Chapter 20

Everyone had spent quite a while working, and they were all hungry. So when they saw that big bowl of noodle soup, they buried their heads in and ate until the very last drop of broth was gone.

Lù Shílǐ licked his lips. “Meimei, how did you season this soup? Why is it so delicious?”

Jiāng Tián thought to herself: Of course it tastes good—instant noodle seasoning packets from the 21st century in this era are bound to be amazing.

“I just mixed it casually,” she said aloud.

Lù Shílǐ hadn’t expected his sister’s cooking to be this tasty. Even the top chefs at state-run restaurants in the capital couldn’t come up with a flavor like this.

But he didn’t dwell on it. After helping clear the table, he set off for town.

Since the educated youths had just arrived yesterday, the village head had arranged for a donkey cart to take them into town to buy supplies.

Lù Shílǐ traveled light and waited at the entrance of the educated youth compound.

“Comrade Lù, you’re heading into town too?”

“Mm.” His tone was cool and distant.

Lín Mùyǔ had already made up his mind the night before—he absolutely had to establish good relations with Lù Shílǐ. So today, his excuse for going to town was to buy sponge cakes for Jiāng Tián.

Sponge cakes were a luxury, and giving them to that “foolish” girl might seem like a waste, but for the chance to get close to the Lù family, he was willing to spend.

His family were all factory workers. The wages weren’t bad, but with four sons at home, money was always tight. As the second son, he was the least favored.

Before he left for the countryside, his mother had told him: “Young girls nowadays like scholarly types like you. If you meet an educated youth girl from a good background, try to get close to her. Later, you might even be able to send good things home.”

She was right—on the train ride here, plenty of young women had looked at him more than once.

Among them, he liked two the most. One was Jiǎng Chéng, who came from the same village as him.

From head to toe, she dressed well, clearly from a good family. Rumor had it her father was a deputy factory director.

At this time, being a deputy director meant status, good pay, and plenty of perks.

The other was an educated youth from a neighboring village who had come from Beijing. She was a little willful, but judging from her carefree spending, she had obviously been pampered at home.

Unfortunately, she was assigned to another village; otherwise, he would have pursued her too.

Lín Mùyǔ climbed onto the donkey cart and sat beside Lù Shílǐ.

Just as he was about to strike up a conversation, Jiǎng Chéng and Chén Xiǎocǎo came running over.

Although Jiǎng Chéng didn’t sit right next to Lín Mùyǔ, she left a little space in between and spoke in a sweet voice: “Comrade Lín, what are you planning to buy today?”

Lín Mùyǔ didn’t act impatient. He replied gently, “Just some daily necessities.”

All the way, Jiǎng Chéng kept chatting with him, the two of them hitting it off as if they’d known each other forever. Still, Lín Mùyǔ’s occasional glances at Lù Shílǐ betrayed his real intentions.

Lù Shílǐ noticed but ignored them. When the cart stopped, he got off and headed straight for the post office.

Lín Mùyǔ saw where he was going and guessed he must be sending a telegram.

He thought about tagging along to send one too, but Jiǎng Chéng asked if he’d go with her instead—she wanted to treat him and Chén Xiǎocǎo to a meal at the state-run restaurant.

In the end, he gave in.

It had been a long time since he’d eaten at a state-run restaurant. Since someone was offering to pay, he wouldn’t refuse.

“Of course! You girls don’t have much strength—anything too heavy, just let me carry it,” Lín Mùyǔ said, patting his chest like a real man.

Meanwhile, Lù Shílǐ went straight to the post office and quickly tapped out a long telegram: he reported about his aunt, then about Jiāng Tián and Jiāng Ěr, and finally asked his family to send some things over.

After paying, he left and headed to the supply and marketing cooperative.

He still remembered how Jiāng Tián had refused to take his money last time, so this time he planned to buy goods directly. He wasn’t worried about running out of money—his family would probably send things soon anyway.

As for his parents, he didn’t need to worry too much. His eldest uncle occasionally sent them supplies, and their village head wasn’t harsh with them.

What he really wanted was to see his parents’ reaction when they found out he had located their niece’s daughter. They would surely be thrilled.

He bought two bolts of cloth, four catties of cotton, one catty of White Rabbit milk candy, one catty of fruit candy, snow cream, clam oil, and two big tins of malted milk powder. He also got ten catties of pork, two pig’s trotters, a pig’s head, twenty catties of white flour, and twenty catties of rice.

He packed everything into baskets until they were almost too heavy to lift. Even after spending most of his money, he didn’t feel the least bit distressed. Then he stopped by the state-run restaurant for a bowl of noodles.

As he ate, he muttered to himself: Nothing compares to my sister’s cooking.

There, he ran into Jiǎng Chéng and Lín Mùyǔ’s group.

Their table was full of braised pork and dumplings, but he didn’t feel envious at all.

His sister had chickens, fish, even rabbit meat. If not for his hunger, he wouldn’t have bothered eating at the restaurant.

When he finished, he carried his load over to where the donkey cart was waiting.

Seeing Old Li, the driver, he handed him a few candies. “Uncle, take these home for your kids.”

Old Li had intended to refuse, but thinking of his children, he accepted them.

After loading his things, Lù Shílǐ struck up a conversation with him, trying to learn more about the situation.

“You’re living at the Jiāngs’ place?”

Lù Shílǐ grinned. “Yes, Jiāng Tián is my little aunt’s daughter—my younger sister.”

Old Li hadn’t known about that connection, but he did sigh over the Jiāng family’s misfortune. “Don’t worry. Your sister has never been bullied in our village. Folks here are grateful people. The Jiāng family’s kindness, we all remember.”

Hearing that, Lù Shílǐ finally felt reassured.

Then he asked about the Xiè family.

“The day after your sister married Xiè Sān, his family came to freeload. But your sister had already come to her senses. With just a few words, she cut ties with him and the whole Xiè family right there.”

Lù Shílǐ was surprised. “They severed relations?”

“Of course.”

At last, Lù Shílǐ understood why Xiè Chén had ended up in such a miserable situation. Turned out his stepmother had been involved with Xiè’s father while still pregnant with him—and even had two more children with him afterward.

“Outwardly, the Xiè family claims those two boys were from Mǎ Yuèyīng’s first marriage, but the older they get, the more they look like Old Xiè. Anyone with eyes can see the truth. It’s just that folks in the village don’t want to talk about the shameful things Old Xiè has done.”

Hearing all this, Lù Shílǐ didn’t even know what to say. He had thought his little cousin had already told him everything about Xiè Chén, but he hadn’t expected there was still more to the story.