Chapter 6: Furniture and New Family Members

The older woman held Ming Leyao’s hand and chatted enthusiastically as they passed by others.

“Guihua, you haven’t visited me in ages. Is everything well at home? Are your parents doing okay? Did they send you over with more things again?”

Ming Leyao, now forced into the identity of “Guihua,” twitched the corner of her mouth. “…Yes, big sister. Mom and Dad asked me to bring you some things—just some home-raised eggs and vegetables.”

“Your parents are so thoughtful. Thank you for the trouble, dear.”

As they talked, the two of them stopped in front of a door on the first floor, mid-way down the corridor of a communal building. The woman glanced around cautiously to make sure no one was watching before unlocking the door and quickly pulling Ming Leyao inside.

Excitedly rubbing her hands together, she warmly invited her to sit.

“No need to sit, big sis. Let me show you the goods.”

Ming Leyao lifted the cloth covering her basket, revealing neatly stacked noodles and strips of streaky pork with layered fat and meat.

“Is… is that pork belly?”

“That’s right. Our brigade recently slaughtered a pig. My dad has some connections and managed to get a bit. Each strip is about half a jin (250g). You’ll need ration tickets for this, big sis.”

“Of course, of course! I haven’t had meat in ages. I’ll make something good for the old man tonight!”

Pork was officially sold at twenty cents a jin with ration tickets. But Ming Leyao only asked for industrial coupons instead of food stamps. She had her grandfather to thank for this well-prepared setup. All the grain was packed in plain white sacks, and even the fabrics matched the era’s aesthetic. While he hadn’t prepared enameled mugs or kerosene—those iconic vintage items—he had thought through all aspects of food, clothing, and shelter.

“Sis, um… can you stay at my place for a bit? I’ve got a few trusted friends, all honest women. Nothing shady.”

“Big sis, me staying alone at your house… isn’t that a bit improper?”

“No, not at all! There’s nothing valuable in my place anyway, and I trust your character. You wait right here!”

Before Ming Leyao could agree or refuse, the woman—her dark face glowing red with excitement—opened the door and rushed out, remembering to shut it behind her.

Left alone and a bit bored, Ming Leyao began to examine the house. It had two bedrooms and a living room, about 50 square meters. There was a bunk bed placed in the living room, a tiny kitchen with a table by the door, and a glass-fronted cabinet filled with items. It looked like quite a few people lived here, likely with several children.

While she was deep in thought, the woman returned excitedly with three other people.

“Little sister, do you really have… pork?”

“Yes, right here.”

She lifted the cloth again, and the glistening red pork belly was revealed. The women’s eyes lit up in delight. In the end, they bought everything she had brought with her. As she counted the tickets, Ming Leyao cheerfully made her way back.

She had considered going to the black market, but with her limited self-defense skills, dealing with those shady characters would be too risky. But dealing with a few women? That she could manage.

With the coupons in hand, Ming Leyao didn’t buy anything just yet. She planned to wait until the house was finished before making her transactions aboveboard and purchasing household essentials.

Back at the production team, she first checked on her new house, then slipped unnoticed into Fu Wencheng’s little black room.

At that moment, Meng Chaoqing was sitting beside the bed, locked in a staring contest with Fu Wencheng.

“What are you two doing?” she asked.

“Ahem… waiting for you.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t even know how to brew medicine?”

“Well… I studied… Western medicine.”

Ming Leyao: “???”

You’ve got to be kidding me…

Meng Chaoqing could read the disbelief in her eyes and felt a little guilty. The Meng family was actually a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. But he’d always been the black sheep. As a child, he had been beaten for not memorizing medicinal rhymes, and those experiences had left emotional scars. So when he grew up, he decisively chose Western medicine—and couldn’t be dragged back even by ten oxen.

Now, faced with a friend’s illness that he couldn’t cure, and watching it be treated by someone who practiced traditional medicine, he began to question everything he had ever learned.

“There’s no right or wrong between Chinese and Western medicine,” Ming Leyao said calmly. “Both are meant to heal—just different approaches. Whether you succeed depends on your skill, not your path.”

Strangely comforted by this eighteen-year-old girl, Meng Chaoqing felt like the world had become a little surreal.

Fu Wencheng, too, was surprised by her words. She didn’t sound like an eighteen-year-old girl at all. His heart, which had been calm for so long, suddenly started pounding like a drum. He quickly looked away.

Ming Leyao found a clay pot and soaked the herbs in it. Then she stood up and asked, “Do you guys… have any way to get glass?”

“Glass?” Meng Chaoqing was thrown off. Weren’t they just talking about medicine?

“I can get some,” Fu Wencheng said calmly, his deep voice steady. “How much do you need?”

“Enough for four windowpanes.”

“You’re really planning to put glass windows in that shabby little house?” Meng Chaoqing quipped.

He was immediately silenced by death stares from both Fu Wencheng and Ming Leyao.

“Okay, okay! My bad. I misspoke.”

Fu Wencheng sat up. “I can get it for you, but it’ll take two days.”

“That’s fine. There’s still time. I’ll pay you when it arrives.”

He almost blurted out don’t worry about the money, but held himself back, unsure why he’d even want to say that.

“Mm.”

Ming Leyao then pulled Meng Chaoqing aside and taught him how to brew the medicine. The two squatted in front of the clay pot, talking softly. Somehow, to Fu Wencheng, the scene was an eyesore. He felt an inexplicable urge to destroy that harmony.

It was already past 4 p.m. when Ming Leyao left Fu Wencheng’s home. She went back to help Li Fang with dinner.

That evening, when the brigade leader returned, he handed her the 60 yuan they had earned.

“Uncle Captain, please hold onto this money for now. Building the house will cost money, and I’ll need to pay for labor too.”

“Leyao, you should keep the money for your own protection. As for the house construction and wages, why not just deduct it from your work points?”

“No need, Uncle Captain. Yesterday while tidying up my parents’ quilts, I found some money and ration tickets they had hidden in the corners—more than twenty yuan.”

As she spoke, she took out the money she had earned today.

“Sigh, what a hard life you’ve had. Alright, we’ll use this money to build the house. If it’s not enough, I’ll chip in.”

“Okay.”

By the fifth day of the house construction, Fu Wencheng’s glass had arrived. It seemed he had said something to the brigade leader, so Pang Jian wasn’t particularly surprised when he saw the glass.

Since the house would be finished in about two days, Ming Leyao discussed building a courtyard wall with Pang Jian. They finally decided to use yellow mud to construct it. After all, as a young woman living alone, she needed to prioritize safety.

The house needed a few days to dry anyway, which gave them just enough time to build the wall.

On the day the courtyard wall was finished, Ming Leyao moved into her new house. She had asked for it to be built higher during construction. Plus, with glass windows, the inside was especially bright.

Aside from a bed, there wasn’t anything else in the house yet—she planned to furnish it little by little. After making the bed, she finally had a safe haven of her own. A few days later, she entered her space again.

She placed the separation agreement in the bedroom drawer, then went to the land behind the bamboo house and picked up a hoe to start tilling the soil.

In her past life, she was forced by her grandfather to farm at first, but later grew used to it. He always said the outside world was too full of temptations, and returning to simplicity was better. That’s why all the medicinal herbs they used were grown by hand.

This little piece of land was no challenge for her.

She divided the land into two sections: one for herbs and one for food. The herb field was further divided into three parts—one for long-growing herbs, one for those that took ten years to mature like dendrobium and notoginseng, and one to plant and harvest freely as needed.

She also planted fruit trees around the edges and set aside a small area for vegetables and grains. She’d learned from a young age not to rely on dwindling resources—if you only eat and don’t produce, you’ll run out eventually.

She had once checked the stream winding down from the mountain—there were no fish in it, so she figured she’d have to find a way to sneak in some fish later.

There was also a misty area in the courtyard pond filled with lotuses, including one especially eye-catching golden flower. Ming Leyao still wasn’t sure what the pond’s purpose was, but that didn’t stop her from admiring the beauty. The golden lotus gleamed like a gold bar—so dazzling.

The next day, before dawn, Ming Leyao opened her eyes, breathing in the fresh air of freedom. In a great mood, she got up, got dressed, and cooked herself a bowl of shredded pork noodles.

She had borrowed a large cooking pot from the brigade office. While iron pots were in short supply, every household in the production team had one.

As for bowls and chopsticks, Li Fang had brought some over—slightly damaged, but still usable. They would do for now. Once she had an introduction letter, she could go to the supply and marketing cooperative to get new ones.

Just after breakfast, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

“Jie? Jie?”
“Xiaoxue?”

It was the youngest daughter of her fourth uncle, Ming Zhong.

The little girl was holding a shivering puppy in her arms and shoved it directly into Leyao’s arms.

“Jie, my mom brought this from grandma’s house yesterday. She said since you live alone, it’s good to have a dog for protection.”

Raising an eyebrow, Ming Leyao looked down at the teary-eyed little pup in her arms. She doubted its ability to guard anything.

“Jie, its mom and dad are super fierce! My mom even asked around and picked the fiercest one just for you!”

“Silly girl. Thank your mom for me. Once my place is fully set up, I’ll invite you all for a housewarming feast.”

“Yay! Jie, can I come over to play when I’m free?”

“Of course! But you have to be careful, okay? If I’m not home, go straight back. Don’t linger outside, got it?”

“Got it, Jie! I’m going now!”

Watching Ming Xiaoxue skip away, Ming Leyao smiled and shook her head. Then she started to worry—what kind of shelter should she make for the puppy?

It was mid-August and still warm, but what about when it got cold?

Now that she had a dog, it meant another mouth to feed. That was a big responsibility.

She took some of her parents’ old clothes and made a nest for the puppy, then used her space to cook a bone. After removing the meat, she fed it to the little dog.

The puppy wagged its tail happily as it ate, occasionally lifting its head to look at her with big, wet eyes.

“Good boy. Eat up and grow strong. You’d better do a good job guarding the house. Otherwise, you’re totally wasting the fancy meals I’m giving you.”

If anyone outside saw her feeding meat to a dog, she’d probably get drowned in spittle.

“Guard the house well, you hear?”

After cleaning the dog’s bowl and putting it back in its bed, Ming Leyao headed out to find the brigade leader to get an introduction letter.

She hadn’t been to work for a few days, so she also needed to get a sick note from the hospital to cover her absence. With that note, she could even buy a can of malted milk powder—without needing ration tickets.