Chapter 7 – “And He Actually Thought That Up”

The matter with the Shen family’s internal dispute was something Zhou Mancang had vaguely heard about. But since he was busy distributing grain and it hadn’t come directly to his face nor affected the process, he chose to turn a blind eye.

After all, “A father-in-law who isn’t deaf or dumb won’t survive”—the village head was like the patriarch of the entire community. Same logic applied.

Who would’ve thought the fire would eventually still burn its way to his doorstep?

At first, Zhou Mancang tried to deflect, saying that the whole house situation had been decided by Shen Shaoyuan and his brothers among themselves, and that the village leadership wasn’t in a position to interfere in family affairs. But then this usually honest, quiet, and unassuming Shen Laoqi (Old Seventh Shen) acted like he’d taken the wrong medicine—he wouldn’t stop talking and was unreasonably persistent.

By the end, he even began threatening: his daughter had lost her mother at a young age, endured a life of eating gruel and sleeping in the wind and rain with him, and if anything happened to her from living in that leaking, drafty house, he’d hang himself at the village committee office door.

Hang himself at the village committee office.

And he actually thought that up!

Zhou Mancang glanced at the pale, skinny Shen Mo’er. Surrounded by onlookers whispering things like “Those two really are pitiful,” “Even if it’s a family matter, the village can’t ignore it,” “This is the people’s production brigade, how can it not serve the people?”—he had no choice but to nod reluctantly.

“Go talk it out with your brothers first. If you can’t come to an agreement, the brigade will step in and mediate.”

Shen Shaoyuan, well-versed in the art of knowing when to stop, let go of Zhou Mancang’s arm the moment he heard that. With so many people watching, he wasn’t afraid of Zhou Mancang going back on his word. He immediately thanked the surrounding villagers for speaking up on his behalf, then hoisted the sack of grain, lifted the bamboo basket, and called for Shen Mo’er to go home with him.

Watching the skinny backs of the father and daughter recede into the distance, Aunt Chen sighed sympathetically, “Ah, those two are cut from the same cloth—too honest. Without anyone to back them up, life’s really too hard.”

Zhou Mancang couldn’t help but grumble, “If he’s so honest, how could he come up with that ‘hang myself at the office’ line?! That guy wouldn’t stop talking! How did I never realize how chatty he is?”

Others might be intimidated by the brigade leader, but Aunt Chen wasn’t one of them. “Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. No matter how honest a man is, if he’s pushed to the edge of survival, he’ll push back. Shen Laoqi has only Mo’er left. If something were to happen to her, what else would he do but hang himself? If the brigade officials don’t stand up for justice, what choice does he have but to hang himself at your office door?”

Zhou Mancang was left speechless by the retort. After a long pause, he just waved his hand and said, “Hurry up, it’s your family’s turn for grain.”

The grain distribution for the educated youth was the last. They had seen the entire commotion unfold and had also heard the gossip among the villagers, piecing together the full story.

Even if the male educated youth had a good impression of Shen Lingling, the female ones didn’t quite feel the same. Especially Wang Qiutong, who had once gotten into a dispute with Shen Lingling over a pretty dress.

Though Shen Lingling had backed off in the end, Wang Qiutong still felt wronged. The story spread so far that everyone ended up praising Shen Lingling’s graciousness while branding Wang Qiutong as spoiled and willful.

The truth was, it had been just the two of them in the county department store when they ran into each other. It was obvious who had spread the tale.

“Hah. Stealing someone’s house isn’t enough, now she wants their grain too. Pushing her own uncle and cousin to the brink—what a kind heart, truly saintly,” Wang Qiutong sneered. These villagers were all fools. Unlike her, who had long seen through Shen Lingling’s facade.

Zhang Zhiqiang frowned. “Wang Qiutong, don’t talk nonsense just because you have personal issues with Comrade Shen Lingling. There may be misunderstandings. Besides, family matters are decided by the elders. It has nothing to do with Comrade Shen Lingling.”

Wang Qiutong rolled her eyes at him. “You keep going on about Shen Lingling this, Shen Lingling that. Has she even looked your way? You’re just being delusional!”

The other female educated youth couldn’t help but giggle.

Wang Qiutong’s remark hit Zhang Zhiqiang right in the gut. He opened his mouth, struggled for words, and only managed to blurt out, “Unreasonable!”

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Shen Mo’er had no idea what happened after they left. She and her father carried their grain home. While it was still light out, they reheated the leftover porridge from lunch and had it with some snacks for dinner.

Soon night fell. Shen Mo’er, relying on memory, found the home’s only kerosene lamp and lit it.

Father and daughter sat facing each other, staring at the only source of light in the pitch-black room, momentarily silent.

After a while, Shen Shaoyuan suddenly reached out and tapped the glass cover of the lamp, sighing, “This thing called glass—truly resembles our glazed wares. In our Da Liang, even well-off families wouldn’t be able to afford real glazed vessels, let alone poor folk like us.”

Shen Mo’er reached out and tapped it too. “Glass is more transparent and delicate.”

Shen Shaoyuan nodded. “Perfect for a lampshade.”

Shen Mo’er added, “Even better for windows than paper.”

In the original host’s memory, many of the commune homes had “glass windows.”

Shen Shaoyuan nodded again. “This kerosene, too, is rather remarkable.”

Shen Mo’er agreed. “Not having to lose one’s head to be branded a rebel and executed—that’s what’s truly remarkable.”

Father and daughter exchanged a look, sighed in unison, and then smiled.

They had been busy all day adapting to their new identities, leaving little time for reflection. But now it was just the two of them in the dark, quiet night—it almost felt like being back in that hidden treasury, living in constant fear.

Having survived a calamity and emerged alive in a different world… anyone would be disoriented for a few days.

Fortunately, both father and daughter were adaptable and easy-going by nature. These light-hearted exchanges were enough to comfort each other.

Yes, the home was poor, the village looked even poorer, but this world certainly had its own strengths where Da Liang fell short. Most importantly—they had survived. With their capabilities, how could they not make a good life here?

They didn’t say it outright, but both understood what the other meant:

“Since we’re here, we’ll settle in.”

Heaven had given them a lifeline. Then they should make the most of living.

In the past, back at the prince’s residence, nights could be spent drinking wine, admiring the moon, reading, playing music, and watching performances… but now, they only had one kerosene lamp. The oil wasn’t cheap, so there was no point wasting it. Better to wash up and sleep early.

The sun had been fierce today; the straw mat had dried out, but the bedding was still damp.

Even if it had all dried completely, they weren’t eager to sleep on that ratty bedding. Without a word, the two of them tacitly headed into the treasure vault.

There was a bed and bedding in the treasure vault. The bed was made of golden-thread nanmu wood, warm in winter and cool in summer. The bedding was made of the finest silk cotton and brocade from Daliang—what father and daughter had always used.

However…

“What if the bedding gets dirty?” Shen Mo’er lay in the smooth and soft bedding and asked her father through the screen.

Shen Shaoyuan was stumped by her question.

Taking it outside to wash and dry was definitely out of the question, but never washing or airing it was even worse.

After a while, he said, “Sleeping in the treasure vault isn’t a long-term solution. We still have to find a way to repair the house and buy some new bedding.”

Shen Mo’er replied with a soft sound and didn’t speak again. Her mind kept circling around the events of the day, and at some point, she drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Shen Shaoyuan once again trudged off to work with a hoe slung over his shoulder, still looking miserable. Shen Mo’er, on the other hand, didn’t need to go.

Because during the grain distribution yesterday, the brigade leader had said that since the weather was hot and there wasn’t much work in the fields, starting today, only strong laborers would be required to work. Women, especially the elderly, were no longer obligated to go. Shen Mo’er, who had fainted in the fields just yesterday, naturally was exempt as well.

Still, Shen Mo’er didn’t just idle around at home.

Back when she was a commandery princess, she never had to worry about anything. When she had free time, she could go boating or seek refuge from the heat. But now, she was in a different world, no longer a noble but the daughter of a poor peasant family. If she still acted like before, she’d either starve or freeze to death sooner or later.

After breakfast, Shen Mo’er took apart the bedding she’d roughly aired out yesterday.

She brought the cotton quilt outside to continue airing it. While she was at it, she found a stick to beat it with, but unfortunately, the cotton inside had already clumped into hard patches, so a few whacks didn’t do much.

The quilt cover, she took to the well and carefully washed it, then brought it back and hung it on the bamboo pole outside the door to dry.

Though their house was dilapidated, it actually had one advantage: next door was the courtyard that had belonged to the landlord. After the courtyard wall was torn down, the row of houses there had been turned into the brigade office, and not far from the door was a well.

Originally, the well had been inside the courtyard, but now that the wall was gone, it had become a public resource, which was quite convenient for their household.

Other villagers who lived nearby would also come to fetch water, but none had the same level of convenience. After all, their house had once belonged to the landlord’s compound—it was naturally much closer to the well than most.

Shen Mo’er was quite satisfied with that.

After drying the bedding, she cleaned both inside and outside the house. Only then did she grab a bamboo basket, put on her broken straw hat—missing half a brim—and head out the door.

Shen Mo’er walked from the west end of the village to the east end and soon arrived outside the village school.

In recent years, to answer the call to “bring education to the doorsteps of poor peasants,” many brigades had gradually opened schools. The Yangliu Brigade’s village school had been established two years ago. Currently, it had only two classes and two teachers.

One of them was Shen Lingling, and the other was an old educated youth named Cheng Tao. Both of them had a high school education.

At this time, it was still common for village teachers to have only a junior high or even primary school education. That both teachers at the Yangliu Brigade’s school had graduated from high school was quite rare.

In fact, someone like Shen Lingling, a local girl with a high school diploma, had had a chance to enter government work or a public institution. She had even secretly taken the recruitment exam—but unfortunately, she failed.

No one in the village knew about that.

Still, her luck wasn’t bad. Not long after, the village school was set up, and as the brigade’s only high school graduate, she naturally became a teacher.

In truth, Shen Lingling had only average academic performance—otherwise, she wouldn’t have failed the recruitment exams repeatedly. After so many setbacks, she now placed great value on her job as a village school teacher. Especially last year, when a teacher from the Songshu Brigade was transferred to the commune elementary school, Shen Lingling began to see a path upward. She quietly hoped she too could be transferred—to the commune school, the county school, maybe even the city school someday.

Because of that, when she saw Shen Mo’er outside the village school, her heart sank with a jolt.

She still remembered clearly—Shen Mo’er had her eye on this job!

The students were just finishing up. The test papers and award certificates had already been handed out. Children cheered and shouted, “It’s the holidays!” “Goodbye, teacher!” and quickly scattered like birds and beasts. Shen Lingling, preoccupied with her own thoughts, barely paid attention to the students. She hurried over to Shen Mo’er and asked, “Shen Mo’er, what are you doing here?”

Shen Mo’er looked at her with an innocent expression and said, “This is village property. There’s no rule saying commune members can’t be here, right?” Then, after a slight pause, she added, “Why are you acting so fierce again—are you trying to bully me?”

Shen Lingling: “…”

She snapped, “Don’t say nonsense! When did I ever bully you?!”

Shen Mo’er muttered, “You borrowed our house, snatched our food—how is that not bullying?”

Before Shen Lingling could argue, Shen Mo’er continued, “Anyway, I’m here to see Principal Cheng. It’s none of your business.”

With a huff, she ignored Shen Lingling, turned, and walked straight toward Cheng Tao. After saying a few words to him, the two of them went into the nearby teachers’ office together.

Shen Lingling, suspicious by nature, felt certain Shen Mo’er was up to something. She hesitated, wondering whether to follow, but before she could decide, Shen Mo’er came out again, smiling.

She didn’t even glance at Shen Lingling. Instead, she walked away cheerfully, light on her feet.

The more Shen Lingling thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. After some internal struggle, she mustered her courage and went into the office. There, she casually asked Cheng Tao what Shen Mo’er had come for.

Cheng Tao, wearing glasses and looking rather mature, heard her question and gave a teasing smile despite his usually serious expression. He said, “Comrade Shen Mo’er came to borrow high school textbooks from me. She said you guarded them like your eyeballs and wouldn’t lend them to her, so she’s borrowing them from me instead. She said she’s going to study by firelight and pierce her head with a rope to keep from dozing off, just to surpass you. Haha, you two sisters are quite amusing.”

Shen Lingling: “…”

When did Shen Mo’er ever ask her to borrow textbooks? She never did!

Granted, even if Shen Mo’er had asked, Shen Lingling wouldn’t have lent them—but the point was, she never even asked!

She lied! That two-faced liar—she lied again!