Chapter 33: Educated Youth × Hooligan (Part 3)

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Your man is smart,” Gu Yin whispered into Chu Wanning’s ear. “And Uncle Lin gave me a little heads-up. He said they’re about to choose a primary school teacher. With your qualifications, you’ll definitely get picked. When that happens, our family will be doing great.”

“Then you’re not allowed to sneak off to gamble again,” Chu Wanning instructed him. “And you can’t go to dangerous places either. If something seems off, you run, alright? Don’t risk your life just for a little money.”

“I promise I’ll behave!” Gu Yin raised his hand. Looking at the increasingly reliable man before her, Chu Wanning suddenly felt very at ease—something she hadn’t felt in all the years since arriving.

…

“Comrade Chu, why are you going to gather pigweed?”

“Yeah, Captain, why does she get to do such an easy task?” Wang Li complained with dissatisfaction.

“If you want to go, you can too,” Lin Weiguo snorted coldly. These educated youth were always causing trouble. “Two work points. Go ahead.”

“No, no thanks,” Wang Li grinned obsequiously. Her family was average, with several kids at home, and her parents never mailed her anything. That was one of the reasons she was jealous of Chu Wanning.

“We’re not like her, after all. She got married and has someone to provide for her. We’re still innocent girls,” Zeng Lin said with a sly look.

“If Comrade Zeng thinks that getting married means losing your innocence, then maybe you should never marry in your lifetime,” Chu Wanning snapped, having no intention of tolerating them any longer—especially since they wouldn’t even be working together going forward.

“You—”

“Enough! Shut your mouths and get to work. Or do you not want your work points?” the scorekeeper scolded, knocking on the table. The two women immediately fell silent.

Chu Wanning went to the other side to gather pigweed. As long as she picked enough, she could go home. She noticed several kids from nearby homes were also collecting it.

She walked over with a smile and greeted them. “Hello there!” As she spoke, she handed out some of the candies Gu Yin had brought back.

“Big sis, you’re here to gather pigweed too?” a slightly older boy asked in surprise, stunned by how tall she was for someone doing a child’s task.

“Yup. Let’s look after each other from now on, alright?” Chu Wanning noticed they hadn’t taken the candy and was a bit surprised. “We’re working together, so we’re friends. Friends give each other sweets—you should eat them, right?”

The kids nodded vaguely, then happily took the candies.
“Thanks, big sis! My name’s Gou Dan. If you need anything, just say the word—I got your back!”

“Me too! I’m Er Pang!”

“Sister, I’ll help you gather pigweed,” a little girl with yellowing hair said softly. She had never had candy before—any good food at home always went to her younger brother first.

“Zhao Di is right—we’ll help you out. Can’t eat your candy for nothing!”

The children sprang into action the moment they finished speaking. Each took a handful, and before long, they had gathered the full required amount.

“That’s more than enough—thank you all so much! Next time, I’ll bring you more treats.” Chu Wanning hadn’t expected the children to be so enthusiastic. Her heart softened at the sight.

“No need to be polite. If you need anything, just find me, Gou Dan,” the little boy said boldly, puffing out his chest like a proper leader.

Chu Wanning handed in her work, had her points recorded, and went home—completely unaware that a boy had been lurking in the shadows, watching her with a sinister expression.

…

Meanwhile, Gu Yin and the other two rode an ox-cart to town. As soon as they arrived, someone stopped them.

“Isn’t this Gu Bro? Not gonna come play a few rounds at my place?”

“Not today. I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

“Come on, Gu Bro, have some culture. Turning over a new leaf is for women. At best, what you’re doing is reforming.” Chen Ming explained from the side.

“Who asked you?” Gu Yin retorted. “Your bro here at least went to high school, alright?”

“But Gu Bro, we skipped school all the time,” Wang Jie chimed in honestly.

“Gu Bro, how come you stopped coming around after winning some money? Not gonna support your bros anymore?” the man who had stopped them looked annoyed.

“What are you saying? I really don’t have any money now. And the family said if I gamble again, they’ll call the cops. You think I’d dare drag you down with me?” Gu Yin said, smiling slyly.

“Is that so?” The man faltered at the mention of police. Seeing that Gu Yin and his two friends showed no fear—and remembering their reputation—he backed off and left.

“Gu Bro, we’re really not playing anymore?”

“Of course not. Look at you two—no wives, nothing to your names. What kind of life is that?”

“So what do we do now?” Wang Jie asked, irritated.

“Go learn a skill. When we find someone who knows how to fix roofs, ask if they’ll take apprentices. You two can tag along and learn something.”

Naturally, Gu Yin didn’t tell them he was planning to do black market business—too dangerous with more people in the know.

“Alright,” the two of them mumbled, discouraged. After asking around for a while, they found a construction crew. It was made up of workers from various villages. Someone pointed out two men, “Uncle Yu, this guy needs a roof fixed. You and Da Qiang go.”

“Sure.” Uncle Yu came over quickly. “You need roof work?”

“Yeah, our place has some leaks. People in the village can patch things up, but I figured I’d feel better hiring professionals.”

Hearing that, Uncle Yu smiled. “Makes sense. We’ll get it done right—guaranteed to last decades.”

“As for materials, we don’t know much, so I’ll leave that to you.”

“No problem. Da Qiang and I will head over with everything we need and get it done quickly.”

“Thanks a ton, Uncle Yu!” The construction crew had their own vehicle, so the two groups traveled separately to Tianyu Village.

“Oh my, look who’s rolling in money,” joked some nosy village aunties at the entrance.

“Where’s the money?” Gu Yin laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “My house was crumbling yesterday—dust raining down. If I didn’t fix it, I’d probably get killed in my sleep. My wife’s parents felt sorry for us and sent a bit of money for repairs, so we wouldn’t die from falling debris.” With that, Gu Yin and his crew went home.

“You know, that Zhang Lan is really heartless.”

“Right? If it were my son, I’d never let him risk being crushed to death.”

“Gu Yin wasn’t like this before. He used to be so filial—always buying things for his mom when he had money. Zhang Lan even used to brag about it to me.”

“Then she had a grandson and forgot all about her son.”

“That grandson of hers is no angel—always scheming and full of bad ideas.”

“Exactly. My Gou Dan said he never plays with him—he even steals their stuff!”

…

“This house is really run-down,” Uncle Yu commented. “I’ll do a full renovation. I see there’s a little bathroom and kitchen—I’ll refurbish those too.”

“Alright, thanks, Uncle Yu. How much do you think it’ll cost? And these two brothers of mine—feel free to boss them around so they can learn.”

Although villagers usually helped each other build houses for free, Gu Yin hadn’t pitched in when others were building theirs. Asking for help now would just build debt—might as well pay upfront.

“With materials, just give us fifty yuan,” Uncle Yu said quietly. They operated like a proper business, but jealousy from others could be a problem.

“Those two can follow Da Qiang.”

Chen Ming and Wang Jie nodded and immediately joined the work.

Chu Wanning returned to the room, pulled out five large-denomination notes, and secretly handed them to Uncle Yu.

“Uncle Yu, if anyone asks, just say you’re friends with Gu Yin from town, helping fix up the house.”

“Got it, got it!”

Sure enough, when Uncle Yu returned the next day to start work, a nosy woman came over to ask questions.

“Big brother, how are you related to Gu Yin?”

“Yeah, why didn’t he ask the villagers to fix the house?”

“We met in town,” Uncle Yu replied while repairing, “He said he hadn’t helped the villagers before and felt embarrassed to ask, so he hoped I could lend a hand. This young brother has a good temper with me, so of course, I have to help him.”

Zhang Lan, who had come to watch the commotion, didn’t believe it. “Has my little Yin given you money? You don’t need to fix it anymore, just give me the money.”

“Who are you, ma’am?”

“You see? Even I don’t know you, yet you claim to be my little Yin’s friend!” Zhang Lan said fiercely, pointing.

“Are you Gu Yin’s mother? You’re really ruthless, letting him and his wife live in a broken house.”

“Hahaha, Zhang Lan, don’t talk nonsense. It’s not easy for Gu Yin to fix the house.”

“Exactly.”

Zhang Lan rolled her eyes, thinking about what her eldest grandson said: Chu Wanning always had candies in her hand, and those candies belonged to her son, which meant they belonged to her.

“Where’s Gu Yin? Come out here.”

“Why call me?” Gu Yin shuffled over with his hands in his pockets, completely ignoring his mother.

“Your nephew wants to buy two sets of clothes. Give me five yuan first.”

Zhang Lan said confidently. She had always demanded money from her son like this before, and the original owner (Chu Wanning) tolerated her.

“What does it matter to me if he wants to buy clothes?” Gu Yin rolled his eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, haven’t we split up the family? Last time I came looking for food, what did you and sister-in-law say?”

“You told me to get lost and said your family’s things had nothing to do with me.”

“It’s all that slut Sun Miao’s fault, always stirring up trouble between us. Mom didn’t mean it that way.”

“Don’t say that. Last time when you were holding sweet potatoes and pretended not to see me, did you forget?”

“Zhang Lan really is ruthless,” a woman nearby who didn’t get along with her sneered.

“Right? Is that even a son? No wonder no one talks to her.”

“Yeah, and shouting so loudly like that, if Gu Yin really gave money to fix the house, wouldn’t he be arrested?”

“Anyway, I’m your mother. What’s wrong with me asking you for money?” Zhang Lan shamelessly threw a tantrum.

“Then I guess I have to go ask the team leader if the family split still counts. If it doesn’t, I’ll bring my wife home to live.”

“That’s impossible,” Zhang Lan blurted out, but when she saw Gu Yin’s cold sneer, her heart trembled. “Mom, I didn’t mean that…”

“Taking money from me? No way!” Gu Yin waved his hand. “But when you get old, I will give you and Dad a pension according to the agreement made during the family split.”

“You old woman embarrassing yourself here,” Gu Tu, who had been watching the scene for a while, came out to drag Zhang Lan away.

“Dad, I know you’ve been watching for a while. I hope you understand my meaning. Since the family split was so decisive, don’t blame me if I don’t support raising brother’s kids.”

“So you mean Gu Yin used to help raise Gu Yan’s kids?”

“Of course, that kid Gu Yin used to hang out every day. Collecting protection money was just a few dimes.”

“You don’t have to raise them!” Gu Tu replied stiffly and hurriedly took Zhang Lan away.

“Child’s father, what are you doing?” Zhang Lan struggled a few times before breaking free from Gu Tu’s grasp.

“What? Can you stop embarrassing me? Do you know what the villagers have been saying about us these past few days? It’s a disgrace.”

“You agreed to split the family back then,” Zhang Lan was unhappy, “And what’s wrong with us asking for some money after raising him?”

“Enough talk. Gu Yin is still our child. Don’t let your resentment ruin your relationship,” Gu Tu sighed. Maybe he really had made mistakes.

The house was soon repaired. Chu Wanning looked at the completed house and finally felt the sense of home. She had been studying recently. She went to the countryside after her sophomore year in high school, so some knowledge was still unfamiliar to her.

“Going to town tomorrow?” She watched Gu Yin busily prepare steamed buns, pancakes, and stuffed buns, curious how capable he was.

“Yes, just trying it out first.”

“When you come back, can you help me find some physics books?”

“Sure, I’ll look carefully,” Gu Yin promised repeatedly.

The next morning early, Gu Yin set off with a backpack cage and a basket. Taking a shortcut, he arrived at the black market within an hour. His goods were wrapped in quilts, and the weather was nice, so they didn’t get cold. He found a place and began selling.

“Hey, little brother.” The same big sister from before came over. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Got anything good this time?”

Gu Yin read her expression and knew what she meant. He shook his head helplessly. “Good stuff is rare, but I made some flour snacks. Big sister, want some?”

He enthusiastically handed the previously cut small pieces of sugar cakes to her. The big sister wasn’t really interested but tried one because of his enthusiasm. It was very soft, with sugar evenly melted inside—not too sweet, but sweet enough.

“How much?” The big sister became interested. Her family had poor appetites lately, so some flour snacks sounded good.

“Meat buns ten cents, sugar cakes five cents, steamed buns four cents.”

“Okay, give me five buns, five cakes, and ten steamed buns.” She paid quickly and started eating the buns, savoring the juicy filling. An idea popped into her head.

“Little brother, could you do me a favor and stew some chicken soup? I’ll give you five yuan.”

Her chicken soup wasn’t tasty, wasted ingredients, and it was as good just to buy it and heat it at home.

“No problem, sister. When do you want it?”

“Tomorrow at this time, I’ll come again.”

“Okay.” After getting the answer, the big sister left with the food she bought. Seeing her eager eating, others gathered around, and Gu Yin gave out samples. Most people who tried it ended up buying something.

After selling, Gu Yin packed up and went to the recycling station. “Sir, I’m in.”

Gu Yin still gave the old man thirty cents, and the old man nodded, “The ones on the right are new arrivals.”

“Thanks, sir.” Gu Yin went to the right to search and luckily found a physics book and several workbooks. Putting the books into his backpack cage, seeing nothing else useful, he said goodbye to the old man and headed home.