Chapter 47: I Heard You Just Now, You Were Going to Say “In Our Past Life”…

Zheng Jiamin also came running over, his face full of shock. “What? That notebook is yours? No, wait, how come I’ve never seen it?!”

Fu Mingze glanced at him. That one look made Zheng Jiamin feel inexplicably like Fu Mingze was looking at a fool—speechless and even faintly pitying. Then he heard Fu Mingze say, “To be precise, that notebook is actually yours.”

Zheng Jiamin looked utterly confused. “How could that be? I’ve never owned such a beat-up notebook.”

Fu Mingze explained, “It’s the one you originally used to keep accounts for a few days. Later you said you didn’t need it anymore and gave it to me to use as scratch paper. I tore off the cover and tossed it into the vegetable garden for a few days. After being exposed to the sun and rain, maybe even chewed on by bugs or pecked by birds, it ended up like that.”

Zheng Jiamin: “…So you actually noticed someone had written in the textbook long ago, and you deliberately kept quiet, waiting for them to make a move? Wait—why didn’t you tell me anything? I had no idea, and when the Revolutionary Committee came today, I was almost scared stiff.”

Fu Mingze silently looked at him.

After two seconds of silence, Zheng Jiamin said, “Right, exactly. You couldn’t tell me. If you had, I’d definitely have blown it in front of them.”

Shen Mo’er: “…”

Wang Qiutong: “…”

Well, at least he’s self-aware.

“I just knew Shi Wei was up to no good, secretly going through your stuff. But I didn’t expect him to be so vicious—writing reactionary slogans in your book. That’s terrifying. If you hadn’t found out early, the one taken away by the Revolutionary Committee today would’ve been you.”

Zheng Jiamin clenched his fist and smacked his palm. “He tried to harm others and ended up harming himself—serves him right!”

Shen Mo’er picked up a bowl, and Fu Mingze carried over the thermos. The small table was set up under the eaves, and the four of them sat around it drinking water.

Suddenly, Wang Qiutong asked, “Comrade Mo’er, are you going back to school?”

Shen Mo’er shook her head. “I don’t have any more classes this period.”

Wang Qiutong: “Oh.”

Zheng Jiamin gulped down a bowl of water, then gave Shen Mo’er a big thumbs-up. “Comrade Shen Mo’er, you’re really clever. I didn’t even think of using the excuse of helping someone deliver something. Otherwise, I would’ve stepped forward right away.”

Wang Qiutong brushed her hair aside and rolled her eyes. “Exactly. You asked Comrade Fu to help you carry soap. You two live in the same dormitory, and he flat-out hid it and wouldn’t give it to you. Oh, and you obviously had another bar of soap yourself. You’re the one acting like a petty bourgeoisie.”

Zheng Jiamin: “…”

He scratched his head. “You’ve got a point.”

Today’s events had been quite a shock for everyone. The anonymous letter, the Revolutionary Committee, the reactionary writing… all of it brought to mind some very dark things, especially since it was stirred up by someone who lived under the same roof.

“It’s scary. If only we could move out of the educated youth housing,” Wang Qiutong sighed.

“Tell me about it,” Zheng Jiamin sighed along.

But they all knew that wasn’t realistic. A few of the older educated youths had moved out, but only under special circumstances. Like Cheng Tao and Xue Pingping—they moved out after getting married and renting a room in the village. Then there were three more: one had married a village girl, and two had married village boys, all now living with their spouses’ families.

“Ugh, are we supposed to marry a local? But look at them—all crooked melons and cracked dates.” Wang Qiutong lamented.

“Ugh, are we supposed to marry a local? But look at them—all crooked melons and cracked dates.” Zheng Jiamin echoed.

Fu Mingze cast a sidelong glance at him and let out a cold laugh. “Who are you calling crooked melons and cracked dates?”

Wang Qiutong immediately slapped the table. “Yeah, who are you calling that? Our Comrade Mo’er is gorgeous!”

Zheng Jiamin: “…I meant the others! Okay, fine, my bad. Everyone else is crooked melons and cracked dates—except Comrade Mo’er.”

Wang Qiutong rolled her eyes at him. “Didn’t you boys all say Shen Lingling is both pretty and gentle?”

Zheng Jiamin quickly cried injustice. “That was Zhang Zhiqiang who said that, not me!” Shen Lingling looked okay, but her heart wasn’t very kind. During the autumn harvest, he had noticed she tricked Zhang Zhiqiang and the others into helping her with her chores. By the end of the harvest, she had barely done any work herself.

But then again, Zhang Zhiqiang and the others had weak resolve and poor judgment—served them right.

After a few jokes, they saw it was getting late. Shen Mo’er simply invited the three of them to stay for lunch.

There was still half a bag of flour from the last purchase. She scooped a big bowl, added water to make batter, cracked four eggs, and beat them into egg liquid. She lit a small fire in the stove and made pancakes, filling them with mushrooms, cucumbers, and shredded vegetables. A spoonful of Aunt Chen’s homemade bean paste completed the wrap—it smelled absolutely mouthwatering.

One bite and the pancake was crispy, the egg fragrant, and the vegetables refreshing.

Fu Mingze and Zheng Jiamin each ate three. Shen Mo’er and Wang Qiutong shared three between them.

Zheng Jiamin rubbed his full belly and sighed, “If only we could eat like this every day.”

Wang Qiutong also sighed, “As if! You’re dreaming too big.”

Shen Mo’er laughed. “Next week we’re heading to the provincial capital for the competition. Before that, why don’t you all come over for dinner? Sunday night should work. It’s market day—I’ll check out the stalls and buy a few things. If I get back early, I’ll head into the mountains too. It’s been a while.”

Zheng Jiamin was more excited about going into the mountains than about food. His eyes lit up instantly. “Then you have to call us along! I learned a few tricks from Brother Zhao last time—maybe I can catch a wild pheasant or a rabbit.”

Wang Qiutong’s eyes widened. “You can really catch wild pheasants and rabbits in the mountains? I thought people said not to go too deep.”

Zheng Jiamin had been verbally bested by her all day and finally felt like he could win this round. With a smug look, he said, “Of course we’re not going deep—just a bit further than usual. You just need to know how to spot the signs. Wild pheasants and rabbits leave traces as they move around the forest. If you train your eyes like an old hunter’s, you don’t need to go deep to find them!”

All of that was what Zhao Zhengyang had taught him, and he was parroting it back now with great pride.

Wang Qiutong was thrilled. “Then we can have meat?!”

Her family was doing well, but meat ration tickets were tight in the city. Her family mostly sent her grain and food coupons. Meat coupons were reserved for her two little nephews, so she’d been craving meat terribly.

Shen Mo’er chuckled. “Only if we actually catch wild pheasants or rabbits.”

But Wang Qiutong had a strange confidence in Shen Mo’er. “Comrade Mo’er, I believe in you.” She didn’t trust Zheng Jiamin at all. If he could catch something, he would’ve bragged about it already.

Shen Mo’er, however, didn’t think she’d definitely succeed. Hunting required skill, but sometimes it also depended on luck.

Back in Daliang, she had participated in many hunts. Sometimes, the most valiant hunters would return empty-handed due to bad luck, while those with mediocre archery might stumble upon prey and come back with a bounty. That kind of thing happened all the time.

Still, in this world where resources were so scarce, even if they didn’t catch any animals, gathering wild mushrooms, vegetables, or bamboo shoots would still add a few nice dishes to the table.

That night, when Shen Shaoyuan came home, Shen Mo’er told him about the events of the day.

Shen Shaoyuan thought for a while. Internally, he wasn’t too pleased that his daughter had taken a risk to help Fu Mingze, but he’d always been the type to let her make her own choices—unless it was a matter of life and death. And considering they liked each other, with his daughter’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing.

So in the end, Shen Shaoyuan didn’t say much. He simply brought up another matter: “I know that Deputy Director Wu. Her full name is Wu Qiong. I met her a while back when I was helping out at the commune compound. At the time, she mentioned that her family was fond of calligraphy and asked me to write a piece for her — something about ‘self-reliance and hard struggle.’”

Shen Mo’er thought for a moment and said, “No wonder she specifically asked if I was an art teacher before, and seemed quite familiar with the children’s drawing competition. Later, she even spoke up for the educated youths and stopped that Deputy Director Sun from escalating the issue. I suppose she was remembering that favor.”

Shen Shaoyuan nodded. “If I run into her again, I’ll thank her properly.”

Father and daughter then shifted to talking about hosting a meal. As the saying goes, no one knows a daughter better than her father — as soon as Shen Shaoyuan heard Shen Mo’er bring it up, he understood her intention. “We’ll have to invite the brigade leader, the militia captain, and the others. This time, they also stood up for the pretty boy. We should also invite the Chen family. While we’re at it, let’s make your relationship official and have Sister-in-law Chen act as a matchmaker. That way we avoid future trouble and prevent anyone from using it as grounds to report you.”

Shen Mo’er very obediently agreed, “Exactly. The main worry is being reported. The Revolutionary Committee people don’t care about reason. If someone pins us with an issue of improper male-female conduct, it’ll be a big problem.”

She glanced at her father and thought to herself — if that educated youth ever finds out her dad calls him “pretty boy” behind his back, how would he feel?

Shen Shaoyuan knew perfectly well that his daughter said that on purpose to please him, but even so, it still made him feel much better inside.

He was a man who acted swiftly and decisively. Since his daughter had chosen Fu Mingze, they might as well settle things quickly. First, invite the brigade leader and the others for a meal to formally acknowledge the relationship. In these times, no one cared for grand ceremonies. Once Mo’er turned the right age next month, they could go get a marriage certificate, then later host two tables of guests — that would be enough.

What he still didn’t know much about was Fu Mingze’s family situation. They’d have to ask about that later, and see if his family could come over for the wedding feast.

Shen Shaoyuan was mulling it over in his heart but didn’t say anything to Shen Mo’er.

Over the next few days, Shen Mo’er continued with her regular classes while squeezing in intensive sessions to help the two elementary students prepare for their final sprint.

During this time, Fu Mingze seemed quite busy as well. He only showed up once in the evening to hurriedly deliver a bag of tangerines to Shen Mo’er, and after that, he completely disappeared.

Wang Qiutong, however, came looking for Shen Mo’er a few times. After going through the Revolutionary Committee conflict together and enjoying Shen Mo’er’s egg crepes, Wang Qiutong felt their friendship had made a big leap. So she often came by during breaks.

Sometimes, she would chat with Shen Mo’er about things going on at the educated youth spot — like how the atmosphere was pretty heavy because Shi Wei and Yang Qingqing still hadn’t returned; how now everyone was guarding their belongings more tightly; how hygiene had become a priority and even under the beds everything was neat with no place to hide a single thing. She also shared how the experimental field they had been working on was inspected by the brigade leader and some experienced farmers, who were actually quite surprised. They said those few plots really did grow better than usual, and now they were discussing with Fu Zhiqing about digging a compost pit for the whole brigade… no detail was too small — she just talked about whatever came to mind.

Sometimes, when Shen Mo’er was teaching the kids how to draw, Wang Qiutong would sit quietly nearby and observe. After watching once, the next day she came with her own pencil and notebook. While the children learned, she followed along, and before long her drawings looked quite decent too.

By Saturday, Wang Qiutong came over again and handed Shen Mo’er two food coupons, two sugar coupons, and three yuan. “This is the meal share from me and Zheng Jiamin. He originally said he wanted to cover Fu Zhiqing’s share too, but Fu Zhiqing said it wasn’t necessary.”

She grinned and clung to Shen Mo’er’s arm, shaking it coyly. “Last time we had those egg crepes, we didn’t even give you food coupons. This time it’s a proper meal — I’d be too embarrassed to show up empty-handed again.”

So Shen Mo’er didn’t refuse. “Then tomorrow I’ll check out the state-run restaurant, maybe buy some steamed buns or mantou to bring back.”

The next morning, Shen Mo’er got up early, washed up, and made a simple vegetable porridge. She had intended to go into her father’s room to wake him for breakfast, but Shen Shaoyuan only opened his eyes a sliver, groggy, and mumbled, “Finally get to sleep in for once. You eat and go to the commune yourself. Don’t bother your dad.” Then he rolled back under the blanket and went back to sleep.

So Shen Mo’er didn’t bother with him. She finished breakfast, pushed her bicycle out, and headed out the door.

Earlier, during the mornings when her father hadn’t gone out yet or in the evenings after dinner before it got dark, Shen Mo’er had already learned to ride the bicycle.

Having practiced martial arts, it came easier to her than others — she didn’t take long to pick it up, and after riding many more times, she was now very skilled.

However, just as Shen Mo’er pushed her bicycle out of the courtyard, she ran into Tian Fang.

Tian Fang was carrying a bamboo basket filled with vegetables from her private plot. A layer of eggs was carefully placed on top of the leaves, probably intended for the commune’s collection station. For some reason, instead of waiting at the brigade courtyard for the donkey cart, she was loitering outside Shen Mo’er’s home, peeking around. The moment she saw Shen Mo’er come out, her eyes glued themselves to the bicycle.

Shen Mo’er didn’t want to deal with her. She kicked off with one foot, ready to ride away — but Tian Fang suddenly grabbed the back seat of the bicycle.

“Mo’er, you’re heading to the commune, right? Take Second Aunt along.”

Shen Mo’er stood with one foot on the ground and looked back at her in disbelief. “Are we close enough to share a bicycle ride to the commune?”

Tian Fang’s expression stiffened, but then she softened her tone and said, “Of course we are. We’re family, as close as can be. Mo’er, Minbing and the others were locked up for quite a while — they only just got out yesterday. If it weren’t for you and Old Seven, would they have had to suffer like that? As their mother, I’ve cried my eyes out at home every day. Today’s market day at the commune — I want to sell these eggs and buy him something nice to nourish him. You’ve always been the most reasonable — surely you wouldn’t refuse such a small favor, right?”

Shen Mo’er had heard that Shen Minbing and the others had been released, but she had been too busy to pay much attention.

Now hearing this, Shen Mo’er found it even more absurd. “They got locked up because they were stealing in the middle of the night, weren’t they? What, now they commit a crime and the victims are to blame? If that’s how it is, should we go to the brigade leader and have him sort it out?”

Tian Fang was so startled she immediately let go of the bike. “I-I was just saying! If you don’t want to take me, then don’t! Why bring the brigade leader into this…”

Ever since their reputation took a nosedive, life had been hard for her family in the village. In contrast, things for Shen Shaoyuan and his daughter were thriving — one was a factory worker, the other a teacher, winning awards and heading to the provincial capital.

Now, when villagers mentioned Old Seventh Shen, it was no longer with dismissive tones. They said he had simply been confused before, but once he got his head on straight, it was like he’d become a new man — incredibly capable.

Not only the team members, but even the brigade leaders were siding with that father and daughter. Especially that dimwit Zhou Mancang—just because he received some meaningless award, he was acting like he’d struck gold, singing Shen Mo’er’s praises both in public and in private like she was something divine.

If Zhou Mancang were really the one to judge right and wrong, he’d only speak up for Shen Mo’er. Tian Fang considered herself a clever person—no way was she going to suffer such an obvious loss.

Shen Mo’er couldn’t be bothered to argue with her any longer. She stomped on the pedal and quickly rode off.

Tian Fang stared at her back for a long time before spitting disdainfully, “Showing off for what? It’s just a crappy bicycle.”

Just then, Aunt Cai walked by carrying a basket. Upon hearing this, she sneered and mocked, “Oh? You’re too good for a bicycle now? What, your family has a four-wheeler?”

Tian Fang’s face turned red and pale in turn. After a long pause, she squeezed out, “Mind your damn business, you old hag.”

She was in a “screw it” mood lately, no longer pretending to be gentle and virtuous in public. Her true nature was fully exposed.

But Aunt Cai wasn’t one to back down either. She was a tall and burly woman with a fiery temper. She slammed her basket to the ground and charged forward, landing several slaps across Tian Fang’s face—smack smack smack smack. “Calling me an old hag? Looks like you don’t know Lord Ma has three eyes!”

Tian Fang had always portrayed herself as delicate and weak—she was terrible at fighting. She couldn’t even hold her own against regular village women, let alone someone like Aunt Cai, who ranked high on the village’s “combat power list.” Beaten soundly, she didn’t dare fight back and instead plopped to the ground, bawling, “You’re bullying me too much!”

Aunt Cai couldn’t care less. She’d started the fight with her mouth—serve her right for getting slapped. No complaints.

Shen Mo’er had already ridden far away and had no idea Tian Fang got beaten up for running her mouth—and frankly, she wouldn’t have cared even if she had known.

Mid-Autumn Festival was just around the corner, and there was already a hint of chill in the morning air. Compared to the scorching summer, the current weather was pleasantly cool, even the air felt crisp and dry.

The fields she passed were quite bare. The rice paddies had already been harvested, leaving only the stubble, with the occasional straw stack scattered about.

Little by little, the surrounding brigades had already completed their public grain hand-ins. The Yangliu brigade was said to have finished theirs just the day before yesterday. Now the members could finally catch a breath and begin the next cycle of planting wheat or winter vegetables. Things weren’t as hectic as during the autumn harvest, which had felt like fighting a daily war.

Once she arrived at the commune, Shen Mo’er headed to the supply and marketing cooperative first and used her sugar ration coupons to buy one catty of white sugar and one catty of brown sugar. Then she bought some cooking essentials like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. She also picked up a bar of soap and some sewing supplies. Finally, when she passed the pastry counter, she couldn’t resist buying half a catty of egg cakes.

Egg cakes weren’t always available at the co-op, and buying them also required pastry coupons. These weren’t available in Da Liang village, and the original Shen Mo’er never seemed to have bought any. Shen Mo’er had long wanted to try them.

Coincidentally, her father had received half a catty of pastry coupons this month, and the co-op happened to have stock—of course she had to seize the chance!

She packed all the items into her bamboo basket, happily pushing her bicycle toward the direction of Sparrow Market.

Because she was on a bicycle, she didn’t take the shortcut but instead followed the main road, which was wider but a bit farther. As a result, there weren’t many people around.

When she reached a fork in the road, someone suddenly darted out from the side, clutching something tightly in their arms and running like mad, yelling, “Help! Someone’s robbing me!”

Almost immediately after, another person charged out from the path and lunged at the first, quickly catching up. He yanked the woman’s ponytail and slapped her hard across the face. “You damn woman! Hand over the goods!”

He reached to snatch what the woman was holding. She struggled and dodged, and he slapped her twice more. “Damn it! Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! I’m in a good mood and offered you two yuan for this cloth. If I were in a bad mood, I wouldn’t even give you a single cent!”

“Damn it, you call that buying? That’s straight-up robbery!”

The woman clutched the bundle to her chest. As he reached out again, she bit him right on the wrist. The man flew into a rage and raised his hand to strike again—when suddenly, someone stepped out from the side and kicked him hard behind the knee. The man dropped to the ground, kneeling in pain.

The woman quickly followed up with a vicious kick to his groin. He let out a bloodcurdling scream like his lineage had just ended. “You bitch! I’ll kill you!”

He tried to get up, but Shen Mo’er—who had just stepped in—watched the disheveled woman preparing to attack again. She raised a hand to stop her and addressed the man lying on the ground: “Someone just ran to report you to the police. They should be here any minute.”

The man instantly clutched his crotch and scrambled to his feet. “You just wait!”

Leaving that threat behind, he hunched over in an awkward pose and fled down the side path.

“That bastard pretended he wanted to buy my cloth just to rob me! How can you just let him go like that? He should’ve been caught and kicked until he couldn’t ever do this again!” The woman ranted while clawing the hair away from her face.

Shen Mo’er: “…”

She couldn’t tell whether to be more shocked that this person turned out to be Liu Yunshuang, or that Liu Yunshuang’s bold words had such obvious implications.

Still, she explained, “It’s because you were selling cloth. If we’d caught him, he might’ve turned around and reported you for illegal speculation.”

“Shen Mo’er? It’s actually you?!”

Liu Yunshuang was even more surprised than Shen Mo’er. After fixing her hair and seeing her rescuer clearly, she stared at Shen Mo’er like she’d just seen a ghost. “You—you—you kicked him down with one blow?! No, how do you have that kind of combat power? That’s not scientific—this—this is definitely unscientific. In your last li—uh, I mean, you weren’t like this before!”

Shen Mo’er: You were just about to say ‘last life.’ I heard it.

She blinked innocently. “Maybe he was just weak? I only kicked the back of his knee when he wasn’t paying attention. As for fighting ability… uh, combat power? You’re probably stronger—you kicked him so hard he couldn’t even get back up.”

“Really?”

Liu Yunshuang thought about it and realized Shen Mo’er had a point. It did seem like she had inflicted the most damage.

“Yes,” Shen Mo’er said. “Since you’re fine now, I’ll be heading off.”

“Wait!”

Liu Yunshuang immediately reached out dramatically. Although she had dealt more damage in the end, it was Shen Mo’er who had taken the man down first. After being robbed once, Liu Yunshuang was jittery—sticking with Shen Mo’er felt safer.

She asked, “Are you going to Sparrow Market? I’ll go with you. Do you want cloth? No ration coupons needed—I can sell you a few feet at a discount.”

Shen Mo’er shook her head. “I don’t need any.”

If she hadn’t found fabric in the treasure vault, she definitely would’ve jumped at this opportunity. But now she didn’t lack cloth, and Liu Yunshuang was acting weird. Who knew where those fabrics came from? Shen Mo’er wasn’t going to buy any.

She walked over, kicked up her bike’s stand, slung the bamboo basket on her back, and got ready to leave.

But Liu Yunshuang suddenly grabbed the back of the bicycle. “It’s okay if you don’t need it—I’ll gift it to you. A drop of water should be repaid with a spring—I’ll give you a few feet when we get to the market.”

Shen Mo’er: “…”

It was obvious Liu Yunshuang just really wanted to tag along with her.