Chapter 99: The Red Gauze Scarf, Want It!

Ming Dai took Zhou Sinian to a state-owned restaurant.

At this hour, the place was already quite crowded. Ming Dai held onto his sleeve and led him to line up.

Zhou Sinian watched as people ahead of them carried away plates of dumplings, growing impatient. He shot a glare at a young man carrying two plates, clearly displeased that he had bought so much.

His attire was already unusual, and he was tall with an intimidating presence. With just one glance, his eyes filled with hostility, he startled the young man so much that his hands trembled, almost dropping the dumplings to the ground.

Zhou Sinian reacted quickly. Stretching out both hands, he caught the plates just before they hit the floor, rescuing the dumplings.

“Good! Do it again!”

“This girl is impressive! Just a little too tall. Whose daughter is she?”

“Must be trained in martial arts—what a fine skill!”

Ming Dai felt utterly embarrassed.

Cheers erupted around them. Zhou Sinian, pleased with the praise, tossed the dumplings into the air and caught them one by one, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Ming Dai had no choice but to stop him. She took the plates and handed them back to the stunned young man.

“Sorry, sorry for interrupting your meal!”

The young man dumbly accepted the plates, glanced at Zhou Sinian—who still looked eager for more—and quickly ran off with his dumplings.

Even when he reached his seat, he didn’t dare eat there. Instead, he and his companion pulled out their meal containers, packed up the dumplings, and left without looking back.

Ming Dai no longer dared to let go of Zhou Sinian. She clutched his sleeve tightly.

Zhou Sinian was showing signs of getting carried away in front of a crowd!

Being dragged along, Zhou Sinian was not pleased.

Ming Dai stuffed a piece of peanut brittle into his mouth. Only then did he quiet down, no longer glaring at people carrying dumplings or shooting cold stares at them. Instead, he focused on eating his candy.

When it was finally their turn, before Ming Dai could speak, Zhou Sinian directly said, “Two plates. I want two plates.”

Last night, Zhou Sinian had been out making a fuss and was already starving.

Ming Dai took out the money and ration tickets. “Three servings of sauerkraut and pork dumplings, please.”

Once the dumplings were served, they found an empty seat and sat down. The people around them pointed in their direction, still discussing Zhou Sinian’s earlier stunt.

Zhou Sinian, unbothered, focused solely on eating. Seeing the two plates in front of him and one in front of Ming Dai, he nodded in satisfaction.

The dumplings were steaming hot. He was impatient, taking a bite, then quickly blowing on it. Ming Dai told him to let them cool down first, but he only lasted three seconds before reaching out with his chopsticks again.

Fine, if he didn’t mind the heat, then so be it.

Ming Dai ate slowly and methodically. The dumplings were fragrant and packed with filling. It was early in the morning, and after eating half her portion, she was already full.

Meanwhile, Zhou Sinian was practically swallowing them whole—one bite per dumpling. He finished both plates in no time and was now eyeing the dumplings left on Ming Dai’s plate.

Ming Dai asked, “You’re still hungry?”

Zhou Sinian patted his stomach. “I could still eat half a bowl more.”

Silently, Ming Dai pushed her plate toward him, knowing he wouldn’t refuse.

Zhou Sinian happily accepted, finishing the remaining half plate in just a few bites.

After that, they each scooped up a bowl of dumpling soup to wash everything down—eating the original broth with the original meal, a perfect way to end breakfast.

Once she was sure he wasn’t overly full, Ming Dai bought two meat buns before heading back with him.

At the entrance, Liu Laosan was sitting in the sun. Seeing them return, he immediately stood up and took two steps forward. But when his gaze met Zhou Sinian’s, he hesitated and stepped back again.

Ming Dai let Zhou Sinian go inside first before handing the buns to Liu Laosan.

Feeling the warmth of the oiled paper wrapping, Liu Laosan grinned with delight. He took out one bun, then stuffed the remaining one back into Ming Dai’s hands.

Ming Dai quickly waved her hands. “Grandpa Laosan, I already had breakfast.”

Liu Laosan bit into his bun and mumbled, “I already ate a flatbread too, but I can still eat a meat bun.”

Seeing him being so generous for once, Ming Dai decided not to refuse.

“Better take it now. If you wait any longer, I might not be willing to give it to you!”

After saying that, Liu Laosan bit into his bun and went off to check on the carriage.

Ming Dai held the oil-paper-wrapped bun, watching the old man’s smug little figure as he walked away. She chuckled before heading back into the guesthouse.

In the end, she and Zhou Sinian split the bun, each eating half.

Yesterday, when they went to the scrapyard, it wasn’t just Ming Dai who had gains—Zhou Sinian also managed to find the missing bicycle parts he needed.

Seeing all the wheels lying around, Ming Dai casually described a tricycle to him.

Zhou Sinian was immediately intrigued. Now, he was busy tinkering with it, completely abandoning his knitting.

At noon, after finishing their meal, they checked out of the guesthouse and took their carriage to wait outside the county government office for the brigade leader and secretary.

They hadn’t been waiting long when a small sedan drove out of the county office.

The backseat window rolled down, revealing Mayor Wei inside.

As he looked at Zhou Sinian, who was sitting on the carriage and knitting a sweater under the sunlight, he moved his still-sore neck and muttered, “Little bastard, still hits so hard!”

Zhou Sinian sensed something strange and looked up, but he only caught a fleeting glimpse of a face—both unfamiliar and oddly familiar.

Ming Dai noticed his sudden pause and asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Sinian shook his head and lowered it again, continuing to knit.

Ming Dai, seeing that the sweater was almost at the sleeves, was overjoyed. She would be able to wear it before the New Year!

In the afternoon, Brigade Leader Liu and Secretary Liu finished their lessons and walked out with a group of officials in uniform. Their thick cotton-padded jackets stood out among the formal attire.

Ming Dai truly admired them—it was freezing cold, yet those officials were still wearing their cadre uniforms.

Liu Dazhu and Liu Qingmin both looked radiant. There was no need to ask; it was obvious that this trip to the county had been a fruitful one.

The two of them got onto the carriage, and Liu Laosan cracked his whip. With that, the carriage set off.

Ming Dai watched as the cotton tassel and the “underpants” on the horse’s tail swayed back and forth. Silently, she shifted to sit in the opposite direction.

Liu Dazhu pulled out a small parcel wrapped in newspaper from his coat and handed it to Ming Dai.

“Xiao Ming, this is the money from selling the vegetables. Count it.”

Ming Dai took it, placed it under the blanket, and opened it. Inside was a small stack of bills. She counted—forty yuan and fifty cents, exactly right.

She nodded at Liu Dazhu, who grinned and pulled out his tobacco pipe. He didn’t smoke it, just turned it around in his hands.

Selling the vegetables was a good thing. Xiao Ming had spent quite a bit of money on that lunatic all winter. Finally, there was some money coming back.

Zhou Sinian also leaned over to take a glance but showed no reaction.

He had already seen the money in Ming Dai’s basket—neatly stacked, much more than this. Ming Dai had warned him not to say anything, or else there would be no lamb soup for him ever again.

Ming Dai, however, was a little excited. These vegetables were grown by them, making the earnings feel special. Even though it wasn’t much, it made her happy—no less satisfying than making money on the black market.

When the carriage wobbled its way to the commune, Liu Dazhu took the county’s approval documents to find the commune director, while Liu Laosan led the rest of the group to the post office to pick up parcels and letters.

Ming Dai hadn’t expected to have a package of her own. Seeing that it was sent from the capital, she immediately had an idea of who it was from.

She opened the letter and read through its contents.

As expected, Director Niu and his wife were smart people.

At the post office, she bought an envelope and some stamps, borrowed paper and a pen, and wrote a reply on the spot before dropping it into the mailbox.

Back on the carriage, Zhou Sinian was holding her package but hadn’t opened it yet.

“There’s candy!”

Ming Dai pinched the package too. Sure enough, she could feel the shape of candies inside.

When they opened the package, besides the milk candies, there was also an item wrapped in newspaper.

Unwrapping it, they found a red gauze scarf with golden embroidery along the edges, making it look particularly eye-catching.

Zhou Sinian’s eyes lit up instantly. He looked at Ming Dai with excitement and blurted out, “I want it!!”

Ming Dai glanced at him in confusion. It felt like Zhou Sinian had become much livelier lately, talking more than usual.

“Don’t you think… it’s too red?” she asked.

Zhou Sinian shook his head like an eager puppy, his fingers already stroking the gauze scarf. He liked it so much that he couldn’t resist rubbing the fabric between his fingers.

Ming Dai sighed helplessly. “I can give it to you, but you can’t blame me for it later. I’m not the one making you wear it.”

Zhou Sinian didn’t understand but nodded vigorously.

“Alright then.”

Ming Dai handed it over. Zhou Sinian happily took the scarf, carefully examining it, running his fingers along the golden embroidery. Then, he folded it neatly and placed it in his coat pocket, right next to his candy wrappers.

Ming Dai let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, it was the middle of winter, and no one was wearing scarves like this.

Otherwise, if he had a red headscarf on his head, a red silk scarf around his neck, and a military coat wrapped around him, Ming Dai wouldn’t even dare to look at him.

That would be way too much for the eyes to handle!

Liu Qingmin, on the other hand, looked on with envy. He had been trying to find a red “Double Happiness” towel for his daughter but couldn’t get one anywhere. And yet, even this lunatic had a red gauze scarf! This kind of thing wasn’t even available in the county.

Xiao Ming Zhiqing was really good to the lunatic!

Ming Dai: No, I’m just developing an allergy to the color red right now.

By the time they arrived home, the sky was already completely dark.

There was someone in Ming Dai’s house. Huang Dalian had just finished heating the brick bed, making the entire room warm and cozy.

“Xiao Ming, these vegetables, I’ve checked them. They’re doing well. The mushrooms have sprouted a bit, so I went ahead and picked some for you and left them there.”

Ming Dai looked at the vegetables on the heated brick bed, and indeed, they had been well taken care of.

She picked two mushrooms, wrapped them in newspaper, and handed them over. “Sister Dalian, take these home and stir-fry them.”

Huang Dalian didn’t hesitate, stuffing the mushrooms into her arms and heading home with a satisfied nod.

Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian were both exhausted, so after locking the door, they went into the space to rest.