Chapter 49: Ordinary people don’t match up to me

The art of gift-giving lies in presenting what the recipient truly needs.

Zhao Ke left home half an hour early and detoured to the house of Third Uncle Yu to ask for his help in crafting a desk.

“What kind are you looking for?”

“Just an ordinary one will do, as a housewarming gift for the neighbor.”

Third Uncle Yu took a pencil and noted it down in his notebook, “That Fu Zhiqing? Why are you thinking of giving him a housewarming gift? That’s not customary around here.”

He looked at Zhao Ke with a scrutinizing gaze.

Zhao Ke maintained a natural demeanor and said, “I need more hands to get my work done, and I might ask for Fu Zhiqing’s help in the future.”

Third Uncle Yu casually reminded her, “When you ask for a favor, don’t bring a gift; when you bring a gift, don’t ask for a favor.”

Third Uncle Yu, also known as Yu Xiujiang, had more dealings with people and had developed his own set of principles for interpersonal interactions, all honed from life experiences.

Zhao Ke took the advice to heart, “I understand, I won’t be too mercenary.”

“Is it urgent?”

Zhao Ke asked in return, “Can it be done by the day after tomorrow?”

“I haven’t finished sanding the dowry cabinet for Lao Sun’s daughter Dong Ni’er. If your requirements aren’t high, I’ll have your brothers put in some extra effort to make it for you. It can be done in two days.”

“Alright.”

Zhao Ke looked at the kang cabinet in the yard and walked over to inspect it, “Is this it? It’s really beautifully made.”

Third Uncle Yu tucked the pencil behind his ear, “The Sun family specifically asked for carvings, and the labor isn’t cheap. They treat their daughter quite well.”

No matter how much they scold or beat, families that truly love their children always wish for them to have a good life.

Zhao Ke touched the carvings on the cabinet door. Life is what one makes of it, and it would be best if Dong Ni’er could live up to the hopes of Aunt Sun and her husband after marriage.

Third Uncle Yu asked her, “I heard the brigade is mobilizing to repair houses, was that your idea too?”

“How did you know about that, Third Uncle?”

These matters were discussed within their brigade committee, and no outsiders were privy to them.

“News always finds a way to spread.” Third Uncle Yu advised her, “You have good intentions, wanting to do more for the members, but you’re young and lack prestige. It’s normal for the villagers not to respond. Over time, when they trust you more, everything will go smoothly. Don’t rush.”

Zhao Ke nodded.

If Zhao Xinshan had been more assertive about the house repairs, more members would have participated. But when it came to her, even under the brigade’s name, there were still compromises.

Zhao Ke was also reflecting on this and making adjustments.

At that moment, Third Aunt Fang Hong came out with a plate of melon seeds, peanuts, and a bowl of sweet water, handing it to Zhao Ke with a smile, interrupting the two, “Your Third Uncle has saved good wood for you two sisters. When you get married, he’ll make each of you a set of fine furniture.”

Zhao Ke held the bowl of sweet water, smiling without responding.

But elders urging marriage won’t let go of the young just because they don’t engage in the conversation.

Fang Hong pressed on, “Any news? Has Wu Nai not inquired about suitable matches for you? What about Xiao Mian? There are many young men at the factory, right? If there’s a suitable young man, you should hurry, or else other young women will snatch him up. You too, if you can find someone from the factory, definitely don’t settle for a village youth…”

Zhao Ke focused on gulping down the sweet water.

Third Uncle Yu said to his wife, “Zhao Ke is still young, what’s the rush?”

“Young? She’s eighteen this year, and in the blink of an eye, she’ll be twenty. I was already giving birth to our second child at twenty.” Fang Hong stared intently at Zhao Ke, “Really, no suitable match yet?”

“None.”

Zhao Ke put down the bowl, glanced at her watch, and suddenly looked anxious, saying hurriedly, “It’s time, I need to get to the brigade office. Thank you for the sweet water, Third Aunt, I must be going now, no need to see me off, really, don’t bother.”

In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Fang Hong muttered, “See you off? With my old arms and legs, I couldn’t catch up with you…”

“What old? You’re still young.”

Fang Hong’s face lit up with joy, but she pretended not to be swayed, giving him a look, “Old and shameless, get out of here~”

In the entire Zhao Village Production Team, the number of men who know how to charm their wives can be counted on one hand, and the Yu family has two of them: Third Uncle Yu and the Yu family’s son-in-law, Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo was also comforting his wife at the moment, “Don’t dwell on it, Zhao Ke knows what she’s doing.”

The couple had seen Zhao Ke talking to the new neighbor in the morning, and Yu Xiulan had been in a huff ever since.

“What does she know? Girls love handsome faces, haven’t you seen Team Leader’s daughter Yunyun? The whole village knows about it.” Yu Xiulan worried, “From now on, won’t Yunyun be visiting our house even more often? What if Zhao Ke also gets infatuated, and they end up in a spat? Wouldn’t that be a joke for everyone to see?”

“Impossible.”

Yu Xiulan said irritably, “You don’t understand a young girl’s thoughts at all. Why is it impossible?”  

Zhao Jianguo responded patiently, “I mean, our Zhao Ke wouldn’t quarrel with Yunyun over some young man.”  

Yu Xiulan also felt that Zhao Ke wouldn’t go that far, but she was still uneasy. “No, I have to keep an eye on things.”  

Zhao Jianguo said, “Comrade Yu Xiulan, class is about to start. You can’t neglect your educational duties.”  

Anxious, Yu Xiulan hurriedly grabbed her textbooks and lesson plans.  

Zhao Jianguo followed her out. “I’ll keep an eye on Comrade Zhao Ke for you. You just focus on making the most of your talents at school.”  

His high level of awareness earned him an approving look from Yu Xiulan.  

After locking the house, Zhao Jianguo leisurely strolled out. As he passed by the brigade courtyard, he detoured inside and called Zhao Ke out for a word.  

Zhuang Lan hadn’t come alone—she had brought Su Limei with her.  

Zhao Ke asked them to wait a moment, then stepped outside, puzzled. “Dad, what’s up?”  

“Your mom is worrying over nothing. Just make sure you maintain a good relationship with the neighbors—especially Yunyun. That child doesn’t have any bad intentions…”  

Zhao Jianguo paused, feeling that wasn’t quite right, and corrected himself. “She doesn’t really have any intentions at all. Don’t let her keep running headfirst into brick walls and getting even dumber. What if she does something foolish?”  

Zhao Ke thought it was something serious.  

In their small place, Fu Zhiqing was indeed high-quality, which naturally drew attention.  

But on the flip side, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—it could motivate certain people.  

Zhao Ke grinned. “Dad, I have a plan.”  

Seeing her expression, Zhao Jianguo hesitated for a moment before warning, “Just don’t go too far. Your uncle will have opinions.”  

“How could that happen?”  

Zhao Ke remained completely unfazed.  

Zhao Jianguo glanced toward the office. Zhao Xinshan wore his usual stern expression, not paying them any mind. “Your uncle already has plenty of opinions about me. Don’t get me into more trouble.”  

“I won’t, I won’t.” Zhao Ke pushed her father’s back, urging him along. “I’m busy. Dad, you should head back to the clinic.”  

Zhao Jianguo sighed helplessly. “Alright, alright, I’ll go by myself.”  

Zhao Ke waved him off, then returned to the office. Facing the two female educated youths, she resumed her composed and reliable demeanor. “Zhuang Zhiqing, Su Zhiqing, as I mentioned earlier, if there are no issues, we’ll head out for the visits in a bit. How does that sound?”  

“Alright.”  

Zhuang Lan readily agreed, then tugged on Su Limei’s sleeve.  

Su Limei reluctantly nodded.  

Zhao Ke noticed but said nothing, calmly handing each of them a notebook. “Wait for me outside for a moment.”  

After they left, Zhao Ke dragged a stool over and scooted closer to Zhao Xinshan. “Team Leader…”  

“What do you want now?”  

By now, Zhao Xinshan had figured out Zhao Ke’s ways. Whenever she acted like this, she definitely had something up her sleeve.  

And sure enough, Zhao Ke did. “The literacy campaign is one of the tasks assigned to us by the commune. We have to overcome all difficulties to complete it. But even an old ox needs to eat to plow the fields—how can people be expected to work if they’re not fed properly?”

Zhao Xinshan glanced at her. “What do you want to say?”  

Zhao Ke rested her hand on the table, leaning forward slightly as she proposed, “Team Leader, now that the literacy class is up and running, shouldn’t we give the educated youth teachers some encouragement?”  

Zhao Xinshan frowned. “Your cooperative just started, and the production team has only expenses so far, with no income at all. But look at this—you’re giving work points to the pig farm caretakers, to the cashier, and now you want to reward the educated youth too. How do you plan to encourage them? Give them work points too? The brigade’s burden is heavy.”  

“Work points aren’t necessary,” Zhao Ke reasoned. “If our production team performs well, the commune gives out awards like certificates, enamel mugs, and basins. If the literacy program has a clear impact and the members make noticeable progress, that’s definitely due to the efforts of the educated youth teachers. So at the year-end summary meeting, offering them some practical rewards would also boost their motivation. Don’t you think so, Uncle”  

“In the office, don’t use family terms,” Zhao Xinshan cut in.  

Zhao Ke immediately straightened up and corrected herself. “Team Leader.”  

Zhao Xinshan, having reprimanded her, remained silent.  

Zhao Ke pressed on, “Whether it’s a few extra jin of grain at the end of the year or a bigger share when we slaughter pigs, the decision is in the brigade’s hands. What matters now is giving them a promise to keep their spirits up.”  

“You’ve already said it all. What else can I say?”  

That was his way of agreeing.  

Zhao Ke grinned, throwing in several compliments before cheerfully heading out.  

Deputy Team Leader Xu watched her go and commented to Zhao Xinshan, “Young people need to face more hardships. Spoiling them too much isn’t good for their growth.”  

Accountant Niu spoke up for Zhao Ke. “Her request is reasonable and doesn’t cause any harm.”  

Deputy Team Leader Xu gave him a disapproving look. “You can’t favor her just because she saved your son. Work is work, and personal feelings shouldn’t get in the way.”  

Accountant Niu didn’t deny it. “It’s precisely because she has the courage to take responsibility that I believe young people should be given more opportunities. After all, we’re getting old—we’ll have to step aside sooner or later.”  

Deputy Team Leader Xu’s expression darkened.  

Of the three men present, Zhao Xinshan and Accountant Niu could still work for another ten years. The only one who might need to step aside for younger folks soon was him.  

Sensing the tension, Accountant Niu quickly changed the topic to smooth things over.  

—

By July, work in the fields had lessened, and most members were at home during the agricultural off-season.  

Zhao Ke followed the same route as Yu Xiulan had during her home visits, starting from the northernmost row of houses.  

However, while Yu Xiulan had focused on visiting households with school-aged children, Zhao Ke had to go door to door.  

The first four houses were split between the north and south sides of the path. The two houses to the south belonged to Yu Xiulan’s maternal uncles, so they could be skipped for now. On the north side, the two homes belonged to brothers: the western house to Zhao Xinchun and the eastern house to Zhao Xinhe.  

Zhao Ke introduced them to Zhuang Lan and Su Limei. “In our Zhao Village, all the Zhao families trace back to the same great-grandfather. When they branched out, you could tell by their naming conventions. Team Leader’s branch—his generation all has the character ‘Xin’ in their names. My father’s generation uses the character ‘Jian,’ but the ranking order is still shared.”  

Zhao Xinhe was her second uncle, and his fourth son, Zhao Shuan Zhu, had been adopted by her sixth uncle, Zhao Jianfa.  

Zhao Xinchun was her eighth uncle.  

Zhao Huahua’s father, Zhao Xinwei, was her fourth uncle.  

Zhao Fangfang’s father, Zhao Xinqiang, was her fifth uncle.  

Her seventh uncle, Zhao Jianchang, and ninth uncle, Zhao Jianming, were sons of Zhao Wu Nai.  

All of Zhao Ke’s great-aunts had passed away—some early, some later, some from illness, others due to natural disasters and wars.  

Back in those days, her grandfather’s and uncles’ generations had also lost brothers, but daughters had an even harder time surviving. After all, keeping the family line going was the priority…  

Zhao Ke also had several paternal aunts.  

Her eldest aunt, Zhao Hehua, was Zhao Xinshan’s biological sister. Her younger aunt, Zhao Xinghua, was Zhao Wu Nai’s youngest daughter. Both had married into other villages.  

Her second aunt, Zhao Lianhua, and fifth aunt, Zhao Chunhua, had married within the village.

Second Aunt and Second Uncle, as well as Eighth Uncle, are full siblings. Second Aunt’s husband is Liu Heping, and they live on the north side of the road, with only one house separating them from Second Uncle and Eighth Uncle.  

Fifth Aunt and Sixth Uncle are also full siblings. Fifth Aunt’s husband is Su Haijiang, and they live directly across the road from Sixth Uncle’s house.  

Su Limei, enticed by the prospect of a reward, was listening attentively and even asked, “Why are there no Third and Fourth Aunts?”  

It was a rather tricky question, and she lacked a sense of tact.  

Zhuang Lan gave her a hard tug on the sleeve.  

Su Limei still hadn’t grasped the situation, but the next second, she heard Zhao Ke say indifferently, “They’re gone.” She instantly felt awkward.  

Zhao Ke didn’t take it to heart and continued, “In our generation, there are more children, and quite a few have already married and had kids, making the family quite large.”  

For example, Second Uncle Zhao Xinhe’s family was particularly prolific, having a total of seven children—five sons and two daughters. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have had to give one up for adoption.  

As the children grew up, they had to split up and establish their own households. The youngest son got married last year and moved out, so now Second Uncle and his wife lived with their eldest son.  

So, saying that the Zhao family occupied half the village was hardly an exaggeration. If in-laws were counted, practically the entire village was related in some way.  

Su Limei naively said, “Then it should be easy to mobilize them.”  

Zhao Ke shook her head and took her to see firsthand how “relatives are the hardest to deal with.”  

When visiting for a matter, one had to go to the eldest first. If the older brother was convinced, the younger ones usually followed.  

Leading the two, Zhao Ke first went to Zhao Xinhe’s house.  

Second Uncle and Second Aunt appeared at least five years older than Team Leader Zhao Xinshan and his wife, with deeply lined faces that made them look mean and difficult to get along with.  

As soon as Zhao Ke started to speak, Zhao Er Shen^[1]shen – wife of father’s younger brother interrupted, “Whoever wants to go can go. We don’t have time for this.”  

When Zhao Ke tried again, Zhao Er Shen asked, “Will there be money? Work points? Or at least some rice and flour?”  

Obviously, literacy classes wouldn’t provide any of these.  

“Then what’s the point of talking?” Zhao Er Shen sneered, showing her yellowed teeth. “We’re not illiterate, we’re just poor. If we haven’t managed to ‘sweep away’ our poverty, why bother with literacy?”  

No matter how much Zhao Ke explained, they refused to listen, fixated on one thing—was there an immediate benefit? No? Then nothing else mattered.  

Su Limei couldn’t stand their materialistic view of education and argued, “Reading is for understanding reason, for wisdom. How can you only focus on benefits?”  

Their eldest daughter-in-law, Xiu Xiang, laughed, “Why bother with these empty ideals? We attended the previous literacy classes in the village. They just wasted our time with some jokes, didn’t make us any smarter, and only ended up turning the young village girls as stubborn as you educated youths.”  

Su Limei bristled. “Who are you calling stubborn?”  

Xiu Xiang said, “No matter how much you study, you’ll still have to go home, have kids, and take care of your husband. A woman who can’t take good care of her family is useless.”  

Zhao Er Shen looked at her daughter-in-law approvingly and then scrutinized Zhao Ke and the others, commenting, “A girl shouldn’t aim too high. Back when I was looking for a wife for my son, I wouldn’t have considered someone like you.”  

Su Limei turned red with anger, as if she would even be interested in their rural folks.  

Zhuang Lan, reminded of unpleasant memories, felt extremely uncomfortable and gripped Su Limei’s hand tightly to stop her from making a scene.  

Then, Zhao Er Shen directly pointed at Zhao Ke and said, “Zhao Ke, think about it. Has anyone introduced you to a match?”  

Zhao Ke remained composed and even seemed amused as she countered, “No, but I’m not bad-looking, I have some education, and my family’s not bad either. My conditions should be quite decent, right?”  

Zhao Er Shen was displeased. “A girl shouldn’t be so arrogant. If her husband’s family can’t keep her in line, that’s bad. And you’re lazy and strong-willed—if you don’t listen to your in-laws, you’ll definitely get beaten.”  

Zhao Ke nodded as if taking the lesson to heart and then asked earnestly, “Then what if they don’t listen to me? Should I beat them instead?”  

Zhao Er Shen rolled her eyes and snapped, “Still don’t get why no one’s introducing you to anyone?”  

Got it.  

“It’s because ordinary people don’t match up to me.”  

“……”  

Zhao Er Shen’s expression twisted, her lips trembling, as she firmly declared, “No way is my daughter-in-law attending your literacy class!”