Chapter 6

“Are you mad at me, Tian Tian^[1]甜 – Sweet[nickname]. Mcs name is 田- Surname Tian/ field? Are you upset because I haven’t come to see you recently? I can explain… I was in H Province for procurement and just got back yesterday. I even brought you a lot of things—snowflake cream, fabric, soap… and those red hair ties you girls like. I was planning to deliver them to your house this afternoon…” Suddenly seeing his crush, even the calculating Liu Xiangdong couldn’t help but become overly emotional, spilling out his sincerity like a peacock showing its feathers.

Tian Mi was disgusted by the way he acted like a boyfriend. Listening to him, one wouldn’t know and think they had some illicit relationship.

Also… f*ck…who’s he calling Tian Tian?

Because of her passion for extreme sports and her habit of traveling around the world alone, Tian Mi was quite capable.

Dealing with someone like Liu Xiangdong, two or three punches would be no problem at all.

If this were the future, if someone had the gall to say such shameless things to her face, she would definitely raise her fist and take off right after.

But in this world, not only could she not run away, but she also couldn’t offend him too much. After all, Liu Xiangdong was a very calculating man. Until she found a foolproof way to escape, she had to suppress her desire to strike back.

However, there were some things she couldn’t tolerate. With great difficulty, Tian Mi swallowed her frustration and interrupted his endless chatter, her face stern: “Comrade, we’re not familiar enough for that kind of address.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiangdong’s eyelids twitched, and he fell silent, lowering his gaze to look at the girl.

The excitement that had risen from the crowd’s teasing faded slightly, and the man’s eyes darkened as he studied her.

In their previous encounters, this girl had clearly been scared and shy, but after being away for over a month, how had she changed?

It seemed… she had become more beautiful and more willing to express her dislikes.

Did she dislike him?

Hmph… did she have the right to refuse?

Since Liu Xiangdong had set his sights on her, she could only be his wife.

Sooner or later, he would find a way to win her over.

The reason he hadn’t acted directly but had taken a roundabout approach was simply because he valued her and was willing to give her face.

If he were to run out of patience, a few rumors could force her to come to him willingly.

While the poison brewed inside him, Liu Xiangdong maintained a calm exterior, merely waving his hand to signal his rowdy friends to leave.

Once the group of giggling friends had wandered off, he took a step closer to the girl, softly coaxing, “Tian Tian, don’t be upset. Do you feel like our relationship seems a bit ambiguous? Don’t worry, I’ll officially visit your home this afternoon. I remember your dad likes tobacco and alcohol, so I specially asked someone to bring a lot of good stuff…”

As Liu Xiangdong moved closer, Tian Mi had already taken several steps back.

Listening to his one-sided conversation, she had completely lost her patience.

Someone like Liu Xiangdong was self-centered and selfish; reasoning with him was futile. She didn’t want to teach him manners on behalf of his parents, nor did she want to stand there being misunderstood by onlookers. She looked up at the sky, frowned, and emphasized, “I said we’re not familiar. Please call me Comrade Tian. As for visiting my house, there’s no need. I think we’re not suited for each other.”

As she said this, Tian Mi pinched the envelope in her bag, searching for some confidence. She lifted her gaze to meet the man’s eyes directly. “If you insist on going and force me, I wouldn’t mind breaking the net and taking you down with me. I believe there are plenty of people who want to see the Liu family fall. I wonder if adding a charge of criminal behavior will be heavy enough?!”

Though she felt scared and cornered, some stances still needed to be made clear.

At the very least, before getting a definite reply from her sister, she needed something to deter Liu Xiangdong, something that would make him think twice and delay things for a month or two.

After dropping her strong words, Tian Mi no longer looked at him and turned to leave with large strides.

In fact, even if Liu Xiangdong really went to her house to propose, she wouldn’t be afraid; after all, she wouldn’t agree.

Although she was bothered by rumors, she wasn’t the type to be desperate over baseless things. More than anything, she didn’t want to cause trouble for the Tian family.

Of course, if it were possible, who wouldn’t want a good reputation?

She was just an ordinary person after all.

=

“Ge^[2]Older brother. Familiar term for an older male. Not necessarily a biological brother., why did sister-in-law leave by herself? Aren’t you going to see her off?”

“Sister-in-law is really pretty. I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful than her. Plus, she’s still a high school student… but her rural household registration is a bit of a disadvantage.”

“Hmph… Dong Ge should help sister-in-law find a job. She could easily change to an urban household registration. It’s not a big deal, right? By then, wouldn’t the beauty be even more devoted?”

“Hehehe… you have a point. If this beauty were mine… Ow! Why did you hit me, Ge?” The acne-faced man chuckled lewdly but suddenly got punched, cradling his head in grievance.

Liu Xiangdong withdrew his heated gaze from the woman’s slender figure, suppressing the ambition in his eyes, and warned coldly, “That’s your sister-in-law; show her some respect.”

After saying this, he glanced around at the others and noticed they had all quieted down. Satisfied, he ran his fingers through his hair and whistled as he walked toward the post office…

That spicy, fiery Tian Tian… Heh… even more captivating.

“What’s up with Dong Ge? We’ve joked about the sister-in-law before, right? Why did he hit me?” Once Dong Ge had walked away, the young man turned to his friend, confused.

“Idiot, Dong Ge’s serious about it now.”

“What do you mean?”

“…”

=

Meanwhile, Liu Xiangdong scanned the post office and unexpectedly spotted a familiar face.

He smiled and walked toward the person, ignoring the long line, and directly cut in front, leaning over the counter. Pulling out a cigarette from his pocket, he leaned in to hand it to the staff inside and lit it, casually greeting, “Bro, are you busy? I want to ask you something.”

Those who had been cut in line saw that he knew the postal staff and was well-dressed, so even though they were furious, they didn’t dare say anything.

“When did Dongzi^[3]子(zi) – child come back? What do you want to ask me?” The man enjoyed a puff of the cigarette, savoring its rich flavor, feeling a bit envious. Being in procurement really had its perks; the cigarettes were better than what they usually smoked.

Liu Xiangdong casually replied a couple of sentences before asking, “I just saw my girlfriend come to the post office. The little girl is shy and won’t bother me with anything. I noticed she looked troubled, and I’m a bit worried that something might have happened at home. Don’t worry, I won’t make it difficult for you; I just want to ask what she came to the post office for.”

Upon hearing this, the man was momentarily stunned. The Liu family had a good reputation in the town, and Liu Xiangdong was particularly well-regarded as a talented young man, often seen as the ideal son-in-law by many families. He never expected that he would silently have a girlfriend.

However, recalling the charming appearance of the girl earlier, the man smiled knowingly; after all, even heroes can find it difficult to resist beautiful women. “Are you talking about that girl in military uniform?” 

Liu Xiangdong liked his answer and, with a grin, handed him another cigarette. “Brother, your eyes are good; that’s her!”

“Haha, it’s not just that your eyes are good; it’s mainly because you two look so well-matched.” The man accepted the good cigarette, generously praising Liu Xiangdong.

He then carefully tucked the cigarette behind his ear and smiled back, “Don’t worry; there’s nothing wrong. She just bought an envelope and some stamps.”

An envelope… Liu Xiangdong’s gaze darkened a bit, and with a meaningful tone, he said, “Is that so? Then I can relax…”

After saying this, he tapped the table and straightened up. “I won’t disturb your work any longer. Are you free tonight? I’d like to treat you to a meal at a restaurant.”

“You have something going on?” The man didn’t think of himself as someone valuable enough for Liu Xiangdong to be this polite.

“Hehe… You can’t hide anything from you, brother. I do have a small favor to ask.”

“Alright then, I’ll come find you after work tonight.”

“Great! I’ll be waiting for you at the state-run restaurant.”

“…”

=

The town wasn’t big, and with the market day going on, Tian Mi had already prepared herself for the possibility of running into Liu Xiangdong.

However, when she actually met him, he was far more vivid and real than the way he was described in books, and even more irritating. Her mood was affected.

She had originally planned to take advantage of the market to get familiar with the town, but now she completely lost interest and decided to head straight home.

However, her bad mood didn’t last long.

As soon as she got home, she saw Pan Di hiding behind Lai Di, both of them looking excited and giving her meaningful glances.

Tian Mi felt a flicker of joy in her heart and gave her sisters a calm look. She didn’t rush to ask how much she had sold; instead, she pulled out a few candies from her pocket and handed two to each of her sisters.

As an older sister, it wouldn’t be right not to bring something for her younger siblings after such a rare trip to the market. Tian Mi had used some of the pennies saved by her original self to buy ten pieces of hard candy.

Lai Di and Pan Di were indeed very happy. Though their family was relatively well-off in the village, snacks and candy were still considered luxuries that they rarely got to enjoy.

Pan Di immediately unwrapped one and popped it into her mouth, savoring it for a moment before her eyes crinkled in delight as she exclaimed, “So sweet!”

Lai Di, on the other hand, couldn’t bear to eat hers right away. She carefully placed it in her little wooden box for cherished items, planning to eat it on a day when she really craved something sweet.

Tian Mi took out the fabric and laid it on the bed. Hearing her sister’s delighted exclamation, she paused momentarily, feeling an indescribable emotion. She tugged at her lips and, without raising her head, replied, “If you like it, I’ll buy some more for you next time.”

This kind of candy is actually the cheapest at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. You don’t need a ticket—three pieces for one cent. On the way back, she ate one, and to be honest, it wasn’t good at all; it had a sickly sweet taste of saccharin.

After getting her sister’s assurance, Pan Di first felt delighted, but then quickly shook her head. “No need, Sister, you don’t have money either.”

Tian Mi glanced at the little girl, thinking to herself that whether she had money or not, others might not know, but did she not know?

However, considering that she needed to save up for travel expenses, she ultimately lacked the confidence to continue this topic. In her heart, she thought that once she got through her current difficulties, she would definitely buy a lot of delicious food for her younger siblings—enough to make them sick of it.

Thinking this, she carefully tucked the envelope containing the stamps into her high school textbook; this was her hope.

As she placed the envelope inside, Tian Mi intentionally turned to block it, not wanting to share her plan to ask their eldest sister for help with anyone just yet.

Lai Di unfolded the fabric and measured it a couple of times, feeling a bit pained and slightly disdainful. “Er Jie, why did you buy such a color? It looks like something our grandma would wear. Don’t they have bright red? Green would be better than this!”

Hearing this, Tian Mi immediately lost her earlier mood of melancholy. She incredulously lifted the fabric. “How could such an elegant little checkered pattern be suitable only for someone your grandma’s age?”

Wasn’t it better looking than bright red?

Seeing that her second sister didn’t value it at all and was making it all wrinkled, Lai Di hurriedly snatched the fabric back, smoothing out the creases and folding it neatly before saying earnestly, “Grandma really likes this dark blue color. The other aunties in the village like it too; it doesn’t get dirty easily…”

As she spoke, Lai Di happily smoothed the fabric’s texture again. “But it’s a nice piece of material; it’s enough to make a small jacket. You have to take good care of it; if Big Brother sees it, he might take it to give to Grandma.”

To be honest, in her memories, Tian Chang Qing had indeed borrowed things to present to others many times.

If he wanted to take her things to be generous, was he expecting a free meal? Tian Mi immediately stood up, quickly put the fabric into a box, and hurriedly went to her parents’ room to find a lock to secure it.

Was Lai Di being a bit exaggerated?

Pan Di… good idea.

=

In the early 1970s, the price of pork was 0.64 yuan per catty, with tickets charged separately.

The price of fish couldn’t be compared to pork. Even though Tian Mi caught rare large fish that totaled 37 catties, without needing a ticket, she only earned 10.36 yuan.

That sounds like a lot, but when calculated, it was just over 20 cents per catty. Even with tickets, it was still less than a quarter of the price of pork.

While Lai Di went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables for lunch, the sisters were secretly counting their money in the room.

In the end, Tian Mi gave Pan Di 2.1 yuan and kept 8.26 yuan for herself.

“Give me 2 yuan; I don’t need that 10 cents,” Pan Di insisted on not taking advantage of her older sister, as she was thinking about a long-term business and couldn’t be stingy over small amounts of money.

Tian Mi rolled her eyes, wanting to say she wasn’t the kind of person to take advantage of her younger sister.

But the fact proved she was!

After a few rounds of pushing back, Tian Mi shamefully accepted the 10 cents.

Inside, she scorned herself… you’ve changed; you’re no longer the Tian Mi you once were.

“Make sure to keep this a secret, okay? You can’t tell our third sister either.” After hiding the money, Tian Mi reminded her once again.

In the future, she could help her third sister out more in other ways, but for now, she absolutely couldn’t tell Lai Di about making money from selling fish.

Telling her would mean telling their parents, and she was still hoping to save money for her own escape route.

“I’m not stupid; don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. But are we continuing tomorrow?” After hiding her first ‘big sum’ of money, Pan Di’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her sister, eagerly anticipating the next time.

Upon hearing this, Tian Mi gave her a blank look. “What are you thinking? At least wait for half a month.”

There were only two market days in a month, and she couldn’t dare to go to a place like the black market, especially with Liu Xiangdong around. If she really went to the black market, wouldn’t that be handing him a handle against her? How foolish would she have to be?

Besides, selling fish occasionally is fine, but going to Chaoyang River every day to fish and sell would eventually attract attention. At that point, it would be troublesome if the villagers made a big deal out of it…

For instance, they might accuse her of “sabotaging socialism” or something like that.

But… 8 yuan is really too little. Even if she got lucky and earned another 8 yuan at the next market, it would only add up to a little over ten yuan for the month. What could that even cover?

The main issue is that time waits for no one; she had to think of other ways to make money.

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