Chapter 48

It wasn’t that Ma Gensheng didn’t want to stay and see Su Ye, but the rice in the countryside was almost ripe. He had to organize the villagers to harvest the grain, dry the rice, and prepare compost. After the harvest, they would plant some rapeseed and radishes for the autumn. As the head of the production team, he had to keep a close eye on this precious grain. This year’s harvest wasn’t good, and the whole village was depending on this little bit of grain to get by.

Su Ye took the package Ma Gensheng brought her. It felt quite heavy in her hands, carefully wrapped in three layers of paper. When she finally unwrapped it, it turned out to be a large double-sealed bamboo box containing a big bag inside. Tea leaves are very sensitive to moisture, so proper storage is crucial, and Su Ye could tell that the quality of this batch was much better.

This batch of tea was far better than the one Ma Gensheng had sent her last time. The last batch of tea had been carelessly wrapped in oiled paper.

Gu Xiangqian was standing nearby, observing but saying nothing.

Noticing his surprised expression, Su Ye didn’t plan to hide anything and said, “These are some tea leaves from the villagers. They asked me to help them find a market. They want to trade the tea leaves for grain to get through the winter.”

Gu Xiangqian was a bit surprised. He had originally thought Su Ye intended to sell tea to make a little pocket money, just for fun, which was why he had turned a blind eye to her recent activities and even introduced her to Li Maogang’s uncle.

But selling tea to the farmers to exchange for grain was a different matter from just making pocket money for herself. Gu Xiangqian became serious. “Sorry. Do you need my help?”

Su Ye finished inspecting the tea leaves and was about to shake her head to decline.

But when she saw Gu Xiangqian’s serious expression, she found it oddly cute. She pointed to her shoulders and said, “Of course, it would be even better if you could give me a shoulder massage and a back rub. I’m aching all over right now. A little encouragement, like a kiss, would be perfect.”

Gu Xiangqian froze, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. His expression slightly faltered, and he looked somewhat taken aback.

He didn’t know how he had interacted with Su Ye in the past, but clearly, he wasn’t used to this kind of affectionate closeness. He didn’t think he would be someone who would act this way either.

After packing away the tea, Su Ye leaned next to Gu Xiangqian and blew gently into his ear, smiling as she said, “You used to be so good at pampering people, wanting to wash feet and give kisses. How come you’re so cold now…”

Su Ye paused for a moment before teasing, “You don’t love me anymore, I understand. Last time, I saw you smiling so brightly at Dr. Yao.”

The conversation became more absurd. When has he ever smiled at Yao Chunyu?

Gu Xiangqian’s temples throbbed painfully. He hadn’t realized how he had ended up with someone like her, until he saw it all clearly today. No wonder his diary was full of chaotic descriptions, with all his dignity lost, overturning his usual nature.

After a brief moment of composure, he curled his lips into a smile, showing eight teeth.

He worked hard to make the smile even wider, revealing his white teeth and dimples on his cheeks.

Gu Xiangqian didn’t really like taking photos before, but that didn’t stop many people from praising him for being very “photogenic.” It was even better if he smiled. His mother had said the same thing.

Su Ye was completely stunned.

Goodness… why does Gu Xiangqian have dimples?

Gu Xiangqian didn’t smile much in the past, he was like a block of ice. If he did smile, it was only a business-like smile, nothing like the smile he had now, with his brows and eyes slightly curving, his pitch-black eyes seeming to catch the sunlight, melting the ice and snow.

Gu Xiangqian slowly said, “Let’s get down to business. Do you really not need my help?”

After a long pause, Su Ye finally snapped out of it from his radiant smile. She turned her head, took a moment to calm down, and said,

“I plan to take three steps. The first step is to contact a guest house to purchase tea leaves. The guesthouse receives guests year-round, so they always need tea. The second step is that with the Dragon Boat Festival coming up, I want to print tea packaging boxes and wholesale tea gift boxes to factories, to be used as gifts when visiting relatives. The third step is to sell tea at a street stall…”

Gu Xiangqian placed his hand on Su Ye’s shoulder, pausing for a long while, as if after some internal struggle, he discarded his serious demeanor and began massaging her.

Su Ye smelled the refreshing scent on him, her heart racing. She glanced at him happily, his face serious, as if he were doing something incredibly important. The sunlight shone on him, softening his features.

She pouted her lips to kiss him, and Gu Xiangqian pinched her hard, saying, “Focus. If you keep this up, I’ll keep massaging.”

Su Ye stopped letting him massage her shoulders, went to wash her face, and obediently returned to grading assignments. She couldn’t stand people like him—He wouldn’t let her sleep with him but he flirted with her!

—

On the other side, at the Ning family.

Mother Ning didn’t expect her son to be so clueless. She had asked him to send alcohol to Su Ye as a favor, and instead, he brought back two pounds of cured meat. Mother Ning was furious!

What else could they possibly give to return Su Ye’s favor? Mother Ning pinched her son’s ear, scolding him, “How shameless!”

It was a pity that Professor Ning had lived a modest life for most of his years, and now, for a few pounds of pork, he would lose his dignity. Professor Ning had been mulling over it for a long time. Should he just give away his collection of ancient books as a gesture? But he hadn’t heard that Su Ye had any interest in collecting books. The treasures in his eyes would probably just be seen as a pile of old papers to her. It was all so frustrating!

Was this not shameless? Ning Xingdou could barely walk after getting a few pounds of pork.

He smiled with his eyes nearly closed, looking like he was about to burst with happiness. Who cared about dignity when there was meat to eat?

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. My sister-in-law is doing well. In the future, please guide her more, Dad. She’s very eager to learn and improve. She asked me to check if you could give her some advice.”

Such a good thing? Professor Ning didn’t even want to read the newspaper anymore and quickly came over to check out the cured meat his son brought back.

When Mother Ning saw how quickly her husband had switched sides, she was so angry her teeth itched. “Always flattering yourself. How capable do you think your dad is? That’s just politeness, do you understand the meaning of the word ‘politeness’?”

Professor Ning, who wasn’t very handy and didn’t know much about the world, picked up a knife and started slicing the cured meat.

Seeing this, Mother Ning was so angry she didn’t even feel like eating. She was full of anger. Ning Xingdou tried to comfort her. “Alright, Brother Xiangqian and Sister-in-law’s family isn’t lacking in food. I know, they just want to help us. We should appreciate their kindness and, in the future, help them whenever we can.”

“Brother Xiangqian lost his father when he was young, and Sister-in-law also didn’t have anyone to care for her. If you treat them like your own children, they will surely be very happy.”

What he said wasn’t wrong. The old couple of the Ning family had long considered Gu Xiangqian as their own son. If Mother Ning weren’t so shy, she would have already pulled Gu Xiangqian over to recognize him as a godson. But the Gu family had a strong foundation, and the Ning family couldn’t compare. If they recognized Gu Xiangqian, it might be seen as climbing up or flattering.

Hard times reveal true feelings. Mother Ning thought about it and said, somewhat suspiciously, “What you said does make some sense. Your dad’s knowledge is really the only valuable thing he has. I heard your sister-in-law only finished elementary school. Why don’t you take her to visit Dad sometime? He can teach her. It would be beneficial for her.”

Although Professor Ning was poor, he was a doctoral supervisor and even held the honorary position of vice principal at a school. Teaching an undergraduate student was a trivial matter, just a small practice. He had personally taught his son, and many students wanted to become his disciples, but he wasn’t willing to accept them. Who would have thought that today, he would lose his dignity over a few pounds of pork?

Ahem. Ning Xingdou, though he seemed unable to afford meat, was actually a highly accomplished student. He had studied in the Soviet Union with Gu Xiangqian and served as a technical commander for artillery in the battlefield.

Ning Xingdou strongly agreed, “That sounds great, my sister-in-law really loves learning.”

Mother and son decided this unilaterally for Professor Ning and felt proud of their brilliant idea, without considering how the husband and father might feel.

“Did you ask my opinion about taking a student?” Professor Ning, halfway through cutting the meat, asked in frustration. He didn’t even want to continue cutting the pork.

The mother and son both turned to look at him and said in unison, “Alright, you’re welcome to skip dinner tonight!”

“Dad, if you don’t agree, can you live with your conscience?”

For a moment, Professor Ning was speechless. He thought about it and realized he couldn’t refute them, especially when he looked down and saw the pork he was still cutting in his hands.

After a while, he shook his head and said, “I’m willing, but it depends on whether she’s willing. Didn’t Xingdou enjoy it when I made him study back in the day?”

Taking a student was tiring! Having an extra disciple would at least take ten years off his life. He could have lived until 90, but now it seemed he’d only make it to 60. Besides, could a student who hadn’t even finished graduate school really measure up? Who knew if they’d be willing to endure the hardships of studying?

So… can a disciple just be taken in at will?

After Ning Qian finished slicing the cured meat, he was sweating from the heat. He said, “Next time, bring your sister-in-law over to let me have a look. If she’s diligent, willing to work hard, smart, and motivated, I’ll teach her more. But that’s all I’ve agreed to.”

Ning Xingdou was very pleased to have his father’s approval.

During this time, he had enough opportunity to realize that Su Ye’s experience of only finishing elementary school was often talked about by others. In Ning Xingdou’s opinion, though he wouldn’t hold that against his sister-in-law, others wouldn’t treat her any better just because she was Gu Xiangqian’s wife. If she became his father’s student, higher education would be inevitable, and her level of education might even surpass most people in the future.

In his heart, although his father was an ordinary man with an unattractive appearance, when he picked up the chalk to teach, he was the most handsome. His thinking was profound and vast, so beautiful that it was overwhelming. If he weren’t smart, he wouldn’t have attracted the beautiful Mother Ning back then.

Su Ye would definitely become his father’s student, because Brother Xiangqian said she was very smart and eager to learn.

Mother Ning was also very pleased.

She didn’t have the mindset that women should study less. Even when times were tough, she worked hard to get an education. Girls should read more. The poorer one is, the more they should study, to broaden their horizons. Education helps one avoid being easily influenced by others’ thoughts and gives them their own perspective. To be blunt, the money in one’s pocket might not always be theirs, but the knowledge gained is forever their own, something that no one can steal.

—

Sunday.

Su Ye received several large bags of tea leaves one after another. These past few days, as long as he finished his farm work, Ma Gensheng would use mules and donkeys to bring the tea leaves into the city.

After Ma Gensheng delivered the tea leaves to Su Ye’s house, he panted and said, “We have a total of 3,000 pounds of tea leaves, and here there are 200 pounds. Once the harvest is done in the village, I’ll bring the rest over. Comrade Su, you’re a good person. I won’t say too much to beat around the bush. I don’t care how you sell the tea leaves, just give me 3,000 yuan, that’s enough.”

He gestured with three fingers. “As long as we have three thousand yuan, we’ll have money to buy relief grain.”

One yuan per pound of tea leaves? Su Ye nodded to herself as she listened. This price was set pretty low. To be honest, selling 3,000 pounds of tea leaves at that price wouldn’t be hard. However, in business, there were always middlemen to deal with, and some manpower and resources were needed. You couldn’t just rely on integrity to get business done.

Chief Ma was also an honest person. ^[1]“If you wanted the horse to run, you had to feed the horse grass” is a metaphor meaning that in order to achieve a desired result, you need to provide the necessary resources or … Continue readingIf you wanted the horse to run, you had to feed the horse grass. Once Su Ye sold the tea leaves, she would still need to pay the free laborers a small wage.