang. She started at age ten and trained for a full six years.

It wasn’t just because all noble daughters had to learn it—she had no patience for such things growing up. From the time she could walk, she’d followed several imperial princes, learning martial arts and archery. Needlework bored her.

But her Ninth Uncle—always sour and jealous—envied how her royal uncle treated her father better than the other brothers. To show off, he constantly bragged to her father about how loving he and his Ninth Aunt were. Just one embroidered sachet made by his wife, and he’d show it off for half a year.

Wasn’t it just to stab at her father’s heart, mocking him for being a widower whose personal items were all embroidered by maids?

Still only a young girl, Shen Mo’er had marched into the palace with a retinue of attendants, clung to her royal uncle’s leg, and cried bitterly. Her uncle, furious, docked her Ninth Uncle’s pay for six months and awarded her the top embroiderer in the palace.

After that, her Ninth Uncle avoided her for months. Every time he saw her, he’d turn and walk away, telling others that Shen Mo’er was like a sweet dumpling filled with black sesame—soft and sweet on the outside but dark inside—just like Shen Shaoyuan.

Compared to the clothing of Daliang, the outfits in this world were so simple they were practically crude. A short-sleeved shirt was nothing to her; she easily finished it in an afternoon.

Shen Shaoyuan tried it on and was thrilled. “It fits perfectly and looks better than the ready-made shirts at the supply and marketing cooperative.”

Shen Mo’er was pleased too. They say fine clothes make the man, and with this new shirt, her father’s scholarly elegance returned.

Before nightfall, Shen Shaoyuan took a basin to the well to wash the shirt. He hung it inside the house once it was half dry at dusk—since their home lacked a courtyard wall, leaving it outside overnight meant it would surely go missing by morning.

For dinner, they had the leftover porridge and cowpeas. Afterward, the father and daughter sat down to discuss plans for building their new house.

Since Shen Shaoyuan would be working at the brick kiln, drawing blueprints and gathering materials would fall to Shen Mo’er.

It wasn’t a problem for her—her only concern was how exactly to design the house.

In her memories, the original owner had heard people say that the houses in the city were great—they had electric lights, running water, and, most importantly, clean and convenient indoor bathrooms.

Their village didn’t yet have electricity or tap water, so those were out of the question. But Shen Mo’er really did want a clean indoor bathroom. Unfortunately, the original owner had only heard about them secondhand and had no idea how they were built.

Shen Shaoyuan suggested, “Why not ask the educated youths? A lot of them in our brigade come from big cities.”

He figured that since many of the female educated youths were from urban areas and his daughter was sociable, she’d have no trouble finding someone to talk to. As for Yang Qingqing—well, forget her. A young lady sneakily following a boy around, always speaking in riddles—not worth befriending.

Shen Mo’er thought of Fu Mingze, who came from the capital. Since they were going to ask, it made sense to ask someone from the biggest city. So she readily agreed.

With both of them on the same page, they were very satisfied and, after some more chatting, went to bed.

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The next morning, Shen Shaoyuan wore his brand-new shirt to the commune’s brick kiln. Shen Mo’er returned the scissors and tailor’s chalk to Auntie Chen’s house. She also brought along the two-plus feet of leftover fabric to trade for eggs and vegetables.

That fabric had a dye flaw and wasn’t of much use to Shen Mo’er, but Auntie Chen was overjoyed.

In terms of money, two feet of fabric was worth just over one yuan. But in these days of tight supply, each person only got a few feet of fabric a year—and fabric coupons were extremely hard to get. In Auntie Chen’s eyes, that fabric was extremely useful.

She happily picked out a dozen eggs and placed them in the basket Shen Mo’er brought, then grabbed two bunches of vegetables from the kitchen. “Just pulled these this morning—go ahead and eat them. I’ll bring you more in a few days. Veggies are best when freshly picked. Leave them too long, and they get tough.”

From their interactions the past few days, Auntie Chen knew Shen Mo’er was sensible, so she made sure to help her out. Otherwise, it would’ve been easier to just give all the vegetables at once—whether they got old wasn’t her concern.

Before Shen Mo’er left, the old lady also placed a piece of homemade pickled vegetable in her basket. “It’s hot—some pickled veggie with porridge is the most refreshing meal.”

With those eggs, vegetables, and pickles, her food supply problem was temporarily solved.

Shen Mo’er carried the basket home, took out two eggs, and was about to leave again. Then she turned back, lit the stove, and boiled the eggs before heading out to the educated youth quarters.

The male educated youths were just returning from work. From a distance, Shen Mo’er saw Fu Mingze walking at the rear of the group—white shirt, black pants, tall and upright. Even though his clothes were full of patches and one pant leg was rolled up higher than the other, he still had a unique elegance that made him stand out.

Fu Mingze walked unhurriedly, his handsome face expressionless. It was Zheng Jiamin beside him who was chattering nonstop.

As they got closer, Zheng Jiamin spotted Shen Mo’er and cheerfully greeted her. “Comrade Shen Mo’er!”

Fu Mingze turned to look.

Shen Mo’er remembered Zheng Jiamin’s name and smiled with a nod. “Hello, Comrade Zheng.”

Then she said, “I have something I’d like to discuss with Comrade Fu.”

Zheng Jiamin looked surprised. “You’re looking for Fu Mingze? Oh—okay, then I’ll leave you two to talk.” Out of Shen Mo’er’s sight, he made exaggerated winks and faces at Fu Mingze.

Fu Mingze ignored him, stopped walking, and asked, “Comrade Shen, what can I help you with?”

Shen Mo’er explained that her family was building a new house and that she wanted to include an indoor bathroom.

Fu Mingze looked a bit surprised. “Your family’s building a new house?”

He had already thought something was strange when he saw her at the commune. Just days ago, she was nearly starving, and now suddenly she was spending freely and talking about building a house?

It seemed word hadn’t spread yet about her family receiving 300 yuan. So Shen Mo’er explained briefly.

After she finished, Fu Mingze finally understood what had happened. After thinking for a few seconds, he readily agreed. “Generally speaking, city apartments are more likely to have separate indoor bathrooms. It’s less common in single-story homes. But my family—uh, a distant relative of mine—did a similar renovation, so I have a rough idea of how it works. I’ll draw you a blueprint in a couple of days.”

Shen Mo’er didn’t catch his slight pause. Hearing him agree so easily, she smiled brightly. “That’s wonderful. Thank you so much, Comrade Fu.” Her biggest worry had been resolved.

She handed over the boiled eggs. “Here, these two eggs are for you—have them for breakfast.”

Fu Mingze was slightly stunned. “That’s really not necessary.”

Shen Mo’er stuffed the eggs into his hands. “It’s just a small token of thanks. Don’t be polite. I figured you might not have the time, so I boiled them already—make sure to eat them today, or they’ll spoil.”

The sun was already strong. Even standing in the shade, Fu Mingze’s forehead was damp with sweat, his glowing skin radiant under the light—his refined features even more striking.

Shen Mo’er couldn’t help but sneak a couple more glances before she smiled and said goodbye. “Comrade Fu, I’ll come find you in a few days then.”